People are amazing!

As anyone who is familiar with this build knows – it’s mission is not for charities. Unlike the previous Iron Man suit build, that went to the children’s hospitals, this project is purely for fun. At points along the way though, I will very likely use the Viper for charity work at my discretion. I still have good contacts with Starlight Children’s Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Canteen for Kids and The Convoy for Cancer Families.

Over the last week or so, I have had some very kind and generous people offer me materials and consumables to get the Viper finished, particularly the surfaces to be bogged, sanded and painted. I hat been up front, publicly, about my budget limits on this project and making it clear that I was doing the best I could within said limits. I never asked, because it’s not a problem for me to wait until I can afford what I need, through making and selling my blade-smithing creations.

But then….

A few days ago, Paul from SAPE Group in Sydney, (via sub-branch in Canberra) stunned me with his gift of 6 massive cans of automotive body filler, (bog/bondo) and two cartons of painters tape for all the detailing. Paul didn’t want anything, just to help as he had been watching the build for some time and excited to see it finished. Paul, your kindness is a credit to you and I hope I do you proud, finishing the Viper.

and then…

As I was excitedly telling my friends at work, my friend and co-worker, Tim, informs me that he was a professional painter for a number of years! Tim gave me some great advice on a range of high quality house paints that would do the job, a lot cheaper than auto paints, plus the ability to roll them on, (because I can’t spray where I am) and still achieve a good surface finish. Tim then proceeds to contact friends in the industry and organised a little miracle.

Tim and his mate, Daniel from Plus 3 Painting Services in Canberra, met me this afternoon at a paint shop in Canberra. Through Daniel and the DULUX representative, we discussed the paint colours used on the 2003 Battlestar Galactica TV series.

Benjamin Moore was the paint brand. My  friend Steve Fronczek from Galactiguise was kind enough to let me in on the paint colour names and codes, so that I could find a close equivalent here in Australia. I’ve been asked my many of the Battlestar Galactica crew to keep certain details in confidence, so my non-disclosure of such is my honour. BM colour codes is no exception.

When Tim told me of this meeting, I had a few hundred dollars set aside to cover it and was hopeful for perhaps a discount by proxy. To my absolute  surprise I was humbled no end by these guys, who decided to give me all I needed to get the job done – for FREE!!

Bless you guys, your generosity is amazing. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Baz.