For the first fig. I tried using the original armor and shaped it to fit but it wouldnt fit tight so I took them and made a mold of them for casting. Right before the cast hardens all the way I remove it give it a quick trim them using my fingers to help hold the form tight to the fig wile it hardens full, giving it a tight fit then super glue it in place. Also gluing the shoulder armor during this proses. Once that is done I use sculpey to fill in the space between the armor pieces and sand smooth, for a one piece look. Usually I use a all black micro fig. but are much more expensive so during the painting I paint the micro fig. also, I like painting it because the basic black figs. are shinny and the dull black looks better. My resin turned gummy... the hardener is ok but the resin base isn't. Must of left it setting too long?