Leaderboard

So third coat went on, decided it would be the last one...for now. After a little drying, I pulled the tape. Hell yeah! I'm OK with this. I mean it will need a little cleaning up once it dries fully, some paint ran down the edge, and it got under a little on the front right tube stripe. But over all it's a success.... Maybe a little wet sanding with the 1000 grit. I really need to get back to the suit... Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

Finished trimming the helmet and will start putting it together after sanding and removing teeth.

TK19758 Reporting for duty!

Hi! My name is Laura and working on an ANH Hero TK. I’ve been a huge fan of Star Wars since I was a little girl and was lucky enough to be able to work for Disney when they’ve purchased Lucasfilm a few years ago. While working on the campaigns I've met the lovely people from the Dutch Garrison and before I knew it I was dreaming of creating my own costume. Back in January I was finally able to purchase my kit from TM. I was so happy when my BBB arrived! Thank you so much Paul for this awesome kit! I'm almost afraid to touch it, let alone putting scissors into it. Where to begin and what to do?? I'm 1.75- so probably need to do some trimming, also to make it nicely fit on a female body - The total TM Hero kit including holster Now, a few months in, a few armor parties with members of the DG later, almost losing my fingertips with cutting and a seriously inflamed finger, most of the armor parts are clean of plastic waste. I'm pretty sure with the fitting lots of re-cutting must be done, so let's wait for that. Bucket: Haven’t touched the bucket yet, first want to make sure everything is going into the right direction and I know my utensils the best way possible – don’t want to screw up that handsome face. Currently doing lots of research what's the best way to start - spending hours and hours on this board, so happy with all the advice. Think I feel confident to start this week by taking out the eyes and teeth. Whoop whoop! 2 pairs of ears: Neckseal: Will be created by a friend who did this for more builds. Shoulder Bells: Currently working on the sizing. For now I've left 6mm return edge on all sides - will make them smaller if needed. Biceps: Currently working on the sizing - my biceps arent that big, so have removed 0.5cm on all sides. Not happy yet, but before cutting too much plastic/, I first want to see them together with the rest of the armor. For now I've left 6mm return edge on all sides - will make them smaller if needed. Forearms: Currently working on the sizing - I've removed 1cm in length and width. They still might be a bit too long, but same thing as for the biceps, lets first see everything on before gluing. For now I've left 6mm return edge on the elbowside - will make them smaller if needed - and none at the wrists. Coverstrips: For the forearms and biceps I'm going for the 15mm and the legs 20mm. Hand plates: In the kit was the plastic version - need to swap those to the latex ones. Gloves: The rubber ones (Trooperbay) and the Nomex flight gloves (Ebay) Chest and shoulder straps: All waste plastic has been removed, haven't touched the straps yet. Need some help first with the fitting. Back: All waste plastic has been removed. Need some help first with the fitting. Undersuit: My undersuit is from stormtrooper undersuit, went for the size that was a little bit bigger than my own measurement, but closer than sizing down. Ab: All waste plastic has been removed. Need some help first with the fitting. Kidney: All waste plastic has been removed, except for the corners. Need some help first with the fitting. Hope the kidney will show a minimal gap while lining up with the ab. Might need to go to the gym more often to make sure it fits. Haha. Butt: All waste plastic has been removed, except for the corners. Think it will fit perfect, so will leave it for now. Belt: Need to start with the assembly. Thermal Detonator: Need to start with the assembly. Thighs: All waste plastic has been removed - time for fitting! Lower leg armor: All waste plastic has been removed - time for fitting! Sniper plate: Haven't touched this one yet. Will come to it when assembling the legs Boots: From Imperial Boots: ordered them 1 size bigger and they fit perfectly. although its quite a challenge to get my feet in there. Holster: Ordered this one from TM together with the kit. And lots of extra stuff i will need in the nearby future: (of course not everything is in the picture - but we'll get there once building the armor. Fortunate to have 2 little ones watching me with every step of the journey: they just love the waste plastic...and no they are not allowed to play with it. Next days, weeks will be though, but I'm sooo excited! Keep you posted on the progress! Happy to hear feedback! X Laura

And back to the thread. Went to the Galactic Academy meet-up, which ate up most of my day yesterday, but pulled out the thinner (product plug: that Testors thinner is fantastic!), after stupidly trying to pick off all the failure from paint attempt one. Took out a bigger brush, painted it over those terrible stripes, and couple of wipes with a diaper, clean slate. Remasked, and since I had little time before leaving, figured I pull the screw joining the Ab belt to the canvas one,and rivet it. Well, since I did it from the front, I didn't realize the belt wasn't as tight as I thought, so I riveted to the front canvas only....and tiny tug, the belt came right off with a shiny new rivet attaching nothing....sigh Meet-up went great, kids had a blast doing some Star Wars crafts, and I got to meet some more members of the local garrison. Unfortunately the hobby shop hosting the event only carried Citadel paints, but there happened to be a Hobbytown nearby, so I picked up some Humbrol #14. Sorry for the long post, meant to put one up yesterday, but didn't. The Humbrol wasn't much thicker than the model Master and got a bit sloppy with the flat brush, so a few stripes in, I switched to a smaller brush and carried on. Whilst leaving the first coat of attempt #2 to dry. I spent the rest of the night trying to get that damn pop rivet out,without destroying the plastic. Finally happened...going to use Chicago screw for the belt I think now. This morning was some toothpicking, and felt it was good enough for a second coat. Little more toothpicking and some 500 and 1000 sandpaper, and the final coat will go on after dinner, and checking in with you guys. New thing I learned, and it may be a "well duh" for some of you, dipping the toothpick tip into the thinner really helps with the stubborn remnants from the first round with the toothpick. Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

More clamps!! Good luck on the build. We are here to help. The kitties look ready to help also.

Here’s a screen used top of shin. I’m guessing that’s 2-3mm in places. Personally, I left around 4-5mm on mine. :-)

I remembered seeing you did it already sorry I wasn’t specific enough, was focusing on the question at hand. Personally I found it uncomfortable. Not sure if it was a size thing as I’m 240 pounds or what but in test fittings around the house it bothered me and I figured if it did then it would when I was trooping for 4 hours. With that said I think it helps make the armor look thicker but I also think it’s an extra seam that could start to crack. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome job! Sailing up to Centurion! Just a couple of things that I'll mention ... especially for centurion: all the pics of the right drop box look like it needs to come out a bit, so that its outside edge is flush with the edge of your belt. It's close, but not quite there. If it were me, I'd move that belt up a tiny bit higher as well, so that it covers the ab plates a bit more. New female snaps on the inside of your belt, directly below your existing snaps, may work to make it just about perfect. Again, beautiful job on that armour. You should be proud!

Nice to see another Hero and good luck with the build

Ukswrath, thank you for the compliment. Updates, Ok so I took a few shots of the undershirt to show what I did. In this picture you can see the inside of the back along the zipper. The material I used is a breathable black stretch fabric. I also reinforced the mesh then applied the zipper to aid in smoothing the zipper section. In this picture you can see the outside of the back along the zipper. You can see how far down the material goes. Ok so we tested the back cover plate and notice how it does not wrap around the curve of the back. There is a gap between the plate and the back of the abdomen armor. Big Deal, you were correct. I needed to modify the glued in styrene to allow for the curve. Once I did this and used some Velcro to hold the cover plate in place, it looked much better. Thank you for the suggestion. So I got more sanding done over the weekend but not a lot of sanding (Father’s Day). Anywho, I also snapped a closer picture of my friends Clone Trooper shoulder strap. Here you can see the silicone and/or rubber shoulder strap. I think this would be a great option for the ROTK but until I build the Jedah crystal pack and see how heavy it is and if it interferes with the shoulder straps, there is no way for me to know if I need to make a version of these for the ROTK. Well, that is it for the update. Thanks for the interest.

Beautiful! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow you’ve got this all figured out. Nicely done so far Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

TM produces some of the finest armor. ABS is so shiny white! Terrific photos!

Congrats on your BBB! You seem to be off to a very good start; keep up the good spirit! Usually, a good place to start can be the arms pieces like the biceps or the forearms - not too many complicated things to do/cut/fit and it will warm you up for the rest of the kit. And don't hesitate to post a lot of pictures and all the questions that you might have along the way - we'll be happy to help! Lots of Stunt going around lately - will be cool looking at a Hero as well.

Looking good Greg

Darker color for the darker areas I'm suggesting.

She said from amazon Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good progress on those legs! And really nice stools haha - do you know where they got them from?

Nice work Dan

Thanks guys! Dan, those measurements photos you sent really helped. Glad I didn't have to go to attempt #3. Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

Updated

Looking great! That's a huge imporvement! Good job!

Already a member of the garrison and have been posting this build and also my Shoretrooper build there - its a bit quiet even for the outer rim though.

Good call, my friend. Extended!

Tino beat me to it. https://youtu.be/CYVmP_k9rIw

Again great progress, Jesse. I am really curious to see, what you will be doing with the inner bolt section... Guessing you meant this video from Aaron, or the one from myself. I know I said this before Jesse, but this build is absolutely outstanding - from each and every aspect! Keep that up.

Now I focus on some of the smaller component parts that get attached to the receiver tube. I reinforced the pieces, front and rear sight, flash guard and other guard with armature wire and also trying to figure out the install location of the end clip. Can someone tell me the correct position for the end clip? I seem to recall there's a video showing how it works....can someone point me to it? In a nut shell, pressing down on the back end of the end clip will raise the 'T' portion to allow for the end cap to rotate for removal...is that correct in terms of functionality? Also, I am curious, based on the malleable nature of armature wire; is there any concern that CA glue applied to it will 'eat into' the armorture wire and compromise it's integrity? Especially concerned as I have armature wire that keep the trigger lever component in the right place and orientation...if it were to be compromised, the trigger lever will not operate the electronics, a real bummer I want to curve any chance of happening. Thanks for taking the time; have a great day!

Much neater. Nice work. :-)

Awesome and congrats on the approval! If you're in Japan then you can sign up for the garrison forums as well to see any events taking place near you One parting thing I noticed is the cover strip on your right thigh seems a bit taller and pointed at the top. May not feel so great if that ever decided to poke you. lol Have fun trooper

I decided to work from the top down on this build so it was shoulders, biceps and forearms along with the chest & ab plate. Shoulders are pretty straight forward as all the makers seem to have a cut line well defined. Just cut a clean line and your on to biceps. Use the same score and snap method to trim them out. I like to run 220 grit over all the edges to get rid of any bite points or any place that’ll snag your under-suit. Measuring for the bicep cover strips. The outside strip will be 5/8” wide and I’ll adjust the strip on the inside if needed so your own arm will help conceal the difference. I also use a strip on the inside as well! Thanks to Ukswrath for this idea. On a side note for the newer members going through a build if you haven’t read through Tony’s builds like they’re the gospels what are you waiting for????? He is an absolute architect when it comes to building these kits that’s for sure! Bicep is done. Just repeat the steps on the other side. You’ll also notice I had my under armor shirt on while fitting up, you’ll be absolutely shocked on how much of a difference it’ll make. Same process goes for the fore arms. Covers trips on both inside and out . The only difference is I use the flashing material for the inside strip and the thicker material for the strip that’ll show. Trimmed out the chest plate then abs and attached the button plates and also made sure I spent some extra time sanding the edges. But for the most part it was the same score and snap method. You can see how much of a good job this de-burring tool does. Really makes easy work of it! That wraps up the front upper torso on this. I also have the back rough trimmed so it should go quick! Until next time! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Also, head to the newly approved section and post up your introduction so more members see you have your new TK digits! https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/160-newly-approved-members-sound-off/

Another one joins the ranks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As a previous contest winner, I'm not entering this time - I'm here to encourage everyone else to enter. This is a really good book.

Chin Strap for TK Helmet I was tired of my wobbly helmet, even after replacing the cheesy Anovos hard-hat harness thing with gray foam helmet liner pads. So I bought a chin strap of the type meant for football helmets. UnderArmour makes them; this one's from Shock Doctor (who also make sport cups; what a name!) and a few bucks cheaper. They come in different colors; the obvious choices are black or white. It turns out the snaps are the same size as ever TK builder has more than enough of. The pad in the chin cup is held in with Velcro. It could be removed and washed if necessary. I thought about replacing the inelastic straps with elastic, but these work well enough. I wanted to figure good places to put the snaps, so I did some clever-clever work with a photo editing app. When you cut the straps for length, remember that it's very important to get the Shok Doctor words and logo right side up. The snap clips are designed to connect to snaps on the outside of the football helmet. I thought that would look awful on the TK helmet, so to have the snaps work on the inside, I bent the snap clips to fit the inside curve of the TK helmet. The straps are way long, so cut them down and made four 2" lengths to use as anchors to glue inside the helmet: When you do this, put the saps in the other way so they curl up instead of down. That will match the inside curve of the helmet better. These locations work for the snaps but are a bit tricky to clamp even with magnets. (I have ones vaguely quarter-shaped; I should have got ones half the diameter but twice the thickness.) The straps don't have to go super tight; just enough to get the helmet reasonably snug and not all floppy.

Kinda makes me want to do a sandy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi everyone. So, around 1 year ago (June 2017) I started a project to revive my 12 year old Shepperton Design Studios Stunt lid. The years has taken their toll on my once beloved TK lid so I did my research, ended up finding the videos of TK4510/ Mike / Trooperbay and decided to strip down, spray and hand paint my old lid. Well, this REALLY got me interested in Stormtroopers again and, thanks to doing plenty of research on FISD on how to respray my lid, got me hooked on the whole armour idea. Right, back to the subject at hand.... I came across Mike’s videos again on YouTube, one of which was weathering a Sandie helmet. Based upon this I ordered some Fullers Earth and a Revell weathering set. Following Mike’s excellent video, essentially the process is done with hairspray > earth flicked on with paintbrush > brush off excess earth > repeat. This, mixed with brush dabbing, sponge dabbing, sandpaper in places etc hopefully leading to a realistic, dirty/used look. Firstly, I started by painting over the vertical black stripes in the traps and tears, then improving the frown paint by extending it beyond the un-drilled 5th hole. I also took the opportunity to raise the brow. As this isn’t my trooping lid, I simply cut an additional upward curve in the cap. Time to throw some dirt at this thing!! After fogging the front of the lid with hairspray, I started to flick Fullers Earth at the lid to give a general covering. After letting the hairspray dry for a bit, it was then time to brush of the loose earth. Essentially, the process is then repeated and repeated, mixing in different shades of earth at different times, and focusing in areas where dirt would naturally build up over time. Next round: Now, at this stage I decided to do another round of hairspray and darker earth, then attempted some wet sponge dabbing..... I went a bit heavy!!! Well - as it was heavier than I had planned, and my first attempt, I decided to have another go. I took the lid out to the garden and literally washed off all of the weathering with the hose! I started the process again and was a lot more careful with damp paper towels his time. Here’s some picture from along the way. And now for the finished lid. Overall, I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I set out to make a naturally dirty looking sandie, hence using Fullers Earth and weathering powder, to get a textured look, and am pleased with the results. Hopefully to photos do it justice. Enough from me - thanks for reading. Dan :-)

Paint work coming along nicely! In places anyway haha. Gloss black on the grips, real screws fitted. Gloss aluminium on the rest. For some reason I got a few little bubbles on the main blaster body when I painted it. Not quite sure why this happened, was nice and smooth beforehand. Perhaps I held the can too close. Anyway, another blast of sanding and repaint and it's looking better. Any thing left over will hopefully add to the weathered effect. Assembly soon! Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

I use a few knock off brand rotary tools, as I can get 3 for the price of 1 Dremel here, I have a different tip on each so I don't have to keep changing, I'm lazy. So a sanding drum roller, a quick change cutting disc and a multi drill for making holes and enlarging them. These work the best for me but others may use different. the one on the left in this picture Snap tool I use the one that comes with the snaps but I also give them a tap first with a Philips head screwdriver so it helps to separate the post a little and they crush down better. I've not heard of any bad snaps locally but did find that Birch changed their supplier and their new packaging snaps are just a tad smaller, which I found trying to change a couple on my OT armor and couldn't work out at first why they kept coming apart without much pressure. So stick with one supplier and make sure they are all the same packaging just in case. I believe in the US Tandy snaps are the go to but someone else may confirm Looking forward to seeing those Big Brown Box photos

Thanks for the encouragement one and all. I managed to get some time to work on the helmet today, started out giving it a rough trim and then riveting it together. Then I trimmed the ears and attached one of them, unfortunately one of the long bolts won't accept a nut, so the other ear is still loose. I think the other ear is probably still a bit thick, but I'll wait till the new bolt arrives before having another go at it. Finally I outlined the traps, tears and ears, and painted the vocoder. Tomorrow should be more painting, and maybe a rough trim of some of the rest of the armour.

Sorry just now catching this build, looking great Jeff

I just cut it after looking att some screnn shotsYou can see it roughly on this pic

Honestly, don’t be worried about it Kenny. The reason we do this hobby is to see the smile on people’s faces when we troop and to have fun trooping. Rounded or square has no impact on the joy we bring to folks at events, or the excitement we have when kitting up.

OK...trimmed up the detail pieces. Pics show them placed on the Ab plate. In one I slid it down to show the space behind. This is an AM 2.0 suit (oh yeah that's in the title). Looking for thoughts. Should I trim more so the center detail sits inside snugly, (probably to the raised shape), or just so it doesn't over hang. Also thinking the 4 button should trim a little more so it doesn't overhang either. Flow better from the raised portion on the suit.... Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

Thanks! I spent an hour and a bit pouring through reference photos and hi-res screen grabs last night. Boy, do they make me feel better about my mediocre craftsmanship (granted I don't have to whip up 50 odd suits on a production schedule). I also found a collection of "Billgrams" which I find to be incredibly useful. More to come... Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

I only got the Lite kit, as I already bought an ATA helmet a couple of years back. It's 95, well 90, well maybe 85% done. Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

Yep. I hadn't seen the build event (saw last weeks one) yet, so that makes sense. Will check out Sean's build as well. Planning on helping handle the event in Oxford tomorrow night. And taking the kiddos to the Galactic Academy meet and greet on Sat. Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

Would love to get to an armor party, haven't seen any mentioned lately... I'm in the Facebook group, and will be checking the GA forum a bit more regularly now.

Welcome Brad!