BobbyFromBUF

Definitely a good tip. I think I'm satisfied with the fit (I did try it on with the undersuit the other day). I was looking for more of a comment on the appearance of the parts (i.e. do my seams look okay? Is everything lining up the way it should.) Thanks for looking and responding, Maxsteele. :-) I am following along with your updates daily. Nice work! Looks like you've got your split rivets all worked out. I am about a month behind you at least... IMAG5120 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr IMAG5121 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr

Hi there. I have a TupperwareTK NE kit and I'm having trouble identifying the shoulders. In this photo, you can see that with the shoulder on the left, the ridge line tapers slightly at the top. Is this a marker I can use to properly identify left from right? IMAG5126 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr Please help. Thanks in advance! P.S. I tried numerous times to search for an answer in the forums, but the search functionality is not cooperating. So, I apologize if there is already a thread about this....

Now to build some real armor... I am working on my armor slowly, and I have nearly completed the bicep assembly. I have finished one side of each bicep including the finishing strip, but I am reluctant to completely button them up until I get some nods of approval from some fellow troopers. Are they looking good? Should I just stop fretting and seal them up and move on already? Haha, I'm being such a wimp about this... IMAG5125 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr IMAG5124 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr

More progress. I have purchased CAB Boots for my TK - which are great, and I will likely occasionally wear them trooping once my armor is complete. However, I happened to have an old pair of boots which seemed suitable for a MOD project. One thing I really like about them, is that I have worn them around for years, and they are very, very broken in. I'll spare you too many details, but I used some methods I learned here on FISD, and dyed the boots using Tarrago leather dye. I'm pretty pleased with the results. My biggest take away from this MOD is that you must make sure your tape is pressed down firmly. My tape was not, and I ended up with a bit of a mess on the sole of the boot. Like this... IMAG5116 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr Once I pulled the tape off I was a bit bummed out regarding the results. However, I pressed on, and decided to use an X-acto to scrape off the excess white dye drips. With some patience and a steady hand I was able to remove my mess pretty well... IMAG5117 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr Here is a side by side look at the boots. The left boots is all trimmed and the right boot is still looking sloppy.... IMAG5115 by bobby_whalen, on Flickr So, I'm hoping that with this "broken in/worn" look my boots will be worthy of the 501st...

Got it. My kit did come with those, but I wasn't sure if I had missed something. I reread Panda Trooper's thread, and I think I'm understanding now.

Also, I just realized that my build thread is in the wrong location. Can anyone help me relocate to the "Build Threads" section? My apologies...

So, I have been absent from the forums here for quite some time. Well, I recently broke a bone in my foot, and I will be back at it with great vigor. With that said, I have sort of a "dumb" question. How do most TK builders come to obtain "finishing strips" or "cover strips"? Does everyone just make their own? If so, is there a good tutorial on this somewhere? If not, is there a reliable place to buy them for my TupperwareTK NE kit? Sorry if this is a silly question, but I have been doing quite a bit of searching through the forums with no luck. Thanks!

I noticed on your undersuit that the shirt has some white stitching on it. Do you have a plan to change this? The UnderArmor shirt I bought has the same thing. I tried to cover the stitching with black marker in one spot, but I'm not sure if it was enough to fix it... Just thought I would ask since we kind of have the same issue...

I ended up trimming about 1/8 inch off the pipe. The CRL for 501st says that the TD should be "approximately 7.5 inches". I measured mine, and the gray pipe was 7.5" before I added the white end caps. With the caps on it looked too long to me.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I have been searching different combinations of keywords all day!!!

Can any help me positively identify my forearm parts? I'm hoping to know: Inside Left: Outside Left: Inside Right: Outside Right: Thanks a bunch in advance if anyone can help.

Here are the results of my Trooperbay Flexible Handguards experiment: First, I'd like to say that I am pleased with the outcome. So, maybe this technique is not for everyone, but since I tried something "new" I thought I would share. I ended up using 5 coats of Elmer's Glue All, followed by 2 coats of Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Gray Primer, finished with 2 coats of Rust-oleum Painter's Touch (Ultra Cover) Semi-gloss White. As you can see from the pics I think the color match to the NE kit is good. Also, they could be very easily "weathered" to more accurately match the screen used latex ones. I sort of like them the way they are for now, and I will likely leave them as is for now... I found that the 5 coats of glue gave me a good surface to paint. I just brushed the glue on with a cheap-o paintbrush, and I only painted the top side of the handguards. I wanted the bottom of the handguards to remain as it came from Trooperbay so that I could follow their instructions for attaching them to the black chemical gloves. The glue self-leveled as it dried. It also turned from white to clear as it dried. I then followed up with 2 light coats of gray primer. I did this so that as the handguards become naturally worn (trooping) some gray will begin to show through the scratches. Then finally, 2 coats of semi-gloss white. As I attached the handguards to the rubber gloves I used Zap-A-Gap and Zip-Kicker. I found that the Zip Kicker reacted a bit with the paint, and made the dry paint become tacky again. Use caution with this as the tacky paint will begin coming off the handguards onto your fingers as you are pressing the handguards down as the glue dries. If you inadvertently touch the black gloves with the tacky white paint on your finger tips you will leave white marks on your gloves. I'd love to hear feedback on this idea if you'd like to share... :-)

Thank you so much! Just so nervous, haha!

Can anyone out there help me identify these parts correctly? I know the "thumb print" is on the left front bicep. So, clearly the other front bicep is the right one. But, I'm having the hardest time figuring out which back belongs to which... Also, the orientation is throwing me off. In the pic below, imagine the upper arm parts are open like clam shells. Is this correct? I'm so confused... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, Thank you to everyone on this forum for all of you advice and knowledge! Especially, Pandatrooper. I will do my best to copy your techniques as often as I can. I really appreciate you taking time to create those tutorials. My kit is a TupperwareTK NE. I am building a Stunt ANH TK. My hope is to first build a costume worthy of acceptance into the 501st. From there I will see if I have what it takes to achieve EIB... Here is the obligatory packing shot. TupperwareTK once again proves that he is a great seller, taking great care to pack the armor very thoughtfully and efficiently. The NE kit is perfect and wonky all at the same time. Immediately upon receiving this kit I did what most Newbies seem to be doing... I stalled... I did not have a good space to work so I built a workbench. Then once my workbench was complete, I stalled again, and worked exclusively on my E11 Doopy Doo's Resin Blaster Kit. I am very pleased with the outcome of my blaster! Here is the blaster occupying a position of importance among the hot glue guns, haha! Finally to the armor... The kit is beautiful, but still the task of assembling it is very daunting... I am starting by working on small parts which seem fairly simple to me. My first attempt was with the handguards. I used the included elastic straps along with snap plates to connect the handguards. Using this strategy I'll be able to modify the handguards later if I decide that they look too big. I am also completing a second set of more accurate flexible handguards using a technique I learned from building a foam pepakura Iron Man suit last year. I "painted" the silicone handguards with Elmer's glue (5 coats), and then I will use spray paint over the top of the glue. The first coat of paint is currently drying... Just glue. With primer and 1 coat of paint. Next I moved on to the Thermal Detonator. I am proud to say that I machined my own clips out of some sheet metal I had laying around :-) I think my stalling must finally come to an end.... We shall see what tomorrow brings...

So, I got that great advice, and what did I do with it... Chicken out and start working on the hand guards. The NE kit comes with black elastic strapping so I used this as a starting point and I jumped right into my handguards. I actually have 2 sets of handguards for my ANH Stunt. The kit came with handguards, and I also purchased the white flexible handguards from Trooperbay. I attached the plastic ABS handguards to the plastic strapping using heavy duty snaps. I've seen other posts mentioning that snaps and elastic don't mix (the elastic stretches, and the snap slips through). However, these elastic straps come with velco pre-sewn into them. So, I used the velcro to help reinforce the snap. Here are some pics.... --------------- Uploaded with ImageShack.us I have small hands so this technique would allow me to modify the handguards later if I decide that they look too big in comparison to the rest of the armor. I have ordered a heat sealing iron as described by Pandatrooper in his "creating a return edge" tutorial. So, that will need to wait either way. I think for the flexible handguards I may try a technique that I have not seen before on FISD. Last year I built an Iron Man Mark VI suit for Halloween, and the entire build (foam pepakura) was covered with Elmer's Glue before painting. I might try this technique with the flexible hand guards and see what happens. It requires 5-6 coats of glue before primer and paint, so no pic yet. But, if it does work I'll be sure to post my results. I'm thinking if it doesn't work the glue would just peel off in one sheet. So, there will be no harm done. Wish me luck!

I am also building an NE kit, and I agree that the Thermal Detonator may be a bit on the long side. Have you gotten any feedback on that?

Thank you for the pointers! I would prefer to leave them on the long side if possible.

Thank you so much for the quick reply! Wow, I feel dumb! I think your advice is right on! When I rotate the part, it fits much better, and I probably will not need to cut it as much. ----------- Much better! Thanks! I have one more silly question. Have I identified these pieces properly? With the right arm pieces on the right, and the left arm pieces on the left... -------- I very much appreciate the advice!

Hi there, This will be my first attempt at building armor. To start off, I'd like to thank everyone in this community for sharing your expertise and knowledge. I wouldn't have felt comfortable making my purchase without reading through hundreds of threads first. I have met up with my local Fan Force, and met my local TK (there's only one who is currently active in my area.). I am VERY nervous to start cutting my armor. Let me start off by giving you my plan: -I am 5'8" approximately 190lbs. -I have purchased a TupperWareTK Kit (which was a great buying experience) -I have read through PandaTrooper's AM Build Thread, and plan to copy most of his techniques -I have completed my Doopy Doo's E11 Blaster kit -I am basically stalling at this point because I am scared Here is my biggest problem.... I knowingly purchased a TupperWare TK NE Kit fully understanding that I am a bit short for that kit. It is a beautiful kit, and I feel so lucky to have it. I want to start carving it up to get that nice snug fit achieved by PandaTrooper. However, I am stuck on step 1. When I hold the forearm piece to my arm it becomes extremely obvious that it is too long for my arm. I am worried that if I cut too much off I will need to eliminate 1 of the 11 trenches in the forearm. If I do eliminate 1 of the trenches will I compromise my ability to apply for TK status with the 501st? Also, if I cut 1 trench off is there a preferable end for me to cut? Please help me if you can offer advise. I really want a costume that will be worthy of the 501st. Any suggestions would be appreciated. ----------- This photo shows the forearm part resting on my arm. If it remains untrimmed (in length) this will be the most I can bend my arm. Obviously, unacceptable.... Thanks! Bobby

Great looking blaster! I am building my first blaster right now, and your thread really helped get through some particularly tricky parts! Thanks for sharing your work!

So, I'm guessing that the ATA kit doesn't need to be painted white...? I think I knew that, but just wanted to confirm. Looks great so far. I'm so jealous! I'm starting on my first TK project this weekend - boot mod! Good luck, and please post more pics as you make progress!

Wow! Super helpful! Thanks Daetrin! Truely a Trooper helping WannaBeTroopers!