angryjason

Requesting 501st access - TK-8755 - http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=13406 Thanks much, Jason.

I've been having problems accessing whitearmor from home (some ISP problem where this and a few other detachment sites are being blocked). Aside from that, I have good news to report, I have completed my TK, and was approved a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, my first troop in it was a no-go, but I look forward to strutting it around at Dragon*Con. And here is TK-8755:

I may have made a mistake, and trimmed the right thigh a bit too tight. Did some more fitting, and I think with the proper strapping and padding, my right thigh will be fine, but not sure. Also, I may not have to trim it down. Here are shots taken the other night. Here, you can see the right thigh wants to sit lower. I think if I pad the bottom a bit, and strap it to a garter type set up, it should stay in place. What do y'all think? Keep in mind that as of tonight, I still do not have any connections made from front/back to shoulder bell to bicep to forearm. Here is the back view - same basic premise. Right thigh is sitting a bit low, padding and strapping should remedy that. Here is a side view. I'm still not sure if the forearms are too big. The pictures only have one forearm, as I dismantled the other one, just in case they're too big. Don't mind the drill bit sticking to the shoulder bell, I forgot to take off the magnet from the snap plate installation, and it came along for the ride. I also think I may need to tighten up the crotch strap. And here is the action shot I plan to use for any future trading cards. Here you can see the right bicep wants to shift down. I figure the strapping will take care of that. It was very motivating to see it all come together. Now, I feel I need to concentrate on my strapping and get things connected and working together. Feels like I'm making progress.

Tonight - checked the snap plate on the crotch - all systems go. Added 2 male snaps to butt plate and a brad on the ab plate crotch, then fashioned a strap. Support shims on both forearms and biceps are solid, and thermal detonator inside shim is holding tight. Did some test fitting. May not need side shims, but I'm not sure. If I add a half inch of a temporary shim, I can pull the ab plate up higher, making it look a little better with the chest plate. Here are some test fit shots. It seems the chest plate sits too high on the ab plate. Currently, the chest and back are just strapped with velcro. I guess the main questions tonight brought are - 1) side shims? The fit wasn't bad; 2) chest and back - are they really bad, or just in need of good strapping? It seems that in order to get the back sitting well, I have to drop the front to what seems to be ridiculously low - do I need to cut more off the strapping sections of the back/chest? 3) are my forearms/biceps too big? I have only put in support shims so far, so additional trimming isn't the end of the world. For the test fit, I was wearing my undersuit pants. Didn't bother with the shirt. So, in y'alls opinion, is it coming along or am I way off? Pardon the nasty armpit hair - I wasn't thinking when I got the shots! Front Back Left Side Arms Up Left Side Arms Up - Got a small gap between chest and ab Right Side Arms Up With forearms and biceps - is it me, or are these too big? Curious cap on butt plate?

Awesome. That solves that problem then. I would imagine for the ab/kidney plate, I'll just have to paint them white.

I have a question on the brad fasteners - I can't seem to find any that are nickel plated (locally and internet) - all are brass. The one in your shot looks nickel. Any ideas?

tkrestonva, Thanks for the info and pictures - definitely very helpful. It all makes perfect sense now.

I had some wins with the TK today. butt joined forearms and biceps, glued inside support shims on all Painted thermal detonator tube, glued inside support shim Glued a strip of elastic to thermal detonator end cap to create a storage system Added some duck cloth and E-6000 to a weak spot on the chin of my helmet Cut excess plastic from chest and back plates - best test fit of these parts evar!!!! Cut excess plastic from crotch and butt plates - not test fitted with these changes yet painted AB buttons, drilled holes in ab button plate I suspect I dind't use enough E-6000 on my forearm inner shims. I think the internal biceps shims will come out okay. Guess I'll find out when I get home from work tomorrow. One of the guys from the GA Garrison came out and gave me some insight. I think I've been so scared of making a mistake that I've kept myself back on progressing. He really made me realize that a lot of the mistakes I'll make will be easy enough to get over. Definitely most appreciated and the shot in the arm I needed to stop the velcro test fittings and make the necessary adjustments to the armor itself. Looking at my crotch, I came up with a question (only in a TK build is that said with a straight face)... the CRL states: â– A single split rivet or brad should be present on the crotch tab of the ab plate. It does not need to be functional. So the split rivet will be present, but on the inside there will be a snap. What is the best method for placing these? I did make a snap plate for the crotch, but given the cruvature of the armor, found it difficult to place. How have others gotten around this? I don't know if it would be possible for the split rivet to hold the snap or otherwise be functional. The same general question applies to the 2 snaps on the butt plate. The CRL says: â– Two brads/snaps should be present on the crotch tab of the butt plate so would I just punch the snap directly on the armor? If I am, I imagine I'd do the same for this requirement: â– A single male snap on the top right corner of the ab plate should be present.

Sorry for not keeping up with the build thread. had a couple busy weeks. Basically, I'm keeping on with it. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated still, overwhelmed and on cloud nine one minute when something goes right and ready to throw myself through a plate glass window when my results aren't as expected. Quick update - looks like I have to go for side shims. I'm not thrilled with this, as I purchased AM armor to avoid shims. I guess that's reason enough to get on a treadmill. I did some prototyping on the shims today and got the desired result with the fit. I used velcro for the fastening, and am not too happy with that. With side shims, should I close the clamshell with the shim, or butt the shim up to the ab plate and then use the 6 rivets and webbing to keep the gap under .5"? I'm trying to build to EIB specs, and Centurion when I feel I can. I'm mapping out some options for my strapping approach. Right now, I'm favoring the suspenders attached to the ab and kidney plate model for the torso. Then, I'll go with the t-shirt strapping for the chest back and arms. Sound about right? All in all, it's going well, despite feeling like I'm in over my head. I can see what I want to do, it's just making it happen that's getting in the way! Hope to have some updated pics soon. Thanks for the tips!

I think I've averted the crisis - turns out that after trimming, it's still a little loose, so I need to take off about another 1/8". This should happily obscure the score mark when fitted the front forearm.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you my first screwup. Decided to give the forearms a go tonight. Scored and snapped a section from one end - I was happy. Measured the same width a couple of times and then scored (but didn't snap) that, when I realized I had just scored the same side I had just snapped. Now, I fear that if I snap, at best, the forearm will lose symmetry. Otherwise, I'm left with a gash. How screwed am I? To add insult to injury - my rare earth magnets decided to cloister up together. I'm sad. I think I'll go watch Phantom Menace.

I'm planning on using it to practice my helmet making skills. I have a line on a CAP-W helmet that I'll probably order in the next 24 hours.

I thought the same thing. Apparently, there are latex handguards that I should consider grabbing!

Another repost from the GA Garrison boards. Since the time of this writing, I've decided to try the velcro on glove and on the handguard approach. I decided I'd go for the gusto and start out with a bang - the toughest part of the whole kit - the handguards. The instructions said to use an elastic strap, held in place with velcro on the inside of the handguard. I tried this, and it didn't feel comfortable. Since trooping is a passion based in comfort, I decided to play around. First thing I did was cut some more velcro to stick on the glove. This worked, but when pulling the handguard off, the adhesive would give - not a good sign for something that needs to stay put. I left it that way for now, but am considering using snaps (but am concerned that pulling the handguard off may cause tears in the rubber glove). Another option I'm considering is E6000'ing that sucker onto the glove.

I'm posting this over on the GA Garrison boards as well, but wanted to make sure I have FISD oversight as I embark on this journey. ***EDIT - Blast it! I forgot to put the [*AM] tag. Sorry*** Box came today. I got home, and thought "gee, that's cool, it's a box". Then I opened it. Ok, somewhat intimidating. Let's dig in and see what we've got Hmm, let me read the instructions. Maybe I'll look at doing my biceps and forearms. Let me get those unpacked. Uh oh, it looks like I'll have to trim. I am now officially too scared to get started. I've gone through build threads for what seems like 12 parsecs, but I'm doing it again. I'm sure this kind of armor performance anxiety happens to lots of guys their first time, right? I've got nothing to be worried about, right? Right? oh, if the pictures are too big, and annoying, let me know, and I'll see about resizing them.

I went back to my first gun after practicing getting rid of t-racks and drilling vent holes. Last night, I got rid of the t-rack, and it went very well. Sanding the area was arduous, but ultimately, it came out nice and smooth. Doopy's kit came in today, and I was eager to see it all in action, so I got back to work on the blaster. I used a conical grinding bit and the holes came out very well. Just a little touch up work, and I think it's ready to go. I've gone ahead and put the Doopy kit pieces on to get an idea, and it sure is looking like a real blaster. Here are some pics Front view Vent Holes! Vindication! Wide view Tomorrow, I need to fix the back of the scope. For some reason, I thought this was to be torn off, and replaced with a piece from Doopy's kit. Alas, I was confused. So, it's off for a makeshift replacement to fix that cap. Then, it's primer time. Good Emperor willing and the creeks don't rise, this recruit may have a blaster by the end of the weekend.

@Hawkeye - thanks for the suggestion. Would you be referring to the Dremel sanding drum bit, or the conical grinder bit? I think what I'm going to do is trash the "holey mess", but get some use out of it by practicing the t-track removal and hole cutting on the other side to make sure I have it right. From there, I'll continue on with my first build (the filled holes approach) and see if I'm comfortable with it's progress. I think I just "went on tilt" last night when I realized I burned through the blaster plastic. Rather than thinking it through, I tried to rush to a fix, which was met with ugly results. Admittedly, that is one area I really need to get under control before my tk arrives. @Evolver - I've seen a great deal up close and personal through Celebration V and other cons throughout the years, but I'm always open and eager to see more. I see Con Nooga is going on this weekend, but haven't seen any mention of the GA Garrison being involved. Not a huge deal, as I'm looking forward to a semi-relaxing weekend at home, and don't think I'll be making the trip to Tennessee. I may be looking in the wrong place on the garrison boards, but don't see any events on the 2011 calendar.

I've been working on my E-11 for a while now, but wasn't happy with the way it was progressing. I was having trouble with getting the seams out. I bought a couple more hasbros to try some different techniques out on. My idea was separate the 2 halves, then put them back together with Tenax-7R to completely get rid of the seams. I started that tonight, but then decided to remove the extra t-track while I had the gun taken apart. That went well, but I sensed that sanding the base down would be a chore, so I figured I'd get it started with the dremel. Disaster struck - I sanded a hole in the plastic. Then, I decided to go ahead and see if I could obscure the hole by just drilling a vent hole there. DISASTER! I'm thinking this one should just be tossed in the garbage masher. Blaster - Hole Problem Here it is up close Holey Mess - Close Here is my first blaster that I've been working on. I'm happy with the screw holes, but not very happy with the seams. Should I just continue with this one, trying some other method for the vent holes, or go for blaster #3, sitting peacefully in the box? Original Build Original Build - Screw Holes I tried linking the photos directly, but the board software didn't like that, so I apologize for the hyperlinks. Still feeling my way around here. Thanks for looking. Hope to have better news to report once I figure out how to proceed.

Thanks for the suggestions. The grappling hook box may be a good one - rounded corners, what looks like a pop rivet, contains a moving part, which would need a hole for the cable. Something with snaps may also be a good practice. I've been scouring the build threads, and I think I've got a fairly good picture of the process, but I'm way novice with the materials. As such, I'd rather get a heat gun a little too close to a throwaway object than the armor. As for the more visible parts of the TK, yeah, I figure I will save things like helmet or chest for later in the process. My kit comes with an FX helmet, which I think will be a good practice helmet, but I intend to go with another (possibly AP) for EIB after I have gotten comfortable with what I've learned.

All, As my TK is still a few weeks out before shipping, I've been reviewing build posts. I got to thinking about my lack of skills with working with adhesives, ABS and such. With that in mind, I think it might be a good idea to pick up a few sheets of ABS this weekend, and try my hand at a small project - just to kind of get my sea legs. I have been working on my blaster some, and have gained some valuable experience there. However, I have a feeling that the TK is going to be a whole different animal than working with a hasbro. Can anyone suggest a small project that may be a good general exposure to some of the techniques I'll be using when building out my TK? Ideally, I'd like this to be something that I can use going forward as well, but it's not a must have requirement. So basically, something small, that covers some of the same techniques as building out a tk - cutting, possibly bending, adhering, etc... I've considered a housing for a mouse droid, or some sort of custom droid body, a sith holocron, a generic sort of busy box with buttons and LED's (just to get some electronics practice in as well). Any ideas are welcome, just remember I'm currently as noobish as noobs can noob. Thanks!

Just got my size 10 TKBoots in today. They look and fit great!