Jump to content

HockeyTrooper

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
  • Posts

    373
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by HockeyTrooper

  1. Darren,

    I'm in the same boat as you, the forearms of my ATA are both too big for me. I went ahead and assembled and submitted to get official and need to go back and fix the arms----------This is kind of what I am going to follow when I do. Hope this helps. I think as far as your length goes you can take whatever you need to, especially since the opening at the wrist isn't supposed to have a return edge anyways.

  2. Andy,

    I'm pretty new (just approved about 3 weeks ago) but I know somewhere on the webs I have seen someone who has a 501st hockey jersey, I just haven't been able to track them down to see if it was a run of jerseys or a one time thing. If there ever were a run of 501st hockey jerseys I would definitely jump on board.

     

    Remember to be careful with that glue! It does the job, but sticks (literally) around forever if you get it on your fingernail or something.

  3. Grant,

    I just completed, submitted and was accepted as a ANH stunt TK in ATA's ABS armor, so I highly recommend it.

     

    As for tips and tricks, have a lot of patience when working with your armor once you get it, measure twice before you cut and keep up the research on here. There are a lot of great posts in the Tips and Tutorials and How To sections. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Look up your local garrison and try to get in touch with them so you can get local help if you run into a hiccup or something you aren't comfortable making the cuts on. Take lots and lots of pictures as you build so when you have questions to post here you have a picture to go with the question. I have seen that help with a lot of people's questions.

     

    One thing I did while I was waiting for my armor was my E-11 hasbro mod. It is a good foot in the door/warm-up for what you are about to get into with your armor.

     

    Best of luck!

  4. CA glue, also hot glue sticks and gun, E-6000, Velcro, scissors, spare nylon and elastic, snaps, hammer and snap tool, a roll of padding (the kind with sticky back), magic eraser, a few rare earth magnets. Need to add white and black duct tape to mine.

     

    i also carry small various shapes of off cut abs this allows strengthning of any cracks or damage from inside the armour,putting a piece of abs across the crack shifts the loading on the crack.....i learnt this from reparing car bumpers on a plastic repair course
    Bigred, does this work pretty well? Part of my ab plate near the side where I had to heat bend it a little has a very small crack forming that I'm not sure if I should be worried about or not.
  5. Looks great! I too recently finish up an ATA build. For the S seal around the neck of the helmet I used CA glue. As you might have noticed other glues really don't like to hold it down, especially in the area near the front of the cheek tube. With CA glue I just had to add a little under the seal and press down for about 10 seconds with my fingers and it has held solid for me. Oh, and be careful if you do use CA glue - I got a little on my fingernail and it is still there...almost 2 weeks later.

  6. Welcome to the boards, you're in the right place for finding help.

     

    Do you happen to know if the kit you ordered has a name associated with it (such as FX or some other abbreviation)? I'm not aware of any TK armor makers who make their armor out of resin, almost all of them are HIPS or ABS plastic. Generally everyone warns against ebay armor on here, but depending on what you found you might be alright. A really good source for getting help with getting started on your armor is your local garrison. You can find a full list of the garrisons @ http://www.501st.com/members/displayUnits.php#garrisons. Introduce yourself on their forums and possible see if they have a facebook group where you can get in touch. As far as instructions go for assembly, the best thing to do is look for threads on here labelled as armor builds or some of the "how to" and "tips" under the tutorials.

     

    Best of luck!

  7. Here are some pre-submission photos. For some reason the photographer didn't send me the shot we took of me standing with the helmet on from the front. I'm also not sure if this background is plain enough to be okay for submission.

    DSC02956.jpgDSC02955.jpg

    DSC02954.jpgDSC02952.jpg

    DSC02951.jpgDSC02950.jpgDSC02953.jpg

    DSC02949.jpg

     

    I should probably take off my balaclava for without helmet pictures because it kind of falls down and covers my neck seal. Anyways, as I mentioned, for some reason my photographer didn't send me the frontal shot with helmet on but please give me any feedback you think is appropriate. I do still want to go back and resize my right arm, even if it looks ok it just feels way too big.

     

    Thanks again,

    Bennett

  8. Welcome to the boards from a fellow Kansas Citian! I recommend what Dan said - I know some people who have gotten "B" grade pulls on their helmets for discounted prices, I'd imagine the same might go for armor. You could also check out the "for sale or trade" of personal items on these forums and see if anyone is getting rid of a set of armor for cheap. Drop us a line over at the 70th Explorers boards (70thexplorers.com) if you haven't already as well!

  9. As a recent college grad and soon to be medical student I can say I have been or am still in your shoes. I started an armor build at the beginning of November and am finishing up this week (just need to put together my thermal detonator). The costume will be what you put in to it. Like everyone else here has said, research is key and there are a lot of good resources on these forums. If you are planning on a summer build between semesters I would recommend as much research as you can this semester (but don't forget about studying!) and, if you are able order your armor so you can get a start on it about the time your Spring semester ends, that way you have plenty of time to work on your armor and tweek it. Also, keep in mind once you do get your armor finished that most of us consider our armor to always be a work in progress. As you wear your armor and troop in it you will find little things you want to improve for quality and comfort. Good luck, MTFBWY and if you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message (or anyone else for that matter, everyone here is really helpful!)

  10. Etienne,

    The arms are pretty big but I am using weather stripping to pad them which keeps them from moving around. I'm looking at ways to shorten them up and possible thin them up a little as well.

     

    Nick,

    Would there be a good way for me to remove the strips I currently have in place? I know E-6000 is forgiving, I just haven't tested exactly how forgiving it is.

     

    Thanks everyone!

  11. I have been building my ATA ABS armor for about the last 2 months and am trying to get it finished up for the Episode I midnight release. I have a few shots of me wearing everything except the helmet (it is currently being painted). I'm a little concerned about some of my sizing with things since I'm a little bit on the small side (5'7", 135lbs)

     

    In this photo I feel like the way I have my arms is turning the shoulder bells back. I'm also holding the belt up because I haven't decided how I want to attach it to the armor yet. I'm making adjustments so that my left thigh and left shin will line up better. I'm also concerned about my torso. Does it look too wide? I feel like I might need to reduce it by about 4 inches or so in the waist and then use a heat gun to bend the sides in a little to give it a better form. Another thing, what does everyone do as far as keeping their chest piece in place? I don't want to add straps around my sides connecting the front and back because it doesn't look like that will work for EIB (which I eventually want to do). I also think some of my cover strips might be a little too long so I need to sand those down and trim them.

    IMAG0289.jpg

    This is just a little bit closer shot of my upper half. Does it look like my forearms are too long and need to be trimmed back?

    IMAG0292.jpg

    This is just a side shot. I don't currently have a picture from the back. Thermal detonator pieces are getting in this week sometime.

    IMAG0294.jpg

     

    Please leave me any and all feedback. I want this to look good when I wear it for the first time on a troop and right now I feel like I'm just a little bit off in several places.

     

    Thanks!

  12. I may be putting my snaps together wrong or using the wrong material to put them through, but I've been having issues with the dritz snaps. My snap plates are all good and have been attached to the armor, but my male snaps that I put on my straps didn't hold (the two pieces for the snap came apart on the strap side). I'm not sure if it is because the post is too short or maybe I am using the wrong material for my straps. The straps that are giving me trouble are my nylon webbing, the ones that I have put through elastic are fine though. Would tandy snaps be better for me to use on my nylon and are they compatible with the female dritz snaps? or does anyone have some other suggestions as to where I might be going wrong? I attached all the straps I had made to my torso last night, got excited, did a test fit...and 3 or 4 of them popped off almost immediately.

×
×
  • Create New...