Sparrow

It was, very much so. So I have since removed it and lined the inside with duct tape. Painting the interior will be a future mod

The above process is a very nice one, I have seen the pics. I am in the process of doing some moderate weathering on mine and I used a similar process. Ultra fine sandpaper to remove most of the shine, putting an emphasis on areas I wanted to show more wear. Such as raised edges and recesses, areas that would naturally collect grime. Then I rubbed it down with newsprint, which gave it a very natural used look. For those areas of emphasis, just rub a little harder and it takes on the look of carbon scoring. If your character has been around for a while, his armour should tell a story. From across the room I still look like a shiney whitey, but the closer you get, you can tell I have been around the block as few times. I like weathering, as for me, it brings the armour to life, it gives it a history. It makes it more real.

So I have been working on one of the non tangibles for my trooper. That being, who is he? What separates him from all the rest? I have been costuming for years and I always portray a character, a role that I get into. It is more enjoyable for me, as well as those I interact with, being a character as opposed to some guy in a costume. Vader is easy to portray, as is Captain Jack. But a TK? How do I separate myself from the rest of you? So what do I want him to be? Well, my handle is Sparrow, so he will be the TK version of Jack Sparrow. As Jack always referred to himself as a Captain, so will I be. Now knowing I am a Captain and that Jack is always getting in scuffles, my armor will tell that story as well. So I have been doing some moderate weathering. Basically he has been in this armour for a few years, so time (and fine sandpaper) has removed some of the polish and shine. Plus lots of scuffles and battles have added scratches and carbon scoring (newsprint, ty Sukatrooper for the tip). From across the room he still looks like a shiny whitey, but up close you can tell he has been knocked around the block a few times. Plus the Hero armour is very suitable for him as well. But what is some of TK Sparrow`s history? It is a little known fact that he was one the key troopers involved in the capture of the rebel ship which led to the capture of the princess. He was also on the Death Star, but was off shift in the mess hall celebrating his victory, and getting sloshed. He was however sober enough to follow the oldest and noblest of traditions, to fight in order to run away. He did just that, and saved the lives of 1,000 of his fellow troopers, possibly some of you before things went BOOM!

Very true. I did see someone online somewhere who burned a hole in his armor, and then put a burned out circuit board in the hole. I think he's a zombie trooper

Finally, my helmet is done! I ripped out the Velcro I had in there and lined the inside with black duct tape. It went in very nicely and still provides a nice smooth surface to allow the best airflow. The other thing I ripped out was the hard hat liner. I couldn’t wear it. It hurt and gave me a headache every time I tried it on. I tried all sorts of ways to get it to work, finally I just ripped it out and put in the foam flower. It was paradise! It felt so comfortable. I then made some chin straps to hold the helmet in place. I am going to replace the heavy duty snaps with some lighter duty snaps, so it unsnaps easier! Flower and chin strap, very simple, but does the job perfectly! My Hero eyes I got from John Danter, TK8456. They are amazing. They have a good hero bubble, but I can see through them perfectly. Plus it is hard to see into them from the outside. At an angle, with a flash, you can’t see anything. Even straight on you can barely make out my eye.

That looks awesome. I'm thinking half of that is what I am looking at

Good job!

My build is almost done and I am thinking about doing some mild weathering, so as to give it the lived in look. From across the room it still looks like a shiny whitey, but at six feet you can see it has been around for a while. To accomplish this I was thinking of rubbing it with newsprint. I did a test on a spare thigh and the weathering looked really authentic. My concern is I heard somewhere that newsprint can cause yellowing. Is anyone familiar with that happening? Thanks!

Looks like fun! My TK was not ready in time.

Lookin Good!

I decided I am going to remove the velcro lining from my helmet. It just doesn't breath that well, and gets warmer as the airflow is not the best. I’m not comfortable with painting the inside so I think instead I might use wide black electrical tape or black duct tape. It installs easily and is flexible enough for going around the curves. It will also allow for nice air flow. And if need be can be removed easily. Any thoughts, suggestions?

So as the build comes to an end, I turn from building to fine tuning the armor. One of the things I did was to fill in all the seams along the outside shims. Sometimes you get little gaps, etc when gluing shims onto the armor, and at times can look like it was just glued on. So I took it to the next level. I wanted it to look like the shims were molded onto the armor. It is not ``screen accurate`` but still within allowable guidelines. Once again, I am not going for the 1976 look but rather that of a galaxy far far away. Below are some examples, the most noticeable example is on the chest armor straps. All I used to accomplish this was Elmers Wood Fill and regular household glue. The Wood fill is white and the exact shade as my armor. And the glue goes on white, but dries clear. All of this, just like E6000, can be ripped out fairly easy. So what I did was I took the wood fill and ran a bead of it along the seam between the shim and the armor it is glued onto. The wood fill comes out thick, so it is very controllable and pliable. I would just run my finger along the seam and smooth it out, then wipe off any access. If you need to smooth it out further, it dries fast so within 5 minutes you can use your finger like sandpaper, or within half hour you can sand it. Then the next day I would just run a light bead of regular white glue over top to seal it in. It dried clear so is not noticeable. So far it has proven well. All the joints are non flexing, so it should handle wear and tear. The only joint that does takes wear and tear is the shoulder straps. So I applied six coats of glue, which should hold it together nicely and give it the needed flexibility. I also put on a tape mask on base of the shoulder straps so when I am gluing, and then remove the tape, I get a very nice square look of the joint connecting the strap to the armor.

I am almost done my build, but to do it again, with price being no option, I would go RS without a doubt. He has an original outfit, so you can't get any more authentic than that. It is pricier than the others, but if you want authenticity, go for it. PVC would be thicker, but you must remember it will be harder to work with (cut/trim etc) without proper tools. It will weigh a bit more as well. But my vote is for RS all the way

Thanks Guys, I try my best! Been busy these last few days working on the helmet. I ended up doing the same thing to the helmet that I did to the back armor. I lined the inside with black Velcro to help maintain the illusion that it is more than a plastic helmet. So I lined the front with the soft side and the back of the helmet with the hook side. Using Velcro instead of painting it also served another huge function. I could place my helmet electronics anywhere I wanted and I can move them around as I tweek it. It came out nicely. For electronics I went with two 501rst creations helmet fans. I like these as they come with a battery pack for 3 AAA batteries. You could also connect a 9v to it as well. The advantage of the 3 AAA pack is it uses less juice, hence a little quieter, but still has nice air output. Got the full sound kit from Jim, TK 6294. Icom, Aker Voice amp and Memorex wirless mic. I like having the headset mounted in the helmet as opposed to wearing it, but having some issues with the wireless. The signal seems to have a hard time with all the plastic, so one needs to extend the antenna somehow. I have to play with it to get it to work better. Jim is working with Akers to see about getting a wireless built right into the amp. He said if this works it is 6 months away. That would be fantastic. I could not see anything through the eyes that came with my helmet so I upgrade my Hero eyes to those made by John, TK 8456 offered on this site. They look great on the outside and I can actually see through them. Still a bit of a distortion as there has to be a bubble, but way better than what I had.

Did a little painting on the ab. It was already painted but only one coat, so I gave it a second one. I tucked in pieces of paper under the buttons, top, bottom, left right so as not to get any paint on the armor. It turned out nicely.

Once I get my TK # in a few weeks, EIB will be right after!

Been busy this week. The knee guard was screwed in so I glued it on removed the screws and filled the holes in. Unless you know what you are looking for, one can’t find the hole. Removed the screws that came with the Ammo Knee pack and replaced them with painted fasteners The next mod I did was something I haven’t seen anyone one do, though I am sure some have. I have been costuming for years (mostly as Captain Jack Sparrow, savy?) and my thing has always been to try my best to “maintain the illusion†. What I mean by that is people know you are dressed in a costume, but they want to believe you are the real thing, so when they see something in your costume that reminds them it is just a piece of plastic, it shatters that illusion. An example of this is being able to peek in behind the back plate. The moment someone sees the OII from the inside, it shatters the illusion. So my thought was to add something on the inside that doesn’t remove from the approved outside look, but helps “maintain the illusionâ€. So what I did was very simple. I just lined the inside of the back with strips of soft velcro. As you can see from below, it did the job very nicely. The way I am bending you are peeking in behind the armour, but there is nothing to see here. Move along! Peeking in behind is no longer an issue and it makes it look like there is more to the armor than there is. I also did the same thing with my gloves guards. The velcro is practical as that is how it sticks to the gloves, but I spread it all over, so if someone sees the underside, they see nothing but black, once again helping maintain that illusion. I know there are those who would never do this, as it not as it was on the original. However, I don’t wish to look like I walked off the 1976 set, but rather like I walked off a trooper transport. TK Sparrow reporting for duty!

Troopers helpin Troopers!

The deed is done. The back plate has been trimmed. I didn’t do a return edge but did slightly curve it in. It has a more accurate look than I had before. BEFORE: SCREEN: NOW:

Exactly, it did the job very nicely

I realized that my back needed some trimming on the side. Mine sticks out to much at the armpit and needs to be trimmed back so as to be more screen accurate. I can see some indentations in the back as to where the end and return should be, so I will tape those off. The bottom taped off piece will be cut off, and the little white strip will be folded in as a return. Does it look right? Or do I even need a return edge?

Having long legs I found the boots popped out from under the shin armour so I attached a velcro tag to them and inside the shins so as to keep everything nice and snug

Adjusted the calves today. As they are velcroed in the back, I didn’t trim anything off, in case I ever wish to resize. I also attached the snaps to attach the biceps to the forearms. I couldn’t find anywhere anyone recommended to place the snaps, so I looked at it logically and put the snaps just on the inside of the elbow, inline with the outside shim. It worked very well, feels nice and snug. Now the entire arm, including the handplate is connected like a sleeve.

My boots have arrived!! Finally I can start doing a full body fitting. Sorry about the pics, but I didn’t have the best lighting and had to take the pictures myself. Only after I took everything off did I remember I had a camera stand! So here are some of the stuff that I still need to address in regards to the body: Take in the arms on the body suit as it is currently to baggy in the arms Strap the forearm to the biceps, to keep it from shifting. This will make the elbow gap a little smaller Attach snaps or Velcro to the boots to help keep the shins in place Take in the shins to fit better and add some padding Finish left thigh And as I am going for the “factory fresh†look, some sanding and lots of polishing Still waiting for my neck seal Anything else you might see that needs to be addressed?

Or maybe it is fine and I am just being to picky?