Geaux Saints

I got so caught up in the distance from the belt that I was not paying attention to the height. I was having issues with the rivet tool as well. Will that be a demerit that will need to be corrected some way?

Thanks, Glen!

OK....here are some pics that I will using to get my TK ID#. I'm having issues with the inner thighs and cod fighting each other. I think I'm going to have to trim some of the inner thighs. I trimmed the bottom of the right calf as suggested, and that did help with the bottom of the right thigh fighting with the top of the right shin. I think I may need to make some biceps hooks. The biceps keep sliding out from under the shoulder bells when I move my arms away from my side. Suggestions? Critiques? I'm still upset that I have to you use crappy Hasbro blaster instead of the Doopydoo that I should of had by now.

I looked at many screen shots trying to see where the best placement of the holster (stunt) should be. I did notice that lots of shots are from stormtroopers' right sides. I found it difficult to get a lot of left side shots of the holster. I did notice that a majority of the holsters were attached with the intent of the holster hanging down the side of the left thigh. I did see one holster that was hanging more over the left butt cheek. The holsters seem to hang about an inch from the bottom of the belt. Any other observations?

I think the only two things left for me are gluing the hand guards and attaching my holster. I was pretty happy with the results of the paint technique I used for the hand guards. I did notice today, though, that there was a little cracking in some spots, but overall the hand guards flex without cracking. I used Loctite CA Super Glue to attach the hand guards, and glued in the areas that are shown in Paul's picture. I placed the hand guards on and put some weight plates on them. I couldn't get a definitive answer on where exactly they needed to be placed, so through many different pics I came to this conclusion. The rounded top should be at the knuckles and close to where the fingers attach to the glove. RIGHT GLOVE: The middle of the raised section seems to be in between the ring and middle finger. The triangled side should be thumb side, and the straight side should be pinkie side.

I always laugh to myself when I see a thread titled "Is this any good?", "Is this worth it?", etc. and then you see an ebay link. I usually don't even have to scroll down to see the first answer.

Two questions....1.) How do I know the hand plate is in the right spot? 2.) Do I need to paint under the hand plate up to the part that I glue?

Thanks, Hawk! I'm glad to hear that. Like I said before, the 100 mile walk starts with the first step. Start by trimming. Start a build thread and take lots of pics and ask lots of questions. You might end up helping someone down the road with a particular way you do something. Good luck!

Thanks, Paul. I'll give it a shot.

I still feel like the thighs are all up in my cod and butt pieces. That's why I was thinking top of thighs. Also, my bottom hook straps on my shins are pretty close to the bottom. I'm afraid if I start trimming there I'll have to move them which could be a bit of a pain.

I put on my armor for a ROUGH fitting tonight. I did not put my neck seal on, the thighs are being held up (because I have not put the straps on them, yet), and the hand guards are not ready, yet. I forgot to snap the belt to the AB plate, so the belt is low in the pics. Two main things I noticed....1.) My chest piece is still digging into my neck (even after removing the center chest strap as suggested). I guess I will shave some more off the neck curve of the chest. 2.) Even pulling the thighs up manually, the shins and lower thighs are fighting each other. I think I will have to trim at least an inch off the top of the thighs. Opinions and/or suggestions? Thanks!

I painted my latex hand guards tonight using a suggestion from this thread....http://www.whitearmo...__fromsearch__1 Mix ratio is 4:1 (glue:paint) Here's what I used. The hand guards are still drying. I'll update the result. They look more white than the picture shows.

The main blaster you're working on is the ANH E-11, right?

According to Paul, he liked the idea of off center with the three boxes to the inside and two on the outside. Looking at lots of screen shots, this way seems to be the most screen accurate. Obviously it is a matter of preference. It is YOUR armor, so go with the way you want it to look. Not screen accurate does not equal wrong.

I appreciate it. I have about half my DD parts, but missing the handle, magazine, sights (etc.) make it kind of hard to put together a blaster. I can't wait to see what you'll end up with.

Nicky, as you can read from my previous posts I went through the same thing as you. Months of no blaster, and no responses to multiple emails. I finally threatened to file a refund request through Paypal and my credit card company, and lo and behold I got an email response. They finally refunded my purchase price (minus shipping for my half blaster). So now I am looking for a blaster. My armor is almost done and all I have to parade around with is a Hasbro blaster.

Thanks! Great suggestion (through Paul) for the rounded corners. Very easy with good results.

Next I worked on the knee ammo pack. I first clamped one side and bent the pack across the knee for positioning. I decided to go with 3 boxes to the inside and 2 on the outside of the knee. The great thing about this 1.5 mm ABS is its flexibility to allow this kind of bending. I marked the edge of where I wanted to cut. I then cut off the excess. To make the rounded edges, I used a techinique that Locitus suggested using a spray can (http://www.whitearmo...e-belt-corners/). The only difference I had was I cut my length first, then I placed the can where its sides were flush with the bottom and side of the ammo pack. I made my mark, then cut the rounded edge. I then balanced a rivet on top to visualize where I wanted the rivet to go. I pressed down on it to mark the spot, and then drilled it. I placed the pack in the position I wanted, and then marked the drill hole onto the knee ridge. These pics are a mix from both sides (sorry, I forgot to take pics of the trimming process from the first side), but the process is the same for both sides. Drill hole in knee ridge, place rivet through both ammo pack and knee ridge, then hammer rivet. Reaching these rivets are kind of difficult. Be sure to place some sort of anvil to hammer against, and be careful not to damage ABS. Once you rivet one side, place the ammo pack across the knee (angled up some) and mark the edge of the opposite side. Repeat process of trimming, marking and riveting. Once knee ammo pack is riveted in place, put a little glue to the bottom of knee to keep the pack from shifting up and down.

I believe it's suppose to help prevent a large gap between the bicep and forearm, especially when standing straight with your arms at your side. Also, when you flex your elbow it brings the biceps with the forearm.

Welcome aboard! I joined back in June as a complete noob. I read a lot of build threads and finally decided on the type of armor I wanted. I received that armor in October. In about a month and a half I'm about to complete my build. As long as you have some basic model building skills, and a desire to build you will be just fine. Never be afraid to ask questions....no matter how trivial you think they may be. Good luck!

Thanks! No, it is TM (Troopermaster) armor.

Great job! Good luck! Love the first action pose. Made me laugh.

Next I secured the drop boxes on the belt. Paul told me to take a 1" white elastic strip and loop it over and between the ABS and canvas belts. The strap will be between the end rivet and end snap. There should be some space between the drop boxes and the belt to allow the boxes to swing some, but NO MORE than 1/4" max. I measured a 1/4" down from the bottom of the belt and marked the strap. The straps should attach to the BACK of the drop boxes, not the inside (unless of course that is your preference). The rivet should attach the straps about 1" from the top and be centered. I measured the center of the box, and then marked 1" down. I then placed the strap on the box with the top being at the 1/4" mark, and then marked the 1" mark on the strap. I then found the center of the strap at the 1" level, and marked it there. I cut my hole in the strap, and drilled the hole in the INSIDE (insert) box. The order of placement is rivet post, straps, inside (insert) box, rivet cap (which will be on the inside of the box). Once you've riveted the straps in place, you can glue the outer box to the inner box and use tape to hold the edges closed until dry. The elastic loop is glued directly to your canvas belt and it hangs between your outer rivet and snap. If you find there is not enough room now,simply trim an arch in your elastic if it crosses over the snap.

Next I worked on the side belt rivets. Looking at some of Paul's reference pics, it looked like the side cover squares were closer to the edges rather than centered between the edge and last ammo pack, so I went with that. If that is incorrect, then....woops. So I eyeballed the distance from the side that I liked, and then placed the cover square and marked the side. I then measured and marked the midpoint of the WIDTH of the belt, as well as, the midpoint of the square. Placing the outside edge of the square on the original line, and then lining up the top of the square with the (WIDTH) midpoint line, I marked the rivet spot at the SQUARE midpoint mark. That is where I drilled a hole for the rivet (9/64 drill bit to give room for the rivet cap to squeeze through). I placed the hole on the canvas belt, and pulling the canvas belt taught, I marked the canvas belt through the hole in the ABS belt (sorry, forgot to take a picture ). I cut a hole through the canvas belt with an exacto knife, and then hammered the rivet through to secure.

Next I started working on the belt. Get out your umbrellas because I'm about to make it rain pictures. I first started by snapping the belt to the abdomen and then measuring and marking the midpoint between the snaps. I also measured and marked the midpoint of the ABS belt. At the midpoint marks, I then measured and marked the WIDTH midpoints and this is where I would put the holes for the rivet. I taped the sides of the ammo packs before I hammered to protect any scuffing, just in case I got a little to wild with the hammer. Rivet on the back side of belt.