Dday

reserved for updates #3

reserved for updates #2

reserved for updates

Total time in Build to date: 32 hours (updating as I work on the project) So, completely unbeknownst to AsBlondAsLuke here on the forums and her great WIP thread, it lit my fire to do another build. I found that I really enjoyed building my first and second stormtrooper suits, and so I figured why not a 3rd! The only thing I get frustrated with is the ears on the helmet. I know thats a big one for a lot of people. Time time, I have more patience and have done it a few times so I'm hoping for great results on those ears! So I was able to find the type of armor I like the most, a wonderful, fresh TM 1.5mm set from Paul. Complete with latex handguards, belt, and holster, what a wonderful set! I got the boxes the other day and they had to sit over the weekend unopened because I just didn't have any room in the workroom for it. Sunday I started a little bit on clean up, but my heart wasn't fully in the job, so I took up the mantle again on Monday, full of fire and 2 hours later, the work room was clean, the work table expanded and I was ready to start unpacking the kit. Now trust me, the workshop was a MESS. So I'm surprised I got it clean so fast. My goal is to track how many hours I work on the armor until it's finished, just to know. I estimate a total of 24 hours of actual work time (not including glue drying and so on). I will be adding al photos to the first post, and bumping as I add new photos and progress. It's great to read a WIP, but sometimes, you just want to look at page 1 and see everything! I may run into a photo limit, not sure, so I will reserve a few posts below this one, just incase! Day 1 3.5h Here is the full setup unpacked and sorted in it's untrimmed glory. Trimmed up the arms and got them ready for gluing, and sanded and prepped the latex handguards. Trimmed up the kidney and butt plates Setup the biceps gluing and curing overnight Day 2 3h (so far, there are more hours left in the day yet!) Biceps are cured and solid, clamps and magnets off On to the forearms I trimmed up the backplate and a bunch of other pieces since all my clamps and magnets were in use. I got 40 more magnets this afternoon though. So I was able to glue up a few more pieces. Painted the buttons while sitting the office working. Putting the new magnets to use Day 3 2 hours Just some little things done, amazing how fast 2 hours can disappear. Made bicep elastic hooks, glued in the bicep straps, glued on the rear cover for the shins and some other small detail oriented things that don't need days in the telling. I like to make my hooks a little longer then normal, because I found that the ones that are small have trouble holding the elastic in, it is always sliding out. Day 4 4h More odds and ends done, got the thighs almost done, strapped up the back of the armor. I found I was out of black elastic oddly enough, so I had to order some more before continuing with the strapping for the arms and sides. I'm unhappy with the T-Det, so getting new end caps so I can make it look right. I ended up cutting them to short. Day 5 4h It's days like the last few where I look around after 4 hours and I think.... "Jeeze, I've been here 4 hours"... and sometime feel like there is nothing to show for it. But it's the little things that make up a big one I guess. I'm waiting on attaching the chest and Ab until I've finished the torso strapping so it's easier to move it around when I'm working on the side connection. Just need the new elastic I ordered today. First cuts on the helmet. I think tomorrow will see the helmet almost finished, I've got most of the day to work on the build, so I don't see why not! Day 6 2h Day 7 4h Maybe 4, maybe 5. I did this in my office in between working and such, so hard to really clock how much time was spent. I like to cover the entire painted area in black first, this gives the next layer a smooth look, instead of there being a visible line where the black and gray overlap. So Tube stripes... I take this image put together by Pandatrooper. You have to size it right, the Tube stripes need to be 2cm tall (I'm pretty sure, might be off a little!) http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/14867-tube-stripe-masking-templates/?hl=%2Btube+%2Bstripe+%2Btemplate http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5520780364_c355c5e795_z.jpg I use his idealized ones vs the "hand painted" because once I'm done cutting and painting, the idealized amazingly turn into hand painted. Once you have them sized and printed out, tape them down over some tape that seals well. I'm using PVC plumbing tape, since it gets a good seal, and it's all I have laying around. The tighter it seals to the plastic (and still comes off!) the better. Then you just cut over the pattern and boom, instant template. Take out the stripes you have cut out and carefully place the template over your helmet in the right position. Take your time, it is easy to get it warped and in the wrong position. Once you have it on there and positioned right, go over the edges where the paint will go with a fingernail or the butt of a a paint brush to assist with sealing it, this will help stop additional leakage. Two coats and let it dry for a couple minutes or so, then peel it off. I didn't seal this one well enough to the helmet, so there was lots of bleed through. The other side was sealed better and didn't have as much. Bleed through is easy to fix though, once it's dry you just take a toothpick and scrape the excess off. You need to wait a few hours until the paint is hard to do this, otherwise you'll just end up smearing the paint around and making a bigger harder cleanup job. Day 8 1 hr So, helmet is finished...well, mostly. There is one rear trap that I'm not happy with, as I was moving it around, the wet stripe paint got smeared... so that means a complete wipe down and redo. Day 8 Part 2 1 Hour Day 9 Part 1 2 Hours Ok, so the elastics came in today. I've been doing a made rush to get everything set and gluing. I'm not using instaglue like the originals, and there are a lot of parts to get settled in so I cut, snapped, and glued everything I could until I ran out of all my clamps and 40+ magnets. Things remaining right now are: Elastic/snap from shoulder armor to shoulder bridge, elastics/split rivets on the left side, elastic/split rivet/snap in the crotch, elastic/snap on the right side... new thermal detonator caps, elastics/hooks for the shins. Sounds like a lot.... Maybe 2 hours left. Enough of what I haven't done, how about what I did! For the connection from bicep to forearm, I decided that half glued and half set with snaps would be the best way to go for this specific build. It looks like there are 4 snaps on the forearm, but those are the magnets holding the gluing elastic down. I feel it's easier to get into the bicep then the forearm to attach snaps, it is just more natural for the hand. The thighs will use the belt system like the original suits. Basically you have a thin leather belt around your waist, about 1 inch or so wide that you slip through the loops in these to hold them up. I never liked the system where the thighs snap into the torso, I always felt it was pulling me down. Another alternative to this is the garter system like Vaderdave and some other sell. Thats always an option, just simple separate the elastic from the armor (E6000, I love you) and glue in a snap plate, done deal. But I like this system, simple is good. The chest and back connections are something interesting to work with. There is the replica way, with both sides solid glued together, and now the clamshell doesn't open all the way, you slip your head through and snap at the waist. I decided for this one, a little more flexibility is in order. So I'm going to do it like this... The left side is will be fully glued down front and back. Down on the torso, the split rivets are keeping the left side shut all the time, so there is no reason to waste snaps on the shoulder connection for this side. However, on the right side, it is the opening side. So I have glued down the elastic in the back and added a double snap plate in the front. Now the wearer can fully open the armor and lay it out if they wish. I also finished the belt by connecting the drop boxes, but no photos because I didn't get any. I'll have some in part 2 tonight. So thats it for now...more to come tonight after I get the rest of the non-gluing parts completed and tomorrow will see me doing the final parts of gluing... then it's just waiting on the new TD caps. Day 9/10/11 3 hours Wrapping up odds and ends. I put the torso up on mr. sexy here to get an better view of it. The side rivets don't line up because the manni is posing and his hips all thrust, so it messes up the lines a little bit. His arms are bent, so it's hard to get the biceps on around the bend so I won't be putting them on, maybe I"ll rig up something to make it work without the internal arms setup to display the finished suit soon. Final photos: I figure I could put these in there as well.. The suit getting pack up and off to it's new owner. Helmet in Legs and arms in Torso and belt in Stuffing on top to fill any small gaps Build done.... I have post-partem depression now.

I took the 501st CRL on th ipad next to me while I was painting to try and get some of the details in there. At first I just wanted to paint in the dent on the helmet and the left side of the chest but I didn't think it really captured the feeling. So out comes the dremel and a little drilling later, viola, 2 really nice dents. Put some paint in them and boom! Thanks for all the support!

Well, it looks like politicians have it right, lobbying for votes... the way to go. Again, if you think another one is better... vote for it! But it's nice if you like mine

So about a month or so ago I entered a contest on the RPF where the contest creator bought a handful of 12' ironman with an idea that the contest participants would repaint the Ironmen in a specific scheme. I was interested when Boba Fett was listed as a entry! So I threw my hat into the ring to paint Boba Fett. Now, what I need of you! The winner of the voting for best in show will get a $50 prize and a trophy! Muhahahha! If I win this I will use the funds to buy parts for the TM kit I recently bought, like holster, neckseal and so on. So I"m not saying vote for me, but rather go there, and if you think mine was good, then vote for me, support another star wars fan trying to turn the galaxy into star wars characters one 12' figure at a time. You will likely need a RPF account on the forums to do this, but like any forum, thats easy enough. http://www.therpf.com/f78/please-vote-iron-man-hall-titans-12-figure-repaint-contest-please-vote-209360/ Thanks, and may the Force be With you!

phoootooosssssss, or it never happened.

Yeah, she didn't like the original way the straps worked so her hubby and her worked up a new way to make it work.

Hi Joey, I've been doing lots of Iron Man Research recently and that website is trash and so is the armor. It is similar to buying a jedirobe TK or something of the likes. Thats hoping you actually get it. If you are really interested in a resin/fiberglass ironman suit, you are looking around $3000-$4000 for the complete armor setup. The RPF is your best bet, as from what I can find, that is currently the only large Ironman maker/builder forum. There used to be one dedicated to Iron Man specifically, but it was spammed to death or something. On the RPF, there are currently 3 people who sell full fiberglass/resin hard armor suits, two do them to order and the other one has a limited run thats currently full. If the price tag is to much to swallow, there are a few other builders who do commissions for building you a foam iron man suit. Those are in the 500-1000 range.

Another vote to pass on this buy! The price is way to high for the work required. You potentially could get basic approval with this setup, if your GMO is being lazy and not looking into details. As said before, you can buy a brand new untrimed suit and make it look perfect for less.

IT's a good point that Clinton makes. If you want to use the original strapping method with the bars, screws and elastics, you need to stay away form the 2mm ABS. It will crack very easily when using the strapping method, purely due to it's thickness and lower flexibility.

The 2mm is acrylic capped, so it is much shinier, and feels heavier. Whereas the 1.5mm is still shiny and lighter, more flexible so less prone to cracks and splits and screen accurate.

I personally like the thigh pieces that sit right over your thighs without much wiggle room. This cuts down on odd movements, rattling and pinching as the thigh slides to a new position you might not have anticipated. Just don't get it to tight that you can't fit your foot through the bottom of it when putting it on. Gaps/trims looking good! The looser things are on your body, the worse it looks, the armor should fit just right, not to lose, not to tight as to not allow movement. Also, if they are loose... they rattle up something fierce! Some rattle is good, it's a balance game.

The notch is an important hidden detail The key to trimming the sides to fit your thin waist is to keep the connection in the center of your side. So is this means a little from each side, so be it. You just don't want the seam to be placed really far back so that it throws off the whole seam running down your side.

I think these are the ones offered on the legion forums, the black cloth bendy ones. Stefan, they are expensive to get over here I've looked into it. EDIT Jim Danter the guy who does the Aker sales has them. It's possible to get it shipped over here for about $100.

That photo is a bit hard to get the depths of it and get the front from the back and where the bubble wrap is, but stare at it long enough, it will start to make sense! On the thigh, you do basically the same thing as you see here. Some people make it a wide U shape, some people more boxy. It's all down to your preference. It really helps with movement though.

Hahah, I'm an engineer as well, and I'm big

Yes, I agree on the trim, you did a good job on that. If you are going for the luke chest piece in regards to your height, you might consider going all the way for a Hero setup to complete the look. The Luke Hero setup basically is the chest piece trimmed like you did, and you have a grappling hook and comlink instead of the Tdet I know you feel great about having gotten that piece finished. The rest of the suit, as far as I am aware follows the rules of the hero suits. The helmet frown is painted differently and the holster attaches with 4 rivets instead of just 2. Granted, you can stick with a stunt suit and having just trimmed the chest down some, without going full Hero. If you are going to stick with a stunt setup, I would personally suggest that you replace the return edge on the chest piece and make longer elastics for the strapping system so it still can attach to the ab plate. The Luke hero doesn't have any attachment to the ab I believe, sine there was nothing to attach the brackets to. There are a few tutorials on how to add a new return edge. I really like the look of the new fit vs how it was before. Like a fitted shirt/suit vs off the shelf PS - Does your husband work in the technology sector? He looks familiar to me. I recall you saying he has been traveling in Europe and I work over here in Germany mostly around the US Military.

You're doing great pulling the pieces in to fit you better. One thing to keep in mind is that once all of the pieces come together, it will make sense and the parts will look better. Since you are working from such a small frame, I would also think about doing a Luke version, since it's made for shorter people. You definitely want to shape the pieces like you are doing. kits that are obviously to wide really look bad to the overall look of the TK, so shape those sides in some and cut the edges As far as your new return edge, you want about 6-8mm return edge on the bottom of the chest, top of the ab, bottom of the back, top of the kidney. This is because if you're going to use original strapping system with the loops and elastics (very recommended since it makes the pieces sit exactly perfect) you will want enough return edge to put the screws into so they don't stick out to far and ruin the look. You're doing great, it's awesome to see you and your husband doing this together!

Well, I think the line looks sexy. Odd enough as that sounds. Think of it like a pair of stockings with a thick line down the back of the leg.

Hi Tommy, have you settled into the new location yet? **thread derail***

Well, truth be told, I'm from the USA Not much german blood in me, but I live here with my wife and kids, they are German You near ear job is great, very well done getting them to fit on just right. I know that has always been my (and everyone elses) worst part of the build. The trimming required is finess, and takes a bit of time, a little bit sanded here.. a little there and so on.

Diana, as far as a balaklava, vs cutting your hair, look into the Underarmor heat-gear I think it is. They make this awesome balaklava that helps you cool off even though you are covered. On top of that, def invest in a fan kit! You seen pretty DIY, maybe "Ladyinwhite" has some kits in stock. It's a cheap solution, otherwise, there are several people on the ongoing list (tutorial) in my signature who do fans. Thanks for sharing with us! Derrek

After much much much work, I have fixed all of the links on the photos. I think this is an important post for anyone who is considering either of these 3 sets of armor to compare, contrast and understand the full kit in detail.