TrooperJay

Sounds awesome, wish I could have started off with something upper end, but hey, TK building is all about learning and patience! You're adventure is about to begin. Best of luck to you!

Wow thanks guys! I'm glad it was found to be of help, I noticed the whole return edge practice has proven to be a difficult one

Remember take it extra slow on overlaps. Very easy to do some pretty bad warping.

Nate, It took me a while to get the nack of it but it takes a combination of patience, and slow consistent motions. First, ensure your iron is not too hot, should leave a small mark with slight touch, but not extremely thin-out the plastic or turn brown over an extended duration. Practice a few times on a scrap piece or two. Here's what I kinda threw together for you to get a better idea: Don't try to force the return edge and angle your iron into the ABS edge, and certainly don't put it straight down onto the ABS edge, the typical results are shown below. If you notice major "curling" of the plastic or wavy warping marks flowing across the edge, you know you are most likely doing something wrong. You have to really get a good placement of the iron, and be slow and precise with it. You are going to want to put your iron FLAT on the surface of the plastic, slightly lower than your marked intended return edge. Now applying SLIGHT pressure downwards into the edge, hold your iron there for a good 10-20 seconds or so. Rock the iron back and forth keeping everything consistently heating. As you notice the ABS start to begin its fold, slowly go back and forth over the edge of it, this helps prevent warping. Don't rush it. If it starts to get too flexible, STOP, let it cool andsimply start on it again. Blend each stretchd edge into another to keep an even line, and you will eventually have a somewhat decent looking rough product. To finish I had my dremel rotary sander to clean up the inside edge of the return and purchased the various sand papers and worked my way up in grit progressively until getting a nice, smooth, "almost like it was cast looking" edge. Let me know if this helps, if you have the same iron as me, (top link) i found the best setting was actually the highest. (right past the 3 digit). also be very careful with rough, or unsanded edges with this iron! The teflon coat is extremely brittle, and cracks off like nothin. Have a few nice sized chips in mine after the first day of use. Rushing. second go went flawless, well as close as i could get it. Fell free to ask questions or PM for further assistance!

Ha, I agree with Bobojuice

okay, looks like its one of those things that takes patience, i rubbed it two passes with compund for about 5 minutes.

Awesome, solved my problem, thanks to all of you !

I've been shopping around for gloves everywhere, just ordered some. THANKS !

I would try a couple coats of plasti-dip. I dont know if you have ever heard of it, it's pretty cool stuff. Durable inexpensive and very very easy to work with. Considering they are going onto your soles, the paint will take a lot of wear. Plasti-dip is a rubber coating, with a few coats it should stand up for a troop or two. Keep in mind, dont expect any paint to be permanent if you plan on doing sole coating. Takes the most wear of your entire TK suit! ------------

Okay, so after taking a look at the FX chest plate mod and return edge tutorial, I decided I MUST do the same to get my TK looking right. I bought a hobby iron from my local hobby store, only $23 and man let me tell you, there are certain tools that pay for their investment with almost each use, first was my dremel and secondly is my heat sealing iron. It can really give your armor a much higher quality and finished look. If you havent already done so, PICK ONE UP! You'll be glad you did! Here are a couple good ones I would recommend: entry level: http://www.hobbypeople.net/index.php/global-custom-heat-sealing-iron.html superb: http://www.hobbypeople.net/index.php/coverite-21st-century-iron.html So my first attempt was my chest plate, say goodbye oversized FX (literally hanged down all the way over my belt, i really didnt have an option) So I am a total noob with return edges so I need a few tips from those experienced ones of you. Be easy on me, I'm giving it my best effort to get my very first kit up to par with some of you pros (*cough* pandatrooper) Here's what i'm working with: My question is how do you guys get this totally smooth? I got sandpaper from 180-1500 grit with buff and was to bring back the shine, still has a dull look though!

So I am working on my new return edges on my chest and back plate ( cut and trim back to a proportional size so I dont look like a total goof) and I purchased 120 all the way down to 1500 grit sandpaper, wax and buff to get a clean shiny fresh ABS look. only problem is I can't seem to get it right. Any suggestions at ths point? I did not include pictures of the back plate but the inner return is pretty rough. I feel like this project isnt finished without fixing this! Sorry for the blur on that last one. and as you can tell, I am a TOTAL noob with return edges, but I am giving it my best effort to compare to some of you pros out there! ( *cough* pandatrooper )

Yes Nate, I checked CRL's and EIB requirements and so forth, if using properly sized rivets (not the big beefy ones. ) you should get a clean line all the way down starting 10mm down from the top edge and about 5-10mm in from the outer edge measured from the edge of the ab/kidney plate to the edge of the rivet itself. My rivets are 8mm in diameter.

Sounds good, thanks Rob!

Much agreed with all, You will be pleasantly (or not so much) surprised when you realize the "To Buy List" becomes never-ending and adds up FAST. cost of the all the needed acessories, materials and tools needed (if you do not already own the basi tools) can cost nearly half as much or more as the armor set itself. And trust me, the more prepared, well equipped and patient you are, the better your armor. You will want to do things as right as possible, with that comes the proper FUNDING and PATIENCE. Looks like you're on the right track! Start off with accessories and materials! Wish you the best, Cheers! Julian

Thanks guys, does anyone have any experience wih nail polish on rivets or details? And, I'll be picking up a fresh bottle of Testors white.

Greetings everyone, I am almost finished with my first TK build, and am getting to the small details like return edges and such. I used bronze rivets for the 3 adjacent ab and kidney connections, what would you guys recommend using to paint these white? I was almost thinking perhaps a white nail polish; for the brush will help with through coverage and give me a nice shiny finish. Or stick with the traditional mask-off surrounding armor and spray them down? Any help would be appreciated, thanks! Best regards, Julian

Alright, so here is where I am currently standing. Havent ran into any major problems yet. Beginning the ab and kidney snaps. Tinkering with measurements and CRL pictures for about an hour. I can almost guarantee TK building would be near to impossible without a good dremel. I'm going to experiment with some white elastic as a shim between the ab and kidney plates, I like the flexibility and it does fall under the requirements. (I still have to hem the top and buttom of the elastic so excuse the roughness!) I've got to do something about these monstrous shoulder bells, definitely cutting them a bit down, going to give them a return edge all the way around and possibly tinker some more. Now as for the beefy FX chest plate, I still need to trim the bottom and give a return, but I trimmed up the sides a bit, definitely gave it a much better look, here's before and after: Still a bit of finishing trimming and sanding to do, but you get the idea. Much improved look. And here's where I currently stand! Still need to strap the forearms for bicep connection and bicep for shoulders. (the proportion of the chest plate and ab below is ideally where I want it ending up, possibly chest cut slightly higher) I have two major questions right now: First, is there a good thread covering knee plate attachment? This thing is pesky as heck to get on right. And secondly, YIKES! Last night my E6000 leaked ALL OVER my left forearm pieces, is there a way to get this stuff off without ruining the ABS finish shine? Or am I stuck with sanding?

Yes definitely FX, stay far away, I've heard stories from friends of mine who have been conned on criagslist and ebay. Thankfully I found the guys here at white armor to direct me to some great sellers here.

I'm right there with you Charles ! I'm also looking for one.

Good luck Tony! My first armor kit arrived days ago, prepare for: anxiousness, excitement, and all other numerous unavoidable emotions. It's definitely a blast though! I wouldn't doubt yourself waking up to the Imperial Death March song playing in your head for the next week! Wishing the best, Julian

Also, how tight should the biceps be? Here's my dilemma, Despite trimming, still a bit left to go, I'm gettinng a little bit of constricted movement between the upper and lower arm. I'm trying to keep the bicep and forearm as close as possible, to retain movie accuracy, but the closer the armo pieces get, the less movement I have. Is his normal? Common fix? Thanks, It's making me nervous.

Okay so here's an update. This being my first build I wanted to do things in the least permanent/time consuming way; just in case (which I'm sure there will be plenty along the way) I make a few mistakes. I figured I would start off with the biceps. Took me hours to figure out what the heck to do with myself, I ended up with starting on these. Here is the left bicep pieces before fitting or anything. Man, people really underestimate the TK builder community. It's no cut&snip you're done kind of thing. It takes time and patience. Kind of getting a feel for it, flexing and movement. I'm really concerned with bite between the bicep and forearm. I figure better looser than tighter. Going to need to do some trimming on my inner arm. Low movement there. I'm using these bad boys to cut most of the ABS, cuts right throuh with little to no snag, leaves a pretty nice clean edge. Picked 'em up for $20 at my local hardware store, definitely will make itself worth the investment throughout the build. Husky brand. Finally first bicep fitted and ready for my first round of E6000 ( still waiting on my set of clamps, ordered a ton of 'em!) And now I can start to calm down and cool the nerves. And then the forearms! I've made alot more progress, (chest and back with snaps, shins with velco closure, started shoulder bells, still need to trim up chest plate and do new return edge) still haven't had a chance to get the documentation on here, it's been hectic! College tests, work and devoting as much time to this build! My mind hasn't had a chance to rest. Will update again soon. Also, are there any alternatives to a hobby iron when it comes to a return edge? Thanks guys!

Derrek you were right on the money! I'm definitely going to be needing a new belt. I almost butchered a bicep, but I think I can salvage it. I'm near the point of getting the entire torso assembly put together. I will be contacting you soon, and yes I will still be needing a holster from you, my TK kit seller included a nice ab button set though. New bucket on the way! (MRCE) I know it's not up to par, but couldnt refuse the smokin deal on it, I figured I'd rather sacrifice more time and crafting experience to rebuild it. Thanks!

Thank you Sven! haha, I'm on my second bicep right now, you start to calm down a bit and not freak out as much. Sheesh i was really nervous with every little cut I made.

Thank you Reece, and I will try to as soon as I'm not feeling so overwhelmed! Truly one unreal feeling that's for sure.