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TK-9820

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Posts posted by TK-9820

  1. Ab, kidney and buttplate

     

    Working on a slot and tab style joining. I'll be putting in the appropriate rivets and button snap soon.

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    Kidney and buttplate joined by removable elastic straps with button snaps

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    The outer view of the above assembly

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    Thighs and greaves

     

    I made a notch on the left thigh using Pandatrooper's tutorial.

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    Finishing strip on the back of the calf. I think I used enough clamps.

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    Assembled greaves with pre-curved thigh ammo strip

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  2. Shoulder bells and biceps:

    Trimmed shoulder bell

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    Bottom edge of shoulder bell flattened a bit with a hobby iron

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    Bicep glued together

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    Plastic bridges installed along the inner ridge of shoulder bell and biceps

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    Shoulder bell and biceps joined together with elastic and velcro. This set-up allows adjustment.

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    Side view of bell and bicep joined

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    Forearms and handplates:

    Forearms pieces assembled with the ANH handplates trimmed out

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    The awesome ESB handplates from Paul

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  3. My first 501st costume was a TK. After putting together a couple of Sith Lord costumes and a Clone Trooper, I decided to come back to where I started. I decided to go ESB for my second build with an ATA kit that I got over a year ago. Somewhere along the way, I became fixated on return edges. This was probably due to some of the great threads seen here at the FISD over the years.

     

    Any suggestions or feedback along the way will be much appreciated. And here we go...

     

    It all starts with the wonderful boxes that show up on the doorstep one day.

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    The back plate:

     

    Rough-cut

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    Beginning to add return edges

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    Adding button snaps

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    White webbing with snaps for the shoulder bells

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    The chest plate:

    Trimmed

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    Adding shoulder straps with CA glue and clamps

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    Chest and back connected with the white webbing and button snaps

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  4. The toughest part of this character's CRL is deciding which elements are going into it. There are different artist renderings of these types of Stormtroopers. Some have thigh ammo strips or rectangular indentations on the forearms while others do not. Shoulder bells vary in shape as well as the squintiness of the helmet's eyes.

     

    Agreeing on one version should be interesting.

  5. I think the triangle underneath the knee cap is the way to go even if the Gentle Giant statue doesn't show it. If the Joker Squad armor is a homage to Clone Trooper armor and the comic image captures that shin detail, it would make sense to include that detail in fan-made armor. The knee cap would need something flat to rest against and the triangle would fit the bill.

     

    I've been working on item #4 (someone making the armor) for my wife since I caught Paul's first post in this thread. After I skin and smooth the polyurethane foam, I hope to vacu-form the chest, shoulder bells, biceps, forearms and shins/calves this weekend. It'll be a hybrid between the GG statue and the comic images gathered so far. Anyone who can grab close-up spy photos of the GG Jes Gistang back plate detail will be my hero.

     

    I'll break off into another thread for a Jes Gistang WIP maybe sometime next week. In the meantime, here's a little sneak peek:

     

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    Since this is my first run at scratch building armor, it may work due to beginner's luck or it may be absolutely craptastic.

  6. I've seen shorter troopers pull off a TK just fine in AP and ATA. You just need the patience and skill to trim it to fit.

     

    I'm 5'08" and I've heard plenty of idiots ask "Aren't you a little short...?" People just look for a reason to spout off a line to sound cheeky in front of their friends. Don't ask me how often I've been asked if I like donuts when I was working uniformed patrol.

     

    Bottom line of my 2 pennies: If you want to portray a character of your choice, go for it and try to do it well. Shorter TKs standing next to a Vader on a troop will make him (or her) look taller anyway.

  7. Troopers from the Central California Garrison got their chance to participate in the Weird Al Yankovic show August 1st. This concert took place at the California State Fair (mmm...funnel cake).

     

    This was the most fun packed into a short troop. We got up on stage and and danced our plastic butt plates off at the show's finale. At the end, Weird Al was kind enough to make time for a photo and autograph session with our members.

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    Here's the video footage from that evening:

    Central California Garrison Weird Al Concert on YouTube

  8. Coming up on 2 years this August.

     

    I started combing through the FISD forum in April of '08 while putting together my bucketless FX armor with MR CE helmet. The ANH stunt (EIB) TK was my first 501st outfit followed closely by Pre-Armor Vader/ROTS Anakin. Darth Maul and Episode 2 Clonetrooper projects came next. I'm coming back full circle to TK with today's arrival of my sweet ATA kit which will end up being an ESB suit. (aiming for double EIB status!)

     

    Looking forward to many more years of service.

  9. When did you see Star Wars in the theater for the first time and where?

    I saw A New Hope in '77 in my hometown of San Francisco.

     

    What is your favorite Star Wars movie?

    THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

     

    What is your least favorite Star Wars movie?

    THE PHANTOM MENACE (the parts with Maul are cool)

     

    What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

    Creatively: costume & prop building / Spiritually & Emotionally: My Family

     

    What turns you off?

    Lazy folks & complainers

     

    What is your favorite curse word?

    Shazbot!

     

    What Star Wars Character do you love?

    Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (two sides of the same coin so I get to list both, right?)

     

    What Star Wars Character do you hate?

    That naysayer Rebel pilot at the first Death Star raid briefing

     

    How did you first find out about your home garrison?

    501st.com

     

    What Costume other than your own would you like to attempt?

    Freddy Mercury or Hiro Nakamura

     

    What Costume would you not like to do?

    Oola

     

    What would you like to hear George Lucas say when you arrive at the LucasFilm Gates?

    Please allow me to return all the ca$h you spent on STAR WARS action figures and other LFL swag from the past 25 years. Go buy yourself a Porsche.

     

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  10. Unfortunately, the suspender systems I made a while back were extremely labor intensive and time consuming so I put the project on the back burner. On the average, it was taking me about 2.5 - 3 hours to make one set.

     

    If you know someone who bought a set from me, then feel free to copy them and make a set for yourself. The only part I had to special order was the heavy duty 2" elastic. Sometimes you can find it at Joann Fabrics. The button snaps are the "line 24", 5/8" size snaps from Tandy Leather. The buckles, tri-glides, and loop locks can all be found at REI.

     

    PM me if you want me to walk you through some tougher areas of the construction process. Perhaps one of these days, I'll write up a tutorial.

  11. Sorry, but I can't put together a list for the next run because I am having a very hard time finding the same material I used for this run. My local leather shop is working on getting some more for me (mainly because I'm bugging them every week). I don't want to keep my fellow troopers hanging on for who knows how long.

     

    When I do find the same material or switch to a different type of leather, I'll post the info in the "Project Orders" section. I'll get a list going then.

     

    Thanks so much for your interest.

  12. I may consider doing another run. If I do, I'll do my best to time it so that I won't step on anyone else's toes if they are currently offering a run of holsters.

     

    I had a sample of the material I used sent to the leather warehouse where it originated from. If I get more, they should be done around the beginning of Fall. If I don't, I'll have to dye a sheet of tan leather by hand and put them together like the prototypes I sold a while back.

     

    Stay tuned... :)

  13. There is a great interview on one of the recent 501stCast podcasts in which a guy from Museum Replicas/Windlass talks heavily about the TK costume. Dean (TK-899) asks some great questions from the fan/costumer angle. The Museum Replicas/Windlass rep said they actually obtained complete suits from ANH to replicate them. According to him, Lucasfilm recently discovered a crate of this armor during some sort of move. The going price will be around $1800!

     

    Originally, they were going to do a flexible polyurethane TK based on ROTJ armor, but they abandoned that. They released an image of it in a handout last year at San Diego Comic Con.

     

    If anyone is interested in the Anakin costume and is a nut about screen accuracy (or close to it), I would not spend the $1600+ on it. You can piece one together yourself for half that cost (if that).

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