Haribon72

Okay Tony.... what respirator are you using?????????? yes, i'm on amazon.com right now breaking my wallet thanks to you! =)

Hi Tony! I will be in South bay for another troop that same day.

PM sent to Perth for his ATAT question.

Good question Tony! We noticed that there wasn't many ESB builds going for EIB and Centurion. Bingo wanted to get his build to the high ranks. This is our first time working on ESB and seemed like a common goal for Bingo and I. The ESB helmet is growing on me because of the black frown. Maybe next year I'll build an ESB costume for me.

We also watched the YouTube video for this discovery. Again, special thank you to StarWarsHelmets.com I have an idea for the blue stripes for the cheeks. We'll continue again later in the week.

ESB Helmet Discussion. Should I buy ESB decals? Can I use the ANH decals that came with the kit? Should I color match and paint the details? All great questions. We did some reading (on the internet) and watched a few scenes from Empire Strikes Back. We're going to use the ANH decals that came with the NE kit. Here are the findings. Special thanks to our friends at http://www.starwarshelmets.com/ Note: Please disregard the current black frown. Bingo will be updating it.

Thank you Tony! I will call this the ammo pack " Pill Box " method!

Good Luck Desmond. Btw... what are those white patches on your shoulder bells?

The Inside Box to the Ammo Pack Here's the method and use of the inside box. Notice there's a gap between the ammo pack and the thigh. Heat it up and throw any monster clamp you have into the area. The clamp will work into the soften area and push thigh armor towards the ammo pack (and inside box). Let it cool down for ten minutes and drill a small pilot hole for a machine screw to hold the ammo pack. Your ammo pack will not go anywhere. I don't recommend using a rivet. The two existing rivets will hold the pack together. Okay... at this point I don't have anymore pictures from our past sessions. We are about 85% done with Bingo's TK. Hopefully, we can cross the finish line before Halloween night.

Done. When one side of the ammo pack is fasten, wrap the ammo pack around the thigh and install the other side (inside thigh). This makes the installation easier. Here are pics of the "almost finished look".

We are going to start the ammo pack on the outside thigh first. This will serve as our holder so that we can get a clean install on the other side (inside thigh). I'm using a wooden awl to start the rivet into the thigh. Then I use a rivet punch to finish it in.

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Time to mark your pilot holes on the ammo pack.

Here's a new trick! Find yourself a spice lid. The spice lid is a great match for the ammo pack. We are going to make the rounded cut off. Cut off, sand, and polish.

Special box is doing well. Let's install the ammo pack (finally). Marking the cut off point (this is the side facing outside the thigh). We are going to keep the length on the inside thigh).

Installing the Ammo Pack to the Thigh - Part Two Now that the special box to the ammo pack had time to set, let's finish it off. Here's my high end knee bender kit. Heat, bend, heat, bend, heat, bend . . . . Done.

Now if your sniper knee breaks off, here's the fix. Time to bring out the heat gun. Heat up the area and throw in your clamp right away. Let the clamp work the soften area towards the knee plate. Allow the clamp to work on the armor for about ten minutes, remove the clamp, glue, and re-clamp. Let it hang out for a couple hours (or overnight).

Thanks Tony! We just had to lay off the beers for these sessions. Hahhahaha!

While the ammo pack is hanging out, let's work on the sniper knee. Sand down the lower leg. Sand down the knee plate. Glue. Just a gluing refresher note: Since NE has a glossy finish, please be sure to sand down the gloss and gluing areas. This principle is the same as plumbing PVC pipe installations. Measure, cut, sand, and glue.

Let the new box set for a couple hours. For the top cover on the box, I used ABS cement.

Installing the Ammo Pack to the Thigh - Part One Note: This is NE armor. The installation principle is the same, but always check your armor measurements before proceeding. Here's a new trick to keep the ammo pack from dancing around or breaking off. Let's make a box holder inside the ammo pack. Using left over cut outs. This is the model cement I used to build the box - Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. You can buy this on Amazon or eBay. I discovered this cement from the Clone Trooper builders (another 501st Legion detachment).

Biceps done.

An evening goes by with trimming and gluing. Here are some finished armor (before the cover strips are installed) with shaping to his body.

Final Fitting Stage Center core is done. Arms and legs are now in the clam shell stage. We can now get proper measurements, mark, cut, sand, and glue. In this stage, I had Bingo do the following exercises without a helmet: 1. Put on and take off the helmet. 2. Walk around the house (smoothly). 3. Walk up a few steps (not stairs). 4. Bend down to tie a shoe. 5. Reach for the blaster, pose, and put the blaster back into the holster. We are identifying all the discomfort spots and restrictions. Marking everything with a pencil and cutting away the armor down to his body size for final fitting. Notice, we did not put on the final cover strips yet. This can be done later (after the final final final fitting). " Measure three times.... then CUT! " If you have a friend to help, this is where you need it the most.