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...and the craziness continues.... Version 2.0 of the gasket sewing experiment... Instead of the vinyl, I used a thicker cotton as a base for the piping. For the piping, I found a thicker nylon cord that would hold the round shape better than the weld cotton cord. For the piping itself I found some polyester stretch fabric....with lots of sheen. (Quite shiny!) It only has a bit of stretch, nothing that was difficult to sew. Here is the end result with & without the camera flash... ...and here is what it looks like test-fitted with the arms. I think I am happy with this combination. A bit more tweaking & I will start on making the actual ones I'll use. (This tester turned out a bit too snug...not usable.)

So, clearly I am crazy....and don't have enough to do. lol. I have decided to try my hand at sewing my own gaskets. I just really don't even want to bother with the floor mats & I do know my way around a sewing machine. Might as well try to save a few bucks... Started with making some piping out of cord & black broad cloth. (I noticed the screen used suits on display at Celebration didn't have really black/shiny gaskets. Thought I'd go with a fabric without a sheen. Plus, it's cheap.) *My mistake, the material should be shiny/have a sheen to it. Not sure what pic I was referring to. lol I measure out a piece of upholstery vinyl the same size of the floor mat gaskets. (As the piping is not very stiff, I wanted a backing that would hold up like the rubber gaskets.) I left enough extra material to make the Velcro tabs. I then sewed the piping on, one by one. Then I sewed it together, with a slight angle to accommodate the opening of the bicep and forearm. Here is the end result. It even bends not bad.... (Once I have them all complete, I will cut out the tabs.) Here is what it looks like with a test-fitting on the arms. From start to finish, this one arm took me under 2 hours. It feels pretty good on and still bends easily. That being said, I am not sure about the upholstery vinyl; I fear it may too hot..and might feel too bulky once I have them all on me. (I may experiment with a thinner vinyl or thicker fabric.)

I didn't think a strap for the cod/butt was needed.... It seems like the belt would hold everything tight. I also agree with a separate belt garter system...I just find the belt keeps slipping down. Maybe suspenders could fix that? I am liking this idea. It would be easy to suspend the thighs without the worry of them sliding down. You could also anchor the Ab section to it.... Hmmm, I might have to give this some more thought....

Now that all the pieces have been primed, I have been thinking about the internal strapping system I will use. I would like to get this sorted out and set up before I paint the armour. I would rather not chance scuffing or dropping freshly painted armour as I try to glue on snaps & stuff... Based on what I have seen from other suits, this is my current plan of attack.... (Thank you to Bender for being the model....hahahaha) Blue-Snap plate. Black-Elastic or nylon strap. Red-Velcro. Green-Nylon strap with buckle. Questions I have... Is a strap from the cod to the butt plate necessary? Has anyone else attached/suspended the thighs from the AB section, in place of a separate belt? As I have no idea if this will be sufficient, I welcome advice from the Elders.

That was my concern as well. I took some cues from your build tread and tried to reinforce the "problem" areas. As you can see I do have a larger than suggested backing strips, all inside edges and seams were coated with Plastic Bonder, and has the extra support of the welding putty. I have put both forearms through numerous & vigorous "bending" tests, just to make sure there will be no cracking. (Plus, the bondo isn't actually that thick). Thank you for keeping an eye on me.

YAY another Canadian! Enjoy your build, eh?

Still slow going but thought I'd post a few things I've done.... Glued on all the latches/greeblies on the armour. (My fingers totally hurt after all the heat bending...) I managed to sand down the area to be glued on to the spat. It now sits pretty much flush. Also finally finished the forearms. All ready to be primed! Here is the end result of having to rebuild the decal detail I trimmed off by accident. You can also see that I added some JB Weld kneadable putty to the area that is prone to cracking... (Just a little bit of extra support.) I am right in the middle of priming the armour. I have been discovering a few areas that need attention (Bondo) after the first coat of primer. (Minor holes & stuff)

Awesome progress so far!!!! Looking good! How "fun" was that detonator assembly? lol

Ya know, I never even thought about the magnets sliding off. Hmmm, might need to do some testing.... No worries! The more info/discussion about this kit, the better!

Yes, this is the design idea I have been thinking about. I do believe it's possible to incorporate magnets into some of the large circular areas on the clip. All you would need is 2 magnets glued into the inside of the length of the blaster....or mounted on the outside. I personally would be worried about the resin breaking if I drilled into it. Not from the weight of the gun but from kids or eager adults trying to swipe the blaster. I can imagine the resin could snap if the blaster was ripped out...

Thanks guys! I am very pleased with how it turned out. Now to see if I can make it attach to the holster clip.

I have never heard of this stuff, sounds pretty good. The fact you can get it in white is awesome.

YAY! Another fellow Canadian! Have fun.

Welcome to the TFA club Tyler! Awesome to have another build thread. (I had a bit of "orange peel" on my thighs as well.)

As I had mentioned, my patience with the sanding/gluing was nearing the end... So I decided to work on something that would give me the satisfaction of completing a project. I ordered a cheap Rebels blaster in hopes of giving it a "TFA Trooper makeover". It's super light. Probably won't even feel it on the holster clip. As the scope is completely wrong, I went hunting for a mag lite to make a suitable replacement.... No luck, but I did find this cheap toy gun... I was super excited! I think it will work perfectly! After I took it apart, cut & flipped parts, mounted the scope, glued, sanded, made a new trigger area, painted and added decals..... Here is the end result... (Still have to print & add the little red arrow/aurebesh decal that goes near the front.)

Now that preliminary sanding is finished, it was time to give my armour a bath! (I want them to be fresh, clean & free of dust for the primer.) I have still haven't attached the forearm boxes as I wanted to prime them separately, then glue them on. I want to make sure the primer gets in all the little places around where they get glued. All clean! Testing out the primer and techniques.... (Bent wire coat hangers work pretty good!) Side note-My bondo skills need improving... The detonator didn't turn out as well I'd like.... Grrrr. I hate Bondo.

Not much progress to report... (The prep work/assembly has been very intense; may be coming to end of my patience with the sanding, gluing, bondo, fixing holes, more sanding, blah, blah, blah...) I am itching to get this sucker primed and start work on the strapping! lol. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel... Reinforced the yoke/back piece at the seam with a thicker ABS strip and more plastic. (Thanks for the tip, Clint!) Did the final bondo (hopefully) on certain pieces. Will finish sanding tomorrow.... (I will be doing a test prime on one of the pieces to ensure my bondo skills are up to snuff before I go full steam ahead.)

Yay! Welcome to the club David! (Not too worry about the slip up on the TD. I cut waaaaaaay too much off mine and everything turned out great.)

Yay! Another build thread! Looking forward to it.

Agreed! It feels like I have been sanding non stop. (Oh wait, I have been....) I am still finding spots to sand. Looking forward to watching your progress. Best of luck.

Hmmm, this seems like something I should do as well, before I actually wear the armour. Might as well re-enforce the snot outta the yoke before it becomes an issue. Thanks for posting the update!

Well, it's been slow going the last few days. Everything is glued together now, minus the belt boxes. It's now time for final sanding (every time I think I have the edges looking perfect, I find more to sand down!!!) and removing the gloss from the armour. In the meantime, I have started the fix my oops! with the forearm detail. I have gluded the new shapes in place and have begun sanding it down.... Progress so far.... I tried an experiment with the seam on the biceps. One with Bondo, one with Plastic Weld. To be honest, I hate both of them. lol I am trying out the Plastic Weld on the ab section but it still isn't coming out with perfect edges. I'd rather not use bondo on this as it would crack for sure? I have discovered that I HATE bondo. LOL. I hate the smell, applying it, the fine dust that makes everything pink, etc... I didn't even take a picture of my bondo'd detonator to show. It was that embarrassing. Anyway, after a lifetime of sanding, this is the final result... ...and I still have areas to fix! At least I can say that the plastic weld worked awesome on the back/yoke! I was able to get a nice crisp edge and super smooth. You can see the areas where I added extra to the seams, they are quite strong.

HAHAHHA! You make a good point. However, all my gluing is done now, minus the belt boxes. (Those will be easy.) As with both Clint & I, the mistakes can be fixed. I am not sure the nervousness ever goes away... I was a total nervous wreak building my original TK despite there being detailed instructions/threads readily available.

Welcome! Looking forward to your progress.

Yes, I noticed that as well. Which is odd because the thighs are very roomy and go on super easy when glued on both sides. (Maybe it was just for display purposes...)