Astyanax

Right, for all we know, she could have force powers, or be a double agent, or a non-human or droid of some kind...I can think of a few scenarios where FISD doesn't get Phasma. One could even make the case that First Order as a whole is not Imperial, and it could even result in a new 501st detachment entirely... Might have to wait till we have a movie under our belts.

I think so, but it will probably take 2-3 applications. Fill, sand, repeat. Don't expect it to adhere perfectly all in one go.

9. GRIP CLEANUP & HOLE FILLING Short one this time. I'd been avoiding it long enough: it is time to clean up the seam that splits the BYOB grip into two pieces and to fill the screw holes. If I had spent a little more time studying the gallery images of the MG34, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble. Read on! The first thing I did was take 150 grit sandpaper and sand the entire seam all the way around the grip. This is due to the fact that sometimes the two pieces don't leave a gap, they leave a "peak", so pre-sanding flattens this down a bit. Next, I broke out my trusty Bondo spot putty #907. This particular Bondo has a couple advantages over other kinds of Bondo and putty: it doesn't require a two part mixture, and it sands like butter. But it does have a tendency to want to crack if used over spaces that are too wide, so keep that in mind. I treat it like spackle: any cracks or remaining hole divots I can just treat again. It dries in an hour and sands right down. I smeared Bondo on the seam all the way around, and covered the screw holes. I should have been a bit more conservative in my use of the Bondo, because I was left with more sanding than I should have needed to do. Treating it like spackle makes more sense. And this is where I should have stopped and consulted pictures. It turns out the makers of the BYOB have located screw holes in similar places where the real MG34 has screws or other hardware! Several of the holes don't need to be filled at all, since I'm planning on using some assorted hardware details. Have look at the real thing: Now see the BYOB: One hole should be left alone, and only five easy ones need to be filled! The rest can be covered with screw heads, pegs, etc. I filled all twelve, and it was somewhat grueling in the tighter corners. But at least this over now. I hate sanding. Speaking of which, the technique I used to clean this up was 80-220-400 sanding, just like the rest of this project. The 400 grit finish really leave a nice smooth-but-not-glossy surface that should be perfect for painting. Also, don't forget to sand off all that lettering on the left side! There's a lot of it, including the "ON/OFF" text by the switch. Next post, I will be trying to finish the entire butt stock using Milliput. We'll see how that goes... Bill

Glad you guys are finding this useful. After much battering and sanding and disassembly, this mod is still holding solid and stable.

Oh my, Tony, disregard my previous post about no gaps! But the styrene covering idea is a good one. Bill

Hey Tony, if I remember correctly, there is no cavity where the plastic under the rail comes together; I believe it joins up. I believe you should be able to cut it right out without leaving a hole in the barrel. Just open up your own Rubie's and verify for yourself if the plastic you want to cut out is flush with all the rest of the seam. If not, some green stuff or milliput can be used to fill the hole, and then you sand it gently when it cures. Hope that helps! Bill

I hear that. Same boat. I've been filling my time building weapons (see my sig below). But I was also thinking it's time to build some snap plates and save up for tandy snaps...

As I see it, the Anovos strapping system may be sufficient for approval and getting me trooping, with the caveat that I may have issues, and that I want to switch over to something like all-snaps ASAP.

The old tutorial threads have been inaccessible since the hosting cutover a few weeks ago. That said, they are not nearly as helpful as the build threads. There are no authoritative assembly instructions that covers every kind of armor, because there are so many, many ways to do it. That's why the build threads are worth their figurative weight in gold. It's going to take a lot of reading to learn the ropes. I set a personal goal of trying to read one build thread per day so that I can get my equivalent of a full course in this kind of stuff after a few weeks. Start here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/31-costuming-and-builds-501st/ Notice the little "Build Threads" links under each section. Pick your style of armor and start reading! These are every bit as good as step-by-step tutorials, believe me. Especially when you start noticing differences in approaches. Do not expect any single set of step-by-step instructions to get you there. Yes, it's hard. That's why it matters. And ask questions. We love to answer questions. It's a learn-by-teaching kind of environment! Bill

Hey gang: I was wondering for those of you who don't share your blasters during troops, what clever ways of saying "no" have you come up with when a kid wants to hold your blaster? I haven't trooped yet, but offhand, "sorry son, you can see your local Imperial recruitment office for plenty of chances to carry one of these," comes to mind. What catchy no's has anyone else come up with? I thought we could collect a few here. (Yes, I know, there's a difference between carrying a display weapon and a "troopable" one, but sometimes we don't have more than one! Especially if it's bigger than an E-11.) Thanks! Bill

Hmm, wonder how "prototype-ish" that holster really is. The Anovos guys were acting like they were paying attention to this stuff.

8. BUTT STOCK EXTENSION I was going to do cleanup, sanding off seams and raised print, but then I got distracted by the butt stock extension. After some thought, I came up with something that is mostly PVC and E6000, with a little bit of balsa wood, which I had never done and turned out to be super easy to do. First off, I picked up couplers in every size and cut a piece of 1/2" pipe: 1. 1-1/4" PVC coupler 2. 1" PVC coupler 3. 3/4" PVC coupler 4. 1/2" PVC coupler 5. 1/2" piece of PVC pipe, cut to 2-1/2" As I E6000-glued these all together, I cut some of them, and ground the interior ring out of one. Below was the process: 1. Glue the 1" coupler (#2) into the 1-1/4" coupler, tapping it in as far as it will go, until it hits the ring in the middle. 2. Use a coping saw to cut the excess of the 1" coupler (#2) off the top, using the larger coupler as a sawing guide. 3. Grind or sand out the ring inside the 1" coupler (#2). It doesn't have to be pretty or smooth. 4. Glue in the 3/4" coupler (#3), tapping it in all the way past the ground-out ring until it is flush with the top. 5. The 1/2" coupler (#4) doesn't fit in the 3/4" coupler (#3). Sand or grind accordingly to get them to fit. 6. Glue in the 1/2" coupler (#4), tapping it in as far as it will go, until it hits the ring in the middle of the 3/4" coupler (#3). 7. Use a coping saw to cut the excess of the 1/2" coupler (#4) off the top, using the larger coupler as a sawing guide. 8. Glue in the PVC pipe (#5), tapping it in as far as it will go, until it hits the ring in the middle of the 1/2" coupler (#4). The result should look like this: By going through this process (having ground out the 1" coupler's ring and pushed the 3/4" coupler farther through), I was left with a decent gripping surface for the stock: Next, using a combination of my dremel's grinding stones and cutting wheels and sanders, I cut out a notch in the top of the outer coupler about 1-3/8" wide by 3/4" deep. I also notched the top and bottom of the inner coupler in the back about 7/8" wide, as deep as it would go. I found a cutting tip that helped me, but I wish I had done this before all that gluing! This is the finished stock "adapter": After this, I needed to make space for the 1/2" pipe in the back of the blaster. This involved lots of trial-and-error dremel grinding and test fitting until I could jam the adapter's pipe all the way in, and also so that it would rest tightly on the bottom. Pro tip: put some electrical tape over any holes in the back of the blaster so that you don't get plastic shavings inside the blaster! I had to pry mine apart more than once to empty it out. Then, with a lot of E6000 glue and some upside-down clamping to my workbench, this is how the adapter looked: I plan to use Milliput to fill in all gaps and shape the stock somewhat, but I don't want to waste a lot on big gaps. So I took three 1" pieces of 1/4" wood dowel and jammed them in above the 1/2" pipe. This also helps keep tension on that adapter so that it won't easily be pushed up. Next, I took the stock itself and removed the inner spring-loaded guts. I then hacksawed off the front half-inch of plastic, just up to the screw, leaving the screw intact. For support, I also took five pieces of 1" x 5/8" Plastruct (styrene), glued them to each other with superglue, and superglued that to the front-underside of the stock. I also covered the stock's bottom hole with a 1" x 7/8" piece of styrene using superglue. This will come in extra handy in a moment. Thin wood is also a fine alternative to styrene in these cases. This all made it easy to test-fit inserting the stock into the back of the adapter. I had to make a couple adjustments with the dremel grinder for it to go in far enough. Then I jammed a 2" length of 3/8" diameter dowel into the adapter along the bottom of each side of the stock. This adds more stability and fills gaps. You can see it more clearly below in the second-to-last picture in this post. Then I used a LOT of E6000 to glue it all in, and clamped it together, leaving it overnight. In an effort to fill in that big gap at the top front over the 1/2" pipe (so I don't waste putty), I picked up a 1" x 1" length of balsa wood from my local hobby shop, and cut a piece about 1-3/4" long. I sanded down a shallow angle, and then used a large drum-sanding attachment on my dremel to sand out the round part. This is a test fit prior to gluing with E6000 and clamping it down really well: Balsa is very easy to work with, and really sands down fast, so I was pleased with the result. Finally, I decided to use balsa to give me a structure for the "horn" that is missing from the stock. I'll still use putty, but this helps lay the foundation. 1. I took a 1" x 1" x 1" cube of balsa wood and marked a shallow angle and then a steeper angle. 2. I cut these angles using a hacksaw (intentionally not getting too close to the lines) and then smoothed them with 150 grit sandpaper. 3. I then sanded the other sides toward almost a pyramid shape using 150 grit sandpaper. Then I glued it onto the piece of styrene covering the bottom hole. It's not perfect, but it will really help when it's time to sculpt that putty. (You can see in this pic the 2" x 3/8" piece of dowel referenced above.) I must say, with the added weight in the stock, this is really starting to look and feel good! Next post, I will sand and fill seams and screw holes, as well as lightly sand all smooth surfaces. Bill

Afraid not. Marv has a full inbox and isn't responding to posts on his thread. I'm resorting to Plastruct, similar to what Uber is doing in this thread: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32303-ubers-poorboy-dlt-19/page-2

Fair enough, I was hoping to use inner strips merely to help me get my outer strips laid out more perfectly. As a first-timer I want to use every possible helper method, and inner strips seem to be just that.

Nope, still happy with that solution; the sound has remained very stable while I've worked on it.

Yes, but I'm concerned this means we won't get enough material to do inner cover strips. That's crucial, IMO. Might need to stock up on styrene!

Well done, brother! Nice to see you off and running. Thanks much for the kind words. I'm figuring out the butt stock as I write this! What's your plan for sound effect? Bill

Looking forward to watching this whole build. Congrats, I'm jealous!

I think Frank said he over trimmed them (or was that the thighs). Plus, he's a really tall guy, so that might make them seem smaller.

Hey gang: Tested.com just posted the second video of the Anovos build Norm and Frank are doing of the Shadowtrooper prototype. Of particular interest here, I think, is the much greater insight into the strapping mechanisms provided. http://www.tested.com/art/546991-how-build-star-wars-shadowtrooper-armor-part-2/ Any red flags here, builders? Bill

7. WEIGHTING After making some test fits with the barrel and rereading Uber's excellent build thread, I'm beginning to think that this blaster rifle is very, very heavy in front. And this is going to become even more of a problem as I add details and the bipod. In an effort to try to bring the center of gravity backward a little bit and make it easier to troop with, I have decided to add some weight on the back end. Not a lot, but hopefully enough to make it feel less like it wants to tip forward so easily. I decided to add my weight to the back using one pound of lead coil: This stuff comes in different thicknesses and is only seven bucks on Amazon for a pound of it. I went with a one-pound length of 1/4" diamater lead coil. It is soft, easy to bend and shape, and very easy to cut with medium-sized wire cutters or shears. Maybe even heavy scissors. Even though I had glued on the barrel base to the BYOB, I removed all but the two front screws, pried it partly open carefully and inserted a couple of uncoiled lengths of the lead into the back. The left side was able to take 6", and the right side was able to take 4". I smeared some E6000 on them before pushing them in so that they won't rattle around after the glue cures. Then I made sure to verify that I can fully close up the grip. Next, I opened up the stock and put some 2" and 3" lengths of the lead, this time onto small puddles of E6000. And finally, I put two 2" lengths of the lead into the two cavities on the grip. Notice that I first covered the electrical contacts with electrical tape so that no shorts would interfere with my carefully established rifle sound effect! Now, nearly assembled, it feels more balanced. Heavier, yes, but sometimes balance is more important than overall weight when you're carrying something large and unwieldy for extended periods of time. Next post, I'll be cleaning up and sanding the grip attaching the butt stock! Bill

6. BARREL BODY Before getting the barrel body parts together, first I painted the inner barrel tube: That's 3 coats each of black primer and black satin spray. I masked a half inch off the front and an inch off the back so as to leave a nice surface for gluing. The tube length is about 24" long, carefully cut with a coping saw. For the barrel pieces, I used the following: 1. An 8" long piece of 1-1/4" ID PVC pipe. (Should have probably gone with 8-1/2" at least.) 2. A 5-3/4" long piece of 1-1/4" ID PVC pipe. 3. A 1-1/4" PVC coupler. (To be cut down to 1") The pipe cuts do not have to be perfect because they will be hidden. Since the longer pipe is going to have to fit into the 1-1/2" pipe of the base, I realized I would have to sand around the end of my longer 1-1/4" pipe so that I could make it squeeze in there. This took a lot of elbow grease with 80 grit sandpaper, and then I smoothed it with the finer grits. Next, I used the black line and coping saw technique outlined above to cut the coupler down to one inch in length. This cut does need to be as perfect as possible. I was able to correct for small errors using sandpaper to even it out. The 80-220-400 grit smoothing method helped. Then, I used E6000 to glue the coupler onto the longer pipe. My pipe is a little shorter than I wanted, so I'm only inserting the tube into the coupler about a quarter inch. But the E6000 makes a very, very strong bond. It held together just fine. These are the hole templates I used (after some resizing) to fit the 1-1/4" pipe. I have settled on 9/16" (14mm) holes, even though those are larger than movie accurate. I kind of want the holes to stand out a little, and not be completely covered by t-tracks. So 14mm it is. You can right-click-save these images and print them at 100% to match my sizing. I tried to label them to help figure out the proper orientation. After taping the templates on the tubes, this is what it looked like: Right before working on the holes, I made a test fit of the parts to ensure that I have 4-7/8" of space for the holes on the smaller tube, and 7-3/8" of space on the larger tube. I used a pen to draw a circle around the tube on each end, so that when I glue them, I'll know exactly how far to bring them in. I used an awl to punch tiny holes in the center of each circle, and them drilled them out with a 1/16" drill bit. Then, after taking the paper off, I used a 14mm forstner bit to drill all my holes. This is my first time using a forstner bit. After much research and experimentation, I chose this kind of bit bcause it drilled the cleanest holes. I took care to make sure that the drill didn't run too fast, otherwise there's a risk of gouging or cracking the PVC. A little cleanup with sandpaper and the sandpaper tip of my dremel, and I had some decent holes! At this point I noticed that when I attach the longer tube to my base tube, the base tube's holes will be covered. So it was necessary to break out my dremel's cutting wheel and cut four notches in the sanded end of the tube. That way, when it's glued together, the holes will be visible all the way through. Yes, I know that my tube isn't quite as long as I'd like for a really strong, stable glue attachment to the base tube, but the E6000 will come through, and the inner barrel will help stabilize it even more. If I were to do this again, I'd make the long tube a half-inch longer and cut deeper notches. But this should work. EDIT: Having said that, I'm more nervous than I thought. I have purchased Plastistruct (styrene) for the t-tracks (see a later post) that I think will help me get some extra stability with the barrel. What you see here are four 0.060" thickness 1/4" width strips, cut at 2-1/2", then superglued to 1-1/4" strips. I used E6000 to glue these to the inside of my smaller barrel, then to be glued later to the bigger barrel for added strength. If I had gone with an 8-1/2" tube with deeper notches cut, I probably could have skipped this step. EDIT: I'm still pretty nervous about those attachment points, so I have superglued a third layer of plastruct on the outside of those struts, in order to create some tension against the inside of the barrel base as the E6000 cures later when it's assembled. I really do think that inner barrel will be very instrumental in holding it all together. I have also decided to assemble the three main barrel pieces but not yet to combine them with the inner barrel or mount it all on the base. I think next I would like to do some cleanup of the BYOB core grip, and probably figure out the stock extension, since these actions will put some stress on the barrel. So I will set aside the barrel for now, making it easier to work on the rest. Bill