Somatophylax

Hi, Thank you Marx! It depends on the make of your armor. The AP has a weird thing with the right thigh. It's right half is much longer than its left half. I think I have a post about that earlier on. So I decided to trim up the top part to make a better curve. Any default left will be hidden by the outer strip. I did have to rework the vertical ridge area to make a better fit when I glued the 2 halves together. The bottom of the right thigh can be crooked or misaligned and it's ok because it will be hidden by the battery pack. Same for the top of the left calf, which will be hidden by the sniper plate. My biggest work on the legs remain though... I.e. the back! Once I'm ready to close up the back of the thighs and calves, I'm somewhat worry that I'll have to trim them some more. Or, at the very least, I'll have to force them into place when I finish them. But in general, I think the leg parts are usually the more problematic. If you look at various treads (MechaPumpkin has the best build tread I've seen so far), it is a recurring problem. Not sure if that helps. But have faith in your abilities. You'll get it right. Just remember: Measure two or three times... because you only cut once! Stéphane

Good evening! Getting tired. But managed to do some more work this evening. I attached the forearms to the arm assemblies. So that's mostly done (only need to put the cross-side elastic in the shoulder bells). The forearm adjustment seems ok, although I'll know more once it's attached to the torso. Like the commander of the 2nd Death Star told Vader: "I need more men". And while hammering the snaps here, I hit my thumb with the hammer. It's been over an hour and I still feel the pain I also attached the back pieces. I still need to do the butt snaps and the kidney plate rivets... eventually. And I worked on the right leg tonight. Put the front outer strip on the thigh and attached both halves of the right calf together. Cheers!

Greetings troopers! What a beautiful and sunny day here in the Montreal area. Too bad I'm stuck inside but I have work to do. I went to see Mark (AP) and get the holster for my blaster. I saw with the loops that it is made ESB style. So, I'll cut the top of the loops and will only keep the front part (which will be riveted to the belt). I'll get back to you on that when I work on the belt. Aside from that, I finished cutting all the inner and outer strips that I'll need to finish off the calves and thighs. I don't like cutting, so that's a good thing. I gave my thermal detonator tube a second coat of grey paint. Now I have to find the darn screws for the belt clips. Any ideas where or what size? While I had the paint out, I decided to do something new and work on the bucket (yes... I finally managed NOT to all it 'helmet' ). I had at first the thought to install the decals that came with the kit. My idea was to do that (since it's quicker) so I can get into the Legion sooner. I also thought that I would use the decals as templates and simply paint "over" them. So I'd get a hand-painted look, but with a neat guide, when the time comes for Centurion. However, some of decals were too impossible to install. The surface has too much of a curve and it wouldn't stay flat. When I fixed a side, the opposite side would bump out. So I decided that "to Hell with the decals"! I've painted quite a number of model kits in my days. I also painted tons of tiny D&D (and other game) pewter figurines. I can do this! So I painted all the grey that was needed. I can't paint the black outlines now since the grey is not dry. But I still did the vocoder. So here is the preliminary version. All freehand, no masking tape! I haven't received the Hovi Mics yet, as well as the mesh for the mouth, and the darker, stronger green film for the eyes, and also Echo's Fan System. Leaning too long painting... my back hurts now. I'll take a break I think. Until later!

Hello troopers, Here's a pic of the holster that came with my AP set. By looking at the attachment, it's a ESB version. Correct? However, I am making an ANH build. So here's my question (2 in fact): 1. Can I just cut the top of the look and remove the back part... thus having the normal straight strap to rivet unto the belt? 2. If so, is it ok if the strap is black? I usually see 'tan' straps. But the CRL requirements only specifies "how" it is attached... not its color. Thanks -------------

Hello everyone, Tonight, I decided to work again on the leg pieces. I think that, at the moment, they're the ones I hate the most. I find it difficult to set up and fit right. But I have to do it, so... Since I had done the thighs yesterday, I decided to reinforce one with its front outer strip. That took a lot of my magnets. I did the left leg first because it's easier for me (i.e. it fits better). I'll do the right another day. So, once it is reinforced properly, I'll have less fear about working on closing it in the back. In addition, and since I'll need even more magnets for the right thigh, I worked on the left calf next. That one bothered me a bit because it's left part if about 1cm higher than its right part (or is it the reverse?). Anyway, I either had to properly fit the top (and then trim the bottom) or fit the bottom (and then trim the top). Just to be sure, I taped the calf and tried it over my TK boots (because it WILL go over them so there's no point testing the fit on my naked leg). The result is that I'm a bit worry about how tight it will be at the ankle. Also, considering that the left calf will have the sniper plate at the top, I have decided to properly fit the bottom right away. That gives me 2 things: 1. It relieved some pressure at the bottom, over my boot. 2. It's ok to trim the top because the sniper plate will hide it anyway. So... here are the pieces for the left leg. Hmm. Looks like my TK boots wanted to take some air These magnets are really strong! While trying to install a pair in the thigh, one fell from my hands. But instead of falling down, it curved in mid air and went to meet it's twin held by my other hand. But just before impact, the damn thing took away a piece of skin at the same time. A little blood... but damn! So... The weekend is upon us and it's not my time with my kids. So I'll try to make most of it. Although, "most" probably means paint and snaps... because of the 24hr waiting time for everything that I glue. Cheers!

Ahh. I see. So the rivets can be just "decorations" too. I know I've seen pics of people who just put a large rectangular slab of vlcro to attach both parts. So I have many options. Thanks for the suggestion

Good evening Empire! Fun stuff today I finally found the courage to do the thigh assemblies (with front inner strip only). When it's done, I'll check out how to finish the back. Yes... the box between them contains a pair of TK boots, courtesy of Imperial Boots I also installed the final snaps on the chest plate for the shoulders. Tomorrow I'll be able to "try" and see if I can manage (on my own) the elastic bridge with it's back counterpart. For that... I've already done half of the job for the white elastic bridge strap. Then, FINALLY... some segmental attachments! (I don't know if it's a real word.... otherwise it's a liberal translation from French... sorry). I have done the strapping for the shoulder-bicep assemblies. Not so bad. But without help, or without having the shoulders attached to the torso, I find it difficult to do the next step, i.e. attaching the forearms. Et voilà ! This is how it kind of look on me. Look Ma! One hand! So, I guess that's it for tonight. Cheers everyone!

Hi all, A question about the rivets (my issue with my previous post)... On the diagram (Ab plate #3,4,5), should I understand that I glue in a piece of black elastics (like I did with the snaps everywhere else), but instead of a snap attached to it, I just glue in a washer? That way, when I install the rivet it will go through? Thanks

Hello all, So, now that I have more magnets, I decided to work on the large pieces. I also needed to start my 2nd tube of E6000. I installed the snaps inside the chest and ab plate sections (I'll do the front shoulder snaps tomorrow because I'm out of clamps AND magnets... doh!): And I also installed snaps inside the back, kidney, and butt plate sections: I used a popular diagram for snap placement as follow: But I did not install the ones on the sides of the ab and kidney plates. The main reason is that I don't understand at the moment why since there are supposed to be rivets there. So when I figure this thing, I'll proceed accordingly. If you want to shed some light on my dilemma, I'd be grateful Aside from that, I installed the remaining snaps in the shoulder bells (the ones that will be attached to the biceps). So... that has been a nice production run. Cheers!

My magnets have arrived! I now have 3x more than yesterday. Mouwahahaha! Let's build armor

Hello troopers! Nice little load today. Now that the arm pieces are assembled, it freed up some magnets for me to use. I still think that the forearms' oval shape is kind of annoying. But I don't know what I can do about that right now. Oh well... let's build! I first decided to make a small batch of double-snaps for the interior of the arm pieces. I want the full arm assemblies to hold well so I figured I'd try double-snaps. Then I took my measurements (and watched some treads and a video about where the forearm-to-bicep attachment is supposed to go. And so I glued the double-snaps in both forearms and both biceps. I decided to wait before putting some in the shoulder bells because I want to make sure how high (or how near/far from the bottom of the shoulder bells) I need to put them. So I'll check it out tomorrow. I'm excited at the prospect of having full arm assemblies by the end of the week. I started to look at the chest/back connexion. I taped them to see what to expect, but being alone, it's not easy to figure out. I need a second pair of eyes. (Yeah right... now I complain about being single.... pfft!). So I'll wait. Before closing for the evening, I gave a base coat of grey to the tube that will become the thermal detonator. Good night everyone! May the Force be with them! Because, you know... we're the Empire. We don't need that

Hello troopers! I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Damn magnets! Why did I buy so few? Calm down now... I have twice more in the mail heading for me. That will help. So, I did what I could tonight. I glued the final outer strip of my 2nd forearm. That will free up some magnets tomorrow. I started installing snaps inside the biceps. I assembled my dropboxes. And I made a bunch of snaps for next time (I know I'll need more... but it's getting late to make noise with the hammer in my apartment). For the dropboxes, I used MechaPumpkin's idea and installed some heavy-duty velcro inside the outer box, and on the edge and outside of the inner box. It will make an effective pair of wallets for my TK belt. I put enough elastic to be able to attach the boxes around the belt. But I might just cut them short and put a snap instead. Good night everyone

Hi everyone! I'm back... This was a quiet weekend but I'll try to do more progress from now on. I completely finished my first forearm (only need to put the snaps inside). I also closed up the 2nd forearm tonight (I'll add the final outer strip tomorrow night). Again, lots of magnets and strong clamps because I had to force it into place. I noticed that the general shape of the forearms is somewhat oval. So it's kind of weird (and tight) when I try to pass my hand through them. Perhaps there's a way to force them to be more round. I'll see.

Good evening, This coming weekend, I'll have my daughters... So I won't work much on my armor. I spent part of the evening putting away my gear and especially the tools (and blades) so that they won't play with them while they're with me. That being said, I managed to do a few things. The biceps now have their final outer strips. This means that the next time I do something with them will be to install the snaps inside. Yeeeah! Also, as I thought, I needed my stronger clamps in order to close my first forearm. So here's a pic for today (I feel like the pics are almost the same from one day to another)" I'm waiting for a few things in the mail: Blaster decals (scope and ammo counter), fan system from Echo, garter belt, throat mic, hovi mics, and my big order from TrooperBay that I need to work on my bucket (yes... I finally use the word 'bucket' instead of helmet). So I'll work on the legs and torso soon. These scare me more than the arms to be honest We'll see. Cheers!

Indeed! And no need to complain about how long the shafts are and how hard it is to bend them fully.

Good morning, I forgot to mention it in last night's post... but I tried to experiment bending ABS with a heat gun. I started with scraps of ABS and I can say it went bad. I could not make it bend the right way; it kept deforming and twisting a bit. I can't find much on the site about it except for one in the Tips & To Dos section, but with only pics it doesn't help. And the videos I checked out on Youtube aren't good. I wish I could find a video of someone doing it on his ammo belt or battery pack! Unless there's another technique (maybe the boiling water thing, but I didn't find much either), I might just force the pieces into place and hope the rivets or snaps will hold them

Greetings troopers! Nice production today (although limited until I get more magnets). I put one outer strip on each bicep. Tomorrow I'll finish them. As I mentioned yesterday, I'll have a problem closing the forearms because although one side is very well aligned, I now see that the opposite side isn't. I'll need my strongest clamps to force them into place when I close them. Here's a pic: I attached the main shoulder snaps (which will be joined with the shoulder strap between the torso and back plates). I decided to go with my experiment and using a snap attached on an ABS plate like this: And I got the hand guards from Karin in Austria. I took the screen accurate latex, painted white version. Using some Lepage Superglue, here's the result (along with an overview of my evening pieces): If you are wondering about the small pieces of masking tape around the pieces... I use them to write down the time I put it there. So I'll know when each piece has reached its 24-hr waiting time. Primitive... but efficient. So that's it for tonight. Cheers!

Greetings, Since I don't have enough magnets (only 10) to make much progress... I ordered 20 more today. That will help. In the meantime, I continued work on some of the pieces. The bicep pieces are now closed (with inner strips only for now). The second thigh piece now has one inner strip. As for the forearm, I realized it will be hard to force it into place when I close it. So I will need my larger, stronger clamps for that but they're busy at the moment So I decided to install the outer strip on it for now. This should solidify it for when I close it tomorrow evening. Urg... I hate those 24hrs wait times Cheers!

2nd update: Ok, I cheated. After I was sure the biceps were held properly, I removed the magnets from one of them and put longer-reaching clamps instead. That was enough for me to start one forearm right away.

Good evening all! So... I checked about the excess glue thing. I decided to try using the x-acto to make a little slice along the length of the item and then I managed to pull on it and the whole excess came off. Yeee! That was easier than I thought. With that, I received my magnets today. Damn! They're strong. I even snapped a pair on a finger by accident and it hurts So I was able to start closing some of the cylindrical parts. First, the biceps... shorter and easier to manage for a first try. Unfortunately, I only have 10 magnets. I should have ordered more. I'm tempted... but then if I manage to almost finish before they arrive, you know... Cheers

68Brick: I'll try that when I get my magnets. For now, I only have clamps and I can't do both pieces at the same time since the clamps won't reach the middle.

I think that will be enough for today. I glued the front inner strips for the calves. However, since the AP kit came with the back trimmed for "overlap" joint, I trimmed it a bit to enable me to do the butt-joint (with the velcro strip to close it later).

Thanks for the mythbusting It is reassuring for sure. Stéphane

The inner strips of the forearms are ready (24hrs, finally!) so I can recover a whole bunch of clamps And here's an easy one for you all. How do you deal with the excess glue though? I'll have a hard time fitting the other half if I don't remove it. Do you cut it (with an exacto) or sand it? Or neither... and use super-clamps to fit in the other part? (lol)

While working on the 2nd thigh set (the right side), I came upon this (which is known to other builders of AP). Even though the bottom (i.e. the ridge) part is very well aligned, the top isn't. In fact, the right half of the right thigh is much higher and the left part of the right thigh. The left thigh is OK though. So I know that other builders (like MechaPumpkin... whose build tread is an inspiration) have trimmed it off at the top to fit because it just looks bad (and I'm sure it will poke where it hurts). That means I'll lose the return edge on that half as well. As per MechaPumpkin's recommendation, I'm asking you guys for your thoughts on the matter. Thanks.