Cricket

Thermal detonator fixed with some additional paint. Back to that cod... closer examination of the relationship between the cod and the butt plates (as attached to the ab) showed that the cod was sitting too low, and could stand to be moved up. I noticed this initially when Cameron stood sideways to me. The bottom of the cod and the bottom of the butt plate should be roughly on the same plane, and they definitely were not. I took some measurements, and then took the leap, installing new snaps into the cod to bring it up. The snap placement looks a little wonky, but I can assure you, it will look fine once installed! Okay, so here is the cod installed with the original snaps. Then moved up with the new snaps. Yeah, I guess that I was pretty confident that this would be a better position, just jumping in and installing those new snaps like that! But, hey, it does look better! And in the new position, it emulates the more narrow cod of the TLJ cod shape. Butt plate and cod are in better alignment now as well.

Go take a look at the latest version of the CG Traders TLJ codpiece. I'm sure the designer is sick of hearing from me about it.

I thought about that as well. However, once sanding, priming, and painting happen, those ridges will soften up significantly. Thank you so much for your help on this!!!

And who knew I'd ever spend so much time staring at Stormtrooper crotches?

Okay, now I'm really confused. The pic on the CRL model of the TLJ trooper has a white stripe on his TD. So I'm clear, the pic below is not correct, yes? And neither of the TDs are painted black on that strip above the black rectangle "control panel", whereas the one you're showing me for the example has that narrow area painted black. So do I paint the strip above it black or not? I am seeing both versions, but will do whichever one is preferable. Thanks for clarifying!

Okay, ridges have been confirmed! That said, ridges don't matter, just that it needs to be narrower (more like a V than a Y) than the TFA cod.

I thought of that, too. It's possible. I put the file into Meshmixer and cut the edges off... I guess could print this and sand off the sharp transition points at the edges. It's nothing critical for now, but it's something I'd like to square away for future printing.

Yeah, that was the image I referred the designer to. He said he saw ridges. I thought they were more like light reflections. TLJ is the single SW film I don't own, so I can't grab a Blu-Ray to confirm. High def screen images of TLJ FOTKs are few and far between.

Paging @gmrhodes13 and all others in the know about the TLJ FOTK cod!!! I'm trying to work with the designer of the 3d files on revising his cod file to better emulate the TLJ cod. He's telling me that there are ridges on the front left and right of the cod based on screen caps. Those ridges don't look right to me at all. Can anyone confirm this???

Thermal detonator: done. I began with painting the smallish (and not exactly screen-accurate???) end cap black with some Testor's paint. I masked off the end to help keep the line sharp. I tried painting an initial layer of black Testor's on the large rectangle area, but even with a thin layer, it wasn't turning out like I was hoping. So, with the knowledge that I don't entirely like the look of large painted areas using Testor's paint, I opted instead to put my template skillz to work and try creating matte black decals for the circle end and large middle rectangle bits. I've got a large roll of the stuff, so might as well use it. For my rectangle template, I simply placed a piece of paper over the area (and making sure the paper had full contact with the cylinder) and used my thumbnail to create grooves around the edges. Using an Exacto knife and a ruler for a straight edge, I cut the paper piece out. Then I traced the outline of the paper onto the black vinyl, and cut it out with the Exacto knife. I did a similar procedure for the black circles on the ends, too. Pretty easy I must say. It's not Cricut perfect, but it's good enough (I've got one of those machines on my wishlist now)! And certainly better than paint would look in these areas, too.

And looking more critically, the cod shape isn't exactly the same as in TLJ. I think Chris @themaninthesuitcase mentioned something about it as well. I see the issue now that everything is coming together. The TLJ cod is narrower and more of a "French cut" style than what I currently have. I won't be cutting the cod on this suit to make it more narrow, nor will I be reprinting one. I think I'll be able to simply bring the cod up a bit more (there is still room to move it up), which will make it look a little more narrow overall.

I didn't like how the paint ended up on the black circle on the back plate. Even though it's semi-gloss, it's too shiny for me. And I could see a massive amount of brush strokes in my work. Ugh. I bought a roll of matte black vinyl and cut myself a circle in the exact size (or at least as close as I could do with the circle stencils I have). Then just stuck it over my paint mess. It's not perfectly flat (I guess I could have sanded down some of the excess paint before applying the vinyl, but I am not up for it now), but it looks much better than before. Next, I added little white ABS tabs to the shoulder bridge tabs. Making a template with paper, I cut out the tab shape. Stuck it on with E6000 and taped it on to cure. Test fitting the upper half of the armor today! Woo! First we verified the ab, cod, and butt pieces all fit. Then I velcroed the chest plate to the back plate. This had me a little nervous, because placing the velcro bits is not an exact science. And I kept having to pull things apart to adjust- I was concerned that I would hear a "CRACK", but it never happened. Thankfully, the ABS plastic has some flex to it. The 2K Gloss also adds some flexibility to the parts, too. I added the thermal detonator in there as well. I'm still working on the belt, so that will not be making an appearance today. Then we took things over to a room with a full-length mirror so Cameron could see himself easily. This was the first time he's tried on so much of the armor, and he was really excited about it. I added the arms as well... and discovered that I still need to make fitting adjustments to the gaskets and strapping tweaks for the arms. But still, not a bad effort for the first big fitting, methinks! My little trooper!!!! <3 Taking the pose holding his air-blaster. Any feedback on fitting adjustments would be appreciated. Cameron reports that he feels comfortable in the suit at this stage, so for movement is good so far. I don't know this suit as well as the OTTK, but I'm guessing I'm on the right track? Now, it's time for me to get back to taking care of detail work and strapping those legs.

Onward to strapping that butt on! I used Tony's fantastic tutorial for attaching the butt plate to the back of the ab. I don't think I could have cleared this hurdle without it! First, I sewed together a bunch of lengths of 3" elastic together. I had to overlap some areas because this kit is considerably shorter than an adult FOTK. It's two halves, connected by some velcro in a flap. Laying it over the butt plate, it will be attached something like this: Another view to compare how things will lay out from the inside of the butt plate. I marked the horizontal line where it will cover and connect with the butt plate with a silver sharpie. Next, I drilled out holes in the horizontal band on the butt plate and installed male and female snaps. I wanted to add some reinforcement to where the snaps will attach on the butt plate with some nylon webbing to overlap the elastic. I don't want any butts failing here. And like with all of the snaps that I build, I always add a small square or rectangle piece of ABS sandwiched in there. This makes removing the snap extremely easy because all you do is pop it off, instead of pulling at the attachment. This also increases the longevity of your snap connections (bonus!) All together now! Here's what it looks like when the ab is in the correct position relative to the butt plate. Test placement before gluing the halves of the elastic inside the ab. Once I had things adjusted, it was time to glue things down. I've only glued down the outer halves for now. This is just to make sure that everything looks good once I remove the magnets. If it all is in good position, I'll proceed with gluing down the inner halves. I'll be adding a little bit of foam and velcro to the lower area of the gap to help secure the thermal detonator plate from lateral movement. Fingers crossed that it works!

Okay, so the posterior connection between the butt plate and the lower back of the ab was making me insane. On this print, the pieces just didn't feel like they fit correctly together. There is this odd overlap of the lower back ab and the upper butt plate that is entirely unnecessary. It also makes for no flexibility in the butt plate connection whatsoever. Below in the pic you can see the two horizontal bands. The one at the bottom of the ab doesn't need to be there. And here is how they overlap. Things fit, but I think I can do better for trooping. Did I mention that I was afraid of cutting this armor? Well, that time is gone. Here is where I measured that I needed to remove the entire horizontal band from the lower ab. All that horizontal material towards the back was gonna go. A few minutes with a cutoff wheel, and off it went. Sanded down the edges, and things look much better now. The butt plate will have some flexibility now at the ab connection, and still fit nicely. Here you can see how they line up now. It's upside down, but the butt plate fits perfectly on the ab plate now. And you can also see where I removed some extra material off the horizontal end areas of the butt plate. This will also allow for good movement, but will be hidden by the belt. Time to get that butt strapped in!

Assembled some belt greeblies. Instead of printing out the entire "belt box" files for the narrow center ab boxes, I cut them so I could make them a little more accurate. Basically, I just printed out the covers and painted them white. Next, I used some pieces of dense EVA foam in 1" thickness to make the bases of the belt boxes. I used a belt sander to smooth out the edges and create a curve that matches the curve of the ab. Then I poked two Chigago screw stems through the foam (this was really easy). I slathered on a bunch of E6000 on the posts to keep them secured in place. Then I applied E6000 to the back of the belt box covers to make 'em stay put. I let the glue cure overnight, and in the morning, I had this: I will probably round off the corners of the black parts once the glue is fully cured in a few days. Next, I tried to wrap my mind around how to attach the thermal detonator plate to the back. The piece has a little bit of a lip on the top, but it's not enough to secure the thermal detonator to the back of the ab at all. I didn't want to do just velcro for this connection. For me, I really wanted something like a hook, so the top of the thermal detonator would have most of the weight hanging securely from the top back of the ab. Enter aluminum! In the same way that we score and snap ABS sheets, I decided to score and snap some 1" strips of aluminum. I snapped it by putting the sheet into a vice grip and bending slowly at the score line. Once I had my 1" pieces, I made folded-over bends to accommodate the top of the back of the ab. They kind of remind me of bicep hooks. I dry fit them into place to make sure they fit. Everything looked good. I applied a generous amount of E6000 to the backs of the clips and stuck them onto the thermal detonator plate. Everything got clamped down with tape, magnets, and a clamp for good measure. I consider this "Phase One" of securing the thermal detonator. The next phase will involve a small amount of velcro and some EVA foam to keep the bottom half secured snug against the ab. Stay tuned!

Sure! It's Rust-oleum Automotive Enamel, Gloss White.

For those who don't believe that the 2K Gloss is serious stuff, I present the can's label. Ye be seekin' adventure, eh?

I honestly don't know the exact cure time for it. There isn't much info on the can except for how to mix the product once activated. Oh, and a TON of warnings. I'd say it's basically Death in a Can if you don't wear PPE. From what I've read on various automotive forums, it's best to wait 24 hours until you handle it, and at least a week (preferably longer) before polishing. It goes on fairly thick. The only areas I'll need to polish down are due to small contaminants that drifted onto the paint shortly after application (dust, curious gnat, etc)- and there aren't many of those (you really can't see them unless you're looking very closely).

Aww, thanks, troopers! You all know how to make a FOTK Mom feel amazing! Finished painting the remaining odds and ends that needed some cleanup today. The big thing was getting the ab piece all done. It had some drip marks last week, so I sanded them down and repainted it entirely. Very happy with how it turned out. And it feels good to get everything white and glossy! I also tackled refurbishing Cameron's helmet. It's an adult size Rubies Deluxe helmet that I had converted for his old FOTK kit. He doesn't know about the surprise upgraded lid, so in order to keep up appearances, I needed to repaint the old helmet to match the new armor. I wet sanded the helmet with 400 grit to remove some of the old paint and give it bite for the new white gloss. I bought a small paint shelter and a cheap turntable so I could paint the lid without worrying too much about extra particles landing on it while it dried. A turntable is a really nice convenience for painting something like a helmet; it allows for slow and consistent rotation while the paint is being applied. I also rigged the spray shelter with a small swivel hook in the inside top so I can hang and rotate small objects in the shelter while painting. I didn't need it for today, though. I had enough extra 2k Gloss to cover the helmet twice. And whoa. Again, I am in love with the ease of how it applies. It self levels beautifully, and I didn't see any drips at all on any of the parts I've painted. It's pricey stuff, but seriously worth every penny. Before repainting this helmet, it was shiny, but nothing like how it is now. The finish is like glass. You can see the blue sky and trees in the reflection on the dome. It is so difficult to get accurate pics of how shiny this stuff is because the white color blows out the reflections. I'll be letting everything cure for a week before painting the black details on. I still have a lot of strapping things to assemble and sew, but it feels like the finish line is in sight!

I spent this past week patiently waiting for the gloss coat to cure. I was able to get more strapping details done, such as fine-tuning the ab suspenders and adding velcro to the inside of the limbs. I've decided to close the shins with a strip of elastic that has velcro sewn at each end, so I sewed a few closures together. Easy and quick, and should hold up well for trooping. Yeah, I know it still might be a while until then, but it's always good to keep looking forward, right? Yesterday I did a little detail painting on some black areas of the armor. I know that some areas are supposed to use black decals, but I've got semi-matte Testor's on hand, so that's what I'm using. I got the paint for the forearms and back plate done. Here's the back plate. So shiny! And the partially-completed shoulder bell elastics. I've got the snaps done inside, I just need to sew in the velcro into the ends (and yes, I know the straps are too long. I still need to take proper measurements for fitting.). Today I installed the screws into the thigh holster, and I am thrilled with how it now looks. So legit! I installed the hex button screws into the blaster and made sure that everything lined up. It worked! That blaster fits in there perfectly. Holding the thigh up here so you can see how it looks. Love this! Cameron is super happy with it as well, but I couldn't get him to stand still for long enough to get a pic with him wearing it!

Oh, wow, I'm so sorry to hear this, Caleb! Take care of yourself first- we'll all still be here if you choose to cut plastic again. Stay strong, hang onto the dream, and all the best to you and your family. (And about that armor, be sure to post over at the FB GA SW Costuming Group. Someone might be willing to take it off your hands locally.)

Your youngling is adorable! Hey, you might want to take another look at your split rivets at the kidney/ab connection. If you're going for higher level approval, they will need to be positioned differently. I'm on mobile right now and can't access my reference pics to show you what I mean. Can anyone post a good reference for kidney/ab rivet positioning?

Hey Emma, Oh, yeah, we've all been there! Some of us know failure a LOT more than others (*cough! cough!, and I don't mean in the COVID way... *). Don't get discouraged. It's a learning experience, that's all. Makes you a better builder. My heat sealing iron is a lot bigger than yours. A larger one will be much better for this task for sure. And for rebuilding returns on the kidney, I found that a heat gun with a jig to support the new return is much more effective, faster, and produces a cleaner result. I liked using a heat sealing iron for creating small curvy returns on my thighs and other areas where I didn't like the "flat cut" look. Not for the big returns on the kidney/back/butt plates so much. As long as you can cover the areas that you don't want to melt, and work slowly, you should make good progress with a heat gun. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/38416-crickets-rs-stunt-build-for-the-vertically-challenged/?do=findComment&comment=534063

I had a window of drier weather today, so I took the leap and decided to get things painted. I moved our cars out of the garage, turned on the new shop lights, and also turned on a fan because it was still about 90 degrees. But with the humidity at just 50%, I knew that I could get a lot done. The fan mostly helped to keep the overspray out of the garage itself. Here are all the parts on their hangers. I still had a few pieces to prime before painting. This was the "dry zone". Out of frame, and to the right, is another garage door opening. That's where I did my painting to keep the other parts free from overspray. After almost 3 hours, I suddenly heard thunder, and I checked my local weather radar. A huge storm cloud was headed my way! Luckily, all the parts had been covered with white gloss, and I was just waiting for things to gas off enough for the 2k clear coat. So everything went onto garage hanging storage at the back wall of our garage until the weather cleared up. I was pretty happy with how things looked at this point. The armor looked nice, and if I wasn't such a perfectionist, I could have called the armor "done" for white paint. I ran some errands after this, and noticed that the rain never happened. Realizing that I still had about an hour of time left to paint, I pulled out all the parts again, popped the 2K Gloss, and began to apply the final clear coat. And while I thought the gloss white was shiny on its own, the 2K Gloss was blindingly glossy! This stuff is remarkably gorgeous. In the pic below of the back plate with the 2K Gloss applied, you can see the reflection of my car. Shiiiineeeeyyyyyy!!!! And the chest is also just as glossy. Swoon. The pics don't really do justice to the shine on these parts, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I used 2 cans to cover most of the parts in 2K Gloss. I have two more, thankfully. I still have to fix some paint hiccups on the ab, belt boxes, and thermal detonator. One can should be more than enough for those. And I'll have an extra can on hand for future touch-ups. Now to wait for a week or so for things to cure really well. Then it'll be time to polish. I am thrilled to be done with the bulk of this part of the build!

Okay, Cameron must be super excited today, because he let me take a few more pics while trying on the armor. And he looks happy in them, too. Bonus! I think I've worked out a good harness system for the most part. He says it's comfortable, and it's sturdy, so, yay! It all snaps out as well as being adjustable. I'll still be adding a cross strap in the front for support (when I attach the shoulder bell straps to the suspenders). I love how in the front view pic, it looks like Cameron is carrying Baby Yoda in a front facing baby carrier.