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BDWC

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
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Posts posted by BDWC

  1. Articulated cod armor (aka sitting is easy)

    in ANH (Stunt and Hero)

    Posted

    I was looking at the photo I posted and noted that the "belt line" did not look correct as the belt should just slightly overlap the ab button plate. So this looked a little high, and in turn put the intended separation line a little high. So I reattached the ammo belt to check, and it looks like I have more working room that I originally thought.
    The red pencil line looks to be about my maximim flat area option, but I think if I cut at the gray pencil line then I would have the best of both flexibility and flat area for rebonding with ABS backing strips, should that time come.

    Please chime in with any thoughts
    Thanks!7bba258a722e32be8043f5d1d13cd2c1.jpg05b126a39130ea1e32d2d55c6d208f27.jpg90da1723281a1a70b1e69a74f14bf526.jpg

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

    • Like 1

  2. Articulated cod armor (aka sitting is easy)

    in ANH (Stunt and Hero)

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, Cricket said:

    Oh, and that thing you mentioned about adding ABS strips to stiffen the connection area if you're gluing....  I've never needed to do that.  When I cut, I didn't cut right at the ridge at the bottom of the ab (where the cod starts).    Instead, I cut about 3/4" below that.  This allows a wide secure surface to overlap with your cod and to glue it back on (if you're shortening things).  Also, it preserves the vertical ridge on the ab/cod, so you don't have to worry about guessing where to line things back up.  The parts will naturally align to that ridge.  I hope that makes sense!  I very recently shortened my cod on my TK Hero kit, so I'm kind of familiar with how things go.  ;) 

    Thanks! As you see from my pictures there is a VERY small gap that exists between the  ab-to-cod moldline curve and I was thinking of splitting the difference there. That would give a flat-to-flat area for reconnections if needed.  I think that the belt will cover it and, if anything, any "belt sag" would just be to the better for concealment. If the elastic stretches too much though and reveals the split, then there is the second snap provided by the Anovos thigh plate snaps.

    I'm still muddling over this before cutting :blink:

    • Like 3

  3. Articulated cod armor (aka sitting is easy)

    in ANH (Stunt and Hero)

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, Cricket said:


    I don't see why a cod piece secured to the ab with nylon straps or elastic, or whatever, would be a problem.  The belt hides everything where the cut would be, and the elastic at the bottom of the cod/butt plate would keep things from flopping around.  (haha... see what I did there?)  The FOTK kits have their cods secured separately from the ab using snaps on the inside of the belt.  Can anyone tell?  I doubt it unless you're staring intensely at the trooper's cod.  And if you are doing just that, then you might have other issues going on.  :P

    Thanks, I didn't think about attaching to the belt! But with ANH, I guess that I would have to E6000 a snaplate onto the inside of the belt so it doesn't show?
    Anywho, I'm pondering a set-up to add ABS strips to align and/or stiffen the connection (if need be) much like some folks have done on the kidney-to-ab connection. This would also allow for a base to bond or ABS paste the pieces back together. since this would be easier and more accurate before separating , this is the last thing I'm considering before making the cuts :o

  5. Articulated cod armor (aka sitting is easy)

    in ANH (Stunt and Hero)

    Posted

    15 minutes ago, TKSpartan said:

    Hi, you may want to check this build thread. 

     

     

     

     

    Thank you Mario.

    I like the "overlapping method" used here as that would give stiffness as if it was solid under most circumstances. I believe if I used elastic strapping (instead of non-elastic nylon strapping as I use on my shoulders) that would give the flexibility when needed.

    Once I get started and experiment a little bit, I will post photos. Thanks again!!

    • Like 2

  6. Articulated cod armor (aka sitting is easy)

    in ANH (Stunt and Hero)

    Posted · Edited by BDWC

    10 minutes ago, Sly11 said:

    May I suggest you make that kind of modification after you have the costume approved, even at basic level, or check with your GML just in case.

    If you were to go for our optional higher levels, again I would suggest the same, get approved to the level you want, then make additional mods.

    Done, done, and done.....now going for comfort after maxing out the levels and now having had 2 hip replacements
    (Andrew, I'm guessing you're posting from your phone and cannot see the badges?)

     

    • Like 1

  7. Articulated cod armor (aka sitting is easy)

    in ANH (Stunt and Hero)

    Posted · Edited by BDWC

     

    I know this has been done, especially in the UK. However I have been unable to find any build threads that cover this. I plan to make the cut so that it will be covered by the ammo belt. Also planning on using 2" elastic straps with snaps.

     

    This will not only improve my flexibly in armor, but this way I can remove the cod for kilted trooping.

     

    Thanks in advance for any info or links to how others have done this !

     

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

     

     

     

    • Like 1

  9. [37] TK-24233 Troop Log

    in Field Training Exercises

    Posted · Edited by BDWC
    updated

    Just now getting this up, but here we go.....

     

     

    # Date Location Charity/Event
    1 10/16/16 Newport News Park Out of Darkness Suicde Prevention
    2 6/3/17 Baptist East Hospital March of Dimes
    3 6/3/17 Calera Library Library
    4 6/29/17 Greenville Library Library
    5 9/23/17 USS Alabama , Mobile, AL St Jude
    6 10/5/17 Cullman Wedding, Loft 212 Manna House 
    7 10/14/17 Eclectic Cotton Festival Children's hospital
    8 10/27/17 ZooBoo Montgomery Zoo
    9 10/31/17 Costume Contest At WCW Halloween
    10 12/9/17 Maxwell AFB Toy drop
    11 12/9/17 Christmas Light Festival Montgomery Zoo
    12 12/14/17 Opelika Tiger AMC 13 TLJ Premiere
    13 12/16/17 Maxwell AFB Toy drop
    14 12/22/17 Opelika Tiger AMC 13 TLJ Premiere
    15 12/24/17 Opelika Tiger AMC 13 TLJ Premiere
    16 1/27/18 Mobile Alabama Pharoah Parade
    17 2/3/18 Millbrook Revelers Mardi Gras Parade
    18 3/10/18 Zoo Weekend Montgomery Zoo
    19 3/17/18 Cramton Bowl River Region Con
    20 4/14/18 Opelika Multiplex Good Grief Camp
    21 5/24/18 Opelika Tiger AMC 13 SOLO Premiere
    22 6/1/18 Calera Fairy Ball Calera Library
    23 6/2/18 Baptist East Hospital March of Dimes
    24 7/28/18 Riverwalk Stadium Biscuits Star Wars Night
    25 10/6/18 Alabama Christian Academy Football Homecoming Game
    26 10/13/18 ZooBoo Montgomery Zoo
    27 10/20/18 Cramton Bowl Gump City Con
    28 10/21/18 Cramton Bowl Gump City Con
    29 10/27/18 Alabaster AmStar St. Judes
    30 10/30/18 Eastchase Chic-Fil-A Halloween
    31 2/17/19 Auburn, AL Donation by Premier Spirit Academy
    32 3/23/19 Zoo Weekend Montgomery Zoo
    33 5/4/2019 Prattville, AL Prattville Library
    34 5/4/2019 Riverwalk Stadium Montgomery Biscuits game
    35 6/1/2019 Baptist East Hospital March of Dimes
    36 12/7/2019 Ramer, AL Ramer Christmas Parade
    37 12/17/2022 Montgomery Zoo Christmas Lights Festival
           
           
           
           
           
         
         
         
         
         

     

  10. BDWC's ANH stunt ANOVOS build WIP

    in ANH Build Threads

    Posted

    ..or ~ 1-7/8" (...which is not a thing :blink:)

    I strongly believe that this is exactly a 2.0" wide elastic piece since it was originally made in the UK (English units) and because a 2" elastic is not quite 2" but slightly under, then once stretched longer becomes thinner in width.

    Once I get back home I will measure and post pictures of my two-year old 'stressed' straps and see if this hypothesis is valid. I'm SUPER curious now...

     

    You are really making me think hard today, LOL :duim:

    • Like 1

  11. BDWC's ANH stunt ANOVOS build WIP

    in ANH Build Threads

    Posted

    40 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

    Then 2" might be easier as Trooperbay sells some AND that would be the "correct" width if shooting for screen accuracy and you beeing a Centurion I courteously frown my nose upon velcro-ing the shoulder bridges in the back;) 

    Keep Trooping:salute:

    Good catch there Swede!!!

    Oops my bad, I guess it WAS 2".....I honestly forgot the size, but it was the same as my  elastic, so I guess it actually is 2" (I'm out of town for Christmas while writing this, so I can't go to my armor box and measure right now)

     

    Also, I did not especially like the idea of velcro-ing the bridges, but it was a suggestion from a centurion garrison-mate (who I will not name) and an experiment I needed to try during the time where I had troops more frequently and did not have enough time to sew up and fit new straps. I have since removed the 1/4"x 1" velcro pieces almost a year ago from the back plate, but left the "fuzzy" side pieces on the underside of the bridge pieces to reduce scratching up the back plate from all of the movement each time I stoop down. It is completely unseen as it sits in on one of the 'bump' recesses. And honestly, for the temporary fix this worked good enough at the time as #1) these were non-canon events, and #2) this was better than the bridges continually slipping out then returning UNDER my back plate, which was not only uncomfortable, but made me look like an idiot.

     

    All that said, Swede I want to thank you for actually reading my update and chiming in with your 100% correct suggestions and comments.

    And for the record, my personal pet peeve is the continual overuse of pauldrons. 

    • Like 1

  12. BDWC's ANH stunt ANOVOS build WIP

    in ANH Build Threads

    Posted · Edited by BDWC

    Time again for me to make a forum appearance and update my build thread ;)

    I really don't want to be one of those folks that make the build thread and then just leave it to time-out and die as one of the lonely unread threads that must now be deleted due to age and lack of interaction :(

     

    So...for others that have been trooping over a year, here are some more items that I'd like to add to pass along in case it can help another trooper:

     

    • After 2 years of trooping at a rate of 15-20 troops per year, the elastic shoulder strap just do not hold up over time. Of course I could simply replace them with the original material I used, just not stretched out, and just do this on an 18 month repair cycle,...BUT, I wanted to try another route that a fellow centurion has done with success. I replaced my shoulder straps with canvas! The hardest part was finding 1.5" white canvas. I actually has to source this from a seatbelt manufacturer, LOL. Well, at least I know these will not stretch nor break! I hope that this will also aid in another issue I was having with the shoulder bridges popping out from under the 1/4" elastic on the back plate each time I bent over to talk to a child. With the stretch distance removed I hope that this is fixed as well. I initially tried velcro-ing the bridges to the back plate, but that only makes the plastic take the load and wound up cracking them, and with the worn-out elastic, the velcro simply pulled on the bridges until they cracked :angry:. Fortunately, this repair led me to reinforce and reshape my bridges, so this should not be an issue regardless. But, now with the canvas straps, I might try the bridge velcro hold-downs on the back plate again to see what happens, and report back here with the results.
    • A major tip I can give for crack repair is to not to try to make it perfect. I tried so hard so many times to sand out the crack, repair it with ABS paste and spent all the extra time with the multi-stages of sanding all to find out this: Just fill the crack with superglue, and add a backer plate with ABS paste. once it's dry and cured, lightly final sand and buff the front side. I fount that the hairline that remains it no different than taking 10 times the effort for a full frontal ABS repair, but without th
    • Meanwhile, using the voicechanger TrooperTalk and an Aker amp, a lot of experimenting went on with myself and a couple of other troopers to find the magic combination. We worked it out over at this thread: 
    • And if you checked out this update, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU, as I try to post my trooping experience and discoveries here as without the same help, wisdom, and brotherhood of the troopers before me, I would never have gotten this far in what is by far my favorite SW character costume to date!!!
    • Like 1

  14. Chest to backplate shoulder alignment (anovos)

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted

    I had the same issue, and also used the "remove and locate by tracing onto painter's tape" ( It's amazing how so many troopers come up with the same ideas!!!)

    This healed to 'cheat' the angle over a bit. I also reinforced my shoulder bridges with an extra layer of scrap ABS glued to the underside. Make sure to hot bath and form the doubler piece to the same curve as the bridge before gluing as  you won't be able to reform very much after the reinforcement.

    Also, I have run into the issue of the bridge jumping out of the 1/4" elastic, but this is because the elastic is over two year old with many, many troops. So I am going to change this out to canvas straps during the winter off troop season, just to give me more "mileage" out of the straps, to hold the back of the bridges in place (without Velcro) , and I am hoping that this will also maintain my shoulder bells slightly higher, too.

     

    But overall...YES, hot bath tweaks are your friend!!!

  16. How did you choose your TK ID?

    in Off Topic

    Posted

    On 3/23/2016 at 2:02 AM, Surfintrooper said:

    Zip code also.<br>

    But after I got my number, I thought of a good way to create one that would be unique for each TK. <br>

    Using the number for the letters of each TK 's initials. The letter "A" =1 on up to "Z" =26. <br>

    That could even work for assigned numbers in an actual military situation, as they would all be unique. And if any 3 letter combinations ( first, middle, last names) did repeat, a 1 and so on could be added to the end of the repeat ones. <br>

    Mine would have been TK-23137. Still available. And I actually like it better than my zip ode.

    I actually did that for my screen name:

    B=2, D=4, W=23, C=3.......BDWC= TK-24233

  17. Scimitar's ANH Stunt Build - AP

    in ANH Build Threads

    Posted

    Awesome work there Eric! I only reinforced my shoulder bridges with a doubler plate of ABS the same width after they started cracking. I never thought of adding a metal strip, that's outstanding!

    I am looking forward to following your work on the right side kidney alignment tab, as I am looking on adding that as well.

    Again, great job, and I only wish I had done as much research as you have into upgrading for long term strength and reliability. This kit is going to serve you well for a long time.

    • Like 1

  19. My tips for those just starting!

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted · Edited by BDWC

    I must say that this is an excellent summary, and these are many things "I wish I would have known" myself before starting this journey.
    As so many of us know, so much is learned during the process of your armor build, and thank you for taking the time to write down your 'lessons learned' to share with the community.

    Your tips will be pure gold for any of our new recruits to the white armor ranks!

    This is truly what the motto *Troopers helping troopers*, it all about!!

     

    (also, thanks for the shout out, and thanks for the collaborative help in the search for the best Trooper Talk app settings :duim:)

    • Like 1

  24. Anovos?

    in Getting Started - Read this First!

    Posted

    Thanks Joseph! We had spoken on FISD almost 8-9 months ago, and I obtained similar information from you then. I’ve since followed it best I can, and have made contact with a TK named David, a 501st builder. Long story short, with the preparation near done, I am just waiting on ANOVOS (which, to me, is fine). It’s been a year and change so far, but I am in no rush. 

     

    I intend to use the snap system over the classic or ANOVOS-supplied setup. I’ve already gotten most of the supplies to do so from Joann’s and Tandy Leather Factory. David uses the same system too. As for reinforcements, should I just purchase ABS plastic from Lowes or Home Depot, cut/shape it, and then glue it with E-6000 underneath the armor? What about sackcloth like Neb suggested? 

     

    Thanks again for the help! 

    No worries about extra ABS, you'll have plenty once you start trimming out your kit when it arrives

     

    I wished I had reinforced mine initially, as after almost two years of trooping with my Anovos kit, I've added several pieces and repairs with ABS paste fixing those cracks

     

     

    Sent from my Imperial TK communicator

    • Like 1
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