Shinyarmour1

Thanks Greg, very useful

I am having a thought about the pieces I removed from the kidney sides. It has been mentioned that the notch on the kidney side is not needed (I guess because the canvas belt covers that area anyway), so it was fine to remove. As you can see from the previous images, trimming those sides brought the ab plate closer in and it fits me better now. However, the original movie TK's had the notches on their kidney plates. Even though it will be covered by the belt, I would still like to have the notch on my armour to be as close to the orgianal TK's accuracy as possible (including detail that is concealed). I did some more research and found that the notch measurment should be approximately 22mm in height and length. If I was to recreate the notch by cutting the new trimmed kidney, it would result in removing 22mm on the butt plate side. That would remove a lot more than I would like and I"m not going to do that. But I do have an idea on how to bring back the notch without removing too much from the butt plate:- 1. I would take the 25mm piece that I removed from the kidney plate, trim that to measure 13mm. 2. Get a large spare piece of ABS that covers the entire area (and a little extra) and glue on like a reinforced inner coverstrip. 3. Seal the outside with ABS paste and blend it with wet sand and polish. 4. Trim 9mm at the bottom edge to recreate the 22mm notch. 5. Then to align the butt plate with the kidney notch, take the butt plate and trim 9mm down. 6. Lastly, take the ab plate and remove 13mm from the side. I really want this to work, but I'll wait for your feedback first.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I really appreciate it. I just want to make sure that I am explaining myself correctly about my width spacing. After removing some of the kidney and bringing the ab close in, I found the new size fits me perfectly. When you look at my front and back with the ab and kidney alone, it looks big on me. However, when you add the chest and back plate, it looks to fit me just fine. 　 It was at that moment where I did not know what to do. I was also thinking of cutting some more triangle notches in the upper and lower return edges of the kidney and bending closer in. 　 But after take all of your advice into consideration, I"ll probably play it safe and not do any more bending. Thats what I am going to do. It might look big on me with the torso alone, but once I attach the arms, legs and helmet, then everything will probably look in proportion and not so large. Something I thought about after your comments, that is "What if I shape the torso to fit my thin size, but find out afterwards that the legs, arms and helmet look out of proportion"? I don't want to end up making the torso thin to fit me, then discover that everything else looks bigger. So I'll play it safe and leave the reshaping for now. Later on in my build, after everything else is constructed, I'll do another test fit with everthing on and see if the kidney and ab plates really do need to be reshaped some more or not. 　 Yes please Wook that would be great. I was thinking about doing that for my kidney/ab connection for that extra bit of reasurance that they would stay aligned together throught many troops.

Thanks for the replies, as recommended, I measured the notch (25mm + 2mm for the slight return edge) and trimmed the side of the kidney plate removing the notch completley and 27mm worth of plastic. 　 After the trim, I did another test fit and found that it fits much better. As you can see, the front and back are closer in and looks better now. 　 As for the width, I'm still not sure if they appear too wide. When I wear the ab and kidney plate, it looks big on me. But when I have the chest and back plate as well, it looks just fine on me. 　 When I was wearing the ab/kidney plate , there was still plenty of room. How much room measurment should there be between myself and the armour? And should I bring the sides in some more or leave it as is? 　 Sorry if I appear to be nagging alot about the width, I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. And when I have confirmation that the torso has been reshaped and no longer requires editing, I can then start fixing the return edges and move on with something else.

Sorry for the late reply. I haven't had a chance to get on here for a while. Thanks for the comments, that's what I was aiming for with my build thread...detailed and presentable. As for the hot water bath, the forearms did not align together and had too much tension. I was afraid of them popping out or splitting later on down the road. Many troopers had to go through the same process and reshape them in hot water to align them and ease the tension (and it worked). The torso (which I am still working on) is another story. Because I'm so skinny, I've trimmed to the required movie accurate guide lines and found that it looked too big on me. That I why I needed to reshape the kidney, butt and ab plate to fit my stick figure.

Test fit (take 2) I cut 2 notches on both sides on the upper and lower return edges of the Kidney and the Butt plate (to help with the bend), gave them both a hot water bath and reshaped the sides to fix close to my body. I will ge round to fixing the warped/cut retun edges, but not until the reshaping has been modifided for my size. I need some help on this because the torso is really becoming a pain to get right. I could not reshape the Ab plate becasue the sides that needed heating could not fit in the pot, so I'll have to use a hair dry for that one. As for the Kidney/Butt plate, I ran a test fit shortly after and there are 2 questions I have about the situation. 1. Does it still look too wide on me? Eventhough it's closer to my sides, there's now more room front and back. No amount of foam will compensate that gap. So I'll probably have to do some trimming down. 2. How much (and where) should I trim off? I am open to any advice and info.

I've been reading through various AP builds and have found something confusing about the TD screws. AP have supplied (already painted) screws for the TD and the CRL states that they are accurate. However, all the builds I have read through mention that they need to be replaced with flat pan slotted screws for L3. Does that mean that the AP screws provided are not accurate for L3? If not, I found one of these screws in the bottom of my tool chest. I've done the measurements comparing it to the already supplied screws, luckily it is the same height and width as them. If these screws are acceptable for L3, then I'll have another look to see if I can find more.

That sounds like a great idea. I will implement that method for the other side of the Kidney just to see how that will work. Then I'll do the same for the Ab and Butt plate if needed. I have finished making some single snaps for the arms and double snaps for the torso. I didn't have a hole punch device, so I just used small scissors to cut the holes and a lighter to burn the holes/ends to stop them from fraying. Overall, I am pleased with the result. I'll be needing to make some more, but I can do that later on as my build progresses.

I'm a bit hesitate about giving more pieces a hot water bath at the moment. So what I'm going to do is read more build threads (especially ones with hot water bath techniques) and shape the other side of the kidney on the weekend. In the mean time, I'll take a break from the plastic and work on something else like the strapping system. I have several packets of snaps and nylon webbing ready to go. And I will use the double snap setting for my build for that extra bit of support.

I have given my kidney plate a hot water bath. I read through some tutorials and taken some tip advice from fellow troopers before hand. I made a trace outline of the kidney shape, so after the bath and bending, I'll be able to see the difference. Also I made out of scape pieces of wood taped together, some reinforcments to clamp during the process. I was a bit nervous about doing this, but it's something that had to be done. Okay...I have some good news and some bad news. Good news I bent one side of the kidney and as you can see it worked. Once the other side is bent, I'll use this as a reference for aligning the butt plate and ab plate when the time comes to bend thoughts. Bad news The reinforce clamping did not work. The return edge has suffered stress cracks, splits (inside and out)... ...And the entire return edge is warped. Instead of stressing out (usually my first reaction), I stopped working and thought about my options. I think I might have an idea to fix all this. First I'm probable going to have to bend the other side and accept the outcome. Once the kidney is reshaped and fits me better, then I can begin the repair. I was thinking of making some deliberate splits in those big (almost triangle shape)bent areas of the return edge, leveling them straight and trimming the overlapping excess. This way there wouldn't be any stress and the areas would align ready for the next stage. Make a small batch of ABS paste and fill the cracks and splits, followed by the trusted 'wet sand and polish' technique. As for straigtening the whole return edge from the warped areas and the fixed split areas, I could make some reinforcement coverstrips to glue on the inside of the return edge. Use blocks of wood to clamp on the outside of the return and hopefully that would level and straighten the majority of the return. Any unevenness at the top of the return edge, I'd sand over, ABS paste over the top, then sand over the paste with wet sand and polish to level out. At this stage I am open to any and all sudgestions about fixing the cracks and straightening the warped return edge.

Excellent, thanks.

Thanks for the feedback Mario. I had another look at my wrists and I am unsure about removing anymore from them. Not that I am doubting your expert eye, but I have retake images of the wrists from this angle and still unsure if I still need to take more off. If from this image you still believe I need to take some more off, then I most defiantly will. However, I'm only hesitate because I don't want to trim too much into the indents. Do I still need to take some off the wrists? If so, is there a way to do this without reaching the indents?

Here's what I was thinking about for reshaping the Kidney. I have marked in red for where the area will be bathed in hot water. And in-between the blue lines for where I will make the bend. This will be applied for both sides of the Kidney. If this works out, I will apply the same technique for the Ab and Butt plates.

Thanks for the advice guys. Before I make start on reshaping the torso pieces, I want to share my experience after finishing the forearms. Last time I tried to reshape these, the glue on the coverstrips deteriorated. So after removing and regluing, I left the arms for a week and tried again. I filled the pot with water, brought it to the boil and submerged the forearms. After leaving them in for 45 seconds, I sqweezed the halves together and ran them under a cold tap for a minute. Now they have less tension and are easier to bring the halves closer together. Not only that, but this time the coverstips have remaind firmly attached to the forearms. After several hot water baths, I then glued the remaining coverstrips onto the arms to bring the halves together. I glued the edge-to-edges together with the inner strips first to get the forearm shape, left to dry, then glued the outer coverstrip on top. Fortunately only 1 cover strip moved to the side a little and had to be removed and reglued. The other 3 stipes stayed in place. All things considered, that's still pretty good and I am pleased with the overall result. During the coverstrip glue process, I used a grey lead pencil and at the end of the coverstrip, marked the centre at the end and aligned it where the forearm edge-to-edges meet. That way, I would be able to see if the coverstrips moved and by how much. The forarms are finally completed. Hopefully I've removed enough on the wrists. There is a small 1-2mm gap on some parts of the wrist and elbows where the 2 halves did not meet. When my kit is finished and ready for L 2 and L3 approval, I'm going to make some ABS paste and do a touch up on those parts, along with wet sand and polish on any other pieces that will need attention.

Did I only need to reshape the butt, kidney and Ab plate? Or did I have to reshape the chest and back plate as well?

Okay thanks guys, that's what I'll have to do then. I might be able to place half of some pieces in the pot, then the other half in and shape them. But I don't have a heat gun, nor is my pot big enough for some other pieces, so I'll have to use a hair dryer. I must admit, I tried before just slightly bending the kidney plate to test for reshaping and I saw a stress crack about to emerge on the top return edge. Thanks for sending me that link Wook, I'm going to read through your TD build section about reshaping. I'll also take a few more picture of the individual pieces and upload them for a visual perspective on how much to trim off, what areas to apply heat and where to reshape. That's quite a lot trimmed off. I was just following the 'Movie Accurate Size' AP labelled, but looking at your trim I'll probably take some more off. But I'll upload some pictures first with some trim line suggestion before making any rash decisions.

Now onto the torso fitting. After trimming everything prior to the cut lines and marked 'Movie Accurate Size' provided, here is the result. I'm a skinny guy and the clam shell is a bit big on me (red line show my width). Although, when looking on the side images it looks to fit me perfect, the front and back images makes it look a couple of sizes too big and wide. I even have enough room on my side to fit one arm in. So although I will need to add foam padding to the front and back, there still leaves too much room on the side. I am not sure if there is any way to condense the width to bring it a little closer to my side. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make the torso fit without appearing too large on me?

Back plate Kidney plate Butt plate Shoulder bridges For the shoulder bridges, I read about reinforcing techniques to make them stronger. I gathered some scrap pieces of ABS which I will trim to size and glue in the slots underneath. I thought about going the extra mile and strengthing the bridges some more. I was thnking about using these ABS pieces that I would bend to shape and glue to the bridges. More images to come.

Hey guys It's been a while since I had a chance to share images of my build, but I finally have some spare time to show you all my progress. I managed to trim all the torso pieces, except for the kidney and butt plate (they were already trimmed). It's really hard because I'm using the score and snap method for my build and AP kits are so thick to cut through. But that's good, becasue that means the AP kit is durable and will last a long time. Just to catch up, last time I was working on the forearms, I gave them a hot water bath and the glue deteriorated. This caused 1/4 of the cover strip to come off, while the other cover strip came off completely. So what I did to resolve the matter was to reglue the parts that came off and leave the forearm coverstips for a week, just to make sure the glue cured completely. 　 During the week it gave me the opportunity on trimming the Chest, Abs, Back plate and Shoulder bridges. My fingers were sore after all that score and snapping, but it was well worth it. I carefully measured every piece, marked it with a pencil, measured again and trimmed. Chest plate Ab plate More images to come.

Hello everyone I have not had much chance to work on my kit, but I did manage to make some progress. I cut out and sanded the cover stips for my biceps and forearms. In my last post I was asking about the corner measurments for the cover stripes. I decided to measure and cut 3mm each side, line up and trim. Thanks for the reference pictures Daniel. 　 Thanks for that usefull tip Mario, I did not have a block of wood to hand, so instead I used this metal rectangle to even out the clamping force. This worked a treat, highly recommend this method to other builders when doing their cover strips. 　 Here is the finished result for the biceps. 　 I even made some Han hooks by using Ukswrath's measurments. I will attach these with some velco, that way I have the option of attaching or removing them whenever I wish. If anyone else reading this build thread is going to do the same trick, here is a tip I have for you. Make sure you stick the soft part of the velco onto the bicep and the course part onto the Han hooks. Just in case you might decide to have the hooks on some troops but not on others, the soft velco side on the bicep will not scratch you or damage your undersuit. I didn't have so much luck with the forearms. After gluing the edges to together, I waited 48 hours to dry then gave them a hot water bath. Unfortunately I did not leave them long enough, because the E6000 deteriorated from the forearms. However, not only have I reglued the forearms back together, but I've also glued the cover stripes on as well. Now, this time I will leave them for at least a week before giving them another hot water bath. While I wait, I think I'll commence on the torso.

I'm planning to cut my 15mm coverstrip corners diagonally. What are the measurments for cutting the corners? I'm guessing that I mark 3mm length along the corners, then use a ruler to line up and trim the line. Would 3mm be the correct size?

Now that I know the biceps and forearms are good, I'll cut and sand the coverstrips for them. But first, I must give the forearms a hot water bath. As mentioned before, I will practice with some scrap pieces first to get a feel for the method.

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone. I'm glad to hear that you all like the build so far and that it is meeting the accuracy requirements of the 501st.

Hey everyone Thanks for the tips and advice, I will be using those ideas for sure. Made some progress on the forearms. I glued the two halfs of the forearm together, left it to cure for 24 hours and it worked great. I highly recommend to any furture armour builders reading this thread, that you install inner coverstrips as well as the outer coverstrips. The forearm pieces are really tight when you try and line them up together, so not only will it help to give them a hot water bath to easy the tension, but the inner strips provide that extra strength for piece of mind. I went ahead and glued the two halfs of the other forearm together and left that to cure. In the movies, they had the return edges on the elbows removed, however I wanted to keep a little bit of return to add the appearance of thinckness to the armour. I was so excited to see the arm comming together, I decided to do a test fit. I tapped the other half of the forearm pieces (quite a lot of tension, so a hot water bath will be required). It fits my arm quite nicely, with no tightness or pinching issues. I even tried slipping my hand thought the wrists several times, with no problems getting through. Tapping the biceps and shoulder bells to where I thought they would sit right on me. I even stuck the rubber hand guards on with double sided tape just to see what the arm would look like when completed. How does it look so far? I used a long strip of tape to connect the right shoulder bell to the left. But the moment that the second picture was taken, the tape came off, so that's why the shoulder bell looks so far out of my shoulder in the last image. Does everything look correct for size and positioning? I'm a little concerned that the forearms and biceps are not in proportion. When my arm is straight, it almost looks like the bicep is wider by a couple of millimetres. Am I worrying about nothing, or do the forearm and bicep widths need adjusting? Any help and feedback would be greatly appreciated. If they both get the tick of approval, I can then glue the outer strips on. Thanks guys

Thanks for the response guys, I'm defiantly going to need as much help and info as possible. That's a great idea using wood to apply even pressure across the forearms. I had the same thought about leaving the forearms 48 hours instead of 24 when I glue the other half together, because of the tension. If I glue the forearms together, let them dry and then place them in boiling water, would that effect the glue performance/durability? And do I put the whole forearm in water or just where the edge to edge join?