TrooperTim

Got the plates glued on to the ab piece. Used a few strips of scrap plastic to fill the gap inside. Right now I'm gluing the anh strips to the calves. This is how they should look, right? Been viewing everyone's build threads to make sure. I wanted to post this before I glue the other strip, just to get an ok from the experts here. I tried to find the image that shows the curve of the ap calves that differentiate between left and right legs, but haven't found it using the search or browsing the ap/te2 section. I remember seeing it here somehwere. Anyone know where it's at?

Out of all the pieces on the armor, the forearms seem to take the most effort to line up correctly. I'm trying to figure out the best way to build them. I'm going to glue the outside of the forearm with a finishing strip then velcro the inside edge so that they're easier to take off. I'm just a little worried about working on them because I don't want to mess up; but since I've done that frequently already, I guess I should stop procrastinating and finish them. One of the first things I did on my armor was cut out the ab plates, hand guards, and other smaller stuff. It so happens that I cut the ab plate so that there's no surrounding plastic, which is going to make gluing it to the ab piece a little difficult. Might look a little odd compared to other people's armor. The ab buttons and ab piece of the armor doesn't sit flush with each other so I'll have to glue some kind of filler to get it set. I hand painted the ab plates using Testors Gray 1138 and Dark Blue 1111. I think I painted them correct size.

I'll share a tip with everyone who lives in North Texas and looking for Novus. I've only seen it sold online but Thomas, aka giric thren, told me about the Harley Davidson dealership in Allen. If anyone wants to buy Novus in a retail store, that's where it's at. I suppose any Harley dealership or boat place would sell it also. Bought a bottle of #1 for $4 and a bottle of #2 for $6. My armor shall be super shiney. My SR Props E-11 blaster arrived a couple days ago. I'll start a build thread when I can devote time to build it. Going to focus on getting the armor finished first. Today I continued work on the snaps. The back, kidney, and but pieces are now connected. Hangs on a coathanger well. It's all coming together. I'm still scared to finish work on the forearms.

Well done and congratulations! You inspire many people, myself included. The armor looks fantastic!

Thanks! AP is robust but not as sharp in details compared to some others, and it's taken me forever to build. If you have patience it's a fun project. It builds faster if you can find some people to do armor parties with. TM and TE are steller also. Just a personal preference on armor types. Most all can be built and modified to look great. Of course! Also thinking about doing a video montage when I'm done.

I looked at a ton of strapping setups by everyone and followed their lead. I curved and glued the shoulder straps to the chest piece and velcro attached the back of the strap to the back piece. I glued snaps to various parts of the armor and made snaps on the black elastic bands. The strapping setup is just about done for the torso. Still have to put in some plastic supports for the elastic bands on the inside of the bells; they're temporarily taped down right now. The biceps hang right to my elbow, which I think is about where they should be. Any lower and I won't be able to bend my arms. I don't believe I need to trim the bells anymore unless they look too long. My SR Props Blaster kit is in transit right now. Can't wait to get started on it. I suppose I'll create my own thread for it and document my progress. Everyone seems to like a build thread.

I've been working on the snaps this week and had bought a pair of snap pliers a while back. I messed around with the pliers for a day and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong, until I discovered that the pliers I had bought weren't compatible with the snaps. The plier's pole wasn't expanding the snaps inner metal enough to secure the snap. I couldn't find any tools to attach to the pliers to make it work. I guess every manufacturers' snap tool is different and only works for their snaps. I gave up with pliers and I went over to my local crafts store and discovered something I think is better; which I haven't seen many people use. Or maybe people have been using it and I haven't noticed. I'm using Dritz Heavy Duty snaps, which I bought for $5 I think. The pliers I bought cost $20. Don't remember the manufacturer of the pliers. Dritz has a Heavy Duty Snap Tool, which cost $3 and does the same job. It comes with a plastic anvil part and the metal post. You just have to have a hammer lying around to create the force that secures the snap. I say, save money (about $17) and buy this snap tool and use a hammer instead of the pliers. Works like a charm.

Sent ya a PM Worth every one! It should look steller, at least I'm hopeful it will. It's a lot of hard work to build an AP kit. Been fun to do. Good luck with your build!

Finished gluing the biceps. Need to trim the top of the strips to make them flush and clean everything up a bit. I've started work on the forearms and I must say, they're very stubborn pieces of plastic and certainly don't line up easily. The forearms are probably going to be the most difficult to glue together. I've decided to glue and place a finishing strip on the top part and velcro hold the bottom.

I wish I could devote more time to my build and get this thing DONE. Everything's coming together though and any progress is good progress. My goal is to apply to the 501st on my birthday in June. That would be an awesome present to myself. Everything is ready to be glued. Started working on the anh finishing strips using the spare ABS that came with my kit. I didn't have enough for the inside and outside strips; was just able to get every outside strip cut out. I'll reinforce the inside with various scraps left over from trimming. Started gluing the bicep using E6000. I sanded and scored every place that was going to be glued. I scored the plastic with my utility knife in a verticle X pattern like the laces of a shoe. I decided to glue the bicep first because it's one of the least visible parts of the armor so if I made a bad mistake no one would really notice. I'm using magnets to keep pressure on the middle of the piece and spring clamps on the edges. The magnets are ceramic block magnets that I bought at the hardware store. Found out about the strong earth magnets a couple weeks after buying the ceramic block ones, but these seem to work fine. The charcoal, or whatever it is, on the magnets makes anything it touches dirty so I wrapped them in paper.

Very cool. Although, a kit might be a little difficult to do because of the different makes of armor; everyone's going to be little off in dimensions. Right? I'll have to check this out next time I go to my local store.

That is awesome! Seeing this makes me REALLY want to finish assembling my armor then maybe sticker it like the blue commander ...just for fun. I was wondering the same thing. Maybe from here?

I dig my AP kit. Lots of info here on the boards. Just keep researching and you'll find the answers you need. Everyone's very helpful. I'll send you a PM.

GLUE I'll be gluing my pieces together this week and I'm deciding the best glue for me to use. I have E6000 and I've seen several people use that; just sand and score the area to get a better bond. I've seen some use devcon weld, plastic bond, or abs cement. It all does the same thing... hold it together. Just depends on preference and strength I suppose. I'll go with E6000 and see how it works. SEAM STRIPS This week I'm starting to trim the seam pieces for the ANH strips. I hear AP is originated from ROTJ so to make it look more ANH I need to add these. I'll be making an inside and outside strip for each seam. From what I've read and seen, some strips don't completely cover the raised mold line of the armor piece; like the forearms. Is that just a personal preference for better screen accuracy? I've searched through some threads and found measurements for the strips. Just want to make sure and clarify that this is accurate before I cut em up. I don't have much spare ABS. 15mm Forearms Front and Back 15mm Bicepts Front and Back 20mm Thighs Front and Back 20mm Calves Front 25mm Calves Back

Those look fantastic. Definitely would save on the shipping wait. Maybe their out of stock on certain sizes right now cause I didn't see mine available. I ordered mine from barnstormers yesterday; cost $52. The wait to arrival begins! Yes Andy, please take lots of pics on how you dye those boots, and what brand you used. I'll be doing the same thing also!

Indeed. Good prices and looks like they have a nice selection. Thanks for posting this. Been looking all over the net for one that would work, aside from caboots.

Got a reply from them today. They quote me for £15 shipping which is around $21 at the current exchange rate. Did you have to pay any customs or import taxes when it arrived to the US?

Yeah, I'm really interested in getting these too. I sent an email to them yesterday asking for a quote for shipping to the USA. No reply yet.

I did a test fit on some of the pieces (chest, bells, ab, and thighs) just for fun. Since I'm skinny enough, looks like it'll fit me like a glove. Giggidy, giggidy.... allriiiiight. I'm figuring out how to assemble this stuff; looking over some flicker build galleries and tutorials on this awesome forum. Need to go buy some clamps.

Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone. I'm excited about finishing up the body. I have the pieces trimmed up; just have to assemble. Looks like TK-1287 sent you a PM. I'm sure he provided you with a good answer to that. I bought the helmet and body armor kit untrimmed. Spent a big chunk of my paycheck but it's worth it. Is that a papercraft or kirigami stormtrooper as your avatar? Brilliant!

Snapped a non-grainy photo. Thanks radiant sunlight beams! Now to finish the rest of the body...

Man, I should have got mine trimmed. That saves some time... and blood. Mine arrived pretty quick; from final payment to arrival was about a couple weeks I think.

Thanks guys!

I'm sure you mixed the paint well before you used it. That can have an effect on the coloration, but not sure about thickness. I've heard that the paints they produce now look a little different than what they used to be. I used Testor's 1138 and one coat was all I needed to paint mine. I've found that enamel paints are usually thick enough that they don't need additional coats. The vocoder looks great.

I think I've finished the exterior of the helmet. Still have some work ahead of me for the inner electronics. I need to replace the rubber trim for the brow and the base with more accurate ones, but that will be a little bit later on. Everything is hand painted except for the tube stripes. I used the decals that came with the kit. 12 stripes for the right tube, 13 for the left. I think they look pretty good. I'll probably take them off and hand paint the stripes but that will be way into the future. I'm very proud of what I've done so far. Seems like I'm finally accomplishing something on this massive build. Sorry about the grain and faded colors; bad lighting.