maeander500

March 30

I am helping a friend build his ANH TK kit (MTK from Trooperbay), and we've run into an issue I was wanting some advice how best to address. Unlike some of the other kits like RS Propmasters, the MTK kit has vertical linear dropoffs on both the front AND THE BACK of the thighs and shin/calf parts which I believe determine where the edge of the coverstrip should abut. My friend's thighs and calves are larger than what would be required for them to fit inside the assembled thigh or shin parts unless the coverstrip is almost 3-4 cm wide, which in my opinion is much too wide for them to look good and certainly deviates substantially from those seen in the movie and in the CRL. We've got a plan to shim the thigh pieces to create space in the back to accommodate his bigger thighs, but I don't think shimming the shin/calf piece is realistic given the curved shape of the calf parts. Any suggestions about how best to address this are welcomed.

Here are images of the front of the shin/calf:

It's almost 4 cm wide from one dropoff to the other one (red line to red line on the pic).

Here are images of the back of the shin/calf:

If I bring the two halves of the shin/calf any closer together his leg does not fit inside.

Report · July 25, 2023

TK54832 requesting access.

https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=36474&costumeID=124

February 28, 2023

Hey Glen and Caleb, thank you for your additional input. My apologies to you, Glen, about the extra "N". I can be taught.

Changes I have made include:

1) Raised the TD back up a bit on the belt (Too high again?).

2) Trimmed the back of the shoulder bridges and evened them so they are about the same length in the back.

3) Used hot water bath to narrow the width of the butt plate so it doesn't protrude past the kidney plates on the sides.

4) Removed some of the padding in the helmet so it doesn't ride as high on my head.

5) Reglued the elastic between the shoulder and forearm pieces to even the shoulder-elbow spacing, left vs. right.

6) Added E11 holster

Hoping to submit soon. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

January 19, 2023

Thank you for your input, Glenn and Caleb. Very much appreciated.

And congrats on your approval, Caleb. Your TK kit is awesome! Very clean.

January 18, 2023

I removed the elastic strapping between the upper arm and forearm pieces on both sides and reglued new strips with more separation between the upper arm and forearm pieces. How are we looking now? slight discrepancy right vs. left. Acceptable or redo? If redo, suggestions for making sure they are the same length?

I rotated the TD clips to move the TD further down on the belt. Too far? Or does it look okay? On most of the movie images, you don't really see the clips, so I'm wondering if the diameter of the TD I was sent is too small. Or acceptable? The butt plate gapes a little on both sides (front and back images show it). Suggestions for constraining it (warm bath/heat gun to mold to better shape)?

January 13, 2023

I lowered the right and left arm/forearms to reduce the gap between the forearm and the hand plates/wrist area.

Here are photos of the full assembly.

I want to trim the shoulder straps in the back, but would like input about where to cut these. The right is a bit longer than the left in the back. I'm thinking of cutting these along the red lines in the image below. Thoughts/suggestions?

January 12, 2023

I've almost completed my TK build (I hope) but had a few questions and am hoping for feedback about what I've done so far.

Armor maker - MTK Armory

Helmet maker - MTK Armory

Cloth belt maker - TrooperBay

Neck seal maker - OEM from Amazon
Boot maker - Imperial Boots
Blaster maker - Blaster-Master (Raymond Hebert) 3-D printed E-11 Uber
TK type - ANH Stunt

Parts