wook1138

That is a really good point for the back to kidney connection.

Thanks Brien. That is where I was leaning. I was planning on the right side ab/kidney being elastic only because I've seen other people do it - but making the snaps more accessible during dressing/undressing is a really good point - which I had not thought of at all. I also thought the ab to chest would be a good place for elastic as well - since it just overlaps anyway.

So... internal strapping. Elastic or nylon? What to people prefer? I am going with a snap system (mostly single, but I might double-up in a few spots)

I actually own that stuff already. I think I might give it a try tonight.

I have a roll of white hockey tape for covering suspect rivets or other metal parts that might scratch the ABS. That is my Canadian detail for the kit.

Yeah - "snap rivets" was somebody's term that I stole. You got it though - use the split rivet and attach to the snap base on the other side. I've seen people use Chicago screws for the belt. hey, for the belt - did you use the measurements from ukswrath's build? Or just fit the belt and put holes were needed?

Did you make "snap rivets" or are you just going to rivet the nylon right on? By the way - are you planning on using mainly Velcro or nylon webbing for the strapping? I've seen both being used, but I can't image the elastic holding up very well over time. Awesome progress, BTW!! Looks amazing.

Thanks Sean! I saw darthanael's thread on that - he had a pretty tough time. I was hoping you would figure something out first Do you think you will be done the kit before the loctite arrives!?! I'll be lucky if I get this done before "Solo" comes out.

Not required. People do it for various reasons. Mainly, it looks cool. It can also darken the interior of the helmet - less likely for people to see your eyes.

Found the pic, Sean. That is exactly what I was talking about. This will allow me to let the thighs down a little too - if need be.

Thanks guys. Yeah, but that was whiny Ep III Vader Yes I did. I wasn't going to remove anything from the front of the thigh (or shins for that matter). Just the back for mobility. Sean, I can't believe I hadn't checked out that thread before - there is a lot of good info for first timers (I just quickly went through it this morning - I'll have to go back and find the pic you are talking about). I'll probably leave it alone for now. I can always cut later - but the ABS doesn't grow back.

Finishing the arms. Everything is glued - final trim. I did noticed a cover strip on one forearm was lifting very slightly. I'll have to keep my eye on it. One side done on this forearm. All done! Hopefully. Made the hooks for the biceps. One was about 0.5 inches longer than the other. The shorter one is actually a little too short. I may make another one that is a bit longer - it allows for more area for gluing. I shaped them with a hot water bath.

Question: The front edge of the tight seems to have a curved return edge from top to bottom. The pic below is showing the straight cover strip best fitted to the curve part. Is this the way to deal with this? Also, in the CRL the lower return edge detail appears to be totally removed at the back of the thighs. Is this required - or more of a comfort thing. Unlike the arms in AP's kit, the legs are left and right specific (and Mark has indicated which piece is which). So measurements from one thigh didn't meet the needs of the other - or I have one larger thigh than the other. Didn't actually measure myself. Anyway... Actually, now that I see this picture here, it is hard to see the issue. Oh well. the lower return edge at the back (left had side of pic) - should I cut this away? CRL image http://databank.501st.com/databank/File:TK_anh_stunt.jpeg

Thigh fitting. Mark trimmed the thighs with a 20mm (more or less) total return edge on the front. After a fitting, I decided to I would need to trim the thighs with a taper. I first figured out a "tight fit" line, then eased up to a more conservative cut line. then got scared about cutting away too much and reduced the amount of trim even more. On the advice of other more knowledgeable troopers, I also trimmed away the upper return edge on the thighs - for very good reasons IMO. upper return edge It is hard to see the pencil line, but this is the amount of overlap at the back seam - very tightly fitted. I took the total overlap thickness and applied equally to both sides. Than got scared and even reduced it some more (no pic). My right thigh seems good but the left looks a touch big. I posted this before, but I'll post it here again.

Looks good. Did you cut off the big bump and one small bump form the back? I thought I read that from Mark at one point.

Question about thigh fitting. I've tapered the thighs a little. Does it look snug enough around the knees? Thanks. It is the one on the right (my left leg) that I'm more concerned with. I'm not pushing the piece to one side in the second picture.

Looking good! That is a good jump on the day. I feel guilty for sitting at the computer and drinking coffee. Sort of.

ha ha. No worries.

If I can keep up with Sean

It doesn't look very bent in the pic - but it is flared out.

ha ha. yeah, thanks! I was just reading this on Sean's thread.

Question about painting the bucket. Is the black detailing (outlines and lines within the traps) satin or gloss black? The reference I found only mentions the satin black for the vocoder. thanks. I plan to paint everything. I picked up stencils from Trooperbay. Between those the the decals from AP for refernece, I should be able to fake my way through this. I also discovered that the tube stripes on the TrooperBay stencils have a right and left side - which is confusing when you look at the template (seems opposite to me). I'll post a pic later.

Thermal detonator done. After reading Sean's thread, I decided to trim a bit off the clips as well - the screws are 1/4" on center from the edge. And I rounded the corners of the clip where it rides up next to the armor. The provided screws are actually small bolts with nuts. I couldn't get the end caps off to attache the bolts, so I just drilled a hole a bit smaller than needed (reaming out the top part of the hole a little) and just threaded the bolt like a screw. Hopefully it will hold. If not, I guess i will glue it. Done!!

Awesome! Enjoy!

Thermal frickin' detonator. As I read through other people's builds, I've noticed that there are always part of the builds that caused the person some grief. If not grief, they tend to go over somethings in detail while other things, well, not so much. Most of the builds I've read there is like one post that shows up saying something like "while I was waiting for the E-6000 to dry I put together my thermal detonator". The text is then followed by one or two pics of a beautiful, finished thermal detonator. Easy. That was not the case for me. Well, it wasn't that bad - I just like to complain. Anyway... One of the reference pics I used. The other one (which I dont' have handy) had very similar measurements. So the gong show started with the painting - the provided tube is black. It needs to be grey. So... I grabbed a can of Testor's gloss grey spray. I always use a filler primer and sand smooth. sand paper I use - habit from the 3D print kits I've put together. Since I am spraying enamel I decided I would do it in the garage - where it is winter. I assume the cold weather messed with how the paint went on because I had all sorts of issues - I had to strip the paint and redo... twice. I got bubbles the first time around. And then the paint ran the second time (for various reasons). Anyway, I finally figured out the best approach for spray painting in a room at freezing temperatures. But then I decided to mask off the ends so that the caps would slip on easier. I masked way too much - the caps were not going on far enough. The provided caps and plate (the white part that gets glued to the tube - does it have a name?) were a bit too big according to the reference pic. The caps were about 5mm too wide and the plate was about 10 mm too long. So I trimmed. Turns out that my marker sits exactly 5mm off the table when laying horizontal. Perfect. I put masking tape on so I wasn't marking up the ABS. Hold the pen still and spin the cap. I just used curved lexan scissors to cut. Sanding and perfectly sized So, the issue now was that I couldn't get the caps on far enough to get the right overall length (7.25 to 7.5 inches). The tube was too long. So what do I do... I insist that I'm going to get the caps to fit on all the way (why, because I'm a stubborn idiot). I hot bathed the caps - no go (I felt like I was going to bend them out of shape). I carved down the edges of the tube by hand - useless. I then took out the Dremel and tried to resize the tube thickness - just made a mess with no results. So, plan B... just cut the damn thing. Doh Anyway... 7-3/8" Then I managed to put the plate on lopsided. Pulled it off to adjust. Managed to bugger up the paint job AND cut my hand somehow. I was going to leave the blood on the TD - I didn't - but I'm sure I'll have another chance to bleed before I'm done this kit. So, spot painting , a band-aid, and rum later... I'll deal with the clips tomorrow.