wook1138

Is that the right thigh by any chance? The right thigh is slightly curved. I drew a "best fit" line in there and used that to make sure I had at least the amount of ridge required for my coverstrip. A little extra ridge showing under the coverstrip is ok since this is seen on some original suits near the ends (top and bottom). That extra ridge showing at the bottom is completely normal for AP. You want to keep your cut line as straight as possible. But it is not an issue if the cut line ends up a bit curved too... when gluing - glue the bottom half first. Let it dry and then glue the top half. This will allow you to clamp the pieces in place and work with the curve of front seam.

You can't really taper the forearms since there is a raised ridge that will show the taper. Padding is probably your best way to go. Also, I think the general rule is that you want to easily fit a finger under your arm armor when wearing it. This will give it enough room to breath. I'm a believer in making things a little larger than needed - if your body changes shape - it is easy to add padding, it is much harder to add plastic. Keep up the good work!

Yes. The first few cuts are terrifying. It gets better - most mistakes are fixable but keep in mind it is easier to trim stuff off later if need be - it is much more difficult to add it back. For trimming I recommend getting some lexan scissors. They are fairly cheap on Amazon and are great for cutting fairly clean lines. Take your time and ask lots of questions. Good luck!

Looking good. Your approach with the inner coverstrips and how you are measuring will come in handy on your thighs, especially the right thigh. The front ridge of the right thigh is curved a little bit so it is hard to get the two halves to meet nice and clean. For the coverstrips, and I glued only the bottom half one day, then I came back and glued the top half of the coverstip the next day - this allowed me to add just enough pressure on the coverstrip so it would bend to follow the curve of the ridge. Keep up the great work!

There are videos on YouTube - I just don't have a link handy. Your AP armour will not get that soft in the boiling water - no worries - you won't leave finger prints. Try keeping it in the hot water for about 30 seconds and then take it out and see how much flex that gives you - chances are you will need to put it back in and heat some more. I found I had to hold the pieces in the water for close to a minute. Even then it still took a bit of force to change the shape. It is important to hold the shape while the piece cools under some cold water. I had to repeat about 3 times to get the full effect. Oh, if you mess up - just re-heat... I found that the ABS wants to return to its original shape somewhat when heated again. Hope that helps.

I have hot water bathed after gluing with no issues. If you do have an issue, it is not a big deal to remove the coverstrip and re-glue.

Yes! I've done exactly that. Easy to do - and fits much better afterwards.

Hi Shawn, like Scimitar mentioned, the glue holds the snaps very well. I too used nylon with my snaps and I've had no issues with things coming apart. For the E-6000 reacting with ABS - I am one of the people who had this happen. I have narrowed it down to a bad tube of E-6000. I have gone through a lot of E-6000 in the last few years and I only had issues with that one tube of the stuff. Also, I no longer tend to apply a lot of pressure when waiting for the glue to set as this was suspected as being one of the issues. That said, I have been a bit braver with applying a lot of pressure when the glue is setting and have not had the issue return... yet.

Ideally, you want to cover as much as the ridge as you can. Because of the sizing, I would say the 20mm coverstrips look better. You could cheat a few mm on them (17 or 18 mm), but the 15mm shows too much of ridge IMO.

Looks great! You are very organized with your magnets - makes me feel like a barbarian. lol When you are gluing parts together, are you taking a bit of sandpaper and roughing up the surfaces a little? This really helps with adhesion.

Yep, already ordered. Looking forward to it!

So I’m watching Disney Gallery episode 8, and they start talking about the 501st. It brought a tear to my eye. I’m jealous and hate anyone that got to be involved. Nice work, troopers!

Welcome to the FISD, Tanner. Looks like you got your question answered regarding the weathering. The links provided for T-jay's weathered TK is a great example of how to weather a TK. It is light weathering but looks fantastic. Congrats on your purchase - its addictive, right?

Looks good! I wouldn't worry about the forearm and bicep being out of proportion. They have to fit. The coverstrips should look the same, but that is about it. It looks like you could pull your bicep up a bit (5-7mm - just guessing). There should be a little space between the forearm and bicep. This will allow for better movement too.

Wow! Amazing work. I was looking into doing this for my son - but after seeing the amount of work you are going through, I've come to realize that I don't love him that much.

Welcome to the FISD, James! Glad you found us.

Hi. Yes, I would switch to E6000. You will need some clamps and rare earth magnets to hold pieces together while the glue cures (up to 24 hours for most stuff and up to 48 for pieces that are under stress). Removing the CA glue is possible. It helps if you can freeze it and then very carefully pry it apart with a dull knife. It takes time and patience - both things I don't have so I've never tried. lol. Anyway, I thought there was a "how to" thread for this, but I couldn't find it. Check out the link below and see if you can find something that helps. Good luck. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/4-assembly-mods-and-painting/?

Hi Stephanie, welcome to the FISD! Good luck with your build. Check out the how-to and tutorial sections for tons of tips.

Hi Davin, welcome to the FISD. I'm in the Garrison next door - Badlands. As mentioned above, check out the getting started section. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/38-getting-started-read-this-first/ You might also want to check out the build section (there are different sections for different costumes). If you are planning a classic ANH TK, a really good build to check out is this one: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35086-ukswraths-anovos-tk-build-stunt/ It is for a Anovos kit, but the methods can be applied to most kits. and also check this out: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/79-tutorials-tips-and-howtos/ It's all going to look incredibly daunting at first, but it will make sense eventually. Take some time to read through the posts on the page. The best kit for you will depend on your body shape and budget. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. You have the right attitude - don't be afraid to take your time and do some research. Homework assignment: go watch ANH... again!

The hot water can soften the glue, but you should be ok. If you think the glue has been compromised after the hot water bath, it is not difficult to remove the coverstrips and re-glue with new E6000. As far as timing after you glue with E6000 - as mentioned, 48 hours is best. I dipped about half the forearm into the water (due to the size of my pot) - it also took me close to a minute before the plastic was soft enough to shape. I think I did 3 baths before I had the shape I wanted. Remember to hold under cold water to set the shape. Keep up the great work!

Welcome to the FISD, Craig! RS is fantastic armor. Do look around the forums a bit - check out the approval thread for the upper levels (EIB and Centurion level). This will give you a good idea about how everything should ideally fit and look. You can also use the Pre-Approval thread to post pics of you in your armour and get feed back. Congrats on your purchase! https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/72-request-centurion-status/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/193-request-tk-pre-approval/

Congrats on your BBB day! Great to hear you are going for Centurion! I found that I had enough extra ABS coverstrip material for inner strips with what Mark provided - so you should be good as long as you are conservative with the plastic. Good luck on your build!

Holy cow! Yeah, I would never get my head in that, LOL. I find two fans is more than enough. Looks pretty sweet, though.

Hey Joseph, I think he has enough room with the trimming from what I understand. He has wide ridges so he has to apply wide coverstrips to match. And yes Ryan, try to keep the forearm and biceps coverstrips as similar as possible with regards to width. I’m sure a mm hear or there won’t matter if need be.

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the FISD. RS will be awesome! And if some tweaks are required, we are here to help!