bishopdonmiguel

My goal for Centurion has hit the proverbial wall. I didn’t read the L3 requirements carefully enough and thought the gaskets just needed to “look” like rubber. But a more careful reading says “shall be made of rubber.” I’m in no way interested in ever wearing hot sweaty rubber, so I’ll downshift my goal to L2. BUT... I’m still going to try to make the armor look as L3 as I can. After all, reaching for the extra details is just a personal journey anyway so why not.

Thermal Detonator: These pulls looks pretty rough. I think I can make it work but it’s going to be a challenge. The plate for the TD is cut from the larger pull leaving the two side scraps for torso shims.

Yoke & Back: Pulls seem quite nice. The shape of the “rear neck vents” isn’t quite accurate from what I can see in screen caps. I’ll probably make a small change to that. The circle on back isn’t quite perfect. Probably try to fix that too. The back affixes to the yoke just behind the rear neck vents. Trimming is required get these to fit, although there is no obvious alignment point.

Congrats! I hope to follow soon. Did you have a build thread? Looking for any and all input.

Chest Plate: Nice pull. I left thick return edges but I think these will get adjusted later during fitting. I started cutting out the pill holes by eye but I could not see the edges very well. So I printed another vinyl stencil to help keep me on target. Question: For Centurion I need to show "clear separation" between the plates. I assume this means I need to cut the parts away and reconnect with a gap?

Posterior: It's a butt. Seems nice.

Torso: Main concern here is the softness of the boxes and lack of any detail on them. These will not fit without shims but will be material for that after trimming the Thermal Detonator. Question: I am considering building shells to sit over the boxes. Is this a bad idea?

Thighs: My least favorite parts so far. Trim lines are hard to see. No return edges to speak of. Seams don't match on one set. Rear halves the pull is thin near seams. I think I can make it work though.

Shins: These seem like clean pulls. Return edges clean up nicely. Will probably need to tweak the seams for a better fit. I won't bore you showing both sets.

Rough trimmed more parts today... Cod: Seems a bit long but I won't know until I do a test fit. Not planning on that until I get my undersuit and gaskets. I learned my lesson on my OTTK. Don't decide on fit without an undersuit.

Longest edges are about 7-1/2"

THANK YOU! Well I feel dumb. User error. I did look for a Gallery section in the forums but didn't see one. I did have that link to screencaps from another builder that I have been using. I didn’t understand that was in the gallery. After searching, I now see it is located under the “More” drop down menu.

Thanks for the references, guys. I think what I've been trying to say, and did so poorly, is the pills look like they have a "flat" bottom where apparently a decal is applied. If I leave the bicep pills unmodified, not sure how I'd get a decal to fit that nicely with a rounded bottom. So I think flattening the bottom of the pills is the mod that needs to be done. As an aside, was looking at the Blu-ray today. Didn't notice until now there are some sort of vent lines at the top of the back. Are there any good reference shots of the costume? I assume it has been on display at various venues over the years.

Screen caps hosted here. And I should note I’ve only briefly studied them. Really need some time on my computer with the Blu-ray. Here’s a link to an example. Dark scene but those Shoulder Bell pills look just like the chest pills which is why I assume they needed to be hollowed out. TFA009 Main thinking here is a “sticker” will not fit a curved hole very well. Paint would work better. Or... removing the curve and putting a flat black piece against back. Just thinking out loud. I appreciate any and all feedback.

Okay that’s great info to know. Thank you. From the screen caps I’ve seen, looks like a lot of these pills have a flat bottom. Was thinking of sanding the backside off and placing flat backing, perhaps black styrene or ABS. Cleaner look and avoid stickers where possible. Would doing something like that disqualify me from Centurion? If I miss the mark resulting from my inability to do so, I could live with that. But doing something accidentally that disqualifies me would be a regret.

Belt Boxes: The front and left side pouch cover look nice. I just ordered pouches so I will see later if it fits. The corners of the right side boxes don't look square enough for my taste. Also, the larger one will need additional modding for the top cover. Will need to address that. There is no inner box for the small one. No big deal but having one would have been convenient. That's all for today. More trimming tomorrow.

Knee Plates: Nice. Not sure how much return edge I'll leave here. Given they sit on knees and pinching probably not an issue, might leave enough to suggest a thick plate.

Forearms: There are resin greebles included for the picatinny rail (not shown). I'll need to dig those out and determine how to approach that.

Spats: I forgot to grab a photo of the untrimmed front spat. Again, nice pulls. I think clasps attach here but there are no indents. Might need modding.

Biceps: Overall these seem quite nice. Will open pill holes.

Thank you for the encouragement, guys. Spent a few hours trimming the smaller parts. Not much to see in the next few posts. These are just obligatory to show other kit builders what the parts look like. I plan on modifying some of these. Shoulder Bells: These have a built-n lower bell. My plan is to remove these faux lower bells and craft some from scrap. I think it would look more authentic. Is that a mistake?

With the help of my vinyl cutter, had some time to add those pill openings to the Hand Guards. I left this undersized just a tad to allow for sanding cleanup later before painting.

Thank you and sounces like if I add a pill opening, that wouldn’t disqualify me from Centurion. I like the added realism that the recesses and openings give to the armor.

The Hand Guards Figure these were a good starting point. I recently picked up a pair of Imperial Boots FOTK Gloves. They have the black stitching in the palm so I think I can check that Centurion requirement off the list. Happy that the kit is not overly trimmed. Gives me some control over the build and provides some extra ABS should I need it for reinforcing, etc. I picked up a budget priced metal shears for trimming the parts then used a Dremel with a 3/8" cutting wheel. Given my eyesight has become a little unreliable over the years, I use tape to mark the cutting lines. Later, I use a Dremel with a sanding wheel to shape the part. From the screen cap references, the guards appear to be thin, perhaps no more than 3/8". I feel the 850 pull is a bit flat so I used a heat gun to give the guards a bit of a curve to better fit the hand. You don't want to do too much here or the edges of the ABS will crease. A photo below shows before and after heat so you can judge for yourself. although I probably should have shown the parts from the same side to more clearly illustrate the flatness of the original guard. QUESTIONS: Should these be thinner? For the oval on the index finger bump, should there be an indentation of some sort? Are labels required or can I cut a pill and fill or backfill with black paint/material?

On Halloween in 1977, I promised myself I’d have a Stormtrooper costume “someday.” A brief 42 years later, I fulfilled that promise to myself with an ANH TK Stunt kit. After nearly a dozen troops, there’s no doubt that the Stormtrooper's popularity has endured. But as the young fans of today are probably more familiar with the redesigned TKs, I thought I’d give a FOTK a go. I decided on an 850 Armor Works kit, mainly because it was readily available and is made from ABS which is in my comfort zone. I ordered the armor only, no helmet, because I have an Anovos Standard Line (TFA) on hand. The order took about a month to fulfill and the people at 850 were very friendly and responsive. That kind of goodwill goes a long way with me. Obviously I’m here to get this, my 2nd costume, approved at some point. I'm reasonably confident with building and modifying. While I’ll take Basic approval, I’m going to take a shot at Centurion for now. If I hit a wall at some point, I’ll downshift with no regrets. I plan on posting many photos, asking stupid questions and most of all looking forward to receiving constructive feedback that will keep me on target. Hopefully this build log will serve as a good resource for other 850 builders. With that, here are parts I received. Let the games begin.