MightyAtom

The shoulder bridges are now finished. I may trim the front tab a little more to give it a 'Han look', but very happy with the reinforcements. They are SO sturdy. After glueing in internal strips, the forearms are now being glued together. At this rate I should be able to do one last fitting on the weekend them begin glueing cover strips. I am also wondering if you can ever have too many magnets...?!

Ha! Thank the Emperor! Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Ok, good to know. I'll hold off doing anything permanent until I've made those then. Sent from my Imperial Communicator

It's been a big couple of days, glueing and fitting. Because of the variable weather right now (25 one day, 13 the next - thanks, Melbourne!), I'm taking my time glueing and allowing two days to cure before glueing the next side/piece. This has naturally given me time to clean up the torso pieces and install the Mr No Stripes brackets. I now need to make the shoulder elastics (the bridges are almost finished curing) and fit again to test how it sits. I think the chest plate may need to come down a little, but I'll make one side of the elastics and test fit again, then finalise the length after that. Here are my fitting pics. Once I've got the shoulder elastics right, I can move on and strap the sides of the AB and kidney plates and get them to align, then make the elastics for the other side.

I've been glueing snap plates to the chest plate and back plate over the last few days. I think they've turned out ok, but the test will come with fitting.

As per your suggestion, I've reduced the size of the buttons. They are also looking quite 'screen worn' around the edges!

Ah, awesome, thank you! Sent from my Imperial Communicator

I've also positioned AB plate buttons. How do these look?

The weather has taken a turn so I'm adding an extra day to glue curing times on the inner strips to ensure a strong bond before glueing the cover strips, which all gives me time to sew! I've opted for elastic shin enclosures. I managed to find a heavy duty hook, which I've poked through the elastic and sewn on, then doubled that back and sewn over again - I heart redundancy. At this point I'm still debating how to glue these elastics inside the shins. Perhaps an ABS anchor that a lip of elastic wraps around, then glue the whole thing down...? Not sure. This all took about eight episodes of The Venture Bros yesterday.

Awesome, thanks. The weekend will be spent in my undersuit, then! [emoji23] Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Thanks, mate! Getting excited now pieces and coming together. Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Great, thank you. I'll put them on the "assembly line" - waiting for other glued parts to cure is a suitable pacing device to ensure I don't rush [emoji6] Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Of course! Sorry - here are a few shots assembled and worn. There's about two finger's gap inside. My hand just goes through the bottom end.

Next query, for anyone who has time. I've done a fitting of the forearms and don't see any adjustments to make. I've now shaped them a little to clean up the edges in preparation for glueing. How do they look? Any advice on changes?

I'm after some feedback on an idea, please. For the strapping that connects the sides of the AB plate to the kidney plate, I plan to use nylon on the rivets side and a combination of nylon and elastic on the opposite side (near the Han snap); so that the elastic gives me a little mobility for movement, but the nylon near the rivets keeps those pieces together nice and tight. How does this sound? Is there something I'm not considering?

Ah, many thanks. I hadn't read anything like that yet. I'll leave trimming the bells until after final fitting and adjustments - likely how it happened for the movies! Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Bicep glueing has begun! First up is internal strips for support, then final shaping before outer cover strips. I'm also making my sixth grade home economics teacher proud by sewing snaps to nylon for the shoulder bells strap. I've also been looking at the components that will bear the most weight. For the torso pieces, I'm making snap plates and reinforced shoulder elastics. The shoulder bridges have been reinforced with interior ABS splints and second ABS strip. Once the glue has dried, these will be sanded into shape. I have been involved in too many amateur theatre productions to know that wardrobe malfunctions are impossible to walk back. I AM VERY RISK AVERSE.

Excellent, thanks! I had seen those photos and was considering about shaping in a curve. I will assemble the arms and make a decision after a final fitting. Just want to make sure I don't take off material now and regret it later! Thanks again. Oh, and I have HEAPS of trooper pictures plastered around my work space for inspiration too!

Cool, thanks. The pieces had the return edge trimmed off, so I may just assemble the arm pieces and see how much I have to potentially make a return edge.

Great, thank you! Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Happy weekend! I'm after a little feedback on shoulder bells. I've sanded the first one to the trim line and it's looking very "screen worthy" in its imperfections. How does it look? Outside view: Inside view:

Good advice. I'm working on strapping this weekend, so I'll do as you suggest and get it on before making a molten mess! Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Thank you! Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Wow, ok. Glad I posted here then. Thanks for the advice! Sent from my Imperial Communicator

Yes, I'm getting the hang out it faster than my OCD can catch up! I'm very happy with the leeway this allows. Sent from my Imperial Communicator