CloseTheBlastDoor

Oh sorry, one other thing. Is there a specification for these lengths?

Thanks for that tip, those pics are pretty useful!

I just blew a bunch of time looking for the paint (unsuccessfully), but that prevented me from cutting the panel, and I'm glad I did! Thank you for this tip. I've seen how much time you've spent on this, and I'm grateful! I can use what you've done as the gold standard to aspire to. The closer I can get to perfect, the better!

Han: “Oh yeah? Watch this!” Leia: “Watch what?” Here goes. I had started this a bit before I started this thread, armed with some of what I’d seen in the forums, mainly @TK bondservnt's post here: I am grateful to the rest of you in this post who provided further information! End caps I started by rough cutting the extra plastic off the end caps with a bandsaw: Then for the more precise cut, II thought I’d try and be all fancy, so I hacked together this jig: There’s a little backstop on the other side: I then proceeded to hold a pencil in place while rotating the tube, to get a fairly good cut line. One builder mentioned doing successive low pressure cuts with an X-Acto blade, rather than pressing too hard and cutting all the way through at once, so I tried that. I think it was referred to as the ‘score-and-snap’ method. But I quickly found that it was very hard to see the cut line, but I did get deep enough eventually. Next time, laying down painter’s tape and marking it instead might be easier. Now it came to try and get the extra stuff off. I used a Dremel to cut relief marks, and then wiggled the bits back and forth until they came off: This got me close enough. I then placed some 220 grit sandpaper on a flat surface, and moved the cap back and forth on it until I got all the rough edges out. I think I’m just a tad bit over 20mm thick now. For the second end cap, I decided that I was just overthinking everything. I ended up using the jig again, but instead I used the Dremel saw held in place while carefully rotating the tube, also taking care to not go too deep. I again followed with relief cuts and wiggling out the waste material, then sanding as before. Tube and cap fit test I quickly found that the PVC tube was a bit larger than would fit into the end caps (or vice versa). I attempted the boiling water trick with mild success. I had read somewhere else that it’s a good idea to sand down the ends of the PVC, so I did that: The caps fit fairly snugly after doing this, but in terms of overall length, it went past the 7.5” total length. So I did some trimming and re-sanding: I will still need to sand the whole tube to provide enough scuffing for good paint adhesion. Aluminum clips Next step were the clips. I had seen some measurements at 1-⅛” wide bars, and others at 1”. The CRL said 1”, so I went with that (and it was the only thing I could find). My local hardware store had them: I drilled holes and prepped the bars as specified by @TK bondservnt: I was too cheap to buy more metal bars to make a bending jig, but I had plenty of ⅛” acrylic lying around the shop, so I just used that instead: Hardware After a lot of Googling and not-so-great search results on Amazon, and no inkling of shipping cost at McMaster, I was happy to find that there is a shop near my house that specializes pretty much in bolts! So I was able to pick up the following: 6-32 pan head slotted machine screws, ½” long, stainless (will need to paint the heads) #6 washers Matching nylon lock nuts I got 10 sets of these for $3! Everywhere else I would have to buy 1000 and spend 5-10x as much! Control panel I’m now at the point where I need to cut the control panel, so I know how much I need to mask off the tube before painting it. I see quite a variance in its dimensions, so I’m thinking that it should be cut to 122mm long. For the ‘wraparound’ part, I’m a little confused. Somewhere I saw 95mm, but I need to be sure. I’m going to look at @MaskedVengeance's tutorials next. In parallel, I need to find the grey paint/primer, hopefully at my hobby shop. Please let me know if you see anything here that I'm doing wrong! Thank you in advance!

Thanks, Brian! I surely wish that I had known this before.

Hi Jonatan! This is good advice, I will put that in my notes for when I get there. I might have more questions later. Did you have issues with the torso, too? I guess we're a little tall for a stormtrooper

Thanks, Caleb, I'll see what I can get my hands on either online or at my local stores. Those TD's look really great! I'm glad you included the photos because I see that you've masked off where you put the button piece, which I assume is for better adhesion? Would you use E6000 there? Also, if I go the primer route, like Glen mentioned, do you recommend clear coat after the paint?

Thank you, Joseph! That's some good advice on both paint and photos!

The pipe in the WTF kit is white PVC, so I do have to paint. . I'll check my local hobby shops for Testors 1238. Thank you!

Oh, thank you!

Hoo boy, thanks for that heads-up! Another trooper who is 6'2" said that I should buy from WTF. I will certainly ask for guidance when I get to the torso, etc.

I'm glad to meet you, I've seen a few of your posts! You are so kind, and you provide really great detail that has already helped me. I have read that painting the tube grey is not necessary, but I'd like to do it. Does it have to be gunmetal grey, or could it be something close? Thanks!

Nice to meet you! Thanks for your advice and kind words. I actually thought that this was the build thread, did I do that wrong? I would indeed like to post some photos.

Hello there! Perhaps I will regret calling myself CloseTheBlastDoor, but all of my other creative attempts were taken by all you creative people! I have my TK ANH Stunt trooper kit from WTF, and I've gathered most of the other items. This will take a while. I was quite intimidated when the big box arrived, for sure! But I've spent a few hours reading through much of the forums here, and I'm encouraged and even a bit more confident that I can do this! My kids have flown the coop, and I have a decent chunk of time to get this done. I clock in at 6'0" and shrinking, and I'm about 175 pounds. So I'm hoping the suit will fit with few alterations. I'm going to start with the thermal detonator, which for some reason seems the least scary. I'll try and post some photos as I go. Thank you in advance for your support! ****EPILOG**** Whew, what an adventure! My childhood dream of being a stormtrooper has finally come true! It’s been a crazy ride, while having to work through some health issues, unemployment, travel, and just life in general to get all of this done. The circle is now complete! This took about six months on and off. Generally I was trying to do everything to L3 approval, so I wouldn’t have to go back later and make corrections. But there are areas where I know I haven’t, most glaringly the blaster. We’ll cross that bridge later! Armor: Walt’s Trooper Factory Canvas belt: Imperial Issue Holster: Darman’s Props Undersuit: Off-brands from Amazon (Queerier and TSLA) Neck seal: Keep Trooping E-11: Scifiman123 on E-Bay (modified toy) Gloves and hand guards: Trooper Bay Boots: Keep Trooping Height: 5’11 Weight: 163 lbs My deepest gratitude to those who helped me along the way, primarily @gmrhodes13, who from Down Under tirelessly and generously helped a total stranger in the San Francisco Bay Area make his way through this costume. There were so many times I thought I’d messed up, and he showed me a way through it, or other times where I didn’t have it quite right, and he told me how to correct it. Many thanks also to @shashachu, @dblcross, @TKSpartan, @justjoseph63, @MaskedVengeance, @revlimiter, @Tilheyra, @JBar, and @Sly11, and so many more for their helpful suggestions and feedback. Reflections on the build: ASK QUESTIONS. This is why my build thread is so very long! Don’t buy everything up front. I have a lot of stuff where I bought the wrong thing, and/or ended up using a different build technique. Do your research, choose an option, then buy the material. I spent around $1700, and maybe $100 of material was not used. I was more afraid of doing something wrong than I was of just doing something. But overthinking was kinda my friend. For instance, I must have spent 30 hours researching how to do the helmet, and maybe half that time actually getting it together. Not all armorers are alike. Some are more helpful than others, and there are variations in the parts where what you’ve read elsewhere simply won’t apply. The videos from Dave’s Darkside and RS Prop Masters were great! Make a nice, big ventilated workspace for yourself, preferably in the garage so that volatile odors and dust don’t get around the house. And your family doesn’t hear you swearing. The first cut of plastic is always going to be the hardest. Practice on scraps. Do your research. Measure 16 times, then cut. Use an X-Acto knife and cut the first line LIGHTLY. Then repeat many times just as lightly, following that line. Patience is key here. Use them cut-resistant gloves. Mark the cut line, then cut less than you should. Then work up to the line with a Dremel + sanding drum, then with sandpaper and/or a half-round file. There is a guide to nearly everything. And there are areas where there are different solutions, and that’s OK. When in doubt, look at the CRL. Some things have fairly specific measurements. Check the collection of Billgrams. Many other things do not, and is where “precision eyeballing” is applied. Searching on this site can be a bit difficult. Using Google is your best option. Type in site:whitearmor.net [your search terms] in the Google search bar. Wear eye protection when you’re using any kind of tool. Wear cut-resistant gloves when cutting. Wear a respirator and have good ventilation when you are using E-6000 or sanding ABS. When freehanding a drill, use a brad point bit and set it firmly in position. Start with a very slow speed to ensure that the bit doesn’t walk away from the mark. For countersinking, DO IT BY TWIRLING THE BIT WITH YOUR FINGERS - NO DRILL. Just as any woodworker would say, “you can never have enough clamps.” Most things take more time in your head than in reality. Exceptions are waiting for E-6000 to cure, and waiting for that Amazon order you had to make because you either forgot something, or messed it up. Good tools are a good investment. An even better investment is learning how to use those tools properly! Learn how to set snaps properly: there are many guides here, but I would add this: Hammer using a solid backing surface that WONT take up any of the striking force. Make sure the snaps don’t rotate in the strapping. If they are the slightest bit loose, they may pull out of the strap when you try to unsnap it. Test that the snaps fit together BEFORE gluing anything.