CloseTheBlastDoor

Yes, what I mentioned as "2" white strapping" is indeed elastic. Yeah, I'm not sure if it's strong enough here, either. Sugru is more expensive than I thought, so maybe I'll just try the remover and see what happens! I also found this DIY Sugru, called OOGOO: https://www.instructables.com/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/ The first set of snaps I got from Amazon (see photo below, left) look like those snaps, but every subsequent package I ordered (and there are LOTS because I kept screwing them up ) had ones that look quite different (right side of photo). Does it matter? As always, thank you for your excellent guidance!

Had some more vacation, and unfortunately some more hand pain. But progress was still made! Punch list update: For the thermal detonator, I still need to bend the clips on the back side. But having followed ukswrath’s guide, I’m finding that the part that goes under the belt is 4” long, which seems too long. Even after the bend, they seem too long. Not sure whether I should clip them so they don’t stick out from under (as stated in the CRL). Trimmed and looks good! But I've seen some posts where the line of buttons should face towards the back instead of the top - true? Fit the shoulder bridges. I’m still having trouble with this. I don’t have the right curve yet, and with the armor on, I will need to have a second person help me with fitting and reshaping. I didn’t find a suitable box to fit the chest and back plates over, so with the armor on, I went back and forth between the mirror and the stove on this one. It’s much closer now, but still might need some adjustments. Looks like some twisting is required, too. How flat should they sit on the back side of the armor? Attach elastic to the shoulder straps to hold down the backs of the shoulder bridges. I remade the shoulder straps, and decided to secure the ¼” elastic inside the creases of the 2” white strapping. This worked out pretty well. Overall, the straps are much shorter than before, and seem to fit OK. Then I added the double snaps for the limb attachments, biased towards the front. Figure out how to hold up the thighs. I’ve seen several posts on this. I’ve also seen something about ‘X’-style suspenders, but I’m not sure if those are meant to hold up the thighs, the torso, or both. I ordered a leather belt and fashioned the loops as described in other posts. We’ll see how this holds up. Put in the snaps on the cod and butt plate. Done (as posted previously) Put in the “Han” snap on the upper right of the ab plate. I've seen that this should be a male snap. Does it really face inward? I've seen conflicting measurements, too. Some say 20mm in from the left, 20mm down. Others say 10mm in from the left. Cover the left side ab-to-kidney rivets on the inside with silicone or something equally smoothing. Done! Make some ABS paste and clean up the back bottom of the right thigh. Having trouble finding such a small amount of acetone, since they sell them in quarts/liters at my hardware store. Going with Sugru. Paint tops of all rivets. Turns out that the paint I ordered, even though labeled Testors 1145TT gloss white, was in fact silver! Needing to re-order. Testors seems harder and harder to find since Rust-oleum seems to have purchased the company.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier... this is good info. Looks like there is a sharper bend downward on the bridges at the backplate too. Still fiddling with this!

Thanks guys! In getting this far, it’s easy to get caught up in what needs to be done next, but I have to say that it’s a special feeling to see things coming together like in the photo from my previous post. I grew up in Los Angeles, and as a little kid was one of the fortunate ones to wait in a line circling the entire block at Mann’s Chinese Theater to see ANH. I must have seen it maybe 40 or 50 times in the theater! My dream from then on was to be a stormtrooper, and that’s why I’m here! So, yes, I’m definitely motivated! You all have been fantastic! I did a loose fit of the TD, and it definitely sticks out of the bottom of the belt: Time to trim that, and get the clips straightened out a bit too. Looking at the shoulder strapping, I think they are overall too long. Maybe that’s my real problem. I cinched them up, and it looks like the straps might go over better. So I’ll redo the straps, approximately 1” to 1.25” shorter than they are, and see whether it’s good. I’ll be sure to have the water bath ready. Then I can get those ¼” elastics over the backs. For holding up the thighs, I like the idea of having them separately supported rather than putting yet more weight on the torso, which to me seems a bit heavy already. So I’ll opt for the leather belt and 2” wide elastic loops. For the ABS paste, I saw a post about Sugru that looks like it would fit the bill. For the cod, I trimmed the split rivet down, drilled a 9/64” hole, and got that in with a bit of hammering. It seems like what snap goes on the inside doesn’t matter, since it’s not required to be functional, and I’ve seen comments about either using the female line 24, or the male “Levi’s-type” small stud, or what I did here, the line 24 male. From the hammering I might have left a small mark on the outer part of the cod, but not too noticeable. For the two butt snaps, I drilled two 5/32” holes. One was ⅝” in from the end, and the other 1-⅜” in, per ukswrath’s build here: I’ll want to be careful about setting those in! Not done yet. Oh yeah, and time for The Acolyte!!!!!

As I am essentially done with the limbs and torso, I’m starting to go in too many directions about all the things that remain, picking at the belt and helmet for instance, but have wanted to keep this build thread more ordered and focused. The punch list for what I’ve done so far is: For the thermal detonator, I still need to bend the clips on the back side. But having followed ukswrath’s guide, I’m finding that the part that goes under the belt is 4” long, which seems too long. Even after the bend, they seem too long. Not sure whether I should trim them so they don’t stick out from underneath the belt (as stated in the CRL). Fit the shoulder bridges. I’m still having trouble with this. I don’t have the right curve yet, and with the armor on, I will need to have a second person help me with fitting and reshaping. Attach elastic to the shoulder straps to hold down the backs of the shoulder bridges. Figure out how to hold up the thighs. I’ve seen several posts on this. I’ve also seen something about ‘X’-style suspenders, but I’m not sure if those are meant to hold up the thighs, the torso, or both. Put in the snaps on the cod and butt plate. Put in the “Han” snap on the upper right of the ab plate. Cover the left side ab-to-kidney rivets on the inside with silicone or something equally smoothing. Make some ABS paste and clean up the back bottom of the right thigh. Having trouble finding such a small amount of acetone, since they sell them in quarts/liters at my hardware store. Paint tops of all rivets. So I guess I use the term “essentially done” quite loosely! Once I have a better path forward on this, I’ll want to post more questions about what remains.

For the right side ab-to-kidney connection, I came up with something that I think will work for me. I think I will have more trouble snapping the straps than releasing them. Holding everything in place while trying to do that will make it more difficult. So of the four snap connections crossing this boundary, I chose to make two of them with straps that are the width of a few fingers longer. I can snap these on first with relative ease. Then once those are holding, I can snap the as-measured straps (with loops) in, and I’m good. Time will tell if this will hold reliably enough. One question: In the CRL, for level 3, it states “A single male snap on the top right corner of the ab plate is present.” I found instructions for adding this (see part 4g of the comment): What is this snap used for? While I would be totally happy to get basic approval, I would someday want to shoot higher, and it just seems to make sense to address this while I’m working in this area. I would most likely need to move the upper snap plate on the ab.

Great idea!

I had a bit of an adventure finding the longer rivets for the ab-kidney stackup suggested by Glen. When I received them, it seemed as though I had them this whole time ! I glued in the kidney-side assemblies first: Then hammered in the rivets and ensured that there was a fit on the ab side: Then, did the ab side: I feel like the insides are going to catch on my undersuit, so I’ll need to figure out how to cover them. For the right side of the ab-kidney, I glued snap bases in place: Luckily I’ve been on a diet, and it looks like the left and right sides close with minimal gap, whew! What a trooper endures to maintain a slender figure ! For the elastic, it seems like it would be especially hard to get my fingers under the right side and secure the snaps. Are there tricks for this? Also, what should I cover the rivets with on the inside?

OK, I think the right thigh and ammo pack are pretty much done. Only need to paint the rivets and get the ABS paste going for smoothing out the back seam. I went with the split rivets, backing the heads with several layers of painter’s tape so they wouldn’t get too scuffed up on the anvil. But those things are pretty tough! Also, I went a little backwards in terms of shaping. I riveted in the ammo pack first, then moved it into position, then dunked the whole thing in boiling water. So it relaxed in place. Hopefully that will reduce any chance of stress fractures later. Photos: For gluing the ammo pack in place, I decided that I really didn’t have enough surface area between the pack (since it had the rectangular protrusion and the front of the thigh. So I formed a piece of ABS strip as a clip, and glued it in place: I think this will be enough such that I don’t have to glue the sides, too. But time will tell. OK, now back to the ab-kidney work!

Thank you, Terry! I'm going to do the same.

Thanks, Mario and Glen! I had seen that Billhag drawing before, but forgot! If I use single cap instead of split rivets, are those the same as the ones I need to use for the ammo belt? Someone else in the forum referenced these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003AOQO4E , although it says "double cap" instead of single. Since one side does not show, I'll assume they are all good. Glen, should I glue the ammo pack in place? I did go ahead and trim the ammo pack, as well as glue in backing ABS strips to better align the bottoms of the thigh below the cover strips. Letting that cure.

While I wait for the longer rivets to arrive, I'm returning to the ammo pack. As you recall, it was not a great pull, so I asked for a replacement. That came a little while ago. It's a pretty good color match. I clamped it in place, and just posting photos as a check (looks right from other references). 1. Lining up the 3rd rectangle of the ammo pack with the front cover strip of the right thigh. 2. Lining up (ish) the top edge of the ammo pack with the top edge of the thigh ridge on both sides (view from back of thigh). 3. Trimming the length of the ammo pack so at either end it is a few mm shy of its back corner ridge. 4. Rounding the lower corners of the ammo pack, using maybe a soup can (75mm diameter) as the reference. It could be tangent to the edges, or more abrupt in when it curves, by preference. Option 1: Option 2: 5. Drilling the rivet holes in the ammo pack so vertically they bisect the ridge width (about 10mm), and come in maybe 10-15mm(?). 6. Using split rivets (with washers) like the ones originally intended for the ab-kidney connection. Paint the heads gloss white. Questions: -Does the vertical height of the ammo pack look good relative to the front of the thigh? Should I tape or glue it in place? -Is it OK to not have the ammo pack in contact with the thigh everywhere as it makes its way around? Like this: -Should I still heat-form the ammo pack if it is already flexible enough to go around? -Should I fill in the gap in the front bottom of the thigh (see first pic)? -The back of the thigh does not come together flush. It's just the way the pieces are molded. I am not sure how to fix that. Suggestions?

Super! I don't know what I'd do without you!

Thanks! And for the male snap on the shoulder strap, is it perfectly fine to add the usual through-snap instead of stitching it so it doesn't show on the top? Is this only an appearance thing, or would higher levels of approval want the stitched one (didn't see anything in the CRL, but just checking)? And should I add two snaps to the shoulder strap like everywhere else?

Thanks, Terry and Glen! I did end up ordering the longer rivets, since I kinda liked the idea of spreading out the strain on the hole in the elastic. So while I am waiting for those… I wasn’t thinking and just made the strap between shoulder bell and shoulder strap out of nylon instead of elastic. But might this be better, since it supports the weight of the bell/bicep/forearm? Or will it be too restrictive movement-wise?

Thanks! I have the 9-pack of as-specified split rivets from TrooperBay. I just did a test fit, and I don't have really anything to work with: Hopefully I can find some longer ones locally!

Got it, I'll leave the kidney plate as-is shape-wise. I'm an electrical engineer by trade, so I've got an old soldering iron that I've been using for the snap holes. It indeed works well! But it stinks to high heaven! The stackup of armor + 2x elastic + ABS is pretty thick for the rivet, it seems. But the ABS is in place of the washer, right? I'll give that a try.

Thanks, Glen! Should I attempt to heat re-form the kidney plate, or do you think it will be approvable to leave it as it is? Sounds like you recommend Method A' - Fixed nylon elastic strapping. Just to clarify, is this is what you're saying?

Back from vacation, and back to the suit! I got pretty heavily into getting snaps and strapping restarted. I had quite a few setbacks because of the aforementioned snap setting tool, which is now keeping company with the other items in my trash bin. I instead went back to basics and got the Tandy snap setting tool. Using Glen’s screwdriver trick, and some rotation of the tool to strike the post at different angles initially, and some patience got me to a much higher success rate. I got the elastic strapping done for the arms: Kidney to butt plate are also secured: Overall, it’s coming together, which is exciting! : Now I’m on the rivets on the left side of the torso. I’ve gone ahead and drilled the holes, and I know how to set the rivets. Just checking here though: I’ve seen one approach where the rivets hold nylon strapping across the front to back, and another where the rivets are more cosmetic, and there are additional snaps/straps to make the connection. Which should I do? Method A - Fixed nylon strapping: Method B - snaps 5/6/7 in Billhag diagram: One other thing I noticed is that the kidney plate in the WTF kit is not flat at the edge that mates to the ab plate: Would gluing a flat backing plate to the kidney be advisable?

Oh shoot, I saw that post before and totally forgot about it!

I took the smallest amount off the sides of the butt plate and was careful to round into the inside corner of the notch. I think it looks pretty good! I’ll probably end up hitting it again later with a file or other fine tool. I also got a few of the snap plates in, and added a few straps. It feels good to see this all coming together! A few snaps, I found very difficult to get in. But it might be because the posts inside the snaps are not all the way down, and are bumping into each other when attempting to push male and female pieces together. With the hand pain I’m having these days, this might become an issue. I’ve not set snaps before, and I’m using this crimp-like tool to do it (no hammer). This tool looked great, but it does not perform too well. It has these tiny magnets that are set inside the die, but are not glued in. When I was pressing one of the snaps, there was a big spark! It turned out that one of the tiny magnets had come out and wedged itself between the tool and the underside of the die, and completely shattered! That was thrilling. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be on vacation for a few weeks, meaning no progress on this, but maybe my hands will recover. See ya soon!

I agree that conservative trimming would be the best approach, thanks! I will keep that return edge on the notch, too.

I’ve been going back and forth between trimming the torso pieces as advised, and getting strapping together. I forgot to order more snaps since I’m using the double-snap method, and I’ve run out of 1” nylon too making the snap bases. I made a crude jig with leftover thermal detonator material to get the hole pairs somewhat consistent, and I burned the holes with an old soldering iron: Positioning for the snap bases: Positioning for any strapping: After a lot of burnt nylon smoke: Snap setting, most of them were straight: I glued in a few snap bases on the chest and back plate to start. That’s about as far as I got. For the kidney plate, looking downward on the top right side, there is this pucker from the pull: Looking at the same side, there is also some lumpiness (photo doesn't do it too much justice): I’m hoping that it won’t show too prominently. I know that I should trim at the red dashed line below, not the blue line or anywhere close, because I'd be digging into the gap between the kidney and ab plates. I'm a somewhat slim trooper. But seems like I need to remove a little bit more than the red line so it’s nice and clean. I see in the CRL that the presence of the notch is optional, but if it’s there, it should be 22mm high. There is no requirement for the horizontal dimension, though. Maybe I’m just overthinking all this.

Thanks, Terry! Would you also suggest rounding those inside corners somehow, as Joseph suggested? I'm not totally sure how to do that without removing some more material at those points. https://imgur.com/wbt1GTb

I got busy setting up for doing bulk strapping and snapping, but I realized that I still had some return edge questions. I read @justjoseph63’s return edge 101 post, but wanted to confirm the following: For the cod, do I take off all the return edge and round the corners indicated by the arrows, or do I keep the edge and also try to put some rounding there? For the butt, same set of questions: Incidentally, I am already faced with cracking on the butt (where did your mind just go? ) because it arrived as such. Honestly, not terribly amused by this. For the top part of the butt, I’m just going to take off the small edge that is curled out, and NOT the return edge (same for bottom edge of kidney): And I’m leaving the top of the kidney with a return edge: Sound OK?