Dirty White Boy

I hope to be sending pix by the weekend of my TK for approval, Just have to add the ab buttons and side fillers!

What Curtis said is true, and just take it slow. One little trick that I used was that I use a mat knife, you know, the ones with the adjustable blade length? A new blade at half length didn't flex a bit.

Your right, that would be just about the high water mark of being dirty! Keep up the progress pix, looking good pal!

I would have to agree. Am not at all fond of the FX, but I must say that is an outstanding job! I have wanted to do a TD myself, but just can't bring myself to do it. I,..I,,... Can't,...hold,...it back ,.........any,... What is that on the chin?, It reminds me of underwear durge! Har, Har, Har,.Snort, Har!

Trimming a kit for me is not any fun at all. Kinda like going to the dentist in the way that it costs alot of money and you end up dreading it. When I first got mine I just went to town on it like a kid with a new toy. After a few cuts and a nice gouge in my Wifes counter top I just had to chuck the thing back into the box for a coulple of months. If you get burned out on it, don't be afraid to set it aside for a little while. Nobody should be in a big hurry to build a decient costume. In the long run it is all worth it when you put it on and folks walk into walls looking at you

Thanks guys. The Wife works tommorow and I am off Wensday so I will have nearly 20 hours to spend down in the, "Man Cave" to work on this project. Hoping to have it all done except for maybe just the helmet fans and sound system. More latter

I seem to recall finding a vinal shelf paper like materail once that was printed with a scanned carbon fiber image. Will look into this and try to find it again.

Thanks Steve. Six foot six?,.. I'll bet not to many Vaders want to stand next to you But hey, thats their problem. Here are two pix of the extended lower back now in white epoxy primer. The stuff can be tinted just about any color and is nice that if the top coat paint is scratched it will show as white all the way down to the ABS.

I tried using some brasso last night on a thigh piece and it did work nicely. Then just had to go over the whole thing with it as well. It did bring up a nice shine but has a bit of haze to it still. Have a small asortment of 4 inch buffing pads that I use on a mini buffer that are easy to handel with small parts.

That is another good idea, hadn't thought of that yet. Thanks Kent

Had thought of that, or even a bit of the wifes clear fingernail polish

Thanks ED. Everything when finnished will undergo a session with the buffer. Still am looking for a way to seal the edges of the plastic where they were sanded. Have found that dirt loves to hide in the 600 grit sand scratches. Any ideas?

Yup, going for TK on this one. May do the TD someday but for right now just want to be shiny. Have a few more pix of the mods that I have had to deal with to get this "UP" to standards. The first is the Ab and cod area. As you can see it is not anything surprising to cut this piece here and just lower the belt a smidgen. This is the right thigh piece with a 5" down to 2" shim glued into place. Still have to wait untill the glue fully sets up to trim off the excess. And the tough piece to pull off without just making a new buck and formming a new one is the lower back. I ordered up some ABS of the same gauge, (0.90) as the rest of pieces and cut a chunk out about an inch and a half taller than really needed. Easier to trim it down than add to it. Have allready started forming by hand the center ridge area. Will add a 2" wide backer to this and butt joint the two together. A bit of sanding and filling, then will have to paint just this one piece.

Thanks guys! I too am knock'n on the door of 43 years soon. And it is very true that getting this stuff to fit, (with alot of help from a heat gun), and look presentable has been tricky. Haven't done much to it since Sunday as my wife still hasn't forgiven me for "ingnoring" her the whole weekend and super glueing her fingers together.

Had a heck of a time finding a snap setter anvel arround town. But I did find this online and it works very well. I picked up the kit and a few extra bags of snaps with it. The only problem is that the bags are labeled 6 each when there is the right amount of pieces, just not enugh to make 6 compleat snaps. ------

They touch!!? Are you friggin kidding me? I hate you now go away! Just take a look at some screen caps. Some that I have seen seem to go under the front armor and attach with rivits. But this is a spacer of some sort and I can only guess that it is attached to a stretch fabric with the rivits. Sorry I haven't been much help, am still trying to get over that they touch

Hey everyone, has been hot here this weekend so have been spending the week end indoors in the A/C working on a TK. Scott, (TK4149) coined a name for this project a couple months back when I was just ready to toss in the white flag and put it on e-Bay. Scott was over at the house one night and I was telling him that I just thought that I was just to darned big for a TK and I just should stick to my Vader. Now, understand that I'm 6'4", size 15 boot, 280 LBS. Scott had left to go home, and after about an hour later I checked my PM's before turning in for the night. He had gotten on the board and sent me a note telling me again as he did at my place not to give up on project "XLTK". So, not to write a book here. This post is to say thank you Scott for kicking me in the pants and not letting me give up!!! Am in the homestretch now and I figure that it is over half finished as of tonight. In the photos the left and right thigh and calf are just taped together in the back so everything is just about ready to drop to my boot tops. And the butt and kidney plates and a few other small parts are still unfinished. Have to extend the height of the lower back piece 3 1/2" still and leaving a 1/2" gap to the upper back plate.

There allmost. Nothing to say that hasn't been added before. Darn backwards brain Looking very nice, keep up the good work!

Have found these fans, and they work quite well. Look arround at the other fans as well on the site. -----------------

I were a size 15 normally, so a 14 in CAboots is just the thing. Yes they do run a little big and wide. Have had a pair of the Vader style for about 7 months, and just got today a pair for the TK. Not really a leather smell at all, more like Yack crap. Maybe a bottle or two of "frabresy" would drown it.

Nice idea. Funny isn't it how a costume made for a few hours of filming really won't work in the real world so we have to rack our brains out to find an answer?! Please let us know how this works out for you!

Could have sworn it was the 22nd, but I have been wrong once before I pestered my parents for weeks even before the film came out to go see it. Wasn't until like mid June when I finally got to go. A lot of kids in school had seen it, and many more said they did when they really hadn't I went with a friend of mine from school and his Mom. She was divorced and was trying to make points with her son. (Remember when divorced people were outcasts?) I think that She loved the flick more than we did! Happy Birthday Star Wars! You have been with me most of my life, and I have many fond memories from the last 30 years! Not getting older, the rest of the world is just getting younger thats all!!!!!!

Where did you find a two piece?

Really is best for summer troops, have a few photos of passed out TK's to prove it!

Just one word of advice. Never test the depth of water with both feet.