TK-2693

Can I get 501st access please William A Scott TK-2693 Fairbanks, Alaska https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=10723&costumeID=124 Thanks!

/bump And is this post in the right spot?

Hey all, So I've had to do this for probably over a year now and I am finally getting off my lazy butt to get it done. I am in need of some replacement parts for my old eFX TK. I originally got my suit from Costume Junkie and after about 6 years of use parts are starting to break faster then I can patch them up. Where can I go/who can I contact about replacing... 1) My Ab plate (my chode piece completely broke off) 2) A new belt armor piece (I had already replaced this once but it has almost cracked in half again, going to reenforce the next one) 3) A new thermal detonator (the old eFX one isn't completely round, it had "tabs" coming off the back where the velco used to connect it to the ABS belt 4) Repairs are holding but possibly new thigh plates (cracking down the seems) I want to get this suit back up and looking like I didn't get me a hand me down, ha. These new troopers with ANOVOS are making me look like a hobo! Thanks for the help in advance!

Looking good! We'll be glad to have you trooping with us up here in Alaska. If you want I can show you a way to get rid of the shoulder plate straps that run across your biceps. I've also got the get Rob's done to before we go to CV.

I found some material at Jo-Ann's. It's called Lexus White Faux Leather and it cost $34.99 a yard. Luckly I only needed 9 1/2" wide (it was something like 54-58" long). I gave it to a shop to sew some velco into it and I should be all good next week. Thanks to you guys that posted help.

Thanks johnnymac for the offer. I'd like to find a place to order it from for referance and future suits but if I can't find some I might take you up on your offer. I looked up Hancock Fabrics and found these two: ----- Which one would be the one I want?

Who is a good place to get pleather from? I've done some searchs on the net but not sure exactly what I'm looking for. I found a website that sells Upholstery Vinyl/Articial Leather and another the sells White Textured Naugahyde Vinyl Coated Faux Leather (what a mouth full!) but I'm not sure if this is what I should be looking for or not. I would like the leather from the TK boots to make it look like plastic if its possible. I've seen a few pictures and YouTube videos of TKs using this to close the gap between the ab and lower back plates and I'd like to do this instead of having a black elastic strap going between them (it also drives me batty seeing that black strip running half my body). If anybody also has any tips or pictures on how to install this please let me know also. I was going to sew velco hooks on to the pleather and attach loop to the inside of my armor so if I gain weight (or by an act of God, lose it) I could just get another strip of pleather. Thanks for any help you can offer.

If it ends up being a problem I can just sand down that one side.

Terrell, your AWESOME! Thanks! I couldn't find anyone who sold non-textured, white ABS sheets that weren't 4'x8' and under $70 without S&H! I'll give these guys a call tomorrow and rush a sheet to me.

Where can I find some smaller white .125 ABS sheets? I found one place but a sheet that was 48"x96" and like $70 (not including S&H to Alaska) and Plastruct only sells gray ABS (which I guess isn't that big of a deal since its going to be on the inside of my armor). I've got to order a sheet just in case I can't get the button bases off of the ABS plates that I'm taking of my armor to replace them with better buttons.

Alright, got an update for you guys, I've ordered new elastic straps and Velcro loop from Seattle Fabrics and it's on the way. I also found new buttons from Alaska Tent and Tarp, a local shop here in Fairbanks, which are called Pull the Dot. These things are amazing. They got a pressure switch inside them that only allow them to be put on and taken off in one way and now matter how you try to break the bond it holds strong. The problem I have now is how do I get the old buttons off? I've sent an e-mail to CostumeJunkie asking what did he use to bond the plate his button is attached to to the armor but I might have pissed him off with some constructive criticism and he hasn't responded (then again he could be on vacation since he has responded fairly well in the past). Brian suggested freezing it assuming he used ABS cement. Anyone else have any suggestions since I have no idea what the bonding material is? Here is a picture just in case this isn't standard: -----

I got my suit from CostumeJunkie and the snaps where really weak holding. I went to a local tent and tarp maker in my hometown and they showed me a brand of snaps by Pull the Dot. They only go on one way and only come off the same. I've tried my damnedest to pull these apart from anyother way and I couldn't. For the elastic I checked out Jo-Ann's Fabrics and I think they had the 1" but no 2" so I done a general search for it on the net and found Seattle Fabrics and they seemed reasonable so I orders and few yards of each and some velco loop (the soft part of the two). Once it gets here I'll have the tent and tarp maker make the straps for me. Hoped this helps even though this post is five months old.

I'll try to take some pics here soon. Yea, I tried the suit on again for a few friends today and the buttons were just snapping off with any little movement I did. I found a tent and tarp maker here at home but they're not open till Monday. I'm going to see if they have some really strong industrial snaps which they should as they need to work at -60 degrees Fahrenheit or less up here. I did get my Velcro for the back of my thigh plates and some E6000 so I can glue the front joints of most of my armor sometime in the future. I'll have to get the elastic straps off of Jo-Ann's online or something, they were out of 2".

So generally you guys think snaps are better then Velcro? I'm going to have to do some messing around with this system then and see what works and what doesn't. Brian, thanks for bringing up strap tension, that might be one of the issues I'm dealing with and I'll see if longer straps would allow more play, and Darrel and Paul thanks for the suggestions on the dual buttons and the stronger camping buttons respectively. Two buttons, one reversed, would give it more strength and I think camping, or tarp, buttons would a lot harder to undo. The buttons on my suit snap off real easily. If I take the shoulder plate and twist it 90 degrees it snaps off the shoulder straps the buttons snaps off with almost no effort. There is still the question of what should I use to attach Velcro to my armor though? I'm really rethinking the button issue but I'll still need to reattach the Velcro on my thigh plates once I trim them down to size. Brian, you said that the Velcro has adhesive on their outer sides. Is that going to be enough to stay on the armor and stand up to normal use?