Mr_Vader Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Hey all, I'm sure there is a billion posts like this, so i figured I start another I am brand new to armor building and my very first FX kit is on its way. I would really like to get everything right the first time I put it all together. I've looked at the various resources and tutorials all over the place, but I do have one great question: What should I do now, before the armor gets here, to get myself ready for the build. Looking around it seems that the snap system is the way I am going to go, so pretend that I have no tools what so ever and please point me in the right direction. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-2126_MD[TK] Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Hey Rob!! Now what you mean, all this energy and nerves are building up What i did was do an inventory of all the tools and nic nacks i had, and double crossed them with all the tools i saw people was useing. A Dremel was Priceless!!!!! cant stress that enuff!!!!! I used snaps and dont regret it one sec, and was lucky enuff to brorow a professional snap tool from a tailor friend and that helped alot, i do know there are snap tool kits that dont run for to much. I also made a ( arrenged) a file system with pictures, web pages and all thing that have to do with the armor i was going for ANH. And one advice i do give you is take your time, enjoy your self, and talk to your local 501st buddys, i wish i hads some down here. Any way Hope to see the progress. TK_MD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty White Boy[501st] Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 (edited) 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. ------ Edited December 6, 2020 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus[TK] Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Check all the tips in the Basic training sections of the board. The hotest tips are pinned at the top so they are easy to find. I would also recommend starting a progress thread in the ANH section so we can track your progress and provide guidance and suggestions to questions. And don't forget pics. Lastly, biggest tip: measure twice cut once! Have fun with the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Nickel Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Rob, Take your time with the bucket man. That's my biggest piece of advise. If possible (and it's hard to do) DON'T put it together first. Try some other smaller parts to get use to the glue you are using and a feel for the plastic. I know it sounds odd, but a little time getting glue on your fingers and how the plastic all goes together will save you a lot of heart burn when putting the bucket together (which I thought was the hardest part) Masking tape will be your best friend. For a glue, I would suggest a CA (Zap-a-Gap, Jet, something like that) and an Accelerator. Be sure to get the pump vs the aerosol. Be careful with it, it can turn the plastic yellow if you get glue and accelerator all over the place. Find your closest hobby shop and fabric store and make some new friends... You'll be seeing them a lot All in all, it's not to bad to put together, just take your time and have some fun. BTW... it's great to see you here too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm starting to get real excitied about this. Thanks for the tips on the helmet Darth Nickel (good to see a familiar name ), it turns out I've had an FX helmet now for about 6-7 years, it was one of the first major Star Wars purchases I made so luckily it was already assembled. Over the years I've taken a few cracks at it, removing stickers for paint, new aerrators, etc, its not perfect but it'll do for now. I'll post some photos for you guys as soon as I have the "armor building station" up and running. The kit thats arriving is sans helmet, so I'll build my confidence up with the suite first, and when I'm really rip roaring to go, I'm going to try a helmet from scratch. So today I picked up a few clamps, some plastic epoxy, industrial velcro and such. I've been watching "Dave's Garage" on youtube and it is absolutely brilliant, I plan on following his instructions with a few of my own ideas here and there. Thanks again everyone, my biggest challenge will be taking my time, I have a tendency to rush and spend years and years trying to repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velcro Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Thanks again everyone, my biggest challenge will be taking my time, I have a tendency to rush and spend years and years trying to repair. I'm the same way Vader, I get mine the end of this week WOOOT!!! But I hae been goin to several armor builds in my area even tho I dont have mine yet, but it has helped me come up with alot of new ideas to help with building. LOL! and yes taking time is even the best idea when your with a group of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 So I did a bit of work today, the most progress I had was with the screws on the earpieces of the helmet, I picked up a baggy of them from the electrical aisle at my local giant home store. The FX helmet I had stickers on it, but I've since painted the front grill (good pain, bad cutting, my fault) and had every good intention of painting the rear vents. Well As I began the painting process, I discovered how much of a pain it is to paint or mask those vent lines. I'm thinking of reverting back to the labels, the ones on their previously were wrinkled, so they needed to be replaced anyway, only thing lost was a bit of paint. Any suggestions? Also, any suggestions on where I would pick up those decals? Also, the bubble lenses installed are pretty much the standard FX lenses, they leave something to be desired. I researched a bit and most people have been recommending buying a face shield (HF4118-DRK) for the dark green look, which I actually prefer, but from photos it appears too dark to look correct. The only guy on eBay selling lenses wants $20+ shipped for the pair, and I can't justify that. Any suggestions in lens land? Thanks again everyone, I don't have a local garrison to help me out, its nice to have this forum to guide the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus[TK] Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I'm thinking of reverting back to the labels, the ones on their previously were wrinkled, so they needed to be replaced anyway, only thing lost was a bit of paint. Any suggestions? Also, any suggestions on where I would pick up those decals? Also, the bubble lenses installed are pretty much the standard FX lenses, they leave something to be desired. I researched a bit and most people have been recommending buying a face shield (HF4118-DRK) for the dark green look, which I actually prefer, but from photos it appears too dark to look correct. The only guy on eBay selling lenses wants $20+ shipped for the pair, and I can't justify that. Any suggestions in lens land? Thanks again everyone, I don't have a local garrison to help me out, its nice to have this forum to guide the way. I picked up my labels from my armor provider, is that an option for you. The dark green lens is ANH movie accurate, so though it looks dark, its the right color. A face shield is the way to go, you can make 2 or even 3 sets of lenses. You are welcome, keep posting ?'s and make friends. Looking forward to seeing armor progress pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 I'm having some problems finding proper labels, I can easily enough find a set with the black helmet stripes, but not a lot of luck on the dark blue. Also, armor buttons on an ANH armor, I know the FX kit comes with all black, but what are the colors and configuration supposed to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus[TK] Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 (edited) For buttons see this thread: ----- Edited December 6, 2020 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus[TK] Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 (edited) Rob, Look at this thread for home made stripes: ----- Edited December 6, 2020 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 What a great idea! I don't know how I didn't think of that, I teach computer graphic design for goodness sake! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus[TK] Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 (me) (you) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Hmmmm a tall pint of the black stuff, what a great idea on such a rainy afternoon, and what am I celebrating, no work until September of course More on topic, I've started my own batch of labels in Illustrator in order to get the sharpness of vector based graphics. I'll post what I have soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 OK, any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted July 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 OK, the armor arrived today!!!! Sweeeeeeeeeet... It was really carefully packaged so kudos to the gentlemen I got it from. The odd thing about this kit was that no webbing/straps/glue was included. Everything as far as the ABS was present, including holster and buttons, but no "soft" parts. He did include two extra pieces of ABS so that made up for it . So it arrives today at 4:30, I've been waiting at the door like a Labrador all day for the UPS man, God I love that man. As he runs into the back of the truck to take out the box I was quivering with anticipation, and then he came out..... and I said "thats it?" as he replied "thats it!" So puzzled I run into the garage to tear open the box (carefully) and saw the Tetris skills it must have taken to package it all up, but true enough it was all there, neatly trimmed and ready to go. Just as I ran into the house to get my laptop to follow "Daves Garage" through the first steps... my wife sees me and reminds me, hey, we have to go pick out the new play-set for the baby before it gets too late. Mind you, we've done nothing all day, I was as the door for the most of mine. Bubble busted, we're off to Monroe (30 minutes away) to find a play-set. Fast forward to 9:00, we're home! Nice. I've been thinking about the forearms all night, I'm ready to go. I set up the shop, I'm relaxed, I have Daves calming Brit accent in the background, lets make a Stormtrooper... and then it happened... I'm sure everyone must go through pretty much the same moments when they first put together their inaugural armor. My moments were filled with immediate stress, sweat and anxiety. I fumbled around with the tape, didn't mix enough glue, broke a clamp, slid the armor all over the place as soon as the two were starting to set, all the meanwhile my beautiful 2 year old only wants to say "goodnight," waiting ever so patiently for her crazy father to unglue himself from testing fitting the forearm... Needless to say, the second one went alot better.. Photos soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Q2[TK] Posted July 3, 2007 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 Thank you for Sharing.. I too just order my First FX Today and await the ship time.... I am thankful for those in the 501st up here to help guide and help me put it together.. I am looking forward to your journey.. Peace Allan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-2241 Posted July 3, 2007 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 (edited) On the decals, if you have a good color printer you could try buying some vinyl decal stock and printing on that. I found this website: ------ I haven't tried this yet, but I recently got a nice Epson 6 color inkjet and haven't played with it yet (decals, window stickers, logos, here I come! ) Edited December 6, 2020 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Easybln[TK] Posted July 4, 2007 Report Share Posted July 4, 2007 Hi, congratulations on your new armor and good luck and a lot of fun building it! I myself hope to get my armor at the end of the year and therefor I am also searching for every guide and piece of advice I can find. Thanks to Mr. Vader I found "Daves Garage" at Youtube, but unfortunately all internet-streaming has no sound at my PC ( I tried everything, new Flashplayer, Java, and so on). Does anybody have a source for a direct download of "Daves Garage-Videos"? It does not make a lot of sense without sound ! Thanks a lot, many greetings Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted July 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 (edited) OK, so I finished up the forearms, the biceps and painted/installed the buttons on the ab plate. Also, I cut the "butt" from the back piece as well as reinforced the back/abs plates for the suspenders. The past two days I've been battling the O2 tank though. I tried gluing them together using shims to connect the two seams, and its holding but the shape remains an oval. Then, since I was a bit to anxious to get working on it, I didn't allow enough time for the paint to dry as I had gotten finger prints through it all and since I didn't clamp properly, the bank clips never adhered correctly so they fell off. Once that happened I went to bed Today I removed the stickers and all the paint from the tank, sanded and repainted it, this time having to mask off the control paneled that had been plastic welded on yesterday. The re-paint looks much better as I waited for it to dry, but I didn't center the panel correctly so I'm a bit unbalanced. To correct it, I hot glued one end in place to match the other, this seems to be fine for the moment. I think in the future I'm going to just get an ABS tube from the local giant home store, but where to find another control panel? Tomorrow I'm going to tackle the shins. Although its not as smooth and steady as I'd like it to be, everything I screwed up on has been easily fixed so my seams are straight, everything is trimmed nicely and I have little to no glue showing anywhere. I know I keep promising pics, I'll get to them soon. As always, thanks for the help and support guys! PS Daves link: ------- Edited December 6, 2020 by gmrhodes13 link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-2126_MD[TK] Posted July 5, 2007 Report Share Posted July 5, 2007 GO ROB!!!!! Great work show pictures!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 All right, legs and thighs are mostly done, just need to figure out the velcro and webbing on the thighs, but we're nearing the finish line. I have the whole thing on a mannequin and I've been fitting all the webbing around it using the snap/velcro Dave method. My wife is finishing up my belt so I can start cracking on that (shes doing this for me because I spent the last two days putting together my daughters playset ). I picked up my under armor at Dicks the other day, scored underarmor pants and a shirts for less than $50, go sale day, and I've begun investigating the boot situation. Everything seems to be falling into place, I should have my helmet going in the next 2 weeks or so, whenever Matt gets done being married (hahah, JK ), my only fear is not being able to match the color/sheen of the ABS with spray paint on the helmet. Right now I have an FX helmet on the mannequin for reference, which I'm looking to sell if your interested . Anyway, as always photos to follow and thanks for the words of encouragement Joey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Vader Posted July 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Ok, PHOTOS! Don't mind my dead grass, we're going though a local drought Please be brutal, I want to get everything as correct as I can. Ignore the bucket for now, it will be replaced soon Sorry the mannequin has no legs, I included a photo of the completed leg armor though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exodus[TK] Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Rob, its looking great, nice job. From your side picture, it looks like your front and rear ab are not lining up. Plus, you have some space in between the two ab sections. If you are going for deployed status (which I hope you are) you need to close it up. A side benefit of closing the gap, you won't have the two ab sections uneven from each other. Keep it up trooper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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