Nihilius Amateur ATA Build (ANH Stunt)[*ATA]

[Nihilius]

Well my ABS ATA kit showed up last week and it looks great. I figured I might as well start a build thread to get some constructive criticism as I go. Now I have a few too many hobbies as it is so there probably won't be daily updates but I'll try to post as I make progess.

 

I'll be uploading more pics than posted in this to photobucket http://photobucket.com/ATABuild

 

Here's the fresh plastics! I was very suprised how much armor fit in such a small box!

 

 

 

 

 

This shot actually gave me the idea of using an extra motorcycle helmet liner for the build.

 

 

 

 

It fits very well and is super comfortable. I'm hoping it will allow air to flow even though it was designed with top vents in mind. I guess I'll just need to test it out.

 

I'm just starting to do some trimming but I feel I might be doing so in a far too conservative fashion. When doing the initial rough trimming should I go all the way to the "clean" portion of the piece? I started cutting my first piece and left about a 1/4" of rough mold on the plastic but now I think I'm going to need to trim it again before I can even start the fitting process. I'm 5'10" and 145lbs so I think the lengths/heights will be close and most of the trimming will be to fit my lean build.

 

 

I was able to start a little bit on the cap and faceplate but stopped when I couldn't find my set of mini files.

 

Anyway, I'm super excited to finally get this started! Thanks everyone for being so helpful and putting up the various tutorials for those of us that have never done this before.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Nihilius

[Solcar23[TK]]

Wow! That's awesome! I have my kit coming really soon! It's cool to see what's exactly in the boxes! Did the drop boxes come with backs? I only see two items that look like drop boxes and I would imagine 4 of them if it included the backs.

 

Also, how much are those helmet liners? I really like the way it looks! Comfy! What's the consensus around here on those types of liners? I already have a hard hat liner I cut out, but the motorcycle helmet liner looks great!

[Solcar23[TK]]

Oh, yeah, one more thing. Did you ask for the "hero" and "stunt" ears or do they come standard with the kit?

[Nihilius]

Hey Sergeant,

The drop boxes only came with fronts though I know someone is doing runs of backs.

 

As far as the liner goes, it looks like you can find them as low as $25 +shipping. Mine happens to be for Sparx brand helmets and they come in a variety of sizes. Smalls will have much thicker padding than an X-Large.

 

The helmet kit I got from Supertrooper included two sets of stunt ears, I assume enough people have screwed them up that he throws in spares. I believe these are the only ears that he offers with of his helmets but you might want to shoot him an E-Mail and ask because I really have no idea. The helmet also included the hardware, neck trim, brow trim and the backing for the eyes. Not pictured are the 4 additional sheets of ABS that came with the armor kit for cover strips and snap plates.

Edited January 17, 2012 by Nihilius

[darksideemt]

Oh how I remember that day when the big brown box showed up, then the hard work begins. Unless you have a shunken head, there is no way that padding will work. You will be able to use a few pieces but not the whole thing. There isn't as much room in there as you think. Good luck with your build and remember to always ask before you do something.

[Solcar23[TK]]

Thanks for the info private!

[Nihilius]

Thanks fot the heads up darksideemt. I've heard that you kind of need to twist the helmets to get them on but was hoping that since the padding is only 1/4"-1/2" thick it might work. Either way it will be around when I finish the helmet so I may still give it a try.

 

Another little note, I spent a little more time scoring and breaking last night with an x-acto blade and I just don't have the talent to cut nice even curves. I'm going to head to an RC shop to grab some lexan scissors which will hopefully make trimming the non-straight pieces a little easier.

[Nihilius]

Progress!

 

Picked up the scissors yesterday and everything went much quicker. Seeing the pile of plastic that I've trimmed really makes me feel like I'm properly destroying something.

 

 

I got the bulk of the waste cut off. I left everything oversized for an initial test fit as well as mild return edges. I left the back of the shins completely untrimmed because I plan on doing velcro. I haven't really done anything with the chest, back or ab plate since most of the build threads I have in front of me focus on sizing the arms and legs.

 

 

 

TK Boots also showed up yesterday and I must admit that they are rather stylish!

 

 

I can't wait for everything to come together. I think this build is going be fun.

[Nihilius]

My short attention span kicked in this afternoon and had me jump back to the helmet. I think it's coming along nicely but like everyone else's first build the big question comes down to the ears.

 

Here is my first test fit. (note: this is a mirrored pic)

 

 

The brow trim seemed a little too uneven so I drilled out the rivets, trimmed the brow line and re-assembled. Looks much better in my opinion. It could be leveled more, but I'm satisfied as is.

 

 

I've moved on to trimming my ears right now and was hoping all of you experts out there could offer some feedback.

 

Is the angle and position here about right?

 

 

The back seems to be good for now. I'll just keep trimming it as I work on the front.

 

 

My concern is here. That little inside corner. Do you guys think I can keep trimming and make it fit or should I just start over with some fresh plastic?

 

 

Thanks all!

[darksideemt]

Tough one, looks pretty good. Try trimming a little more. I does look like you trimmed too much of the corner off so don't know if you will be able to make that ear work. Everything else looks good.

 

Side note: Make sure after you get the front of the shins glued together and you go to measure for velcro placement you have your boots on. Front of shins should be 10mm on each edge so when put together the 20mm cover strips fits.

[daennika]

My concern is here. That little inside corner. Do you guys think I can keep trimming and make it fit or should I just start over with some fresh plastic?

 

 

Thanks all!

I'd say keep working on your curb just a liiiittle bit with sandpaper. Screw the ear in and see if the pressure would help obtain a better fit. I spent like 3 hours on my ear pieces, taking it slow. Test fit, sand, fit, sand, fit... Then I just put the screws in and it turned out just fine.

[Nihilius]

Thanks for the feedback all. I actually started trimming my backup ear but got the idea of lowering the brow trim to make up corner gap. I don't see any real problems with doing this so long as it's level(ish) and I glue the trim in place.

 

Here are a couple pics with the old and new position and a little more trimming. I think I can get a nice tight fitting ear like this. Is there anything I missed regarding lowering the brow trim?

 

Trim in it's natural position

 

 

Trim dropped 3/16"

 

 

You can see the little gap between the cap and the trim from the rear. I can probably close that gap with a little glue at the end.

Edited January 25, 2012 by Nihilius

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Hey Jared, The left ear actually sits a bit lower than the right, so you got it just right Check out starwarshelmets.com it's a great reference for finishing your helmet

[darksideemt]

Looks great!

[Nihilius]

Thanks guys! I'll probably be putting in the upper screws to see where I need to do my final trimming tonight, then onto the right side.

[xaoslord]

Things are shaping up! Looking forward to more progress.

[Nihilius]

Spent a little more time on the bucket and while I'm not completely satisfied I think it's good enough for now. Spending more time on them right now would just be frustrating. I can always go back and do more trimming or do some work on my second set of ears.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2012 by Nihilius

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Looks fine! What are you not satisfied with?

[Nihilius]

On the right ear you can see quite a bit of rough mold, particularly on the back. I was debating trying to use a sealing iron to try and smooth everything out but I'm sure that would end in a complete disaster.

 

Do you guys think I need to open up the teeth more?

[SCTrooper[TK]]

I would leave the ear as it is, these kits arn't perfect and you got it close enough. Trim the teeth out a little more, Looking Goood

[gazmosis[501st]]

Nice recovery on that ear!!!!!

[Nihilius]

Thanks for the support and feedback guys. Now that I've bumbled my way through most of the helmet I figure I'll turn back to the armor. I've glued the fronts of the biceps (15mm cover strips and probably 17mm wide "flats") and taped the rears such that they are about 60% of the width that they should be. I could probably still fit 10-11mm cover strips though. Both biceps still have around 3/16" return edge. Anyway, as I type this i'm already thinking of pulling the fronts apart and bringing them in a hair.

 

The return edges I can trim with a dremel then give it a nice round edge with sand paper. For now I am just hoping to get some feedback before I do anything silly. My garrison is planning to do a few armor parties in February which will help a lot, but for now I defer to all of the experts that frequent the forum here!

 

Anyway, feedback on the fit? Should I go a little larger? A little tighter? I plan on leaving the oval bicep with that oblong shape and I think the length of the armor is perfect, bordering on long.

 

 

 

 

 

And I apologize for the terrible pictures. The lighting here is just no bueno.

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Looks like a good fit. It's always hard to tell from pic's. You can tell if it's to tight by flexing your arm muscles, like your taking off your helmet. Just make sure your comfertable. Also dont go with strips smaller than 13mm. I am not 100% sure on this, but I think 13mm is the minimum i would go.

[Nihilius]

Life's always busy but I've been plinking away at the armor as I get the chance. I've put heat into most of the parts I'm working on to slim them down a bit and tonight I've decided that sweat pants are super convenient while fitting the torso/cod piece without needing to get crazy with the masking tape. Anyway, I thought I'd throw up a couple pics to show my progess.

 

The right bracer was coming out very large compared to the left so I decided now was as good a time as any to play with the heat gun. Thankfully the under/rear half of the ATA right bracer was straight and featureless making it much easier to heat-shape than the much more shapely left bracer. On the bottom half I completely removed the rear molded butt-joint flat (I figure this is the most discreet location) and used the heat gun to flatten out the swooping edge to allow the cover strip an even surface to attach to. Now that I'm looking at the picture below I notice it's not the most attractive thing but it is sized much better to my boney wrists and I can always tweak it with a little more heat later.

 

 

1930's built-in mirror, TK upper body, oblivious expression and a few empties ready for the next batch of home brew. I wasn't going to post this pic but it made me laugh.

Nothing I'm wearing here is currently strapped (most notably the biceps) though my pauldrons are taped to the chest piece shoulder plastics. Thoughts/suggestions? One of these days I'm gonna drag my lady over for a TK fashion show but until that happens you all will just have to live with mirror cell phone pics.

 

 

And here's some terrible other pics. Man I do not look happy here... just ignore the scowl, I am honestly super stoked with where I'm at right now though I still think the torso and chest may need to be narrowed further. How much space should I have in the torso? Without cutting the cod should there be room to bend forward or do most people use the straight backed "bend at your legs" approach?

 

Edited February 9, 2012 by Nihilius

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Looking good! The first suit i had i cut the cod and it did help alitle when bending down. I used to brew at home but had an explosion in the dinning room, besides I drink it so fast.