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Thrill Kill Kult's 1st Build using AM Armor and a TM Helmet [*AM]


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I finally broke out my AM armor that I bought in Nov of 2011! After watching "theissaac" muscle through his build. No pun intended. I decided I can do this and what better time than May 4th 2012!

 

So I put all my research to the test and started cutting and grinding and taking pictures!

 

My main source for this build was of course "pandatrooper" build thread. I also studied "troopermaster" builds, some not posted by him but by troopers who had him build their armor and were kind enough to take pictures of his work. I also really enjoyed watching Dave's Garage Builds videos on Youtube or "glastondebury" is his YouTube channel name. Really good stuff! Then there are bits and pieces from everyone here at FISD! I never stop learning!

 

My Armor came from Mighty Tank from the StarGarrison, he was a great seller and the armor came super quick and packaged really well. Thanks to TK6294 for helping me make that connection!

 

So why AM armor you might ask, well I got into this wanting two sets of armor a TK and a TD. So the AM is what I am going to cut my teeth on and then I hope to get a full set of TM armor once I feel more confident. I was also concerned with sizing, since I am a taller trooper. I'm leaning towards the AM being my TD and the TM being my TK but the jury is still out. That indecision may be reflected in my build.

 

I'm 6'2" 195lbs skinny build, basically if I have fat its all in the middle!

 

Ok enough chit chat, Lets build a Stormtrooper!

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So after reading a bunch of build threads I know what's out there and whats not. So I'm going to skip some of the traditional pics and move on to some that may be helpful to newbies like myself with an AM kit.

 

So in order to bring my confidence up, I decide to start with trimming the return edges down on the arms and shins.

Please feel free to critique my work, I would actually really appreciate it.

 

So here are some rough cuts, nothing has been sanded yet. These are comparison pictures of the stock out of the box pieces to the ones I have gone to town on!

 

First the forearms...

 

Bottom of Forearms

ForearmFrt-1.jpg

 

Top of Forearms

ForearmBk-1.jpg

 

Back of Forearms Bottom

BackForearm.jpg

Edited by thrill kill kult
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Ok now for the infamous AM Shins!

 

Big thanks to "RougueTrooper" for his thread: AM Armor Shins:The Proper Way To Assemble and Wear

 

You definitely want to read that thread before doing anything with your AM Shins!

 

So first things first, identify the pieces and mark them

ShinMarked.jpg

 

Now more return edge removal!

 

Shin Top RA / BA Out

RABAOutComp.jpg

 

 

Shin Top RB / LB IN

RBLBINComp.jpg

 

Shin Bottom LB / RB IN

ShinBottomLBRBIN.jpg

 

Shin Bottom LA / RA Out

ShinBottomLARAOUT.jpg

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I was looking for pictures like this a few days ago. They look really good. I'm just into trimming my ATA kit. Will be nice to compare to what you have done. Personally I left a little more of a return edge on mine because I'm a skinny bugger and will probably have to use some foam inside my arms so I don't look like an anorexic trooper. Yours looks awesome though.

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Thanks Pfneisl. I happy to hear that my thread will be useful to other troopers. This site has giving me so much I really want to do my best to give back. My arms and legs are pretty skinny as well. I really don't worry about my size when working on the return edges. I looked up more screen accurate suits and tried to mimic them. Wait to you see how much abs I have to cut to get mine sized!

 

Here's the before and after sniper plate I just finished.

 

Sniper plate right side

SniperPlateRt.jpg

 

Sniper Plate Left Side

SniperPlateLt.jpg

Edited by thrill kill kult
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Thanks Brian, Noah and Isaac!

 

Last piece of the weekend.

 

The butt plate, this one I questioned. It appears to me that the AM kit does not bend under as much as screen/other armor does.

That said the extension past the mold line is hideous. So it had to go. I really didn't want the two snaps to show from my backside. Has anyone one bent the bottom in a little bit more?.

 

Here is what I trimmed down...

 

Butt Plate Top (not much work done on this one)

ButtplateTop.jpg

 

Butt Plate Bottom (here's the big cut)

Buttplatebottom.jpg

 

Thoughts...

Edited by thrill kill kult
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good call on the butt plate cut. I trimmed mine but need to cut where you did. There is no reason to have that extra flap and after you get it all strapped up when you walk the extra part pushes back and makes you look like you have a tail. There is a pic on my thread of the screen used suits and they were trimmed up like you have there. So good call. I'll be trimming mine this week too.

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I trimmed off that piece for comfort. I can't imagine having that ride up somewhere unpleasant. :blink:

Mate I'd recommend taking a bit off of the flap on the cod piece too. Not heaps, but some. Then round the edge off to avoid biting.

 

Your return edges are looking quite good, and having not been sanded you've done a great job cutting!

I would also recommend that you take all of the return edge out of the bottom of the shins. Otherwise it could throw off the sizing a bit. That and it could get uncomfortable/prematurely ruin the finish on your boots. ;) (those things are expensive. :lol:)

 

Nice clean build so far mate, keep it up! :duim:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks guys! Plan on doing quite a bit of work on this over the three day weekend. I did a test fitting on my shins and I will definetly be taking the return edge off as you suggested Spectre. Good Call!

 

Started on the cod piece I think I have it pretty well done. It's hard to tell, I keep looking at reference pics and dremeling I'm still not 100% happy.

 

I got the biceps glued and the forearms glued. I'll post pics of the progress so far, very soon.

Edited by thrill kill kult
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