fritzthefox[TK] Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) Has anyone ever just glued cover strips to armor already constructed using overlap construction? It seems like it might be a fuss-free way to get the authentic screen look without sacrificing ease of construction/structural integrity. Edited November 12, 2012 by fritzthefox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locitus[Admin] Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 I think I've seen it, but the problem is that it doesn't look as how you're imagining it. So there is no upside to doing so. And you don't loose any structural integrity by using coverstrips if you do it properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperJesse[TK] Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 I think I've seen it, but the problem is that it doesn't look as how you're imagining it. So there is no upside to doing so. And you don't loose any structural integrity by using coverstrips if you do it properly. Mathias, I have a question as for the cover strips. My RT-MOD armor already has the overlap method on it so what do I do so it won't look bad if I put cover strips on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Aloha[Admin] Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Mathias, I have a question as for the cover strips. My RT-MOD armor already has the overlap method on it so what do I do so it won't look bad if I put cover strips on it? Jesse.... I cut some white plastic and put them over my overlap shins a test. It looked ridiculous. I wish I had taken my time to just cut the overlaps and put cover strips over them. It would have been a bunch more work but looked great in the end. My next RT kit I plan to get untrimmed and do just that... but it seems these days that Rob will trim your kit in preparation of cover strip construction and send cover strips material to you. If/when the new CRL changes go through you won't be able to go centurion with overlap, but you'll still look like a kickbutt TK. Aloha, -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperJesse[TK] Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Jesse.... I cut some white plastic and put them over my overlap shins a test. It looked ridiculous. I wish I had taken my time to just cut the overlaps and put cover strips over them. It would have been a bunch more work but looked great in the end. My next RT kit I plan to get untrimmed and do just that... but it seems these days that Rob will trim your kit in preparation of cover strip construction and send cover strips material to you. If/when the new CRL changes go through you won't be able to go centurion with overlap, but you'll still look like a kickbutt TK. Aloha, -Eric Ha thanks Eric, so do you recommend just removing them and putting cover strips over them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Aloha[Admin] Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Ha thanks Eric, so do you recommend just removing them and putting cover strips over them? Well... I can tell you what I plan to do based on the fact that Rob trims his kits now for cover strips. I don't know who else has built RT with cover strips. I was hoping to treat them like any other armor. That means measuring half the distance of the width of the cover strip and scoring a line and snapping the overlap off on each half of the part. Sounds scary doesn't it? That's why you should start with a bicep first. -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Hilarious Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 you could always convert to RotJ, it might be less effort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front-a-Little[TK] Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Back in the days when I was a shiny rookie trooper, I had my first kit build by it's manufacturer and he used the overlap method. And hot-glue, but that's another topic. I had to tear apart almost the entire armor, remove the hot glue, cut half the overlapping area, adjust the parts from scratch and glue the cover strips on with E6000. In the end, I got EIB approved with that kit and judging by the overall look of the kit, it was absolutely worth it. And about the structural integrity of cover strips: My 1.5mm TM only has cover strips on the outside, no additional inner strip to back up the cover strip. After 6 or 7 troops, nothing has come apart yet and I don't think that'll change after 60 troops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azrok[501st] Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) I have been assembling TK biceps and forearms over the last week, and am using the cover strip method. Finally broke some old armor out of the bin, after removing velcro from it a year or two ago then storing it. I read, re-read, re-re-re-read the Pandatrooper guide for assembling arms before and during my project, and I. did. not. want. to do the cover strips method because of the extra work and I thought overlap method would be stronger. Even flirted around with the cover strip over overlap idea. That did look kind of whacked up, because there's always one side that's going to show what you did. I had never even heard of cover strips before and thought the idea was absolutely crazy. I hated it. But nope, checked lots of movie stills, promo photos, reference shots, and yep, they're there. Probably the biggest holdup was the mental roadblock of thinking I didn't have the skill to do it. I finally decided kicking, screaming, and cussing that having the better look was more important than a lazy build (applying that term to myself, not to anyone else considering overlap), as I am going for ESB version. So fast forward, and I have been working joining the arms, and making/gluing cover strips for a week now, with all the interruptions that life can throw at you along the way. I am a convert now, and glad that I am putting this extra effort into my armor. It has totally got me motivated about my build, and I am much more confident in being able to do this build, and do it well. Now I am almost done with the biceps and arms, only two exterior forearm strips left to go and then I will move to the legs. And yeah, I've got mental blocks about the legs too, but I am much better prepared and more confident going into those than I was the arms. By the way, if you do inside strips, there will be four strips per assembled bicep or forearm. 2x inner and outer for each assembled piece. 16 strips total. Methods and tools used: - I read the Pandatrooper guide a few dozen times and various other build/how-to posts (can't remember which) - Glue: E-6000 - I am using the interior cover strips as well, I'm a believer in this. - I have had to remove one strip which got mis-aligned with the clamps, and the glue was half-done. I used Goo Gone glue remover (in Home Depot paint section), window scraper blade, Brillo-type sponge, 150 grit, 220 grit, and I think 300 grit sandpaper. Then dish soap and different sponges to remove the Goo Gone residue. - Dremel with EZ-Lock thin cut discs - bench sander (mostly for quickly rounding the edges of the cover strips, and the occasional trim. - X-Acto style knife and blades - cutting mat, since I'm taking up half the dining room table with this project (power tools stay in the garage though lol) - painters tape - tongue depressors/popsicle sticks (from craft store) - score-and-snap method, using a steel ruler and plain old retractable box cutter - I went to a sign store near work one day and bought a bunch of scrap styrene for $20, that's what I'm using for my strips. Very strong. For what it's worth, I have some of those larger/thicker For Rent or For Sale or something signs from Home Depot (the big thicker red and white ones) that I think could have used that with no problem. - A LOT of clamps. I have a ton of clamps, and that lets me work on one or more pieces while a previous one or two is still setting (E-6000 recommended set time is 24-72 hours). Wal-Mart, Sears, and other stores sell bags of assorted clamp sizes pretty cheaply. - By the way, the X-acto is great for trimming off excess glue that spills out from under your cover strip. Let the globs dry, then cut them and pull them off. If you try to remove when still wet, it WILL smear and is more work/sanding later. Of course you could always not put too much glue to begin with, but I always over-do it. So, that's it. Thought long and hard about overlap, but doing the cover strips and gladly so. Sorry for too much info, thought I would share a perspective from someone who was in the same boat very recently. Edited November 27, 2012 by Azrok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritzthefox[TK] Posted November 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) Thanks, Tom (and everybody else), I appreciate your perspective. Ironically, I backed myself into the cover strip approach while I was waffling over the decision. My kit came with extra plastic for the strips, and I was trying to figure out how to score and snap properly (my early efforts at this were disappointing), so I ended up cutting a bunch of cover strips for practice. Now that I have the strips cut, and a newly acquired ability to score and snap with the best of them, I figure, why not? So cover strips it is. BTW, it is thanks to this forum that I finally learned to score and snap. A simple practical tip vastly improved my success rate: clamp a flexible steel ruler to the part you are cutting. Big salute to the FISD for that nugget. Edited November 27, 2012 by fritzthefox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azrok[501st] Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Nice tip on clamping the ruler, I will definitely have to do that for the legs. I've been pleasantly surprised at the better hand control I have with a good blade in a box cutter, thought the x-acto would have been the way to go. Go figure. My kit (AP) came with plastic to make strips also. I used a good bit of it to make a Sandtrooper backpack radio on another set of armor a few years back, lol. Long story, I didn't know any better. So that's partly why I had to source the extra plastic and/or the sign material. I have cut up a lot of the sign material (the one from Home Depot) into squares for snap plates, it should work nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritzthefox[TK] Posted December 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2012 (edited) Nixed this comment in favor of starting a new thread. Nothing to see here. Move along. Edited December 1, 2012 by fritzthefox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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