AP armor ESB stormtrooper build thread

[Azrok[501st]]

W..a..i..t..i..n..g for months on new TIE Pilot armor and flightsuit to arrive, so I can proceed with resolving issues with my outstanding TIE Pilot 501st application. Meanwhile, I'm restless as all get out to make some kind of progress, so I dug out the AP stormtrooper armor, which a couple of Georgia Garrions folks helped me with advice on and removing the velcro from a good ways back. Thank you , guys. Thanks also to Evolver79 for sharing his build thread and early encouragement.

 

So, I want to go for ESB stormtrooper.

 

The armor is roughly trimmed, I'm fine-tuning some of it as I go along in assembly and some of it once parts are assembled.

 

First order of business, remove the remaining strips of velcro.

 

Next, remove the Velcro's glue residue, using Goo Gone, then cleaned the GG's film off. Yes, you need to clean the residue of the product that you used to remove another residue! :roll:

 

Time to start actually doing something. Decided to start with the biceps and forearms. I read Pandatrooper's http://www.whitearmo...d/Tutorial-arms about a dozen times. HATED the idea of cover strips, hated it, and wanted to do overlap method when joining the various arms/legs halves. Just didn't believe in the strength of cover strips vs overlap, and was afraid to make such 'drastic' irreversible cuts to my armor. But, checked screencaps, and reference photos, forums, yep, there are the cover strips. Dang. Also realized that the shortcut of cover strips over overlaps was, ahhh, not a look I wanted to go for.

 

So I went into cover strips kicking and screaming. More like cursing and mumbling, haha. Decided if I was going to do it, there had to be inner cover strips as well.

 

Measured and trimmmed my bicep and forearm halves, according to the tutorial.

 

 

Cuts done, surfaces cleaned and ready for the next step

 

Gluing in one of the inner cover strips. Completely worth the additional build time in using these. Often, the armor halves won't align just right. You can trim/workout 90% of most alignment issues with the inner strips, including any necessary ugliness there, which makes the outer (viewable) coverstrips much easier. Plus, combined, the two are double strong.

 

Having too many clamps finally came in handy, it let me work on multiple pieces while previous ones were setting. All glue used is E-6000 by the way. Recommended set time is 24-72 hours. Available at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann.

 

...more to come, just breaking up the posts...

[Azrok[501st]]

...Okay, we're back

 

Time for outer cover strips. Measured them, made trim cuts on the ends with a Dremel. Rounded the ends with a couple of quick gentle passes on the bench sander.

 

 

Despite best efforts at trimming, alignment, and inner cover strips, sometimes the armor still doesn't line up right, either side to side (more fixable) or in height (more of a problem). I solved this problem on one difficult forearm by using a shim piece of thinner plastic. I just cut it from leftovers of one of those big red and white For Sale or something signs from Home Depot. Then I put the normal outer cover strip over it and the join. Worked great.

 

 

 

Arms assembled! Still need to trip the forearms' lower return edges, add snaps and straps.

 

 

...more to come...

[jnnfr72[TK]]

Awesome work Tom! I'm right there with yah - glueing my cover strips. Why do I feel like a 1st grader compared to your work?!!! I keep telling myself I'll go back and fix my clumsy sanding and cuts. I'm getting ready to ADD velcro... to the closure on the shins, though. Love watching your work.

[Azrok[501st]]

...okay, next are thighs

 

Measured, cut, and sanded inner and outer cover strips for the thigh pieces

 

Taped/test fit the thigh piece. Not even sure if that's on the correct leg in this photo. I later changed to exercise pants and re-did it when I remembered I would be wearing thinner material under the armor, not jeans. Derrr....

 

When I did make cuts, it was very difficult to make one neatly for the length of the thigh piece. Attacking it in smaller sections made it much easier. By the way, I used regular old box cutter with a fresh blade for most of my trims. It just worked a lot easier for me instead of the X-acto / hobby knife, though I did use those in the beginning and from time to time.

 

Gluing the inner cover strip on a thigh piece. This is a good time to endorse the use of rare earth (neodymium) magnets, not regular magnets. Pandatrooper has photos/description in his assembly tutorial. In his photos, he used disc shapes. I used rings only because that's what I already had. These things are awesome. The thighs curve forward, and the worst part of the curve is too far down the piece for the clamps to reach. I didn't trust the painters tape to hold the curve down for the long set time of the glue. I put the magnets on in pairs, one underneath and one above. These things will snap into place when their magnetic fields encounter each other, and the outward flex of the armor's middle section immediately disappears, and I mean immediately - click!. Problem solved. I got mine at K&J Magnetics (http://www.kjmagnetics.com/).

 

Marked several different positions on rear of the thigh for trimming, so I can try and decide which cut to go with. Looking to find the balance between comfort and troopability while decreasing gap around the knee..

Edited December 6, 2012 by Azrok

[jnnfr72[TK]]

Looking good!

[Clamps[TK]]

Nice progress and for the record, TK-Clamps approves of this photo:

 

Having too many clamps finally came in handy, it let me work on multiple pieces while previous ones were setting. All glue used is E-6000 by the way. Recommended set time is 24-72 hours. Available at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann.

 

[Azrok[501st]]

Hahaha, thanks! I've probably got twice as many not in the photos, but those probably were the best sized for the job. Those Irwin ones are $weet, but the Stanley variety pack black ones from Walmart / Sears work great too..

 

Nice progress and for the record, TK-Clamps approves of this photo:

[Azrok[501st]]

These shoulders aren't supposed to have that lip around the edge, are they?

 

I received these 90% pre-trimmed, have checked CRL photos, but just wanted to make sure before I started removing it.

 

Thanks!

 

[Clamps[TK]]

no lip around the outter edge.

 

On the portion that opens over the actual bicep, you can leave a little return edge (the part that curves down, but lose the extra flange that goes back out. don't have computer at my disposal right now to draw on your image, so here is an image of mine (sorry its the best I have handy right now:

 

[Azrok[501st]]

Got it, your photo worked fine. Thanks much!

[Azrok[501st]]

Fixed! Marked up with a pencil, couple of minutes on the bench sander, and smoothed it out with some hand sanding.

 

Thanks for the help!