LePaul Posted June 11, 2013 Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 I got my ATA Armor almost 2 years ago. I keep meaning to get to it but with two aluminum R2-D2s keeping me busy, the "play" time runs short. I've posted the usual un-boxing pictures a while back on my blog... http://stormtrooperpaul.blogspot.com/ Fast forward to last weekend, where a few of my 501st friends were at our regional R2 Builder get together (New England R2 Builders). They were gracious enough to help me sort thru my armor and figure out what needed to be trimmed and how tight. Some of the vacuum lines and edges were pretty hard to make out. And I know how to patch up aluminum, not ABS! Over the past few months, when I could make it here, I read about the iCOMM device and was really impressed. I purchased one and its in the stack-of-stuff. If you don't have one, Now I have lot's of questions I am hoping my new friends here can help out with! SHIMS...how wide? I understand the length of the pieces (arm, etc)... The pieces are trimmed but should these have straight edges? Here's what I have so far...me and my bucket, which my 501st friend did for me. Snipping and snipping and snipping ...and back at home, everything is laid out... (Please check my blog if the pics don't load up right.... Blog Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kecro Posted June 11, 2013 Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 LePaul the kit looks great hope all goes well and I envy your work cave! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted June 11, 2013 Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 Well, awesome start with the trimming........... keep going!! The cover strip sizes are approximately, if I recall, 15mm for arms, and 20-25mm for shins & thighs. You look like you'll be proportioned fine, but if you need the spare room, do slightly larger strips in the back, and keep your front as close as possible to the above. It's a little harder with the arms, as there's not necessarily a front-back, so those just do proportional. Now glue glue glue!!! e6000 is your friend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 11, 2013 Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 Laid out ready to go, now start going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 LePaul the kit looks great hope all goes well and I envy your work cave! Sadly, that lovely man cave in the first pictures is my friend's The one at the end...with the "manly" pink floor is mine LOL I keep meaning to paint that over from the original home owner....but something else always comes up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2013 Now my first questions are this... Let's start with the forearms.... As they are, they fit my arms fine, adding a shim would just make them bigger. Do you trim away material from the forearm pieces to accomodate a shim? I mean, if there isn't a shim, I am stuck wondering which piece goes on top of the other Or better yet, are there any instructions for this armor? I lost my password to the ATA Owners Group and the "Reset Password" link failed. So, before I guess, wing it and hope...I thought I would ask! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMacken[TK] Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 Now my first questions are this... Let's start with the forearms.... As they are, they fit my arms fine, adding a shim would just make them bigger. Do you trim away material from the forearm pieces to accomodate a shim? I mean, if there isn't a shim, I am stuck wondering which piece goes on top of the other Or better yet, are there any instructions for this armor? I lost my password to the ATA Owners Group and the "Reset Password" link failed. So, before I guess, wing it and hope...I thought I would ask! There's an ATA owners group? Where's that at? You trim away enough material to account for half the cover strip, from each side. The size of each cover strip was listed on one of the extra pieces of ABS I received with my ATA kit. Youcan do strips on the outside and inside of the pieces if you want a little extra support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 I found someone else's build blog and despite the slide show graphics (so annoying)...this helps explain a lot. http://tk3199.wordpress.com/?s=ata+armor Pull up the various entries...good info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 There's an ATA owners group? Where's that at? http://ata-owners.betaboard.net/login I'll have to message Terrell about getting back in there. I emailed him asking if he had any formal instructions on piecing this together beyond guessing Should the arms be cut/trimmed to come to straight cuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMacken[TK] Posted June 12, 2013 Report Share Posted June 12, 2013 http://ata-owners.betaboard.net/login I'll have to message Terrell about getting back in there. I emailed him asking if he had any formal instructions on piecing this together beyond guessing Should the arms be cut/trimmed to come to straight cuts? Wow, I had no idea that existed, I guess I could try and get a log in from him, but I'm nearly finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Ok, I'm starting on the fore arms and ...well...completely stuck. Does the INSIDE curl under the OUTER piece? It really appears that way, since when I line the edges up, they really aren't even close... Going with that thought, I used the Painter's Tape and a few more clamps On the other arm, comparing the edges, this arm lines up a bit better on one side... Help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMacken[TK] Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 ATA armor doesn't overlap, it buts together and gets a cover strip. Take a look at the trooper bay video, he explains it. http://trooperbay.com/videos/assemble-accurate-stormtrooper-armor/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 Thanks for the link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Femtrooper Julie[501st] Posted June 13, 2013 Report Share Posted June 13, 2013 On that forearm, your sides are WAY to big. The cover strip is like 15mm, so you cut it back to about 7mm, then glue a 15mm strip over it. ATA writes the measurements in inches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 What's everyone's thoughts on Zap A Gap / Zip Kicker? (http://trooperbay.com/zap-a-gap-zip-kicker-combo-pack/) Looks like a remarkably FAST way to get a lot of the armor halves attached. Just wondering if there were any real down sides? My friend who has an upholstery business helped me back several snap plates tonight. Suffice to say his equipment, working with various leathers and so on made fast work of the plastic "For Sale" sign I had. We cut up one inch squares and made about a dozen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 E6000 is normally used, yes it takes a while to dry but it is a very forgiving glue and can be removed by rubbing your thumb across it. Zap and super glues are an instant cure glue but can create some heat and also blemish abs, not as strong as E6000 either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMacken[TK] Posted June 14, 2013 Report Share Posted June 14, 2013 If I am counting correctly, you will need close to 40 snap plates, depending on how many you use in each connection of the various armor sections. E6000 was also helpful in that aspect when I had to relocate some snap plates for a better fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Okay, so as I thought....the slow road may be better. The videos are quite good...I have a much better idea of how to trim those pieces down....seeing is quite helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMacken[TK] Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Okay, so as I thought....the slow road may be better. The videos are quite good...I have a much better idea of how to trim those pieces down....seeing is quite helpful! i'm glad it helped, I think the only thing in the video that is in question, is the placement of the ammo belt on the right thigh. Also, I'm not sure the way he trims his shoulder bells is correct for the ATA kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 I wrote him asking if he had more videos on the way...despite the armor kit being different, seeing someone confidently zip, score, break and bond pieces together was the motivator I needed. I was worried about pieces that just didn't look like they had any means to line up. Then Terrell guided me on the diffrence between SHIM (make bigger) and COVER STRIPS, which now makes a LOT more sense to me I have one of those Sony Bloggie HD cameras so I'm going to record along as I go. Not only to document what I do wrong, but right? I have the holster, does that rivet into that belt (later in the build)? I bought the white belt from TrooperBay and need to get some decals for the bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted June 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 Well I cut up two 5/8 inch strips and moved ahead...I figured if the trim was a little long, that beat being short! Once I had one side done, I moved on to the next... ...and I'm out of clamps...so, the other arm will have to wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techne[TK] Posted June 21, 2013 Report Share Posted June 21, 2013 I like the way you use the bulldog clips. I haven't seen that before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted July 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Well gents (and ladies), I am really stumped on the forearms and haven't made it far beyond that. I just can't sort this out... I have trimmed the arm pieces from the where the molds end. When I then look at the halves of the forearms together, I just can't figure out if they are supposed to look this bad? See blog post: http://stormtrooperpaul.blogspot.com/2013/07/no-instructions-and-still-stuck.html I'm going to check some of the other builds that are non ATA since there seems to be very very few detailed ATA build tutorials out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LePaul Posted July 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Should I be removing a lot more of that flat area? It looks from other builds I have seen that there's is not quite so wide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpresseault Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Oh ya. You can remove a lot more. Should look like this. Watch the build videos over on trooperbay.com and you'll get the exact measurements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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