LeMaxim's RS PVC ANH Stunt Build [*RS] (WIP)

[Rezablad3[TK]]

Oh. Haven't heard of those. Would you mind sending me a PM with their contact info?

 

Also, if you don't mind, could you possibly take some sample measurements of your stripes?

 

Sent you a PM buddy.....

[dereferenced]

The Dave M style are 15 -16mm long, I could not find my standard set I must have organized it into oblivion. But I believe they were around the same length just each strip was wider and evenly spaced.  Pictures below to reference the scale. 

 

 

 

[LeMaxim[TK]]

The Dave M style are 15 -16mm long, I could not find my standard set I must have organized it into oblivion. But I believe they were around the same length just each strip was wider and evenly spaced. Pictures below to reference the scale.

Thank you very much! These are excellent pictures and are very helpful. Cheers!

[LeMaxim[TK]]

So. I have to take a break from the build for a few weeks.

 

Going on vacation to Hungary and Ireland. Hoping to meet some Hungarian and Irish troopers and expand my 501st circle of friends.

 

I'll also take the opportunity research the tube stripes and the rest of the build while on my travels. 

(As it turns out 16 mm seems to be the most common tube stripe length... but I'll get back to that.) 

 

I had hoped to be able to send in my application to join before leaving. Things take and should take time. 

I'll make it nicer when I get back instead. So new plan is to have my armour and application finished by the end of September. 

 

A colleague of mine gave me these to keep busy on my vacation. 

It's actual paint by numbers books. Nice change.

 

Well. Cheers for now. See you back here in mid September. 

 

(Any Hungarians or Irish troopers who want to meet up. Please PM me.)

 

Cheers!

[LeMaxim[TK]]

Where did all the time go? 

 

I'm came back from my vacation earlier this week and have been gearing up to get on with my build. 

I had a very nice time in both Hungary and Ireland.

 

In Hungary I met up with the Hungarian Garrison. Had a very nice evening in Budapest and scored some rare loot. 

 

Thank you 1526, 2359, 2360, 3418, and 4302 for taking the time for a 501st-cadet!

 

A few days later in the city of Székesfeérvár (Hungary) I had a night out and found some art and after a few beers I went to an all night Tesco and found some new toys. 

 

(Yes. I was very tired then that picture was taken but the Lego was a nice find. )

 

On to Ireland. Sadly I missed the troops of the Irish Outpost by about one week in both directions and didn't have the opportunity to meet up with any of the local troopers. 

All in all I had a nice time there too but TK Maxx was a big disappointment. 

 

After three weeks away from home I had come down with a serious case of builders-itch and on unpacking my suitcase it became ever more obvious.

 

It feels good to be back.

 

On with the build. 

 

When I left for vacation I had realised I was not at all happy with my tube stripes. As time ran short I decided to let it rest and do some research while being away. 

Pandatrooper's tutorial/stencil called for about a 20 mm length in the tubestripes which I aimed to follow. After seeing them on the bucket and getting some nice feedback (se above) it became more and more apparent that 20 mm was too long. Having heard good things about Trooperbays stencils I decided to order a few for reference and use. They had arrived well before I came back. 

 

This is my tubestripes before vacation:

 

Not at all a fair sight, but I did at least try to freehand it.

 

With a quick comparison to Trooperbays Dave M decals:

The decals are about 16 mm in length and about 3 mm in width. This is about 20-25% smaller than my freehanded ones.

 

So. Another bout with cleaning them away, applying the Trooperbays hand painted-style stencils, painting, and slight bleed-touch-up...

    

 

... I ended up with this

 

 

There are still some details that I most likely will revisit in a later mod-session but right now I feel satisfied with the result. 

 

Please feel free to comment on the helmet. I will be aiming for Centurion but before I start to nit-pick my brains out I want to clear basic approval and do some troops in the armour. 

(Both comments about basic approval and things to be think about for centurion are most welcome)

 

And finally. A poor quality selfie because, well... because it feels good to get my stripes on 

 

 

Yay! 

 

[Echo[TK]]

Very nice! Good fix. Stripes look great as does the whole helmet

[Rezablad3[TK]]

welcome back bro... finally some updates. That helmet is looking bada$$.....

[The5thHorseman[TK]]

Tube strips are imho the most difficult part of the paintjob but they really bring the helmet to life, and now they look way much better than before!! Good retrieval & keep up the good job   

[edwardowan]

Looks like the round part of the ears are a bit too thick in my opinion. seems they stick out too far past the black rubber trim and could use some more cutting down to thin them a bit. Otherwise this bucket is amazing!!!!   UPDATE: looking at the new hope bucket in the photo reference gallery it looks like your ears may actually be spot on after all. hmmm.)

Edited September 23, 2013 by edwardowan

[LeMaxim[TK]]

Looks like the round part of the ears are a bit too thick in my opinion. seems they stick out too far past the black rubber trim and could use some more cutting down to thin them a bit. Otherwise this bucket is amazing!!!!

You are quite right, and I will attend to the ears in my first mod session when the armour is complete. Right now I'll stay my hands lest I go mad with bucket details. It's on the to do list. Rest assured.

 

And thanks for the nice comments. All of you.

[LeMaxim[TK]]

UPDATE: looking at the new hope bucket in the photo reference gallery it looks like your ears may actually be spot on after all. hmmm.)

He, he...

Well. They are within on-screen tolerance, as it were, but I still want to trim them down a bit. Next round.

 

Thanks again.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good keep up the great work

[edwardowan]

He, he...

Well. They are within on-screen tolerance, as it were, but I still want to trim them down a bit. Next round.

 

Thanks again.

I know how that is... we have the same issues with details on R2-D2 at the R2 Builder's club... details can vary so much from scene to scene and there are many "screen accurate" ways to go on such details! 

Edited September 23, 2013 by edwardowan

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Wow Maxim.  I just found your build, and I'll be following it.

 

One day, my kit will come....

 

In the meantime, I'll watch all of the build threads like yours (great photo-journaling, by the way.... Brilliant!  - and appreciated) to learn the tips/tricks and things that you learn along the way.

 

Looking good mate!  Keep at it, and thanks for sharing!
 

[LeMaxim[TK]]

I know how that is... we have the same issues with details on R2-D2 at the R2 Builder's club... details can vary so much from scene to scene and there are many "screen accurate" ways to go on such details! 

 

Ha! I can imagine. And that was "just one" droid.

No. There's a wide variety of "screen accurate", and in the end you just have to decide which one of them you agree with the most. 

 

Wow Maxim.  I just found your build, and I'll be following it.

 

One day, my kit will come....

 

In the meantime, I'll watch all of the build threads like yours (great photo-journaling, by the way.... Brilliant!  - and appreciated) to learn the tips/tricks and things that you learn along the way.

 

Looking good mate!  Keep at it, and thanks for sharing!

 

 

Thanks for your kind words. I hope I can be of use for you.

The documentation really takes time but I feel it'll be good for me too. Someone once said that the problem with life is that we understand it backwards. So when the build is finished I hope I'll be able to turn it around and make some kind of sense out of it. In the meantime I'll just try to have fun and not freak out too much.

 

I had hoped for some more big progress to report but as you all know life is what happens while you are busy making plans... so. 

 

Anyway. Some progress and since it's in the early AM here I will just put this picture here to show that things are moving on my end. 

 

Me getting my Hulk on.

 

 

Well. Sort of. I have never looked so broad shouldered.

Still things to trim. The pieces really doesn't "just fit" and I have plenty of room to go Popeye-Hulk if I need to.

Tomorrow I'll trim more and hopefully lull myself to sleep with the faint aroma of E-6000 lingering about.

[LeMaxim[TK]]

So. Slowly, slowly this build is progressing. 

 

Haven't got time to do a proper posting but just wanted to let you know I'm still here and working on it even though there haven't been much from me lately. 

 

Some pieces are getting ready and I decided to do a test dressing up. I'll need to do some mods when I have all the pieces together. It's a challenge to move around even with only this on.

 

Anyway. Enjoy the sneak peak.

 

 

Have been trying to make everything fit me good. So far it feels it does but I foresee the torso giving me some grief. 

My trial runs so far make me look very bulky. I have a lot of space in it. But that's a head scratcher for another day.

 

Hoping to have legs completely finished this weekend... But we'll see what i find time for.

[LeMaxim[TK]]

Meanwhile in Sweden...

 

 

I have about two square meters of floor space to work with but work is continuing and nearing the end phase.

 

Some friendly troopers over at Nordic Garrisons Forum pointed out that I might have been to eager to align the top of the right thigh on my armour. They were more than correct. 

 

In my eagerness to put the thigh together I remembered reading “The thigh ammo pack was probably put there to cover the missmatch of the lower part.†and on double-checking the reference pictures I just checked the alignment of the upper part... 

 

(From TKCaleb archive)

 

At my first alignment the thigh pack didn't cover the lower part as I had assumed. In fact it left a nasty looking hole. That's a no go.  

It seems we have another RS quirk on our hands. 

 

So by the power of E6000 I tore the cover strip away and realigned it. *phew*

 

And today I also attached the thigh pack.

 

(Yes. My thighs are thin and I didn't want to walk like a cowboy. I tried. It's not me.)

 

Moving on. 

[LeMaxim[TK]]

So. Question time.

 

I'm about ready to start strapping myself up in this contraption I've constructed and I'd be thankful for any dos and don'ts of strapping.

 

Initially I thought I'd go all in for original strapping but now I'm starting to lean towards snapping it all up.

 

I've already put the original brackets in so they will stay.

 

Any wisdom or experiences to share on the topic?

[troopermaster]

I would use the brackets. Seems a waste of time installing them if you are not going to use them. If you choose not to, then remove them and leave the screws in place as the brackets will just get in the way.

[Locitus[Admin]]

I agree with Paul. Start with the brackets. If you don't like it you can go for snaps, but either way leave the screws as you at least get the right look from the outside.

[LeMaxim[TK]]

Thanks.

I might have expressed myself clumsily.

 

What I meant was that the brackets are installed and will be used as they are.

 

What I'm thinking about now is what to do with all the other straps. Shoulder bell, arms, torso (6 rivet side + opposite side), thighs, and shoulder bridges.

 

As I understand all but the torso-six are glued to the armour in the original strapping system.

 

There's a system with the Torso-six using split rivets and snaps. I believe this is referred to as the UKG way.

Many seem to be using snap-plates instead of gluing.

 

I'm curious about which straps could/should be glued and which could/should be snapped.

 

As I see it it boils down to a question about accurate vs. easy to disassemble (I.e. For transport) with the cautionary addition of snaps might unsnapping and glue being difficult to correct if misaligned/mis-measured.

 

I.e. That old question.

[troopermaster]

Gluing the straps is the way to go. You will not be able to take the torso apart easily if you go with the brackets anyway so you can glue the shoulder strap. The arms slide inside the legs so you can glue those straps too.

 

Tape parts together to see how they feel and then glue the straps in place. The screen accurate way of building and strapping armour is the best way in my opinion.

[LeMaxim[TK]]

Thanks Paul. 

 

I did a tape-up to get a first feel of the next step. So. Here's the first pictures of me suited up in my soon to be finished armour.

 

(The tape didn't hold too well so pieces started to fall of and out... but you get the general idea.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still some things to do, but I'm feeling very good about seeing everything together like this.

[Locitus[Admin]]

That looks good enough to me.

 

Remember, you want the biceps and forearms armour touching each other when you hold your arms down.

[LeMaxim[TK]]

Cheers Mathias! "A good enough" from you is more than good enough for me.

 

On the topic of bicep-arm connection.

 

Assuming the ridge on the bicep is 12:00 (o'clock) and the front cover strip is 15:00, where should the connecting elastic be centred?

 

I would assume 16-17-ish. Is that correct?

I cannot make out properly on the reference pictures I've looked at the last few days. I probably have seen a definitive picture of this before (vague recollection if it) but cannot find it now.