A Slightly Disheveled Medium and a Pristine Big Brown Box Arrived Today - Dark's RT-Mod ANH Hero (and Stunt) Build Thread

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Since I'm thinking of the right side...

 

Question: Is there a measurement specified anywhere (because I haven't found it yet, if there is) for the snap that goes in the upper corner of the back of the Abdomen?

[gazmosis[501st]]

Make it about the same as your side rivets; about 10 MM in from the seam. You can just eyeball it so it sits in the center of the corner.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Thank you, Steve. That seems to be almost too easy.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

I sure am grateful your documenting all of this now so when in the future I get my armor I can just follow along! Looking great Tim!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

If the timing works out Brian, I'll just help you build it. Thanks.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Well if your still here next March... Definitely sir!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Oh... I'll definitely still be living there then. Should be at least three years from the time that we get there.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely Tim, a hint which I didn't update with my build was to place some silicon over the back of the split rivets, just helps so the don't catch on your undersuit, perhaps do this after you are approved as Centurion You could also use cloth tape as well.

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

I was considering some E6000. LoL. They do look a little threatening, all exposed like that. Thanks, Q.

[TrainWreck[501st]]

Oh... I'll definitely still be living there then. Should be at least three years from the time that we get there.

Coolio.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Coming along nicely Tim. I should have used the reinforcing ABS on the side rivets too. Oh well....

 

Can you elaborate on the wire bracket discussions you had with Paul and Steve. I understand you want screen accuracy, but it's not screen accurate to have them coming through the face, is it? Do you think it will detract from the look of the armor having those visible heads, or maybe once painted it won't be that visible? What implications for EIB/Centurion do you speak of above?

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Sure thing, Ian.

 

The discussion with Paul was all centered around the mounting of the brackets, given the lack of a consistent return edge. I asked him if he felt it was necessary for me to create return edges using the heat iron in order to mount them. It was Paul who said that I could do either that, or just mount them in the face of the armor, as I have done.

 

After having Paul tell me that, I asked Steve if there would be any impacts on the EIB/Centurion applications for mounting them this way, and that conversation upheld that, given the lack of return edges, mounting them in this fashion, wouldn't be a problem, but that I should still keep them as close to the edges as possible.

 

Keep in mind that I'm not quoting either of them directly, just offering a synopsis more or less, of the conversations.

 

In the event that either of you (Paul or Steve) happen to see this and feel that I left out any key points to the discussion, please offer up any clarification that you think is vital to the situation. Thanks again, guys!

 

With regards to the screw heads being so visible... They'll be a little less so once they're painted, yes, but if you pay close attention to screen shots, they're actually pretty visible on-screen. I guess they just kind of get lost in the sea of white plastic goodness unless you're looking for them. So in that regard, I don't think that they'll really be any more or less noticeable than anyone else using the brackets once the armor is completed. (At least that's what I'm telling myself for the time being )

Edited June 29, 2014 by Dark CMF

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

It just dawned on me that I should also clarify that the NOT helpful Steve that was brought into the discussion by Millenium1 is his cover strip eating dog, Steve. LoL

 

I don't want anyone else here at FISD getting the idea that we were disparaging them in any way. That's absolutely not the case.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Thanks for sharing. Hope it works out as planned!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Okay.. I'll post pictures tomorrow, but the shoulder bridges are drying right now.

 

I also learned a scary and valuable lesson about heat guns.

 

I do need some help though. I'm about to start sewing - which is scary enough as it is - and I need help figuring out how I go about deciding the length to cut the shoulder elastic bands. I put the armor on, closed up the torso, and held it in about the right place. During that time, I had my wife measure the distance between the snap plates across the shoulders. She measured it at 9 inches. Obviously, if I cut nine inches of elastic, it will not hold the pieces of the chest and back tight enough.

 

Can anyone provide some input into how they got that measurement right? I can't find anything similarly spelled out anywhere. Thanks in advance.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

I held the back and torso together with tape, going across where the shoulder straps will be. Released, re-taped, released, re-taped until I was happy where they were sitting (without being held by hand), then measured the gap between the 2 pieces of armor. That measurement plus the distance to the centre of the pre-installed snap on the armor and presto. Haven't seen mayny builds where thay have described what they've done, so not sure if there is an easier way.

[usaeatt2]

Little side note here, but it relates to your question...  I couldn't find the correct size white elastic for the shoulder straps locally.  I found other sizes, but none of it looked substantial enough to hold this critical area properly.  After looking at several fabric/craft stores, I decided to cut my losses and include this item on my Trooperbay list.  When I received my order from Trooperbay, I was surprised to find the white "elastic" was not really elastic at all.  It's white canvas with edge banding.  These canvas straps have virtually no stretch.  They measure 8.25 inches by 2 inches.  I was puzzled at first, but after considering the function of the part, it makes sense...

 

There's A LOT hanging from those two straps.  They hold the chest and back together.  The shoulders are snapped directly to them.  If you strap the arms, they also hang indirectly  from the shoulder straps.  The kidney, butt and abdomen also hang indirectly from the shoulder straps since those pieces are connected to either the chest or the back.  If the shoulder straps were made from stretchy elastic, they'd probably be worn out and sagging in no time.

 

Trooperbay's shoulder straps are made from a white canvas very similar to the canvas used to make the ammo belt.  Nylon webbing might also work if you could find white.  You might ask what others are using - especially the screen accurate guys.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

I had the exact same thoughts, Aaron, when I put together my shopping list. However, the replica strapping info http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/26477-what-we-know-about-strapping-snaps-rivets-etc/page-1 seems to suggest it was just regular elastic. It would be interesting to hear from long term troopers to see how theirs are holding up. Nothing worse than it giving way whilst on a troop, but at least it's only a small piece of elastic and a couple of snaps to replace when it does go.

[Snaps[TK]]

Still enjoying watching your build come along....hope you are still enjoying it. How can you not LOL

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Still enjoying watching your build come along....hope you are still enjoying it. How can you not LOL

Thank you, Steve. I am greatly enjoying it, and greatly enjoying sharing it!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

As promised: Pictures

 

Hole drilled in the right side for a snap installation. I've since nearly destroyed and mostly fixed the armor here, completely by using a heat gun to try to soften up the plastic to recess the snap. Heat guns.. Not for the inexperienced, or the faint of heart. LoL

 

Velcro patch installed on the inside of the right side of the kidney plate for a closure piece that has yet to be sewn together. At the moment, there is simply a piece of hook Velcro in place on it for test fitting.

 

Matching Velcro patch on the right of the abdominal plate for the closure system.

 

Preparing the shoulder bridges for mounting. I've outlined the mounting location in pencil on the chest, and marked the shoulder bridges as R, and L to make sure that they match the shapes on the chest.

 

I placed tape around the areas to be sanded, and erased the pencil marks.

 

I'll be using the two pieces of webbing to provide a more consistent gluing surface for the bridges to attach to the chest. I'll use E6000 to secure it, and spare ABS strips with the clamps to prevent the clamps crushing the bridges.

 

E6000 on the bridge, and the webbing in place.

 

I wound up not using the magnets at all. Instead, I used painter's tape to pull the bridges tight against the chest plate and hold them in place from left to right. I then did use the clamps and strips of ABS to apply more even pressure to the entire connection point on the bridge.

 

A look at the back. I'm again waiting for glue to dry. Before I really get going much further, I've got to get the sewing machine figured out. LoL

 

So that is where it stood yesterday. As of now, I suppose I COULD remove the clamps and tape, but I'm not going to do any work tonight so it seems to be a hollow gesture at the moment. Pretty much all of the plastic (except those thighs) is put together now, and I have to get to the strapping stuff to progress. I also have to assemble the belt, I suppose.

 

Ah well... Tough life, trying to become a Stormtrooper.

 

Thanks for checking in and commenting/asking questions. This is truly an awesome experience.

[Tolo[TK]]

Can't wait to see how you decided to take care of the cod/ab plate

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Sigh... This last week has obviously been a very slow one with regard to my TK build.

 

Why, you might wonder, is this the case?

 

I'll tell you why: Kellan Stormtrooper has decided that going to bed is for Bothan spies or some other lesser life form. At any rate, it has clearly not been on HIS agenda this week. Not before 11 pm, anyway. That means that I don't have much time to do anything besides put on my torso and think about shoulder straps and building the belt.

 

So when I found some time to grab the camera and some tools, I dove into the belt. (Be forewarned - mistakes were made.)

 

But here come the pictures:

 

Laid out all of the stuff that I'll be using for the preparation work on the belt.

 

As helpful as he usually is, Feliks was indispensable during the belt building process. He was up close and in your face with the quality control measures that he typically employs - but he still allowed me to make that one mistake (that I know about so far, anyway).

 

Marked the locations for the rivet holes to be drilled.

 

Ends cut, Feliks approves.

 

Here's the mistake... I found a great reference for cutting the corners (TrooperMaster himself) giving measurements that he uses, and I inverted them. :::facepalm::: It should be 10mm across the top, and 13mm down the side. As a result, my angle is a little bit off, but it still looks pretty good to me.

 

Feliks approves, so I'll give him the "Happy Gilmore" on this one... "Where were you on that one?"

 

Just a quick alignment test, to see how it should look (more or less) when completed.

 

Drilling the rivet holes.

 

Making sure that the hole is the proper size, and that the rivet does fit.

 

All rivet holes drilled in the plastic. You can see that I marked the locations of the boxes on the canvas, to make sure that I align it properly no matter which way I've got it facing at the moment that I'm working on it. You can also see the two marks for the holes for the snaps to be attached.

 

Taped the plastic to the canvas, and drilled the rivet holes through the canvas as well.

 

Same situation, opposite view... Looking at the inside of the belt with the rivets in place.

 

That's the prep work!

 

The belt is assembled and the pictures taken and uploaded, but my battery is nearly dead, so I'm going to plug in and load those pictures later.

 

More to follow!!

[usaeatt2]

Just curious...  I've heard the belt should be assembled while curved instead of laying flat since the canvas part (inside) needs to curve more than the plastic part (outside).  If assembled flat, it puts a big strain on the two outer rivets.  Any trouble with that?  It would obviously be way easier to assemble it the way you did it...

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Aaron, I haven't seen any issues with that yet. It makes some sense, I suppose, to do so - or at the very least to include some allowance for the curve when you place the rivets. I suppose that if you simply drill the rivet holes a little bit larger, that would allow for a little bit of slack to be taken up as well. If it becomes a problem, I'll just be happy that I have used E6000 during this build, I guess. From what I can tell at the moment, it appears to be fine.

 

At any rate, on to the assembly:

 

In order to begin/finish assembling the belt, I have to put the drop boxes together.

 

I began by drilling the rivet holes in the back of the inner drop boxes that come with the kit. Next, I cut the elastic to size, and fit the elastic over the rivet for assembly.

 

Then, I placed a washer over the rivet on the inside of the drop box, and popped it.

 

Once the elastic pieces were attached to both of the inner drop boxes, it was time to break out the E6000 and assemble them.

 

Waiting for glue to dry - yet again. LoL

 

Preparing to put the snaps on the canvas belt.

 

Snaps in place on the front of the canvas belt.

 

Snaps in place on the back of the canvas belt.

 

Clamping the canvas belt in place to mark the location for the belt retaining snaps on the abdomen. In hindsight, I'd advise doing this prior to assembling the torso, because marking the right side and putting that snap in isn't an issue. Marking the left side, not so bad... Putting the snap on the left side - that's going to be a little more complicated than the right side was.

 

Right side snap marked.

 

Moving on to placing the drop boxes:

 

In order to ensure that the drop boxes are aligned (or as nearly as possibly aligned) with the ends of the belt, I set my metal ruler along the side of the belt.

 

I then placed one drop box on top of the other, along the face of the ruler.

 

Next I marked the location for the hole in the elastic, and marked which side it was going to go on, to avoid any issues with the markings not matching up when I actually started to assemble the pieces.

 

I drilled the holes in the canvas, and placed the rivet.

 

I placed the elastic on the rivet for assembly.

 

After placing a washer over the rivet, I popped the rivet and the drop box is in place.

 

Rinse, lather, repeat, and the canvas belt is ready to be attached to the plastic one.

 

I taped the plastic belt in place to ensure that it didn't move anywhere during the final assembly phase.

 

Rivets in the belt are attached in the same manner as the ones used for the drop boxes.

 

All three rivets are set. The belt is very nearly done.

 

Now, I'll put the rivet covers in place before moving on to attaching the holster after the glue is dried on the covers.

 

Waiting for glue to dry - this might be worse than waiting on paint to dry...

 

The glue has dried. Time to attach the holster.

 

Using the straps (3/4" wide) to mark the 3/4" distance from the end of the belt where the holster will be attached.

 

Holes drilled in the belt and the holster. Hardware in position for assembly.

 

Fully assembled and ready to troop!! Well, the belt at least.

 

That's it for the belt. I'm going to go and take a look and see if I've got any other pictures to share. I know that I painted the screws that hold the brackets in place, and I did take a picture of that. I also put the snaps on the right side of the armor for the belt and the one that goes in the top corner of the ab plate.

 

As always, thanks for following and commenting. I've really got to get some snap plates (female) assembled and get the strapping underway. Outside of that, all I have left is the thighs. Strapping coming soon! (at least as long as Kellan Stormtrooper accepts sleep as a basic human condition again. )

Edited July 5, 2014 by Dark CMF