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Barcoder's First Order TK build thread (TK-12175)


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Yes, indeed! You'll get through it though. As for your comment about the detonator, that's exactly how we felt. I didn't do the JB Weld on that stuff because it's much harder to sand and the det has so many little corners to smooth out. I think applying bondo in all the cracks with a finger to keep the excess to a minimum would work great on that because it doesn't undergo the torque of the rest of the suit and shouldn't have any issues with cracking. I can't imagine trying to sand jb weld in all those little crevices and have it come out looking smooth. ;)

Thanks for the encouragement. :) Yes, after using the JB Weld it was clear it would not work well on the detonator. I will use the zap-a-gap and bondo on that "thing" (Said with great disdain...)

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Thanks for the encouragement. :) Yes, after using the JB Weld it was clear it would not work well on the detonator. I will use the zap-a-gap and bondo on that "thing" (Said with great disdain...)

 

Zap-A-Gap, as much as I love the stuff it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up every time I use it  :laugh1:

Edited by ukswrath
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Best be starting on yours; I need a build thread buddy. :)

 

Tracing and trimming will commence this weekend.

 

I have a TK i'm building for someone at the moment that has priority but I'll squeeze the TFA in between glue curing. Just ordered 40 more magnets and picked up another clamp set so I can multitask lol

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Thanks for the encouragement. :) Yes, after using the JB Weld it was clear it would not work well on the detonator. I will use the zap-a-gap and bondo on that "thing" (Said with great disdain...)

 

This is one area that I think worked out really well for me. You can see details at http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31068-clints-build-thread-tk-61281/#entry399100. I decided to drizzle a couple rounds of zap-a-gap on those inside seams, which made it real solid when I was trying to bondo the outside edge. It's impossible to use a backing strip on those curves so this worked out well for me. Good luck!

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Update on the progress so far...

Shoulder bells are glued together...

I had to find the centre of the bells to ensure the crescents went on properly, then I traced the outline as guides for gluing. 

IMG_20150620_175411_zpsao3cvbog.jpgIMG_20150620_175424_zpszcbayucc.jpg

 

I have been trying to do the seamless side of the Ab section. I'll say this about JB Weld plastic bonder.... NOT easy to sand. I may be using a bit of bondo to get it looking perfect.

IMG_20150620_213949_zpsc6uscws6.jpg

 

I was also able to get the biceps glued together without too much trouble. Given my experience sanding plastic bonder, I think I will head right to bondo for the seams.

Also glued the shins. (I tried out JB Weld clear weld on the shins. It sets in 5 minutes, as compared to 15 minutes for the plastic bonder.) Clear bond works pretty well!

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I am happy to report that I am almost finished the thermal detonator! OMG, so relieved! This was a tough piece to do, but not as hard as I was expecting. I was expecting it to end with me in tears. (Thankfully that did not happen.)
I started by glueing the end caps in first on the outer section. I did this because I messed up some trimming and cut off waaaaay too much. There would be no way to push the caps through. I needed to add a shim.

(It does help to remove the outer return edges on the caps. It helps them sit flush inside.)
IMG_20150620_164623_zpskmclylky.jpg

IMG_20150620_164607_zpspoiel9mu.jpg

 

Here you can see the shim being added. Look at the size of that gap! Eek!
IMG_20150620_164542_zpsunyjwvj5.jpg
IMG_20150620_174421_zpsxhefraob.jpg

IMG_20150620_185649_zpsrztz8cjt.jpg

 

Then it was on to trying to glue the curved section. There was no way plastic bonder would work, so I used regular CA glue. As Clint suggested, I ran a bit of glue behind to give extra support.
IMG_20150620_185630_zpssxexbb6f.jpg

 

I took it one step further and coated all the inside joints with clear weld. Worked awesome! (Clear weld isn't thick as the plastic bonder so I could use a paint brush to apply it right into the seams.)
IMG_20150620_204011_zpsxrhugq7w.jpg
IMG_20150620_204020_zpsi00073dq.jpg
 
Then it was time to fill the giant gap that I had to shim. (Sanding this will be a pain.)
IMG_20150620_203955_zps8x8vbf4u.jpg
IMG_20150620_220234_zpsp8ckv1jm.jpg

I have yet to glue the whole section to the back plate. There will be some creative gluing required for that... But the hard part is over, thank the maker! After it's glued and the gap sanded down, it's just the bondo left. :)
IMG_20150620_220139_zpsnuopium7.jpg

Edited by Barcoder
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What I plan to do here is cut a hole into the cover plate under the det.  Then glue it from the inside all around.  Then use proflex to fill in the seem areas.  If you heavily, but cleanly tape it off, your filler should be limited. 

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This might be a dumb question... is this the Anovos set?

 

The armor looks amazing. Can't wait to see the finished product :)

 

Sent from my GT-I9300I using Tapatalk

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This might be a dumb question... is this the Anovos set?

 

The armor looks amazing. Can't wait to see the finished product :)

 

Sent from my GT-I9300I using Tapatalk

 

ANOVOS TFA, yes

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Well, gluing the detonator to the back plate was more interesting than I thought... As the bottom of the DT didn't fit snug, I came up with a brace. It allowed me to glue the bottom in place, with extra support.

IMG_20150621_152232_zpsz22l7l17.jpgIMG_20150621_152246_zps20ut9gd2.jpg

 

The gluing went very after adding the brace. It was still a pain, but it worked out well. It has been sanded and awaits the bondo. :)

IMG_20150621_181917_zpsok2rjycm.jpgIMG_20150621_182008_zpsmqzgpbje.jpg

 

Finished gluing the biceps, shins & thighs. (The thighs & shins were the easiest to glue so far.)

IMG_20150621_182247_zpsza5xbhvf.jpgIMG_20150621_182213_zps72rwzu5n.jpg

IMG_20150621_204953_zpswjrfdsav.jpgIMG_20150622_163059_zpsj2kgbdvg.jpg

Edited by Barcoder
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Cruising right along!

 

That TD... ugh.. so many curse words. 

 

I'm curious to see if the forearms have changed at all. 

 

-Eric

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Working on the back/yoke... I really think that the JB Weld plastic bonder is the best option for this piece. There is SO much flexing & tension on this piece.

I just applied a generous layer of the plastic bonder and clamped each section together. (I used a thicker layer as each section does't completely flush across the whole section. I hoped that they would be filled with the plastic bonder.)

IMG_20150622_162932_zpsyievu7wa.jpgIMG_20150622_162947_zpsw27e0a3z.jpg

After I sanded down the area that is to be seamless, I filled in any gaps with the plastic bonder. (I added extra on the sides, where the seams meet.) Once it is sanded down, I will try a little bondo to get a crisper seam.

IMG_20150622_163019_zpse2k7v9re.jpg

 

....and I tackled the forearms today. (These were annoying.)

Side note-if you can, use a belt sander for any butt joints. I went and picked one up before I started this build & am so glad I did!!

Glued in all the backing strips. (I decided to use CA glue on these as it was just easier. I will be going back and coating all the inside seams with clear weld.)

IMG_20150622_104027_zpscrpvn0lc.jpg

 

Test fitted all the sections to prepare for the CA glue. (As it sets so quick, I like to do a few dry runs, just so I know what I need to do, quickly.)

IMG_20150622_103947_zpscfvwod23.jpgIMG_20150622_103956_zps0hvi1uej.jpg

 

After gluing the 3 sections together, I noticed that they flared out quite a bit. Way more then the width of the top piece. 

IMG_20150622_152716_zps9rmv1pqa.jpg

 

As I test fitted the top section, I could feel the tension on the sides as I pulled them in to meet the top section. (most stress was on the backing strips.) As both the sides has to be seamless, the tension could cause the cracking issues...  As much as I hate using it, I dragged out the heat gun... After numerous slow attempts to reshape the forearms & reduce the width...SUCCESS! (I also bent down the little tabs that sticks out. They now sit parallel.)

IMG_20150622_160148_zps7amubls8.jpgIMG_20150622_160152_zpsyhwyghdr.jpg

Side note-I am scared to death of using the heat gun. I have had nightmares about melting my armour...

 

All ready for the bondo! :)

IMG_20150622_151305_zpsj2sox9dl.jpg

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Cruising right along!

 

That TD... ugh.. so many curse words. 

 

I'm curious to see if the forearms have changed at all. 

 

-Eric

Right!? SO many curse words. Why did they have to make it so difficult, with messed up angles & curves? lol.

(My kit is one of the Alpha 75, so no changes.)

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So, I just realized that I sliced off a very important detail on the forearms. Clearly too much trimming & not paying attention... :( As you can see from the pic (How it's supposed to look vs. what I trimmed off), I have some reconstructing to do as the indent that is to have a decal is basically gone now. Crap....
Forearm_zpsibvjktrl.jpg
I have traced out pieces of ABS (from what was provided) and have glued them in with plastic bonder. I'll have to sand them down to the correct shape and then Dremel out the decal indent, then smooth out with bondo...

(I'll post progress pics soon)

 

Side note-I tried using bondo for the first time ever last night. I can honestly say I have no idea what I am doing. lol. It's a bit of a mess, we'll see how it looks after sanding....

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So, I just realized that I sliced off a very important detail on the forearms. Clearly too much trimming & not paying attention... :( As you can see from the pic (How it's supposed to look vs. what I trimmed off), I have some reconstructing to do as the indent that is to have a decal is basically gone now. Crap....

 

Side note-I tried using bondo for the first time ever last night. I can honestly say I have no idea what I am doing. lol. It's a bit of a mess, we'll see how it looks after sanding....

 

You're now an official TFA trooper! If you didn't screw something up, I'd be worried. ;) I had a couple of those types of mistakes as well. I would bet you could fix it with a strip of abs and the plastic weld, but it's certainly a pain. Oh the fun of working without the ability to get replacement parts...

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You're now an official TFA trooper! If you didn't screw something up, I'd be worried. ;) I had a couple of those types of mistakes as well. I would bet you could fix it with a strip of abs and the plastic weld, but it's certainly a pain. Oh the fun of working without the ability to get replacement parts...

YAY! It's official! :) It's comforting to know I am not alone in messing up. I am sure I'll be able to reconstruct the detail.

It is also comforting to know there are other Alphas keeping an eye on the build threads & chiming in with support; it really does help & is greatly appreciated. I am sure the Betas will feel the same too.

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Yeah, during our trimming session, one of us cut off the glue tab on the shin, which I then found in the pile of ABS scrap and re-attached. Then later, I glued the wrong side of the calf when making it and had to cut the whole tab off, sand down the backing strip that I couldn't remove, and make yet another glue tab. It ended up just fine, but yeah - I burned some hours plowing ahead without much to confirm what I was doing. ;)

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You know Peter I just may wait until you're just about finished before continuing with mine haha. All the oops! with trimming by a good amount of builders has made me a bit nervous about cutting off something I shouldn't AHHHH! :blink:  

 

Great job to both you and Clint. Inspirational.  

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You know Peter I just may wait until you're just about finished before continuing with mine haha. All the oops! with trimming by a good amount of builders has made me a bit nervous about cutting off something I shouldn't AHHHH! :blink:  

 

Great job to both you and Clint. Inspirational.

HAHAHHA! You make a good point. :) However, all my gluing is done now, minus the belt boxes. (Those will be easy.) As with both Clint & I, the mistakes can be fixed.

I am not sure the nervousness ever goes away... I was a total nervous wreak building my original TK despite there being detailed instructions/threads readily available.

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Well, it's been slow going the last few days. Everything is glued together now, minus the belt boxes. It's now time for final sanding (every time I think I have the edges looking perfect, I find more to sand down!!!) and removing the gloss from the armour.
In the meantime, I have started the fix my oops! with the forearm detail. I have gluded the new shapes in place and have begun sanding it down....
Progress so far....
IMG_20150625_205057_zpssoylb4ub.jpgIMG_20150625_205111_zpsyvw8wl1j.jpg

I tried an experiment with the seam on the biceps. One with Bondo, one with Plastic Weld. To be honest, I hate both of them. lol
IMG_20150625_205034_zpsirkxzpme.jpg

I am trying out the Plastic Weld on the ab section but it still isn't coming out with perfect edges. :( I'd rather not use bondo on this as it would crack for sure?
IMG_20150625_205219_zps7xpvgkvf.jpg

I have discovered that I HATE bondo. LOL. I hate the smell, applying it, the fine dust that makes everything pink, etc... I didn't even take a picture of my bondo'd detonator to show. It was that embarrassing. ;) Anyway, after a lifetime of sanding, this is the final result...
IMG_20150625_205139_zpspzl5rbtd.jpgIMG_20150625_205130_zpsazv44mga.jpg
...and I still have areas to fix! :(

At least I can say that the plastic weld worked awesome on the back/yoke! I was able to get a nice crisp edge and super smooth. You can see the areas where I added extra to the seams, they are quite strong.
IMG_20150625_205258_zpsoxaznhy1.jpgIMG_20150625_205327_zpsh3oorekz.jpg
IMG_20150625_205355_zps00evnise.jpgIMG_20150625_205418_zpssgyd1kh0.jpg
IMG_20150625_205443_zpscaaiphrs.jpg

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