MI first TK build

[johna1177]

Big brown box day arrived. Special thanks to the guys at AP. I think i'll resist the temptation to start with the most rewarding piece (helmet) and start small. I'm thinking thermal detonator or forearms. My build will be ANH stunt.

 

In the mean time I do have a couple of helmet questions that i'm hoping the experience available on these forums can help me with. I'm planning on painting the helmet.

 

1) i've seen conflicting info, even on whitearmor, as to the color of the tube stripes. I've seen French Blue and Mediterranean Blue. Which is correct? I'm in the US so testor paints are more readily available to me.

 

2) for level 3 certification "Tears/traps shall be hand painted or use decals that emulate hand painted ". Is the use of a masking template still considered "hand painted"?

 

Thanks to all

 

John

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I used the French blue, John.  And yes, the use of templates is fine.  Here is what I would suggest to get nice clean lines....

 

1.  For the traps and tears, paint the gray background first, let it dry overnight (the longer the better).  

2.  Apply the decal carefully, making sure the edges are down flat.

3.  Apply a thin layer of the same gray paint.  This will seal the edges, and prevent the black from bleeding underneath them.

4.  Let that dry for about 5 minutes, or just until dry.

5.  Then paint the stripes using black.  I suggest 2 thin coats rather than 1 thick one.

6.  Let that dry just until it sets a bit, like 5 minutes, then remove the template immediately.  Otherwise it might stick to the original foundation color and lift it off the ABS.

 

For the tube stripes, use white paint as in step 3 before the blue.

 

Some sellers send you a spare set of templates, so you can always practice on a spare piece of ABS first if you like.  

[johna1177]

I used the French blue, John.  And yes, the use of templates is fine.  Here is what I would suggest to get nice clean lines....

 

1.  For the traps and tears, paint the gray background first, let it dry overnight (the longer the better).  

2.  Apply the decal carefully, making sure the edges are down flat.

3.  Apply a thin layer of the same gray paint.  This will seal the edges, and prevent the black from bleeding underneath them.

4.  Let that dry for about 5 minutes, or just until dry.

5.  Then paint the stripes using black.  I suggest 2 thin coats rather than 1 thick one.

6.  Let that dry just until it sets a bit, like 5 minutes, then remove the template immediately.  Otherwise it might stick to the original foundation color and lift it off the ABS.

 

For the tube stripes, use white paint as in step 3 before the blue.

 

Some sellers send you a spare set of templates, so you can always practice on a spare piece of ABS first if you like.  

 

that is an awesome idea. i've been painting various things for years using masking templates and never once considered that. thanks a million.

[johna1177]

Well I finally got to work on my build. its been about 5 month since my big brown box arrived. Today I trimmed the forearms and tried them on for fit, which of course brings me to my next series of questions:

 

1) How tight should the forearms fit (or any pieces for that matter)? should they fit tight enough that my forearms hold them in place or should they be loose enough that the elastic between the biceps and forearms is the only thing that holds them in place?

 

2) Is it ok to cut the connecting strips at a taper or should they be a consistent width from one end to the other?

 

I taped them together temporarily, replicating a 5/8" strip. The result is this:

 

The pic below shows slightly more clearance at the wrist which is why I ask about using a tapered strip.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

You don't taper the cover strip. You want a little room but not a lot. If there's more than enough to fit your hand w/ glove through, add some foam. Your current setup looks a little tight. On mine I had to gap the rear a little and cover it with a 5/8" cover strip and it's still a tight fit with my gloves that have the attached hand plates. 

[Scotty33[TK]]

Also, it's usually best to do your fitting with your compression gear on, you may find it isn't as tight with it.

[johna1177]

While i have been working periodically on my build I haven't been as diligent about posting. Thought I'd do some catching up in that department. I purchased an untrimmed AP kit (except for the helmet) so i spent a lot of time trimming. As a result i though it might be a good idea to share some of the tips i learned along the way. Additionally i thought it might be useful to some other new builders like myself to know how much time i put into each step. I'm a little particular and sweat the details too much most likely so anyone trimming their own kit for the first time may find it doesn't take them as long as it took me. some of those tips are:

 

1) I found a great resource for trimming techniques can be found on YouTube. Just search trooperbay and you'll find a 10 part series containing some good information on trimming (and assembling) a kit. Another good source for info is whomever you purchased your armor from assuming they are one of the vetted supplies.

2) If you are using a razor knife to score and snap your ABS, i find it best to make the first bend away from the cut.

3) Make several shallow scores as opposed to one deep one. If you think you're pressing too hard you probably are. You'll find you have greater control making very light cuts.

4) where you have a corner at or near 90 degrees I drilled holes in the corner first and cut up to the hole leaving a radius in the corner that is more resistant to cracking and tearing.

5) always draw a pencil line in advance, tracing the location you intend to cut. Its much easier if you can readily see a guideline where you are cutting.

6) In areas with multiple curves, I made relief cuts and first snapped at the relief cuts prior to snapping along my cut.

7) some areas had very little extra ABS requiring trimming. This made it difficult to bend at the score by hand. For these instances I used a set of linesmen's pliers (regular pliers would work as well) for added grip and leverage.

8) Probably not my greatest tip, but I will occasionally use my gloved hand as a stop block as i'm trimming to prevent the blade from cutting into the ABS as I'm rounding or approaching a curve.

 

Total cutting time: 9 hrs 22 min

 

sample of pre-drilled corner hole

 

 

Relief cuts

 

Use of pliers where it was difficult to snap by hand

 

for my shoulder bells there was a double bend that had to be trimmed away. I made an initial rough cut along the flats adjacent to the bells.

 

After removing the material from the initial cut i was left with a bell that laid flat on my work surface.

 

From here I used a carpenters pencil (flat) and placed it on top of 2 washers, stacked, to draw a uniform line on the bells and trimmed along that line.

Edited April 7, 2016 by johna1177

[johna1177]

I should note that the areas where the cover strips will go were trimmed generously. I will trim those more as i begin fitting each piece.

[johna1177]

After cutting everything it was time to clean up and smooth out all the edges. For this I used various devices, including the edge of my knife, a rotary tool and a sanding sponge. However, the tool i used the most was simple sandpaper. I found 3M's SandBlaster Pro did an excellent job and held up well also. Its available at the big box hardware stores as well as some local options.

 

Total sanding time: 3 hrs 14 min

 

I found it best to sand from behind the finished surface as opposed to in front. If I slipped off the edge i was sanding it would mark up the interior of the armor not the visible, shiny exterior.

[Pyrates[TK]]

Great tip sand pointers along the way - keep it up mate you're doing awesome!

[johna1177]

Then i got to work on something that was actually rewarding...building of my thermal detonator. For this I used TK bondservnt's tutorial, Thermal Detonator Assembly AP/TE - How to assemble, which can be found at

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32042-thermal-detonator-assembly-apte-how-to-assemble/?p=412959. 

 

I think the only thing I did differently from this great tutorial was the following:

1) I applied a couple layers of painters tape to the areas where the holes would be drilled to reduce slippage of the drill bit.

2) I used 0000 steel wool to polish the aluminum straps

3) I used loctite on the screw threads inside the TD instead of super glue. This was mainly because it's all I had at the time.

 

Here are some pics of the finished product.

 

 

I have a feeling I'll be making more of these in the future.

 

Total TD construction time: 5 hrs 10 min

[Sentry71[TK]]

Great work so far, John!

 

Question: is it the camera, or does the control plate in the middle seem to have "stretched" where it meets the clip? It looks as if the gap between the end caps and the middle piece is not consistent all the way around.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I was going to ask the same exact question!  It looks like a really strange pull on that TD plate.

[johna1177]

Great work so far, John!

 

Question: is it the camera, or does the control plate in the middle seem to have "stretched" where it meets the clip? It looks as if the gap between the end caps and the middle piece is not consistent all the way around.

 

 

I was going to ask the same exact question!  It looks like a really strange pull on that TD plate.

 

I just took a look at it and although the pic distorts it slightly, it is not a consistent gap between the end caps and the control plate. I hope the E6000 is as forgiving as everyone says it is, because i'll need to pull that apart and trim/sand the corners to bring them in line with the rest. good catch though, thanks.

[Pyrates[TK]]

I may be wrong, I don't think it's the pull on the center plate I believe the caps aren't sitting flat

 

 

Sorry my lines aren't the greatest - I hope it makes sense

Edited April 4, 2016 by Pyrates

[Pyrates[TK]]

I just took a look at it and although the pic distorts it slightly, it is not a consistent gap between the end caps and the control plate. I hope the E6000 is as forgiving as everyone says it is, because i'll need to pull that apart and trim/sand the corners to bring them in line with the rest. good catch though, thanks.

If I may suggest, put your TD in the freezer then the parts should come off a little easier.

[johna1177]

I may be wrong, I don't think it's the pull on the center plate I believe the caps aren't sitting flat

 

 

 

Sorry my lines aren't the greatest - I hope it makes sense

 

 

 

makes sense but i just took a scale to the control panel. the width of the panel is 5-1/4" through the middle. it's nearly 5-1/2" wide at each end. 

 

 

If I may suggest, put your TD in the freezer then the parts should come off a little easier.

 

 

I'll try that. thanks.

[Pyrates[TK]]

makes sense but i just took a scale to the control panel. the width of the panel is 5-1/4" through the middle. it's nearly 5-1/2" wide at each end.

 

 

 

 

I'll try that. thanks.

Anything to help - Troopers helping troopers Whoo-Wah!

[johna1177]

so after pulling the control panel off my TD I squared off a piece of PVC pipe and laid the square end against the end of my control panel and scribed a new line. the result...my control panel wasn't square.

 

So I cut and sanded each end square. This is the dry fit result (please ignore my finger). I'm waiting for it to thaw out before gluing it. I think the result is much more consistent.

[Sentry71[TK]]

so after pulling the control panel off my TD I squared off a piece of PVC pipe and laid the square end against the end of my control panel and scribed a new line. the result...my control panel wasn't square.

 

 

So I cut and sanded each end square. This is the dry fit result (please ignore my finger). I'm waiting for it to thaw out before gluing it. I think the result is much more consistent.

 

 

Looking awesome, John. Good work!

[Pyrates[TK]]

Great recovery!

[johna1177]

Reworked the TD control panel. Removed, scribed, trimmed, sanded and glued. Here's a side by side comparison of the original (left) and the new TD (right)

 

Total rework time: 53 mins.

 

 

[johna1177]

I'm looking for sellers for some purchase products. I've researched them on this site but some info is years old. I would like to get additional, current feedback on the available vendors for the following:

 

1) Hovi mic tips

 

2) affordable boots - I have actually acquired my trooping boots from TKboots but I'm looking for a backup/ display pair. My intention is to display my armor in my recently completed home theater so I am looking for a very affordable pair of backup/ display boots, even if they require painting.

 

3) neck seal

 

4) glove details

[Pyrates[TK]]

Try looking in the Imperial Commission/ For Sale thread Subforum for #1. & #3.

 

As for affordable boots there are Bass Amsterdams / Jodphurs/ or Chelsea boots available online that you can acquire and paint white for the authentic look.

 

Glove details are available in the reference photos and if you're looking for rubber hand guards - they're in the Ongoing Sales

Edited April 8, 2016 by Pyrates

[Pyrates[TK]]

Tapatalk glitch

Edited April 8, 2016 by Pyrates