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Turning a toy into armor!


Kredal

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been working on it for the past couple weeks too. The internal support inside the armor is a pain...it is what makes this build time-consuming. If it wasn't for the support structure, this could be completed in a day or two if you weren't repainting it. Do you plan on cutting off the crotch and butt pieces too? I'm trying to decide which route is better....keeping it together or separating it like our tk armor.

Edited by hon143
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My set is split just chest/back and kidney+butt/ab+cod, so a total of four core sections.  The top two are held together with internal velcro, the bottom two will have tabs of velcro on the outside for easy release by the small person inside.

 

The right arm that is screwed together (why??) has been stuck back together with internal strips of ABS and E-6000.  The legs are all held together with internal Velcro, and a strip of velcro around the knee plates (we'll see if they even get used... I doubt it.)

 

I'll have pictures of all of the pieces up in the next day.  I don't plan on repainting anything, bare white plastic is fine for my purposes.

 

Now to find a 5 year old that matches my nephew's size for fitting (which people on the street frown on for some reason)... or I just travel with the kit and lots of spare Velcro when I present it to him. (:

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My set is split just chest/back and kidney+butt/ab+cod, so a total of four core sections.  The top two are held together with internal velcro, the bottom two will have tabs of velcro on the outside for easy release by the small person inside.

 

The right arm that is screwed together (why??) has been stuck back together with internal strips of ABS and E-6000.  The legs are all held together with internal Velcro, and a strip of velcro around the knee plates (we'll see if they even get used... I doubt it.)

 

I'll have pictures of all of the pieces up in the next day.  I don't plan on repainting anything, bare white plastic is fine for my purposes.

 

Now to find a 5 year old that matches my nephew's size for fitting (which people on the street frown on for some reason)... or I just travel with the kit and lots of spare Velcro when I present it to him. (:

 

I'm considering cutting the butt and crotch piece to allow my son to possibly sit down with the armor on.  I plan on just using velcro for the chest/back and kidney/ab pieces too.  For the thigh pieces, I may do it like our tk with E6000 and a cover strip on the inside.  I'm still considering it.....or, I may go the easy route and just use velcro for every piece.

 

I wasn't planning on painting it.  However, after seeing all the screen shots of the TFA stormtroopers and how shiny the armor is, I will spray a coat of primer and high gloss white on it.  

 

I can't wait to see your pics!

Edited by hon143
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I separated the abdomen and kidney from the cod and butt plate just above the belt line. Here's all of the parts laid out on a table:

 

jakks_all_parts.jpg

 

I had the outfit finished in time for the school Halloween parade, and because the outfit was separated at the belt line, my daughter was actually able to sit down while in armor!

 

The little black details are not painted on the armor, but a Sharpie made quick work of that. We got the last "helmet" in the Halloween section of Target, and boy is it a piece of poop! It has mesh for the eyes, there was no box, and the mounts holding the front and back halves together were broken. The nice manager let us have the helmet for only $10 thumbsup.gif

 

We added a pair of white Vans sneakers, and some black gaffer's tape to the blaster grip, and ta-da, awesome mini TFA trooper!

 

TFA_Pentrooper_02.jpg

 

The white gaffer's tape worked great, and as we analyze the screen captures, I'm sure we'll find it was used in the new movie as well :)

 

I'm going to adapt your idea of using Velcro to hold together the belt and hips. That's much better than gaffer's tape getting all twisted and stuck to itself.

 

If only she could fit in the armor for more than just a few months...

 

Charlie

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Sweet!!!!! I'm trying to locate the Rubies' TFA helmet too. No one has it anymore! I hear it's going to be available again early next year. By the way, I ordered a pair of "martin" white boots with black soles on eBay that looks pretty close to TK boots. It was my only option since it's VERY hard to find white chelsea boots for kids.

Edited by hon143
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Alright, I'm "done" with my build, until I see what has to change when my nephew tries it on... There will probably be modifications, so I'll be bringing a lot of extra Velcro with me when I visit!

 

Until then, pictures!

 

The inside of the battery box.  I carved down the inside edges and just glued the box cover in place (since the place that it screws in is missing)

 

kMwMXzYl.jpg

 

The right arm gave me fits.  I really dislike that they made it a two piece mold just so you can turn the elbow... Anyways, I used some little strips of ABS left over from my kit, and E-6000 to hold the sides together.  Also used industrial strength Velcro where I knew I would need it to attach to other body parts.

 

Pi27K9Gl.jpg

 

Wx7Ojovl.jpg

 

Here are the Velcro tabs I talked about for the lower torso section, both detached and attached:

 

mt3tfBRl.jpg

 

0Bj7B6Nl.jpg

 

And the final kit, along with a $10 mask from Walmart...

 

M70QR63l.jpg

 

*Child not included, please see store for details.

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WWZUowdl.jpg
First fitting over street clothes... He was begging to try it on. (:
Don't think there's enough room for the calf plates, but I'm not sure.

Edited by Kredal
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ejr6qmN.jpg

 

And his first troop!  His legs are still too short for the shin plates, as expected. Arms are nearly too short as well, but he'll grow into both.  After this outing, I sealed up the thigh plates (like a normal TK) since I wasn't sure ahead of time if the openings at the bottom would be wide enough to go over his feet, so I left them open, and just Velcro'd shut on the inside.  Turns out, they're plenty big enough.  I also put a strip of Velcro on the outside of the ab/kidney set, and inside of the chest/back set, so it'll stay up better. No pictures of that though, sorry!

 

We bought his little brother an original TK mask, so they'd each have one to wear, but he HAD to have one that looked like Uncle Josh's when he was dressed up.  Really can't blame him.  (:

 

We left the blasters at home, and I got told by an 8 year old that I wasn't a real Stormtrooper because I didn't have a gun.  Yup, he got me, that's the only thing that makes a real stormtrooper!

 

Surprisingly, there was not a SINGLE "too short for a stormtrooper" joke leveled at my nephew.

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I'm in the process of priming and painting all the parts.  For the shins, they are fairly small in diameter.  Hence, I'm going to add semi-cover strips in the back to increase the overall circumference of the shins.  I just needed to trim the bottom front of the shin halves to allow for the larger opening so the halves will still line up correctly with the larger circumference. 

 

Also, I purchased a Rubie's TFA two piece helmet to go with this costume.  It's in two pieces.  So, I'm going to attach them together with some nuts/screws and use the white bathroom sealant that I used on my TK bucket to cover up the seams.

Edited by hon143
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This is going to be awesome. Thanks for taking the time to document your build.

 

Darn it, Tim.  If I had been smart, I would have messaged you ahead of time and had you come out to troop with us. Would have been awesome!

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