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TK-Jay's ANH Stunt Build [AP]


TK-Jay

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Wow thanks Mark!! Your kit is great, and the updates are killer. It's been a joy building it, no lie.

 

I have some updates:

 

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That's right. Time to bust out the sewing machine.

 

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Figuring out how to make these things…

 

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I used a soldering iron to poke holes through the elastic.

 

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And the infamous snap plates. These will be glued inside with e6k.

 

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Some test fitting…

 

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Junk in the trunk. Here's the uneven thigh seams I was talking about earlier.

 

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Measuring the notch…

 

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Cutting to size…

 

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Here we go!

 

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I fear it's going to be a long process gluing these things in.

 

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I'll keep you updated!

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Thanks Aaron & Brad! It's settled then… the corners will be rounded. Thanks for the input!<br>

 <br>

…<br>

 <br>

More photos!<br>

 <br>

(lots more photos :D )<br>

 <br>

Time to tackle the thermal detonator, the legs, and the ammo belt.<br>

 <br>

Starting with the thermal detonator (or the O2 canister which I think makes more sense but whatever), I am using the AP t-det kit with the included brackets and screws. The screws are black, but they are phillips head… I may get some flat heads later.<br>

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The tube is white instead of grey, so it'll need to be painted. In order to get accurate guide holes, I measured the spacing with the circular end caps on. I have seen people get dinged for having too much space between the metal clips and the caps.<br>

 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/SKH0BVj.jpg" alt="SKH0BVj.jpg"><br>

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I thought it would be cool to use the extra tube space as a storage pocket, so we'll see how that pans out. The end caps fit very snugly, so I could just use friction to hold them on.<br>

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 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/tpyq1x5.jpg" alt="tpyq1x5.jpg"><br>

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The clips are fitted and screwed. I had to bend the clips slightly to get them to behave, but it all worked out in the end.<br>

 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/NnpDDTv.jpg" alt="NnpDDTv.jpg"><br>

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 <br>

Remember the felt that I used for the inside of the hand guards? Well, I had some left over so I decided to line the inside of the tube, so if I had anything in there (keys and whatnot, I dunno) they wouldn't jangle around, making more noise.<br>

 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/sqS13os.jpg" alt="sqS13os.jpg"><br>

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I painted the tube and I have laid the plastic on so I'd know where to scrape the paint off before gluing. I just used some primer I had laying around and it matches the grey on the ab buttons almost exactly.<br>

 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/firuRKD.jpg" alt="firuRKD.jpg"><br>

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And completed:<br>

 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/CoR70qS.jpg" alt="CoR70qS.jpg"><br>

 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/9FK3dhb.jpg" alt="9FK3dhb.jpg"><br>

 <br><img src="http://i.imgur.com/RbUPHDH.jpg" alt="RbUPHDH.jpg"><br>

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Not trying to troll or sound like I have any idea what I am talking about but I have an AP kit I am putting together as well. As a matter of fact I already borrowed one of your techniques so I'm a fan of what you are doing. Now my question for you is simple, is your TD 7.5 inches from cap to cap. The only reason I am asking is I have the white pipe Mark sent with the kit and it appears that I will have to cut it down to make the whole thing fit the CRL 7.5 inch length. Did you have to cut yours down? I tried measuring the squares on your cutting mat to see if I could tell the size but I wasn't sure. Sorry and Thanks!

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Definitely not trolling, your question is totally valid!

 

To be quite honest, I never even thought about measuring the t-det until you brought it up… it's a little over 8 inches, so I might have to cut it down a bit. Well dangit.

 

I'm having a hard time removing the caps but if it's gotta be done, I'll find a way. Anyone with some experience want to weigh in on this? Will this be an issue in the future?

 

Thanks for looking out Jorge!

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Dang, sorry about that. Yeah CRL says total length is approximately 7.50" and that's for basic approval. Good luck and thanks for doing a detailed lots of pics job for us and I'll be watching!

 

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

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I just measured my pipe and it measures 7in in length so maybe the caps will just need to get "mashed" down further?

 

Also in Ukswrath's AM build he had the control panel cut to 4.5 inches or 115mm and the end caps cut to .78 inches or 20 mm.

 

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

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Ok... last time I promise. So it looks like if you just seat the caps on the pipe you will be over 8in in length. It needs to be 7.5in. Reading Ukswrath's thread he mentions doing 2 things. 1. Sanding the edges of the pipe so the caps will slip on easier. 2. Hot water bath for the caps to get them to seat all the way down.

 

I guess if you want to be able to press fit the caps on and off you can always cut the pipe down to adjust for the caps not being seated all the way.

 

I'm gonna dig around on a couple of other recent AP build threads and see there is a way around the hot water bath.

 

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

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Great call Jorge, I'm going to try to get these caps off… might try to pry them off (carefully) with a thin piece of something. I'll keep you updated.

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  • 3 months later...

Hey everyone, sorry it's been such a long time. Don't you just hate it when life gets in the way of completing projects?

 

Anyway, to the build!

 

 

zv288bot, thanks for the suggestions for the thermal det. I finally got those caps pulled off with a little bit of heat and a lot of patience… seriously, it took forever because the painted tube had kinda "glued" the caps on, and because I mashed them hard onto the tube to try and get them down to the required length of 7.5in. 

 

The whole assembly was off by about half an inch, so I measured a line approx. 1/4in. from each cap and took a hacksaw to it.

 

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So that was fun.

 

Once I sanded the rough edges, I installed the caps to see if we were closer to the correct length…

 

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yep! Next I need to drill new holes and get those clips on.

 

 

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Still deciding if I want to get the slotted screws… hmmmmmmmm

 

Here's the white plate being glued, and you can see that I added some fuzzy velcro to the back of the clips so they don't wreck the ABS.

 

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During the long break, my shoes came in! They are Imperial Boots' 421 and they are wonderful.

 

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Mine are size 12 and thankfully, they fit great. The site says that the shoes run a bit narrow, but that wasn't an issue for me.

 

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More to come soon!

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Looks great. If you need slotted machine screws (assuming you are in the US, sorry I am on my phone and can't tell) Ace Hardware has #6 screw in their loose section. Love the boots. I went TK and my exact size and they don't feel so good after a couple of hours. Anyway, move along move along...

 

sent from my phone

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If you are hoping to attain higher levels of certification, you'll need the slotted screws. You're assembling it now, so now is the time to do it.

 

For your thigh backs, you could trim the high side to almost meet the low side, and then roll the edge over for a small return edge with a hobby iron. Cleans up the look. Have a look at a few Centurion approvals for guidance.

 

Looking good!

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Great stuff. I just used modelling clay and filled in the existing slots in the screw heads, then used a flat head screwdriver to make a new slot. Then just painted.

 

Sent from my SM-J100Y using Tapatalk

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Thanks all for your comments and suggestions.

 

Looks like i'm going slotted!  :) I'll probably go to the local ACE and pick up some replacements this week, although I might try Haso's trick too.

 

In the meantime, I've been connecting the ab and kidney pieces on the left side of the armor. I will be using the 3in. elastic, folded over and secured by the 6 split rivets. It's a bit unorthodox, but i'm a thin(ish) lanky dude and I want to make sure the seam looks good and tight.

 

To start, I drew a line 10mm from the edges of the ab and kidney…

 

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Marked three holes on each side and drilled them out…

 

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…and did the same for the other side. Don't worry about all of those pencil marks, they'll be cleaned off soon. The edges are still a little rough and need to be cleaned up and sanded before we start attaching anything.

 

IEzykaM.jpg

 

 

I then cut a piece of elastic to size and attached it with some e6k on one side. You can see in the photo where I have folded the elastic into 4 strips. The first strip is glued to the armor and then folded over itself. This will create a strong (I hope) seam, and keep the two pieces from shifting around too much when being worn.

 

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I marked the location of the holes I drilled earlier to avoid gluing those areas. I'm going to be sticking a soldering iron in there to open them back up and I didn't want a bunch of melted glue to gum up the works. Anyway, glue applied and elastic gets folded over and clamped for another 24hrs.

 

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While the glue is drying, I turned my attention to the split rivets. I sanded them up real nice and hit them with a few coats of gloss white paint.

 

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The paint is kinda bubbly and terrible, but I plan on refinishing them once they are in place. I just wanted to get a first coat on the underside so I didn't have any metal showing where the rivet meets the plastic.

 

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Glue dry, holes burned, and rivets going in. 

 

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So here you can see how the rivets are attached. the elastic is folded over and you can now see 3/4 of it's width. We'll do the same for the other side and hopefully it works out.

 

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I used my ruler as a base for the next fold. Folding underneath just like last time, only we're doing this step first. Glue applied, wait 24 hrs.

 

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And then, glue and clamp the strip to the other piece of armor. I went ahead and attached the rivets to give it a little more security while the glue sets. 

 

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And done. I think it looks pretty nice! I used a rubber mallet to bend the rivets all the way back on themselves so they don't catch on my undersuit.

 

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For the other side, I wanted to have the exposed snap be functional, so I carefully measured, drilled a hole, and added a snap. I ended up using Dritz snaps for the visible ones because they look a tiny bit more like the originals.

 

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Since one snap will not be enough for the seam to hold its shape, I decided that a strip of snaps would work.

 

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Snapped and glued into place. I'm going to make some tiny elastic straps to secure each side together. This should keep the two sides from moving up and down.

 

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While I was at it, I added snaps for the cod onto the butt plate.

 

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As you can see, I could use the crimper tool on the front snap, but the rear one needed to be attached with the Tandy tool.

 

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Thanks for watching!

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Looking good, just a word of caution/advice. I have the one snap on the top like you do to close the side opposite the split rivets and it is a mother of a snap to do and undo by especially by myself. I am worried that while your set up looks aaaammmazing!!! You are gonna have a really hard time getting those extra snaps done and undone. Food for thought. I myself like many others went with a tab system to keep it lined up. Not the only method but something for for you to investigate on your end. Besides that, you are doing a great job!

 

sent from my phone

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Thanks Jorge!

 

I have definitely considered a tab system and might have to implement one depending on how this goes. I made the "openable" side with the intent on it being easy to remove if it didn't work. As of now, it's a bit of a pain to snap them all up, but with a flick of the wrist, they all pop open fairly easily. Again, time will tell but I have a feeling you are right on the money here.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey all,

 

I wanted to get your opinion on some things… 

 

fWH5kAD.jpg

 

As you can see, I'm kind of a lanky guy with long arms (6ft) so the forearm/bicep gap is bigger than I think it should be ideally. The biceps are pulled about as low as they can go and still be connected by the elastic loop. I'm just worried that if I make the forearm/bicep closer, the gap between the hand guards and the forearm will look too big so I tried to split the difference. Is this ok?

 

The ab/kidney section may still be a little big around the waist. If I trim it any more, I will need to recut the "notch" but that's fine, seeing as I was planning on rethinking the snap assembly anyway. This is even more evident in the back:

 

ypwtDsQ.jpg

 

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onward!

 

 

I picked up some slotted screws at the hardware store recently and put them on the t-det. The probably need to be countersunk a little bit, but I'm not sure my drill bits are up to it.

 

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So with that finished, I headed over to the drop boxes. First I trimmed them to the required thickness (I left one untrimmed to show the difference).

 

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I decided I wanted these things to open and close so I could put stuff in them. Velcro was handy, and I didn't necessarily want a "pocket" so I added strips to the inside top and bottom.

 

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I trimmed off some of the fuzz (right side) for a cleaner look.

 

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I'll attach them to the elastic when I get some rivets.

 

 

 

Action(ish) photo!

 

zlcfYrz.jpg

 

Just having fun with my blaster and the Black Series Rogue One helmet… it fits!

 

Thanks for following along!

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So, I would just shoot to keeping the spacing between the wrist and elbow the same. The biceps look good where they are in the pictures. Drop boxes look good. Where are you at with the tops of your thighs? The picture with you standing facing forward looks like the cover strip is a tad too long and from the back the other thigh looks like it could use some evening out? Just curious.

 

sent from my phone

Edited by zv288bot
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Looking great! For forearm placement, it also looks like you could drop your right side bicep slightly, to match your left and help close that elbow/wrist gap.

 

Sent from my SM-J100Y using Tapatalk

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Thanks guys,

 

The thighs probably need some work. I was curious about the backs being uneven, but I did some looking around and some of the screen used suits weren't perfect either. Regardless, the right thigh back is definitely more pronounced than the left… I may be able to at least make those similar without needing an iron.

 

About the front, I can shave that cover strip down a tad but the tops don't meet very cleanly up there, I don't want to take it too far down and risk exposing the seam.

 

And thanks Kris, I'll adjust the bicep a bit lower… I haven't added the snaps to connect to the shoulder bells yet, so thanks for helping me eyeball that one.

 

Stay tuned, the bucket is next!

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  • 1 month later...

Hello, 

 

As promised, I have started work on the helmet. I saved this part for the end because it seemed really tricky and I wanted to get a feel for the ABS before I had to make delicate cuts. It's still terrifying, but at least I feel better prepared for the challenge.

 

It begins (don't mind the end of the t-det poking out in the background):

 

9YZFKNM.jpg

 

 

Since this part is a stress point, I rounded the corner to prevent cracking.

 

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Traced a line around the eye holes with a pencil.

 

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And boom, easy peasy. I used a hobby knife to score and then break the plastic out of the socket.

 

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from inside:

 

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Now on to the ears… deep breaths.

 

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I cut a notch to compensate for the different layers of the outer shell of the helmet and countersunk the holes with a bigger drill bit so the screws would lay flat.

 

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I'm impatient so I wanted to get the decals and paint on as soon as possible.

 

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Checking the fit of the ears… It's shaping up!

 

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I did a lot of test fitting, and then removed the ears for paint.

 

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Mr No Stripes!

 

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I decided to make a removable mesh backing strip for the inside of the bucket to clean up the look. I made a template by tracing the inside curve of the frown from the inside. Then, using some hobby foam (red in this case because I couldn't find black) I used the template as a guide for the inner cut and eyeballed the outer cut. 

 

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I then cut a mesh screen in a shape that would fit and painted it black.

 

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Like so… this was a failed version; that's why the mesh is cut differently in the two photographs.

 

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I then added a second layer of mesh to give it a cross-pattern and painted the frame black with some quick-drying acrylic paint.

 

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And here's the whole bucket, paint and all:

 

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Kinda screwed up the back of the ear on this one but hopefully it's not too bad.

 

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I coated the inside with plasti-dip and added the mesh cover with some velcro dots.

 

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Added some helmet padding to cover the screws and make it fit better and as a little touch, cut a vacuum tube in half (more like 1/3) and inserted it into the back. It is held in place by friction between the seams of the helmet and may be used to hide wires or battery packs or something in the future.

 

nVa8pZm.jpg

 

 

And finally, a side-by-side comparison with the black series helmet.

 

aqrPgSr.jpg

 

Thanks for watching!

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