Rocket's AM 2.0 ANH Stunt Build (with YouTube video as well)

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Jason.  Great work on your build.

 

i think this thread may help.

 

cheers

 

 

 

[Rocket]

Thanks Mario.  That thread helped a bunch.  I have to admit, though, it looks like the shins are on backwards with the “curvier” part on the outside.  It always looked like that belonged on the inside, where your calf dips in toward the ankle.  This will help me get unstuck though.

[LTM[TK]]

On 12/10/2019 at 11:05 PM, Rocket said:

Thanks Mario.  That thread helped a bunch.  I have to admit, though, it looks like the shins are on backwards with the “curvier” part on the outside.  It always looked like that belonged on the inside, where your calf dips in toward the ankle.  This will help me get unstuck though.

If you are on FB, there is also an AM group that can help answer specific questions on the armor. Victor and Eric are on it a lot (there are a few threads on matching the shins). Not taking away from this group, just another resource when asking questions specific to AM.

[Rocket]

I am on FB, and I had no idea about that group.  Thanks!  I'm having trouble finding it, though.  Any idea what it's called?

Edited December 13, 2019 by Rocket

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

40 minutes ago, Rocket said:

I am on FB, and I had no idea about that group.  Thanks!  I'm having trouble finding it, though.  Any idea what it's called?

AM Armor's Costuming Group  

[Rocket]

Well, here we are. It's 2025. As Oscar Martinez, accountant at Dunder Mifflin, once said, "Time is an S.O.B." I never did finish this build. I could come up with a lot of excuses as to why, but a lot of stuff has gone down in my life since then. But life is good. I'm a perfectionist, which doesn't mean I do everything perfect, it sometimes means I don't do things because I can't do them perfectly, and I hate making mistakes. I still have the armor, and I'm actually making a HUGE push to finish this by August 8th. Enough is enough, and I work great under deadlines. I've really been hitting it for the past 10 days. I'm feeling equal parts encouraged and discouraged at the moment. Things I've completed include:

 

Forearms trimmed and glued.

Biceps trimmed and glued.

Thighs trimmed and glued.

Shins trimmed and just need the final gluing to attach them to each other. They still need the velcro on the back.

Buttons installed into nylon straps and glued in the abdomen, butt plate, and other various places.

 

Ordered the belt, holster, neck seal from Trooperbay. Got some paint and rivets coming in a second order

 

Bucket is almost done (one ear still needs to be attached, it's a real bugger; bottom seal needs to be put on, and helmet padding added)

No trim pieces installed yet, I'm saving that for the end.

 

If I had to sum up my progress to a casual observer, I'd say I have to add a bunch of strapping, then I could test it out for mobility and pinching. I really feel like I'm rounding that last corner and on the cusp of the final stretch run.

 

 

I'm using two build guides: Navajo Bro's guide is sort of my "main," and Sean's AM 2.0 build is my secondary guide. Both are tremendously helpful.

 

Lastly, I did see that this thread is in a purgatory of sorts, and hopefully I can bail it out and get it reinstated in the main build thread forum.

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Good to see you back at this, real life can get in the way of this hobby.

 

Thread moved back to ANH Builds area 

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress

[Navajo Bro[TK]]

Glad to see you didn't give up, you are looking good so far and getting to the end.  Once the arms and legs are all trimmed and glued the final assembly moves quick so I believe you can get it done by your goal date!  Good luck!

[Rocket]

Ok, I'm stumped on how to attach the hard hat head piece inside the helmet. I don't think I just glue it, and I think these gray brackets should be involved. But beyond that, not a clue. Help!

 

Edited July 31, 2025 by Rocket
Typo

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Not many use the hard hats these days

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rocket]

Ok, so if not many use the hard hats, I'll probably keep looking. Is the starfish foam insert a popular one?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

39 minutes ago, Rocket said:

Ok, so if not many use the hard hats, I'll probably keep looking. Is the starfish foam insert a popular one?

Yes I still use that with some blocks of foam on the sides of my temple to stop wobbling, also tactical padding but I find those a little too hard on the head.

 

 

 

 

Or

 

 

So many different ways to use padding

 

 

A few other threads

 

[Rocket]

I appreciate the links. I guess I could have found them just the same, but sometimes the obvious isn't obvious when I'm in the thick of things.

[Rocket]

I think I received two ammo belts in my box. They are slightly different (the boxes in the middle in one). Does everyone concur that these are both ammo belts?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Rocket said:

I think I received two ammo belts in my box. They are slightly different (the boxes in the middle in one). Does everyone concur that these are both ammo belts?

 

Appear both the same size, I'm not familiar with the recessed areas, could be old and new styles, a couple of other AM builds, both using non recessed belts

 

 

 

 

 

And another

 

Can just make out 2 belts on the right of this image

 

More info, 2 appears common to most builds, with many using the non recessed 

 

From recommendations here on the forum, I used the Belt without indents.  There are also three different kinds of Rivet Covers included:  Some tall ones that nestle into those indents on the other belt, plus some not-quite-as-tall ones that also go into the indents, plus some basically flat ones.  

 

http://i499.photobucket.com/albums/rr355/ajhamler/AJ%20Stormtrooper%20Build/TK%20171%20lo-res.jpg

[Rocket]

Much appreciated. I tried a small rivet gun style rivet at first on the ammo belt without the indents (and the first time I've ever used a rivet gun). Not only was the rivet way too tall out the back, it just pulled right through the fabric. So, I failed. I ordered the rivet set from Trooperbay, which apparently has all the proper rivets needed for the TK. Those are due to arrive in 3 days, and I'll probably reassess the whole belt thing then. Until then, I'm focusing on getting all the buttons, strapping and elastic installed on the rest of the armor.

Edited August 3, 2025 by Rocket

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Rocket said:

Much appreciated. I tried a small rivet gun style rivet at first on the ammo belt without the indents (and the first time I've ever used a rivet gun). Not only was the rivet way too tall out the back, it just pulled right through the fabric. So, I failed. I ordered the rivet set from Trooperbay, which apparently has all the proper rivets needed for the TK. Those are due to arrive in 3 days, and I'll probably reassess the whole belt thing then. Until then, I'm focusing on getting all the buttons, strapping and elastic installed on the rest of the armor.

When I've used rivets on the cloth belt I add a washer to help stop pulling out. I mainly use snaps now in case I want to wash the belt.

[Rocket]

I found your post in the thread, below, and now it clicks what you said above. All snaps. Did you find that the female snaps behind the plastic part of the belt made it stand off of the abdomen portion of the armor too far, or was it fine? This method seems way easier and, like you said, gives you an easy opportunity to wash the belt. 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Rocket said:

I found your post in the thread, below, and now it clicks what you said above. All snaps. Did you find that the female snaps behind the plastic part of the belt made it stand off of the abdomen portion of the armor too far, or was it fine? This method seems way easier and, like you said, gives you an easy opportunity to wash the belt. 

 

 

 

I had plenty of room to have the button side under the button covers, you can also swap which snaps you use on what area. On the abdomen the snaps sit under raised areas so there is room and they don't belt sits fine. 

 

 

 

You can use snaps on your holster too so you make it removable (note this is a holster setup, 4 attachments)

A few variants 

[Rocket]

I have to say, this whole process is difficult and frustrating. I hate not being good at stuff, and this whole thing is an exercise in "not being good at stuff." I know now that I should have pulled the belt tighter when I measured and punched holes in it. The fabric part behind the plastic ammo portion is just kind of saggy. It's not terrible or a deal breaker, but man...it's frustrating. I plan on installing the holster with snaps at this point. 

 

Overall, I'm ready to start cutting and gluing cover strips, and test fitting for the inevitable "ouch that hurts" parts. I've done so much reading on the build threads, but I feel like for every bit of reading, I'm still coming across several parts that I've never seen before, or just mentally skipped or blocked it out. It's crazy how simple the concept of assembling armor is, but so many details go into accomplishing that. Thanks for reading this post and letting me vent.

[Rocket]

Ok, now onto a real actual question. From the time I first trimmed this armor, I've gained about 12-18 pounds. Consequently, the thighs are a little tight. Also, I trimmed them straight, and not tapered. The return edge at the top-rear really bites, and overall the thigh piece barely fits. The photo with the tape is showing where the thigh piece sits while feeling somewhat comfortable. Note the gap (thanks, fat thighs) and the taper. How should I address this situation? I am in process of losing some weight, which is good but takes a while. I could just cram the thighs together with a cover strip, maybe even a wider than standard at first, and just suffer the pain. Over time I could replace that cover strip with the proper width one. Second, I could also trim the return edge on the back of the thigh at the top, which gains me enough room to at least be comfortable. Third, I could shim it, but that might come out weird given that the two surfaces wouldn't be butt joined and not to mention look dumb. My preference is to cram the thighs together, use the proper width trim, and cut the return edge off. That feels like a good compromise.

 

Any other suggestions?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

These may help you 

ABS slurry/paste

 

[Rocket]

Man. There are a lot of options. Since I am getting skinnier, I may put shims behind the cover strip and each side of the thighs with E-6000. I think there is enough I can harvest from an untrimmed shin. That way, as I shrink (theoretically) I could detach and try again. The cover strip would be somewhat cosmetic at the top at the point. I’ll post pics when I come up with something. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

26 minutes ago, Rocket said:

Man. There are a lot of options. Since I am getting skinnier, I may put shims behind the cover strip and each side of the thighs with E-6000. I think there is enough I can harvest from an untrimmed shin. That way, as I shrink (theoretically) I could detach and try again. The cover strip would be somewhat cosmetic at the top at the point. I’ll post pics when I come up with something. 

You may notice many use abs paste/slurry to fill any showing gaps. You can also go wider with coverstrips BUT it's entirely up to your GML what is considered acceptable, wouldn't hurt to check with him/her/they.

 

Some more tips here

 

A mega shim

 

And how they turned out after ABS paste and sanding/polishing