Race to Rogue One (a TE kit ANH Stunt Build)

[Gaudeamus]

So as a preface, please bare with me. Not only is this my first time building an armor kit, it is my first ever forum wip.
In my search for a kit, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a couple of original TE kits. There are some things I know I am missing, small parts mostly, which I will bring up as I go and I'm sure ask for advice without a doubt.
Without further ado however, *my* big, brown box.

 

And more stuff:

 

 

 

[updated with *hopefully* better pic links]

Edited November 29, 2016 by Gaudeamus

[T K[501st]]

Hey Barry! I am glad to hear that you are ready to build a TK!

 

It looks like you most of the pieces are already trimmed, so that will help cut down the work time. 

 

I can't wait to see your progress on this? Also, is it your goal to have this finished before Rogue One?

[CadBane3[TK]]

You got this Barry!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Good luck with the build, if you need help attaching photos have a look at this thread http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/tutorials/article/48-posting-images-in-threads-2015/

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Can't wait to see more pix!

[Gaudeamus]

Thanks for the support guys! Sorry Thanksgiving and related hoopla made this even more of a crunch. Going to give it my best.

 

TK - Yes the goal is to be able to suit up (approved or not) for the R1 debut. Not sure if my fear is founded but at this point I am most worried about painted the tube stripes. Down the road but that is looming on the horizon. I was lucky stuff was trimmed out so well!

 

gmrhodes13 - Thank you for the link! Yes my forum-fu is weak. I am, admittedly, an anti-tech so it's really quite a struggle for me. Hopefully I can go back and fix links, etc.

 

Anyway, updates!

 

Turkey Day and Shopping Day pretty much took out last week for me, I was able to carve out my bucket though. My knife slipped and I ruined it already, but hey now that that's out of the way I don't have to be so worried about perfection. 

 

Here is what I managed to get done. Per what I have read I left the two teeth at the end uncut. I need to go back and file stuff down. I left a bit on the eyes as I'm not sure if I want to do purist ANH or not. Will come down it if it bugs me when I wear it I think.

 

So a lot of this I have decided is mental. I suspect, like many skills, it's getting your head around it and knowing what to do next. Things that concern me are material specifics and glue drying times. So I have some specific questions I will ask. Please forgive me not doing more research, in a bit of a crunch.

 

This is what I have for joining strips:

This, a knife and my trusty drywall T-Square are my assets. My question is size. assuming I don't need extra space for my arms/legs etc how thick should I cut these strips? and just 45 the corners off?

 

Next, regarding ear screws. I was told by the person I acquired the kits from that I should use "4-40 brass, panhead". This is what I found at my local hws:

The plan today is to make it down to fastenal and have a real selection. Unless advised to the contrary I am going to get more of these in 1.5 or 2 inch.

 

Other stuff I picked up:

I made a guess at the paint. I would love to hear experiences and suggestions. Posting this now it comes to mind I should pick up some blue painters tape as I recall seeing it used in assembly. I couldn't resist the white duct tape...

 

... which brings me to a little innovation I thought I would share. I got the magnets as I have seen that they are quite useful. That said many people have complained about pinched fingers (and I was worried about scratched abs!) so I did this:

And I can tell you it is effortless to get these babies apart now! That and the tape keeps it from scratching anything. 

 

Okay, last question for now. Regarding glue. At this time e6000 is only available locally in clear, which I am sure is fine, but I have seen people mention it comes in white? If anyone has a preference (and why) I'd love to hear it! Also, any tips to help with dry times would be welcome. My game plan atm is numbers... I have enough magnets (an soon some vice clips) so I can have multiple pieces going at once. 

 

Thanks everyone!

[Bulldog44[TK]]

Clear E6000 works fine. Once you get the proper timing down to let it set a bit before joining the two surfaces together you are good to go. Let it set for a good 12-24 hours though, 24 better for sure, 72 for insurance. <br>

Strangely though I have found the white E6000 to stick better and set quicker especially for smaller jobs. Have not tested it on larger joined parts. Think you will be fine with clear e6000 though. Good luck. Can't wait to see you finish this!

[Daetrin[Admin]]

My main suggestion is to *not* glue the backs of the thighs, forearms, or biceps until you have trooped once or twice and are confident that they are trimmed where you want them. Too many times - especially on the thighs - I have had applicants fully glue them after test fittings/walking around the house, only to find that they need further trimming to look correct, or in my first case, were over-trimmed and needed to be let out a bit.

 

Thighs are the #1 rework item I've asked people to fix as a GML. They are very hard to get right the first go.