Darthanael's AP ANH Stunt Build (Cehttps://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/42121-darthanaels-ap-anh-stunt-build-centurion-the-road-to-trooping/nturion). The road to trooping!

[darthanael]

Alright guys, been building like crazy, but wanted to stop to give an update or two. I promised a glimpse into my helmet construction so here it is.

Last I left off, I had cut out the eyes. Since then I've cut out the frown, Plasti-dipped the inside, trimmed the ears and installed the lenses.

First the Plastidip! I taped off the eyes with blue painters tape and stuffed the frown with whatever I could find. Should I have done Plastidip and THEN cut out these details? Most likely, but hey I'm learning! And then I blue taped a trash bag all around the edges of the face and cap-and-back to prevent overspray onto my beautiful bucket.









And then I sprayed it on!







Love the way it turned out! And all the taping and stuffing methods worked very well.

Next up I wanted to try assembling it and trimming the ears. I was very nervous to drill into the helmet, but I finally took the plunge. It was especially easy with Mark's pre-marked drill holes.



In the AP kit mark sent me, I got the full accessory package. He includes screws to assemble the bucket, but I was confused because I've seen so many people using open ended rivets. I emailed Mark about it and he assured me it's perfectly acceptable to use screws and nuts for constructing it, so on I went!

The dome screws he includes are for the middle attachment that gets hidden under the ears, as pictured below.



And then the flat screws go everywhere else.



After trimming the brow to fit nicely (I lined up the end angle of the brow trim to match the angle of the brow traps), I began ear trimming. I used the notch method on the top to help them sit flush against both the face and cap-and-back pieces. I also found that, as tedious as this is, it really helps to fully screw the ear onto to the helmet after every single adjustment/trim. Otherwise, how will you know how well it's going to sit? This was very effective for me. Here's the final product for the right ear.





Question: I haven't been able to find if people attach the brow trim in anyway? Is it glued on at all? E6000 maybe?

Next up is lens install! Thanks for reading guys!


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[darthanael]

Lens install!!

In the AP kit, Mark includes what is the original lens style/color for the bucket eyes, but I wanted that darker look. I ordered the hard, darker green lens material from TrooperBay and went at it.

I saw a lot of threads that left the lens material as one piece and curved it around the helmet face, but I really just wanted to have two separate lenses for mine, I just love the look of it.

I bought the T-nuts from Home Depot as mentioned earlier with the matching screws. I tried gluing these over night in the below positions. I really experimented with the placement of the T-nuts because I wanted the lenses to be as flat as possible against the openings for a clean look.



The T-nuts seemed to have glued fine, but as it turns out, the bottom corner location doesn't exactly have the flattest surface so the glue didn't get a very good hold. After attempting to install the left lens, that specific T-nut popped off.



I removed the Plastidip from that area and re-glued this time with Zap-a-gap (I didn't want to wait another 24 hours, haha!). Re-installed the lens and everything went great!

BUT, same thing happened with the other side!



So I did the same thing. Cut off the Plastidip for a better hold and re-glued with Zap. But this time, it popped off again! So after that I tried sanding the back of the T-nut (this is where it was separating) so the glue could get a better hold and I used like three times as much Zap-a-gap. I waited for like 8 hours and boom, it worked.



I think it also helped that I made that bottom corner hole bigger on the lens so that the screw could be angled out and not put so much pressure on the lens and itself.

I think I might get some plastic washers to put between the screws and the lenses, but other than that, they turned out pretty great!

Also just a side note, I was really scared of Zap-a-gap at first (as one should be!), but it really has some good uses. And if you know you'll have no reason to pry something off in the future, only having to wait 15sec for something to glue/dry is pretty amazing!!







Thanks for reading!!


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[FencingCorvetteTrooper[TK]]

Glad my thread can be of help!  I know it's nowhere near as detailed as some of the ones I have seen, but good to know it's still helpful.  Troopers helping troopers!  

 

Really nice job on the bucket too!

Edited September 29, 2017 by FencingCorvetteTrooper

[darthanael]

Hey guys, got a question. If this is the only marking on my undersuit top portion, is that acceptable? It'll be hidden under the chest armor. Or does it need to be completely free of any marking anywhere? Thanks in advance!




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[FencingCorvetteTrooper[TK]]

5 hours ago, darthanael said:

Hey guys, got a question. If this is the only marking on my undersuit top portion, is that acceptable? It'll be hidden under the chest armor. Or does it need to be completely free of any marking anywhere? Thanks in advance!




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Just bought that same top as well as the pants. It's covered so shouldn't be an issue.  The important thing is that the seams are black stitching.  The original top I ordered showed black stitching but when it arrived, it was a light gray and wasn't going to cut it.  

[magni[TK]]

Looking great! Keep up the good work!

That undersuit will be fine.

[darthanael]

Looking great! Keep up the good work!
That undersuit will be fine.

Rad thank you!


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[darthanael]

Hey guys! Question for ya. Does the bottom edge of the ab plate need to align with the edge of the kidney notch cut out? The rivet side on mine lines up perfectly, but then the right side is a little off. Will this still pass for centurion?

Left side (rivet side):


Right side:


You're help would be appreciated as always!

Slowly working away at this thing. The finish line is getting in view and I'm pretty freakin stoked. Already picked out my TK number, hopefully it's still available when I apply lol!

TD plate is drying! Oh and that Krylon smoke gray that Mark from AP recommended is gold.


Shoulder bell straps are drying!


Bucket screws, knee ammo rivets and ab-to-kidney rivets are drying!


And I am officially on the hunt to replace these black holster straps with the more natural leather ones:


I think I found a great source though on Amazon. Looks like the right color and already cut to the right width:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072F84GLK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2MCEFK9U0UY99&psc=1

Centurion here I come!


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[darthanael]

Hey guys. Another question. I'm using the Trooper Bay stencils and on the left side of the helmet, I can't fit all 16 stripes. Is this okay?


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[magni[TK]]

Yup. Totally fine. It's even in the CRL.

[darthanael]

Yup. Totally fine. It's even in the CRL.

Beautiful thank you!


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[darthanael]

Took a break from building and cutting in my hot and humid florida garage and started painting the bucket today! Woohoo!

First coat is on everything. I free-handed it. I feel like masking sometimes gets in the way and it can actually create more work in the long run if things don't go according to plan.














While I had the blue Humbrol out, I hit the button plates too. I traced circles with a pencil first. For most of the buttons I used the 15/32 circle and for that top right, smaller button I used the 13/32 circle. Does that button need to be smaller or should it be the same size as the others?






Either way, I think one coat is gonna do it for those buttons. The layer of paint I put on there is pretty dang thick already.

Side note: nearly poured out all my blue Humbrol on the table by accident. That wasn't fun. These dang cans are so tiny and hard to handle man!!

Also, I desperately need paint thinner. Been trying to use all kinds of other things to clean these brushes, but to no avail. Gonna pick some up tomorrow.

Let me know what you think guys, thanks!


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[Droid Runner[TK]]

Hi Nate,

 

I'm enjoying your build thread.  I just started a TK ANH Stunt (RS) build.  I'm curious why people plasti-dip the inside of the helmet.  Is this for comfort or to conceal the inside a bit better?  I was wondering if it was to make the inside cooler but to me it seems like the black would make it hotter.  Anyway, good luck with your build and glad to hear you weathered the storm safely.

[darthanael]

3 hours ago, TK TBD said:

Hi Nate,

 

I'm enjoying your build thread.  I just started a TK ANH Stunt (RS) build.  I'm curious why people plasti-dip the inside of the helmet.  Is this for comfort or to conceal the inside a bit better?  I was wondering if it was to make the inside cooler but to me it seems like the black would make it hotter.  Anyway, good luck with your build and glad to hear you weathered the storm safely.

 

Hey Jeff! Thanks for the kind words! Honestly, I've seen some other troopers do it and I just think it looks cool haha. I've also heard it makes it harder to see your into your helmet so you can maintain that mean Imperial persona haha. But the cooling thing definitely sounds like it would make sense. I'm just figuring this all out as I go! Let me know if you need any help!

[darthanael]

Hey guys!

Sorry again for lack of updates lately. There's been a lot of birthdays going on and I've also been once again doing a lot of research, specifically on helmet electronics (Talking system and fan system), but more on that later.

My new leather strapping came in for my holster!







As you can see, the color looks spot on! And the width is perfect as well. Excited to install these!


I also finally assembled my TD pack!! This has been a long process being that my first go at the painting ended up dripping so I had to completely sand all the paint off and start from scratch. But here we are!






I bent the edges in a little because I wasn't happy with how it was laying on the pipe. I wanted it to be more fit to the curve of the pipe.






Stoked that Mark has already painted the heads on these screws to be black, one less thing I gotta do!

I also applied some soft Velcro to the brackets to prevent scratches to my beautiful armor! I got this amazing tip from another build thread (I plan on giving a reference list of all the threads I learned from at the end of my build!).




And then I began gluing some more snap plates in place. The finish line is in site!!




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[darthanael]

Alright guys, would love your input on my thigh ammo belt. I did a ton of research and couldn't find where to drill the holes on the actual ammo belt. The CRL simply says they need to be in the upper corner. I ended up doing 12mm in and 10mm down. Hope that's okay!

Also, I tried to use Ukwrath's suggestion of placing the ammo belt 1/4" in from the edges, but mine didn't quite wrap around that far. It's more like 3/8" in on each side. Is this okay?? Goin for centurion here!!
















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[CableGuy[Admin]]

Hiya. Your rivet position looks okay to me. I went around 10mm and 10mm and it looks very similar. :-)

 

 

Bare in mind that the screen shots show that each ammo pack is positioned slightly differently, so there’s a level of flexibility. Some butt up to the cover strip, some have a gap etc. :-)

 

Example below:

 

 

 

 

 

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[darthanael]

Hiya. Your rivet position looks okay to me. I went around 10mm and 10mm and it looks very similar. :-)

Thanks so much Dan! That helps me!!


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[darthanael]

Alright guys, something else, lol. Need some input on what to do about the shoulder strap covers. I got from one thread that there should be 3 bumps over the chest plate. But when I do that on mine, the back of should strap covers go way too far back. Do I need to lower the chest or back plate? Or can I shift the shoulder strap cover more to the front? Once again, aiming for centurion! Thanks in advance!!






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[ABS80]

Great job so far,

 

My shoulder straps are purposely made longer than the originals to fit a wider range of sizes, to be movie accurate you need to trim off the rear big bump including a small one,  basically you should be left with 12 small tabs and the front big one,  also from your photo the shoulder strap should sit much lower on the chest, the way I measure is that the 5th small bump is aligned with the chest top end parts (end section that is under the shoulder starps) hard to exlpain just shoot me a email and i will send you photos somehow im having problems posting photos.

 

Mark (AP)

Edited October 10, 2017 by ABS80

[darthanael]

Great job so far,
 
My shoulder straps are purposely made longer than the originals to fit a wider range of sizes, to be movie accurate you need to trim off the rear big bump including a small one,  basically you should be left with 12 small tabs and the front big one,  also from your photo the shoulder strap should sit much lower on the chest, the way I measure is that the 5th small bump is aligned with the chest top end parts (end section that is under the shoulder starps) hard to exlpain just shoot me a email and i will send you photos somehow im having problems posting photos.
 
Mark (AP)

Got your email Mark! This really helps! Thank you so much for your help!!


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[Pyrates[TK]]

Looking great mate - very nice work finding new strap replacements for your holster!


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[darthanael]

Alright guys just a few updates. I've been producing and installing my snap plates!




I've been cutting strips of 1" wide ABS and then cutting those down to 2" long pieces. Then I measure and mark the holes which is easy (divide an inch in half and then measure in a half inch on both ends of the long side).

Needless to say, I'm doing the double snap, elastic strapping method.





And then for the parts that need a bit of a curve, I'm using the same measurements on nylon. I'm making marks with white-out being that its black. And then using a soldering iron to burn the holes. I'm also using a lighter to burn the edges so they don't fray.




For spots like inside the shoulder bells my measurement is a bit different being that I'm only using single snapping on the arm pieces. Those snap plates I'm measuring to be 1" L x .75" W.






For the snaps I'm using the Tandy Line 24 snaps and using a basic snap setter/anvil system. As long as you hammer straight down on a solid surface it turns out alright.

I've also been carving off the edge of the hole in the abs that the snap goes into, if that makes sense. This is in order for the snap to sit flush against the abs. Sorry don't have a pic for that.


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[darthanael]

Oops forgot to post this pic of the kidney and cod strapping plates installed.




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[darthanael]

I've installed my sniper plate and I'm stoked with how it turned out. Taking a pointer from FencingCorvetteTrooper's build thread (https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/42075-fencingcorvettetroopers-triple-trooper-build-ap-anh-stunt/), I pushed one side of the left shin up to help with the "warpness" of the sniper plate install. I also gave the sniper plate a boiling hot water bath to give it some help.





Here's how the back looks without me forcing it into shape.



And here's how the back looks forcing the top to align (which I eventually do permanently using the hot water bath method).



It took a lot of manipulating with the hot water to get everything to align, but I'm very pleased with the final product. I really wanted the sniper plate to sit flush against the cover strip and that was not easy, but not impossible! See below.














I glued the front and the sides at the same time using E6000. Only thing now is one more hot water back to have the back edges sit flush with one another in order to help the Velcro stick. The other shin is already done with this process! See below.





I used the 25mm typical cover strip measurement for the back of the shins. Industrial strength white Velcro is being used to attach them. Only thing I'm worries about is that I used the adhesive that comes on the back of the Velcro. Just wondering if it'll be strong enough to take the wear and tear of trooping. We'll see!


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