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!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

7 hours ago, darthanael said:

 

Hey Joseph, thanks so much for attaching that diagram! Mega helpful! For the snaps, do you just attached the snaps to a piece of ABS and then glue that with E6000 to the inside of the armor? Thank you for your help!

Some folks glue the nylon or elastic straps to strips of ABS and then glue that to the armor, but I have found it easier (and just as effective) to glue the strapping directly to the armor.  In a few places this actually can work better as the nylon/elastic conforms to the shape of curved areas.  JUst be sure to use E-6000, as CA (super) glue can become brittle over time and come loose.  (Trust me on this).

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

48 minutes ago, darthanael said:

Let me know if you guys see any hiccups in the trimming! Thanks!


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PERFECT job on those forearm openings, Nate, and the 4 button plate is spot-on.  When you get to trimming the legs, I advise trimming all the return edges off of the tops of the thighs before fitting,  The reason being is that if you leave them on they can (and will, in many cases) chafe the bejeezus out of your, uh... "bathing suit area".  (You get the idea, LOL).

Being a fellow Floridian, I suggest getting a cloth neck seal like Darman's.  As Aaron mentioned, some are made of vinyl, which doesn't "breathe".  After half an hour of trooping outdoors you will be glad you did.

[darthanael]

11 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

PERFECT job on those forearm openings, Nate, and the 4 button plate is spot-on.  When you get to trimming the legs, I advise trimming all the return edges off of the tops of the thighs before fitting,  The reason being is that if you leave them on they can (and will, in many cases) chafe the bejeezus out of your, uh... "bathing suit area".  (You get the idea, LOL).

Being a fellow Floridian, I suggest getting a cloth neck seal like Darman's.  As Aaron mentioned, some are made of vinyl, which doesn't "breathe".  After half an hour of trooping outdoors you will be glad you did.

 

Great advice thank you Joseph! I will for sure do that!

[darthanael]

Hey guys, I'm preparing the drop boxes. The CRL doesn't say too much about them and I've searched the forums pretty extensively, but is there a recommended thickness or depth that these should be? Also, is okay that the inner box pops out a bit or should it be flat with the out box? Also, the inner box has a lot of wiggle room, should it just sit center in the outer box?

 

And then do I just glue them together?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

In theory the back should not stick out, Nate.  A tiny bit won't hurt, but you may want to trim the backs down a little.  Gluing them together is fine, as they are only really there for aesthetic purposes.  Since you are aiming for Centurion, when attaching them to your belt make sure the outside edges of the box align with the outside edge of your ABS belt.

[Btabc[TK]]

Glad to see another AP thread!!!!  I'm currently awaiting approval... it's taking WAY TOO LONG for me... about 4 days now, but I know it'll be worth it in the end.  As for the build, way to go!  Have you come across the sniper knee prob yet?  (I have not read this entire thread).

 

What I did with my drop boxes is just centered them, placed them upside down and poured in the E6000 along the edges.  Good luck!

[darthanael]

10 minutes ago, Btabc said:

Glad to see another AP thread!!!!  I'm currently awaiting approval... it's taking WAY TOO LONG for me... about 4 days now, but I know it'll be worth it in the end.  As for the build, way to go!  Have you come across the sniper knee prob yet?  (I have not read this entire thread).

 

What I did with my drop boxes is just centered them, placed them upside down and poured in the E6000 along the edges.  Good luck!

 

Hey Bryce! I'll have to check out your build thread! And I like that drop box method, definitely gonna try that. And no I haven't come across the sniper knee issue, is there one? Maybe your build thread has it? Thanks for the heads up!

[FencingCorvetteTrooper[TK]]

1 hour ago, darthanael said:

 

Hey Bryce! I'll have to check out your build thread! And I like that drop box method, definitely gonna try that. And no I haven't come across the sniper knee issue, is there one? Maybe your build thread has it? Thanks for the heads up!

 

 

Great progress so far.  Yeah, the AP sniper knee can be fun when it comes to fitting it.  There's some threads out there that talk about it and different ways to tackle it.  Feel free to check out mine (the URL below should take you to that section).  The key is to remember, it's not all going to line up 100% perfect, but as long as you get the plate to follow the lines and contours of the top of the shin.

 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/42075-fencingcorvettetroopers-triple-trooper-build-ap-anh-stunt/?do=findComment&comment=568586

   

[darthanael]

Glued my first piece tonight!! Things are starting to feel not so daunting haha. I glued one of the support strips for each bicep piece using that good ole E6000. I fitted the bicep and it looks like the standard 15mm cover strip will be just fine. From here on out I want to have something drying every 24 hours.



I pre-cut the first cover strip piece. Mark put some great straight pieces in the kit to cut cover strips from, but something I found out is that they don't have a perfectly straight side. So before you measure and score your cover strips, make sure you're actually measuring from a truly straight edge.



Also glued the drop boxes. Put a generous bead line of E6000 inside the bigger one and just dropped the smaller one inside (after trimming them, sanding them, and making sure they were nearly flush).




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[darthanael]

Cut the eyes out of the bucket. I thought I was gonna be able to cut the frown as well with the Dremel bit I had bought, but I didn't feel comfortable with it after all. One slip and I could damage the helmet pretty good. I think I'll go ahead and get the recommended metal files for that.

How do the eyes look? I feel like I got a little too carried away with the upper right corner on the right eye.




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[darthanael]

Got my paints in the mail! I only needed black and gray because I'll be using Mark's supplied AP decals for a lot of it.


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[darthanael]

Ok last post for the night. I got my TK Boots in the mail a few weeks back, but never got a chance to post them. These things are legitimately top notch. The quality is next level. And I'm mega bummed to hear they won't be making boots anymore! At least I got a pair while I could!

And yes I tried em on and they fit amazing!


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[Albaz]

Got my paints in the mail! I only needed black and gray because I'll be using Mark's supplied AP decals for a lot of it.


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I might be wrong but I think you need the black "satin", not the gloss. Maybe someone else can't pitch in on this


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[darthanael]

4 minutes ago, Albaz said:

I might be wrong but I think you need the black "satin", not the gloss. Maybe someone else can't pitch in on this


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Hmm good catch. I've seen a few satin and few others with gloss vocoder and details. I think it might be up to the user? The CRL doesn't clarify any colors needing to be gloss or satin or otherwise. Although, their reference pic for the helmet shows what looks to be a satin vocoder. Thanks for the catch though! I definitely want it to be as accurate as possible. Anyone else wanna chime in on this? Thanks Alberto!

[Albaz]

I just finished building my AP and submitted pics on Sunday. Painting was the first thing I did, and you are right the CRL doesn't say what color you should use exactly. I tried to use the blue button decals but would not stick perfectly to the plate, so I bought the blue paint as well. The helmet decals stuck just fine by using the "soapy water" method. Have fun!


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[darthanael]

37 minutes ago, Albaz said:

I just finished building my AP and submitted pics on Sunday. Painting was the first thing I did, and you are right the CRL doesn't say what color you should use exactly. I tried to use the blue button decals but would not stick perfectly to the plate, so I bought the blue paint as well. The helmet decals stuck just fine by using the "soapy water" method. Have fun!


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Nice tip wow! I might just order humbrol blue then just in case. Thanks!

[magni[TK]]

Satin black should be ordered too

[illusionz_09[TK]]

Looking good Nate.

Build is coming along.

 

BTW the drop boxes are suppose to be somewhere in the range of 15 mm thick.

Its all coming along though; hit me up if you have any questions.

 

Also,

i saw you wrote that you may use the decals provided; if possible i suggest to try to paint instead of using decals. Makes a huge difference and gives a more authentic look.

[darthanael]

26 minutes ago, illusionz_09 said:

Looking good Nate.

Build is coming along.

 

BTW the drop boxes are suppose to be somewhere in the range of 15 mm thick.

Its all coming along though; hit me up if you have any questions.

 

Also,

i saw you wrote that you may use the decals provided; if possible i suggest to try to paint instead of using decals. Makes a huge difference and gives a more authentic look.

Ah okay, thanks for the heads up about the drop boxes! Now, for the decals, are you talking about just the dots or do you mean for all decals?

[darthanael]

6 hours ago, magni said:

Satin black should be ordered too

I had ordered Humbrol #21 (which is gloss black) based off of justjoseph63's supply list thread, but I guess that's wrong then? Would it be Humbrol #85 maybe? Like this? >>> https://eugenetoyandhobby.com/shop/humbrol-coal-black-shade-enamel-paint-85-14ml-45-oz-aa0936/

 

[darthanael]

Took a quick break to enjoy Force Friday! Was at the midnight opening at my local Toys R Us. I was first in line and stoked to get my hands on that black series Commander Gree, only to find out they didn't have it But the next day I went to another one and they had just restocked! Got my Gree!! Hope you guys had a great Force Friday!






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[darthanael]

Went to cut more cover strips and discovered my source piece was bowing again. So I measured and cut a little bit off so I was working with a straight line.






Then I cut a 20mm strip to begin eyeballing the fit of the leg armor.




And theeeeeen my 6 and 4 year old wanted to try on my forearm...




And then I tried it on cause why not!




Haha. Good times. Tons of updates to come. I'm moving fast on this bad boy. Just ordered a TON of crap on Amazon, including 100 Tandy snaps, my under suit (Two piece with a lower quadrant standard Imperial access hatch, if you know what I mean), and Plastidip. Putting in my order for Darman seal. And the list goes on and on. Onward on the road to centurion!!


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[darthanael]

I threw my armor into the Pit of Carkoon today (started reshaping them in hot water). The process was a lot less terrifying than I thought. Needed to bend my shoulder straps, thigh ammo and ammo belt.

I had to go out for the day, but before I did I dipped my shoulder straps. I wanted to try reshaping them and seeing if they held when I got back. I brought a big pot full of water to a boil. I used some tongs with rubber ends. I was careful not to let the ABS touch the bottom of the pan after reading the various warnings. I had to do it a few times I felt like to get it to comply with the reshaping. Each time I held it under the boiling water for about a minute and each time I would bring it out, bend the heck out of it and then run it under cold water to hopefully lock the plastic in place.








I was gone a few hours and came back to perfectly bent shoulder straps!




I then began the process on the ammo belts. This time I boiled the water and then carefully poured it into a large, flat, glass tupperware. This was in order to lay ammo pieces down since they wouldn't fit in the pot.








These seemed to put up more of a fight in the bending process, so they've been sentenced to the trash compactor for the night. Hopefully the bend will stick!




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[darthanael]

Went shopping today for some more supplies at Home Depot and wanted to share a funny story. I forgot where, but I had seen somewhere in the forums that someone was able to find a D-ring for their E-11 on the ground in the lamp section. I was like, "That's cool, but that would never happen to me."

 

I found myself in the lamp section looking around on the ground, hoping to repeat history, but to no avail. So I grabbed $5 worth of lamp chain just to use one link, what a waste! But then it happened. I was walking down another aisle passing the chains and low and behold, there it was. One, lonely chain link, looking for a blaster to call home!

 

 

I couldn't even believe it! History was indeed repeated. Another win for the empire! Here's a pic of the additional recourses I bought.

 

 

- #6-32 T-nuts x2 (Helmet lenses)

- #6-32 3/8" screws x2 (Helmet lenses)

- Husky needle file set (Helmet frown)

- 3/16" Binding posts w/screws x4 (Chicago screws for ammo belt)

- Free D-ring!

- A metric ruler (I had one with cm, but needed one with mm)

 

 

 

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[darthanael]

Finished all cover straps for my first piece of armor! I'm super stoked!!








But something I just realized is that they're the same exact piece. In other words, there's no left and right, no differentiation. Is this normal? I feel like I screwed up somehow. Please let me know if you can, thanks!


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