AP ANH Stunt Build

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Putting the taller brackets in the chest worked a bit to move the shoulders forward, but not enough. This morning I moved the sew in snaps forward until they were almost touching the chest armour and that did the trick as much as it could with the size of shoulders that came within kit. Looks way better. And no, I haven't taken photos yet. While looking at the new placement of the shoulders I noticed a rather large gap between my back and the back armour. I pulled off the 2" white elastic and re-glued it on tighter. I now need to shorten the side with the snap closure. I will drill out the snap from the elastic, fold it over once and install a new snap. Easier than removing the snap from the back armour. I will do this tomorrow afternoon and take pics once the glue is dry. Until then I will work on my armour bin. I got some Star Wars fabric the other day and quilt batting as a backer to pad it out.

 

I got the small Husky bin from Home Depot. I painted the logo out until I decide what to do with this spot.

 

There is actually quite a bit of room in this bin.

 

Trimming and fitting the batting.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

After a bit of sewing and an outing I finished the interior. Everything is held in with Velcro so I can remove it easily if it needs cleaning or I just feel like a change.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Sean

[Timberwoof[TK]]

What are the interior dimensions on the Husky bin? How tall is it? 
I saw another thread in which someone had painted his bin in black and white. It was quite nice! 
So far I'm using the BBB my Anovos kit came in; it has the right volume but is tall enough to be annoying in the back of my shuttle. 

Edited December 15, 2017 by Timberwoof

[wook1138[TK]]

13 minutes ago, Sean said:

After a bit of sewing and an outing I finished the interior. Everything is held in with Velcro so I can remove it easily if it needs cleaning or I just feel like a change.

Perfect!

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

57 minutes ago, Timberwoof said:

What are the interior dimensions on the Husky bin? How tall is it? 
I saw another thread in which someone had painted his bin in black and white. It was quite nice! 
So far I'm using the BBB my Anovos kit came in; it has the right volume but is tall enough to be annoying in the back of my shuttle. 

The bin is approximately 34" long x 20" wide x 11" high on the inside. I say approximately because it has slightly angled sides and recesses for the wheels. Also, the padding takes up a little space too. It is the same bin you've seen painted. Well, the smaller one of the two popular Husky brand bins. Most people can't fit their entire suit in the smaller bin. Helmet, blaster and boots travel separately I've been told. However I did see Sha Sha fit her helmet in the smaller bin as well. Her armour is smaller however, trimmed down to her size and her chest and back separate and stack inside each other for travel I believe. My front and back can't do that. I went with the smaller bin because it can fit in most cars. If not in the trunk then in the back seat. It is similar in size to the AP shipping box. At least the box I got my armour in.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Here is a pic of how far I moved the 2" white shoulder elastic in. The screwdriver points to where it used to be. It's about an inch forward from where it was. The snap was moved 3/4" toward the front of the suit.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Full shot with shoulders moved as far forward as they can go.

 

I've realized I need a tighter top for the under suit. It bunches up around the chest/shoulders/armpits and overlaps the armour. That's not good. It makes the black look bigger than it actually is. I can really see it in this photo. Oh well. What's a little more money spent on the armour at this point?

Edited December 16, 2017 by Sean

[TheSwede[TK]]

Skin-tight is the way to go Looking good, the submission-pics is right around the corner

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

24 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

Skin-tight is the way to go Looking good, the submission-pics is right around the corner

The only thing I own skin tight is my skin. 

[TheSwede[TK]]

Well then...body-paint

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

10 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

Well then...body-paint

ewe  ...I'll stick to Under Armour, thanks. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I find compression top and pants work well, you don't get bunching around elbows and knees, also keeps you cool as well as the two piece allows easy access for toilet breaks in armor  

[Harbinger[IPM]]

Another vote for compression pants/shirts.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

My under suit is actually compression Under Armour. I was surprised that the Large top was a little loose on me. I have a new smaller top ordered and it should arrive on Tuesday. My pants are fine. Very tight in the leg. Right now I'm just cleaning up little things here and there and planning my helmet mods. Fans, padding etc. Painting screw heads if fun. 

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

You know when your mind is occupied with something you are really interested in and you can't seem to think of anything else? Well, I start to see what I'm thinking about in the weirdest places and in the strangest objects.

 

A small waste bin I saw on the weekend (in a funeral home) made me think of thigh armour. Hmm, no cover strips.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Sean

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

I have started to work on replacing the green lens supplied with my armour with something darker. The face shield I ordered turned out to be a little too dark but that's ok for now. Following is my step by step process.

 

First I decided where the 1/4" Chicago screws were going to get glued in. I cleaned off some of the Plasti Dip so there would be a good, solid surface to glue to.

 

I can't remember who's build thread I saw this stuff on but I ordered a small pack from Amazon and am trying it out.

 

I made sure it was under the Chicago screw and wrapped over the edge onto the top.

 

I then pressed it into place and moulded it a little smoother.

 

I temporarily screwed in the other side of the screw to make sure it was far enough away from the edge of the eye so it wouldn't overlap the socket and be visible through the lens or impede my vision.

 

The bottom screws were on quite an angle so I levelled them out with more Sugru so the lens will sit flush. Now everything needs to dry. The glue didn't come with any sort of instructions so I gave it 24 hours.

Edited December 18, 2017 by Sean

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Making the template.

 

I cut up an old cereal box. I needed thin, flexible cardboard.

 

I placed it behind the eye and traced the outline with a pencil.

 

The screws sit half an inch away from the inside of the eye so I drew a line 3/4" away from the traced eye and cut it out.

 

Using a plastic lid from a disposable food container I traced the cardboard template. 

 

I wasn't able to get all of the lable off the lid but I removed enough for my purposes.

 

Cut it out.

 

And here it is. ready to mark the screw holes. 

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Screw holes and cutting the lens.

 

Lining up the rough clear template I could see where the screws were.

 

I marked them with a pen.

 

I knew some the excess plastic might get in the way on the inside of the helmet so I marked some trim lines.

 

Trimmed it away...

 

I placed the clear template on the green face shield, traced it with a marker and cut it out. 

 

I drilled out the screw holes with a drill bit slightly wider than the Chicago screw. A little wiggle room for fitting the new lens.

 

It sits quite nicely. However...

That top left screw just won't go in. Hmm.

Chicago screws have a hole all the way through. The Sugru squeezed up through the hole. What now? As I was trying to clean the glue out of the hole the whole thing popped off the helmet. Bummer. I cleaned the glue out of the hole and then glued the glue back on with other glue. E6000 to the rescue. Hopefully this works. I will see tomorrow.

[TheSwede[TK]]

Great work

[wook1138[TK]]

9 hours ago, Sean said:

I cleaned the glue out of the hole and then glued the glue back on with other glue.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

One of the nice things about waiting for glue to dry is it gives one time to think of all the little nitty gritty things that still need to be done with the armour. Painting screw heads for instance.

First coat.

[68Brick[TK]]

Looking Great Sean. Nice detailing on your bin too! You'll be trooping in no-time. 

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Blaster.

 

I purchased a resin blaster from Quest Design Canada off Etsy after a conversation with members from my local garrison. This being my first build I wanted to purchase a completed blaster. This is a really nice blaster with great details. The rear sight on the scope is blank. It needs detail. I will also need to bore it out a little to install the lens I want to put in it.

 

I purchased a head lice removal kit from my local pharmacy just for the small magnifying glass. FYI, I'm bald. I can't get lice.

 

I cut the handle off and covered the lens with painter's tape to protect it while I sanded the edges off. The sanding took about 15 minutes.

 

You can see how shallow the scope is at this end. The lens fits nicely.

 

I found these crosshairs on the forum in a post from October 2009. There are several to choose from. I did a quick sizing and a rough draft print to see how it would look. I think this will look great when it's done. The lens needs a fine sanding around the edges to clean it up. I know most people won't even notice this, but I will. 

Edited December 21, 2017 by Sean

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Here is the link to the forum for the crosshairs.

 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/8467-cross-hairs-for-e-11-blaster-scope/

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

So, the eyes are done.

That same Chicago screw came out again. E6000 didn't stand a chance. CA glue to the rescue! All the other screws held firm, weird.

 

Mysterious green lenses...oooh....ahhhh!

 

I'm happy with the results.