Willeywonka's ANH Stunt Build (AP Armor)

[willeywonka[TK]]

6 hours ago, Twosolitudes said:

Your Ab buttons look perfect. Any special trick you used?

Thanks! Mark was kind enough to include instructions with the armor letting me know to leave 1/8” aroundthe larger button plate. After cutting to size and sanding the edges and glue surfaces I placed them and used painters tape to hold them in place. I also used a scrap of ABS behind the larger button plate since there was a void space just to give the glue more surface area.

[willeywonka[TK]]

6 hours ago, Twosolitudes said:

Your Ab buttons look perfect. Any special trick you used?

I also used a blow dryer to heat up the decals when I placed them to help prevent bubbles. 

[willeywonka[TK]]

20 hours ago, Neb Sgird said:

Ya, I think you'll end up wanting to cut some ABS pieces to size in order to re-fill the gap above the ridge and mix some ABS paste to act as glue and to hide the seams. Don't use epoxy glue, as it will be visible to the not-so-casual observer and will end up being harder to work with in this situation. ABS paste is the way to go because it is literally made from the same stuff as your armor, so it will blend in much better. Once you've sanded it back down (and I'm thinking wet-sanding with 1400 grit paper, then polishing), it shouldn't be all that noticeable. It's going to take some good sanding, and the back of your thighs might end up being more delicate than they otherwise would have, but your thighs are definitely salvageable. 

 

Don't lose heart, it will take some more work, but you could still make centurion!

 

See here for more info on ABS paste: 

 

Thank you! I appreciate the detailed advice and the encouragement.

[willeywonka[TK]]

I've got my thigh pieces trimmed down to allow for the proper cover strips now and am working on the task of collecting shavings from my other trimmings to make my ABS paste so I can overcome Thighgeddon 2018.

 

In the mean time, I have finished rough trimming my bicep pieces and shoulder straps (shoutout to Mark for the instructions to leave 1/8" around the straps):

 

 

I also trimmed down the front of my shin pieces and sized them with tape. Here are some pics. Just FYI, I have pretty hefty calves. They run in my family and come in handy on leg-day workouts, but not so much when sizing my armor. Please let me know how this looks. I honestly can't go much smaller than this without cutting off circulation haha.

 

FRONT

 

BACK

 

I plan to trim along the red line on both. The back right shin trim line is not as crooked as it looks in this picture, it's just angled differently than the left shin.  

[ABS80]

just trim were its marked, you can see the mold line on every piece.

 

Mark (AP)

[willeywonka[TK]]

I am following those lines for the most part, just need to tweak slightly because my right calf is about 3/4” larger than my left. 

[ABS80]

4 hours ago, willeywonka said:

I am following those lines for the most part, just need to tweak slightly because my right calf is about 3/4” larger than my left. 

Oh I see

 

Mark (AP)

[lucnak[TK]]

You can probably remove a little bit more from the bottom of the outside pieces of the biceps (the part that flares out).

[willeywonka[TK]]

2 hours ago, lucnak said:

You can probably remove a little bit more from the bottom of the outside pieces of the biceps (the part that flares out).

Will do. Thank you!

[willeywonka[TK]]

I noticed while researching last night that the shoulder straps need to free float on the back and be held down with white elastic. It also looks like people have theirs cut to remove the large rectangular portion on the rear of the straps (below the red line in this pic):

 

 

Is it required for Centurion to trim them like this ^? I kind of like the balance of the large rectangle on the front and back.

[wook1138[TK]]

AP adds the extra large bump incase it is needed (for larger troopers).  Mark recommends trimming the big bump and one small one for screen accuracy.  I don't believe there is a requirement to remove it at any level (but not positive).  However, the less material you have at the back, the easier it will be to keep the bridges snug to the armor.  Also, less of a chance of them snagging on something and breaking, IMO. 

[willeywonka[TK]]

3 minutes ago, wook1138 said:

AP adds the extra large bump incase it is needed (for larger troopers).  Mark recommends trimming the big bump and one small one for screen accuracy.  I don't believe there is a requirement to remove it at any level (but not positive).  However, the less material you have at the back, the easier it will be to keep the bridges snug to the armor.  Also, less of a chance of them snagging on something and breaking, IMO. 

Copy that. Appreciate it!

[lucnak[TK]]

Just perused some approved Centurions and looks like you're fine to keep it. Would be my preference too.

[TheSwede[TK]]

I would say loose the big bump in the back - screen accurate is the way to go 

 

[willeywonka[TK]]

31 minutes ago, lucnak said:

Just perused some approved Centurions and looks like you're fine to keep it. Would be my preference too.

 

5 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

I would say loose the big bump in the back - screen accurate is the way to go 

 

 

Haha oh man. Idk now. I’m torn. I’m gonna sit on this for a bit and trust The Force to guide me lol.

[willeywonka[TK]]

I set up a little inspiration from my childhood in my home office today.

 

 

Long live the Empire!

 

Joke's on them though...

 

 

Anywho, I am pretty much ready to start assembling but am waiting on my magnets to arrive. In other news, how does the fit of this bicep look?

 

 

 

 

 

I also finished prep work for my belt.

 

 

I went ahead and trimmed off the rear large rectangle on my should straps. I kind of liked the symmetry but I decided screen accuracy should trump my OCD-ness. I also glued in a bit of extra ABS to give more surface area for when I glue them to the chest plate.

 

 

 

[willeywonka[TK]]

So I am wrapping up gluing my biceps today and am testing out my new magnets that finally arrived yesterday 

 

 

 

In the mean time, I have started working on fixing the back of my thighs. Here is my progress so far. Here is how they currently look. Try not to vomit...

 

 

First, I cut down a slightly curved piece of scrap ABS that fit the shape of the thigh to glue on the inside.

 

 

After this cures, I found other pieces of scrap with a nice flare on the end that will pretty closely match up with the ridge that I cut too far above. I marked off with a pencil where to cut them to size and will glue them to the piece on the inside pictured above.

 

 

Once in place they should look something like this (but more flush with the trimmed edges because it will be glued on top of the inside scrap piece):

 

'

 

 

After that's done I'll make my ABS paste, fill in the seams, sand, and hope it turns out well!

[Frank75139[501st]]

I have a feeling it’s gonna look perfect.


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[Neb Sgird[TK]]

Thanks for the vomit warning! Jokes aside, that should work out great!

[hollowbodies[501st]]

You're definitely on the good way, keep it up!

[lucnak[TK]]

Here's hoping your thigh fix goes well! Looks like you're on the right track.

[willeywonka[TK]]

Thigh update:

 

The flared pieces are glued in place now. Since I have already dropped some serious cash on this build this month I have to wait until April to purchase further supplies like the acetone to make my ABS paste. Gotta stick to that monthly budget. Happy wife, happy life! 

 

 

 

I have completed my biceps and forearms aside from some final trimming (getting Lexan scissors in April) and sanding.

 

 

 

I also started working on my shin pieces. My left rear cover strip is done and the right rear cover strip is curing.

 

LEFT:

 

RIGHT:

 

Lastly, I have been doing some test fitting of my chest, ab/cod, kidney, and butt plates. I have a pretty long torso so it'll be a bit difficult to not have any gaps in the back. I tried to get it to where the length needed for any gaps is split equally between the back plate-kidney plate and the kidney plate-butt plate. Will this be okay?

 

 

[Frank75139[501st]]

Looking good and that scrap piece you have on the thigh fits perfect that should come out like it never happened.


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[TheSwede[TK]]

Keep the gaps to a minimum and you should be good From the looks of it the chest piece might benefit from coming down some and/or the ab-cod beeing raised if possible (just be sure the sides line up as well)  - keep it up and stay on budget 

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

How tall are you? I think you can probably make the "minimal gap" requirement. I would recommend no gap between the butt and kidney and a "minimal" one between the kidney and back. You can bring the back down a little to help this.

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