TrooperTim Posted February 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 I think I've finished the exterior of the helmet. Still have some work ahead of me for the inner electronics. I need to replace the rubber trim for the brow and the base with more accurate ones, but that will be a little bit later on. Everything is hand painted except for the tube stripes. I used the decals that came with the kit. 12 stripes for the right tube, 13 for the left. I think they look pretty good. I'll probably take them off and hand paint the stripes but that will be way into the future. I'm very proud of what I've done so far. Seems like I'm finally accomplishing something on this massive build. Sorry about the grain and faded colors; bad lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry19D Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 Looks quite nice! I agree that it does feel good to get something done on such a project. I love my AP bucket, and I'm sure you'll feel the same. Looking forward to seeing you tackle the rest of the suit when you get the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VacTrooper Posted February 22, 2009 Report Share Posted February 22, 2009 PERFECT. WOW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 Snapped a non-grainy photo. Thanks radiant sunlight beams! Now to finish the rest of the body... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2155TK[TK] Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Great work on this one! btw, how much did you get for the whole AP armor? if prices are hush hush, can you please give me a PM on how much and where you got it? thanks!! Luis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-1287 Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Finger Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Great stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-743[501st] Posted February 27, 2009 Report Share Posted February 27, 2009 Absolutely fantastic job! Looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted February 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone. I'm excited about finishing up the body. I have the pieces trimmed up; just have to assemble. Great work on this one! btw, how much did you get for the whole AP armor? if prices are hush hush, can you please give me a PM on how much and where you got it? thanks!! Luis Looks like TK-1287 sent you a PM. I'm sure he provided you with a good answer to that. I bought the helmet and body armor kit untrimmed. Spent a big chunk of my paycheck but it's worth it. Is that a papercraft or kirigami stormtrooper as your avatar? Brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daetrin[Admin] Posted February 28, 2009 Report Share Posted February 28, 2009 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I did a test fit on some of the pieces (chest, bells, ab, and thighs) just for fun. Since I'm skinny enough, looks like it'll fit me like a glove. Giggidy, giggidy.... allriiiiight. I'm figuring out how to assemble this stuff; looking over some flicker build galleries and tutorials on this awesome forum. Need to go buy some clamps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaptyx Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Looking good Tim. I have a feeling your submission pics will be awesome. No pressure, like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted March 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2009 GLUE I'll be gluing my pieces together this week and I'm deciding the best glue for me to use. I have E6000 and I've seen several people use that; just sand and score the area to get a better bond. I've seen some use devcon weld, plastic bond, or abs cement. It all does the same thing... hold it together. Just depends on preference and strength I suppose. I'll go with E6000 and see how it works. SEAM STRIPS This week I'm starting to trim the seam pieces for the ANH strips. I hear AP is originated from ROTJ so to make it look more ANH I need to add these. I'll be making an inside and outside strip for each seam. From what I've read and seen, some strips don't completely cover the raised mold line of the armor piece; like the forearms. Is that just a personal preference for better screen accuracy? I've searched through some threads and found measurements for the strips. Just want to make sure and clarify that this is accurate before I cut em up. I don't have much spare ABS. 15mm Forearms Front and Back 15mm Bicepts Front and Back 20mm Thighs Front and Back 20mm Calves Front 25mm Calves Back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stukatrooper Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 looking at your body size the strip measurements will work great.I dont think these strip sizes are set in stone its more about how it looks on you,but you cant go wrong with the sizes you quoted.They are the ones i go with every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiyotei[TK] Posted March 24, 2009 Report Share Posted March 24, 2009 Nice job so far. AP is great armor. Once finished you will not notice all the little oops you make. After a couple of troops you will have enough marks on the armor that you no longer care about oops. Hey an oops is battle damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted May 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 I wish I could devote more time to my build and get this thing DONE. Everything's coming together though and any progress is good progress. My goal is to apply to the 501st on my birthday in June. That would be an awesome present to myself. Everything is ready to be glued. Started working on the anh finishing strips using the spare ABS that came with my kit. I didn't have enough for the inside and outside strips; was just able to get every outside strip cut out. I'll reinforce the inside with various scraps left over from trimming. Started gluing the bicep using E6000. I sanded and scored every place that was going to be glued. I scored the plastic with my utility knife in a verticle X pattern like the laces of a shoe. I decided to glue the bicep first because it's one of the least visible parts of the armor so if I made a bad mistake no one would really notice. I'm using magnets to keep pressure on the middle of the piece and spring clamps on the edges. The magnets are ceramic block magnets that I bought at the hardware store. Found out about the strong earth magnets a couple weeks after buying the ceramic block ones, but these seem to work fine. The charcoal, or whatever it is, on the magnets makes anything it touches dirty so I wrapped them in paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Finished gluing the biceps. Need to trim the top of the strips to make them flush and clean everything up a bit. I've started work on the forearms and I must say, they're very stubborn pieces of plastic and certainly don't line up easily. The forearms are probably going to be the most difficult to glue together. I've decided to glue and place a finishing strip on the top part and velcro hold the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxcombzxx Posted June 1, 2009 Report Share Posted June 1, 2009 PM sent Hey i was guna buy a ap kit wondering how much it costed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stukatrooper Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Hey i was guna buy a ap kit wondering how much it costed lots of trooper tokens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooperman Posted June 2, 2009 Report Share Posted June 2, 2009 Tim ,great job mate love seeing all the photos of your build,, building my AP at the mo ,stukatrooper is spot on, its a hard build ,things dont match up perfectly but with a little determanation and skill the armour looks like it just stepped of the Death Star Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 Hey i was guna buy a ap kit wondering how much it costed Sent ya a PM lots of trooper tokens Worth every one! Tim ,great job mate love seeing all the photos of your build,, building my AP at the mo ,stukatrooper is spot on, its a hard build ,things dont match up perfectly but with a little determanation and skill the armour looks like it just stepped of the Death Star It should look steller, at least I'm hopeful it will. It's a lot of hard work to build an AP kit. Been fun to do. Good luck with your build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted June 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've been working on the snaps this week and had bought a pair of snap pliers a while back. I messed around with the pliers for a day and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong, until I discovered that the pliers I had bought weren't compatible with the snaps. The plier's pole wasn't expanding the snaps inner metal enough to secure the snap. I couldn't find any tools to attach to the pliers to make it work. I guess every manufacturers' snap tool is different and only works for their snaps. I gave up with pliers and I went over to my local crafts store and discovered something I think is better; which I haven't seen many people use. Or maybe people have been using it and I haven't noticed. I'm using Dritz Heavy Duty snaps, which I bought for $5 I think. The pliers I bought cost $20. Don't remember the manufacturer of the pliers. Dritz has a Heavy Duty Snap Tool, which cost $3 and does the same job. It comes with a plastic anvil part and the metal post. You just have to have a hammer lying around to create the force that secures the snap. I say, save money (about $17) and buy this snap tool and use a hammer instead of the pliers. Works like a charm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-2126_MD[TK] Posted June 4, 2009 Report Share Posted June 4, 2009 Tim this rocks!!!! I am waiting for my AP lid to arrive, i am retireing my old FX. Thx for the pic and keep them coming!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTim Posted June 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 I looked at a ton of strapping setups by everyone and followed their lead. I curved and glued the shoulder straps to the chest piece and velcro attached the back of the strap to the back piece. I glued snaps to various parts of the armor and made snaps on the black elastic bands. The strapping setup is just about done for the torso. Still have to put in some plastic supports for the elastic bands on the inside of the bells; they're temporarily taped down right now. The biceps hang right to my elbow, which I think is about where they should be. Any lower and I won't be able to bend my arms. I don't believe I need to trim the bells anymore unless they look too long. My SR Props Blaster kit is in transit right now. Can't wait to get started on it. I suppose I'll create my own thread for it and document my progress. Everyone seems to like a build thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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