Dimis ANH TK Build (RS)

[Dimiwil]

Hi all, 

 

a few weeks ago, one of my biggest dreams came true, when two big brown boxes from RS Propmasters were delivered to my house. 

 

 

In the last two days, i started to build on the armor, but i have so many questions that i'm writing this build log now. 

 

Helmet

 

First i started to make a few changes on the helmet: 
- shorten the screws

- remove chin strap (i want to use helmet pads for more comfort)

- fill the interior with 2mm black foam (not finished yet)

 

    
 

 

 

[Dimiwil]

Biceps and Forearms

 

But now comes the hard part. I also started with the Biceps and Forearms. I taped the parst together, because i'm scared of making a wrong cut. This is the actual fit: 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the cross-section. Where exactly should i cut the forearms? On the green, blue or red line? 
Should the section  marked in yellow be retained?

Edited November 16, 2022 by Dimiwil

[Sithping[TK]]

Hello Dimitri, congratulations on receiving your armour kit! 

Looks like your off to a good start and doing the right thing with asking questions here first before cutting. 

I recently built my own RS kit and between the wealth of knowledge here at FISD and the tutorials RS share on their YouTube channel, you'll be well on your way to becoming an Imperial Stormtrooper. 

Good luck! 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

19 hours ago, Dimiwil said:

Biceps and Forearms

 

But now comes the hard part. I also started with the Biceps and Forearms. I taped the parst together, because i'm scared of making a wrong cut. This is the actual fit: 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of the cross-section. Where exactly should i cut the forearms? On the green, blue or red line? 
Should the section  marked in yellow be retained?

 

Hi Dimitri ,

 

As a ruler of thumb, the biceps and forearms cover strips size is around 1,5 cms.  You should leave 0.75 cms of the ridge (red line) and if there's no ridge in the opposite side you should cut  symmetrically and make the adjustment with the other half (the inner one you have) . 

 

Bellow you can see some reference images and you can take a look to the Gallery Section HERE 

 

 

 

 

 

References of the original RS suit 

 

 

      

 

 

    

 

 

Hope this can help  and before any cut , if you have any doubt please reach us 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dimiwil]

I have trimmed all pieces during holidays and the next step is adding the cover strips. 

Should I post some pictures before i clue on the strips, for better adjusting, or is it better to do the cover strips first, to see the end result and perhaps remove the strips for adjusting?

 

By the way, do I need return edges on the arm and leg pieces? I have removed all return edges on the forearms, biceps and shoulder pieces. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

4 hours ago, Dimiwil said:

I have trimmed all pieces during holidays and the next step is adding the cover strips. 

Should I post some pictures before i clue on the strips, for better adjusting, or is it better to do the cover strips first, to see the end result and perhaps remove the strips for adjusting?

 

By the way, do I need return edges on the arm and leg pieces? I have removed all return edges on the forearms, biceps and shoulder pieces. 

 

 

Please, post photos before gluing them.  Most of us use Imgur as photo host and then insert the link to the post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Definitely photos, you'd rather see an issue now before you proceed  

[Dimiwil]

Here are some pictures after the edge cleaning:

 

  

 

  

 

 

On the last picture, I mixed up right and left. So don't blame me

 

I'm pretty happy about the fitting: 



And here are the final pictures of the right arm pieces:

 

  

 

 

And of course the left arm: 

 

  

 

 

On the last picture, the forearm slid up a bit. 

 

That's what I did today. The legs will come tomorrow, but I still have to remove the return edges.

 

I'm looking forward to your feedback.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good so far, nice work with that straight trimming.

 

You can also trim off any overhanging cover strips (when you get to those) screen suits had a mix of straight and angled coverstrips. Also nip off the corners of the coverstrips so they don't catch on anything.

 

 

If you need any other references check here

 

[Dimiwil]

Hi, 

i have trimmed the leg pieces in the past few days. It was no so easy as the arm pieces. 

The lower legs doesn't fit quite well. I hope this will be better after glueing them together.

Here is the fit without tension: 

 

With a little bit tension it can be moved to the correct position. I hope, the tension of the strapping is strong enough.

I used some tape on the next picture:

 

And now comes the first fit of the leg pieces: 

  

  

The corners on top have to be trimmed and I have the feeling, that the shins are too long. 
Maybe I should first finish the shoes before the next fitting. 

Thank you for the good feedback. 

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Dimiwil said:

The lower legs doesn't fit quite well. I hope this will be better after glueing them together

 

One tip for this issue is to give a hot water bath (boiling water )  to the pieces in order to reduce the tension and fit better. 

 

 

[Morgi[Staff]]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Dimiwil:

The lower legs doesn't fit quite well. I hope this will be better after glueing them together.

Here is the fit without tension: 

 

With a little bit tension it can be moved to the correct position. I hope, the tension of the strapping is strong enough.

 

I've had the same problem with my RS build. Strapping didn't have enough tension to hold them in position for me, so I ended up putting a strip of ABS into the top ridge, therefore forcing both sides to align. Although the hot water bath that Mario mentioned is a more convenient solution 

 

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Dimiwil:

The corners on top have to be trimmed and I have the feeling, that the shins are too long. 
Maybe I should first finish the shoes before the next fitting. 

 

I'd definitely try them on with the shoes. If you need to remove some material you can easily take some from the bottom. Therefore you could easily wait until you've finalized your thigh-strapping and fitted everything with shoes. Oftentimes you need less knee space than predicted. I personally have about as much space as you have right now and I can kneel, sit and lie down in armor. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You'd be amazed with what you can do with some clamps and tape, try to also scuff areas which glue will be applied too, helps it adhere. I use some force, clamp then wrap tape around so it stays in place. For anything under any strain I leave the glue cure a little longer 48 - 72 hours before removing the clamps, magnets and tape.

[Sithping[TK]]

7 hours ago, Dimiwil said:

Hi, 

i have trimmed the leg pieces in the past few days. It was no so easy as the arm pieces. 

The lower legs doesn't fit quite well. I hope this will be better after glueing them together.

Here is the fit without tension: 

 

With a little bit tension it can be moved to the correct position. I hope, the tension of the strapping is strong enough.

I used some tape on the next picture:

 

And now comes the first fit of the leg pieces: 

  

  

The corners on top have to be trimmed and I have the feeling, that the shins are too long. 
Maybe I should first finish the shoes before the next fitting. 

Thank you for the good feedback. 

 

 

Looking good Trooper! With regards to the calfs rear closure, I found a velcro closure the length of the cover strip is sufficient to align and hold its position. 

Alternatively Mario and Luca's options are equally ideal suggestions. 

Have you had any thoughts on the choice of closure? There is a couple of other methods such as the traditional hook & loop with elastic and the other I've seen is a magnetic closure. 

Keep up the good work. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 hours ago, Dimiwil said:

Maybe I should first finish the shoes before the next fitting. 

Definitely, boots can make a huge difference and they do take up quite a lot of room in the base of the shins, don't trim without trying on the boots.

[Dimiwil]

I have a short question about better mobility on the thighs. 
Should I cut the top back of the thighs down, so it can't poke me during walking? 

 

  

 

Looking through the reference pictures, there are a lot of troopers with the cutline like the green one on the picture above. 

But some have a deeper cut like the black line. 
 

My preference would be a cut near the black line. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Dimiwil said:

I have a short question about better mobility on the thighs. 
Should I cut the top back of the thighs down, so it can't poke me during walking? 

 

  

 

Looking through the reference pictures, there are a lot of troopers with the cutline like the green one on the picture above. 

But some have a deeper cut like the black line. 
 

My preference would be a cut near the black line. 

 

Hi Dimitri, according to the references, you can do the cut.  keep it up. 

 

 

 

 

[Dimiwil]

Here comes the leg updates:

I have attached the cover strips on all leg parts. I think about to add cover strips on inside too, because i don't trust the glue.

 

Thighs:

 

    

 

Shins:

 

    

 

In the next days I will try the hot water bath because the back doesn't fit at all: 

 

 

 

[Dimiwil]

Ok. Let's talk about return edges. 

I have removed all return edges on the leg and arm parts, including the shoulders. But what about the torso? 
On the chest armor, the edges on the armholes and neckline are trimmed to 2-3mm.

 

 

The edges on which the straps are attached are a little bit bigger for the screws: 

 

 

But what about the edges on the abdomen armor? 

On top I need bigger edges for the strapping, but on bottom? According to the reference pictures, there is only a small edge and I think, I can trim it almost completely to remove cutting into my legs when moving. 

But the sides are completely different: 

Left side: 

 

right side:

 

 

As you can see, the top left corner has an edge which points upwards. The right one doesn't.  Is this correct? 

[Chemi[Staff]]

Hi Dimitri...You can trim the top left corner a little, don't worry.

 

Try to keep all internal areas that may be in contact with your body as rounded as possible.  Believe me, armor bites are not fun.

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

One tip is to add some strips of ABS plastic to your brackets and screws, this gives a little more strength as the pressure on the bolts can split the armor.

 

Some even have the brackets for accuracy but don't add elastic to them and have snaps and elastic behind.

[ABS80]

On 1/13/2023 at 10:35 AM, Dimiwil said:

Hi, 

i have trimmed the leg pieces in the past few days. It was no so easy as the arm pieces. 

The lower legs doesn't fit quite well. I hope this will be better after glueing them together.

Here is the fit without tension: 

 

With a little bit tension it can be moved to the correct position. I hope, the tension of the strapping is strong enough.

I used some tape on the next picture:

 

And now comes the first fit of the leg pieces: 

  

  

The corners on top have to be trimmed and I have the feeling, that the shins are too long. 
Maybe I should first finish the shoes before the next fitting. 

Thank you for the good feedback. 

 

 

Maybe its just the photos, but does RS uses the same inner Left shin part for the outer right or by mistake they sent you 2 same parts? I had the assumption their full suit was 100% casted from original with all proper parts, unless I missed something.

Edited January 24, 2023 by ABS80

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

20 minutes ago, ABS80 said:

Maybe its just the photos, but does RS uses the same inner Left shin part for the outer right or by mistake they sent you 2 same parts? I had the assumption their full suit was 100% casted from original with all proper parts, unless I missed something.

Not sure if they still are or not as I've not seen recent images but they used to be the same, from memory I think I read when they went to cast the molds one shin was missing.

 

"Both calves are the same, i.e. once finished they will be identical. both left sides match as do both right sides."

 

"The problem with the RS shins is the original it was cast from had two identical shins made up from 2 outer left halves and 2 outer right halves. These two parts were never meant to match up because they were supposed to match up to inner halves (not present on their original). People go out of their way trying to make them into something they are not meant to be. That said, they can be reshaped using the hot water bath method."

 

[ABS80]

17 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Not sure if they still are or not as I've not seen recent images but they used to be the same, from memory I think I read when they went to cast the molds one shin was missing.

 

"Both calves are the same, i.e. once finished they will be identical. both left sides match as do both right sides."

 

"The problem with the RS shins is the original it was cast from had two identical shins made up from 2 outer left halves and 2 outer right halves. These two parts were never meant to match up because they were supposed to match up to inner halves (not present on their original). People go out of their way trying to make them into something they are not meant to be. That said, they can be reshaped using the hot water bath method."

 

Oh I see thanks for the clarification, now that you mention I can actually see both left and right shin are identical,  basically the RS suit is made of two Right shins?

Edited January 25, 2023 by ABS80

[Dimiwil]

They explain it in their video, that most of the original stormtrooper have 2 right arms or 2 left arms or legs. They use 2 right shins in their build.