ANH TK Stunt - My first suit!

[Scout_Troop3R]

Good news!!
Despite triple checking previously I figured I'd give it one more go before messaging Dave, and low and behold I've found it.
Somehow it was in the place I'd checked previously and found nothing, funny how those things work isn't it?
That is such a relief, this is back on track to being done on time.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

With the way Dave packs his armor kits it's no surprise you overlooked these pieces.  Danged near each and every part is individually wrapped and taped with military precision, but some of the smaller parts are in small bundles and can get overlooked.

 

These should be the 3 pieces you found:

 

          Large ab button plate           Small ab button plate         Belt rivet covers

 

Note that the large ab button plate has a squared off edge around the bottom of the raised part that (although close) does not extend to the edge of the actual raised part of the ab plate itself as seen in the screen used armor close-ups below. 

 

The small ab button plate should also be trimmed pretty close to the 4 "buttons" and stay within the raised part.

 

Note that the corners are 90 degrees and not rounded off.  Rounded corners are fine to a degree and may look a little better, but if you have a bit of OCD (like me, lol) they should be sharp.

                             

                      

 

The covers for the belt rivets/snaps should have all of the raised part trimmed.  The edges should lay flat against the belt and also have squared off corners.

 

 

Hint:  When you are ready to start painting the ab buttons, do it BEFORE you glue them on to the ab plate.  They are much easier to handle. 

 

Phenomenal work so far, Tyler... keep it up!

 

 

 

 

[Scout_Troop3R]

7 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

With the way Dave packs his armor kits it's no surprise you overlooked these pieces.  Danged near each and every part is individually wrapped and taped with military precision, but some of the smaller parts are in small bundles and can get overlooked.

 

These should be the 3 pieces you found:

 

          Large ab button plate           Small ab button plate         Belt rivet covers

 

Note that the large ab button plate has a squared off edge around the bottom of the raised part that (although close) does not extend to the edge of the actual raised part of the ab plate itself as seen in the screen used armor close-ups below. 

 

The small ab button plate should also be trimmed pretty close to the 4 "buttons" and stay within the raised part.

 

Note that the corners are 90 degrees and not rounded off.  Rounded corners are fine to a degree and may look a little better, but if you have a bit of OCD (like me, lol) they should be sharp.

                             

                      

 

The covers for the belt rivets/snaps should have all of the raised part trimmed.  The edges should lay flat against the belt and also have squared off corners.

 

 

Hint:  When you are ready to start painting the ab buttons, do it BEFORE you glue them on to the ab plate.  They are much easier to handle. 

 

Phenomenal work so far, Tyler... keep it up!

 

 

 

 

Yeah the 4 button piece was buried in packing peanuts, and I realized my mistake with the center panel but it should be a straightforward fix. The belt rivet covers are still untouched so I'll get to those when doing the belt.
Today I'm getting started on fixing the center plate and left bicep, and painting if I have time.
Thanks 

Edited August 21, 2025 by Scout_Troop3R

[Scout_Troop3R]

I've done some more work over the past few days, put the trim back on the center plate and some panels back on the left bicep to make it the correct size.

 

 

 

Something I've noticed though is there's always a visible line (with the center console being the exception), but the rest of where the paste ends up matches the colour.
I was thinking there was something wrong with the paste but it seems like it's the application of it instead that results in it, regardless I'll have to redo the bicep panels probably but I did learn something from it.

 

Also started on the paint, did the first layer yesterday then cleaned it up to the correct shapes and I'm going to mask it around the circles and put on the second layer.

 

 

 

I've got a little bit of cleanup work to do on the center plate's edges as well.

Edited August 25, 2025 by Scout_Troop3R

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

ABS paste can discolour a little, depends on curing time (thinner is better) as well as any foreign pieces in the shaving, also you are sanding through a gloss plastic so it will dull. In the past I've mixed up some waterbased acrylic paint very similar to the armor color and dab on any areas where paste looks discoloured

[Scout_Troop3R]

31 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

ABS paste can discolour a little, depends on curing time (thinner is better) as well as any foreign pieces in the shaving, also you are sanding through a gloss plastic so it will dull. In the past I've mixed up some waterbased acrylic paint very similar to the armor color and dab on any areas where paste looks discoloured

I think it's just that I didn't apply enough directly in the crack and its affecting it somehow. I've fixed the gloss before just by sanding and polishing, just in that picture I put a little more on after because I wasn't happy with it, I'm probably just going to paint over it, sanding and polishing is exhausting.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You took the right road by using a minimal amount of the paste for the fills, Tyler.  As you have discovered, it can be be a pain to sand down!  For the ab button plate edges I would try using a popsicle (craft) stick with sandpaper wrapped around it to sand it down a bit and then try Glen's suggestion of just hitting the dark spots with white paint on a thin brush.  Nice job on adding the bottom plate!  

 

 

The fill on the bicep is looking really good as well!  You are 90% there is a lot of areas (green outline) so it's just a matter of keeping with the minimal amount of paste needed and the (ugh) sanding/polishing. 

 

 

All this extra work will be well worth the effort, I promise.

Side note:  The size and shape of the ab button paint is spot on!  

 

[Scout_Troop3R]

10 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

You took the right road by using a minimal amount of the paste for the fills, Tyler.  As you have discovered, it can be be a pain to sand down!  For the ab button plate edges I would try using a popsicle (craft) stick with sandpaper wrapped around it to sand it down a bit and then try Glen's suggestion of just hitting the dark spots with white paint on a thin brush.  Nice job on adding the bottom plate!  

 

 

The fill on the bicep is looking really good as well!  You are 90% there is a lot of areas (green outline) so it's just a matter of keeping with the minimal amount of paste needed and the (ugh) sanding/polishing. 

 

 

All this extra work will be well worth the effort, I promise.

Side note:  The size and shape of the ab button paint is spot on!  

 

 

Thanks! Yeah I noticed that as well, I've spent the last day doing touchups to those areas and I'm just about to continue working on them.

[Scout_Troop3R]

Yesterday I glued the strap connecting the right arm to the right bicep, I think it turned out very well today, it fits right and doesn't pinch.
I also redid the paste on the left bicep, and it turned out better this time, with only some slight discolouration but I'm still going to paint it white.

 

 

 

Today I put on another coat of paint for the buttons, I think one more should do it and then it'll be excellent.
I'm also going to start cleaning up the bicep and putting on the straps and parts to connect them to the shoulder bells.

Edited August 27, 2025 by Scout_Troop3R

[Scout_Troop3R]

Well I'm just about at the spot to be able to wear this thing properly, and just in time for comic con.
Got the thighs glued earlier and the thigh garter belt system done today, and started gluing the front of the shins.







I also hand sewed on the snaps connecting the shoulder bells to the shoulder straps, and put the biceps and the bells together by attaching it at the back and using a hook on the inside following ukswrath's build process, which was very cool!



All I have left to do now to get it ready for comic con is finish the shins and do the belt which I can get done tomorrow, after the show I can finish painting the rest of the rivets white and do touchups on the buttons. (Oh, and do the gun.)

Edited September 3, 2025 by Scout_Troop3R

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looks like you are in the home stretch, Tyler!  Super nice job on this build, and I hope you have a blast at comic con .  Once you get 501st approved, I hope to see your EI (and then Centurion) submission threads here!

 

While not a requirement for Basic approval, for Level 3 you will need to fill in the lower gaps on the thigh ridges. 

 

       

 

This is not that difficult and can be done with ABS paste, and it's even easier using Sugru (link here).  One tiny packet will do the fronts and backs.

 

Although not a requirement per se, you might want to consider bringing up the thigh ammo a bit if possible.  If you decide to do this, a dab of E-6000 will hold it in place, and it will help hide the ridge gap.

 

 

There were a few seen in the film(s) that were low, but for the most part they sat a little higher,

 

 

All your hard work is paying off, and be sure to post up a few pics from your debut appearance!  

 

 

 

[Scout_Troop3R]

21 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

Looks like you are in the home stretch, Tyler!  Super nice job on this build, and I hope you have a blast at comic con .  Once you get 501st approved, I hope to see your EI (and then Centurion) submission threads here!

 

While not a requirement for Basic approval, for Level 3 you will need to fill in the lower gaps on the thigh ridges. 

 

       

 

This is not that difficult and can be done with ABS paste, and it's even easier using Sugru (link here).  One tiny packet will do the fronts and backs.

 

Although not a requirement per se, you might want to consider bringing up the thigh ammo a bit if possible.  If you decide to do this, a dab of E-6000 will hold it in place, and it will help hide the ridge gap.

 

r

 

There were a few seen in the film(s) that were low, but for the most part they sat a little higher,

 

 

All your hard work is paying off, and be sure to post up a few pics from your debut appearance!  

 

 

 

Yeah after the show I'm definitely going to fix the thighs, and I definitely will be posting some photos and finishing the touchups to bring it to Centurion.
Thanks!

(P.S. Thanks for the like Tony! Your build thread for your AM 1.0 and tips and tricks have been super helpful to me over the last two months, I probably wouldn't have been able to get it done so fast without it.)

Edited September 5, 2025 by Scout_Troop3R

[Scout_Troop3R]

Alright I finished the belt, added the belt snaps to the abdomen, did a test fit of everything and made some mobility cuts in the legs.
I switched the elastic leg straps for some nylon ones so that they sit at the right height and mostly everything fits right, the only things I have to adjust is a little bit of trimming the return edge in the left shin, and maybe switching the elastic shoulder bell straps for nylon ones.

 

 

 

I'll put together an emergency kit and do another fit before I leave tomorrow just to make sure everything's right.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Note you want your drop boxes to align with the ends of the plastic belt

 

Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.

 

            

 

 

 

 

[Scout_Troop3R]

21 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Note you want your drop boxes to align with the ends of the plastic belt

 

Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.

 

            

 

 

 

 

Ah I see, I misread that and aligned it with the corner of the ending ammo pocket, at least it's an easy fix.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

 

I noticed that the rear cover strips on the calves could use some trimming.  No need to remove them, just a quick cut to where they end just below the upper ridge.  Another super easy fix, and with your build skills this should take you less than 5 minutes!  Your GML may or may not notice, and although this detail is not specifically mentioned in the CRLs it will be required if when you apply for higher levels.    

 

    

 

Not screen used, but this will give you a general idea on how they should look.

 

 

Looking forward to seeing your first complete suit-up!

[Scout_Troop3R]

Well aside from a few costume fails in the shoulders and shins, comic con went very well. I'm glad to be on the final steps and tomorrow I'm back to work on it.

Aside from repairs to the shoulder snaps and shortening the thigh straps the big thing is reshaping the shins to fit better, they're a bit flat at the front and rotate on my legs after walking, and putting some better velcro on at the back.

While I didn't get too many pictures I did get a few, so here they are.






(This last picture was just for a friend, I only noticed after that I'd left my shirt on! lol)

Overall comic con was very awesome, being a TK was great and I really appreciated the capital city garrison giving my shoulders a bit of a patch-up to make it through the day.
Can't wait to submit my approval pictures. (By the way, do you have to submit for Expert Infantry first before Centurion? I think it is that way but I'm just making sure)

Edited September 8, 2025 by Scout_Troop3R

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work.

 

Don't forget to add some white paint to those thigh ammo strip rivets.

 

Appears your belt came loose in the middle, second photo

 

How to stop shins rotating - I prefer using elastic so it has some give when stretching the legs