firebladejedi

I really should have used a real camera for this thread, but you get the idea.. And I think it is going to rain again in the minute, its getting dark. I think I just heard a rumble of thunder..

No real updates for today, but a few pictures of the arms and legs as they are at this moment in time. Rest days this coming week are Wed, Thurs and Fri so I am hoping to get quite a lot done then. You can start to see the different return on the various parts. Each piece has been trimmed differently. Also the cover strips are all different.

Tie a knot in the elastic, loop over shoulder bridge and elastic internal strapping. Job done.

Ok I am about two thirds through this build now and all arms are glued ready for strapping. Today I have been making my cover strips for the legs. Not much of an update but I thought I would share this tip for making the cover strips if you do not have a long enough steel rule. To follow this you need to be smart on which strips you make in what order. 1 choose which strip you are making and measure how long or wide you want it. 2 tape it to a good clean solid surface for cutting, I used the kitchen work top. Its taped to hold it in place while cutting. 3 add another unused strip next to it so that your straight edge will be the same height for cutting. 4 use another long cover strip as your straight edge. 5 lightly run your sharp knife along the edge to make your cut. Let the knife do the work and run this over very gently and repeat until you have cut through. If you try to make your cut on the first run the knife may dig in and take a line you did not want it to. 6 repeat as needed - save the shorter cover strips until last and you may be able to use that steel ruler you have that was not quite long enough for the other parts. That's all of them now ready to be glued on. But I have run out of time for today, as I start work again at 5PM. I'm off to have some lunch. I'm having steak today, mmmmm steak.....

Ok we have time for one last picture today, a sneaky peak at the completed right arm sans strapping. I shall leave you with this while I have a snooze before tennis. I'm playing against a girl from the office, then straight off after that for another ninja class.. until next time you've been watching FBJ building his new TK from TM. TTFN.

Right forearm 90 per cent complete. I will deal with the wrist return edge tomorrow. I'm going to leave gluing the other for tomorrow as I need a rest. Prob getting high from all that glue sniffing.

This thread is useless with out pictures.. Sorry about the upside-down pictures, I am rotating them in photobucket, but as usual its rubbish..

All 4 cover strips are on. Its taken me about an hour to do all of them. Take your time. Be as pernickety as you like. Use micro precision, be sloppy if you like but remember to be yourself. Do it your way. This Stelmax only takes a few minutes to go off, just hold your parts together for a few second's and then you can put them to one side. Get everything you need to use close by and ready first. This stuff actually dries to be quite pliable, your nozzle will get clogged up and you can use a cocktail stick or nail or other similar tool to scoop it out when its dry. Ok I am going to stop for some lunch and then look at some more gluing goodness. Make sure you keep your windows open, no not on your laptop, the windows in your house as this stuff pongs - im starting to feel little light headed here at fbj towers...

Ok lets get gluing. When you are happy with everything, make sure your parts are clean and dust free. I gave my bits a quick wash. If you are worried about the glue splodging you can run some tape along the side of where your strip is going. This can also double up as a guide marker. It is kinda obvious where your strip needs to be as I is covering the join but its your build, do whatever it takes. Some use magnets, some clamps, some tape to hold it in place while drying. I use whatever I have to hand. This is fast stuff so will not take too long to go off. Here's a quick pic of the first strip going on. My iPhone battery needs a charge as I forgot to put it on overnight, so maybe not so many pictures this avo. Also I need to be on top of this Stelmax.. Many people myself included like to add a strip to the inside of the arms and legs too. It neatens things up, looks better maybe, but is not needed and is not accurate. You must do as you think it right, of course.. I'm not going to use them on this build.

And the cover strips themselves. I got 8 pieces of plastic about 2 feet long and just over an inch wide to use for the cover strips, this will be fine if you take the top armour makers advice..

A quick look at the glue I'm using, Stelmax. Its serious glue for serious builders. Its white, powerful and will warp your armour - be warned.. Just to show you I checked out a small piece of scrap abs from a previous armour build. I use the nozzle cut at a sharp angle and put quite a lot on this piece, you will not need this much. When the two halves go together it splodges out of the side just like the real thing.

While I am getting ready to glue its time to start thinking about the cover strips themselves. Ok so there are 3 ways of trimming these - straight cut, rounded or cut to fit and at 45' corner cut. I've built suits using all of these ways - which way do you prefer and why?

One of the defining details for any ANH trooper armour build is the use of the cover strips on the arms and legs. The use of these is down to the way the original armour was designed, sculpted and made; and is still the way any fan made armour is produced - having 2 parts to the armour parts made seperately and glued together. One way to overcome the unsightly seem left by the way the armour was assembled was to add a cover strip over the top and bingo - straight away the seem is gone. It also adds a certain depth and look to the armour. So the correct method for arm and leg assembly is to have the two halfs of the armour butt together flush - and then glue the strip on top. So onto the size of the cover strip needed. The industry standard for the arms if you are trying to get your armour as close to the screen used examples is a strip 13mm wide. This info is from troopermaster after looking at real screen used suit in person, so thanks to him for sharing. Its not known if all the suits were the same, but its highly likely. Now the size of 13mm is applied to the forearms and biceps, front and back. Replica armour before cover strip in place Replica armour with 15mm strips Screen shot LFL reference pic

Day Nine Ok so I have had my Weetabix and coffee and its straight on with the forearms. You've seen how I trim plastic so I'm not going to show that again, plus I've already done it ready for final fit and glue. Time for a pop quiz.. Who can tell me what these are for? If you answered; A coffee stirrers - you have spent too much time with Gary H B glue sticks - you have spent too much time with Pete B or Billy H C I don't know - you have not spent enough time with any of the above!!

I've trimmed and taped back together both biceps. I may neaten them so they sit flush, but then again original armour was not perfect so may not. That will be for another day. I am out of time for today, I need to get some lunch and then do some housework before class. That mean tomorrow I can get on with the forearms and then on to glue.. Its starting to come together now.

This archive armour photo for the left bicep shows more of a return, so I have left mine as they were from when I first trimmed off the excess. Both biceps are now reading to be trimmed to fit. I was going to go to the gym first before fitting too get my arms pumped up, but who m I trying to kid? I never make it to the gym for a work out. Oh well, I have 2 ninja classes this eve, one without weapons and one with. Will that be enough?

Inner R bicep and outer R.

Here is the inner R bicep after trimming. I have almost completely taken away the return, its still just there due to the way the TM has been designed and built. If you think I am mad taking off all of that lovingly sculpted edge you may well be right - but I am doing things in a very specific way that will become apparent later on, more about that soon. I am not trying to copy exactly the original armour, more using the archive pictures as a guide.

Ok so I am copying original armour here, looking at this right arm, there is almost no return at all on the bicep. I'm going with this look. If you're armour came with L & R written in pen on the inside to help you better understand what's what, its screen accurate.. I will most likely replicate the hook on the inside to help support my arms. The little hook slips under the elastic in the inside of your biceps, simple but effective..

When you're happy, dry test fit again and see if they are a good fit. Trim again if needed. I have mine tapped up here to see how they fit together. They are not totally flush so I will take off a little more where needed to get them to sit better. I'm not gluing today and will tidy up the return edge after I have them attached. I'm going to move onto the arms.

Day Eight Ok so lets crack on with this build. I'm not a thin guy so my thighs although not massive don't need to be taken down by much. I've trimmed the fronts and now onto the rear. I am tapering these in towards the back of the knee, leaving pretty much all on at the top. I used tape to mark my lines after dry test fitting. Take off a little at a time as you can always remove more, once its gone its gone.. When measuring see how much you need to remove and take half from each side, clean up with sand paper, your sanding block or rasp as you wish. Repeat on the other leg.

I used to have a very thin flexible metal rule to use to mark straight lines on the longer limb pieces, but yes you guessed it, I cannot find it. Never mind. You can use a strip of masking tape to mark out your straight line and where to cut. Use a pencil to mark the edge so you can see it easier. Then a quick go over with the scissors and there you go. Use your sanding block or rasp for a quick clean up You may need to clean up a little for a perfect fit, but the original armour was anything but perfect. Build your armour the way you want to.. most people will consider this build as prop replication, and I suppose they are correct. Now on to the next thigh. Again I am going to sort out the front first and then look at the rear later.

One of the defining details for any ANH trooper armour build is the use of the cover strips on the arms and legs. The use of these is down to the way the original armour was designed, sculpted and made; and is still the way any fan made armour is produced - having 2 parts to the armour parts made seperately and glued together. One way to overcome the unsightly seem left by the way the armour was assembled was to add a cover strip over the top and bingo - straight away the seem is gone. It also adds a certain depth and look to the armour. So the correct method for arm and leg assembly is to have the two halfs of the armour butt together flush - and then glue the strip on top. So onto the size of the cover strip needed. The industry standard for the thighs if you are trying to get your armour as close to the screen used examples is a strip 23mm wide.This info is from troopermaster after looking at real screen used suit in person, so thanks to him for sharing. Its not known if all the suits were the same, but its highly likely. Now the size of 23mm is applied to the thighs, front and back. Replica armour before strips Replica armour with 20mm strips LFL reference pic

Day Seven Ok so I don't start work today until 5 PM, so I have all day to play with plastic, but I will finish work at 02:15 AM, I know not nice.. when people aske me what I do for a living; I tell them I work in an office and deal with national security and counter terrorism - sounds exciting, but really it is dull, repetitive and really anti-social with the hours that I work. Enough of that, nobody cares about what I do, they want to see my armour getting built! So I am going to trim the thighs ready for gluing next week. Now take a look here. This kit has some mismatched parts, and you will have to decide whether to match the tops or bottoms, front or back. When they have been trimmed they will match up a little better. Now remember everybody to make your armour fit you.. it needs to look organic, like it grew on you overnight. You do not want to turn up to the world premier of John Williams Star Wars In Concert at the O2 Arena in London with baggy ill fitting armour. Trim to fit, say it with me, trim to fit. So here are the thigh pieces after initial removal of excess flashing. I am going to taper these nice and snug at the knee.