New Trooper under construction

[TK5707[501st]]

Ah, a dashing pirate becomes a shiny stormtrooper! I love it! You are obviously a very talented costumer!

[Sparrow]

Thanks Guys, I try my best!

 

Been busy these last few days working on the helmet. I ended up doing the same thing to the helmet that I did to the back armor. I lined the inside with black Velcro to help maintain the illusion that it is more than a plastic helmet. So I lined the front with the soft side and the back of the helmet with the hook side. Using Velcro instead of painting it also served another huge function. I could place my helmet electronics anywhere I wanted and I can move them around as I tweek it. It came out nicely.

 

 

For electronics I went with two 501rst creations helmet fans. I like these as they come with a battery pack for 3 AAA batteries. You could also connect a 9v to it as well. The advantage of the 3 AAA pack is it uses less juice, hence a little quieter, but still has nice air output.

 

Got the full sound kit from Jim, TK 6294. Icom, Aker Voice amp and Memorex wirless mic. I like having the headset mounted in the helmet as opposed to wearing it, but having some issues with the wireless. The signal seems to have a hard time with all the plastic, so one needs to extend the antenna somehow. I have to play with it to get it to work better. Jim is working with Akers to see about getting a wireless built right into the amp. He said if this works it is 6 months away. That would be fantastic.

 

 

I could not see anything through the eyes that came with my helmet so I upgrade my Hero eyes to those made by John, TK 8456 offered on this site. They look great on the outside and I can actually see through them. Still a bit of a distortion as there has to be a bubble, but way better than what I had.

 

[Sparrow]

So as the build comes to an end, I turn from building to fine tuning the armor. One of the things I did was to fill in all the seams along the outside shims. Sometimes you get little gaps, etc when gluing shims onto the armor, and at times can look like it was just glued on.

So I took it to the next level. I wanted it to look like the shims were molded onto the armor. It is not ``screen accurate`` but still within allowable guidelines. Once again, I am not going for the 1976 look but rather that of a galaxy far far away. Below are some examples, the most noticeable example is on the chest armor straps.

 

 

All I used to accomplish this was Elmers Wood Fill and regular household glue. The Wood fill is white and the exact shade as my armor. And the glue goes on white, but dries clear. All of this, just like E6000, can be ripped out fairly easy.

 

 

So what I did was I took the wood fill and ran a bead of it along the seam between the shim and the armor it is glued onto. The wood fill comes out thick, so it is very controllable and pliable. I would just run my finger along the seam and smooth it out, then wipe off any access. If you need to smooth it out further, it dries fast so within 5 minutes you can use your finger like sandpaper, or within half hour you can sand it. Then the next day I would just run a light bead of regular white glue over top to seal it in. It dried clear so is not noticeable.

 

So far it has proven well. All the joints are non flexing, so it should handle wear and tear. The only joint that does takes wear and tear is the shoulder straps. So I applied six coats of glue, which should hold it together nicely and give it the needed flexibility. I also put on a tape mask on base of the shoulder straps so when I am gluing, and then remove the tape, I get a very nice square look of the joint connecting the strap to the armor.

[Sparrow]

I decided I am going to remove the velcro lining from my helmet. It just doesn't breath that well, and gets warmer as the airflow is not the best. I’m not comfortable with painting the inside so I think instead I might use wide black electrical tape or black duct tape. It installs easily and is flexible enough for going around the curves. It will also allow for nice air flow. And if need be can be removed easily. Any thoughts, suggestions?

Edited February 11, 2012 by Sparrow

[Sparrow]

Finally, my helmet is done! I ripped out the Velcro I had in there and lined the inside with black duct tape. It went in very nicely and still provides a nice smooth surface to allow the best airflow.

 

The other thing I ripped out was the hard hat liner. I couldn’t wear it. It hurt and gave me a headache every time I tried it on. I tried all sorts of ways to get it to work, finally I just ripped it out and put in the foam flower. It was paradise! It felt so comfortable. I then made some chin straps to hold the helmet in place. I am going to replace the heavy duty snaps with some lighter duty snaps, so it unsnaps easier!

 

Flower and chin strap, very simple, but does the job perfectly!

 

 

My Hero eyes I got from John Danter, TK8456. They are amazing. They have a good hero bubble, but I can see through them perfectly. Plus it is hard to see into them from the outside. At an angle, with a flash, you can’t see anything. Even straight on you can barely make out my eye.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Sparrow

[Sparrow]

So I have been working on one of the non tangibles for my trooper. That being, who is he? What separates him from all the rest? I have been costuming for years and I always portray a character, a role that I get into. It is more enjoyable for me, as well as those I interact with, being a character as opposed to some guy in a costume. Vader is easy to portray, as is Captain Jack. But a TK? How do I separate myself from the rest of you?

 

So what do I want him to be? Well, my handle is Sparrow, so he will be the TK version of Jack Sparrow. As Jack always referred to himself as a Captain, so will I be. Now knowing I am a Captain and that Jack is always getting in scuffles, my armor will tell that story as well. So I have been doing some moderate weathering. Basically he has been in this armour for a few years, so time (and fine sandpaper) has removed some of the polish and shine. Plus lots of scuffles and battles have added scratches and carbon scoring (newsprint, ty Sukatrooper for the tip). From across the room he still looks like a shiny whitey, but up close you can tell he has been knocked around the block a few times. Plus the Hero armour is very suitable for him as well.

 

But what is some of TK Sparrow`s history? It is a little known fact that he was one the key troopers involved in the capture of the rebel ship which led to the capture of the princess. He was also on the Death Star, but was off shift in the mess hall celebrating his victory, and getting sloshed. He was however sober enough to follow the oldest and noblest of traditions, to fight in order to run away. He did just that, and saved the lives of 1,000 of his fellow troopers, possibly some of you before things went BOOM!

[bluehickey]

I think all of that velcro on the inside of your armor is going to make you very hot when trooping.

[Sparrow]

It was, very much so. So I have since removed it and lined the inside with duct tape. Painting the interior will be a future mod

[Locitus[Admin]]

Looks like you're doing good on your build mate!

 

However, I think you need to trim the sniper knee some more. You have way too much excess plastic on the side here

 

I couldn't find a better picture, but on the originals it really wasn't that much although it's hard to see in this picture.

 

[Sparrow]

Thanks Mathias for the heads up! I completely missed that. I am finishing up some weathering on my helmet today then this weeked will take some pics for my 501rst application. After that I have some mods to do before I take my EIB pics.

 

1. Trim the knee plate

2. Trim the bottom of the chest armor to give it a better ANH look

3. Take in the sleeves and armpit on my bodysuit as it is to baggy

4. Possbile even replace the ears for the Hero ears

Edited February 17, 2012 by Sparrow

[Locitus[Admin]]

Looking forward to seeing your EIB application.

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Here is another shot, it's not a close up but you can see some the knee detail. Ignore the troopers missing their drop boxes.

Edited February 17, 2012 by SCTrooper

[Sparrow]

Thank You!

[Sparrow]

Thanks!

Edited February 19, 2012 by Sparrow

[Sparrow]

So I have finished weathering the suit, helmet is still pending. It is a mild weathering, just to look like it has seen a few years of use. This was all simply fine sandpaper to remove most of the shine, then mostly newsprint and some shoe polish on the boots. I’m pretty happy with it. From across the room, still a shiny whitey, but up close, you can see the wear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sparrow]

Trimmed up my knee plate. I had to much extra on there and didn’t even notice until it was pointed out, thanks Mathias!

 

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

Currently working on my Hero helmet. I took it completely apart to sand it down a bit, and figured since I had the ears off, I might as well put on the proper Hero ears, as it came with stunt ears. Thankfully there are some really good threads here walking me through how to trim those puppies. Let the games begin!

 

 

Edited February 19, 2012 by Sparrow

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Nice!

[Locitus[Admin]]

Much better. Good work!

[Sparrow]

The Hero ears are now installed. Now to weather it all.

 

 

[darksideemt]

First, great build!

Second, I must say I love your story and attitude with whole Jack thing.

Keep up the great work.

[Sparrow]

Thanks! It has been a lot of work, but a lot of fun. However I will be glad when it is done and I can start troopin!

 

My wife will also be glad. She'll get to see me again This will be my only build for a few years. Maybe later when I am itching for a change, he might evolve into a commander. He might look good in blue...

[bobojuice]

What'd you use for the weathering, it looks great!

 

I had a real bear of a time weathering the TK boots. They just don't take scuffs that well. (i guess that would be a good thing?)

 

I used some newspapers, but it does rub off eventually and I need to redo some spots since it's looking too clean. (my gf's too.)

[Sparrow]

I sanded down the armor to remove the shine somewhat then rubbed it down with newspaper. Emphasising areas I wanted emphasized.

 

As for the boots, I scuffed them up with sandpaper then carefully and lightly applied black shoe polish to mark it up until I got the look I wanted. I also stepped on my feet to add some rubber marks. If I had some marks that came out to dark, just take some sandpaper to lighten them up. The key thing is to scuff them up with sandpaper so the polish looks more like wear, than black grease. These marks are not going anywhere!

[Cardiac[TK]]

weathering looks really good, might do some carbon-scarring to my armor

[Sparrow]

Initially I was going to keep mine shiney and white. I even bought the polish to get it to do so. But then I decided I wanted my TK to have a character, which then gave him a captain rank, which then insinuates he has seen years of action, and the armour should reflect that usage. As soon as I saw my weathered chest plate, I was in love and there was no going back! However I still want him to look like a shiney whitey from across the room, so I was carefull not to overdo it.