Another AM armor build[*AM]

[silverBoyd[501st]]

Ordered my AM armor kit from TupperwareTK finally. I've been saving for this for over a year now. I'm planning on joining up with the Carolina Garrison and become a Sandtrooper. Once I've put this armor together I'll be ready to troop I think. I have just about everything else built / ordered to become a Sandtrooper. Enough with that though....here's the AM kit in all it's glory.

The kit comes with all the basic Stormtrooper parts as well as a few cool extras like: ESB hand armor, ANH hand armor, ANH Sandtrooper Cheesegrater hand armor, TD Sniper plate (my kit came with 2 of these...maybe in case one gets broken?). Check it out...

Took me 20 minutes to unwrap it all. It was all very well packaged and shipped.

 

Makes me nervous to start for some reason.

 

The kit also came along with assembly instructions between those and the tons of builds on various forums I'm sure I'll be able to get it down. I built a TD backpack, an E11 blaster and a T21 - Lewis blaster from scratch - as well as fully assembled an MTK helmet kit. I'm sure I can get the armor assembled properly. Fingers crossed.

 

I'm thinking of starting with my biceps and forearms. I read on FISD that people reccomended getting rid of all return edges on these pieces to help with "armor bite". Will that be ok to do? Also...it seems my forearm armor is a little long. Has anyone else had to take out an inch or so in the length?

 

I really wish I lived closer to fellow troopers

Edited April 10, 2012 by silverBoyd

[Griffin-X[TK]]

Box party!

[NastyNoah[TK]]

To be screen accurate you want to remove the return on the forearms. I will be watching this build.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Woo, exciting, and perfectly normal to be nervous to start!

[silverBoyd[501st]]

What have most of you done...overlapping seams or butt-joint w/ seperate cover strips? I like the idea of overlapping the seams but as I hold some of the pieces together it seems that trimming them up and using the butt-joint method seems like it could be more work but the better choice in the long-run. Are the butt joints pretty strong? Also...I know i can use the provided extra sheets of ABS to make the outer joint seam covers, but what do I use for the inside shims? Sould i use some like "FOR SALE" sign cut into strips (only for the inside) since the extra provided strips are probably only enough to cover the outside seams? I'm so ready to start but I'm almost having anxiety about having to cut the armor pieces. Sorry for being too wordy in my questions...hope it makes sense.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Butt join. Gives you so much more room to maneuver and make cut errors... and still be able to cover it up. And looks better, IMHO.

 

I had more than enough extra ABS strips for inner and outer shims (although I did not put inner in the biceps), but yes a lot of guys use the for sale sign method on the inside. The key is to have something to hold it together, if you need it, but nobody sees the inside, right?

 

Look at the second page of my build thread about your anxiety (link is in my signature)... lol... very normal! I recommend starting with practice cuts on a sheet like the one your hand plates or O2 end caps come on, then cut those pieces (because you can replace them fairly easily), and by then you'll have the method down.

[silverBoyd[501st]]

i think i'm going to do the butt-joint method. I started to trim off the return edges on all sides of the biceps and forearms. Think it's more screen accurate and may help with armor bite. Picking up some Lexan Scissors today at lunch to help me make better cuts.

 

One question....on the AM armor, should I completely cut off the formed overlaps that are in the molds or should i just cut them down to be part of the butt joint? Make sense?

[DarkTrooper[TK]]

i think i'm going to do the butt-joint method. I started to trim off the return edges on all sides of the biceps and forearms. Think it's more screen accurate and may help with armor bite. Picking up some Lexan Scissors today at lunch to help me make better cuts.

 

One question....on the AM armor, should I completely cut off the formed overlaps that are in the molds or should i just cut them down to be part of the butt joint? Make sense?

 

It depends on if you can spare the material. I say go for it if the armor will still fit you if you remove some material. In my case I need to remove extra areas because I'm a smaller trooper.

[silverBoyd[501st]]

Finally took the plunge. After spending 3 hours reading different AM armor builds I decided to cut off 75% of the overlapping seam cover that's molded into the armor and use the butt-joint method. After also trimming off the return edges it gave me much more room and I think it's more screen accurate. I have bigger biceps than I realized. I have the inner shim (made up from the pieces I cut off) taped inside and I have the rest of it taped together. Maybe I was lucky but I think I got the right size on the first go. I can "flex" my arm comfortably and i still feel like it's not too tight and not too loose. Now to just take the tape off and glue down the shims. This has now boosted my confidence level for cutting into the pieces. So pleased that I decided to go for the butt-join seam. I am inspired to do more now but I'll wait to glue anything until I hear from a few people. What you think? Look ok? Sorry for some dark pictures on some of them.

Marked the overlapping seem to leave me 8mm still attached after cutting off the remainder

Same as the other side...you can see the other side in this shot too

Re-used the pieces I cut off for the inner seam shims. Waste not want not, right?

Edited April 12, 2012 by silverBoyd

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Yep that looks right to me, and you put the cover strip over it and voila!

[silverBoyd[501st]]

I now have both biceps completed and the last two outer cover strips are finishing up curing. I feel good after getting these pieces of armor completed. I was going to start the forearms but I think I will wait until I get the gloves/hanplates to make sure that the forearm openings are large enough to slide my hands through while wearing the gloves. So up next...I think I'll be starting on the shins since I can test the fitting of them while wearing my TK Boots.

[Evilboy[501st]]

I just got the same kit in black last week, and i will be watching, as i am a nervous noob...

[silverBoyd[501st]]

Jonathan - after completing the biceps I felt much more confident in cutting the pieces. Start with those pieces first...they will help you feel comfortable with cutting and trimming if you're planning on doing the butt join / cover strip method. I'm about to start on my shins in a few minutes. Since they are a longer piece (like the thighs) I know they will take longer than the biceps did. I plan on gluing the front shins shut and leaving the back of them to be sealed with velcro as I don't think my size 13 TK Boot will be able to slide through a fully closed shin. I'll post pics later if I have any progress with them.

[silverBoyd[501st]]

[silverBoyd[501st]]

Before I trim or cut anything on the shins...can I get a verification if I have them paired up correctly based on the thread about putting together the AM shins the right way...

http://forum.whitear...showtopic=16608 (AM shin thread)

 

Here's how I have them paired up. I think they look correct based on the thread link above. What I'm checking for is the inside curve of the calf muscles which should be larger on the inside, correct?

 

Edited April 14, 2012 by silverBoyd

[tkrestonva[TK]]

It looks like you have them paired up correctly, but best to get another opinion or two before doing any cutting/gluing.

[silverBoyd[501st]]

Question...after trimming the return edges on the bottom and top of the shins I tried one of them on along with my TK Boots. I have a question. I know I will have the front of the shins glued together and the rear will clam shell open to fasten w/ Velcro. With that being said...does the glue really hold well enough for you to pry open the rear of the shins to put your leg inside? I'll be gluing the shin fronts w/ E6000 since it's flexible. Maybe my calves are big. I have really strong calf muscles. That's one reason I bought an AM kit...because it's made for the "bigger Trooper". Anyways...this kit is ABS so it's pretty strong and the plastic is rather thick. I know it's hard to imagine without the fronts being glued but I feel like they won't open up enough. Maybe i'll need to shim (extend the inside of the rear shin). I can't decide what to do

 

Maybe I'm thinking about it too much...

 

Or instead of trying to open the rear of the shin to wrap around my leg, do I just open it enough to sort of slip my foot/leg down into it?

Edited April 15, 2012 by silverBoyd

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

I tend to get a foot cramp if I try to put it in from the top. Somehow, miraculously, my clamshell process works fine and the cover strips and ABS hold fine. Do you have a cover strip inside as well?

[silverBoyd[501st]]

I haven't gotten as far as the cover strips yet but I'm planning on an inner strip at the front (inside) of the shins and the typical cover strip down the outer front of the shin

[silverBoyd[501st]]

I have been trimming the return edges on the shins most of last night and sanding the cuts smooth. I'm pleased with the return edges being completely cut away on the bottoms (they fit around my TK Boots much better now) and i rounded them out around the tops. I've done the test fit a few times and I think I may have it now. I have spent the past 2 hours measuring, re-measuring and over-thinking how much to cut out from the over-lapped molded seam on the AM shin armor. I think I finally cut away just enough to make a really nice butt-joint now. I have them taped up really well for now on the outside and inside front joint so that I can test fit them. Here are some pics. Sorry for the blurry iPhone photos.

 

One question comes to mind once again...I know they are only held on with tape, but as I was trying to open up the "clam shell" to fit around the top of my boots and lower leg area I notice the front seam of the shin armor (which will be the butt joint) was really bending inwards. I'm planning on using a FOR SALE sign material for the inner shims of the shin armor, but once I use the E6000 to glue on the nice ABS cover strips...won't the cover strips want to break off? Maybe I'm overthinking things.

 

Also, I'm planning on doing the "V-cut" into the upper rear portions of the shins. I like the way that looks plus I think it may give me just a slight bit more comfort when walking. Let me know ASAP if anyone can give me some feedback or tips on what I think could be a potential shin problem. Maybe like I stated, I could be over-thinking it all.

Edited April 15, 2012 by silverBoyd

[SCTrooper[TK]]

e6000 is super flexable, and if you make a mistake it's easy to remove. I wouldn't worry about the the front of the shins, you"ll see what I mean once you glue it together. the abs is flexable and the shins will open far enough. I am always carefull when putting them on and have not had a problem yet, if you put strips on the inside it will be really strong.

[silverBoyd[501st]]

right on....thanks for the feedback. I guess I'm imagining the front seams not opening or coming apart but I guess it's because I'm seeing what happens to the shin front seam while only held together with tape. But as far as my pictures go...do the shins look ok? If I can get a few responses by tonight I'll go ahead with the gluing of the inner shims

[SCTrooper[TK]]

I looked a Tom's tutorial and it looks like you have them correct. The give away is that the inner parts of the shin's have the raised simulated finishing strip which you will not be using because the real finishing strip attaches to the outside part of the shin. I think alot of people make the assembly mistake because they are going by the simulated finishing strip and put that part on the outside.

Edited April 16, 2012 by SCTrooper

[silverBoyd[501st]]

After working on the shins all day I think I'm at a point where I can finally glue in the inner shin and cover strip tomorrow. I'm pleased with the final test fittings and they feel good to me. In the below picture you can see where I've marked off the rear upper portion to be removed. Also here's a shot of the shins before the shims.

[silverBoyd[501st]]

quick thought....I know I'll use the nice ABS material for cover strips but should I also use ABS for the inside shim as well or could i get away with using something like FOR SALE sign material since no one will see the inside of the armor anyhow?