How long did it take to put together your TK?

[Dracos]

I've cut the flashing and sanded the edges, just started the glue.

 

I am about 3 1/2 weeks in, though to be fair I only get a few hours here and a few hours there, with a half-day or two thrown into the mix on weekends.

I find the process is very slow for me because I am constantly researching the pieces I am working on - probably spend as much time researching as I do actually working on the plastic.

 

I am not familiar with most of the tools needed and while I am gaining experience slowly, I find that reading tool manuals and doing trial runs on scraps also take time. Maybe I'll make it up when I get to the sewing machine parts with the webbing and neckseal. I probably am not doing things the fastest way. I've found the concept of scoring and snapping to be far beyond the strength of my hands. Scoring turns into around 15-20 passes with an X-acto knife on a straight edge and I didn't even try with the curved surfaces - I just got out the dremel and cut it away that way though it means quite a bit of sanding afterwards.

 

At first I wondered if I would be able to tell people that "Ã made" the outfit since technically I have not sculpted molds or vac-formed anything. Now I am realizing that there is still quite a bit of work inherent in this kit. And I will be pretty tickled when it all comes together.

 

Kinda wondering what the average build times are out there - though I know that there is probably a lot of factors that go into it - from the type of armor to the experience of the builder. Still it might be useful information for those who are looking into building their own TK.

[TK-7186[TK]]

I took my time and it took me about 3 months to get everything the way I wanted it.

[bluehickey]

I have an FX kit which is hands down easier to put together than most kits. It took me 3 weeks to finish it.

BTW, when people ask me if I made my costume, I tell them that I bought the pieces online, but that I assembled and put together everything to fit my body.

[iconoclasta_88[501st]]

I have no TK but a sandy an I realiza is a whole different thing, but for the armor it took about 2 months. Taking it slowly and with just a few hours every other day.

 

But then, that was the beginning, cause its has taken me almost 4 years to take my sandtrooper where I want it to be. Almost done now and will be applying for SWAT at the MEPD soon.

 

Anyway, take your time. It is not a race. And with time, you will find that the armor is never really finish. You can always mod or upgrade for better accuracy.

 

Saludos.

[MisterFubar[TK]]

Going on a few months now and I've got 1 helmet about 50% done and I've got the arms done except the finishing strips. Not much progress at all, but life keeps getting in the way and I keep coming up with stuff I'd rather be doing in what little free time I have. I don't think I've touched my kit in about a month now.

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

I started mid-November and was approved mid-February, so 3 months of an hour here, half hour there... lots of slow overnight e6000 curing and only 8 clamps so just a little bit at a time.

 

I also had zero experience at this stuff, was scared poopless of doing something wrong, and did actually redo many parts several times, including the thighs. As confidence increases, so did productivity (doing more in less time), but it was still sometimes a week between things. Measure, tape, re-measure, cut, curse, drink beer, unglue, re-cut, re-glue, curse...

 

Also, there came a point where I wanted to rush, but not the armor itself - I decided to buy the neck seal, blaster, etc. My sewing machine and I are mortal enemies, and I just couldn't wait to assemble a blaster when I could barely find time for the armor.

[Mogwai[TK]]

Round about 3 Month from the Day, the Brown Box arrived till the Day I sented my application to the 501st.

I did not rush it. Couple of hours here and there and I did a lot of Research at FISD in between.

[Dracos]

Thanks all! Kinda good to know that I'm still on track. There's this part of you that starts to really doubt your abilities - since you know they were pretty shaky to begin with.

You sit with all these plastic shards around your work bench and start to think - man the prop house must've turned these out like nothing else for the movies. I absolutely know that there have to be quicker ways to do this out there. But I also know that a lot of the equipment and skill levels are far beyond me.

 

The info might also help for those who want to have a suit done by a certain time. You would have to be fairly dedicated to get one done for Halloween if you start on October 1st. Though I imagine it might be feasible.

[Mongoose[TK]]

Working on my first kit now. I have an RT-MOD helmet that I bought assembled, using it until I get the helmet done that came with the kit. Just for the body armor though it took about 3 months. I will be submitting my pictures to my local garrison for approval in the next few weeks. Just want to clean up the armor a little bit. Some glue ran here and there. Nice to see I'm in the average 3 month range. Thought it would take longer. I had no problem with the thighs, it was the shins that kicked my *&%. They took about a week.

[bobojuice]

Two weeks. I had shot for a week, but got caught up with some other things.

 

I'm pretty sure I could do one in a day assuming I had enough help.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

Some guys in the UKG assembled a suit in a day, check out their website for details..

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Kirstin did hers in a few weeks, including a full week off work... Now that I've done one I could do it in a few days to a week, given no other obligations.

 

You sit with all these plastic shards around your work bench and start to think - man the prop house must've turned these out like nothing else for the movies. I absolutely know that there have to be quicker ways to do this out there.

 

The prop houses had lots of free hands, but the quality of assembly suffered a bit from the abuse of being worn on set 18 hours a day; hence the gaffers tape and missing parts and mix-ups and what-not!

[TK5492[TK]]

I did mine in 2 weeks. I took a week of leave to work on it once I recieved it, so I had 7 days of no responisbility other than white plastic.

 

Good thing there is no "reason for taking leave" block on the request forms.

[YouCantBe Sidious[TK]]

About 120 hours to get it wearable. Then, another 30 hours or so of putting it on, trimming a bit more, etc...

[matt black]

It doesn't matter how long it takes you so long as you do it right. It's good that you are spending more time researching than actualy working on the armour. Read twice, cut once

[bobojuice]

It doesn't matter how long it takes you so long as you do it right. It's good that you are spending more time researching than actualy working on the armour. Read twice, cut once

 

This is completely correct.

 

The only reason I was able to do mine in 2 weeks is because it was the third time I was building a TK.

[BananoPower22[TK]]

Probably two or three days, I got help from an experienced local trooper (v7sg) who built his suit by himself and he helped me and we were very quick.

[daennika]

I started with the blaster, and that took nearly two months because I wasn't used to working on weapons. Or painting them to make them look realistic. All the while I studied armor and all the fitting/strapping/gluing business. Once I received my kit it took me 3 weeks to get everything all done, starting with the helmet, then the strapping system, then the legs, and finally the arms. I'm 5.3 and some severe adjustments had to be made for my kit.

 

I work from 4am to 1pm which left me plenty of time in the afternoons... But I maximized productivity by doing all the research before actually doing the work on the armor.

Edited July 21, 2012 by daennika

[boomshakra[TK]]

Mine took right around 3 weeks, from brown box arrival to GML approval. I was lucky, in that the kit (RT-Mod) fit me pretty well out of the box, and the only real trimming I had to do was the ab plate and thighs (helmet came pre-assembled, so that was a time saver right there).

[RedSpecial[TK]]

It took me just over a week to assemble my kit but I had done all my research while i was waiting on the kit and broken it down into a to-do list to make sure i could assemble it as quickly as possible without missing any of the details that I wanted to have.

 

There have been countless little tweaks since then , You'll probably find yourself after a couple of troops that there will be areas that need adjusted for a better fit.

Heck Im still adjusting my armour regularly.

 

Everyone has their own way of working, Don't worry about the time its taking just work at a pace that you're comfortable with and enjoy the process

Edited July 21, 2012 by RedSpecial

[TKRalf[TK]]

Got my kit on Feb. Finished in July. And even then when you think you've "finished", you never truly are. You need to do tweaks and repairs that you can only find out about once you start trooping up and down and those little pinches and pokes are going to force you to break out the toolbox again.