Fritzthfox's ANH Stunt build (T/MC)

[fritzthefox]

Thanks, guys, although I'm not sure you should be encouraging me. You may all be considered accomplices later. I'm pretty sure the Empire has rules against the flagrant violations of the dress code which I seem to effortlessly commit.

 

Anyway, before they come to take me away, I managed to complete THE GREAT COLOR EXPERIMENT. This was a battle in the much greater WAR AGAINST MY TUBE STRIPES which I have been waging for a while now. The war has finally come to an end with a victory for the stripes, which have bested me at every turn. I have spent over thirty dollars on paint, decals and stencils in an effort to find the most accurate possible color and method of tube stripe application so that I could ignore it completely and simply reapply the same decals I started with. I did, however, learn a few useful things about color.

 

Here is a color comparison experiment that I put together:

 

 

 

The numbers are various Humbrol colors. The named colors are Testors Model Master colors. TB is a Trooberbay decal, and TMC is the T/MC kit-supplied decal. The Pantone swatch is Pantone 187, which is also known as French Blue or Gentian Blue. The TB decal sort of falls between the Humbrol and Testor's French Blue. If I were buying a paint to match the TB decal, I would buy the Humbrol. The Testors is a better match for the T/MC decal. (The T/MC gray decals are also a perfect match for the Testors 1138/2138 gray.) I still have no idea which one best matches the stripes of the original, despite asking a bunch of questions about it in another thread. I think it would be a useful exercise for someone to make a sample ABS strip like this and have it photographed next to a real helmet whenever the opportunity presented itself. Until then, I think the most definitive source of color information we have is a handful of troopers who have managed to color match real helmets (only one of whom I managed to contact), a few photos and the film itself.

 

I ultimately decided that I wanted to decorate my armor to represent an idealized version of the ANH stormtrooper, as it might appear if one had walked off the screen, and not a replica suit that might have just walked off the set. The darker blue and cleaner lines of the T/MC decals were more in keeping with the stormtrooper in my imagination, and not the handpainted wonky lines and brighter blues of the actual suits.

 

Not that my helmet is remotely symmetrical. In fact, if you closely examine my pointlessly artsy photo below (which I have cleverly shot in poor light so that you cannot), you may notice that I have an extra stripe on one side. This is either because my decal application skills have not improved at all since my last attempt, or because the helmet itself is sort of crooked. I'm not sure. Anyway, it's finished. At least, I feel as if I have done all the damage I can do for now.

 

 

More to come...

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You are allowed a different amount of stripes on the sides so you should be ok. Depending on which level of trooper you aim for you may have to change the colour later, the TB and French blue are the desired colours. Well done on the paint comparison. BTW the stripes could have come up a bit slightly but should be fine for approval.

[fritzthefox]

To be honest, I'm not sold on the Humbrol French Blue. I have not seen an authentic ANH helmet in person, so I am hardly an authority, but the color just seems a bit light and not quite green enough to me. I suspect that puzzling out the real color will become a somewhat obsessive hobby of mine until I finally see a real helmet for myself. Then I will either eat my words or be arrested for sticking Pantone swatches to it. Either way, my tube stripes will have the last laugh.

Edited January 6, 2013 by fritzthefox

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Careful as a real prop may have faded over time, or due to lighting how they look on screen may not be the same. The other Paul (troopermaster) always suggests using the films as a reference, and I think that's good advice here.

[fritzthefox]

The next big roadblock in my meandering journey towards enlistment in the Empire was, predictably, my thighs. I had to trim a lot away here, and it left me with two problems. The first, and by far the most vexing was that one of my thighs did not want to close gracefully. (And everyone knows that not being able to keep your thighs closed can cause nothing but trouble.) My heavy trimming had, as in the case of my forearm, upset the natural order of things, leaving me with a joining issue, which I have helpfully illustrated below:

 

One obvious solution to this problem would be to use heat to coax the thighs into a more compliant shape, but many of my heat gun experiments have ended in gooey horror, and I really did not want to alter the shape of the thigh, since it fit nicely as it was. I considered fashioning a more flexible coverstrip from thin styrene or foam tape, or sealing the inevitable gap with white silicone, when I arrived upon the solution. As luck would have it, I still had a single, untrimmed cover strip that had escaped my wildly inaccurate utility knife until now by hiding among the clutter on my desk. (You thought those were photos of my workshop, didn't you? Nope. I'm a slob.)

 

 

Notice how the edge of the cover strip still bears the shape of the mold? That turned out to be useful. I made a new cover strip, this time cutting to the outside of the step on one side. I ended up with a cover strip with a conveniently located bevel, like this:

 

 

THIS cover strip lay across my awkward butt join (hitherto a medical condition known only to Siamese twins) and still managed to remain flush on both sides, no problem.

 

 

From a normal viewing angle and distance, the strip looks just like any other cover strip.

 

 

This leaves only the annoyingly mismatched join at the bottom to repair, which I intend to close with copious amounts of ABS paste and some creative sanding. This ends the most terrifying portion of my journey, the assembly of the limbs. I imagine even Victor Frankenstein sighed with relief when he finished hacking up those bits. Now it's Miller time.

Edited January 11, 2013 by fritzthefox

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice idea but why not just heat and bend the section of your armor which does not sit flat then you can have flat cover strips, would look better than a bend showing on the cover strip

[fritzthefox]

Because I cannot afford to replace a thigh piece that turns out looking like a vanilla popsicle on an August day.

 

The bend is even less noticeable in person than in the photo, which is a close-up with some pretty directional lighting.In fact, it looks pretty sharp. Since it is on the back, I'm not sweating it too much.

Edited January 11, 2013 by fritzthefox

[Ravenwood[TK]]

Barry, its looking good keep it up. The thighs gave me some grief too, I had to take them apart and re do them twice.

[misfit138[TK]]

Barry I have the same kit, forearms have just about killed me!!!!! I sometimes think why did I go with strips? Then I look at them and realize they look great! Keep on trucking brother, just know there is another future trooper about 2 hrs away in the same pain. It will all be well worth it in the end as I curse the evil strips!

[fritzthefox]

just know there is another future trooper about 2 hrs away in the same pain. It will all be well worth it in the end as I curse the evil strips!

 

Lexington, eh? I'm hoping to get my suit done in time to make it to the comic and toy con they are having there in March. Perhaps I will see you there...

 

Meanwhile, my armor continues to take shape. I am currently stalled waiting on some cap rivets and my replacement bicep piece. I did manage to complete a bunch of snap plates, and have begun to install them.

 

 

 

Notice the glove? That was an ebay find. I hate rubber gloves, and the screen accurate chemical gloves are too big on me. I look like a cartoon character wearing them. I picked up some black beautician's latex gloves, which come in smaller sizes and fit like...well, like a glove. They also are designed to protect jewelry, so they go up the wrist a ways. But they are still rubber, and therefore get pretty icky if you wear them very long. They are also thin and will likely wear out quickly. (They are perfect for painting, however, and I think I am going to buy boxes of them to use when I airbrush) They will be great for occasions when I need to be as screen accurate as possible, but for the rigors of day to day trooping, I found some vintage women's driving gloves, which you see in the picture. These gloves were very fashionable in decades past, are made of form-fitting kid leather and sized so they fit very snug. And cheap! Almost all of them will go safely past your wrist, or even halfway up your arm (if you want to feel glamorous, I guess). Certainly not for guys with beefy digits, but they worked for my hobbit-sized hands.

 

I have little else to do now, except play with my blaster. It was actually the first thing I completed. It is a kit conversion of a my son's missing Hasbro. I embellished the scope with lens swiped from googly eyes (I'm pretty sure that's the technical term for them) and added a suitable target.

 

 

Well, more to come, whenever the mail gets here...

[8BitBry]

Hilarious scope

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, keep it up

[fritzthefox]

Ok, in the immortal words of Garvin Dreis, I'm almost there. Hopefully, I will not share his fate. I've used up most of my glue and everything is connected to everything else in one way or another. Just waiting for the glue to dry and I should be ready for a test fitting. Most of the past few weeks has been spent learning all about various forms of fasteners...snaps, split rivets, cap rivets, chicago screws, and those bleepity-bleep rare-earth magnets that are so much fun to work with.

 

I decided to strap together my suit pretty much the way they did for the movie. That meant trying to sew together a garter belt to hold up my thighs, because I do not think Victoria's Secret has an industrial strength undie department. This is what I came up with...

 

 

Notice all the rivets? That is how much confidence I have in my sewing ability. The belt is adjustable, and the garters are not fixed in place, so I can adjust everything if needed. I don't know how I would do that while wearing my armor, but I'm sure it would be a photo opportunity for someone.

 

 

The ab plates strap together much like the original screen-used armor, except in place of brackets I used snaps. I wanted the rivets on the exterior of the suit to be functional, but I did not want to permanently affix any straps to my suit (in case I need to replace a worn strap), so I used chicago screws. That had the advantage of enabling me to paint them before installing them, too, since I would not have to beat the crap out of them with a hammer. The only tricky part was finding some with short enough posts yet large enough caps. The first batch I ordered were too long, and simply sawing them in half did not really help (the post is not threaded all the way to the cap). The 1/4 inch posts worked for me, provided I added a washer. I used braided elastic strapping for everything.

 

 

As I have come to expect on every single part of this project, my endeavors were not without unforeseen challenges. For example, do you see the snaps for attaching the belt to the ab plate? That seemed like a pretty good spot to put them until I tried to actually use them. Sadly, the raised ridges on the armor prevent the belt from actually reaching the snaps. Not good. My solution will not win awards for engineering, but I think it may work. I have called upon my trusty, foul-smelling friend, E6000, to glue another female snap into each snap on the belt, making sort of a double-decker snap. I'll let you know how that turns out...

 

The snaps on my belt are drying, so I didn't get a photo of the belt itself, but one nifty feature I cobbled together was functioning drop boxes. I noticed that the drop boxes are an ideal size for business cards, so I installed some tiny rare earth magnets (which is like trying to stuff ten puppies in a box made from fruit rollups) into the corners so that the lids can be easily removed. And by easily, I mean that you and a friend and a pair of pliers may eventually get them apart. E6000 did the job here, too, reinforced by bits of white duct tape. It is important, btw, that you make sure you get the poles of the magnets facing the right way for each corner, or you get to chase the puppies again. They also have a habit of creeping towards any source of metal on the work bench while the glue is drying. Maddening. It would have been easier to just train a puppy to carry my stuff.

 

The only other challenge I see to fitting my torso armor is my wife's cooking. My wife is heir to long line of great cooks, and as a result my midsection is all out of proportion to the rest of my frame. If my belt is cinched tightly enough, I can get the edges to join flush, but I may need to go to Victoria's Secret, anyway, just to buy a corset. I don't think I can hold my breath for an entire sci-fi convention. Maybe a few years ago, but today's SF nerds have much better hygiene. People will be holding their breath around me, instead, as I reek of E6000 and undersuit sweat and pressure-induced flatulence and the fruit rollups I carry around to make the puppy follow me. In fact, it might be better if I replace my drop boxes with air fresheners.

 

Well, that's it for now. I should have some photos of my first full fitting up soon....

Edited February 1, 2013 by fritzthefox

[Kessel Run[TK]]

Looks great! The snap idea should work, if not its drill out the old snaps and add a peice of plastic behind the belt female as a spacer... great work so far.

[Ravenwood[TK]]

looking really nice... so close now. looking forward to seeing the finished armor.

[fritzthefox]

OK, today the glue fumes dispersed enough for me to try on my armor...

 

 

Overall, it fit pretty well. I have some minor issues, one of which is obvious in the photo: my knee ammo belt is too loose. In fact, it is REALLY loose now, because a rivet popped off while I was removing the costume, so it looks like I'm waiting on the mail again. Sigh. Should the knee belt be able to move at all, or should it be fixed in place?

 

One of my calves is a riding a bit high in this picture, but that is because the back of my boot was stuck in the velcro. I have a hand plate that is barely hanging on and probably needs to be tightened. But by far the biggest problem is that my biceps do not want to stay put. They keep slipping out from under the bell elastic. I thinking of installing a hook. Any other suggestions?

 

My only other problem is actually suiting up. I'm sure it will get easier over time, but I still don't see how anyone could do it all by themselves.

 

I don't feel nearly as cool wearing it as I look. I feel like I suffered a horrible tupperware accident, and every time I hear the plastic make a loud noise, I think "OMGwhatthehelldidIbreaknow?!" But I can walk and move around pretty good, at least when my biceps stay put. I think I can finally see some stormtroopin' in my future...just a few more tweaks!

 

Edited February 2, 2013 by fritzthefox

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good and you do look better than tupperware lol. I glued my knee ammo belt to stop it moving I think most do the same. I manage to armor up on my own, after a few goes it gets easier, I pack everything back into my suitcase and just at random times I pull it all out and try suiting up again.

 

My calves I just put a loop of elastic through the front boot strap, then attached a snap, then put a snap plate inside the front of the shin, this keeps mine down and stops them moving up or sideways.

 

Won't be long until you send in some approval photo's, keep up the good work

[Kessel Run[TK]]

you skinny guys make me want a sandwich.... looking good on you though!

[8BitBry]

I decided to strap together my suit pretty much the way they did for the movie. That meant trying to sew together a garter belt to hold up my thighs, because I do not think Victoria's Secret has an industrial strength undie department. This is what I came up with...

 

 

Nice job. I have Vader Dave's snap garter but found that the fabric belt kept getting pulled down by my thighs when I would walk - so after an hour it was pretty tweaked. I swapped out the fabric for a 1" leather belt and it rocks. I hope this will work awesome for you!

Edited February 4, 2013 by 8BitBry

[fritzthefox]

Well, I think my armor is about there. Everything now is tweaking for a better fit.

 

 

 

My sniper knee plate wants to get gobbled up by my thigh piece. Not sure how to prevent that yet. Maybe some foam in the front of the calf will help?

 

I lost another rivet on my ammo belt. I think I may need to use split rivets instead of cap rivets. The cap rivets don't tolerate much abuse.

 

I ended up having to add yet another snap to my belt, making them TRIPLE-DECKER snaps, which I'm sure is a new record. Remarkably, they actually work.

 

I added some hooks to my biceps so they would not creep out from under the bells. Strangely, I was having the reverse problem this time, with the biceps wanting to climb up under the bells. The hooks don't appear to be causing that, so I'm not sure how to prevent it. Lifting my arms up to do things like remove my helmet seems to invite the problem. As you can see from the helmetless photo of me below, it is tricky for me to remove my helmet, as it is a snug fit...

 

 

 

 

Some tweaking to do yet, but overall I think my armor is complete. Thanks to everyone who provided me with advice and encouragement. May the Horse be with you!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good I would suggest just bringing your thighs up a little, there is quite a lot of room between them and your belt. Foam behind your shin will definately help your gobble problem lol. Now hurry up, stop horsing around and get to approval stage neiggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh lol

 

This must be your brother from another mother lol

Edited February 10, 2013 by gmrhodes13

[fritzthefox]

It's official...you may now address me as TK12000 :-)

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Congrats Barry, was worth all that work, glad to see you got rid of the nag head lol. Now go out and enjoy your first troop as an official TK

[Ravenwood[TK]]

NICE JOB! welcome to the ranks

[Echo[TK]]

Congrats