Gun's NE - ANH Stunt Build

[GunsDKP]

Greetings, Soldiers of the Empire.

 

I actually started my NE build back in April, mostly finished it by June, took a leave of absence to fight Rebel scum, and am back tinkering with padding and straps to get all to sit right. Particularly having some trouble with my right shoulder bell, currently using the over-the-back single strap and may switch to the snap directly to the wide shoulder strips instead.

 

I don't have any good full body shots yet as I haven't had a capable photographer on hand, but I feel bad having perused others' NE threads so continuously without improving the field myself. So, here's my NE bucket and TD, with home-made TD clips.

 

 

 

The NE ears have received much, well, let's call it criticism. They were indeed a pain, but this being my first bucket, it's all relative and hard to objectively gauge. I will say I struggled getting them to sit as nicely as the reference photos, and to have them reach the top brow rim seems near to impossible. Not perfect by any means, but I also haven't had a chance to meet any other 501st members, and therefore haven't seen a set of armor up close, besides my own. 

 

Some pictures to relay the gap problem. It's a bit late for to make any severe fixes. They look fine from a distance and it seems that other NE builders had a similar challenge. 

 

 

 

Others have said the hand painting is a reward experience. It's certainly an experience, but it was the most anxious I've felt... throughout what was generally an anxiety-prone project (dare I say, journey)! My helm is a mix of handpainted and decals. 

 

 

Finally, if it's useful to anyone, this is what I did for padding. ~4 USD for a big hunk of foam (which I'll use for padding elsewhere) from a fabric store, and mixed and matched till I got a decent fit. I used velco for placement, so it's sturdy but easily removable. I had initially used the "vintage style" elastic chin strap method, but could never get it close once I'm all armored up. This way the unintended movement is minimal. (Yes, my S-Trim is a bit short, I'll order a replacement once I can figure out where.)

 

 

Less exciting, but here's the NE TD with my homemade TD clips, cheap aluminum from Home Debot, fine-grain sanded down, smoothed out with sanding belt, then BAM. A chuck of foam glued on the inside along with elastic glued to both White caps, so that I can stash keys & and my Beer ID without things rattling around too much. 

 

 

 

Lastly, the best suit-on shot I got, minus gloves cause latex and smartphone screens don't get along so well. Belt is sitting too low, I have a velcro solution in progress.

 

 

Thanks for checking this out, if you got this far. Once I can figure out how to get my Right Bell to sit better, I'll have better pics in the future. 

 

 

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Hi, try moving the connection point for the bell on the shoulder strap foreword, this may help.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Looks nice so far. Sadly I must tell you that your TD clips are too far inward. They should pretty much be touching the outer caps.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, just wondering what color you used for you're tube stripes as they look pretty dark?

[GunsDKP]

For the TD clips I was going off of previous sellers, and lining up the clips with the White Middle part, like in here and here, so I suppose one issue is that my grey tube is a little long? 

 

As for the tube decals, they were provided by Scott M, so I was hoping that although they're a little darker, they'll pass muster. Thanks for the feedback!

[gazmosis[501st]]

Your TD should be between 7 1/4- 7 1/2 inches in total length. The clips, for proper position, should be close to, if not touching, the outer caps.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1/8 inch gap from clips to cap is perfect if you want to go that far

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Your homemade TD clips look really good. Be sure to drill a small air vent hole underneath the control panel, so the end caps will seat all the way down.

[GunsDKP]

Great tip about the small air vent; and thanks for the photo reference and measurements. Should be an easy fix.

[TK5144[TK]]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you take any pictures of how you trimmed the faceplate?  yours has the least amount of gap above the ear that I have seen!

[GunsDKP]

Did you take any pictures of how you trimmed the faceplate?  yours has the least amount of gap above the ear that I have seen!

Sorry for such a late reply -- had an overly-long TK hiatus. I will look up pics, if I have any, if you still have interest. I followed what contemporary NE folks were doing, and it was a mighty struggle to close the gap. I shortened the ears (trimmed the length, I mean) quite a bit, and then really used some brute strength to "mind the gap" as much as possible. 

[GunsDKP]

A much belated update to my NE build. Below is the completed project, which has been approved by my local garrison. 

 

 

 

[maxsteele[TK]]

That is a great looking build Stuart!  I am particularly jealous on how you got your butt plate to sit so nicely.  I also see you didn't have to modify the tops of your thighs at all.  It looks like you have good clearance and don't have to worry about your cod catching on the tops of the thighs.

 

Nice job, and I don't think you'll have any issue getting at least EIB with this build.

 

I'm curious, how tall are you?

Edited May 13, 2014 by maxsteele

[GunsDKP]

I'm still working on the butt plate. I'm not quite, shall we say, as fit as could be, and have been working to get the plate as flush as possible/comfortable. 

 

My aim was to have it be (almost) EIB ready. I think all I'm missing is a snap or two on the butt plate, and maybe the hand guards. Need to check the CRL again.

 

The NE bucket. The first of us to work on the new NE armor had a lot of trouble with the ears. My bucket was no exception. Working with the ears was almost as excruciating and emotionally emaciating as my first divorce. 

 

At least in this case, I'm glad with the result.

 

 

Homemade neck seal. Also have a Darman's for trooping, as the one pictured is very hefty, sturdy, and TIGHT.

 

"How YOU doin'?"

 

(This is my action pose.)

 

 

Finally, a breath of fresh air after a hot and sweaty photoshoot. 

 

 

Next up: Finishing my Doopy Doo E11. I'm actually working on two versions: an electronic kick-a-- kung-fu one, and a simple sturdy one for trooping. 

Thanks for watching!

[GunsDKP]

That is a great looking build Stuart!  I am particularly jealous on how you got your butt plate to sit so nicely.  I also see you didn't have to modify the tops of your thighs at all.  It looks like you have good clearance and don't have to worry about your cod catching on the tops of the thighs.

 

Nice job, and I don't think you'll have any issue getting at least EIB with this build.

 

I'm curious, how tall are you?

I really appreciate the kind words Ron. The butt plate required trimming, sanding, and then I did cave and buy a heat gun to mold it a bit, basically to curve the "tail" inwards & upwards.

 

You're right, I didn't have to modify the thighs -- a nice break! I'm 6'1, ~205 lbs, and I didn't have to do as much modification on the kit as some people seem to have done. If anything I have to struggle with my garter system to keep the thighs up. Frankly I'm not satisfied with my thighs/ garter system yet. Seems to be too tight or too lose. I'm thinking of working on a suspenders system in the near future.

 

Looking into submission for EIB now! I didn't do all the details necessary for Centurion (yet) -- really looking forward to meeting with my Garrison to see other suits up close. I haven't actually seen a TK in action, besides my own. 

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

The armor does look good and you're certainly up to EIB

You're wearing your shoulder bells reversed though. The one with the flare at the bottom of the center ridge should be on the left shoulder, and the one with the flare at the top on the right.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Aah - that's why your thighs fit so nicely.  You have a longer torso, so your ab is further away from  your thighs than mine is.  

 

Just a suggestion from me - if you're feeling up to it, I would suggest to cut away the extra on the right side where your ab and kidney meet.  You would have the same extra over on the left side as well, but that could seriously interfere with your rivets, which you probably want to just leave alone.

 

 

 

Here's what my sides look like:

 

 

 

The "wave" that you see on the ab side at the bottom some of my undersuit bunching over it.  It's a straight line.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The left side's alignment was off in this pic, so the shape at the bottom of the ab on the left side is under the belt.  Here's a different shot:

 

 

 

I also cut across the top of the ab on both sides to make it line up straight across with the top of the kidney.  I was happy with how it turned out, but like I said, it could come into conflict with your rivet placement.

Edited May 13, 2014 by maxsteele

[GunsDKP]

Aah - that's why your thighs fit so nicely.  You have a longer torso, so your ab is further away from  your thighs than mine is.  

 

Just a suggestion from me - if you're feeling up to it, I would suggest to cut away the extra on the right side where your ab and kidney meet.  You would have the same extra over on the left side as well, but that could seriously interfere with your rivets, which you probably want to just leave alone.

 

 

 

Here's what my sides look like:

 

 

 

The "wave" that you see on the ab side at the bottom some of my undersuit bunching over it.  It's a straight line.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The left side's alignment was off in this pic, so the shape at the bottom of the ab on the left side is under the belt.  Here's a different shot:

 

 

 

I also cut across the top of the ab on both sides to make it line up straight across with the top of the kidney.  I was happy with how it turned out, but like I said, it could come into conflict with your rivet placement.

You're right that would be a solid next step. Not something I originally thought of, as I was generally pleased with how the armor fit out of the box, so to speak. 

 

Just spent the past 3 days focused on my Doopy E11, so maybe next week I can get to the ab and kidney pieces!