Diana's RS Props Build- ANH Stunt

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Oh and i forgot that you asked for what we were listening during our build, and i remember that back when i was building mine, i was listening a lot the last Daft Punk's record: Random Access Memories. I had great time mixing these two thing together 

Thanks for the recommendation!  Just added it to Pandora.  Listening to it now.  We needed some fresh music with the hours we've been putting in.

 

"Music to Build By."  That could make a great thread in and of itself.  

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Glue.  Sticky.  Ooeey.  Gooey.  Glue.

 

There's E-6000 for the patient builder.  Great stuff.  A very wise choice.

 

And, then there's Zap-A-Gap.  And... my husband.  

The glue dries very quickly so one has to be a confident builder to work with it.  There is no room for error.  The small time window creates a great deal of pressure.  Or, in the case of our household, colorful language and magnets and clamps flying everywhere.  However, other than two forearm pieces that needed to redone and a humorous thumbprint glued into the armor, the Zap-A-Gap worked well for us.

 

"Glue quickly now.  No time to waste."

The race to get clamps and magnets in place.  Magnets seem to love to jump out of place.  Hence, the colorful language.

 

At some point, a finger got glued down.  There's a great thumb print on my armor and at least one layer of skin.  Now, I can sell him to cloners.

 

Three clamps together make a terrific tri-pod.  These hold up your armor pieces while they dry.  Truly, you can never have too many clamps.

 

 

And, done!  He hasn't looked this pleased since we had our son.

 

And, the shins are glued.

 

Etc. Etc.  It was a late night...

 

So, by the next day, everything was glued.

No strapping system.  So everything is hanging on by "the MacGyver Method." 

 

I coulda' played Imperial Boloball in this suit.  Total linebacker shoulders.  

 

Now, of course, with every fitting you find flaws.  Even after the gluing.  As you can see from these beautifully drawn red arrows, the forearms are fitting too loosely.  

 

 

No worries.  We can fix this.  Put the building music back on!  A careful incision...

Removing the cover strip.

 

 

It was a very easy fix.  We simply removed the entire strip on either side, which made it smaller by 5/8" on each forearm.  It was enough to make the arms fit snugly. And, fixed!  Need to take new fitting pictures.

 

And, then, we started discussing boots...

I commented to my husband how my boots are too big.  Ever the logical one, he said: "Then order new boots."  Flawless logic. 
 

Edited December 4, 2014 by AsBlondeAsLuke

[albisancho]

Ohh man then you're GOING to have to get one for your son! A family of stormtroopers!! What an awesome way to bond!!! Haha. You're suit looks great can't wait to see it finished !

 

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[The5thHorseman[501st]]

I love the linebacker look ^^! Broad shouldered like never 

 

About the glue-thumbprint, i'm sure a bit of fine sandpaper and novus polish would deal with it pretty easily. 

[Toddo[TK]]

Most of my costumes have started because the shoes fit

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Ohh man then you're GOING to have to get one for your son! A family of stormtroopers!! What an awesome way to bond!!! Haha. You're suit looks great can't wait to see it finished !

 

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It has been an incredible way to bond. 

 

The munchkin' is a little young yet to begin trooping.  We'll give him a few more years.  He takes a lightsaber martial arts combat class with us and that's good for him at this age, (also a great family activity.)

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

I love the linebacker look ^^! Broad shouldered like never 

 

About the glue-thumbprint, i'm sure a bit of fine sandpaper and novus polish would deal with it pretty easily. 

Merci Germain!  We'll give that a try.  I seem to have become the designate sander in this house, so I'll give it a go.  Thinking 500 grit would do it.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

All the newly glued pieces need sanding.  My job, apparently.  A good activity while watching the Olympics.

 

The odd shaped pieces like the chest plate take longer.

 

 

 

 

The DustBuster has become our best friend cleaning up the work area, (which in this case is my lap.)  ABS dust gets everywhere during sanding.

 

We use plumber's grit sandpaper, which is easy to vacuum off with the DustBuster and immediately use again.  Keeping the area clean has become important as the job has gone along.  We especially don't want to lose any tiny brackets, nuts or screws now that we are strapping.

[jnnfr72[TK]]

Looking good, Diana!  You are doing awesome. Hope the new boots will fit better!

[Tolo[TK]]

I must say that it's a very detailed build!

 

 

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[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Strapping came with it's own set of challenges.  Trimming down to the chest plate meant a new return edge had to be recreated.

 

"So, just use your heat sealing iron/wood block/heat gun method," I said.

 

"Nope," husband said, studying the chest piece. "Won't create a nice enough return edge on this piece.  Need to build something different."  So, off he went to the garage.  (Or, the shed, or one of his man-cave places.)

 

He came back with this invention, crafted out of a spare piece of wood.

 

 

 

 

He once again taped a pencil to his finger to create a perfectly matched curved line.

 

 

Then, combined the chest plate with the... ah... chest plate strapping jig.

The result was a terrific return edge...

Except for this little spot here that's slightly krinkled, so trying to figure out how to perfect it.  Bondo?  Sanding?

 

Strapped legs.  (He looks so pleased with himself.)

Completed shins (view from the inside.)  It is the RS Strapping with some customization to make it easier to put it on and off.  It latches on to the edge.

Edited November 23, 2015 by AsBlondeAsLuke

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Looking good, Diana!  You are doing awesome. Hope the new boots will fit better!

TK Boots had my size in stock so I was stoked.  And, hey, those RS Boots convinced my husband to join the ranks so everybody wins.   Now, we need to figure out what kind of armor to get him.  Something new and different for him to build...  This set is almost done.  Next build thread, he can write it.  

[Toddo[TK]]

I love that pencil taped to the finger technique.  I shall steal it.

[Cantina Security[501st]]

TK Boots had my size in stock so I was stoked. And, hey, those RS Boots convinced my husband to join the ranks so everybody wins. Now, we need to figure out what kind of armor to get him. Something new and different for him to build... This set is almost done. Next build thread, he can write it.

Try a TM build. He has beautiful armor and a pleasure to work with. CAP West, then AP then MTK, ATA. Wait time would be a factor for me anyway.

 

Good luck, I'm sure you guys will knock it out of the park...

Edited February 14, 2014 by Cantina Security

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Wow... Some truly impressive and creative work happening Diana (and crew)!

 

I hope that I don't have to emulate much of it, as I shouldn't have to do much down-sizing (I don't think, anyway) but this is definitely one of the armor builds that should be required reading just for new builders (like I WILL be hopefully soon) to understand that there are ways to do almost anything that needs to happen with the armor, and that even as a novice, you can do some really advanced type work, with a little bit of patience and persistence!

 

Definitely going to be followed and referenced if needed, when my box(es?) arrive from Canada!!

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Try a TM build. He has beautiful armor and a pleasure to work with. CAP West, then AP then MTK, ATA. Wait time would be a factor for me anyway.

 

Good luck, I'm sure you guys will knock it out of the park...

Hi Jason-

 

Thanks so much for the recommendations. Great list.  Mmmm... a TM build.  Perfect choice.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

I love that pencil taped to the finger technique.  I shall steal it.

Yes, it is the perfect solution for places where you can't use a ruler and want something more precise than "winging" it.  Put your thumb on the bottom edge as you move along and you can trace the shape of even the difficult pieces like the bottom edge of the chest piece.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Wow... Some truly impressive and creative work happening Diana (and crew)!

 

I hope that I don't have to emulate much of it, as I shouldn't have to do much down-sizing (I don't think, anyway) but this is definitely one of the armor builds that should be required reading just for new builders (like I WILL be hopefully soon) to understand that there are ways to do almost anything that needs to happen with the armor, and that even as a novice, you can do some really advanced type work, with a little bit of patience and persistence!

 

Definitely going to be followed and referenced if needed, when my box(es?) arrive from Canada!!

You're right.  You likely won't have to do nearly as many modifications to fit into yours, but it's great you are doing so much research while waiting for those boxes to arrive.  You will be prepared for anything you need to do and will have amazing looking armor as a result.

[Holnave (evan_loh)[TK]]

Very nice thinking on the shin strapping there! That's something new I could do for my shins!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Also, I have to add that Tim Horton's is awesomesauce all day long, and I don't even like coffee. I got hooked on some of their pastries and chocolate drinks while I was in Afghanistan, as we had one on our "boardwalk" at Kandahar!!!

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Very nice thinking on the shin strapping there! That's something new I could do for my shins!

The traditional "hook in a hole" closure seemed problematic on a tapered limb, like the shin. So for this one piece, we decided upon the slide and click method. You can do it with one finger blindly because it will drop in and you'll feel the click.

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Also, I have to add that Tim Horton's is awesomesauce all day long, and I don't even like coffee. I got hooked on some of their pastries and chocolate drinks while I was in Afghanistan, as we had one on our "boardwalk" at Kandahar!!!

Pastries and chocolate drinks.  Mmmmm.... Tim, you know how to live.

[c.collette]

This is an amazing thread. As a fellow female trooper getting ready to build, this has become one my favorite reference threads in itself! You guys are amazing! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

 

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[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

The build went on hold for a week for winter break.  Did a bit of traveling and decided to leave the Dremel at home. 

 

We'd strapped the back the day before we left, and I brilliantly managed to take almost no pictures, other than the clever little template husband designed for making the holes.  I know... great job on the documentation.

 

.

 

The pictures of the front strapping are a bit more complete.

 

Since our goal from the beginning was to build to Centurion, we've been following the "level three certification" guidelines in the CRLs and studying pics of all the approved Centurions.   So, this meant mastering the mysteries of split rivets.   

 

First step was to get organized. Rivets and Brads. (Sounds like a rock band.)

 

 

 

We used the drill attachment on the dremel to create the three holes so we could insert the rivets.

Putting in split rivets on the abdomen plate.  

According to the CRL: "Rivets on the left side of the ab plate: a total of three fasteners, the heads should be rounded or domed, solid, approximately 5/16" (8mm) diameter and equally spaced out along the depth of the armor about 10mm from the edge.  

 

 

Yes, approximately 10mm from the edge.

 

 

To keep the rivets from falling out during the building process, we did the MacGyver method again.  A little bit of tape along the back and those rivets were behaving nicely until we could get them secured.

 

It's a strapping ka-bob.  The screwdriver is used to make holes in the elastic to make it easier to put on the split rivets.  The screwdriver diameter is slightly larger than the split rivet diameter.  Reference photos from the binder are open in the background, along with a second reference photo open on the iPad.  Research.  Research.  Research.

 

Getting the strapping into place.  

 

It's easiest to open the split rivets using two screwdrivers.

 

The straps attached into place.

 

 

And, done.

Edited December 4, 2014 by AsBlondeAsLuke

[Toddo[TK]]

I always feel like I need a second set of hands while working on split rivets on curved plastic.  This is such a beautiful and conscientious build.  It's going to look amazing.