Dr. Sci-Fi's AP ANH-Stunt TK Build

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Painting over a shape already painted is usually a lot easier, and if you don't go to the very edge of the flat black with the gloss one it shouldn't be noticeable. It won't cost you an approval, but as you have the gloss at disposal and taht you now know that it should be gloss, i would repaint it.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Actually, the vocoder should be matte black which is half way between gloss and flat.

Nice paint work so far Darren. There is something you are going to want to fix. The vent lines on your rear traps should not all be parallel to each other. The pattern of the lines should also be a trapezoid.

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Matte and flat are the same thing for me. Did you mean satin? In this case i agree, it could be satin too, but definitely not flat.

[gazmosis[501st]]

No Germain....flat and matte are not the same. Satin would be closer to matte.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Ah, that explains why I went with flat.  My options with Testors were flat and gloss, and I didn't see the suggestion ahead of time to mix flat and gloss together to get the matte finish.  That'll be a "to do after I finish my whole build" task.

[usaeatt2]

I had the flat, matte, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, gloss discussion at the hardware store the other day.

Personally, I like satin.  Slight sheen, but still deep and dark with better durability than flat.

If you add in faux finishes, there's almost as many sheen options as colors now!

 

I'm thinking the vocoder sheen should come close to matching the brow trim for sheen.

On a subconscious level, I think anything else is going to draw your eye one way or the other.

You might "percieve" something that doesn't quite match if you went straight gloss or flat.

[drscifi[TK]]

Actually, the vocoder should be matte black which is half way between gloss and flat.

Nice paint work so far Darren. There is something you are going to want to fix. The vent lines on your rear traps should not all be parallel to each other. The pattern of the lines should also be a trapezoid.

 

Good to know on the rear traps. I was needing to clean that up anyway as the black lines bleed a little. I'll research the vocoder some more as well.

Thanks for the info.

 

 

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[drscifi[TK]]

Ah, that explains why I went with flat. My options with Testors were flat and gloss, and I didn't see the suggestion ahead of time to mix flat and gloss together to get the matte finish. That'll be a "to do after I finish my whole build" task.

 

Same here. For now it's black. I can change the gloss level later before submitting 501st pics. Right now I'm trying to hit July 4th for a local parade.

 

 

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[drscifi[TK]]

I got my case today! It's perfect. Should have plenty of space. It won't fit in my trunk. HA, but it will fit in the back seat. Now I just need to clean it up and add some of my stickers!

 

[drscifi[TK]]

Does anyone know where to get Bondo? Is this an online only order? Or can I pick it up somewhere. Need it for my blaster work.

 

 

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[usaeatt2]

You can by Bondo or other brands of body filler at any auto parts store.  Look in the the spray paint aisle/area.

[drscifi[TK]]

You can by Bondo or other brands of body filler at any auto parts store. Look in the the spray paint aisle/area.

 

Thanks! Now I know where to look.

 

 

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Edited May 19, 2014 by drscifi

[drscifi[TK]]

A lot of progress this week. I setup a nice little work station with bright light.

 

A friend was able to procure me a hard hat which I promptly took the headband out of and fitted into the helmet.

I cut away the squares around the mounting points in the hard hat and I'll glue those to the inside of the helmet. This will allow me to remove and secure the headband if I need to make changes to the interior.

This is the headband temporarily taped in with the cut out mounting squares in place. 

 

Our local library had it's Star Wars day. It was a great afternoon. I was able to meet several 501st and Rebel Legion members. A AT-ST drive, TD, TK, Imperial Officer, Rebel Pilot, Jedi, Han Solo! So many great costumes. I had my Stormtrooper jacket on with my new headband insert helmet. One kid came up and asked a lot of questions about it, where the microphone was, where the speaker was, what the hovi tips were. But for most of the afternoon I just walked around with it under my arm. But next year I'll go in full TK armor!

 

I've been working a lot on the forearms. After trimming them and taping together for fitting I clamped and E6000 for 24 hour with one cover strip.

Some trimming needed.

My first clamp attempt.

 

So I had a bit of a disaster. After about 28 hours had passed I removed the clamps and closed the other side of the forearm. The cover strip unglued and bent away from the seam. This was a very frustrating point. The cover strip had also slid with the clamps so it wasn't aligned properly anyway. But I have a plan for try 2. Oh and It was clamped for about 28 hours. I think I missed the" scuff up the pieces" to create a better bond, so that should help. I also will clamp it with the forearm closed instead of open. That should prevent it from loosing the bond when I close it. (since it will already be closed). I received some great encouragement and support from the Endor Party Crashers on Facebook and prepared for try 2. I roughed up the joining edges real good. Added some tape to keep the cover strip from sliding in the beginning. Clamped it real good with 3 sets of REM on each strip. I also let the E6000 tack some before applying.

 

I had also purchased some stronger rare earth magnets to hold the middle of the cover strip and I could tell they were holding stronger.

 

So after that was set I finished my shoulder bells. I left a small return edge on the bottom but non on the inside edge. (vertical).

 

Lots of progress. Thank you everyone for your feedback and encouragement.

(37 Days)

 

 

 

 

 

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Hey, Darren, just popping in to see your progress - great job so far!

[drscifi[TK]]

Hey, Darren, just popping in to see your progress - great job so far!

 Thank you Ingrid, progress is ramping up. Even if I don't make it for the 4th of July parade I know I will be done soon after. EP!C on Facebook and Whitearmor here have been very helpful and encouraging during the build. Every day is a little more work and a little more research.

What did you find was the most challenging part of your own TK build? Helmet? All the snaps and elastic?

[gazmosis[501st]]

On any TK build, the parts never align perfectly especially two half parts (forearms, biceps, Etc...) My favorite challenge is to end up with those parts looking like they line up even on return edges with no gaps between seam lines.

[drscifi[TK]]

On any TK build, the parts never align perfectly especially two half parts (forearms, biceps, Etc...) My favorite challenge is to end up with those parts looking like they line up even on return edges with no gaps between seam lines.

That has been a cool part. I like tailoring each part to me, knowing it will fit and then when the whole thing is together it will look amazing!

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

I was going to say the trickiest parts were the sniper plate not lining up and probably the belt snaps into the ab piece. I thought the helmet would be hard but I enjoyed it the most. The knee ammo is a little bit of a challenge figuring out whose advice is correct for lining up the bumps, where to put the rivet, etc. I also built in a complete vacuum, going only by the awesomesauce here on FISD. Making snap plates and having my husband understand how to help me "wear" separate pieces of armor to determine where to put the snap plates so that the elastic would be the right length, etc.... that was a challenge for sure. In fact it still boggles my mind that my armor fits so nicely.

[drscifi[TK]]

Another week of progress. A lot to cover and a lot finished.

I went on a trimming (score and snap) spree on many of my pieces. Some still need a little trim on the edges but are 90% there.

Back.

Front

A rough composite of my left arm. 

A beautiful cover strip.

Ab Plate.

Most body pieces all trimmed and split.

My belt turned out great. A tad shorter on the sides than I would like but i didn't have any material to (not trim). 

 

Started on my right calf, mocked it up with blue tape then tried it with the boot.

 

This is one of my favorite photos of the build so far. You can see both of my arm pieces are done and the calf is glueing. 

 

Found some $6 screen mesh for my frown, way more than I need. I cut out 3 layers at different angles to build it up.

No more peeking frown.

 

I am just starting on the blaster, hard work taking out all the screws and splitting it.

I am combining two different tutorials on my build. I want to extend the barrel using Bondo and re-drill most of the holes like this tutorial by TK-6908. 

I also really like this one from TX-71379 I've added many of his little mods to my list.

I found some cleaver plastic rain gutter screens to turn into T-tracks.

Now I have 3' of T-track material. 

 

Last update is my armor bin. I've removed the purple plus from the top with a razor and have been gathering up stickers for the sides. My collection thus far.

I ordered some 4" ribbon magnets that I will glue to the sides. Each one of these is a cancer that has effected my family.

I also got my 16" Imperial Cog in the mail for the top. I'm just deciding between this orientation or 90* turned. Either top is the narrow way, along the opening hinge, or top is along the long way when the bin is being pulled on its wheels. But I'm leaning towards what it is in the picture.

 

More progress coming, my next attack is finishing the legs and beginning making snap plates. I'm holding off for now as I want to make sure I have enough cover strips before chopping that material up for snap plates.

Thank you again everyone for your words and encouragement.

Also I have pushed my done day up about 2 weeks. I need to account for last minute issues and more importantly, the submission and acceptance into the 501st before my 4th of July troop.

(14 days 'till submission of the armor)