My first ESB TK build (MTK)

[HawkFan24]

Amesome build

[toybiz[TK]]

Thank you Matt. Its true how it feels to finish. But there is always something to tweek...

[toybiz[TK]]

Any good trooper needs a place to store and tote their armor right? Well, this is what I found and will be using.

 

 

24 gallon capacity. 30.7" wide x 19" x 19" sized should fit all the armor along with the boots

 

 

Wheels seem sturdy enough but may not be durable because they are fairly hard plastic and may get brittle with age.

 

 

The padded steel tote handle slides fully hidden and away from any snagging.

 

 

Tuck the arms and legs inside the torso, the boots in the corners and everything fits just right.

 

 

I found it here at Lowes...

 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_336429-1156-9124SR_4294707881__?productId=3355634&Ntt=tool+box&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dtool%2Bbox&facetInfo=

Edited April 29, 2014 by toybiz

[toybiz[TK]]

Update -

I submitted for my 501st and local garrison approval. (Golden Gate Garrison) and passed phase 1 with my local garrison GML, John Blackshear aka TK3619. If you read this, thanks John for a fast approval of less than 24 hours!

Now waiting for TK approval from the 501st so that I can apply for EI here and perhaps Centurion. We'll see how far I take this.

I wore the armor at work for Star Wars Day and my inventory photographer helped me take the pics I used for my submission. Here were a few from that afternoon.



Co-workers and customers were surprised for sure....



Recruit them when they are young to serve the Empire...



Co-workers get into the action...



Even a hard working TK deserves a coffee break...



Might as well change the oil while I'm here right?

Edited May 14, 2014 by toybiz

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Awesome pics Adam!

 

I see Centurion written all over that armor!

[toybiz[TK]]

Awesome pics Adam!

 

I see Centurion written all over that armor!

Thanks for the confidence Ian! Going to take it as far as I can reasonably go.

 

I just repostioned the belt higher to just under the lower AB buttons and moved the right shoulder bell slightly forward. Need to take some close up photos of the sniper knee plate glued on and knee ammo pack split rivets.

[Cantina Security[501st]]

Cool, man, nice photos for sure. There needs to be a "Take Your StormTrooper To Work Day"

[toybiz[TK]]

Yay! I just got my 501st phase 2 email!

 

TK-24336 (which translates to my son's name Aiden) reporting for duty...

 

Thanks for all the support and to everyone who shared their build experiences in the past.

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Congratulations, that's a very nice ESB!

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Congrats. Nice TK reference.

[Jaren[TK]]

Outstanding! Your armor looks flawless! I really like the trick you used on the biceps. I will have to apply that with mine.

[toybiz[TK]]

Thank you Jaren. If feel free to ask questions. That's what we are here for!

[toybiz[TK]]

Helmet update:

 

I only "trooped" in my armor for about an 1 1/2 hours at my son's school for an anti bullying event with TK3942 along with the local school district's Child Assault Prevent (CAP) Training Center. It wasn't even a strenuous event, just some walking and plenty of "high-fiving" with the kids. Unless there is a cross breeze, it get's plenty toasty when wearing plastic.

 

I didn't invest in any fans yet as I was still un the research phase. I decided on Echo's wonderful helmet fan set up. I opted for his bracket, push button switches and personalization only as I found some 50 x 50 x 15 - 12v fans I wanted to try. Like my armor build, I read about the battery challenges some others mentioned and figured I try another power source approach.

 

I appears that most other were using the default AA battery holder x 2 default set up. Measuring the space in the "neck bump" area that would be behind the fan bracket, those would fit OK but probably should be secured so that they don't accidently fall out during a troop. So after researching into optional power sources and voltages these were my findings:

 

Rechargable CR123A lithium ion batteries (3.7v @ 1200 mah each) - I was concerned that the 12v fans would not start up using just a single CR123A but they did and was a consideration due to their relatively small size of about 1 1/4". First problem was finding a battery holder. I did not want to hardwire (solder) the battery to the wiring. Second, was at 3.7v for a single battery, the amount of air pressure from the fans was very low. I put two in series (Neg to Pos / end on end) to increase the voltage to 7.4 and the fans really came alive. Almost too much in terms of noise. So onto plan B.

The next plan was to use one of those emergency battery packs that has a USB connector. These are typically 5v - 800 - 1,000 mAh output and a capacity of 800 to 5,000+ mAh. These are usually sold as a portable emergency charger for your cell phones. They come in different shapes and sizes and since I had one laying around doing nothing, I figured I give it a try.

 

 

Since I was wiring my own fans I found an old USB cable laying around and spliced it into the fan harness. If anyone else plans to follow this, there be four colored wires. The white and green are data wires, you can ignore those. Using the red (Positive) and black (Negative), I soldered the wiring together, protected the joints with shrink wrap tubing and zip tied the harness to the bracket.

 

 

Placed some Velcro to the battery pack and the helmet and secured it in between the MICH helmet pads for a form fitting and out of the way clean wiring set up.

 

 

This battery pack is rated at 5volts / 2,600 mAh, in comparison to four x AA in series, the voltage will provide 6v (1.5v x 4) but the capacity is harder to figure out, what I could find was alkalines are about 1,800-2,600 mAh. However, since the fan will be drawing less voltage (and anyone more versed on this part please correct me if I am incorrect) the USB pack should net a similar run time performance.

 

The USB battery pack only adds 3.75 ounces, plus the fans and bracket, somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 ounces total.

 

When I tested the fans using 4 x AAs, the air pressure (fan speed) was notably higher but noisier as well.

 

I will need to field test this set up, as the air volume seems to be enough but won't know until I give it a try.  
 

Edited June 2, 2014 by toybiz

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Awesome build thread, Adam!  Learned so much from reading it.

 

I love my fans from Echo.  Maybe I'm mildly claustrophobic, or perhaps I just don't like stuffy air, but I can't stand being in the helmet without the fans on.  I always have both going at once. Ah.  Blissful fresh air.

 

OK, I cracked up at your picture of the stormtrooper piggy back from Disneyland.  I was at Disney this weekend with my son.  And, we found those stormie piggy banks were adorable.  They were all over the store.  Like a bunch of shrunken head stromtroopers.

 

  

[toybiz[TK]]

Thank you Diana for looking and sharing! That's so exciting to see so much Star Wars themes @ Disneyland! Last time we were there, I must have rode Star Tours 6 times in a day just to catch the different video themes.

 

Since you write fandom stories, perhaps we could all star in one of your fan fiction stories with some live action photos to go with your story. The PG portions of course.

Edited June 3, 2014 by toybiz

[AsBlondeAsLuke[TK]]

Ha ha ha.  Laughing so hard I practically spit coffee all over my computer keyboard. Thank you for that, Adam.  I'll have to get you back for that one next time I see you on a troop.  Oh my.  OK, now I am laughing so hard that tears are coming out of my eyes.  I don't think I'll ever be able to burn the image out of my mind.  Geez.

 

Live action photos would be delightful.  The current artwork for my stories is done by an actual artist.  She is working on clone armor for submission for the GGG so you'll get to meet her soon.  I've been harassing her about finishing her armor mercilessly, so that I'll have another trooping buddy.  (Although, I keep telling her she should be a TK.  My motto is: "Everybody loves a stormtrooper.")

 

You know, all of the clones in my stories are either named by readers of the story or named after people I know.  Keep making me laugh so hard and you'll end up with a clone named after you.

[TK-4510[501st]]

Turned out pretty nice Adam.

 

I will take your suggestions into consideration. - The only reason I haven't changed the bicep is because it is the "tour" bicep is cast from a set of stormtrooper armor. Some things are just wonky and we have to live with it.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Hey Adam, I may be a little late to your build party but thanks for all the great tips. Unfortunately I was one of those people who thought "Wow this would be fun to be a trooper for Halloween, I'll go big time" and bought something less then stellar before I realized how deep the Stormtrooper rabbit hole went... lol. Now that I'm looking into a second set of armor, it's only money right :/, you have some great tips I'll be using. 

 

A $1K suit is a bit much for maybe only trooping a few times a year, so like so I'm looking for something under $600? I've been looking at ATA but I'm curious what made you decide on MTK? Actually anybody who want to chime in please do. 

 

On a different note, I'm a fellow dealer tech also, or was. Worked for GM for 16+, over 30+ years of service, though I'm mainly in the supervisor role nowadays. Since you first welcomed me into the GGG as a fellow old timers    I've been looking to pick you brain on a few things. 

 

Talk soon

[I'm Batman[501st]]

A $1K suit is a bit much for maybe only trooping a few times a year, so like so I'm looking for something under $600? I've been looking at ATA but I'm curious what made you decide on MTK? Actually anybody who want to chime in please do. 

There weren't many builds happening when I ordered mine, so I may have been taking a bit of a gamble. $$$ and availability were what led me the MTK way. Not sure what his turnaround is like now, but I ordered Saturday, it was shipped Monday! And that gamble? It's paid off. Plenty of MTK builds happening now with a few in the EIB/Centurion sections too.

[toybiz[TK]]

Hey Adam, I may be a little late to your build party but thanks for all the great tips. Unfortunately I was one of those people who thought "Wow this would be fun to be a trooper for Halloween, I'll go big time" and bought something less then stellar before I realized how deep the Stormtrooper rabbit hole went... lol. Now that I'm looking into a second set of armor, it's only money right :/, you have some great tips I'll be using. 

 

A $1K suit is a bit much for maybe only trooping a few times a year, so like so I'm looking for something under $600? I've been looking at ATA but I'm curious what made you decide on MTK? Actually anybody who want to chime in please do. 

 

On a different note, I'm a fellow dealer tech also, or was. Worked for GM for 16+, over 30+ years of service, though I'm mainly in the supervisor role nowadays. Since you first welcomed me into the GGG as a fellow old timers    I've been looking to pick you brain on a few things. 

 

Talk soon

Howdy Anthony!

 

Welcome to FISD you come to the right place to start your journey to the dark side!

 

My reason I choose MTK initially was availability, cost was a close second. It was same reasons that you shared, for something I may wear a handful times in a year. Even though I would love to have a set of TM, I personally couldn't justify the expense with my Imperial Finance Committee

 

I put in an order with ATA any way since he did not want a deposit and it was going to be 8-9 months wait time. MTK was about two weeks or less wait time but actually more in cost but came with the decals so it was almost a wash. Figured if I didn't like the MTK set, I would sell it, maybe take a hit for few bucks and wait it out for the ATA.

 

However, when researching you will find that all armor makers have something peculiar about them that requires some attention. For many MTK builders, it's the left bicep and right forearm. I figured I would learn to make changes to mine that worked for me.

 

Other than those details, building any armor will require a similar skill set. Being from the automotive industry gave me plenty in terms of problem solving and working with my hands. Figure if I can change a water pump and a timing belt on German cars, without any training. I could do just about anything with building armor.

 

Key here is do plenty of research and don't be afraid to take your time. I took over four months and still finding things I would like to change even now. One goal is to be able to take stairs with full confidence I won't end up face down!

 

Let us know when you are ready, we are all here to help.

 

Adam

Edited September 9, 2014 by toybiz

[starsaber25[Admin]]

My reason I choose MTK initially was availability, cost was a close second. It was same reasons that you shared, for something I may wear a handful times in a year. Even though I would love to have a set of TM, I personally couldn't justify the expense with my Imperial Finance Committee

 

 

 

Sorry to hijack your thread here Adam but you are spot on.  Adam is right here Anthony.  ATA and MTK are very similar armors and even though MTK is slightly more the wait time is way better for MTK.  I wasn't as fortunate as Ian as I had to wait like 2 weeks to get mine.

 

As Adam and Ian can attest, I have had a blast building my MTK and it is everything I could have imagined.  It was tons of fun to build and I felt that it went together fairly well and simple.  The only thing that I would say needs the extra work is the left bicep.  I followed Adam's idea in his thread and put it in a bucket of boiling water.

 

At this point I would highly recommend MTK.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Sorry for the late reply here guys. Thanks for all the great tips on ATA and MTK armor. A couple weeks I put myself on the ATA wait list, 8 month wait holy smokes! 

 

Before I continue to hold, can I get the link to the MTK builder/seller?

 

Thanks

[toybiz[TK]]

Hi Tony,

Sent you a PM for the contact on MTK armor.

[Jaren[TK]]

MTK also is selling MTK Stormtrooper armor on EBay, under the name mtk_armory