Father/Son 1st Armor Build (NE & MTK) in CA

[N8dog[TK]]

Another note on “wonkyâ€: You’d think that the left and right forearm at least would be approximately the same size in diameter?  Nope, see photo below for my NE forearms.  One is circular while the other is definitely oval in shape.  A heat gun helped “round out†the right forearm a little, but that’s just the way it is and why building armor is wonky.

Note the amount of trimming still left to do on the right forearm above.  You might be able to see a pencil mark I have made on the outside of the inner piece of the forearm, plus the returns need to be trimmed still.  The above photo is a work in progress.

Edited October 26, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Mistakes happen.  This is where a true costume builder’s talent comes through.  For my son’s MTK, we accidentally trimmed off too much plastic longitudinally so that the forearm did not fit.  Oops.  At first I thought I would need to purchase new forearm plastic until SL 4902 gave me some wonderful advice.  He also created the following visual for assistance.  I think the image below describes our mistake and fix very well.  Following are some photos of the actual fix.  It worked out GREAT. :-)

Lesson learned, measure twice, cut once.  And if that fails, reach out to others in your Garrison or here on FISD and ask for support and you will get it.

The following photo is gluing the inner strip to the two halves of the forearm:

 

The following photo is gluing the filler panel:

 

I don't have a picture of the finished/fixed forearm with final cover strip installed over the filler piece, just go back to my first post and take a look at my son's arms - they look great! :-) (if we may say so ourselves...)

Edited November 9, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Here’s some additional photos of my thighs and shins.  A process that I found that worked for me (for all appendage pieces) was to cut and trim both halves that were being connected (in the case below, my left thigh).  Then sand over the plastic where the cover strips would go, on the inside and out.  Then I would tape up the outside (as shown below) so that the pieces were matched up exactly where I wanted them.  Then, install the inside cover strip with E6000 and let it sit to dry for ~20 hours.  Then, when I removed the tape, the two halves were already attached where I wanted them and it made it easier for me to attach the outside cover strips.

 

You try to get things to line up as much as possible, but it’s not always perfect.  I know there are fixes, but I just went with it and am very happy with my armor.  Here is one of my thighs (NE) and the offsets of the lower ridge:

Edited November 9, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Please note: cover strips at forearms and biceps are typically approximately 5/8" wide.  I just assumed and made cover strips at my thighs and shins the same, or 5/8" wide.  However, this is not screen accurate.  Here is a picture of me pulling off my thigh cover strip (THANK YOU for E6000!) so that I can put the right sized cover strip.  For thighs and shins, they vary from 7/8" to 1" wide.  I went with 7/8".

[N8dog[TK]]

Here are some pictures of the ammo box at the base of the right thigh.  I followed TK4510’s tutorial videos (referenced in a previous post).  Still need to paint the split rivet white.  Again, do your research and view movie screen images for accuracy (as well as the CRL’s of course).  Also note the wider cover strips (7/8") vs. previous 5/8" as shown in previous post.

Edited November 9, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

My shins:

Here are some photos of my shins.  I don’t have a good photo that assists with demonstrating which is left, which is right.  But it should be obvious.  In fact, funny story: I put my shins on and walked in to show my wife and I said, “How do they look?† She had a confused look on her face and suggested that maybe they were on the wrong legs.  I removed them, switched them, and then she said, “Ya, that’s much better.†:-)

The pictures below do not show the finished product.  There is more trimming needed at the returns on top.  This is so that the returns do not dig into your leg but also so that the shin is easier to open up and wrap around your leg.  Just so you know, I was surprised at how much effort it took to open up the shin enough so that I could pull it around my leg.  First couple of times I thought I was going to break the shin at the joint.  IMPORTANT: Install cover strips on the outside and inside of the front joint of the shin before you attempt to put it on your leg.

 

These pictures show the install of the single cover strip on the outside “for looksâ€.  It does not attach the two shin parts.  The back needs to be open so you can wrap the shin around your leg.  I installed industrial Velcro longitudinally at the joint so that they would stay together.  Some op to not do anything, which is fine, the shin isn’t going anywhere once it is wrapped around your leg.

[N8dog[TK]]

Man, it’s a great feeling when you complete all of your appendages.  And I’d say you’re about 75% there with completing your costume (assuming you’ve got your bucket and all appendages done).

Time to celebrate!  Don’t ever forget during your costume making journey to have fun! :-)

(Note in the above photo that we have TKBoots on. Well, I only have my left boot on.  Need those to finish fitting your shins!

Also note all of those appendages lying around! Biceps, thighs, shins and forearms :-)

 

Next, need to trim your ab, kidney, back, chest and butt so that they fit and look good and then attach everything together!  I’ll post more on that part of our journey later…

Edited November 17, 2014 by N8dog

[Toddo[TK]]

This is an amazing project.  I've been building an astromech with my 10 year old, and the experience has been priceless.  Good on you Dad!

[Cantina Security[501st]]

Yeah buddy, my oldest and I are building a TD for him, MTK also. Fun stuff. Nice Work you two!

[N8dog[TK]]

The advice I received was to place and fit your ab section first.  (If you haven’t done so already to fit your appendages) this is definitely when you put your compression undersuit on.  Fit and trim your ab so that it looks screen accurate.  DON’T trim any plastic off of the sides! (At least not yet)  Now grab a friend, spouse, neighbor or fellow trooper and help you fit the kidney, back and butt pieces.  Place the sides of the kidney up against the sides of the ab first (while the armor is on you).  Tape in place, even if it is overlapping and needs to be trimmed.  Then place the back and butt to see how things fit.  Again, look at the CRL and movie screen images for accuracy on how it should fit.

For my son’s MTK, everything fit vertically pretty smoothly and not a lot of adjusting was needed.  In other words, the gaps between the back, kidney and butt were minimal, which is what you want.  However, once we got all of the armor strapped and connected together, he looked “fat†and some adjustment was needed horizontally.  More on that later.

For my NE and how tall I am, I had to slide my back piece down to minimize the gap between my back and kidney.  That required that the shoulder straps of the back needed to be melted and bent to lay flatter on my back (instead of curve over the top of my shoulders).  I also needed to melt and bend my kidney in some. 

My butt looked like it had “wingsâ€, meaning that it flared out instead of wrapping around me, so I had to bend the sides of my butt in quite a bit, as well as bend the crotch in and up.

 

Note the overlap of the ab and kidney. Again, trim the kidney first, try not to trim the ab

(NE armor)

 

This photo show how the shoulders of my back will need to be melted and bent up to accommodate my height

Edited December 4, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Attaching the ab to kidney and then the kidney to butt and back was all done by small 1†black straps with Tandy snaps on each end.  There are certainly other methods of attaching, including Velcro only.  We went with snaps as a more permanent connection.  Specifically, here are the parts that are needed:

 

You’ll need the following elastic types:

• 2†wide WHITE elastic (chest to back connection at shoulders)
• 1†wide WHITE elastic (belt drop boxes)
• ¼†wide WHITE elastic band (shoulder bridges)
• 2†wide BLACK elastic (thighs to garter belt, chest to ab)
• 1†wide BLACK elastic (all other regular strapping between parts: shoulder bells to biceps, biceps to forearm, back to kidney, kidney to butt, ab to kidney, ab to butt, etc)

I purchased all of my elastic at JoAnn’s Fabric Store.

• Snaps are Tandy Line 24.  I used around 125 snaps for my son’s and my costume for the method we used to connect everything.  Of course make sure to get the Line 24 snap tool also.

 

More about snaps/straps in future posts (NE armor)

Some pictures of my arm assemblies.  I used snaps at both ends of my biceps so I could easily disassemble my arms.  This came in handy for storage.  However, the other end of the straps from the biceps to the forearm and shoulder are Velcro.  I used Velcro initially for adjustment, but now that they are adjusted, I could have easily gone with snaps.

Edited December 4, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Garter belt: For me, the first thing that goes on when suiting up in my armor (after the compression undersuit) is the garter belt that holds up my thighs.  I looped some 2†elastic over a belt I picked up at a military surplus store and fastened it with a couple of snaps that then attach to snaps at the top of the inside of my thigh.

 

 

Edited December 2, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

In order to hold my shins in place (and for me because I am so tall, hold them up to minimize the gap between my shin and thigh), I installed some Velcro at the top of my boot and the inside of the bottom of my shins.  This also helps so that the shin doesn’t rotate.

 

 

[N8dog[TK]]

Here are some photos of attaching the shoulder straps to chest.  I used blue painters tape to line up the straps and help position them equally.  Again, looking at the CRL's and ANH movie shots a lot for reference on position.

 

(NE armor)

 

 

Edited December 4, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Once my ab was located where I wanted it (remember, that’s the reference point) and the kidney, butt and back are close enough, it was time to attach the chest, assemble everything, and try it on!

This was a HUGE step and a very exciting moment.  With all of the hard work, I was hoping that everything would be close enough and ready to go.  That was the depressing part or let down for me.  Things did look great, but there were adjustments that needed to be made.

 

This is my son in his MTK, which will eventually be painted as TD.  He looks good, except notice how the ab and butt are wide.  The sides of the butt are sticking out like "wings".  Those pieces need to be melted and bent in to wrap around and fit him better.

[N8dog[TK]]

As mentioned previously, for both myself and my son our armor needed some trimming “horizontallyâ€.  Meaning that we looked fat.  This is done by both trimming and melting/bending the armor.  Try not to trim any armor off of the ab.  Instead, trim off of the kidney.  You can melt/bend the ab at the sides to suck it in, but try not to cut any armor off of the ab section.  Additionally, you can melt/bend the kidney to suck it in so that they both match.  The melting/bending is done with a heat gun.  Just go slow and maybe practice bending an extra piece of plastic before tackling your armor.

 

Note a couple of things: Again, ab and butt are "fat".  Notice the flaps of the butt sticking out that need to be melted/bent in.  Also, my preference is that the shoulder bells are trimmed (not length wise, but longitudinally).  I don't want to look as if my TK is getting ready for the next football game with shoulder pads.  So later I trimmed a little off (longitudinally) to skinny the shoulder bells up.

Also, the ab could come down a little as well.

(These are photos of my NE armor)

 

Several things to note about the above photo: Butt piece needs to be melted and bent in on the sides and at the crotch.  Kidney is also "doing the wave". Notice how the right side is flaring up?  Some melting/bending will fix that.  Lastly, after melting the shoulder pieces of my back up, I ultimately had to melt them back down a bit.  Adjustments are never ending... 

Edited December 4, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Other Components to make a complete TK:

 

These are the “other components†aside from your armor that you will need to get to complete your costume and where I got them (there are many options, these are the ones I went with):

 

• Boots: http://www.tkboots.com/
• Neck seal: Darman on FISD
• Gloves: Rapdom Tactical Nomex Flight Gloves, Black on Amazon for $24.  Note, these are not Level 3, “Centurion†approved gloves as they are not rubber like the ones used in ANH, but they are good for Level 2 "Expert Infantryman".
• Black compression undersuit: www.eastbay.com (when I purchased mine, the pants had gray stitching, so I have to use a permanent marker to color the stitching black.)
• E-11 blaster: I purchased a HyperFirm ANH E-11 Grade B from slavefive on FISD
• Holster: Darman on FISD
• Bucket fans: Evilboy on FISD
• Garter belt: Military surplus store in Sacramento

Edited December 2, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

I haven’t talked about glues: For me, I used 2 options:

 

1. E6000: This is a novice’s dream glue and I highly recommend it for a beginner.  It provides a good seal, yet allows some flexibility.  You apply a thin film on both pieces being joined, then press together and clamp (or use rare earth magnets).  Once pressed together, you have time to adjust and move if needed.  Once dry, if any “leftover†seeps out from the joint, you can remove it as it acts like rubber. Best thing about E6000, once it is dry, it will hold.  But you can also use a little bit of force and pull the two pieces that are glued apart without damaging the two parts (typically).  This came in handy LOTS of times!  (again, being a beginner)

Pro: lots of flexibility, strong hold once dry, can take joined pieces apart without damaging parts

Con: takes 12 hours or longer to cure/dry

 

2. CA Glue: This is like superglue.  (A brand name of this is Zap-A-Gap with it’s companion Zip Kicker, but the brand names are expensive, so just go to your local hobby store and buy CA glue and accelerator)

This is what you use when you need to get the job done quickly.  You apply to one surface, then carefully line it up to the attaching part and press together.  Hold for 20 seconds, apply an accelerator if wanted, and it’s joined.  Done.  Not coming apart without breaking it!

Pro: joins parts "instantly"

Con: no flexibility.  If you make a mistake, you cannot take it apart without damaging it.

In any case, whichever glue you use, it is a good idea to roughen the surfaces of both parts being joined for maximum surface area.

 

Edited December 2, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Snaps:

I had never made a snap before or used a snap tool.  Now, after building my son’s MTK and my NE, and creating over 125 snaps, I consider myself a pro.  However, a real professional will have a Craftool Hand Press for attaching snaps (vs. the Line 24 snap tool).  A friend of mine had one of these so that when he came over to help, we used that.

Generally, there were two steps: Installing the male end of the snap onto the armor and installing the female end of the snap onto the elastic.

Installing snaps onto the armor:  I used 1â€x2†strips of plastic, or snap plates (I reused wasted strips of plastic that I cut off of my armor as much as possible.  A good friend suggested, “NEVER throw away your wasted plastic!† Good advice!)  Because I did not want to clamp down and hold in place each 1â€x2†strip of plastic and wait 12 hours for it to dry (which is what I would have had to do if using E6000), I installed all of these snap plates using CA glue (also known as Zap-A-Gap, see discussion above about glue)

 

Showing above 2 completed elastic straps with snaps, as well as the snap tool.

 

Attaching snaps to an elastic strap

 

Showing above a 1"x2" snap plate at the butt fastened with CA Glue

(Again, these are photos of my NE armor)

 

The above is an elastic strap from the chest to the back (2" white) with a 1" black elastic strap that is sewn onto it that holds up the shoulder bell and arm assembly.

Edited December 4, 2014 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Billhag on FISD has created some excellent tutorials that I found useful.  I have copied some images that he created again here, to demonstrate one potential layout for snap plates. Billhag, I hope it is ok that I use your images?  In other words, these are NOT my creation and I do not take credit for them.

The only changes I made from his suggestions are:

• Chest: I installed Velcro at snap plates 3 and 4 in order to provide some adjustment if necessary.
• Shoulder bells: I installed Velcro at snap plate 2 in order to provide some adjustment if necessary.
• Forearms: I installed Velcro instead of a snap plate in order to provide some adjustment as necessary.

[N8dog[TK]]

Someday I may return and give more detail on assembling the belt and thermal detonator.  For now, here are some photos.  I followed TK_LEPER’s videos on creating the clips for the thermal detonator.  I looked at many reference photos for building the belt, including Billhag.

 

 

[N8dog[TK]]

And here are photos of my belt assembly:

 

 

 

Note: the drop boxes should be moved out away from the center of the belt some to be completely screen accurate.  It was good for 501 approval, but I did ultimately move them for Centurion level approval.

Edited August 17, 2015 by N8dog

[N8dog[TK]]

Two other photos of the elastic straps in place:

(NE armor)

 

Yes, that's me sewing. My wife was helping me until she taught me "how to fish", now I can sew myself! 

Edited December 4, 2014 by N8dog

[Haribon72[TK]]

Awesome father and son build!

[N8dog[TK]]

Everyone will figure this out and what works best for them.  But as I was building my first costume, I was curious about the following, so here it is.

 

These are the steps that I use to suit up:

1. Compression undersuit
2. Neck seal
3. Garter belt
4. Thighs
5. Boots
6. Shins
7. Body armor (ab, chest, back, kidney and butt)
8. Belt
9. Thermal detonator
10. Arms (forearm, bicep, shoulder bell)
11. Gloves
12. Helmet