Noob AP Armor Build Question

[FrenchyLeFry]

Hope this is the right place for this. If not, just let me know. 

Anyways, I'll be buying AP armor from Mark Harrison in about 2 weeks and I was just wondering what are all the extra things I will need to build it and also all the accessories and extras needed to have a full, screen-accurate Stormtrooper costume.

Thanks Guys! 

[Bone[501st]]

Hi Michael!
Welcome to the white zone!

I hope you will have a pleasant trip and a lot of fun.

Care to tell a bit more about you?
There is an extra thread where new members can introduce themseves.

I am not too much in the know about what is included in an AP kit, but it is a safe bet, that you have to buy a black undersuit, for instance.

Additionally gloves with flexible handguards are normally not part of the big brown box delivery.
Canvas belt and leather holster are also extras.
White boots also need to be obtained separately.

Mic tips, s-trims and lenses are sometimes parts that need to be bought, but that heavily depends on the maker of the armor. Troopermaster for instance, supplies all the correct things in one go ...

If you want to take your plastic spaceman costume one step further, you can also incorporate an aker system, a wearable amplifier sysrem for boosting and altering your voice.
Oh, and depending on where you live, you might want to consider helmet fans for defogging your lenses ...

Edited March 18, 2015 by Bone

[hon143]

You will also need the tools to build everything....lexan scissors ( curved and straight ), sand paper, dremel tool, rivet gun, vario pliers for attaching snaps, glue (a few to choose from and based on what you're comfortable with), snaps, rivets, etc.

 

If you look in the tutorials sections or the trooperbay website, it'll have all the info you need.  I started looking into this in the middle of last year and took the plunge in November.  I got the helmet kit first while on the wait list for the rest of the armor kit.  While I was waiting for the bucket to be sent to me, I started ordering all the parts I needed.  The bucket took about 2-3 wks to complete. I then did a Hasbro E-11 build which took about a week only.  I finally got my armor kit last month and completed it in about a month.  

 

You can either purchase the kits partially completed/trimmed or untrimmed.  Honestly, I recommend getting it untrimmed.  It's fairly easy to trim.  And, you'll likely have to trim the pieces to fit your body size anyways.

 

You'll probably have to spend an extra $300-400 on extra parts, tools, and supplies in addition to the cost of the TK kit.

Edited March 18, 2015 by hon143

[Sly11[Admin]]

Hi Michael

I have an AP, and I promise you wont be disappointed.

I notice some items have been mentioned already, but here are a couple of things you will need to replace, so  will list them below.

 

Hovi mic tips....AP comes with tap aerators.

Suggestion, CFO (cast from original)  send a PM to Sskunky here on the boards, his are awesome, complete and ready to install.

 

"S" trim for bottom of helmet. AP come with a "U" shaped trim, fine for basic approval, but if you are considering the higher levels of accuracy (EIB and Centurion) S trim is required.

Suggestion   Trooperbay sells S Trim

 

Which TK are you building??  ANH,Stunt or Hero, ESB or  RotJ.

This info will allow me and others to give better feedback, aside from that, keep researching and good luck with your build.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

I build AP armor. if you need my help. please let me know,

[Snaps[TK]]

AP is great....the major things to remember is measure 4 or 5 times, cut a little less than that and then try the pieces on. Also have fun with it!

 

Some of the tools I used was sharp knife (always keep it sharp) , ruler, clamps, a lot of tape, a metal straight edge to help cutting. I'd also say have a measuring tape on hand to help. Get some rare earth magnets to help hold the shims on while they dry. I'd recommend using E6000 glue. Its strong but still allows you to take parts apart in case you have to make an adjustment. I had to use ca glue to get the sniper plate to stay on. That stuff dries quickly and can run where you don't want it to so be careful if you've never used ca glue before. Also, snaps, the heavy duty kind and elastic straps that you can get at any fabric or hobby store.

 

Along with replacing the mic tips and getting s-trim, I'd recommend getting a darker lens for your helmet. Helps keep light out and people seeing through. Also, and just a suggestion, paint the inside of your helmet black. It'll help with sun light and kids will see more darkness when they try to look up into your helmet, makes it more mysterious

 

I got the rivets, lenses, s-trim and magnets from trooperbay.com

 

Hope you'll make a build thread where everyone can help you out and of course be nosey We do love helping and pics!

 

Best of luck and we're always here to help fellow troopers!

Edited March 18, 2015 by Snaps

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Hi Micheal,

About the extras needed for a build, Billhag's diagrams summarize it pretty well:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28527-tk-build-tool-kit-list/?p=362225

[Bone[501st]]

Good god!

 

Did Billhag draw a diagram for everything?

[Sly11[Admin]]

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalki think he did indeed

Edited March 18, 2015 by Sly11

[DarkOrder66]

Have fun... Slow and steady wins the race. Use EIB and Centurion posts for references it helps.

 

I thought I saw a list floating around out there with everything that is needed.

[FrenchyLeFry]

Wow, there is a lot of stuff on that list. Thank you for your help, everyone! I never really gave much thought to what build I was doing. I was under the impression that AP armor was best for an ANH build so I guess that's what I was going for. I'll post a thread to introduce myself and all the other specifics. Thanks for all the replies guys!

 

Edit: I posted in the new member introduction thread. Lets move the convo there, yeah? (If anyone wanted to post anything else here, that is)

Edited March 19, 2015 by FrenchyLeFry