Chills Build - ANH Stunt (TM armor)

[Chills[TK]]

It all started in December when my wife took me to a LEGO exhibit at a local park. There were some 501st members trooping at the exhibit, and when I said to the Tie Pilot how cool I thought the uniforms were, he gave me his card. "Look us up," he said.

 

Now i'm working on my own TK build!!

 

I'm very fortunate to live a few minutes away from gazmosis. He's been extremely helpful (and patient) with me during the build. I have to give a shout out to the TM maker, himself. Thanks for the armor! My goal is Centurion, so I've planned my build accordingly. 

 

So the big brown box arrived a number of weeks ago. Excited is hardly the word I'd use. 

 

 

 

Everything was packed REALLY well. Nothing was damaged on the overseas journey. I was surprised at how much stuff there was in that box.

 

 

I unwrapped everything and brought it down to my Death Star room (more on that later).

 

Here is everything I have for my TK build laid out.

 

 

 

First things first: trimming the excess. Gaz came over and helped me mark the pieces. There wasn't a lot of extra on each, so I used the curved hobby scissors to trim, then a dremel with a drum sander to grind down some more. Finally, I used 220 or 330 grit sandpaper to finish off the edges. This was, so far, the most time-consuming part of the build.

 

 

 

After I was done trimming and sanding it was time to mark the legs and arms for cover strips, and then cut the excess off. I followed the same steps for each. 

 

First I drew the "common line" by which the rest would be measured. 

 

Next, measure 1/2 the cover strip distance and mark the line for removal. 

 

Then I took a box cutter, and cut the excess off free hand. I ended up doing all of the cover strips and edges free hand. 

 

They all ended up being pretty straight. Gaz stressed how important it was that the edges match up perfectly. So I took my time sanding and trimming so they would fit snuggly together.

[Chills[TK]]

After all the measuring, trimming, and sanding I started on the cover strips. I decided to start at the top and work my way down, so biceps were first. I cut the strips then marked where I wanted the glue to go (a great suggestion by Gaz.)

 

 

 

First, the interior strips. I made them 2mm thinner than the outer ones; and they fit perfectly. I did this for every piece. I want my armor to be strong.

 

 

Then the outer cover strips. 

 

 

Tada! The top of the cover strip isn't as finished-looking as I wanted it. I fixed this mistake on my other pieces. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next I did the forearms. Nice and tight right here. 

 

 

 

More to come.

 

I welcome any feedback! 

Edited April 28, 2015 by Chills

[gazmosis[501st]]

feedback! HA! Keep up the awesome work!

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

It looks great so far!! You seem to be nailing it!

[Chills[TK]]

back. Here is a sample of the finished  forearm.

 

 

 

With the arms done I started the working on the strapping. I used static webbing between forearms and biceps along the inside of my elbow; I didn't want their distances changing. I'd been reading that one of the toughest things to get perfect is having the shoulder bells not slip around. So I decided to use elastic to join the biceps and shoulders together, and have that join the other side.

 

Instead of attaching the elastic to the shoulder bells with snaps, I used static webbing to form bridges over the trench in the bell. One side snaps to the bicep, the other runs along my upper torso and connects with a clip to the exact same setup from the other arm. The elastic runs along the middle of the bell, and slides around as I move my arm; but it keeps the bell close in and right in place. The biceps don't slide down, either. The only hard thing is getting the middle clipped by myself.

 

 

 

 

 

I'll have the final picture of the way they sit later on.

 

 

 

After the arms I started working on the torso. First things first, cutting the button panel

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to make sure the corners would stay down on the curved surface while drying, so I built a frame.

 

 

 

Add a heavy book and tada!

 

[Chills[TK]]

Next came the torso strapping. As you all know, Centurion requirements are strict here. 

 

6 split rivets, 3 on each side; about 10mm from the edge. Thankfully, TM puts a nice line on each side to use as a guide. 

 

Tape the kidney and abs together so that the rivets are lined up.

 

 

 

Drilled the holes, then cut the webbing to size (always melting the edges with a lighter so they don't fray). The hardest part was making a hole in the webbing. After trying SO many different methods I ended up using a soldering iron. It worked PERFECTLY. Made the hole quickly and melted the edges so no fraying.

 

 

 

 

After that I started on the butt plate. I made snap plates out of extra ABS. I used male ends, but still wasn't getting a good, solid fit. So I melted the middles and bent them. It worked out great.

 

 

 

Three snap plates on the top and two male snaps on the crotch and the piece is ready.

 

 

 

All the strapping is done for the torso. (well, I ended up adding one more strap on the right side after this pic was taken).

 

 

 

 

[Chills[TK]]

Next is the chest and back. First, snap plates made out of the white 2" webbing. 

 

 

 

Then a test fit. I've got a short torso, so when the back sits on top of the kidney, the shoulders stick straight up over my shoulders. So I'll need to bend them down. I've got some help coming over for that one.

 

I glued elastic to the hand plates, too.

 

Here is a test fit of all I've done so far.  

 

[Khazid[TK]]

Looking nice, I like the lego frame for putting on the ab button plate. Going to put that in my build book.

[Chills[TK]]

LOL, thanks. I was looking all over for something to hold the corners down then had an epiphany while working on a LEGO B-Wing.  

Edited April 30, 2015 by Chills

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

This is looking great! Keep up the good job.

Edited April 30, 2015 by The5thHorseman

[johnnyshotfirst]

Enjoying the build 🼠like the bell to bicep solution you came up with.

[CoolHand[TK]]

Taking some copious notes of my own from your build! Great details and ideas!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AnjelRedemption[TK]]

WOW, you hit the ground running on this one!

 

I will be watching this for other great ideas you come up with.

[Chills[TK]]

Well, it's been a month since my last post. I've neglected my build thread, but not my armor. 

 

I finished the chest and back. Gaz came by to help with the latter. Since I'm short, the shoulder pieces on the back stuck up too far, so we heated them in boiling water and bent them down over my shoulders. Ended up looking pretty sweet. Sorry, no pics.

 

The shoulder bridges don't have a lot to grip onto the chest, so I added some plastic (upon advice from Gaz).

 

 

 

 

Then came the glue.

 

 

 

 

Next I tackled the greaves. First was to glue the under-strips on the joints.

 

 

 

Next was the actual cover strip. After doing the arms this part went pretty smoothly. After this pic was taken I trimmed the bottom so the edges lined up.

 

 

 

Now it's time for the sniper plate. I marked where I would trim and lined it all up. 

 

 

 

Finally came the glue. I have to say TM does a great job with this piece, it fits really well.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2015 by Chills

[Chills[TK]]

I was going to do the thighs next, but I ran into a problem. Too many years of mountaineering and backpacking has caused my thigh muscles to grow to unusual size. So the armor wouldn't close, and my only option was to shim them. I shot TM a message and he sent over some extra plastic right away. 

 

While waiting for that plastic to arrive Gaz came over and we did the helmet. His help with trimming the ears was invaluable. He admitted that the TM ears were the trickiest he's had to cut. He worked the left and I worked the right, and in one evening we got them done. It would have taken me days to get these little guys perfect.

 

 

 

Gaz also showed me a cool trick to attach the lenses. We built blocks with screw holes inside using 3 layers of ABS. We then glued them to the corners of the eye-holes. (you can see one in the pic below) We also trimmed the rest of the helmet and fitted the halves together, and drilled out the rivet holes. Before assembly I painted. First was the black edge for the cheeks and traps.

 

 

 

 

 

Then the field of gray. My first attempt was ok, but I was too cautious with the edge, and the black strip was too thick.

 

 

 

 

With some patience and a few passes of the brush I thinned out that edge.

 

[Chills[TK]]

Next came the stripes. These took the longest, but I started with a template and using dots from a Sharpie to mark where they would go. Then I used the blue tape to mark top and bottom.

 

 

 

After that I did the teeth and vocoder, which were not as tough as I thought. Just takes a steady hand.

 

 

 

 

Finally, the assembly. I have to also give credit to Gaz for the brow; he got the edges to match up the traps perfectly.

 

 

 

 

Finally, the tube stripes. I went over these so many times with paint, then used thinner and a toothpick to scrape off the excess, then paint, then thinner. It took me about 4 days to get them to where I was happy.

 

[Chills[TK]]

Next came the cheese cloth/plasti-dip combo. I did two coats of the dip, which gives a great feel and look to the inside. It wasn't too tough, either.

 

For head support I used the interior of an Arai motorcycle helmet. I crashed in the helmet (great story that goes with it) so I didn't need the harness. And it fit great in the TK helmet.

 

The lenses are green welders lenses (another tip from the TK master). 

 

The bottom trim is S-trim, provided by TM. So I'm ready for Centurion!

 

 

 

 

 

And the finished product!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Chills[TK]]

While painting the helmet I also painted the ab buttons. I originally did them WAY too big, having the paint extend down to the edge, but after some research I found they should only be about 11mm wide, so out came the thinner and toothpick. The bottom blue ones still look a bit large, so I'll work on them.

 

I also got the male snaps on for the belt. 

 

 

 

 

I originally cut the hole too close to the center, then (after research) found that the rivet needs to be close to the edge. The covers are just a tiny bit away from the edge. So I had a couple of holes in there. None are visible after assembly. 

 

 

 

 

Next is the TD. TM provides a perfect tube, the aluminum strips, and the plastic.

 

 

But the caps fit on tight. I accidentally cracked one. BUT I fixed it with ABS paste. I'm getting good at using that stuff (more on that later).

 

 

 

Finally, the thighs! The shims on each side are about 1.5" on the top tapering down to about .5" on the bottom. I heated the plastic to give a return edge on the top and a corner on the bottom.

 

I made strips for the back, then started gluing it all together. Next will be the ABS paste.... (insert scary music here) More on that later.

 

[Chills[TK]]

So after I glued the the shims in place I started making the ABS paste. I used the scrap pieces from when I trimmed the armor and cut it into tiny bits. I then put them in a small glass jar and added acetone (from the local hardware store, not the nail polish remover). By the next morning I had a good paste.

 

Now, working with ABS paste was really tough for me. First, I had the consistency like pudding. But when I applied it the stuff dried within seconds, so it clumped up. I was also using a paint stick to smooth it on, with mixed results. (see first picture below) I then added more acetone and thinned it out, so it was more like runny yogurt. I also got some cheap brushes from Hobby Lobby and used these to apply. MUCH better results.

 

I then went through a process:

 

Apply with brush

Let dry

Sand with 60, then 150, then 200, then 300, then 400 sand paper.

There were little divots, so I applied again and repeated. 

 

Eventually it came out looking like picture number 2. The right side is the finished side, the left will be under a cover strip (for comparison).

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just need to go over it a couple more times with finer sandpaper, then wet sand and polish. But I'm pretty pleased with the results. And it is STRONG!

 

 

Lastly, I made a garter belt and attached the thighs with two strips of elastic each. 

 

Finally, the suit is done!

[Chills[TK]]

So I finished on May 29th, took the pictures, and sent in my application for the 501st.

 

On Wednesday I got the email: I have been accepted as TK 51114! I am still feeling elated.

 

Next, finish my E-11 and submit my EIB and Centurion applications. 

 

 

 

 

[Chills[TK]]

I also asked my wife to take a couple of shots of me in my Death Star room. 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2015 by Chills

[hupspring[TK]]

Grats on your acceptance! And your Death Star room looks awesome. Is the Imperial cog on the wall vinyl?

[Chills[TK]]

Thanks, Richard!

 

Yep, it's a vinyl sticker. I'll post pics of the whole room in the NCO Club forum. I think the FISD group will appreciate it. 

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

TM for the win! Truly gorgeous.

[johnnyshotfirst]

Love the Death Star room!!!!!ðŸ¼