TK-? My AP build

[Somatophylax[501st]]

Hi everyone,

 

TK-???? here (I know... I can't wait to get my ID). This arrived today! "Arrived" is not quite exact. I live about 20 minutes away form AP. So I picked it up myself and saved time, shipping, time, stress, and time

 

And so it begins...

 

Edited May 22, 2015 by Somatophylax

[charlesnarles]

Fun box, oh fun box, small and square and dark! (Fairly Odd Parents, sorry). That's some lucky geography. What kinda shiny new blaster is that?

Also make sure to keep CRLs and build threads handy for comparisons when making big cuts

[Mutter]

Congrats! Now the fun begins!

[gazmosis[501st]]

Ive seen these blasters before. They are nice. I can never get who they are from but Mark has been using him/them for a while. 

[Tibo]

May I know where did you get it from ? I am searching for my E11, looking through all options available. Shipping is usually killing me..

[Somatophylax[501st]]

Got the E-11 from AP with my armor. He orders them from a maker in Ontario.

 

 

Stéphane

[Tibo]

Thank you Stéphane

[Somatophylax[501st]]

So... after a couple of days (painfully thinking about starting to work on it), I finally opened the box and verified the content.

 

So many parts!

 

 

I decided to tape the articulations and analyze the basic assembly. I was surprised at how the pieces don't necessarily fit perfectly. I will need to either force them into place when I glue them. Or, I'll need to do some trimming. Or both! What are your thoughts on that?

Edited May 22, 2015 by Somatophylax

[Somatophylax[501st]]

So... not much progress still on the armor. Honestly, I'm so scared of fitting and glueing the first piece and I'm not sure how to proceed to make the joint strips

 

So in the meantime I decided to try and test the snaps. I never worked with that before. The first ones aren't really a success. The damn shafts are too long and thus hard to hammer down. The first pair I couldn't make them snap. The second (with the fabric) work, after I also used the hammer to snap them together (which I won't be able to do while wearing the armor). I hope it won't cost me a ton of money before I get it right!

 

Edited May 22, 2015 by Somatophylax

[Sly11[Admin]]

I have a suggestion for you on the snaps.

Use a Phillips head screw driver first, instead of the tool. This helps to split the shaft in four directions, then use the tool to continue to spread them.

It will give you a better fastening and might make it a little easier.

 

 

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[Somatophylax[501st]]

Oooo.... Nice idea. Thanks

[ABS80]

One thing to concider is that the original suits were very wonky made from much thinner plastic therefore easier to align and glue parts together because the thinner plastic had much less resistance.

 

Mark (AP)

Edited May 21, 2015 by ABS80

[Somatophylax[501st]]

Good point Mark

 

Sly11... the trick with the Phillps works quite nicely. Thanks!

 

Also, thanks to MechaPumpkin's build tread (and advice), I made myself a cutting station.

 

Edited May 22, 2015 by Somatophylax

[Somatophylax[501st]]

So here is my first set of ABS strips ever! They didn't end right as I probably did not press hard enough while cutting (or pressed too hard... I don't know). But they'll do fine for the inner joints of the bicep pieces. I smoothed the edges and rounded up the corners with a dremmel.

 

Edited May 22, 2015 by Somatophylax

[Somatophylax[501st]]

And there... It's official... Armor building has started! One bicep set with the inner strips waiting to dry. I used E6000. Results in 24 hours

 

I'll need 6 more strips to finish the pair of biceps. So I'll make them and use the best 4 as the outer strips for a better look.

 

Edited May 22, 2015 by Somatophylax

[ABS80]

remember just score using a ruler pressing hard enough, no need to go deep and bend plastic it will break clean with no rough edges, I did tons this way.

Edited May 21, 2015 by ABS80

[Somatophylax[501st]]

remember just score using a ruler pressing hard enough, no need to go deep and bend plastic it will break clean with no rough edges, I did tons this way.

 

Gotcha. The ruler was held down quite well with the tools. But when I got to the middle of it, the cutter blade kind of dug beneath the ruler and so made a curve in the cut. I'll be more careful next time.

 

Update:  I just did a 2nd pair of bicep strips and they're perfect (I think). So I was much more careful while cutting. Thanks Mark 

                Note to self:  Do not wear black pants when sanding white ABS 

Edited May 22, 2015 by Somatophylax

[Somatophylax[501st]]

By the way... I'm aiming for centurion right away with my first build. So if someone notices something odd, don't hesitate to point it out. Thanks

 

 

Stéphane

[Somatophylax[501st]]

Hi again,

 

I made a whole bunch of strips to complete the biceps and forearms. So here are the forearms with the inner strips glued.  I ran out of clamps (damn!). I guess I'll work on more strips or snaps until tomorrow.  I hope they'll glue ok. One of them kept slipping out of place (even with clamps on) and I had to find a way to hold it there. 

 

[Somatophylax[501st]]

Ok, I have a doubt on the snaps for the upper shoulder bells.  Most people just glue in elastic bases with a male snap in it.  The tutorial section mentions the possibility of using a plastic plate instead of an elastic.  I thought it would be preferable because glueing a piece of ABS with a male snap inside the shoulder bell would stick better. Here's the image from the tutorial section:

 

So, I prepared a couple of ABS plates, drilled a hole of the right size to let the snap shaft go in, and installed it.

 

But here's my problem. The 'under' part of that plate now has a bump with the back of the snap. Maybe it's just the brand I use, or maybe it's normal. But I wonder how well it will stick now when I glue it.

 

Since the shoulder bells hold the arm pieces, I want to make sure it has a secure, solid fit.  So maybe I'll have to use elastics instead. What are your thoughts on that?

 

Thanks!

Edited May 23, 2015 by Somatophylax

[Tolo[TK]]

Ok, I have a doubt on the snaps for the upper shoulder bells.  Most people just glue in elastic bases with a male snap in it.  The tutorial section mentions the possibility of using a plastic plate instead of an elastic.  I thought it would be preferable because glueing a piece of ABS with a male snap inside the shoulder bell would stick better. Here's the image from the tutorial section:

 

So, I prepared a couple of ABS plates, drilled a hole of the right size to let the snap shaft go in, and installed it.

 

But here's my problem. The 'under' part of that plate now has a bump with the back of the snap. Maybe it's just the brand I use, or maybe it's normal. But I wonder how well it will stick now when I glue it.

 

Since the shoulder bells hold the arm pieces, I want to make sure it has a secure, solid fit.  So maybe I'll have to use elastics instead. What are your thoughts on that?

 

Thanks!

Put some heat on it with a heat gun, and press the sides on a flat surface. If you don't have a heat gun, put your plastic in boiling water a couple of seconds. 

[SoCalDwat]

You can also cut small pieces of shim or cover and glue it to the underside (on both sides of the snap but not over it) so the metal part doesn't touch the armor...

 

 

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[Somatophylax[501st]]

So I found some more clamps today.  1$ for 4 at the dollar store. So I got MANY packs

 

I glued the inner strips for the 2nd bicep and I started with one inner strip for the left thigh.  It sucks though to have to wait 24hrs. Oh well... I guess I'll work on something else.

 

[Somatophylax[501st]]

You can also cut small pieces of shim or cover and glue it to the underside (on both sides of the snap but not over it) so the metal part doesn't touch the armor...

 

 

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So basically to "sandwich" the back part of the male snap (the part with the shaft)... right?  

[SoCalDwat]

Exactly. The back part snap will just hang out in between and have space between it and the armor. (Thanks to Spacebrew who taught me that one.)

 

 

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