Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 3, 2015 Author Report Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) My magnets have arrived! I now have 3x more than yesterday. Mouwahahaha! Let's build armor Edited June 4, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Hello all, So, now that I have more magnets, I decided to work on the large pieces. I also needed to start my 2nd tube of E6000. I installed the snaps inside the chest and ab plate sections (I'll do the front shoulder snaps tomorrow because I'm out of clamps AND magnets... doh!): And I also installed snaps inside the back, kidney, and butt plate sections: I used a popular diagram for snap placement as follow: But I did not install the ones on the sides of the ab and kidney plates. The main reason is that I don't understand at the moment why since there are supposed to be rivets there. So when I figure this thing, I'll proceed accordingly. If you want to shed some light on my dilemma, I'd be grateful Aside from that, I installed the remaining snaps in the shoulder bells (the ones that will be attached to the biceps). So... that has been a nice production run. Cheers! Edited June 4, 2015 by Somatophylax 1 Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 4, 2015 Author Report Posted June 4, 2015 Hi all, A question about the rivets (my issue with my previous post)... On the diagram (Ab plate #3,4,5), should I understand that I glue in a piece of black elastics (like I did with the snaps everywhere else), but instead of a snap attached to it, I just glue in a washer? That way, when I install the rivet it will go through? Thanks Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 5, 2015 Author Report Posted June 5, 2015 Good evening Empire! Fun stuff today I finally found the courage to do the thigh assemblies (with front inner strip only). When it's done, I'll check out how to finish the back. Yes... the box between them contains a pair of TK boots, courtesy of Imperial Boots I also installed the final snaps on the chest plate for the shoulders. Tomorrow I'll be able to "try" and see if I can manage (on my own) the elastic bridge with it's back counterpart. For that... I've already done half of the job for the white elastic bridge strap. Then, FINALLY... some segmental attachments! (I don't know if it's a real word.... otherwise it's a liberal translation from French... sorry). I have done the strapping for the shoulder-bicep assemblies. Not so bad. But without help, or without having the shoulders attached to the torso, I find it difficult to do the next step, i.e. attaching the forearms. Et voilà ! This is how it kind of look on me. Look Ma! One hand! So, I guess that's it for tonight. Cheers everyone! 1 Quote
Mutter Posted June 5, 2015 Report Posted June 5, 2015 (edited) You're making great progress! Keep it up! If you look at some original photos of Ab plate rivets 3,4,5, the rivets went through the plastic, then elastic and then were bent onto a washer. Nothing was glued in place. If you want to keep your build "pure", do it this way. The downside is this will be the only connection point that can't be separated. An alternative is to place the rivets through the plastic and then bend onto the washer (no elastic). Then install separate snaps like you're doing everywhere else. Outside is accurate, inside is convenient. Know what I mean? The forearms took me some time, trial and error before I got them where I wanted them to be. I'd agree that it's easier and makes a more accurate fit if the shoulder bells are attached to the shoulders. Two things to keep in mind 1) try to minimize the gap between your bicep and forearm 2) be careful of armor bites. I had glued the snaps in place and marked their location on the outside of the armor. I positioned the biceps and forearms to where I thought they should be and then measured the marks. Based on that, I made the elastic. I did have to do some tweaking but it worked out well for me. Good luck! Edited June 5, 2015 by Mutter Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 5, 2015 Author Report Posted June 5, 2015 Ahh. I see. So the rivets can be just "decorations" too. I know I've seen pics of people who just put a large rectangular slab of vlcro to attach both parts. So I have many options. Thanks for the suggestion Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 6, 2015 Author Report Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) Hello everyone, Tonight, I decided to work again on the leg pieces. I think that, at the moment, they're the ones I hate the most. I find it difficult to set up and fit right. But I have to do it, so... Since I had done the thighs yesterday, I decided to reinforce one with its front outer strip. That took a lot of my magnets. I did the left leg first because it's easier for me (i.e. it fits better). I'll do the right another day. So, once it is reinforced properly, I'll have less fear about working on closing it in the back. In addition, and since I'll need even more magnets for the right thigh, I worked on the left calf next. That one bothered me a bit because it's left part if about 1cm higher than its right part (or is it the reverse?). Anyway, I either had to properly fit the top (and then trim the bottom) or fit the bottom (and then trim the top). Just to be sure, I taped the calf and tried it over my TK boots (because it WILL go over them so there's no point testing the fit on my naked leg). The result is that I'm a bit worry about how tight it will be at the ankle. Also, considering that the left calf will have the sniper plate at the top, I have decided to properly fit the bottom right away. That gives me 2 things: 1. It relieved some pressure at the bottom, over my boot. 2. It's ok to trim the top because the sniper plate will hide it anyway. So... here are the pieces for the left leg. Hmm. Looks like my TK boots wanted to take some air These magnets are really strong! While trying to install a pair in the thigh, one fell from my hands. But instead of falling down, it curved in mid air and went to meet it's twin held by my other hand. But just before impact, the damn thing took away a piece of skin at the same time. A little blood... but damn! So... The weekend is upon us and it's not my time with my kids. So I'll try to make most of it. Although, "most" probably means paint and snaps... because of the 24hr waiting time for everything that I glue. Cheers! Edited June 6, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 6, 2015 Author Report Posted June 6, 2015 Greetings troopers! What a beautiful and sunny day here in the Montreal area. Too bad I'm stuck inside but I have work to do. I went to see Mark (AP) and get the holster for my blaster. I saw with the loops that it is made ESB style. So, I'll cut the top of the loops and will only keep the front part (which will be riveted to the belt). I'll get back to you on that when I work on the belt. Aside from that, I finished cutting all the inner and outer strips that I'll need to finish off the calves and thighs. I don't like cutting, so that's a good thing. I gave my thermal detonator tube a second coat of grey paint. Now I have to find the darn screws for the belt clips. Any ideas where or what size? While I had the paint out, I decided to do something new and work on the bucket (yes... I finally managed NOT to all it 'helmet' ). I had at first the thought to install the decals that came with the kit. My idea was to do that (since it's quicker) so I can get into the Legion sooner. I also thought that I would use the decals as templates and simply paint "over" them. So I'd get a hand-painted look, but with a neat guide, when the time comes for Centurion. However, some of decals were too impossible to install. The surface has too much of a curve and it wouldn't stay flat. When I fixed a side, the opposite side would bump out. So I decided that "to Hell with the decals"! I've painted quite a number of model kits in my days. I also painted tons of tiny D&D (and other game) pewter figurines. I can do this! So I painted all the grey that was needed. I can't paint the black outlines now since the grey is not dry. But I still did the vocoder. So here is the preliminary version. All freehand, no masking tape! I haven't received the Hovi Mics yet, as well as the mesh for the mouth, and the darker, stronger green film for the eyes, and also Echo's Fan System. Leaning too long painting... my back hurts now. I'll take a break I think. Until later! Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 6, 2015 Author Report Posted June 6, 2015 (edited) Good evening! Getting tired. But managed to do some more work this evening. I attached the forearms to the arm assemblies. So that's mostly done (only need to put the cross-side elastic in the shoulder bells). The forearm adjustment seems ok, although I'll know more once it's attached to the torso. Like the commander of the 2nd Death Star told Vader: "I need more men". And while hammering the snaps here, I hit my thumb with the hammer. It's been over an hour and I still feel the pain I also attached the back pieces. I still need to do the butt snaps and the kidney plate rivets... eventually. And I worked on the right leg tonight. Put the front outer strip on the thigh and attached both halves of the right calf together. Cheers! Edited June 6, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
MarxKnight91[TK] Posted June 7, 2015 Report Posted June 7, 2015 Great stuff Somatophylax. I just trimmed up my thighs and calves this afternoon and had a couple of questions for you: 1. Did you find that you had to trim a lot of the thighs? My shins/calves seem perfect (credit to the previous owner of the set) but my thighs look like they need a lot of follow up work. 2. Did you have to rework your thighs at all to accommodate your legs? The tops of mine are fine, but a little snug, while the bottoms seem to flair out too much; I imagine this can be fixed by angling the back a bit with a few more cuts to open up the top, but wanted to see what you did. Best Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Posted June 7, 2015 (edited) Great stuff Somatophylax. I just trimmed up my thighs and calves this afternoon and had a couple of questions for you: 1. Did you find that you had to trim a lot of the thighs? My shins/calves seem perfect (credit to the previous owner of the set) but my thighs look like they need a lot of follow up work. 2. Did you have to rework your thighs at all to accommodate your legs? The tops of mine are fine, but a little snug, while the bottoms seem to flair out too much; I imagine this can be fixed by angling the back a bit with a few more cuts to open up the top, but wanted to see what you did. Best Hi, Thank you Marx! It depends on the make of your armor. The AP has a weird thing with the right thigh. It's right half is much longer than its left half. I think I have a post about that earlier on. So I decided to trim up the top part to make a better curve. Any default left will be hidden by the outer strip. I did have to rework the vertical ridge area to make a better fit when I glued the 2 halves together. The bottom of the right thigh can be crooked or misaligned and it's ok because it will be hidden by the battery pack. Same for the top of the left calf, which will be hidden by the sniper plate. My biggest work on the legs remain though... I.e. the back! Once I'm ready to close up the back of the thighs and calves, I'm somewhat worry that I'll have to trim them some more. Or, at the very least, I'll have to force them into place when I finish them. But in general, I think the leg parts are usually the more problematic. If you look at various treads (MechaPumpkin has the best build tread I've seen so far), it is a recurring problem. Not sure if that helps. But have faith in your abilities. You'll get it right. Just remember: Measure two or three times... because you only cut once! Stéphane Edited June 7, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Posted June 7, 2015 Hi again, Ok, why wait for something I can do right now? I finished up the arm assemblies by installing a cross-section elastic in the shoulder bell to cover the bicep and hold it all in place. It will make sure the thing doesn't flap up and down. So I used pieces of industrial-strength velcro and made little squares for the insides of the shoulder bells, and on the piece of elastic. And voilà ! Final arm assemblies! I feel better now. My thumb doesn't though. Still hurts really bad. Darn hammer! Cheers! Quote
MarxKnight91[TK] Posted June 7, 2015 Report Posted June 7, 2015 Hi, Thank you Marx! It depends on the make of your armor. The AP has a weird thing with the right thigh. It's right half is much longer than its left half. I think I have a post about that earlier on. So I decided to trim up the top part to make a better curve. Any default left will be hidden by the outer strip. I did have to rework the vertical ridge area to make a better fit when I glued the 2 halves together. The bottom of the right thigh can be crooked or misaligned and it's ok because it will be hidden by the battery pack. Same for the top of the left calf, which will be hidden by the sniper plate. My biggest work on the legs remain though... I.e. the back! Once I'm ready to close up the back of the thighs and calves, I'm somewhat worry that I'll have to trim them some more. Or, at the very least, I'll have to force them into place when I finish them. But in general, I think the leg parts are usually the more problematic. If you look at various treads (MechaPumpkin has the best build tread I've seen so far), it is a recurring problem. Not sure if that helps. But have faith in your abilities. You'll get it right. Just remember: Measure two or three times... because you only cut once! Stéphane Thanks Stéphane; I also have AP and have been reading and rereading Mecha's thread about once a week since I joined here. I imagine i'll just need to reshape the bottom cuts a bit to open up the top, which shouldn't bee too much of a big deal, especially with the battery pack and sniper plate as you mentioned. Excellent work on the arms and snaps. I'll be going to pick up my elastic and snaps tomorrow to begin that portion of the build. Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Posted June 7, 2015 Thanks Stéphane; I also have AP and have been reading and rereading Mecha's thread about once a week since I joined here. I imagine i'll just need to reshape the bottom cuts a bit to open up the top, which shouldn't bee too much of a big deal, especially with the battery pack and sniper plate as you mentioned. Excellent work on the arms and snaps. I'll be going to pick up my elastic and snaps tomorrow to begin that portion of the build. You're welcome! And thanks for the comment Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 7, 2015 Author Report Posted June 7, 2015 Greetings troopers, Quite a big day today. But it's already over as I'll soon head to my daughters' dance recital tonight. Lucky for me, I'm off tomorrow. Oh well, more armor work I guess I worked on the thermal detonator first. I attached the ABS plate on the tube. I also went to the local Reno-Depot store and found the screws I was looking for. I don't know if they're the slotted pan-head variety... but they look damn close. And I painted the heads black. If you look on the picture, there's too much aluminum after the final hole in the belt clip. So I removed the surplus (not shown here). Then I worked on the bucket with some more paint. I retouched the vocoder with a little more black. Then I drew the black outline around all the grey areas. For the lines inside them, I decided to use the decals that came with my kit. I used my cutter to take away the black lines and thus made templates out of them. Then, by using a pencil, I drew the lines with the templates. And then painted over the pencil marks. Here's the result. I still have the tube stripes to do. I was thinking of applying the transfer decal and then just paint over them. That would give me the perfect template AND the hand-painted look I want. At this point, my brother came in to help me. He's interested in the legion and might consider joining as a Sith Lord. It seems there is no Count Dooku in Montreal. So he helped me with the shoulder measurement (with chest/back plates). With that I was able to finish off the shoulder straps. And now... ta-dah! It's not complete by far. But it's nice to finally show a lot of progress. And an action shot while I'm at it. So then he helped me figure out where the shoulder bridges will be glued. We delimited the area with masking tape. Now I know where to put the glue. I also experimented with boiling-water ABS bending (since I had such a bad experience with a heat gun). I was able to manage a slight bend in the shoulder bridges. It's not much. But it's there and it will help in the end I'm sure. And.... that's where I am right now. Stay tuned tomorrow for some more work. Cheers! Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 8, 2015 Author Report Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Hello guys and gals, "Eh, yoto!" ...because he's holding a thermal detonator!!! So I finished the D.T. this morning. Drilled the holes, placed the clips with washers and nuts, and put the end caps. The caps are so tight I wonder if I really to glue them. Then I build up the courage to cut off the required "kidney notch" if I want to succeed with a Centurion application. So here it is... 22x22mm! I then put the front outer strips on my calves... Soooo shiny! ... and the interior "back" strips for the thighs. That means I'll be able to start closing the leg sections very soon. I received my package from TrooperBay today. So I have the missing paints (the 2 blues mainly), the s-trim, the mouth mesh, and a higher-quality green lense for the eyes. To be continued... Cheers! Edited June 8, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 9, 2015 Author Report Posted June 9, 2015 Good evening, A quiet evening, so I helped myself with a little paint job. I did the ab plate buttons. Like most other troopers here, I followed the popular paint code scheme. The only painting I have left will be to paint the tube stripes. I applied the decals already. And I intend to make the Legion application with that. Later, when I shoot for Centurion, I'll paint over the decal with the appropriate color for that "hand painted" look we want. Good night! 1 Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 9, 2015 Author Report Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Hello everyone! Today's update... I received my E-11 blaster decals and so put them on. The surface for the ammo counter had room for only 4 digits. Do you think this will be a problem? The CRL doesn't mention how many digits it should have. I finally put the interior strip on the thighs. This means I'll finish them tomorrow. Yeee! And I put the outer strip on the calves. These will support the velcro strip that will close the calves when I wear them. And I made a little paper template for the shape of the grin on the bucket. I then cut it out (although a bit larger) in the mesh piece I got from TrooperBay. And I "finished" it up with a slim strip of white duct tape all around to solidify it. Here's the results.. inside and outside view of the mesh in the bucket. And now the green lense that came with my kit. I'll try it out for now and decide later if I replace it with the darker, thicker one I got from TrooperBay. That's it for now. Cheers Edited June 9, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted June 9, 2015 Report Posted June 9, 2015 Nice work so far . I'm a bit worried about your thighs not being fitted to your body though as i see you haven't trimmed anything at the back. Be careful of the "Church bell syndrome" (thighs fitted at the top but with too much room around the knees). The thighs should taper down. Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 9, 2015 Author Report Posted June 9, 2015 (edited) Nice work so far . I'm a bit worried about your thighs not being fitted to your body though as i see you haven't trimmed anything at the back. Be careful of the "Church bell syndrome" (thighs fitted at the top but with too much room around the knees). The thighs should taper down. Thanks for the input. For the thigh fit, I admit I hadn't thought of it that way. It sort of looked ok as it is. I did trim away a little bit, but not much. Is that why the back of the thighs only has a ridge on one side... in order for us to trim a lot? I guess I'll know tomorrow if it looks bad or not. I'll keep you posted for sure. Thanks Edited June 9, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 10, 2015 Author Report Posted June 10, 2015 On the other hand... Should I wait for tomorrow and hope it's alright? Or should i break it apart now while the glue is only 3hrs fresh? Stéphane Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 10, 2015 Author Report Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) Ok... Well, I decided to abort tonight's operation on the thighs. Thanks to The5thHorseman's eye, I checked them out again and it's obvious that they will be too large on me. I'm talking at least 2 inches too much in diameter!!!! I don't know why I did not notice it before. So I pull the back seam apart while the glue was still fresh. I'll have to work on them tomorrow night when the glue is dry. But I'll have a fair bit of trimming to do. Sucks, really But I guess now is the best time to think about it... and not in 24 hrs when it would have been much harder to separate. I guess this is my first major setback. *sigh* Edited June 10, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted June 10, 2015 Report Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) Good call doing it! I know this is a tough decision to make but unfitted thighs can really spoil the overall look of an armor. When you trim the excess at the back of your thighs, don't worry too much if the bottom ridge does not line up perfectly anymore, this doesn't really matter. Also, keep in mind that your trim lines should form an Upside-down "V": Edited June 10, 2015 by The5thHorseman Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 10, 2015 Author Report Posted June 10, 2015 Good call doing it! I know this is a tough decision to make but unfitted thighs can really spoil the overall look of an armor. When you trim the excess at the back of your thighs, don't worry too much if the bottom ridge does not line up perfectly anymore, this doesn't really matter. Also, keep in mind that your trim lines should form an Upside-down "V": Oh, I see. That would have looked like a bermuda-short version of the armor. I really appreciate your intervention... and very timely too! Quote
Somatophylax[501st] Posted June 10, 2015 Author Report Posted June 10, 2015 (edited) Hi, This is a preliminary test of the thigh pieces, taped in order to have them with a much better fit. I am daunted by the task ahead. That's a LOT of plastic to remove! I am unsure where (i.e. on which side(s)) to remove it... because it might be awful to close the thighs once the trim is done. Any ideas? And a look at what I might do: Edited June 12, 2015 by Somatophylax Quote
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