Kredal's ANH Hero build [AM2]

[Kredal[TK]]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking of using a couple bar clamps to squeeze on the biceps while they're submerged.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Thanks for the advice! I was thinking of using a couple bar clamps to squeeze on the biceps while they're submerged.

 

Interesting, be gentle lol 

 

I'll be watching with anticipation. 

[Kredal[TK]]

OK, haven't gotten brave enough for water yet (plus I was out busting ghosts yesterday!)

 

 

 

OK, back to Stormtroopering!  Got the right forearm outer strips gluing for today... I'll get my magnets back tomorrow morning.

 

 

Started cutting on my left shin!  And cutting, and cutting, and cutting... These are all the strips I took off just this one leg... not counting dremeling to get edges to line up right...

 

 

Here's the leg with my boot on!  It's starting to look like a thing!

 

 

I have giant shins, so that's why two of the strips are more like triangles.  The top of the leg has to be way wider than the bottom end... When I get my magnets back, I'll glue on the backing strip for the front, and the inside and outside strips on the back of the leg... then trim down some of the evil return edge cutting into leg (and boot!) plastic.  Then start on the right shin!

[LoveMonkey[501st]]

Great job, you are moving along nicely!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kredal[TK]]

More helmet fitting!  There's very little documented about the AM2 helmet, so I thought I'd lend a hand... 

 

I started out by adding the black trim across the forehead, I angled the end cuts to match the traps.  None of the gallery pictures of Han or Luke's helmets show that very definitively, but I think it looks cleaner than a straight vertical cut.  I'll make sure the black outline on the trap matches the end of the trim too, so it looks complete. (picture was taken after all the other things were done)

 

 

Once I did that, I drilled out the middle holes on either side with a 9/64 bit, which is just a fraction bigger than the screws that come with the kit (either M3 or size 6, I'm not sure)

 

 

Unfortunately, that left a huge crater on the underside, which would keep the face and helmet from fitting together very well, so I trimmed that off with a pair of diagonal snips.

 

 

Once those holes were drilled on either side, I fit it together and held it in place with a couple non-locking nuts I had laying around (the kit only comes with locknuts, which would be a pain to fit with.)  I knew I wanted the "angry trooper" look of the Hero helmets, so I played with the angle that it was all fitting at, but the AM2 helmet wasn't happy being angry.  One side was always a little bit low, because of how the back and side are put together...

 

 

So I trimmed away some of the plastic on the face and hidden on the inside of the top, which helped a little, but it still wasn't right.  Nothing to do but drill a different hole on that side.  I took out the screw, held it where I wanted, then poked a fine tip sharpie through the hole to mark the faceplate where I wanted to drill.  Took it all apart, and drilled it.

 

As you can see, it's about a quarter inch away from the original divot. (Sorry for the smaller picture, Imgur didn't make a large thumbnail for some reason)

 

 

I reattached everything, played with the angle of the faceplate until I was happy...

 

 

Then drilled the other two holes on either side, and cleaned out the craters.

 

 

The next step is painting everything, or at least the traps, so I can glue the trim over them, and then mount the faceplate for good.

 

I kind of like going back and forth between the helmet and the rest of the kit.  It breaks up the monotony a lot!

[Kredal[TK]]

Biceps!  Emboldened by ukswrath trying out the boiled bicep method of rounding the rectangles, I tried it myself.  I let the water get up to about 170 F, when it started making bubbles (but not really boiling in ernest), then set the temp down to medium just to keep it there.

 

I started the cold water in the sink, set the microwave timer for 30 seconds, and dipped a bicep in the water, holding it just above the metal floor of the pot (I really didn't want to risk melting the plastic on the bottom, and having something else to clean up!) When the microwave beeped, I pulled out the bicep, shook off most of the water, squeezed it to round it out, and ran it under cold water until my hands weren't burning anymore.  (Yeah, I didn't use gloves.  Wanna fight about it?)

 

Pictures below show original, one fixed, then both fixed. One is a little bit bigger than the other, but nobody will actually notice that when they're being worn.

 

 

 

 

Total time, including boiling water, was no more than 15 minutes.  Not bad!

 

And I'm happy to report, the E6000 doesn't seem affected at all by the water bath. Yay!

Edited June 29, 2015 by Kredal

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Biceps!  Emboldened by ukswrath trying out the boiled bicep method of rounding the rectangles, I tried it myself.  I let the water get up to about 170 F, when it started making bubbles (but not really boiling in ernest), then set the temp down to medium just to keep it there.

 

I started the cold water in the sink, set the microwave timer for 30 seconds, and dipped a bicep in the water, holding it just above the metal floor of the pot (I really didn't want to risk melting the plastic on the bottom, and having something else to clean up!) When the microwave beeped, I pulled out the bicep, shook off most of the water, squeezed it to round it out, and ran it under cold water until my hands weren't burning anymore.  (Yeah, I didn't use gloves.  Wanna fight about it?)

 

Pictures below show original, one fixed, then both fixed. One is a little bit bigger than the other, but nobody will actually notice that when they're being worn.

 

Total time, including boiling water, was no more than 15 minutes.  Not bad!

 

And I'm happy to report, the E6000 doesn't seem affected at all by the water bath. Yay!

 

haha, wanna fight about it!? ah hahaha

 

Nice work josh 

[Kredal[TK]]

First major problem.  Ugh, painting.

 

I painted the front traps as promised, and figured, while I have the gray out, why not do the teeth?  Because they're a pain in the butt, that's why not!

 

I guess my brush was too full of paint, when I finished the right side (while looking at it) and went over to the left, and the paint ran down into the well made by the first un-cut tooth.

 

 

 

Somehow I need to get all of the paint out of that well, and sharpen up the triangle next to it to a point.  Any advice on fixing this?  It's Humbrol enamel paint, if that helps.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Tooth pick, soft piece of plastic, paint thinner (non acetone) and Que tip. Either one of these will work. 

 

EDIT: If you're using liquid and you're unsure how it will effect your armor ALWAYS test it on a piece of scrap ABS first.

Edited June 29, 2015 by ukswrath

[Kredal[TK]]

Tooth pick, soft piece of plastic, paint thinner (non acetone) and Que tip. Either one of these will work. 

 

EDIT: If you're using liquid and you're unsure how it will effect your armor ALWAYS test it on a piece of scrap ABS first.

 

You rock!!!

 

[Kredal[TK]]

Very small update:  Left shin front is together and gluing.  Still no cover strip on it, that'll be tomorrow.  This is just the inside strip holding the halves together.

 

 

Also bought supplies to make snap plates!

 

Using the rivet technique, 1/8 inch rivet inside the Dritz 5/8 inch snap.  I've heard so many things about the E6000 reacting to metal and melting plastic, that I had to try this myself!  I took my very first snap plate made with a split washer (don't do this, use M3 solid washers... the split washer split more.) and glued it to a scrap piece of ABS with glue all over the back, including right on the rivet.  Clamped it down, and we'll see how it looks tomorrow.

 

 

Getting my helmet painted up more... nobody will EVER be able to say they don't look hand-painted.  Pictures will be up once I have all the lines and things done in the traps and tears.  Next couple days.

[rduda]

Looking good! I'm going to use you magnet hankies, great idea. Also seeing your drilling on the helmet will help me once I start that on my AM 2.0 this weekend! Thanks for posting, keep it up.

[Kredal[TK]]

The magnet sachets are probably my favorite thing I learned before starting my kit.  They have been SOOOO useful, you don't even know.  I've got 20 sets, and could probably use more, so don't skimp on them.  Also, use 1/8 inch thick magnets if you can.  They have way more pull than the 1/16th ones.

[Kredal[TK]]

Painting is my own personal heck.  I should just pay someone to do this for me, but no, I'm a masochist.

 

I painted the grey tear two days ago, did the black outline yesterday, so today was time to paint the lines.  I bought the template from Trooperbay, and did this wonderful masterpiece:

 

 

The line connecting all of the vents is evocative of the pain that all Stormtroopers must face when they realize that the droids they were looking for just passed by in an out-of-date speeder driven by an old guy in a dress.

 

When I did the other side, I got smart.  I painted over the template with grey, and then WALKED AWAY for a half hour.  Did dishes, browsed imgur for a while.

 

 

After a half hour, I came back and painted black over the whole thing, then WALKED AWAY for another half hour.  Read all of Facebook, a little bit of Reddit, and then came back again and peeled off the template to reveal...

 

 

A tear that's not full of tears!  Yay!

 

So, tomorrow I'll go over the other side with grey again, the next day I'll put on the template again and do the same thing I did on this one.

 

Lesson learned: Take your time, and go over templates first with the base color.  I need to pick up some white enamel paint to do this with the tube stripes.

 

In other news, I made 20-ish more snap plates.  A few more than I need, I think... (4 in shoulder bells, 4 in biceps, 2 in forearms, 2 in thighs, 2 in chest shoulders, 2 in back shoulders 1 inside right ab plate.  Am I missing any?  The body plates are all going to use the original loop and brace method.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

You're a better man than me, I paid someone to do my Centurion helmet, I'll admit it, I have no shame.

 

So you're going for the canon innards but are you using the proper snaps? Got ya thinking?

[Kredal[TK]]

I'm going for canon innards just because I think they way it all hangs will work better, and keep the chest overlapping the ab plate even with my.. er.. ab bowl underneath.

 

I am also using canon split rivets (or as close as possible, 38 years later) to hold the clamshell together.  I'm planning on going rivet head-armor-elastic-ABS strip-rivet notch to make an elastic sandwich.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by the proper snaps.  I'm using the kind you can get from Joanns and use 50-60% off coupons for.  Gotta save money SOMEHOW in the build!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

S-spring snaps

[Khazid[TK]]

Instead of white paint for the tube stripes try crystal clear nail polish. Thin the polish with a non-acetone thinner if you want (testors airbrush thinner is great).

 

White enamel is hard to match abs, but crystal clear is good to go. Just go light with it, only need it to seal your stencil.

[Kredal[TK]]

My wife has plenty of clear nail polish, so I'll do that this evening.  Thanks for the tip!  I'm sure that'll look nicer.  (:

 

In other news, I made a chart.  Never make a chart.  It will make it look even more daunting than a pile of plastic is to start.

 

[Kredal[TK]]

OK, sniper plate is attached!  I wasn't expecting there to be a gap in the middle underneath, but there is, and I guess that's ok? The cover strip has only been curing for about 12 hours, so keeping the rest of the magnets on until tomorrow morning (or later)

 

 

My snap plate experiment was kind of a letdown.  Here it is all nicely attached:

 

 

And the back... Look at all that warping from the E-6000!  It's such a huge mess!

 

Oh, wait.  Nothing happened.

 

 

(I really didn't expect any reaction.  I got exactly what I expected... a snap plate that I wouldn't trust for actual armor, glued to a random piece of ABS)

 

Then I came inside and tested three different top coat fingernail polishes my wife had lying around:  I was looking for thickness of coat and fast drying... The first one, the OPI RapiDry Topcoat won both of those... very thin layer, and dried within 5 minutes or so.

 

 

I did the first tube stripe, didn't use enough of the nail polish, and had a few major gaps in the template... which led to this mess.  Lots to clean up once it's dry.

 

 

Then I did the other side... made sure I used fairly thick coats of nail polish, and that the template was down better... and got this result:

 

 

WAY better!  So this is the good side of the helmet!  The tear is good, the stripes are good... the other side, which was the first side for each element, looks like a 3 year old fingerpainted it.  Lots to fix.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Hey Josh not to be a downer but I'm pretty sure the tube strips are only supposed to be a pencil width away from the vertical section of the face. You might want to contact Gazmosis on the EIB or Centurion threads for confirmation.

 

 

Here's mine...

 

[Kredal[TK]]

Hrmm.  I made sure it was close enough to the front, but I guess I didn't check its vertical position.  Message sent to Gazmosis to check it out.  I'll report back when I hear back from him!

[Khazid[TK]]

Tony is right, the tube stripes should be about a pencil (#2 pencil) away from the joint at the face.

[Kredal[TK]]

Well, that's why you get two sets of templates, eh? I didn't like these stripes anyway. Especially not that left side one!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Well, that's why you get two sets of templates, eh? I didn't like these stripes anyway. Especially not that left side one!

 

That's the positive way to look at it