FBJ's ANH Hero Build [TM]

[Locitus[Admin]]

Thanks Mathias, when you are coming back to the UK, its time we had another catch up..

Definitely! Work has been prohibitive this last year, but it will be better from now on. Plus, I'm already committed to CE3

[firebladejedi[TK]]

Definitely! Work has been prohibitive this last year, but it will be better from now on. Plus, I'm already committed to CE3

Well I better get my a very impolite person in gear and start planning for CE3 then

[Locitus[Admin]]

Well I better get my a very impolite person in gear and start planning for CE3 then

Yes you should!

[firebladejedi[TK]]

Day X+II

Hello there! Come here my little friend. Don't be afraid. Ok so lets call this day 12, I don't have much to update and if I'm honest if this build takes any longer I'm starting to get worried that George Lucas is going to change what a stormtrooper looks like, oh wait a minute..

So starting at the top lets take a little look see at what is going on.

So the chest piece is finished, I have glued the shoulder bridges on using the stelmax, if you look closely you can see it has warped them a little in places. You want about 5 of the ribs on the chest here.




I also spent a couple of hours measuring, drilling and screwing in the original brackets for the strapping. On the chest measure 25mm in from each edge and then drill the first hole. Use your bracket to mark out the second hole. The middle bracket is centred.

Edited July 28, 2015 by firebladejedi

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

For the ab plate lay the chest on top and mark out where you need to put the brackets.

 

TM had already added the Newey England snaps for the belt.

 

 

As for the butt, again measure 50mm in from each edge and make your first hole, use the bracket to mark the next hole, again the middle bracket is centred.

 

 

The brackets in the kidney just need to match the butt and upper back plate.

 

 

Upper back plate just needs to match up with the kidney plate, the outer brackets will be about 20mm from the edge and the bracket in the middle is always centred and due to the way the armour is made it may not look like the armour parts match. Don't panic it will sit straight when finished.

 

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

I was asked about what glue I am using for thee elastic, well you guessed it I'm using Stelmax. Just slather the glue on the inside of the elastic and put it straight in to the armour part. It wont take long to dry. Then to copy the original look, splodge some more glue over the top of the elastic.

 

A recap on my arms, one bell has next to no return edge and the other quite a lot. Also one bicep has little to none and the other a bit more, there is a theme here people. Wrist return had the chop too..

 

[firebladejedi[TK]]

The thighs are glued together but I have yet to do the thigh pack, that could be done today.

 

Ok my shins, has anybody worked out what's going on with them yet? Both of my shins are identical and are made if I am not mistaken, remember I am not an expert, of the outer left and outer right parts. This is why they are so wonky looking from the front. When I put in my order with TM, he asked if I wanted any doubled up parts, and I told him to surprise me... there is another doubled part somewhere, have you seen it?

 

Measure from the very top above the raised edge and drill small holes, just big enough to get the hooks through, 45mm down, 225mm down and 340mm down. You want to go in about 10mm from the edge of the joint so the hooks pull them in slightly when closed. While a lot of people add joining strips to the inside of the shins its not accurate. If you are worried you can run a bead of glue on the inside joint like I did.

 

 

Again the elastics are just glued directly into the shins, try to match them up to the holes, but dont sweat it if they are not an 100% match.. The elastic with the number 4 hook sits about half way along the outer joining strip on the back of the shin, this will pull the shin closed nicely when worn.

 

Edited July 28, 2015 by firebladejedi

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

 

That's about it for now, I'm going to have a cup of tea and a snack, and then get on with something this avo. I start nights today so have a while to get on with some more before work. More updates later stormtrooper fans.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

So how are your abs? If its not stormtrooper related speak to Davina, if you are into white plastic speak to me.

 

Ok so on to the ab plate buttons. TM now makes these in reverse, there is reason for that but I never read that thread. However I like all things as accurate as I can so I like what he's done.

 

 

Trim your button plates as seen here, also check out those vibrant colours. Back in the day there was a lot of 'discussion' on what colour the buttons were and I have been using French blue since around 2008 as other colours popular in the past were too dark. If anyone needed proof of the lighter shade of blue used on the original armour check out these pictures hot off the press from the Lucas Archives. You cannot argue with that.

 

Original ref pic

 

 

When you are happy that you have your buttons trimmed get gluing. I like to glue mine and then paint them later.

 

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

Thigh pack for right thigh.

 

Once trimmed out you need to make the lower side edges rounded. I trimed my thigh strip just a couple of mm from the boxes. You do not need much here. To trim the edges round use anything to hand. A spray can, your masking tape. I like to use a spent casing from a L21A1 RARDEN 30mm cannon that my brother liberated when he was invited to observe a live fire battle group exercise.

 

 

When you are happy with your arc, trim and repeat on the other side. Remember that the strap needs to reach all around the thigh.

 

 

You can either have 3 blocks on the inside and 2 on the outside or have it centred both are correct. I am going to use single head caps to hold this in place. Better charge up my Dewalt again..

 

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

 

Did I mention I am working on nights this week? Well I'd barley been in bed for two hours this morning when I was rudely woken up by the postman knocking loudly on my front door. I didn't mind too much as he stood there and said 'hello mark' and passed me a parcel that was too big to put through the letterbox, as it was the vintage wooden clarinet I had bought earlier in the week after watching a couple of jazz programs. I bought it on a whim as it was 30 years ago this year that I first learnt to play the clarinet.

 

By the way I glued on the ab buttons and drilled and riveted my thigh pack on the other day, I also found my flexi ESB hand guards while trying to see if I had any spare reeds.

 

So my mum will be pleased if I can play Stranger on the Shore again, I better dig out my Acker Bilk records and see. My dad took me to see Mr Acker Bilk when he played at St Andrews Hall, here in Norwich. That must be nearly 30 years ago now. I went on to play at the very same venue years later with the various bands and orchestras I played with. Seems a long time ago now.. In a galaxy far, far away..

 

Anyway I am going to have a cup of tea, and then pop into Norwich to visit the music shop on St Benedicts St to see if they have any cork grease and a pull through cleaning rag. Better get some Rico 1.5 reeds too...

 

For those of you reading this and expecting more TM goodness, better luck until next time.

 

Until then rip Acker - ps have you any tips for my embouchure and fingering?

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

 

Hi there you've caught me in the middle of painting my buttons, French blue of course, that's no 14 in Imperial, just take your time and follow your ref pictures. I used a flat brush and remember not to load too much paint on and it does not really matter if its not too neat. I find most of this paint rubs off over time..

 

 

 

While its not raining I'm heading outside to wash my car, maybe see you later?

 

Night shifts are over, and I have a ninja class this evening if I make it or not is another matter..

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

 

Ok so the car has been rinsed, washed, rinsed, dried, polished, buffed and if it rains this evening blame me, I started it.

 

Can you believe it, I cannot find any number 5 to carry on painting my abs. What self respecting pipe poking peas would be without their number 5 hey? Oh well better pop into the city tomorrow to get some. Nobody else is going to do it for me.. maybe nobody will notice if I leave the rest white? In fairness nobody would notice much about my new set of armour if I wasn't posting pictures and telling everyone on a public forum, then again I'm not entirely sure anyone is reading this anyways.

 

So my ninja sensei is not going to be at class tonight so I may not go, I may have a poke at something else on my build.

 

I will leave you for now with my final tip for today. Wear sunscreen, always wear sunscreen.

[troopermaster]

We are reading and loving every update! Keep up the great work

[firebladejedi[TK]]

Although I did not have any grey paint yesterday I did have some black so I went ahead last night and starting adding the detail black lines to my thermal detonator.

 

 

My ref of an original part

 

 

It looks like the pipe needs to be black too.

 

Ok I'm not an expert but i'm not that stupid, and there is a serious point to this post. If you are unsure about anything at all with your build be sure to check the real ref material, double check and then ask somebody who knows what they are doing. Don't just blindly follow what others are doing. And by the way that was just an old detonator face plate I had kicking round in my tool box. The photo I used as reference was of the RS Props suit and all that black paint was added by Simon when he was a young lad and it has since been removed. The pipes are grey too, not black.

 

Right after I have had my porridge I'm off into the city to get some grey number 5 that I do need.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

First coat of paint is on. Modern humbrol paint is quite thin and watery compared to what it once was. So give it a real good stir, im taking 10-15 minutes and leave the lid off and it will darken. When I opened my new tin it wasn't even grey, it looked white almost.

 

You don't need to laser cut masking tape to do this, just a steady hand. Up close these don't look like much but from 6 feet away they look perfectly painted. I usually paint the center and then go around the edge. Be patient and careful and if you need to do a second coat leave it to dry fully. Enamel paint takes quite some time so leave it until the next day.

 

 

Finished buttons

 

 

Check out your ref material

 

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark is on the tv tonight, clearly the best Indiana Jones film. Hey has anyone else noticed that Henry Jones Jr and Han Solo look very alike?

[Locitus[Admin]]

Yeah, unless you airbrush the humbrol paints, expect a 12 hour cure time.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

I put together the thermal detonator last night while watching Raiders. Not much to say about this as there are 501 tutorials covering this. So this is what I did.

 

Firstly I did not measure anything. I used the grey pipe as it came from the Big Brown Box. The faceplate, I simply trimmed off the flashing. The end caps I used 1 inch masking tape to guide me when I cut around with my scissors. Now at the moment the clips are about the only non original item I will use on this build. I was in a hurry and didn't want to bend up the alu strips I got from TM. I will when I get time change those over. These strips I have had for years I got them from Jesse in the States, and jolly nice they are too.

 

I heated the end caps with a hairdryer for a minute or two to allow them to fit over the grey pipe without cracking them, they are just held on with pressure fit. I lined up the clip screws with the faceplate, when I use the slightly wider alu clips they will fill the gap with the caps. And I glued the faceplate on with Stelmax. Job done.

 

 

Original item for reference

 

[firebladejedi[TK]]

Double post..

Edited August 2, 2015 by firebladejedi

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Just spent the last 20 minutes reading the whole thread, and that's what i call a heck of an interesting read! It's just showing the correct way everyone should be building his armor: with reference pics.

As soon as i'm done with my current costume in progress i gotta buy me one of those TM goodness. Nothing's better.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

So how has everybody's week been? I have not done a thing to my armour this week, and to be perfectly honest I'm feeling rather annoyed about it. I have been at work all week and did not really get over my night shifts last week, 15 hours sleep from Monday to Friday is not enough, despite what anyone tells you. Today was my first rest day and I spent it at the coast, at my ninja Sensei's house doing some temeshigiri. Check it out on youtube if you are not familiar with it, great fun. I was the 2014 temeshigiri champion with the Fugiyama School of Batto-Do and its a title I wish to keep this year.

 

Ok so I am going to getting my belt put together over the next few days and in the mean time thought I would leave you these fine pictures to look at while you are waiting.

 

[Trooperman]

Realy enjoying this build thread.... and  loving your sense of humour!

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

 

Day Thirteen

 

This day of my build thread will herby be known as Day Thirteen. Unlucky for some, hey? Now I have just been chipping away at this build a little each day when I have time. I'm not in any rush as long as it is ready for the release of the new Star Wars movie. I have already been out for a haircut and I have a few hours before my ninja class this evening. So while I watch Rachel Riley stack numbers and letters in random patterns and try to work out todays conundrum, lets get to work.

 

I removed all the screws from the torso and painted them white using a rattle can. I have also sprayed the 6 left side bifurcated rivets. This will be the one and only time they are painted, so if they chip from now on tough.

 

 

I am also working on my belt as promised. So far I have trimmed along the top and bottom and am just about to cut off the corners.

 

Photobucket is a usual a total load of rubbish, pictures to follow when it starts behaving itself.

[firebladejedi[TK]]

 

Ok so if its not photobucket ballsing up when I type out a reply and then wait ages to insert links from that rubbish site, I accidently hit the x on the tab and close what I spent ages tying. Getting pretty worked up so not much will be done today, or not much will be posted I should say.

 

 

Keep checking you ref pictures for reference on where to cut trim and whatever..

 

 

The corners are cut at 45 deg to match the fabric belt. I cut mine 12mm in from the edges and this is the result. I have given up trying to edit, rotate or anything else with my pictures, nobody cares anyway, least of all me.

 

 

As always I trim with scissors, unless it is a straight line such as the corner cut, then its mark, score, snap and repeat. Mark, score, snap and repeat. Mark are you listening, score, snap and repeat.

 

[Rosleff[TK]]

My name is Mark.. and I am listening..

 

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