wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Posted December 15, 2015 Thanks, Jason! Congrats on getting your photos done. It is a great accomplishment to get from a big brown box of plastic to photo time! I'm looking forward to your update with your approved pix! I hadn't thought about fitting a pauldron into the assembly process. My only experience with them is snapping a few for others as we suit up. I can see where it could be tight. I'd suggest starting with getting just your helmet in place and comfortable so you can see out before introducing other obstructions. Also, I had to add two layers of padding on the sides to keep my helmet from wanting to wander right and left. I added the bigger block of foam in the to push the helmet forward and off my throat. Without it, I was getting jabbed right in the neck. Good Luck and fingers crossed! Quote
PiettLives[TK] Posted December 15, 2015 Report Posted December 15, 2015 Looking awesome my brother! Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 15, 2015 Author Report Posted December 15, 2015 (edited) Thanks Coach! Bonus Secret – Filling The Gaps! It was noted early in my build that I had gaps that were visible on my cover strips. Mainly it was because I didn’t have the correct rare earth magnets for clamping my cover strips while assembling. I have a secret system to make gaps disappear… So, using a secret product that is found in many garages or homes, I was able to make the gaps go away. So, how does this look? You ask, what is this secret product? Don’t tell anyone, but it’s White Caulk! Squeeze a small bead into the gap, wet your finger and smooth it down. Wipe off any reside outside the gap area and let it cure. I think it is about time to go for a test drive! Edited June 3, 2019 by wingnut65 Updated photo links 1 Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Posted December 16, 2015 (edited) The Dancing Stormtrooper! So the President of my company invited our 20 National and 7 International offices to a lip sync battle to Maroon 5’s song ‘Moves Like Jagger’ and asked them to send in a video of the staff dancing and singing. My office manager immediately sent an email to the staff in the Tampa office that Jeff would need to wear his Stormtrooper armor for this battle. Challenge, On! I was just about finished with fixing all the issues that PiettLives and I had discovered, but I still had to quickly add padding to the helmet as I posted, and I added a handle to my new bin before it was Showtime (info on that soon). I also had to quickly go buy black gloves, since my economy attempt was a flop. Also, I did not adjust the shoulder bell snap locations before this adventure. This was the first time that I had everything on, including the bucket. My lenses started to fog before I even made it up front to the reception area. A little spit and a rag and it would have to do. Let’s Dance! The video was very creative. Three of my co-workers danced with me while another recorded the video of us. The video started with staff reviewing a presentation board (insert in bottom of photo), which was removed to reveal me, drinking a cup of coffee. And then we start to dance... If I can get the videos edited together and posted, I will share a link! It was at this point that I realized I really had an issue with calves and shoes not wanting to stay together. They slid up several times during the dance movements and someone had to fix them for me. Taking The Pix Since I had everything together on my TK, I decided to take my submittal pictures. Note to self: I really need to fix those shoulders… With all the dancing, I also popped all four snaps on the straps holding my chest plate to my ab plate, which I noticed with a gap visible in my side shots. Everything went fine, until my co-workers said we were done and I had to take my costume off! This will show them! Actually, my GML requested I include an action shot photo. Not sure exactly what he was looking for, I just had to send him one of the Dancing TK, and then I included this one with a typical TK / Padawan pose. Battle Damage… I didn’t realize that I was moving my arms so much during the dancing, but somehow, my left arm kept hitting my blaster. I used some Meguiar’s PlastX polish to clean it off, although I probably could have used mineral spirits since it was just spray paint. APPROVED! After thorough review of my submittal photos, no changes were requested and TK 50297 has been approved! I also found out at our company Christmas party this past weekend, that out of the four offices that submitted videos, the ‘Dancing Stormtrooper’ won the ‘Moves Like Jagger’ lip sync battle! Wooo Hooo! This TK is ready to Troop! But First… Wrapping it up... Adding a Bin Handle and Fixing the Calves… Edited June 3, 2019 by wingnut65 Updated photo links 1 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted December 16, 2015 Report Posted December 16, 2015 EXCELLENT! Congrats Jeff, welcome to the 501st. Now quit horse playing at work get to trooping 2 Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 16, 2015 Author Report Posted December 16, 2015 EXCELLENT! Congrats Jeff, welcome to the 501st. Now quite horse playing at work get to trooping Yes, Sir. Will do! Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 17, 2015 Author Report Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) To updates flowing as I have time, I’m going to post topics as I have them finished. I will cover it all, eventually, but if I miss something, please remind me. Selecting A Bin For starters, I have a small car with limited space to access the trunk. There is no chance I would ever get one of the standard-issue Imperial 50-Gallon TK Bins from Stanley, Husky or other brand, to fit into my trunk. And I don’t want to have to put my bin in my back seat and reduce the seating capacity of my car. At other troops, I’ve seen TK’s, Bikers and even Boba Fett using the smaller Sterilite 23-Gallon Footlocker. (Sterilite Model 1842) A friend let me test fit one into my trunk and it fit perfectly. I can even get two side-by-side into my trunk. The only issue is that my bucket will not fit in it, at least the way I am packing it now. After seeing the pix from Star Wars weekends with rows of black bins, I wanted to stand out a little. BTW, I love the U sticker on the right bin! (Photo from Makaze Squad's Facebook page) I went to Wally-World and picked up a gray bin. Technically, it’s called ‘Titanium’, but really feels like plastic! Adding a Bin Handle Since it is smaller and has small wheels, at one troop, I saw a trooper pulling his bin as he leaned over to pull it. The image on the bin looks nice, but it doesn’t show the person is actually hunched over. Since the big TK bins have a pull-out handle, I came up with an idea… I cut a piece of 1/2” PVC pipe into three pieces… … Added a piece of 1/4" rope through all three pieces… … Fed it through the vent holes in the bin handle area… … And created an instant extended handle in about 10 minutes. It could have been less if I didn’t have to go in the attic to find the right size pipe! Since this shot, I painted the PVC gray, but it keeps getting scratched. I might swap these out with gray irrigation pipe at some time… Stay tuned! There's more to come! Edited June 3, 2019 by wingnut65 Photo links 1 Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted December 17, 2015 Report Posted December 17, 2015 That's pretty smart! I have a Honda Civic so I don't know if I can fit a large container in my trunk either. Once I get my pack I'll have to either bungee it on top or my box or take up my backseats.Very cleaver handle! 1 Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 22, 2015 Author Report Posted December 22, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the approval. I hope it can help others. I'm thinking of also posting the bin handle idea as a separate post where others can use it, instead of the 2 or 3 troopers that actually read every build thread Fixing Shin Issues… While dancing at the office, I had problems with my shins coming up and over my boots. Not wanting this to be an issue during my first troop, I added some hold-down elastic and Velcro to my boots and shins. I used the last of my 2” (50 mm) wide black elastic and some new, 2” industrial strength Velcro from Jo-Ann’s. The pointy side Velcro was just peeled and stuck the straight to the elastic and pressed tightly for a while. I was out of E6000 and had to use Shoe Goo to glue the elastic to the boots. I placed these hold-down straps inside the front of the shoes with the Velcro facing out, towards the shins. Using pieces of plastic to protect the boots, I clamped them overnight. The soft side of the Velcro was just peeled and stuck to the inside of my shins. Let’s see how they hold up with my First TK Troop! TK Troop #1 – TGH’s Pediatric Rehab Hospital Reindeer Reunion! For my TK reveal and my first troop in it, I was fortunate to be able to Troop at the Tampa General Pediatric Rehab Hospital’s Reindeer Reunion for their annual Christmas Party. Our squad had a great assortment of costumes to share with the kids, including fellow FISD member mkjava in his officer uniform. (His TK is on order). I had to go festive for the occasion, although my candy cane was unloaded! FYI, my hat was made by sewing two dollar store Santa hats into one larger hat that fits my bucket. It is held on with Velcro dots that are easily removable. We had an excellent handler, Stef, who took almost 200 pix that night. This is my favorite picture of this sweet little angel with so much energy and an amazing smile. She was running all over and kept us all smiling and busy with high fives. This TK costume is going to be fun! This shot was shortly before we finished and you can see that my boots and shins aren’t talking to each other, again. Stef tried to pull the shins down several times, but still no luck. What’s Wrong with My Shins? The main issue might be my choice of boots. In an effort to keep the budget as low as possible to keep peace in my family, I chose Bass Amsterdam boots, which I have been informed are shorter than the TK and Imperial boots that are offered on FISD for twice the price. If I keep having issues, I will obtain more accurate boots when funding is available. So, only considering the boots that I am wearing, what is wrong? First of all, as I was dressing down, I found out the Velcro came off the elastic. The super strong Velcro adhesive just didn’t work on a fabric that stretched and moved quite a bit Second, I compared the bottom of both shins and found my right one to be a nice circle and my left one was a narrow oval. But they still looked a little off… I grabbed the measuring tape to confirm that my right shin, besides being too narrow, is also about 1/2” (12 mm) smaller than my left. These two issues were the main reason my shins kept rising over my shoes Fixing My Shins… I gave my left shin a nice bath in boiling water and let it soak, probably for about a minute. I kept rotating it in the pot to get as much as I could warm and flexible. Then a little pressure to get it to be round and hold it until it cools. This was a big help, but it was still smaller than the right one. The hooks I am using to close my shins work fin, I just need to add a little more plastic and move the holes further out. Since the shins have a natural lip at the edge of the back strip, I figured this would be an acceptable location to place a joint. I cut a 1” (25 mm) wide strip of plastic, beveled/rounded off the outside edge to blend with the existing lip and then glued and clamped it in place. I drilled new hook holes and used my magic super-secret seam sealer to fill in the gaps and make the new strip blend in with the existing lip. With the shin hooked together, the lip on the back is just a little more than the original. This extra space in the my left calf really helps! During my troop, it felt like my sniper plate was hooking under my thigh, I added 1” (25 mm) of foam inside the plate and painted it with black craft paint. With these changes, the shins were ready to troop again. Fixing the Velcro… The Velcro came off the elastic for the last time. I used super glue on the back and then a few staples and these will never come apart again. NOTE: This shows my boots after about 10 hours of trooping, just before I re-stained them. Tightening my Boots… My second troop was going to be a long walk and I didn’t want any possible chance for my shoes pop out of my shins. At Jo-Ann’s, I found 3/4" (19 mm) wide white Velcro One-Wrap, which is self-gripping, with pointy thingys on one side and soft thingys on the other side, so it can wrap around something and stick to itself. I cut two strips long enough to wrap around my ankle one and a half times. I also added a piece of industrial Velcro soft side to the front and back of the top of my boots. When put on my boots, I tighten the Velcro around my boots tight enough to take out any extra space, but not tight enough to restrict my movements. Then fastening the Velcro at the front of my boot to the inside of my shins, and I am good to go! It isn’t pretty, but the shins come down and completely cover these straps. Later, I’ll post an update on my boots to discuss durability… Now that I have my boots and shins all fixed… Let’s Go For A Walk! Who’s with me?? Edited June 3, 2019 by wingnut65 Photo linx 1 Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted December 22, 2015 Report Posted December 22, 2015 Way to improvise and adapt! 1 Quote
Bugman57 Posted December 22, 2015 Report Posted December 22, 2015 This thread is awesome, i've been using it for tips and tricks while I put together my AP (almost done). Thanks so much, I'll see you out there soon! 1 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted December 22, 2015 Report Posted December 22, 2015 Jeff showed me this awesome improvising method at a recent troop, and it not only looks great, it does the trick splendidly! Quick question, though... Why are you dancing at the office? Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 22, 2015 Author Report Posted December 22, 2015 Way to improvise and adapt! Thanks. I have learned a lot of creative re-use and adaptive ideas since I started the costuming adventure. Gotta think outside the box! Congrats on getting your number, Jason! It looks great under your name. Now, go out there and start supporting the Empire! This thread is awesome, i've been using it for tips and tricks while I put together my AP (almost done). Thanks so much, I'll see you out there soon! Glad it can help, Tommy! I've learned a lot from many other TK build threads. When I started this one, I hoped that i could provide some info, ideas and advice that could help other Troopers, and not be a boring build. Congrats on getting yours closer to the picture time. Please let me know if there is anything I can assist with. Jeff showed me this awesome improvising method at a recent troop, and it not only looks great, it does the trick splendidly! Quick question, though... Why are you dancing at the office? My company president's lip sync video challenge... I talked about it at the beginning of this post: The Dancing Stormtrooper! Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted December 22, 2015 Report Posted December 22, 2015 Did you get a hold of the video to post? Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 23, 2015 Author Report Posted December 23, 2015 I have them, but they are huge. I will get them mixed and fixed so I can post Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted December 23, 2015 Author Report Posted December 23, 2015 (edited) For my Second Act, I mean, Troop, I headed out of town to say ‘Thanks’ to justjoseph63 for all the support and answering my assortment of questions. This was really going to be a test for the modifications I did to my left shin and my boots! TK Troop #2 – Clermont Christmas Parade Last year, I enjoyed the Facebook updates that Central Florida’s Makaze Squad posted of the Clermont Christmas Parade and how much fun they were having. As I neared completion of my TK, I noticed that jj63 had signed up for the 2015 parade, so I did as well. It was great to meet another FISD member after crossing paths here for many months. The weather was beautiful, in the low 70’s (20’s C) and a light occasional breeze. We had a TD, jj63 as the HWT and two TK’s with me on the left. The parade was about 1-1/2 miles (2.4 km) long and my armor performed perfectly! Nice BFG, jj63! On this day, I realized that my TK was taking me places that I had never been before. After our parking lot suit up, jj63 and I were starting to walk the 1/3 mile (.5 km) to the staging area, jj63 said, ‘Let’s wait for Vader and escort him in!’ Cool. We waited and then these two Stormtroopers in Santa hats, lead Lord Vader down the bike path, past the marching band, through the cheerleaders and football players, to the 501’st float and the rest of the Legion. Thanks, Joseph. It was great to troop with you and I look forward to many more! Troop Debrief… At the end of the troop, I had walked well over 2 miles (3.2 km) and I had a no issues with my calves or boots. This last picture is right before we dress down and the boots and shins look great! Did I have issues, Yes, little ones that have now been resolved… ISSUE 1 – Shoulder Bell Snap White getting suited up, the person who was closest to me at the moment had a difficult time snapping my right shoulder bell-to-bridge snap. No matter how I moved to give more space to reach it, it couldn’t snap. It was either the second or third person who finally got it snapped. I also had this same snap come loose at one of my troops. RESOLUTION: As a first option, I have now put a strip of 2” x 3/4" (50 x 19 mm) industrial strength white Velcro over the snaps and stapled in place. At my last troop, I had no issues with this set-up and I was actually able to unhook it myself to dress down. ISSUE 2 – Chest Plate Snaps: If I lean forward too far, like when getting something out of my bin, my ab plate pushes up high enough that it forces the four snaps I have from my chest plate to my ab plate, to come unsnapped. This also happened when I was dancing at the office and at least once at each troop. RESOLUTION: I put a 2” square of industrial strength Velcro on both straps, covering the snaps. Now. it is easier to assemble the armor and there are no critical angles to worry about unsnapping the Velcro ISSUE 3: I am not satisfied with the amount of black visible in front of my shoulder bells. RESOLUTION: PiettLives showed me he had the same issue and just moved the snap locations. So, I pried off the original snaps and moved them over about an inch (25 mm) further to the back, which will push my shoulder bell further forward. NOTE: All Velcro is places so the pointy side is facing away from the black undersuit and the soft side facing towards it. Merry Christmas! 2015 has been an amazing year for me. I am proud to have become a member of the 501st Legion and now have two approved costumes that create smiles wherever they go. I am looking forward to 2016 and having more opportunities to serve the Empire and make smiles happen. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season. Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year! Edited June 4, 2019 by wingnut65 Photo linx 3 Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted December 24, 2015 Report Posted December 24, 2015 That's a sweet looking blaster! Glad you are figuring out the modifications rather quickly. I'm sure I'll have my share once I start trooping. Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted January 15, 2016 Author Report Posted January 15, 2016 Thanks, Jason. With costuming, it takes a lot of creativity to figure out how to make something look like something else or to do something that is wasn't designed for. Other times, it is an emergency modification while everyone is standing around you, waiting for you to finish suiting up. Fun times... BTW, the sweet blaster has been put away until next season! Quote
wingnut65[Staff] Posted January 15, 2016 Author Report Posted January 15, 2016 (edited) I go over all the pix I took during my build, there are still a few details I haven’t shared yet. So here we go, finishing up the details!Removing A Shirt Label! I purchased a black, long sleeve compression shirt from Amazon designed for hot weather. It came with the logo that might be visible under the edge of the chest plate, so I needed to cover it up. Easiest idea was to grab the permanent marker. Nope! It didn’t make the logo disappear. Back to searching for more ideas… About this time, an appropriately timed thread popped up on FISD, discussing “How to Remove Undersuit Logos?” One link that caught my eye was for a YouTube video “Taking a Label off a Shirt” using nail polish remover. Having daughters in the house provided what I needed. I dabbed it on and let it soak into the label and then just peeled the label off perfectly. I left the atom logo on the shirt since it looks hi-tech and will be covered at all times.Plastic Handguards! I posted before that I purchased and assembled the latex hand guards and rubber gloves from Sonnenschein that I will need for EIB. As I wore them for my fitting session and dance routine, my hands were sweating, which is normal with rubber gloves. So, to make long troops more bearable, I decided to use some spare canvas work gloves and use the plastic hand guards that came with my ATA kit. To prepare the guards, it was the same old ABS Routine – Score, Snap, Sand…PiettLives showed me his plastic hand guards and they were comfortable. The secret is to attach the elastic straps around the base of the guard so they go around your wrist. I’ve seen others where who add a second elastic to go around the palm of their hand, but this works fine for me. Next up, while keeping on the budget minded build, I decided to dye a spare set of canvas work gloves that I purchased for my Tusken. I know they are not as tight to hand as I’d like, but I already had them. I used the powdered RIT dye in a pot on the stove and let it sit well over an hour. Nope! For some reason the fabric did not take the dye like I was hoping. Luckily a trip to Walmart was successful in finding an alternative pair of gloves. And, they are tight. I picked up a pair of “Faded Glory Men's Active Touch Performance Glove” for less than $10. The band across the glove is completely covered by the hand guard, but I think I did use a sharpie on it. It is hard to see the elastic around the wrist, but these gloves fit well with the hand guards.TIP: Wearing Rubber Gloves to Troop: As I mentioned to a few squad mates about me not wanting to troop all the time with my rubber chemical gloves and latex hand guards due to the heat, they mentioned that my hands would not sweat as much if I wore fabric gloves inside the rubber gloves. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will see how it works!My Rookie E-11 Blaster! A year ago, my twin daughters were in a Christmas skit at church that they were Christmas ornaments on a tree, talking about why they were there. One ornament was a Princess Leia, holding a blaster. One of the lines of the angel ornament was “Are you going to shoot me with that thing?” After dress rehearsal, I asked my girls what Leia was using for a blaster and was informed she was pointing her fingers as a gun. That day I went to Target and picked up the Hasbro Star Wars Rebels’ Stormtrooper Blaster for a more accurate E-11 prop, instead of just pointed fingers! Recently, just to have something to carry in my holster, I decided to see what it would look like painted standard issue flat black. Since parts were visible through the barrel, I took it apart and painted the barrel pieces separately. Once painted, this actually looks nice. I’ve trooped with it several times and nobody has noticed it being anything but normal. Here’s the close-ups. For trooping, I covered the orange tip with black tape. The bag is the Nerf darts that it shoots. I know it's not too accurate, but for a Rookie TK, you can’t be too careful. BTW, the box says it is ‘2 Feet Long’ and with the folding stock opened, it is! The end of the barrel is removable. The dart goes in that big hole on top of the barrel and the magazine slides back to weenie the gun. This E-11 was just to get me started trooping with my TK. Except for the library troop that had invading balloons that needed some discipline, the blaster was kept in the holster or not used. The blaster requirements were also the only thing holding me back from submitting for EIB and Centurion. Now that Santa has come and thanks to justjoseph63, this Rookie E-11 has now been upgraded and I get to play with the big boys! Edited June 4, 2019 by wingnut65 linx Quote
Trogdor[TK] Posted January 15, 2016 Report Posted January 15, 2016 A late congrats and thanks for sharing the fixes. Quote
Bugman57 Posted January 15, 2016 Report Posted January 15, 2016 Great idea with the dart blaster, might have to do this as my kids would love to battle with me in costume! Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted January 15, 2016 Report Posted January 15, 2016 (edited) Glad you are liking the new E-11, Jeff, and thanks for the kind words! Edited January 15, 2016 by justjoseph63 1 Quote
mikedwelle94[TK] Posted January 21, 2016 Report Posted January 21, 2016 Tightening my Boots… My second troop was going to be a long walk and I didn’t want any possible chance for my shoes pop out of my shins. At Jo-Ann’s, I found 3/4" (19 mm) wide white Velcro One-Wrap, which is self-gripping, with pointy thingys on one side and soft thingys on the other side, so it can wrap around something and stick to itself. I cut two strips long enough to wrap around my ankle one and a half times. I also added a piece of industrial Velcro soft side to the front and back of the top of my boots. When put on my boots, I tighten the Velcro around my boots tight enough to take out any extra space, but not tight enough to restrict my movements. Then fastening the Velcro at the front of my boot to the inside of my shins, and I am good to go! It isn’t pretty, but the shins come down and completely cover these straps. Later, I’ll post an update on my boots to discuss durability… Now that I have my boots and shins all fixed… Let’s Go For A Walk! Who’s with me?? Hey Jeff, I've been having the same exact problem with my Bass boots on both of my TK costumes. Someone linked your thread to my question and I'm really excited that I'm going to make this work. This glitch with my boots/shins is the only thing holding my Death Trooper back from approval. Thank you for posting all these pictures and explanations - it's all immensely helpful. 2 Quote
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