Ruthar's AM 2.0 TD Build Thread

[Ruthar[TK]]

Hi everyone!

 

Had the pleasure of chatting with the good folk(s) of Trooper Gear over the last week or so and decided to get their full kit. So as I wait for that delicious box of goodies to arrive, I figured it was time to start on the some of the other things.

 

First up is the neck seal. A friend of mine had an old neck piece made of foam laying around, so I decided to try to rework it a bit to make it a usable neck seal and bib. Its a little on the thicker side so it might not work, but it's something to try as I wait for the armor anyhow.

 

Just to test, I taped the felt for the bib to the neck seal. It seems like it will go fine one I sew it in for real (hopefully tomorrow).

 

 

 

Fortunately I have a day off tomorrow, so I can work on the boots. I have a comfy new set of Bass Amsterdams waiting for painting (with white Angelus leather paint, of course!), so I'm looking forward to that project tomorrow. I managed to get all the sheen off one of the boots with a good bit of alcohol, so that should go nicely.

 

Boots, belt, neck seal, and gloves, to start:

 

 

Can't wait for the big ol' box to arrive - greatly looking forward to diving in!

[Ruthar[TK]]

Started work on the boots this afternoon, will be continuing shortly:

 

1st coat:

 

2nd coat (it's crazy how much just one more coat does):

 

While I was waiting for those to dry, I used the neckseal template to make something a little more passable. It's a bit thick like I thought, but it'll do until I can get my hands on a tailored seal (despite my name, I'm not really a tailor):

 

3rd coat:

 

Coat 4 - not a huge difference between coats 3 and 4, but now that the base is relatively even, I will go a little heavier with the Angelus. Can't wait to see what they look like with the acyrlic finisher after a handful of more coats.

 

5th coat - getting closer! Will probably end up with 8 or 9.

 

Coat 6:

 

Coat 7 - it's pretty white by now, but can never be too safe I suppose:

 

Coat 8 - the penultimate:

 

And finally the final 9th coat!

 

Tomorrow I will be putting on the acrylic finisher to make em shine and dying the fabric to the required white. Really looking forward to how they will look after all the paint is done, then its just a matter of making them look like they've been through the Dune Sea and back!

Edited October 22, 2015 by Ruthar

[Ruthar[TK]]

Boots are done after 9 coats of paint, 3 coats of fabric paint, and acrylic finisher. Still should hit up the little bits of white that got through the tape with some touch up black around the sole. Then it's onto getting them all sandy which I should do tomorrow before I head out for work.

 

[Ruthar[TK]]

Touched up the white around the soles, now they are ready for patrolling the Dune Sea. I'll be using pandatrooper's method to weathering as I really like the look.

 

 

In other news, the big brown box will be here on Monday while my DLT-19 from HyperFirm will be here sometime next week. It's starting to get really exciting now!

[Ruthar[TK]]

The Big Brown Box has arrived today!

 

 

 

 

Now it's time to do a full inventory just to be sure I have everything I need and then gather up the tools. Here we go!

[Khazid[TK]]

Congratulations, good luck on your journey.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Take your time and have fun!

[Ruthar[TK]]

Got a few hours to start diving in today, so I figured I would start with what I think is the most iconic part - the bucket! Ran into a few snags, but thanks to a whole lot of research, pictures, build threads, and how-to's I think it's coming along nicely. Still need to get some paint for the gray ears and the black vocoder - are there any alternatives to Humbrol or Testors? It doesn't seem my local craft stores carry either of those.

 

Anyways, here are some shots!

 

 

Inside I've just taped the lens material for now - I don't want to put those down with permanence until I'm ready to finalize everything. I very nearly gave up with the hard hat assembly, but after taking a breather managed to figure out how to get those in so now I'm waiting for those to dry before continuing onward.

 

 

It really is a great feeling when things start to come together, especially after having to step away a few times in frustration.  Patience certainly pays off here!

 

 

Comments and/or suggestions are certainly always appreciated!

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

You want to bring the mouth paint down to a point at both ends instead of squared off like you have. 

 

Edited October 28, 2015 by Airborne Trooper

[Ruthar[TK]]

You want to bring the mouth paint down to a point at both ends instead of squared off like you have. 

 

Is this a bit bitter or still more?

 

 

Managed to get the rest of the helmet painting done tonight as well as install the trim and the aerators. Here are some shots:

 

And of course a very necessary bucket selfie:

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Maybe go a tad bit more like the helmet on the left but that may just be my preference. Look at some other helmets for reference and find what you like. 

[Ruthar[TK]]

Decided to dive in to some return edge removal today. It was definitely very intimidating, but after taking the first bit off it was quite rewarding. Did some sizing of the forearms as well, so I should get to trimming those tomorrow at some point. Still waiting on the earth magnets to arrive, but I hope to be ready for gluing of the arm pieces by the time they get here.

 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Just get yourself a dremel with the sanding drum, the cutting attatchment, and various grit sandpaper. It is very intimidating at first but after a while it's not that big of a deal. Be prepared to be covered in plastic dust though. 

[Ruthar[TK]]

Yeah, the dremel is definitely on the list of things to purchase!

 

Speaking of purchases, which snaps do you all recommend? I've seen the name Tandy thrown around, but just wanted to be sure to get good quality stuff before placing an order.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Tandy Line 24 are snaps you want if you're going snap plates for strapping. The other s snaps and what not can be found here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31920-ukswraths-am-10-ata-bucket-build/?p=411249

[Khazid[TK]]

Tandy Line 24 are snaps you want if you're going snap plates for strapping. The other s snaps and what not can be found here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31920-ukswraths-am-10-ata-bucket-build/?p=411249

 

I'll second that. Tandy Line 24...you can get them in multiples of 10's on Amazon. The last batch I bought was 10 bags of 10...then buy the tool set separately. Will save you money over the long run, and you can make emergency snap plates to keep in your transportation box.

[Scarlet Trooper[501st]]

I don't know about using a dremel for the sanding.  It's very easy to over heat and melt the abs.  I used a dremel to round my cover strips and the plates, outside of that everything else I hand sanded with 220 grit and 1000 grit sandpaper.

I'd recommend getting a heat knife, you can get it at most fabric or hardware stores for making holes in the nylon webbing for your snaps.  I did the "male" snaps in abs based on this tutorial, but used a drill for the holes instead. Then, then you just glue the plates on with E6000 and some clamps.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/5829-howto-make-snap-plates/

Edited November 1, 2015 by Scarlet Trooper

[Ruthar[TK]]

I don't know about using a dremel for the sanding.  It's very easy to over heat and melt the abs.  I used a dremel to round my cover strips and the plates, outside of that everything else I hand sanded with 220 grit and 1000 grit sandpaper.

I'd recommend getting a heat knife, you can get it at most fabric or hardware stores for making holes in the nylon webbing for your snaps.  I did the "male" snaps in abs based on this tutorial, but used a drill for the holes instead. Then, then you just glue the plates on with E6000 and some clamps.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/5829-howto-make-snap-plates/

 

 

I did manage to pick up a dremel and use that for trimming and sanding. It's a little unruly for sanding if you ask me - hard to get straight lines with the round tips, but the cutting is super easy to manage. I used a rather coarse attachment so I will try out a few different grits before going back to hand sanding. Either way, made some progress and am ready for cover strips and glue.

 

 

 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I should have clarified, use a belt sander or something flat for straight lines. Your best method to get straight lines is score and snapping. Dremel is great for remove some return edges, ears, things like that. I always follow up that with hand sanding with 100 grit and up.

[Ruthar[TK]]

Spent a little more time with the dremel today but now the wait begins. Forearms and biceps are glued, clamped, and magnet(ed) and I added the black mesh behind the teeth while I continue to wait for the glue to finish up. Used the extra ABS pieces from the trimming as interior pieces to hold everything together - once all that is settled I will add the cover strips cut from the extra sheets of ABS Trooper Gear sent with the kit.

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Looking good Taylor, clean build you have there   

[Ruthar[TK]]

Had a business trip last Wednesday through Sunday so I had to pry myself away from the build. Fortunately, I was able to get a few things done this afternoon pertaining to the chest and back. Got it fitted and strapped together so I can install straps for the arms and finish the chest up. Next up this evening is trimming the cod piece and test fitting the kidney and butt plates. Some pics!

 

Chest and back fitting:

 

And the internal strapping for the top:

 

For now the nylon snap plates are only held on via painter's tape, but I'll get gluing that in tonight. All my clamps are currently being used as I wait for the cover strips on the forearms and biceps to dry (should be done in a few more hours).

[ukswrath[Staff]]

[Ruthar[TK]]

Got a little bit more done before the end of the day.
 
Took off the clamps and magnets from the arm pieces - now they are finished with the cover strips and are ready for getting sandy.

 
And some nylon snap plates are currently drying as I wait for the rest of my snaps to come through the mail:


Tomorrow I will fit and trim the leg pieces (or at least start it) and continue onward! It's been relatively piecemeal as I work on other things while other pieces dry, but it's all starting to come together slowly but surely.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Ruthar

[ukswrath[Staff]]