BrinkHouse ANH TK Stunt Build [RT-Mod]

[BrinkHouse]

Yep. Pretty darn close in the lighting of my apartment at least. Trooperbay's plastic bicep and RT mod shin in the crappy photo.

 

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1451693991.196140.jpg

 

-Eric

 

 

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Sweet, thanks for the photo Darth!

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Sweet, thanks for the photo Darth!

Word.

 

I should have added that I have ATA and TM plastic here too that does not match. They're both too creamy compared to the MTK, RT and WTF (his old batch of abs) I have here that are much more white white.

 

-Eric

 

 

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[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Quickly chiming in on the fly here...

 

Unfortunately, I'd seriously recommend redoing a lot of work on the belt.

 

The button covers on the "ends" are quite far from the boxes on the belt, and the drop boxes don't line up properly with the ends of the belt, and that is a requirement.

 

Personally, I'd make those corrections as they will make a big difference in the appearance of the belt in the long run.

 

Additionally, the rivets are a requirement for higher level approvals but they don't have to be functional in any way.

 

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[BrinkHouse]

Yeah, that was my inclination, Tim. Annoying that the belt wasn't done correctly the first time but in having to undo a lot of stuff I'm learning a lot more about the armor and the small details, which I'm enjoying. I'll probably spend most of tomorrow figuring out how to get the belt rebuilt to spec. Thanks for your input!

 

Regarding rivets, yes I should've mentioned that I will definitely be adding the split rivets in the side for CRL but they won't add much functionality in my setup. 

 

Ordered latex hand guards, split rivets and additional cover strip material from Trooperbay today, looking forward to getting the arms/legs built!

 

 SO CLOSE!

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Have to agree with Tim. ABS paste fixes aren't hard and worth the effort. Luckily, you have a new canvas belt anyways so it's not like you're turning the belt you need into swiss cheese too. Not that I did that myself........ 

[Darth Havoc[TK]]

Isn't the elastic that connects the chest to the back suppose to be white?

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Isn't the elastic that connects the chest to the back suppose to be white?

 

Yes

[TB5K[TK]]

Wow, man, you are killing it with this rebuild. I love seeing it get the royal treatment!

[BrinkHouse]

Wow, man, you are killing it with this rebuild. I love seeing it get the royal treatment!

 

Thanks Aaron! 

[BrinkHouse]

Isn't the elastic that connects the chest to the back suppose to be white?

 

Must've missed that bit. Darn. Ok, one more thing I can do while I wait for cover strips to arrive.

[BrinkHouse]

Rebuilding Belt: 

 

As mentioned previously, the belt was not assembled to the correct length so I spent most of today getting it trimmed and reassembled according to CRL standards. 

 

I started out by sticking the ammo belt in the freezer so I could remove the snaps which were glued on the inside. Again, very happy this thing was assembled with e6000! 

 

 

 

"You missed a spot." 

 

Also, I'm pretty sure this armor has been through a firefight or two, it's plenty broken in! With the old snaps removed, I could measure for the new line that the belt will be trimmed to. I got this distance by looking at other builds as well as measuring the size of the button cover and adding 10mm extra. 

 

 

 

Made a few score marks along the line and then bent off the excess. As long as you score a few times it will separate very cleanly. Did this for both sides.  

 

 

Measured halfway down and 20mm in from the edge and marked, this is where the snap will be installed, same for both sides. Used my handy dandy snap installing pliers (have I mentioned these things are a lifesaver?) to punch out the holes in the plastic and installed the snaps.

 

 

Then it was on to cutting the 45° angled corners. I eyeballed it, and I think they ended up being 18mm from the corners. Used an angle finder to trace the lines and then scored/snapped.

 

 

 

I also cut down the button covers and glued those down. I realized after that I forgot to sand the edges. Facepalm. I may try to carefully hit these edges with some paper. They don't look too bad, I guess.

 

 

Drop boxes went on, I tried my best to align these based on reference photos and screen grabs. Looking much better at this point. 

 

 

 

 

Then it was on to doing the fabric belt. I started by transferring the snap locations for the ammo belt, by making a mark with a pen through the hole of each snap.

 

 

As I said previously I am able to use the old belt as a guide, as the ab facing snaps are already lined up with the snaps in the ab. However now that the ammo belt is shorter, the very outside snaps on the ab and canvas belt are not covered, and so I had to plan to remove the outside snaps and reinstall them closer to the center.  I started by finding an appropriate new location. I should've spent a few more minutes on this, for reasons I'll get to later. 

 

 

Then I drilled out the old snaps. Made sure to go slow and attack them in a few passes so as not to overheat the plastic like I did with the knee ammo piece.

 

 

 

Cleaned up the gunk with some mineral spirits and moving along. Next I drilled the holes for the new snaps and taped off the old area, ready to be filled with ABS paste. (forgot to photograph this step, sorry!)

 

 

 

 

Installed the snaps and good to go. Cool. Next, I transferred these new hole locations to the belt using a small screwdriver. Was the only thing I had on hand that would fit through the hole in the snap. 

 

 

And this is where that 'should've spent a few minutes thinking about the location of this snap' thing comes back. I failed to realize that there was already a snap VERY close to this position, the snap that connects the end of the ammo belt to the fabric belt. I got really lucky and there was just enough room to install the snap but they are basically touching. Whew! 

 

 

 

I lined up and installed the other ab facing snaps and it seemed to all go together just fine. All that's left to do now is shorten the fabric belt, which will have to wait a few days for my friend to get back into town. She's a professional costumer so I trust her a lot more with a sewing machine than I do myself! 

 

My undersuit was supposed to arrive today but didn't for some reason, otherwise I would've done a full upper body fit test, guess that will have to wait. 

 

 

 

...Until next time. 

Edited January 3, 2016 by BrinkHouse

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Nice recovery! THAT'S how it's done!

[Pyrates[TK]]

Really enjoying this build/re-build and a very helpful thread too - great job mate!

[BrinkHouse]

Thanks guys! I'm pushing hard to get it done but also want to make sure I get the details right. It's a fine line I'm walking.

[BrinkHouse]

ABS paste is awesome stuff. Still needs smoothing but I'm impressed. 

 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

You can put a light amount on the top section, sand with 150 and higher grades until wet sanding around 800+ and you wont even see it at all. 

[BrinkHouse]

What's the consensus on using snaps to attach the holster to the belt instead of rivets? It's obviously not as strong of a connection but could be nice to be able to remove the holster for blaster-free events. 

 

from CRL:

 

The holster is affixed with only two fasteners at the bottom (one per strap).

• The fasteners may be rivets, snaps, or Chicago screws.

Edited January 4, 2016 by BrinkHouse

[TB5K[TK]]

Chicago screws you could potentially remove and replace...

[BrinkHouse]

Yeah, think I'll go with the chicago screw approach. Strong yet modular. 

[andylah[TK]]

Loving watching this build come together.

 

It's the first rt-mod I've noticed since I finished mine and is just bringing back good memories of armour building

 

Looking good

[BrinkHouse]

Loving watching this build come together.

 

It's the first rt-mod I've noticed since I finished mine and is just bringing back good memories of armour building

 

Looking good

 

Thanks and yeah it's a funny feeling, right now I'm just so excited to get it finished, but I know that as soon as I'm done I'll probably wish I was still building it. Grass is always greener, I guess.

[andylah[TK]]

Mine sat there for what felt like ages but was only 3 months and as soon as it was done and I was approved I was at a lot loss of what to do next!!! Everyone was asking what was next up and I had no idea, now it makes sense

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

For me chicago screws are a total pain in the an impolite person having to screw them on and stuff. They are also too big a diameter IMHO on the outside of the belt. Also the canvas will not hold up to the chicago screws spinning around and wear over time. I do not recommend them for a holster.

 

What I do recommend is riveting snaps onto the belt. They're much more durable and repeatable than chicago screws with a bonus: more accurate. 

 

Here is how the UKG guys do it:

 

 

I did it a little differently on the belt:

 

 

Belt front where you can see which direction I went in with the pop rivet:

 

 

Belt backside:

 

 

Snaps on holster straps. 

 

 

-Eric

[BrinkHouse]

And you haven't had any issues with the strength/hold of the snaps? My instinct is that it would be fine, especially considering the blaster itself is plastic and doesn't weigh much.

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

And you haven't had any issues with the strength/hold of the snaps? My instinct is that it would be fine, especially considering the blaster itself is plastic and doesn't weigh much.

Nope. I've done quite a few holsters like this for every type of blaster but a real sterling. And my holster is heavy (thanks Gaz) too. I don't know how many troops I have with snaps but it's maybe 3 years worth.

 

Use tandy snaps not dritz and you'll be fine.

 

-Eric

 

 

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