Novak Dimon's TK-build

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Excellent work Christian. 

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Shoulder-Cover:

 

The question how to position the covers was answered by the many reference pics here.

I found this good example in Tony's build thread:

 

 

It is clearly to see that the covers are glued at the chest until the fourth of the small bars.

First I made some markings where to glue.

 

 

Then I sanded the area:

 

 

And glued the covers with E6000

 

 

Some people use some ABS stripes inside the covers to increase the surface for gluing. I decided to sand the inside and fill it with E6000. That's also working.

 

Next are the Ab-Buttons.

I trimmed them until no return edge was left.:

 

 

 

I painted the buttons with Humbrol color No 14 (French Blue) and No 5 (Dark Admirality Grey).

 

 

Finally I installed the bottom plates at the ab :

 

 

After curing and cleaning my ab is looking very good!

 

 

>>> to be continued >>>

Edited April 14, 2016 by Novak Dimon

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Again, very nice

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Connection Chest <> Back armor:

 

ANOVOS is delivering a combination made of nylon and elastic bands to connect the chest, back and shoulder bells.

 

 

This part is a No-Go for me. First of all: it is black. Besides it is not wide enough and I don't like the velcro.

I used the elastic bands for my shoulder bells though. For the chest to back I bought screen accurate 50mm wide, white elastic band and some snaps.

I cut the elastic into two pieces of 20cm each.

 

 

In the middle of the elastic straps I made a mark 15mm from the rim for the female sew on snap, holding the shoulder bells later.

 

 

 

I don't know the reason why the snaps of the screen used armor were sewed on closer to the neck but as a side effect they are easier to reach when connecting the shoulder bells.

 

 

The white elastics of the screen used armor were glued at the back and the left side of the chest armor. There was one snap at the right side of the chest.

I want the possibility to take apart the armor completely for easy transport and storage. That's the reason I installed snaps on both sides of the chest armor.

To reinforce the side for the snaps I fold 2cm of one end and sewed it together.

 

 

Then I determined the position of the female snaps ...

 

 

...and installed them. The male snaps are installed on parts of scrap ABS...

 

 

... and are glued onto the chest armor.:

 

 

 

The elastic straps are glued at the back armor:

 

 

Finished.

Chest armor:

 

 

Back armor:

 

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Again, very nice

Thank you Tony!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Wow you're rocking and rollin. 

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Ab <> Belt snaps:

 

To determine the position of the male snaps to fix the waist belt, I fixed the belt in the abdomen in its final position first.

I choose the "off center" position as seen in the movies and in Ukswrath's tutorial.:

 

 

I made two marks on the last ammopacks of the plastic belt and made markings of these points on the ab armor as well. I'll change the ANOVOS canvas belt against a new one and need new snaps there anyway.

 

 

 

Then I had to find the center of the Belt on the abdomen...

 

 

 

... drilled some holes...

 

 

... and installed the male snaps.

 

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

For Centurion approval I have to install a snap in the upper right corner of the Ab. I will use this snap for the strapping later.

First I marked the position of the snap, 20mm from the rim of each side. :

 

 

 

The installed snap:

 

 

 

 

Next I installed the elastic from the Ab to the Cod piece.

Measuring where to install the rived was the first step:

 

 

Then I drilled the hole. The first time I used the elastic ANOVOS delivered with the kit as it is.

 

 

I used a split rived to install the elastic band.

 

 

Outside view:

 

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

During the last months I had no time to continue my WIP. My kids asked for my attention and I promised to continue the work at our summer-project!

 

 

At this point it is ok for me to sit down in front of my PC and finish my WIP.

 

My report continues with the Ab to Kidney strapping.

I´ll start with the left side witch has to be connected with rivets. I installed snaps at the left side because I want to take the armour apart for easy transport.

First step was to mark the position of the holes.

2cm from the top:


and 1cm from the side:


4cm from the bottom...


and also 1cm from the side:


Finally I measured the center position.


Same procedure at the Kidney Armour. 2cm from top:


4cm from the bottom, I measured from the cut outs.


All rivets are installed 1cm from the side.


I measured the position of the center rivet as well and that´s how it was looking after drilling the holes:


I used elastic band to connect the two parts. I used split-rivets at the kidney armour and snaps at the Ab.

I wantet the rivets at the Ab functional and not only for looking good. They are holding the male snaps.
 

First I cut off one half of the split-rivets.

 

Then I used the shortened split-rivets to hold the male snaps in place. It is looking a bit rough from the inside but nobody will ever see it.


On the outside there is only the head of the rivet... just like made 1977.


The same procedure two more times...


... and I can continue with the elastic. Here the raw material:


I whipstitched the elastic bands to strenghten the ends. Finally they are 4cm long.:


I installed female snaps at on side and punched holes for the split-rivets into the other side.


Finished inside:


and the outside:


>>>to be continued>>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

At the right side the original suits were closed with only one snap. As far as I know with the one I installed previously.

Because I don´t like to install useless stuff, I´ll use this snap for closing the right side together with two other for more stability.

First step was cutting three 10cm long elastic straps.


I whipstitched 2cm to toughen one end.
 

I riveted the female snaps into the whipstitched side. I simply glued the other side onto the Kidney-Plate.
While one male snap is already installed, I had to glue the other two onto the Ab after riveting them onto ABS-pieces.


The elastic is glued onto the Kidney Armor...


the male snaps onto the Ab.


Finished:


>>>to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Let´s continue with the connection between Posterior and Kidney Armor.

At the beginning I removed the velcro at one side of the Anovos strapping and then cut of the exess material.



Again I riveted snaps into the Velcro...



and glued the parts onto the armor.



After a while the self adhesive velcro fell off. I used E-6000 to fix that.
 

Next I installed the two snaps into the Posterior to securely connect it to the Cod armor.

First step as always: measuring. 15cm for the first snap...



... and 35cm for the second one:



Ready for Expert Infantry.





>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Next part is the srapping between Back and Kidney armour.

After measuring and cutting the Anovos-straps to the lengh I need, I installed some snaps and glued everything to the armour.



The parts are very close to each other without overlapping. Right the way I want it!



For Centurion-approval I need some elastic bands to hold down the shoulder straps. An easy task!:

And because they tend to move I used a drop of E-6000 to hold them where I want them.

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Chest to Ab strapping

To have a good mobility I wanted this connection not too thight. To test the strapping I fixed it in place with tape.



Then I marked the position...





... improved the elastics with snaps...



and glued everything to the armor.



Now it´s time to paint the 6 rivets!


 

I need something to fix my Aker into the Chest armour. I made an elastic band and glued it onto the Chest.

 

The voice changer I use is either the TkVoice or TrooperTalk App. To store my phone and the microphone receiver I simply glued a  fabric bag next to the Aker-holder onto the Chest.

 

Now the strapping is completed.

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

The Belt

As everyone knows, the Anovos canvas belt is a thin piece of rags and must be replaced by a proper one!

The wife of Felice from the German Garrison is making that kind of canvas belts. It is way better!! Here the two belts side by side:

 

To seperate the ammobelt from the canvas I carefully drilled out the rivets.


 

Lets scrub the anovos cloth and keep the Ammobelt and the Dropboxes.

 

The three buttons are glued VERY well. The first came off relatively well:





That is the second button. The head of the rivet is sticking inside. I used a small soldering iron to heat it a little bit...

...and the glue is melting.



The button in the middle was the hardest one to take off and here is not much space to work:

 

Again I used the soldering iron...



...and virtually burned out the button .

Finally the belt is looking a bit battered.



But that´s an easy fix for my friend E-6000 and some scrap ABS!



Drill some new holes...



... and mark the position of the chicago screws, Felice delivered with the new canvas belt to install the ammobelt.



Before screwing ABS and canvas together, I installed the female snaps to connect Belt and Ab. I took the position from the ammobelt. If you go back to post  #32 you see that I used the outer ammo boxes as reference for the male snaps in the Ab. I did exactly the same with the canvas belt.



Then I screwed together ABS and canvas...



... and glued the buttons:


 

The next step is the installation of the holster.

I measured 2cm from the ammobelt:



and 1,5cm from the lower edge:



Then I placed the holster on the belt and marked the second hole:



The new, better belt is completed:





And it is fitting perfectly to the Abdomen. Done everything right!


 

The dropboxes slid around when I handled with the belt. I glued them with E-6000 to the position I want them.

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Thigh Belt
 

The Anovos instructions want the thighs installed to the Ab. I don´t like this solution.

I made a belt to hold the thighs from a piece of nylon, an old belt clip and some elastic.

After a little sewing session...







... I made a fine belt.



I glued the elastic to the thighs.



Then I adjusted the lengh during a first fitting.



Then I sewed loops to the elastic:





That´s it. Now I can wear the thighs like trousers. Very handy.

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Gloves
 

The Anovos kit coming with black rubber gloves and ABS handguards.

My plan is to reach the Centurion level and the delivered combination is not working for that. I ordered the silicon handguards from justjoseph63 but what should I do with the ABS handguards??

I read that some troopers like Nomex gloves for trooping because they are more comfortable and ordered a pair and installed the ABS handguards.

First step was trimming the handguards.





I used my tried and tested velcro and snap combination.


 

Meanwhile the self adhesive velcro is glued with E-6000 to the handguards.

I painted the snap with white paint and stamped a mark to the correct position.

Then i sewed the counterpart to the Nomex gloves.





looking good!




 

I was wearing the Nomex gloves on my application pictures. Unfortunately the GML did not approve my armor because the straps at the fingers. My bad!

I just ordered the silicon handguards and was waiting for them. I fixed the ABS handguards temporary at the rubber gloves for my 501st approval.



When the silcon handguards arrived I glued them to the rubber gloves:





Now the gloves are good for any level!

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Shin improvement
 

After the first fitting I mentioned that the shins tend to move upwards and the right one is twisting counterclockwise a little bit with every step.

That sucks!

To avoid that I sewed snaps to the fore stripes of the boots and glued the other part into the shins. I used these snaps:



I sewed the male snaps onto a piece of nylon.



And the female snap to the boots:





Then I marked the position inside the shins...



... and glued them:





Now nothing is moving anywhere!


 

I connect the snaps just before I close the shins. With some practice that´s very easy and I don´t have to think about the position of the shins anymore during a troop!

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Helmet-Upgrade
 

In post #9 I converted the Hovi-Tips to Hovi Air-Intakes. Now I show the build of the airboxes for the cooling fans.

Furthermore I installed ukswrath´s Hearing Assist System, a new helmet padding, the Wireless Trooping System and the prescription lenses I need to see anything in this helmet... I know THAT´S not movie accurate.

Here is everything together:



The anovos padding... away with it!!:


 

The new padding i for a motorcycle helmet. I sewed some velcro onto the top of the padding and female snaps at the left and right side. The male snaps are glued into the helmet. They are visible on the picture below together with one of the microphones and amplifier of the SHA. The headphones perfectly fit into the ear pockets of the padding.


 

Here you can see the batterybox for the SHA. A second 9V battery for the cooling fans will be installed next to the first one.



The right SHA-microphone.


 

Batteries, cables, SHA, Wireless Trooping System are covered by a piece of hose from a vacuum cleaner.


 

The huge Anovos lens is ugly and too big!

I will cut it in shape and screw it into the helmet. To do that I need fixing points.

It is possible to buy such things but I prefer to make them myself.

I used M3 nuts, melted them into pieces of ABS and glued them into the helmet:



I used what was left of the cover stripes. They are thicker than the other parts in my scrap box.

First I drilled holes for the screws:


 

Then I put the nut onto the top of a screw, heated it with my soldering torch, pulled it into the ABS and pushed another onto the top.



You can glue these nuts perfectly into the helmet.


 

Let´s start with the airboxes. I made a prototype of foam and shaped it until it snug fit in front of the air intake.

 

Then I copied the shape to some ABS from my scrap box and cut it out.

I used my blowtorch to heat and shape the parts.


 

I filed the boxes until they fit into the helmet perfectly.



With my dremel I roghly cut out the ventilation grilles...



... and made the fine works with keyfiles.



I filled the edges with silicon-filler.


 

At last I sprayed the airboxes with Plastidip and installed the 12V-fans.


 

The arboxes are fixed in the helmet with a single strap of velcro. They fit very tight in front of the air intakes so no further attachment is necessary.

Besides I wantet the airboxes easily to access if it is necessary to change a defect fan.


 

There is a switch installed at every airbox. The left one is for the SHA and the right one for the air conditioning. This way I can operate both system during the troop even with gloves.

Test installation:



Ready to install:

 

For a better look and feel I painted the inside of the helmet black with Plastidip :






 

Almost completed. The new shaped lens and the mesh behind the frown are installed.

You can clearly see the velcro and snaps of the padding.


 

The finished helmet. I installed the volume control of the SHA into the right side of the helmet padding.

The prescription lenses are from an old gas mask.



I also corrected the painting of the frown:







After a couple of troops I´m very pleased with my air conditioning.   It is easy to operate and if the lenses are fogging they are cleared immediately after switching on the fans.

With the SHA I can hear almost as good as without the helmet. Very good!

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Detonator

 

The detonator is an easy task. All parts are delivered almost ready to assemble.

 

 

At the beginning I chamfered the corners of the pipe to facilitate the assembly of the end caps.

 

 

The end caps fit snugly to the pipe. I didn't use any glue to fix them.

After assembly I measured the detonator. The CRL say it should be 190,5mm long. Some people needed to shorten the pipe. I guess I had luck.

 

 

After determining the position of the detonator controls I sanded the area and glued the controls to the pipe.

 

 

 

The CLR say: • Thermal detonator belt clips are positioned with little to no gap between the clips and the end caps.

Easy job! Simply hold the clips to the end caps and mark the holes...

 

 

... I didn't simply drill holes. I cut M3 threads into the pipe to simplify the assembly.

 

 

To screw the clips to the pipe I used the screws from the helmet. The delivered screws have the wrong head. After painting them black they are perfect. I used a drop of E-6000 to secure the screws.

 

 

Here the final result:

 

 

I glued some Velcro inside the clips to make sure the thermal detonator is well fixed at the belt.

I heard of stolen detonators during troops. To take my detonator off the belt you have to pull very strong. No chance to steal it from my belt unnoticed!

 

>>> to be continued >>>

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Final Pictures

 

My TK-build is complete now ... well I guess there are many small bits worth to improve that will show up after trooping.

 

But for now I proudly present my ANH Stunt Stormtrooper Armor:

 

Front:

 

Left side:

 

Back:

 

Right side:

 

Action:

 

Since June 26th I am proud member of the 501st Legion. :D:D

 

On August 10th I was awarded with the Expert Infantryman badge.

 

I'm wearing the wrong gloves at the following picture but it is looking great tough. That's why I'm posting it here. What do you think?

 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading my WIP!

Now I'm going to make the suggested improvements for Centurion.

 

Best regards!

Christian

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Very nice 

[kman[TK]]

Great work!  Very interesting job on the hovi tip fans.