Cricket's Hero Build (deep breath, let's do this!)

[Cricket[TK]]

Hey Everyone!

 

So I'm finally taking a deep breath and jumping into this: posting a type of blog of me stumbling along trying to build my very first TK.  I'm just 5'4", so I have my sights set on building a Luke suit, because I am, after all, a little short for a stormtrooper.  There.  Now... that's out there, it won't stop me, dammit.  And I'm building for EIB, followed by Centurion.  Yep, that's me.  Go big, or go home.  So, let's do this.

I am on a wait list for my armor, so I ordered a bucket from the awesome Terrell at ATA to keep me busy during the wait.  I asked for Hero ears, and he delivered, with an extra pair to save me if I totally screw up.  Which I might.  Nah, I probably will.  Anyhow, the helmet kit is beautiful and comes with all the bells and whistles for assembly.  Wish it came with bubble lenses, but I can always find those later, right?

So while I was waiting for the white stuff, I got to work ordering all the necessary under items and other assembly doo-dads.  I splurged on a Hyperfirm e-11 elite and am currently awaiting arrival of my grappling hook and Comlink setup (yay, Dennis!)    I ordered a complete iComm kit and Ukswrath's hearing assist system (thanks, Tony!).  I've ordered three different neck seals because I wanted to be flexible on that kind of thing.  My super-supportive hubby even surprised me with one of those massive black Stanley Port-a-Trooper storage bins on wheels.  

Then the day arrived when my not-so-big brown box arrived.  I flailed and screamed like a 12-year-old fangirl.   My dog thought we had an intruder, and went beserk, barking and lunging at the windows while I jumped up and down at the sight of my box at the doorstep.  I waited to open it so I could share the awesomeness of the moment with my husband.  The glow radiated from the box and angels sung as I sliced the box lid open....  well, not really, but you understand what was going on in my mind.  Here's everything laid out... white shiny goodness!

 

 

Then I went from excitement to...  fear.  Suddenly I had the realization that I was terrified of screwing things up.  Despite the hours upon hours of reading the forums here (which convinced me that this would be a piece o' cake), my confidence was shaken.  I put everything back in the box.  And there it sat.  Until I decided (with some encouragement from Ukswrath) to get out there and meet other troopers.  And whaddya know.... it worked!  Despite being a lowly Nerd Herder for a day, I had a blast.  Georgia's 501st rock!

When I got home, I decided to begin work on my soon-to-be Hero bucket.  I whipped out my tin snips and trimmed the ears a bit (not too close to the edges, though!  That will come with sanding...).  It was easier than I expected.  I then trimmed outside edges of the helmet, and conservatively rough-cut out the eyes.  I was feeling quite heroic at this point.



So I had the three-bump-ears for Hero, but I soon realized that had to deal with modding the teeth.  Ugh.  The thought was enough for me to reconsider Hero altogether.  But I don't give up easily- which can be a good (and bad) thing!  If you're still reading, you'll see what I managed to do in the next post.  Cheers!

Edited March 15, 2016 by Cricket

[zv288bot[TK]]

Congrats on the bucket! It is a thing of beauty.   

[T K[501st]]

Excited to see this build move along!

[Pretzel]

Congratulations! I am awaiting my big brown box day myself. But what a story. FOLLOWING.

[SkulShurtugalTCG[501st]]

Even though I much prefer Stunt armor, both in look and personal preference, I LOVE watching other people build Hero armor. If anything, because it's just not as common to see. Good luck with  your build!

[Pyrates[TK]]

Looking forward to watching it all happen and the epic times ahead!

[Artshot]

Excitement Level to 11

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

2016 must be the year of the Hero! Lots of Hero builds and I see great things coming out of my home state of GA! 

[Cricket[TK]]

Hey, look, new post!  Hi everyone!  

I forgot to mention another thing that I have done since the whole bucket-build has commenced.  Magnet sachets!  Thanks to Khazid's fantastic tutorial for saving my fingers from certain death  due to these things.  I didn't glue them in like he does, but rather just wrapped them up all quick and dirty like with a zip tie.  Easy, easy, easy.  I've got 20 sets of these, so I think I have enough for once my armor eventually arrives. 

 

 

Here's the tutorial if you want to learn more about how to make 'em: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31701-how-to-assemble-magnet-sachets/?hl=magnets



That's my husband being a goofball with the bucket.    Looks like he's been shot in the head with some fabric.  

Okay, so now back to the build!     I tried the heat sealer method to pop out the teeth divots, but found that it wasn't working as well as I had hoped.  I'm sure it was just because I didn't have patience for it.  So begins my adventure into ABS Pasteland!

When I first heard of ABS paste, I thought, "Okay, cool, trip to HD, and I'll pick some up."  Uh, nope.  Further travels within the depths of the FISD, and I found out that it's just acetone and scrap white stuff.  Ohhh, paste-yyyyy.....
 

From what I remember about repairing drywall holes and icing buttercream on cakes (never thought I would talk about those two things in the same sentence), a smooth, seamless look is best achieved if you apply a layer of product, followed by smoothing, followed by more product, then smoothing out, etc.  I didn't think this would be any different.  I dabbed the paste into the teeth holes with a toothpick and waited a day for it to dry.

Here's the helmet with the first layer of ABS paste inserted into the teeth divots.  

I was nervous to sand the next day, I don't know why.  What if I totally gouged up the faceplate?  And I realized that I was suddenly afraid of moving forward.  I took a deep breath.  "F" fear.  If I gouged it, then I would figure out a way to fix it.  Let's do this.  So with a teeny tiny piece of 400 grit sandpaper, I got to work.

Everything was coming along nicely as I sanded until I realized that there were bubbles in the paste.  Dozens of tiny, tiny bubbles in my teeth holes.  (I had a fleeting vision of Don Ho singing "Tiny bubbles... in your teeth...")  Gah!!!  I had made the paste too thin, and it allowed for the bubbles to form and set as it cured.  Dammit!    My holes had holes.  Sorry, but I was too embarrassed to take pics of the devastation.  Onward.

Okay, no worries, I told myself.  I never expected perfection on the first layer anyhow.  More ABS paste was made- this time I made sure it was dough-like in its consistency.  I kneaded it to make sure that the stupid air bubbles were nowhere to be found, and then I smashed it onto my bucket's teeth.   I was a little aggressive with it because I wanted to be sure that all the paste filled in my tiny bubbles.  And I was a little pissed off, too.  There!  Take THAT!  

Next day, I armed myself with sandpaper ranging from 400- 2000 grit, and sanded again.  After about an hour of careful sanding, here's what I got...

Left side.  Messy, yes.  Not finished....

 

Right side. Please be kind.  Not done yet.  If you look closely at the top, you can see some of the bubbles from the first layer.

 

Then a few more hours of patient sanding, and here's what I'm with now.
 

Left side.  Not polished, so please ignore the scratches!


And right side...



And from the front:



I'm going to do a third layer today.  If you look at the bucket from a normal distance, or even a little close up, you can't see any of the imperfections.  Some would say it's overkill to keep mucking around with this to get it perfect.  I seriously doubt that anyone would notice it but me (and most of y'all, I'm sure!).  But I am totally obsessed with getting this smooth as buttah.   

It's very scary for me to put this out there, flaws and all.  But if any of you have some tips/constructive criticism, I can take it!  

Edited March 16, 2016 by Cricket

[Cricket[TK]]

Congrats on the bucket! It is a thing of beauty.   

Thank you!  

[Cricket[TK]]

Excited to see this build move along!

Thanks, Aaron!  It's very encouraging to know that I've got support here!  

[Cricket[TK]]

Congratulations! I am awaiting my big brown box day myself. But what a story. FOLLOWING.

Hey Preston, thanks!  Please be sure to let me know when your BBB arrives.  I'm excited to follow your build, too!

[Cricket[TK]]

Even though I much prefer Stunt armor, both in look and personal preference, I LOVE watching other people build Hero armor. If anything, because it's just not as common to see. Good luck with  your build!

Thanks, Jack!  I need all the luck I can get at this point.    

[Cricket[TK]]

Looking forward to watching it all happen and the epic times ahead!

Thanks, Aaron!  I'm following your build.  So much work, but you're doing a great job!    You're giving me some serious motivation.

[Cricket[TK]]

Excitement Level to 11

Yes!  Because I need that extra push over the cliff.  

[Artshot]

Nice work on the teeth filling, should polish up nicely

[zv288bot[TK]]

 

They look awesome! Great job!!

 

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

[AWOL]

 

 

It's very scary for me to put this out there, flaws and all. But if any of you have some tips/constructive criticism, I can take it!

Flaws? What flaws?

Great job full stop never mind so far

 

if it works kick it, if it doesn't work kick it till it does...

[Cricket[TK]]

Nice work on the teeth filling, should polish up nicely

 

 

They look awesome! Great job!!

 

Sent from my LGLS740 using Tapatalk

 

 

Flaws? What flaws?

Great job full stop never mind so far

 

if it works kick it, if it doesn't work kick it till it does...

 

You guys are way too kind!  Thank you.

 

Oh, I am going to just put everything away for today now.  This just arrived, and I don't think my day could get any better.  Quitting while I'm ahead!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

[68Brick[TK]]

Nice job with the magnets and ABS paste! Once you've worked with it, it's really not that scary!

[aliens8us]

By the way, I am 5'5. You were not too short for a storm trooper because you are a human and not a clone. And please remind the MEN that say that line, that they must be Princess Leia because that is HER line

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I'm 5'5 as well. Takes some modification to get the armor to fit but everything is worth it! 

[Squimspickle[TK]]

Great idea using the ABS paste to fill in the teeth. The more you work with your armor the more comfortable you will get. You will forget about how much you paid for it and how long you waited!!! Keep up the great work!

Edited March 17, 2016 by Squimspickle

[Pyrates[TK]]

Awesome job with that paste!

[Cricket[TK]]

Awesome job with that paste!

Great idea using the ABS paste to fill in the teeth. The more you work with your armor the more comfortable you will get. You will forget about how much you paid for it and how long you waited!!! Keep up the great work!

 

Thanks!  I've learned that you need to be patient when sanding it, going gently rather than trying to buff it aggressively.  If you buff it with too much pressure, it just comes off at the edges, and you have to feather out a new edge.  

 

I'm 5'5 as well. Takes some modification to get the armor to fit but everything is worth it! 

By the way, I am 5'5. You were not too short for a storm trooper because you are a human and not a clone. And please remind the MEN that say that line, that they must be Princess Leia because that is HER line

 

Yay!  Short troopers unite!    I have to admit that I've purchased lifts for my boots, though.  So I'll be more like 5'7 when in full gear.  Not the tallest out there, but certainly not the shortest, though!  My biggest worry is my width size more than my height.  I'm thin-framed, so I think my challenge will be tapering in everything.  I'm sure that if I'm patient enough, I will be sure to make it work.  I know I would be up a serious creek with this if I didn't have you all here at the FISD to follow!

Edited March 18, 2016 by Cricket