Christina's Troopmaster 1.5mm ABS ANH Hero TK Build [TM]

[Dougal[501st]]

Such a beautiful kit! Great job so far Christina!

[sandtrooper[501st]]

Looks great so far!  Proud Boston owner as well.  Is that a former roommate in the BBB picture?

[TKZombie[TK]]

Almost no progress this weekend sadly as I dislocated a rib and really couldn't do anything, its been put back in place and that hurt like hell. I only got the straps glued in the shoulder bells. Hopefully I can get a bit of work in this week.

[Pyrates[TK]]

Almost no progress this weekend sadly as I dislocated a rib and really couldn't do anything, its been put back in place and that hurt like hell. I only got the straps glued in the shoulder bells. Hopefully I can get a bit of work in this week.

Owwwie - not a pleasant feeling indeed and hope you're feeling better again soon.

[Dougal[501st]]

Omg... Relax, and let that body mend so you can troop another day!! Hope you feel better!!

[TKZombie[TK]]

So here is the Hero helmet by Troopmaster Paul...Its slightly larger than my AP stunt helmet, so it fits my head better. All hand painted details. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should be able to get back on my armor building the dislocated rib is healed just have to take it slow to not stress it for a few weeks. 

[Cricket[TK]]

Sweet!!!  Love it!  

It looks like the lenses can be swapped out.  Can they, or are they in there for good?

[TKZombie[TK]]

They are glued in. Don't look easy to remove. Hopefully they'll never need to be.

[Cricket[TK]]

How is the clarity of vision with these bubble lenses?

[TKZombie[TK]]

If you look straight ahead it's good. If you have to look left or right you have to turn your head not your eyes or you get distortion. I'm going to wear next weekend on a troop with my AM TK to give it a trial run and I'll update everyone after.

[Nagedzi[TK]]

Are the lenses actually blue? If so, what's the explanation for that? I thought they're supposed to be either green or smoke....

[TKZombie[TK]]

They are green I think it's the florescent bulb I used that made them look blueish.

[Nagedzi[TK]]

They are green I think it's the florescent bulb I used that made them look blueish.

Phew! That's good to hear! I couldn't imagine Paul changing it up without reason.

[Ryth_[501st]]

I really enjoy looking at the hero suits. We've got one TM hero here, that we hopefully will see in an armor workshop soon.

 

Good luck with the build!

[Pyrates[TK]]

Sooo jealous Christina - still waiting for my TM bucket hopefully it will be here soon.

Edited April 23, 2016 by Pyrates

[Dougal[501st]]

Beautiful!

[TKZombie[TK]]

Well I'm still hindered by last weekends dislocated rib, so I'm only able to work briefly before feeling strain on the area and the muscles around the rib. Progress will be slower than desired. I was able to get the biceps cut and trimmed.

 

The arms come as one piece so they need to be separated. 

 

The set of freshly freed biceps.

 

Cut lines penciled in, likely you'll need to trim the armor down to fit you. I trimmed the long side along the edge but found afterwards it was easier to just draw a straight line next to the edge and cut that approx 1/8" from the edge. So you have straight clean edges for gluing together. The inner bicep pieces have the huge piece of ABS to cut away, I found cutting as much of that away made moving the scissors easier along the cut line when you cut the majority of that chuck of ABS away the plastic is much more flexible to help you conform to cutting you cut line.   

 

Once trimmed I taped these for fit and found I need to take approx 1/2" of each side, remember to line up the bottom so they are flush as these pieces don't line up so keep the bottoms in line. The tops will be hidden under the shoulder armour so you won't see them. 

 

Trimmed to size, note the flush bottoms and offset tops to be hidden under the shoulder bells. 

 

 

The one side top lines up the other doesn't. 

 

The bottom needs to be flush, need to sand these edges but the strain of cutting was all I could take so I'll get to those another day. 

 

The left trimmed and cut to size. 

 

Both biceps trimmed and cut to size. 

 

 

I'll have to wait to glue the cover strip as the cover strip you get for the thighs is also meant for the biceps so I'll have to trim, cut and assemble the thighs first then use the left over piece on these biceps. At least after sanding these will be ready for gluing. 

 

I think i'll move onto painting the trimmed ab buttons next and them attach the torso pieces with the wire strapping and let my rib/back heal more before tackling more cutting as the thighs and forearms have a lot more cutting on them so I need to recover more. 

[Pyrates[TK]]

Looking stellar Christina - wish you well, I can sympathize with the discomfort.

[Cricket[TK]]

 

... remember to line up the bottom so they are flush as these pieces don't line up so keep the bottoms in line. The tops will be hidden under the shoulder armour so you won't see them. 

Good tip!  I will need to remember this when I finally get to assemble my armor.  

 

Hope you're feeling better soon.

[troopermaster]

Looking good so far

[TD42115[501st]]

Pauls armor is beautiful.

[TKZombie[TK]]

I did 2 troops this weekend and unfortunately the stress of being in my armor for several hours over 2 days has impacted my previously dislocated rib, today I was in pain again and could feel the tissue and muscles around that rib inflamed so I'm not doing any troops for the month of May to let the area heal and its delaying being able to work on my armor as trimming and sanding strains the area. So more build delays which sucks! <br><br>

I did get elastic straps glued to the hand plates done. Not very exciting but it's done none the less. I have white rubber hand plates glued to rubber gloves for photos and for when I'll submit for centurion status but for trooping I prefer Nomex gloves with the abs hand plates for comfort.

[Pyrates[TK]]

Good to see you're taking some time to recover - you're a machine for doing two troops in that condition but now understand why after doing my first troop.

[TKZombie[TK]]

Some photos from the Star Wars Symphony I trooped at on Saturday night...

 

This was my first time wearing the Troopmaster Hero helmet out I tried it with my AM armor, the bubble lenses actually didn't bother me Paul must have a secret to how he makes his. The chin strap really helps as it holds the helmet straight on so where you look you stay focused straight and center. You have to turn you head where you want to look not move your eyes or you'll look out the bubble edge and your vision will then be distorted. The only downside is everything had a green tint to it. The helmet with the screen accurate star foam padding is incredibly comfortable, I have a AP Stunt helmet that I added military tactically pads to and by far the foam star in the Hero blow it away. The hero helmet is now my go to helmet. Paul's helmet fits me better too than the AP. 

 

I'm on screen left...

 

Me on screen right with the DLT-19

 

2nd On the right again with the DLT-19, we came out on stage while they played the Imperial March, pretty amazing troop to stand on stage of a full orchestra playing behind us. 

[illusionz_09[TK]]

looks amazing!!! great job...