Jimmiraquois First Order Stormtrooper Build

[jreed1701]

I've been toying with ideas all week on how i'm going to attach these boxes to the belt without any drilling... and I think I've got it. This is a "rough idea", but I can't seem to find anything wrong with it so far.

 

Now, the sticky side of the velcro goes onto the boxes with the help of some CA glue, so that it won't go anywhere. Then, all I have to do is punch holes in my belt accordingly. I can also add soft side velcro to the belt under the boxes.

 

Lemme know what u think. Gonna start assembly tomorrow.

 

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I am curious why you would choose the rivets (tandy gizmos i think) with velcro? Is it for extra reinforcement? Or, so you can move the velcro around on the belt to adjust?

[steamboatphan]

These are chicago screws. The velcro is just so that the vertical boxes don't sway back and forth. I'm not trying to drill into the boxes, so the velcro creates more surface area to be glued. Assembling tonight, pics should clear this up...

 

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[steamboatphan]

Fabric gaskets showed up today!!!  I'm impressed.  these things fit me perfectly, and it only took 7 days to get here from Ireland.

The back two straps are sewn into the gaskets, the front strap velcros in place.  I may add more straps to get it tighter on me.

 

 

The leg gaskets are a little baggy in the middle.  i will probably have them sewn tighter later on.

 

[Dynamic1[501st]]

Looking siiiiiick!!!!

 

 

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[Walter.Codesido]

Not sure if been asked. Is this the same armor kit you get from FNARMOUR.com ?

Edited May 22, 2016 by Walter.Codesido

[steamboatphan]

Looking siiiiiick!!!!

 

 

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Thanks brutha. I'm hoping to have the armor done by next weekend (the 27th)

 

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[steamboatphan]

Not sure if been asked. Is this the same armor kit you get from FNARMOUR.com ?

No. The link to this kit is on the first page of this thread. Fnarmour.com has great gaskets, but their armor looks off to me. Some say it's a recast too.

 

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[Walter.Codesido]

Ok. Ya i can't loginto the link you have Need to be a member I guess

[Walter.Codesido]

Sent you a PM

[steamboatphan]

Ok. Ya i can't loginto the link you have Need to be a member I guess

Walter: just sign up at theRPF.com and you can view the link. It's free to sign up

 

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Edited May 22, 2016 by steamboatphan

[lucent262]

i also ordered some of these after seeing your pics. They look pretty good and well priced.

 

Fabric gaskets showed up today!!!  I'm impressed.  these things fit me perfectly, and it only took 7 days to get here from Ireland.

The back two straps are sewn into the gaskets, the front strap velcros in place.  I may add more straps to get it tighter on me.

 

 

The leg gaskets are a little baggy in the middle.  i will probably have them sewn tighter later on.

 

[steamboatphan]

Ok, so i assembled the belt using my idea with the velcro strips and chicago screws.  Here's a pic of how i attached them:

 

 

I added a couple dabs of CA glue on the sticky side of the velcro (one on each corner and on the end of the chicago screw)  Note:  There is no drilling into the boxes involved with this method!

[steamboatphan]

Next I cut up a cheap yoga mat i had laying around for the middle section of the belt. I kept it really long when attaching the boxes, so that i could trim the yoga mat and ribbed rubber material accordingly after the boxes where mounted.

 

Important: Be sure to measure the nylon belt over your cod piece and butt plate. Once you have the correct length, sew the buckles on at each end.

 

 

The boxes should go in this order:

 

 

I marked off the spots where i was going to punch holes in the belt by feeling where the chicago screws hit and making a small puncture in the fabric. Invest in a leather punch tool (it'll come in handy here) I'm sure there's a better way to do this, but this method worked out pretty well for me.

Once the chicago screw was through the fabric, I could push the foam right on top of the screws and it'd leave a small mark showing me where to punch a hole. Measure twice, punch once. Keep the belt taut when doing it this way.

 

Finally, cap the chicago screws. DO NOT screw them too tight though. I added CA glue and accelerator to the tops of the screws also.

 

 

Before you just start gluing or attaching all the layers together, REMEMBER, this will be curved around your waist. If you attach all the layers while it's flat, they will bunch up and "ripple" when you curve it to put it on. I recommend closing the buckle and seeing where the pieces lay. Try it on... several times, if you have to. It was definitely a trial and error process for me.

 

I attached the foam to the nylon with chicago screws in several spots and the foam/yoga mat stops just shy of the buckle. The ribbed rubber material was CA glued right onto the buckle:

 

 

Use E6000 to glue the rest of the pieces together once you have the curved shape you like. The way i have this set up, The black pouch WITHOUT a white cover on it will cover the belt buckle. No buckle should be visable, per the CRL.

Edited May 23, 2016 by steamboatphan

[steamboatphan]

After completing the belt, I was pretty much done with all of the armor (minus the shins and knee plates)

I was able to try on all the armor that i had done, and i gotta tell you, I geeked out pretty hard when i looked in the mirror

Jim's armor is a work of art. The ability to sculpt something like this by hand is truly incredible. I believe that this armor will stand the test of time longer than flimsy ABS will.

I know i'm forgetting some stuff in this build thread... I still need to show you guys how i attached the chest plate on and some other random stuff.

So here you go: a 90% done Jimmiraquois First Order Stormtrooper V3

 

 

 

I got dressed on my own and didn't have anyone to take my picture at the time... better, full body, outdoor pics to come once i'm 100% done

I definitely put my TD on crooked in these pics and i need to still add a snap or velcro to the cod piece to keep my belt in place.

I also wont have that gap between the chest and back piece once i have a helper giving me a hand. putting the TD on crooked probably had something to do with that too

All and all, I think i look pretty badass!

Edited May 23, 2016 by steamboatphan

[lucent262]

After completing the belt, I was pretty much done with all of the armor (minus the shins and knee plates)

I was able to try on all the armor that i had done, and i gotta tell you, I geeked out pretty hard when i looked in the mirror

Jim's armor is a work of art. The ability to sculpt something like this by hand is truly incredible. I believe that this armor will stand the test of time longer than flimsy ABS will.

I know i'm forgetting some stuff in this build thread... I still need to show you guys how i attached the chest plate on and some other random stuff.

So here you go: a 90% done Jimmiraquois First Order Stormtrooper V3

 

 

 

I got dressed on my own and didn't have anyone to take my picture at the time... better, full body, outdoor pics to come once i'm 100% done

I definitely put my TD on crooked in these pics and i need to still add a snap or velcro to the cod piece to keep my belt in place.

I also wont have that gap between the chest and back piece once i have a helper giving me a hand. putting the TD on crooked probably had something to do with that too

All and all, I think i look pretty badass!

Looks like you've done a great job. I'll be taking on board a lot of what uv done when i start mine. Certainly makes building a bit easier for us people about to get our kit with people like you sharing their build.

 

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[PBTrooper]

Looks awesome !!! I'm on Jim's wait list as well. I have a few questions, which gaskets are your favourite? And what did you do with the inside of the armour? Sand and wash? Paint it after sanding / washing?

[jreed1701]

Really. This is going to help me out big time when I get all my gear together.

 

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[steamboatphan]

Looks awesome !!! I'm on Jim's wait list as well. I have a few questions, which gaskets are your favourite? And what did you do with the inside of the armour? Sand and wash? Paint it after sanding / washing?

Thanks!

I have Jim's gaskets, imperial rubber gaskets, and fnarmour gaskets.

For comfort, my favorite are fnarmour's

For appearance, imperial rubber gaskets

I have nothing against Jim's gaskets; they look great and will work perfectly. You just need to alter them to fit your size.

 

The inside of my armor is just sanded down smooth and washed with light soapy water.

 

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Edited May 24, 2016 by steamboatphan

[steamboatphan]

Really. This is going to help me out big time when I get all my gear together.

 

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It's my pleasure. I've had a bunch of people ask me to help them with their armor, and frankly, I'm flattered, since I'm a newbie when it comes to all this. I hope this thread will help others during their build and will show the kit up close to potential customers for Jim

 

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[steamboatphan]

Shins!

Since the shins where pretty much laying right against my skin when i had them closed, i needed to widen them a tad.  Apoxie-Sculpt to the rescue, yet again!!

I drew a line on the shins of where i wanted them to be at while wearing.  At the widest part, i was getting 3/4" extra leg/calf room in the armor.  Plenty of room for gaskets to fit in.

 

 

Looks pretty sloppy here, I know.  after some power sanding, it cleans up nicely:

 

 

The line isn't as straight as I'd like it in this pic.  More sanding is in order.  The apoxie-sculpt sands down pretty easily.  the other recessed area needs to be filled in in this pic too.

 

 

I'm not too worried about the gap at the bottom, as the spats will cover this.  Spray painting this will be interesting....

[steamboatphan]

Knee plates painted!

 

[steamboatphan]

I cut the spats after looking at the CRL closely... RF=right front, LF=left front

 

 

I CA glued Jim's clips on before paint.  The reason I used Jim's and not my holster guy's clips, is because Jim's have a nice flex to them.

I propped the spats open and laid down the first 2 coats of paint.  after it was dry to the touch (roughly 45-60 min), I closed the spats gently and gave it a 3rd coat.  The reason for this was to let it dry and cure fully in the position that it would be sitting on the shins avoiding stress cracks.... i hope 

 

[steamboatphan]

Edited May 25, 2016 by steamboatphan

[steamboatphan]

Edited May 25, 2016 by steamboatphan

[steamboatphan]

The shins were the last pieces to be painted!

Make sure there is no gap between the two boxes on your left leg and the armor.  again, apoxie-sculpt works great for this.

Paint went on nicely.  I did get one tiny little run... see if you can spot it (it's in the first pic only)

 

 

 

 

Glad to be done with Paint!  It's wayyyy too stressful!