JAFO'S FIRST ORDER STORMTROOPER BUILD (Jimmiroquai)

[shadan[TK]]

Its all looking great, mate. I totally agree with the quality of the aerator and looking forward to installing mine when I return home - thanks for organising those!

[Cookie Nomster]

Looks good.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely

[Dakari[TK]]

Good stuff there, Darren!

[JAFO[TK]]

A little playtime today. Got to sanding the inside edges of the shins, and tidying up the TD after the recent foam fill exercise.

 

Also started sizing up the elbow gaskets to attach to the forearms with Velcro. Stitching to be done.

[splinter[501st]]

Well done Darren, your armour is looking great.

[JAFO[TK]]

Progress on the build has continued in fits and starts. I try to get a little something done each and every day.

I've reacquainted myself with a sewing machine after many, many years with the aim being to add Velcro to the gaskets, and construct a harness rig for the abs piece. I won't be winning any sewing competitions any time soon but I'm happy with the way things turned out.




After constructing the rig I then set about adding snaps and readying snap plates for the interior of the ab piece.



I attached the snap plates with Marine Epoxy which this fibreglass kit just loves.



After leaving the front snap plates to cure for 24hrs I got around to positioning the rear snaps plates and stuck them in place. At this time they're still curing. I'm looking forward to getting the harness affixed so I can move on to the belt and thigh strapping.

[JAFO[TK]]

I've also been focused on the ab piece magnetic closure mechanism system. Having recently created the brackets out of styrene I measured where they would sit inside the ab piece.

I then used Marine Epoxy to affix the rare earth magnets (40mmx15mmx2mm) on the inside of the ab piece.



Next up I used CA glue to affix magnets to a .75mm layer of styrene.



I then used styrene cement to attach the .75mm styrene layer with magnets to the 3mm styrene layer that has a socket cut in to it. The .75mm layer acts as a buffer between the magnets so they connect but can be easily disengaged.





I then lined up the styrene brackets to the magnet on the opposite side and affixed the styrene using Marine Epoxy.



I allowed each closure sufficient time to cure. No point rushing. All three are now done and a really nice seal has formed. Easy to get on. Easy to get off.



I have some spare magnets kicking around and have started to have a play to see how they might work with the TD. Will update once I know!



I've also gone magnet crazy looking at back-up solutions on the cod and butt sections. Just a little extra support for the snap plates.

[JAFO[TK]]

Today I received my eleven rib neck seal which I commissioned via Landher Prop Suppliers (on Facebook). It is exceptional quality. A little stiff for now but well made and a great fit. 

It looks great with the helmet!



And that's where we get to for this update. Next will be attaching a belt and thigh rig to the existing harness. This will then allow me to size and shape the thighs before getting on to the BIG job of priming, sanding, etc.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Nice work Darren 

[JAFO[TK]]

Thanks Tony. Can't wait to be finished. I'm loving the build but just want to armour up!

[Cookie Nomster]

Nice Darren!  Neck seal looks friggin amazing!

[JAFO[TK]]

Nice Darren! Neck seal looks friggin amazing!

It's amazing quality. Very stiff but should loosen up over time.

[Dakari[TK]]

Looking awesome, Darren....Keep up the great work!

[JAFO[TK]]

Looking awesome, Darren....Keep up the great work!

Thanks Kev! Moving on to shin sockets shortly. I'll be following your lead

[Dynamic1[501st]]

This is looking great!

[Piper211]

Looks like you're going to beat Dave and Tim's build's to be the first in our garrison, coming along nicely mate.

[I'm Batman[501st]]

Looks like you're going to beat Dave and Tim's build's to be the first in our garrison, coming along nicely mate.

 

I think we may have to make you clean and polish your armour if you're going to be joining us here....

[JAFO[TK]]

Looks like you're going to beat Dave and Tim's build's to be the first in our garrison, coming along nicely mate.

I appreciate the confidence but I wouldn't be so sure! I haven't had the chance to touch the kit in the last six weeks but I'm determined to be done before 2017 dawns

[Dynamic1[501st]]

Lets get moving!!!! ; )

Edited November 25, 2016 by Dynamic1

[JAFO[TK]]

WOW! Has it nearly been three-months since my last post. Suffice to say it has been a crazy few months.  Build work hasn't completed halted but it has been less than a stellar effort on my part. Anyhoo, it is with renewed vigour that I provide an update on activity over the last few months. Grab yourself a drink and have a seat...

Taking a break from agents and TDs I decided to take a look at the thighs. Have to be honest, these are the most testing part for me. I did some initial marking and then shaping.







More more to be done on the thighs. They need more shape and then the edges will be sanded done. To be honest, I'm waiting to recruit a little assistance to get these completed as I'm not confident getting the shape right using my own judgement. In readiness to suspend the thighs I added a simple belt to the shoulder ig.



Here's an initial test of the rig and AB piece with cod. Ignore the workbench!



Next up, a relatively simple job - affixing industrial Velcro to the rear of the knee plates.



I then added some small plastic hooks which will connect to thin black bungee cord that will loop behind the knee and assist in keeping the plate in place. Thanks to Evin in the Jimmi FB Build Group for this hack.





OK. First post down. Time to break so I can upload the next ten images....

Edited November 27, 2016 by JAFO

[JAFO[TK]]

Next up, prepping the magnetic shin closure. First up, the sockets. I took some Styrene and used the amazing Tamiya ABS tool to trim the required shapes.

I then drilled the required size holes in one set on styrene...





...before taking the two sets - holes and flats...



...and glueing them together.



Once dried I took the Dremel to the edges to make them less square.





The shins are still very much a work in progress and I haven't touched them in some time. I'll come back to this part of the thread later on.

[JAFO[TK]]

Whilst I haven't had much time to labour on the big stuff I have spent my time tinkering. I'm a Creative Director so I'm all about the detail.

One mini project I had was to take one of the fibreglass boxes and make it more screen accurate by giving it some dimension. I took the original box, as supplied, and took the Dremel to it.



Suffice to say it was a very easy cutting process.



Next up I measured and cut some styrene to size. I wanted to create a frame to sit inside this box and add a little height.







I affixed the frame inside the box using Loctite Marine Epoxy with a little Apoxie Sculpt to add support to the corners.



I then used the epoxy to affix the box lid to the frame and.....voila!

[JAFO[TK]]

Another little side project was the Pauldron. Not essential to approval but something I decided to add in to the mix.

I purchased mine from TrooperBay. Easy to work with and readily available. Some question its size but I think it's a great starting place. It arrives as a formed styrene piece that needs some initial trimming.





Once trimmed I gave it a quick sand to ready for priming. I used Rust-Oleum grey primer, as recommended, and it gave a great finish.



Next up, a coat of Rust-Oleum Satin Black.



And then I masked off in preparation for a coat of Rust-Oleum Colonial Red.





The finish was great but my masking sucked. I had to do a bit of a repair job but I'm happy enough for now.

[JAFO[TK]]

OK...so back to some of the important stuff. Time to prime some of the ready parts. I made the use of some great Sydney spring days to get the priming done.

And after the primer had long dried and various pin holes had presented themselves I took to an afternoon of Bondo fun.





I hadn't worked with Bondo before but really like the way it went down. It wa seven easier to work with when it came to sanding but more on that to come...