Cricket's RS Stunt Build (for the Vertically Challenged)

[Cricket[TK]]

Shins are fairly easy to get right for us vertically challenged. I also cut out the backs so I can move better. I made the ankle holes slightly to tight which results in the shin pieces rising up over the shoes when walking, but it's fixed now wit a strap that goes under the heal.

Thighs, another thing.

I plan on making some stirrups, so it's good to know that it's working well for you!   You've got me nervous about sizing the thighs now.  They are HUGE on me.  I figured the biggest challenge would be with cutting the length down.   I just planned on cutting off around the top and re-creating the returns... is there something more sinister about sizing the thighs?  Any words of warning would be most appreciated. 

 

That looks great Cricket!  Are the backs overlapping in those pictures? Hard to tell for here.

 

You'll probably end up wanting to throw some internal padding on the outside to make them sit how you want and "bulk up" the knee area on yourself.

 

Thanks!  Yeah, the backs are overlapping.  Good eyes!  I haven't cut the width down entirely yet.  I needed to make sure that I had the length pretty much where I wanted it to be before tackling the rest of the width.  I'm finding that it's a bit of a challenge to size the width because I keep having to contort myself to mark back there.  Then once I remove it all and check my marks, I need to verify that it looks symmetrical to the front and that the seam is straight.  It would be much easier if I had someone here to assist.  My GML lives about 30 minutes away.  I may end up taking some beer and Chik-Fil-A over to him to see if I can bribe some assistance if I'm getting nowhere on things.

 

Someone told me when I was building to leave enough space to be able to insert three fingers into a piece of armor with the muscle flexed. That works out to about a half inch or a little more of space and it seems to be a good rule of thumb. I also did what Rasmus did and made the ankles a little tight which tends to make the calves ride up so learn from our mistakes and leave a little more real estate around the ankle so gravity can do more of the work. 

Good tips!  So you think that a snug ankle with stirrups wouldn't necessarily be a good option?  Or should it be tapered in, just not TOO tapered in?

 

Thanks everyone for your feedback!!!

 

Okay, so we were just talking about the rubber gloves recently, right?  I made my way to Home Depot this morning because on their site it indicated that they had rubber gloves available in sizes Small/Medium.  There were 25 in stock at my store.  Yay!  

 

Well, not exactly.  I spent thirty minutes looking for them.  Even with assistance from two clerks at the store, no one could locate these gloves.  Gah!  So off to Walmart I went.  I found these in the cleaning aisle.

 

 

They are black, rubber, and they FIT, but have this really fabulous cuff that isn’t exactly Empire-approved.  I figured that since they were only $2.49, I had nothing to lose.  When I scanned them at checkout, they rang up as $0.50.  Score!    

 

Once home, I removed the leopard cuff, and whaddya know….  they’re perfect with my TK!  And they are more black than the neoprene ones sold at HD.   The HD gloves are on the left with the handguards.  The white part around the cuff is sewn on over the top of the rubber, and I will be removing it once I find my seam ripper.

 

 

So glad to have an approvable pair of gloves that actually fit now.  There were three more on the rack at Walmart, and I'm seriously considering going back to get them now.

[zv288bot[TK]]

You should have left the animal print on.

Edited September 8, 2016 by zv288bot

[fragarock[TK]]

Hi Christine,

 

When getting your shins to the proper length, did you take a little bit off, then adjust the width, then take a little more off the length and so on..? Or  did you cut them to the proper length first then deal with the circumfrence around the leg? Just wondering what the best aproach is.

[Cricket[TK]]

You should have left the animal print on.

Haha, I wish I could have!  It wouldn't fit into the wrist of my armor, alas.  

 

 

 

When getting your shins to the proper length, did you take a little bit off, then adjust the width, then take a little more off the length and so on..? Or  did you cut them to the proper length first then deal with the circumfrence around the leg? Just wondering what the best aproach is.

Hey Frank, sorry I didn't make this clearer for you!  

 

I removed about 5mm of length first, then adjusted the width using blue tape.  (Be sure the shins are sitting firmly onto the boots, and that you're wearing your undergear when fitting.)  Mark your overlapping areas with a pencil while you still have them on- this is easier to do if you have an assistant who is sympathetic to the goals of the Empire.  Every time you remove anything from the bottom, you'll need to pay attention to how the shin is tapered at the ankle and resize it.  If you don't do this, you'll end up with a rather boxy looking shin.

 

You'll want the seam on the calves to be somewhat symmetrical and lined up with the front seam of the shin.  So even if you think you've got a good fit with it taped up, check how everything all lines up when it's off your leg.  Mine were terribly lopsided at the seam on the calves when I first measured them to fit.  I removed a bit of plastic from each side, not just the overlapping part.

 

And that's how I proceeded.  Remove 5mm from the bottom.  Resize width with tape.  Mark overlap.  Remove shin.  Reevaluate seam and adjust.  Cut conservatively.  Repeat.  It's a tedious process, but I think if you're taking your time with it, you'll be very happy with the result.  And speaking of results, I've got some new progress to share...

 

Here's a shin comparison.  Left shin is before any alterations in the length or width were done.  Right shin is now Fun Sized to my 5'4" frame.

 

 

And so you can see the width differences.  Unaltered is on the left, Fun Size on the right.

 

 

Once these fit me correctly, I found myself at the crossroads of Closures.  Should I use velcro or go screen-authentic with bra hooks?  Then I remembered something someone here in the FISD said about closing shins.  That the bra hooks should secure the shin closed, but they shouldn't do it in a way that forces them to close.  The pieces should fit together on their own.  As I looked at my shins, I saw that there was a large gap between the halves, and that the pieces were nowhere near meeting without any force.   In my case, these needed some serious Spa Time in order to look right. 

 

I put these through two spa soaks of boiling/hot water.

 

 

I forgot to take a pic of these before the baths.  But here is what they looked like after two soaks:

 

See the tops of the shins?  They're better than before, but I knew I could do better than that.  It makes me crazy to see uneven shin tops in the back, I don't know why.  I want them to meet perfectly lined up.  So while I knew I could use velcro and get by with closing these to make it even at the top, I want the option to do the bra hook closure method, too.  Which means I've got to get everything meeting up on its own.

 

I boiled a large pot of water, threw on my chemical gloves, and reshaped these by hand.  Here's the result!

 

 

There is minimal strain on the shins around the ankles when I put them on over my boots.  So if I choose to use bra hooks, I'm fairly certain that the cover strip will hide any gaps caused by forward movement and lifting of my heel.

 

So now it's just to decide which closure method I should use.  

 

Pros Screen Authentic: flexible and comfortable, it's screen authentic, dammit

Pros Velcro: snug, tight fit, less of a visual gap when seen from the opposite side, fairly easy to install

 

Cons Screen Authentic:  may unhook while trooping, holes may weaken and crack over time, bit of a visual gap when seen from opposite side, more work to install

Cons Velcro:  can pop open while trooping (I've seen this myself!) due to its lack of flexibility, it's not screen authentic

 

Any troopers out there care to chime in about the pro/cons of these methods?

Edited September 11, 2016 by Cricket

[Addertime[TK]]

I went the bra hook route. They're hard to fasten and unfasten when alone and the seams flex open and closed which makes noise while walking. I considered velcro but saw it a few times at SWC Europe and it looks lees than good. Maybe a hybris is the answer? Straps with some strategic velcro? This is what I've been pondering.

[Cricket[TK]]

Maybe a hybris is the answer? Straps with some strategic velcro? This is what I've been pondering.

Hey, you just reminded me of an idea I read about over at Diana's build thread...

 

lookie here...

 

You'll find it near the bottom of the post.  She's got something rigged as exactly what you're talking about.  I think this'll work for me.  Maybe you as well?

[zv288bot[TK]]

Holy smokes! Have you seen this! This is all you...

 

https://www.facebook.com/Far-Away-Creations-124196600929034/photos/?tab=album&album_id=991947624153923

 

Amazing!!!!

[Cricket[TK]]

Holy smokes! Have you seen this! This is all you...

 

https://www.facebook.com/Far-Away-Creations-124196600929034/photos/?tab=album&album_id=991947624153923

 

Amazing!!!!

OMG- this!!!!  Jorge, you totally know me.  

 

I first saw your post on my phone, and looking at it on a tiny screen, I thought, "Ah... this looks a little scary."

 

And now looking at it on my main computer, this looks awesome!  I could totally do this.  Thank you so much for that link!!!!

 

[zv288bot[TK]]

You'll be the envy of all...

[Rich330[TK]]

 

 

I do believe that some TK wear aqua blue shoes when off-duty.  This one does, at least.  

 

Ked's? Lindy Hopper?

[Cricket[TK]]

Haha, Rich, while dancing would be fun in these, I wear 'em just because I like' em. They're Vans. I've got over a dozen pair in different colors. They're comfy!

[68Brick[TK]]

Looking Good Trooper. Nice job on the shins & hot water bath. Your arm looks good too.

 

For shim closure, I can only speak on what I've experienced, and that's industrial Velcro. If you've left a little room in your shins, you shouldn't experience any issues with Velcro. Will you be adding some Velco to attach your shins to your boots?

 

I understand the attraction towards the screen accurate hook method. You could try either method first, and if you don't like it, try the other. The rear cover strip will hide it all.

[Cricket[TK]]

You'll be the envy of all...

Look what you've gotten me into...  I've already been driving around town this morning looking for those stainless steel strips, and I can't find them anywhere locally.  Or at least within 5 minutes drive of my house.  (haha...)  

 

Found the strips and magnets (with holes as recommended) over at the Auction Site That Shall Not Be Named.  I will keep you posted on the magnetic shin closures once I've got my supplies in hand.  I may do a test run of this on the extra pair of shins that I removed too much of the top return on.

 

Looking Good Trooper. Nice job on the shins & hot water bath. Your arm looks good too.

 

Will you be adding some Velco to attach your shins to your boots?

 

Thanks!  I plan on creating elastic stirrups for my shins that will fit into the boots.  I think that'll keep everything in place fairly well.

 

[zv288bot[TK]]

Look what you've gotten me into... I've already been driving around town this morning looking for those stainless steel strips, and I can't find them anywhere locally. Or at least within 5 minutes drive of my house. (haha...)

 

Found the strips and magnets (with holes as recommended) over at the Auction Site That Shall Not Be Named. I will keep you posted on the magnetic shin closures once I've got my supplies in hand. I may do a test run of this on the extra pair of shins that I removed too much of the top return on.

 

 

Thanks! I plan on creating elastic stirrups for my shins that will fit into the boots. I think that'll keep everything in place fairly well.

 

Can't wait!

 

sent from my phone

[Rich330[TK]]

Haha, Rich, while dancing would be fun in these, I wear 'em just because I like' em. They're Vans. I've got over a dozen pair in different colors. They're comfy!

Ha! Cool. They just looked a lot like Ked's. You do know that videos of you dancing in full armour are compulsory for all FISD members once the armour if complete, right?

[Cricket[TK]]

You do know that videos of you dancing in full armour are compulsory for all FISD members once the armour if complete, right?

 

It would be nice if I could swing dance in my TK when completed.  Goals, right?  

 

Hey troopers, I'm needing some serious reassurance regarding recreating return edges.  I've had to cut down my kidney and butt plate for size, and I recreated the edges, but....  everything looks so scary right now.  I'm only 1/6 of the way to getting the butt and back plates to look nice, which is progress.  (When I started, nothing looked right at all, and I was a complete wreck.)  The curved edges are not easy to work with at all.  Most of the returns look like they were subjected to some serious ion blasting.  

 

I used a heat gun on the low setting and covered areas that I didn't want to be affected by the heat.  It's not that I overheated the plastic.  The plastic would cool quickly as I was shaping it, and I couldn't get anything evened up before it solidified.   I would post pics, but I can't seem to capture the full effect of how wonky the returns look now.   Careful reheating with the heat sealing iron last night seemed to even one area out, which is why I didn't jump off the roof yesterday.  The bottom center of the kidney now meets flat and flush with the center part of the butt plate, but the sides do not.  That correction of the ABS took me almost an hour to do (again, progress!).

 

I actually woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about different solutions to fix this.  It took me almost two hours before I could go back to sleep.    I think I'll be able to get more of the warpy areas tamed down today.  If I can't, I think I can always bulk up dips with ABS paste, sand everything down smooth, and polish.  If anything, my kit looks super screen authentic right now... some of the screen used kits I've seen have scary returns, too.  haha....

 

Before I started this whole thing, I reviewed the return edge tutorial here, and looked at Pandatrooper's return edge videos here, but I've yet to find a good tutorial about how to get this nicely done on the big curvy parts.   Any additional tips would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[68Brick[TK]]

Hey Christine, post some pics and we'll see what you got. I'd stay away from the heat gun as things can go wrong pretty fast with it, especially with larger pieces. The iron is your friend. A hot water bath too. But pics first might make things clearer. Return edges take time!

 

PS Stay off the roof.

[Cricket[TK]]

 

PS Stay off the roof.

 

haha!  Yes, I will for now.  I've emailed RS and asked to order another kidney.  (wait, that sounds odd!)  I figure that if it's taking me too much time to repair, then I will have the clean one as backup.  My big mistake on altering the kidney was cutting both the top and bottom of it.  Gah!  I have no idea why I didn't just remove what I needed from the bottom.  Most of the bottom is covered by the belt, and the top edge would have been fine.       So a word of caution for those of you Vertically Challenged following this: be sure to remove from the bottom of the kidney only!

Okay, here are the cringe-worthy pics.  This is before I smoothed things with the heat sealing iron.

 

 

And then once I smoothed some of it out with the iron this morning....

 

 

I taped the back together on my dressform (which is sized to my measurements):

 

 

Closer view of the kidney.

 

 

I don't want to take anything off the back piece, so that's safe.    And I'm fine with the butt piece as it is because it won't be all that visible at the seam, and it's not too bad overall.  It's just the kidney that's making my stomach turn.    

[Alay[TK]]

Mine doesn't look nearly as warped, but it still has a fair few "stress bumps".  I evened them out with clamps, warm water, and a lot of patient hand bending.  Still look a little odd but not too awful.

 

I reshaped my butt yesterday as well, so when I get a chance I'll post pictures/mini-guide on what I did to reshape; might give you some helpful visuals.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Alay

[zv288bot[TK]]

haha!  Yes, I will for now.  I've emailed RS and asked to order another kidney.  (wait, that sounds odd!)  I figure that if it's taking me too much time to repair, then I will have the clean one as backup.  My big mistake on altering the kidney was cutting both the top and bottom of it.  Gah!  I have no idea why I didn't just remove what I needed from the bottom.  Most of the bottom is covered by the belt, and the top edge would have been fine.       So a word of caution for those of you Vertically Challenged following this: be sure to remove from the bottom of the kidney only!

Okay, here are the cringe-worthy pics.  This is before I smoothed things with the heat sealing iron.

 

 

And then once I smoothed some of it out with the iron this morning....

 

 

I taped the back together on my dressform (which is sized to my measurements):

 

 

Closer view of the kidney.

 

 

I don't want to take anything off the back piece, so that's safe.    And I'm fine with the butt piece as it is because it won't be all that visible at the seam, and it's not too bad overall.  It's just the kidney that's making my stomach turn.    

 

My gut tells me a little more heating iron on a few of the spots and you'll be in the ball park!

 

On another note, you really need to make sure you document this whole build process really well, the resizing and reshaping you are doing is of epic proportions and I am sure ladies and men will benefit from it in the future!!

 

Keep it up, you are doing awesome! 

[lucnak[TK]]

Yeah from the looks of it, a bit more time and effort will get this all looking top shape! Good luck!

[KaiserW]

Ok this got me thinking (I know this could be dangerous)

 

Back when I was doing my initial research, I remember seeing something (post or video, not sure) about someone making a jig/mold from wood to match the return edge they needed, and formed it around the jig with the sealing iron.

 

You could try the same thing with a scrap piece of wood to help keep the area flat and at 90 degrees.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cricket[TK]]

Yeah from the looks of it, a bit more time and effort will get this all looking top shape! Good luck!

Thanks, Luc!    I need all the luck I can get right now...

 

My gut tells me a little more heating iron on a few of the spots and you'll be in the ball park!

 

On another note, you really need to make sure you document this whole build process really well, the resizing and reshaping you are doing is of epic proportions and I am sure ladies and men will benefit from it in the future!!

 

Keep it up, you are doing awesome! 

Thanks for the encouragement, Jorge.    I figure that it's important to post my fails on this so that others can learn from my mistakes.  It's actually really, really a tough thing for me to do- posting my mistakes out here.  I'm a perfectionist when it comes to most projects, and this one is no exception.  To admit that I've messed up- even after ALL the research I've been doing- is hard.  This build is a journey.  And no great journey has ever been taken without pitfalls along the way.  Actually, the most memorable trips are the ones that come with problems.  Like the time I was kidnapped in India.  Or when I got stung by jellyfish while snorkeling in Australia.  Or when I crashed on my motorcycle when driving on Kauai.  Or when I overmelted my kidney returns on my TK. You get the picture.

 

That said, I may back away from things, but I do not give up.  Ever.  There is always a way to make something work out how I want it to.  And I remembered this:

 

 

So I put everything away in my Husky box yesterday.  All of it.  I spent the day out of my office and with my sheltie.  In the back of my mind (but while focused on other things), I continued to try to solve the edge issue on the kidney.   There had to be a way to make it work.

 

Back when I was doing my initial research, I remember seeing something (post or video, not sure) about someone making a jig/mold from wood to match the return edge they needed, and formed it around the jig with the sealing iron.

 

You could try the same thing with a scrap piece of wood to help keep the area flat and at 90 degrees.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for your support Eric!  I think you're referring to Diana's build.  The wood jig is a fantastically good idea for creating the edge, but I don't think it'll help me much to fix things as they are.  (Note to self:  create wood jig for next build...)  

 

I didn't want to keep applying heat to the edges.  I found that yesterday that when I applied heat to some areas with the iron, I would end up inadvertently warping or dinging an area that I didn't want to change.  And the lack of control over how the edges were changing was maddening.  

 

As I examined the white bumpy return edges, I began thinking about buttercream (stay with me, here...).  I have made my fair share of tall creative cakes with fondant and all that.  With fondant, you want your base layer of buttercream to be almost glassy smooth before applying the fondant.  It never starts that way, though.   You usually have to add several thin layers of buttercream, smoothing things up as you go, in order to get a fantastically smooth finish.  Same thing applies to drywall/sheetrock patching (that's for y'all who don't do cakes).  That's when it became clear about what I needed to do.

 

Instead of heating and bending the ABS on the kidney and butt piece returns to try to even things up, I decided to add ABS to bulk up the edges.  By overbuilding the edges with ABS paste, I will then sand them all down to exactly the curve, plane, and angle I need to make them look good (or at least acceptable).  So you wanna see something scary?

 

 

Kind of looks like frosting, right?  Scary frosting!  I know that when it dries, I will be able to sand and polish this all out glossy and smooth.  I've got some more ABS paste cooking right now, so I'll get to the kidney when it's ready.  I'm pretty sure that this method will fix things for me.  

 

Stay tuned!

[Addertime[TK]]

Big boo-boos need big BandAids. I think the paste is going in the right direction. I used that method to join the various return edges on my kit because I didn't like the corners catching on things... especially me. 

 

You've moved into the realm of body and fender repair here and I'm interested to see how it plays out. I'm concerned that the plastics are similar in hardness so it will need a light, even touch to get the finish right without marring the primary substrate too heavily but I have no doubt that your tenacity will prevail.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Addertime

[68Brick[TK]]

Lots of time and sanding will make those pieces look their best. If not, replacement parts are easily available. ABS artwork is a great skill to have for repairs, so you are well ahead of the game.

Edited September 15, 2016 by 68Brick