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

[Cricket[TK]]

Hey Troopers!  Nothing too major going on lately because I've had a slew of family events as well as family staying with us from out of town.  Guests are now gone, so now I can get back to Star Warsing.

 

First, huge thanks out to Zv288bot (aka Jorge) for helping to troubleshoot some issues I had with the fan switches.  Thanks to his help, each of my fans in my bucket now operates on its own switch.  Woo!  Jorge, you're the BEST!

 

I received my replacement thighs from RS Props a few weeks ago, so now I'm finally getting started on the very last part of my vertically challenged build.  Time to build myself some new thighs!  I don't think I documented the thigh build very well in this thread anyhow, so I'll get to that now.  

 

The RS Props right thigh is odd.  The halves don't line up at all.  It took me a bit of research to find out some things about how to line up the halves.  Yay for the FISD, because I found a thread from 2012 from the RS Props team that discussed how to put the right thigh together.  

 

Here is the right thigh as the halves should be lined up.

 

The top is off.  Which is normal.

 

 

And so is the bottom.  Also normal.  This will be hidden by the ammo pack.

 

 

For me, the most helpful part of that thread is the measurement they noted about the discrepancy at the bottom of the halves meeting; there should be about 8mm difference between the inner and outer halves.  

 

 

Here's the new right thigh next to the old right thigh that I cut too short.

 

 

I reinforce all my parts by gluing inner cover strips on first.  While inner cover strips are not necessary, I like how they give the inside of the armor a clean, finished look.  Once I'm done fitting the thighs to my size, the very last thing I will do is attach the outer cover strips.  

 

Also I'm doing some other little things to my kit.  Like adding the elastics to the shoulder straps.  Don't worry about them being tied backwards for now.  I couldn't get the kit off my dressform because glue was drying on the other side.  

 

And I'm pretty proud of the fact that the shoulder straps aren't touching the OII box.  It seems that many Shortroopers end up with shoulder straps that look too long in the back.  I was able to get around this by moving the shoulder straps forward more on the chest and by adding a metal strip inside the shoulder strap.  The metal strip allows me to give the strap a bit of a bend at the top, which reduces the overall length at the back.

 

Here you can see where the bridge is secured to the chest.  There are no requirements for 'bar placement' on the chest.  On the left shoulder bridge, I've attached seven bars to the chest.  Even though that sounds like a lot, it looks proportional to the chest.  Keep in mind that I cut a lot away from the chest on all sides, including a lot from the neck, and I created new returns on the sides and bottom.  I had to cut so much into the chest plate that I had to create new shoulder areas on the chest.

 

 

I've bent my belt a bit more using Pandatrooper's bending method.  It curves nicely now on my armor.  And I had to relocate my belt up a bit.  In the pic above, I like where it's sitting.  In order for it to do that, I had to add some velcro to the ab to keep it in place.  This also meant that I had to relocate the snaps on my ab to accommodate the new position of the belt.  No worries, ABS paste fixes everything!  Will be sanding, polishing, and installing new snaps for the ab today while I wait for the E6000 to cure on the thighs.

 

Oh!  One more thing!  As I'm modifying my armor, I'm figuring out that it would probably have been better for me to have waited to paint my ab buttons until last.  With all the fine-tuning I'm doing, they're getting all chipped up, and they will need to be repainted before submission.  It won't take long, but still.  Ah well!

 

Edited February 9, 2017 by Cricket

[Cricket[TK]]

This thread is getting a little long.  For those of you who don't want to wade through all 16 pages of this build, here's the overview of topics so far:

 

Some Things to Know Before You Go

Making ABS Paste

ABS Paste for Small Repairs, Heat Ironing New Thigh Returns

ABS Paste for BIG Repairs (not for the Faint of Heart, Short of Time, or Chronically Impatient)

Cover Strip Sizes

Belt Corners and Ammo Pack Measurements

 

Sizing Down the Chest

Rebuilding a Return on the Bottom of the Chest (MUCH easier than using ABS paste, believe me)

Recap of Where I Trimmed the Kit on the Torso

Reinforcing Shoulder Bridges and Jig for Making New Returns

 

Shoulders

Shoulder Bell Trimming

Shoulder Bell Fitting

Shoulder Trim Points for Short Troopers

Reinforcing Shoulder Bridges and Jig for Making New Returns

Discussion of Shoulder Bell Shape

Garter Belt, Shoulder Snaps

 

Biceps

Biceps

Making Bicep Hooks

Arm Strapping

 

Abdominal Mods

Painting Ab Buttons

Reducing the Height of the Ab

Cutting the Cod!

Installing Inner Strapping Brackets

Recap of Where I Trimmed the Kit on the Torso

 

Shrinking the Kidney to Fun Size

Shorten the Kidney (always remove from the BOTTOM ONLY!) and Rebuilding Returns

Kidney/Ab Rivet Placement

Kidney/Ab Rivet Placement Continued...

More Kidney/Ab Rivet Stuff, Building the Belt, and Countersinking Screws

Troubleshooting Kidney/Ab Not Lining Up on the Right Side- GAH!

Fixing the Kidney/Ab Misalignment Issue

Even More Fixing the Kidney/Ab Misalignment Issue…(The Sequel)

Getting the Kidney/Ab Misalignment Thing in Order (The Final Battle)

PlastiDipping the Helmet and Kidney/Ab Bracket Creation

Kidney/Ab Bracket with Styrene Tab Installed, Discussion of Shoulder Bell Shape

ABS Paste for Small Repairs, Heat Ironing New Thigh Returns

 

Shin Stuff

Shin Fitting

Shin Trimming for Shorties

(Magic) Magnetic Shin Closures Part 1 (initial installation)

(Magic) Magnetic Shin Closures Part 2 (magnetic closure improved)

(Magic) Magnetic Shin Closures in Action (video!)

Sniper Knee

Giddy Up!  Home Grown Stirrups (not a tutorial)

 

Thighs for the Vertically Challenged

Leg Adjustments

Leg Adjustments Continued...

Assembling the (New) Thighs and Heat-Bending the Belt

Sizing the New Thighs and Padding the Lid

Installing the Ammo Pack

ABS Paste for Small Repairs, Heat Ironing New Thigh Returns

Fine Tuning the New Thighs

Initial Left Thigh Trimming (not yet there, but dang close)

Reworking the Back of the Left Thigh

Final Left Thigh Trimming and Spiffy New Returns Using a Heat Iron

 

Handy

Gloves

Getting a Curve on Latex Handguards

 

Love to the Lid

Ditch the Brush!  Sponge On the Tube Stripes!

DIY Fan Bracket (not a tutorial)

Sizing the Thighs and Padding the Lid

 

All Together Now

Test Fitting It All!

And Feedback Is A Good Thing (time to fine tune it all…)

 

 

 

Whew!  

Edited February 23, 2017 by Cricket

[Eynonz]

Wow this thread may prove very useful to me as I'm a bit on the short side, and have an RS Kit. Thank you.

[TKZombie[TK]]

You are so close!

[Cricket[TK]]

While I was waiting for the glue on my new thighs to dry, I started working on fixing other little things that have been bugging me about my kit.

 

Part of reducing the size of my kit has involved a lot of rebuilding new returns on many of the torso parts.  As a result, even with careful use of the heat gun, sometimes the edges get a little warpy.  On the lower right of my back plate, the return was angled at close to a 45 degree angle.  It was the most apparent when I raised up my arm.  The whole corner of the back plate was angled too high.

 

A little time spent with the problem area, the heat gun, and getting jiggy with my wood jiggy-ma-jig, problem solved.

 

 

Still needs to be sanded a little, but it's heaps better I think.

 

While I was looking at that area, I noticed another heat-caused injury to my armor.  After extending the ab height  for improved joining at the kidney, I ended up slightly warping the edge at the corner.  Previously, the edges met flush with each other.  You can see in the pic below where they don't meet anymore.

 

 

This kind of thing makes me CRAZY.  Even though most people would never notice it, I KNOW it's there in all its tiny warpiness.  Enter ABS paste.  Let's rebuild a little edge, shall we?

 

 

I applied two layers of ABS paste and allowed it to dry for a few days.  Sanded it down.

 

 

Here's a before and after so you can see the difference.  I still need to polish it up, but I'm much happier with it now.

 

 

 

 

 

You are so close!

 

Yaaaas!  The only thing that I need to complete now are the thighs.  The right thigh has been fitted all around.  I'm getting to fitting the left thigh today (that one is giving me headaches). I won't be trimming any off the top until both thighs are glued together and I can try them on with the shins and armor on.  I will NOT be overtrimming this time!  I am actually surprised about how little it seems that I will need to remove from the top of the thighs.

 

And when I do, I think I should easily be able to rebuild the returns on the tops of those thighs.  I have been practicing making new returns on my old, shorter thighs.  I built another wood jig just for them.  It's smaller and more curved than the one I've used for all my torso parts.

 

 

For this, I used a heat sealing iron, the wood jig above, and my favorite little piece of wood stir stick (it's about 2 inches long) to smooth out the edges as they cool.  It took me about 30 minutes, but I think I've got the hang of making new returns on the thighs.  

 

 

Of course, there is always sanding of the inner edges to even things up on the inside to be done, but it looks much better than having flat, straight edges along the top.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Cricket

[zv288bot[TK]]

In my best Kylo Ren impression... "Look how bored you've become..." Haha! Finish what you started so you can get on troopin with us! Looks great but you didn't need me to tell you that!

 

sent from my phone

[Cricket[TK]]

In my best Kylo Ren impression... "Look how bored you've become..." Haha! Finish what you started so you can get on troopin with us!

https://youtu.be/26dKVC1hnp8?t=1m46s

[Cricket[TK]]

Home stretch.  Fitting the left thigh.  As I mentioned before, this one has been giving me attitude.  But I finally taped it into submission.

 

 

Taped together to my size, you can see how much I needed to remove.  I made an estimate of the back center seam line by making a pencil mark on the back of the shins that looked like it was opposite the front shin seam.

 

 

I trimmed a little off of each side- maybe about 5mm at a time- until I was able to get a better taped fit of the thigh onto me.  There's a lot of extra plastic to deal with when trimming these, and the excess makes the fit always seem a little more snug as it is being taped together.  I finally got things into a final 'workable' fit, and marked off my final cut.  I measured each side along the bottom ridge line to the first corner to verify some degree of symmetry.  Each side measured 45mm, so the bottoms were good and didn't need further trimming.  I wanted the seam to be straight, so I needed to make a final wedge-shaped cut as I adjusted the final fit.  Sounds weird to cut at an angle in order to achieve a straight line, but it works for this part.

 

 

Score.  Snap.  Wedge removed.

 

 

I then taped the pieces together on the outside to make sure things fit together well. 

 

 

Straight on the inside, too.

 

I used a piece of extra ABS that was cut from the same thigh as a reinforcement strip.  Good thing about being small and building a TK is that you always end up with extra scraps that can be used for other things.

 

 

Glued the strip inside, clamped it down.

 

 

Now the long wait for the e6000 to cure.  Sigh.  

 

I also have been padding my helmets to see what works best for me.  Small head and all, I need lots more padding than I expected.  Feeling a bit like Goldilocks with this.  The tactical pads are too hard, and not thick enough.  I can't double them up because that ends up too thick.  I've got bicycle helmet pads, and I can stack those on top of the tactical pads, but they're also really hard and still not padding my head enough.  I have had some success on the RS helmet with using a Stanley knee pad (cut up), and covering the pads all around the lid with foam door strips.

 

 

I picked up an extra small helmet liner from an online motorcycle store for $5 (clearance, yay!), and that option is the most comfy for me.  I added a small wedge (from the bicycle helmet set) to the front above my eyes and one on each side of the head just under the liner, and it's a winner for my ATA lid.

 

 

Anyone have other suggestions for comfortable padding for the helmet?  I tried hard hat liners as well, not only were they too big for me, but I just didn't have the patience to rig them to my lids.

Edited February 15, 2017 by Cricket

[Cricket[TK]]

Today I gave the thighs a good hot water bath to get them into more of a rounded shape.  Afterwords, I reduced the width of the return at the knee area  by cutting out about 3mm of plastic all around.  While I had the hot water out, I also curved up the thigh ammo pack.

 

I was going to begin trimming the tops of the thighs today, but I realized that I needed to get the ammo pack installed at the bottom of the right knee first.  The ammo pack adds a little length to the thigh.  There'd be no point in trimming the thighs until that ammo pack was added!

 

Hands up for who struggles with getting the ammo pack lined up!  

Using my magnets, I got the ammo pack centered on the front of the thigh.  I don't know why it never occurred to me before to use magnets for this.  D'oh!  Since nothing is symmetrical on this, I realized that in order for the installed ammo pack to look balanced when seen from the back, I needed to trim a little more from the inside end of the ammo pack.  I measured a gazillion times just to make sure I had the correct measurements before I trimmed.  (I'm too close to finishing, and I do not want to have to do this over due to a measurement error!)  It felt weird to make a cut to only one side. 

 

 

But it worked!  Due to my small size, the ammo pack has to make more of a tight curve around the thigh.  This results in a little bit of flaring out at the bottom edges.  No worries, though.  Some e6000, clamps, and a few days to cure, and it should look straight when I'm done.

 

 

Once it's all glued securely, I will get the tops of these thighs trimmed to fit.  Almost there!!!!!  

Edited February 18, 2017 by Cricket

[Gwithian]

Looking good , I like the summary of the 16 page syou posted, very helpful an di also like the idea of the motorcycle interior cap , I think I have a spare one of those . I've just ordered my RS kit an dhopefully pick it up in a couple of weeks, so I hope you don't mind if I pick your brains on how to do things, like you I'm going to have to cut down the chest, And doing the return edges .... well I'm not looking forward to that..... the template you made looks good, may have to see if I can pull some of those together. How did you get the rise and fall on your template for the chest return edge?

[Cricket[TK]]

I've just ordered my RS kit an dhopefully pick it up in a couple of weeks, so I hope you don't mind if I pick your brains on how to do things, like you I'm going to have to cut down the chest, And doing the return edges .... well I'm not looking forward to that..... the template you made looks good, may have to see if I can pull some of those together. How did you get the rise and fall on your template for the chest return edge?

 

Thanks!  The "jig/heat gun/piece of wood paint stirrer" is my single favorite tool combo from this build.  It has allowed me to easily make mods that I never thought could be done.  Cutting things down doesn't terrify me anymore.  

 

The curve on the jig was pretty much based on the natural curve of the chest plate.  I made a rough sketch of the chest curve on the wood, and cut using a jigsaw.  Once I had the piece cut out, I sanded it down a bit more to get the shape that allowed the chest to rest comfortably on it.  In hindsight, I could have made even more of a curve of that wood, and it would have worked fine.  I would probably had made it less wide as well.  That extra width sometimes got in the way for me, but I was able to work around it with some patience. 

 

Congrats on your RS kit!  I hope you make a build thread for it.  I'll be watching!  

[Gwithian]

Yes I will editing a build thread, I will continue the one I started fir the lid. Can you post a pic of the jig you made fir the chest return edge please

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cricket[TK]]

Here ya go!  The ruler in the front is 18 inches/455mm for scale.

 

The jig on the left is the one I used for the chest/ab/butt/back plate returns.  The one on the right is the one I used for the thighs.

Edited February 18, 2017 by Cricket

[Cricket[TK]]

Yes I will editing a build thread, I will continue the one I started fir the lid. Can you post a pic of the jig you made fir the chest return edge please

 

 

 

Haha... I'm already following your thread.  You haven't posted any updates lately!  

[Gwithian]

Thanks fir the pics

 

I've been busy unfortunately, hopefully I will get the tube stripes sorted next week then it's the eyes and plasticoat the inside

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 18, 2017 by Gwithian

[Cricket[TK]]

Okay troopers, feedback is requested on the thighs!

 

I got everything fitted and tried them on with my torso and shin pieces today.  I have not trimmed ANYTHING off the tops (nothing off the bottom for that matter, either).  Look at how they fit!

 

 

I must have abnormally long thighs for my 5'4" height.  I even made it up stairs with them on, although I had to wobble and tiptoe to make it (thanks to Addertime for the stairs tip!).  So while I thought I would have to remove a lot off of these, it seems like I won't have to remove much at all.  I think I'll remove a bit from the returns first and see how that changes how they feel.  

 

 

I may end up adding a little bit of padding in the sniper knee because I saw it try to tuck itself into the thigh, but it was unsuccessful.  Actually, the only times I saw that happen was when my thighs became detached from the temporary velcro I have on the garters right now.  I still haven't added the cover strips to the exterior seams yet. I have kept the blue tape on the backs for extra security.  All of it will come off once I'm done with fitting.

 

 

I have a question about the drop boxes.  Mine are secured in place as per Centurion requirements, but they seem to pop out at the sides because of the thigh armor.  Is this typical, or do I need to adjust something?  Guidance would be most appreciated!

 

Another look at the "before" on the left (with the thighs that were cut too short), and the "after" on the right (new thighs not trimmed at all).

 

 

Do the new thighs look like they need any adjustments to you?  Feedback always appreciated.  Thanks, troopers!  

[Troopacoola[TK]]

Thighs look good. Maybe a little off the rear to avoid butt plate overlap. But they look much better! Re the drop boxes, if the measurements on the belt are correct, I'd leave them be. Looking good C!

 

Marc

[Cricket[TK]]

Thighs look good. Maybe a little off the rear to avoid butt plate overlap. But they look much better! Re the drop boxes, if the measurements on the belt are correct, I'd leave them be. Looking good C!

 

 

Thanks, Marc!  The backs poke me in the butt quite a bit!  I've removed some off of the back, but not very much.  I'm in the process of taking a little off of the side where the thigh meets the cod as well.  Lesson learned that you don't need to remove everything all around the thigh- just here and there! 

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Yes, please keep the thighs like that if you can work with it! The OT thighs are so beautifully shaped, to me it's almost like the body of a car. They're also very much part of the look for a correct OT stormtrooper. If you compare them with those ugly short tube-looking thighs that the Rogue One stormtroopers have you should reckon how important they are.

Edited February 21, 2017 by The5thHorseman

[TKZombie[TK]]

So glad you replaced the thighs this looks WAY better now. In the end I know you are happier with them now!  

[Cricket[TK]]

Yes, please keep the thighs like that if you can work with it! The OT thighs are so beautifully shaped, to me it's almost like the body of a car. They're also very much part of the look for a correct OT stormtrooper. If you compare them with those ugly short tube-looking thighs that the Rogue One stormtroopers have you should reckon how important they are.

 

Agreed, Germain!  I have had to remove some from the tops and back, but I've done my best to retain the original lines of the thigh.  Unless I was always in just a standing position, there would be no way I could walk without injury at some point as the thighs were before.

 

I've spent the past three hours working on trimming down the thigh, millimeter by millimeter.  This has been the most difficult part of the build, by far.  I don't have someone to follow me around with a pencil to mark where the armor touches in places, so it's taking an insane amount of time to get this right.  I'm marking blindly where it seems like the armor is hitting.  This would be much easier if I had a background in gymnastics.  I think I've put on and taken off my armor over 20 times today.  Ugh.  I'm almost there, though.  Pics.

 

Before trimming on the left.  After trimming and new returns on the right.

 

 

From the side before trimming (left), and after trimming (right):

 

 

And another look of the back.  

 

 

I trimmed the back while trying to follow the original lines on the thigh- which follows the line of the butt plate-  and I'm happy with how it turned out.  I like 'notched' thighs because it looks more like the thigh and the butt plate are supposed to fit together, like a puzzle piece.  It would have been much easier to simply trim the back in a curve, but it doesn't look as tailored to me.  Really happy with how the returns came out, too.  Note: no need for returns on the inside of the thighs because no one can see 'em!  

 

Tomorrow I hope to finish fine-tuning the inside of the left thigh (a little bit of contact happening somewhere in there), and get going on the right thigh.  

Edited February 22, 2017 by Cricket

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Front view looks absolutely perfect. I'll be honest, I'm not completely fond of the notched thigh at the back, but I reckon it should do what it's designed for and help you a lot for mobility. In the end this is what matters for you.

[Cricket[TK]]

 I'll be honest, I'm not completely fond of the notched thigh at the back, but I reckon it should do what it's designed for and help you a lot for mobility. 

 

Thank you for that honesty, Germain.  Seriously, when I get feedback like this, it makes me reevaluate how things look.  So I've taken another good look at what I thought was good, and have decided to rework things.  

 

Reducing the thighs down to my size has been more challenging than I thought, especially since I want to retain the original lines of the armor.  I want to keep as much of the length of the top and sides, so this meant removing plastic from the inside and back of the thigh.  On OT suits, I kept seeing an angle cut at the back of the thigh where the butt plate and outer thigh meet.  Germain's comment had me looking again at the OT thigh pics.  Today I realized that because I had to squeeze the thigh pieces inward, there was no way to completely get that OT look.  :/  Yes, now that I look again, that notch is a little awkward (despite my pride for having sculpted it with such flair and making such a killer return on it!).

 

Here's a comparison so you can see what I'm looking at.  I think I will end up removing the excess above the red curve line and building a new return below the red curve line. This will remove that hard angle and allow clearance at the booty.

 

 

Thanks again to Mr. Accuracy Hag for the input!  

[68Brick[TK]]

Looks like a good solution Christine. You are a return edge master!

[Alay[501st]]

I haven't posted here in a while but I have to say Christine your progress has been fantastic to watch. Thanks for contributing such an amazing thread!