New members first build

[BrianD]

Any of you guys have any input on the liner in the pics above? 

[68Brick[TK]]

Good Looking start Brian!

 

I like the amount of air that would be allowed to circulate with that liner, but it looks like the liner/padding would come pretty far down on the back of your head, which might make putting your helmet on and off a little more difficult. Most troopers have to insert their heads sideways in the helmet and then "screw" the helmet on. Have a look at motorcycle or other helmet padding (amazon) before jumping on this one. This Ebay one doesn't look like it would lend itself to being hacked apart to even use parts of it.

[BrianD]

Thank you for your input on the liner. I'll keep looking and post again when I find something that looks like what I want. 

Here is the latest on my build. I got the paint finished! I will hopefully get the lenses and mic tips installed tonight. I plan on beginning the trimming and fitting of the chest and back armor this weekend. I bought my boots from TKBoots.com so when they get here I can start on the shins. I didn't want to measure them wrong being that I don't know how the boots will fit up to the bottoms of them. 

Here is a new pic of my bucket. 

 

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Nice work Brian

[BrianD]

Ok, I have a new question. It seems my body type is going to need kidney armor shims. From what I read I basically put a backing plate and add an extension to the kidney armor plate to meet up with the ab plate. Then I make an ABS paste and fill it in, sand it down and polish it to hide the seam. Is this correct? Should I add 1/2 to the kidney and 1/2 to the abs? What i I have a large gap between the breast plate and back armor? Should I add an extension to that too? Should I use E6000 glue on the backing plate or should I use something a little more permanent?

 

Thanks in advance.

[BrianD]

I read that the mic tips should be white. Is this correct or am I better off leaving them all black?

 

Also got the lenses and neck trim installed...

.

 

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Hi,

Painting the inside of the Mic Tips white is the correct way:

 

 

Don't be confused by the shape of the interior part. I transformed my Mic Tips to air-intakes.

 

Cheers

Christian

Edited March 4, 2017 by Novak Dimon

[BrianD]

Thanks. What about the edge? Should it be white too?

 

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[BrianD]

While I am waiting for my boots from TK Boots to arrive on Monday, I have been working on my body armor. I have been using the CRL's, build threads, stickies and screen shots as well as was getting lucky enough to find 2 local Southern California Garrison members who live in the same city as me that have been very helpful to help me getting to where I am. Thank you everyone for your willingness to help, give advice, criticize or comment to let me know whether I am on track or not. Here are a few shots of my body armor so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BrianD]

Oh... should I use nylon webbed straps or should I use elastic bands for the straps? What width for what areas? What width white straps and what material should I use for the shoulder straps?

 

THanks!

[BrianD]

So after reading through some more threads I decided to go with elastic strips. I got 1", 1.5", 1.75" black and 1.75" white for the shoulders. I had to redo my lenses. I used super glue (oops!) and the fumes messed up the lenses. I pulled them and have new ones on the way. I did add some 1" foam padding inside and got the mic tips installed. I also got some more snaps installed on the body armor. I have more snaps in the mail so I can start on the arms and legs when they get here. My boots should arrive tomorrow so I can start fitting the legs as soon as they arrive!

 

 

[Ripper_L[Admin]]

looking good to me so far Great work. I guess we can tell you more after the test fit!

I'll move your thread to the build section

 

[bobafret[TK]]

That ab armor is missing the middle center button. Also the four buttons off to the right are missing (viewer's right, wearer's left).

 

The middle center button is most concerning as it's normally part of a mold. You will have to sculpt something there. Did you get a little plate with the four vertical buttons?

[BrianD]

That ab armor is missing the middle center button. Also the four buttons off to the right are missing (viewer's right, wearer's left).

 

The middle center button is most concerning as it's normally part of a mold. You will have to sculpt something there. Did you get a little plate with the four vertical buttons?

The kit came with buttons. They are pre painted and they install in the ab plate kind of like split rivets. It came with all 9, both blue and gray. I know that according to the CRL here it says that will not qualify for centurion approval but I have been told that different garrisons have different requirements. Honestly a basic approval would suffice for now being my first attempt. This may end up being a display suit being as how I have no idea how it is going to look on my larger frame (I'm 5'10", 240 lbs) and may have too much black undersuit showing. I have been invited to my local garrisons build party in a couple weeks so hopefully they can help me work through some of my concerns.

Out of curiosity, how would I go about sculpting some buttons if I decided to not use the ones that came with the kit and go for centurion level approval? I assume I could buy a button plate with the 4 buttons and glue it on but what could I use to build the 1 missing button from the other set of buttons?

[68Brick[TK]]

Shoot for Centurion. It is attainable with very little extra effort. For your shim question a few posts back ... add shims to the kidney plate only. And yes, fill the joint with ABS paste, sand smooth, and polish. It's not that scary and looks great. Your center ab button plate concerns me. Post pics of what you got for extra button, but finding another button plate might be a good alternative. Also, I see you are adding single snap plates everywhere, I'd suggest doubling them up, so there are two snaps for every connection, especially at the shoulders. Single snaps will come apart on you when trooping. Now is the time to make it right!

[bobafret[TK]]

The kit came with buttons. They are pre painted and they install in the ab plate kind of like split rivets. It came with all 9, both blue and gray. I know that according to the CRL here it says that will not qualify for centurion approval but I have been told that different garrisons have different requirements. Honestly a basic approval would suffice for now being my first attempt. This may end up being a display suit being as how I have no idea how it is going to look on my larger frame (I'm 5'10", 240 lbs) and may have too much black undersuit showing. I have been invited to my local garrisons build party in a couple weeks so hopefully they can help me work through some of my concerns.

Out of curiosity, how would I go about sculpting some buttons if I decided to not use the ones that came with the kit and go for centurion level approval? I assume I could buy a button plate with the 4 buttons and glue it on but what could I use to build the 1 missing button from the other set of buttons?

Quite unusual.

 

You have the four buttons molded into the armor on the viewer's left (wearer's right) so that's just a matter of painting. Setting split-rivet type buttons is absolutely not screen accurate and would require a REALLY lenient GML in my opinion. You'd be better to try and find a 4-button plate from someone for the viewer's right (wearer's left) side. That is typical to have a button plate mount there. For the missing middle button I suppose I'd try cutting a circle of ABS in the right dimension, mixing up some ABS paste, and using that little circle as a base and the paste to sculpt the little button above that washboard detail. Because it's a painted item, careful sculpting should allow you to make a button there. This is definitely something to talk to your Garrison about. You should also just get your GML to get eyes on your thread. That way you don't have any surprises, they can guide you and give you feedback along the way.

[bobafret[TK]]

You also asked a question about shimming above that I don't believe was answered. For shimming you basically find matching material to your armor, so like ABS in the same color in a sheet. Then you cut a plate to extend whatever section you are shimming. Typically the shim is just done from one side to minimize the hiding of seams you have to do. You take the plate you cut and butt it up against the piece that isn't long enough. Use an extra piece on the backside to glue both pieces together (like a large internal cover strip). Then on the exterior you make ABS paste (a slurry of cut up pieces of ABS and acetone, mixed to about the consistency of toothpaste) and you use that to fill in the seam. You then sand and polish and if done properly you have a nice extended piece with an invisible seam.

 

Hope that helps!

[BrianD]

That helps a ton, thanks! I have gotten some explanation of the shim process from a local garrison member so when the time comes I should be able to figure out how to make it clean.

Any recommendations on where to purchase a 4 button plate?

 

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[bobafret[TK]]

That's a harder question. If I were you here's what I would do:

 

First, send email to the vetted armor makers found here http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11538-the-various-types-of-armor-and-where-to-find-them/and email them to ask if they would sell you just a button plate. Try Mark with AP he often has extra parts in the sales section of the forum.

 

Next I'd put a post in the "501st only for sale or trade" thread "NEED 4-button panel!" - you may have someone who has an extra for some reason.

 

Best of luck!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

A lot of great advice here, THT 

[BrianD]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the feedback and advice. I finally got all my snaps glued in and will be starting my test fitting tonight. The local member I have been talking to and getting advice from is the assistant squad leader and one of the costume reviewers for our local Southern California Inland Empire garrison. He is going to walk me through the adjustments I will need to make for the armor fitting. I noticed that the same buttons that came with my kit appear to be available on Jedi Robe which I know is not a reputable place to purchase armor. I will be looking for a button plate to use in place of the rivet buttons and will likely fabricate a 5th button for the one that is missing from the right side. I'll post some more pics in a couple days when I get the body and arm armor all sized up and fitting comfortably. 

[BrianD]

1 more question. While I was looking for someone who may have a button plate available I came across a few posts like this one...

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/1977-correct-tk-ab-button-kits-run-1/?hl=buttons 

 

What does it mean "Correct TK AB Buttons"? The ad says that these were needed for elite status but from what I read the only way for upper level approval is if the buttons are integrated into the plastic. The description in the ad sounds a lot like what I got except mine are more of a rivet instead of having a screw post. Sorry if this is a dumb question. All this info can be a little confusing for a newb. 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

1 more question. While I was looking for someone who may have a button plate available I came across a few posts like this one...

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/1977-correct-tk-ab-button-kits-run-1/?hl=buttons 

 

What does it mean "Correct TK AB Buttons"? The ad says that these were needed for elite status but from what I read the only way for upper level approval is if the buttons are integrated into the plastic. The description in the ad sounds a lot like what I got except mine are more of a rivet instead of having a screw post. Sorry if this is a dumb question. All this info can be a little confusing for a newb. 

 

Hey Brian, as Dave suggested I'd try hitting up one of the vetted builders for the entire plate. The thread you're looking at hasn't been active since 2008.

 

Here a couple vendors to contact:

AP - authenticprops@hotmail.com

ATA -  ATAworks@yahoo.com

AM -  troopergear@gmail.com

[BrianD]

Thank you Tony. I have sent an email to AP to see if he has any. I did notice how old those threads were when I was reading them. I was just curious. Was that considered to be the most accurate way to do the ab buttons back then? 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Thank you Tony. I have sent an email to AP to see if he has any. I did notice how old those threads were when I was reading them. I was just curious. Was that considered to be the most accurate way to do the ab buttons back then? 

 

Excellent.

 

I don't think it was the most accurate, probably the most acceptable.