Andrew's First Build - WTF ANH Stunt TK

[djmatrix09[TK]]

Hey everyone, Andrew here from Charleston, SC. I'm a visiting dignitary with The Carolina Garrison of the 501st; my wife and I got to know our new Armored friends through local events with our scratch built BB-8 droid (#BB8Charleston). After talking with the members, I was dead set on an ANH TK build. Classic, iconic, and a boyhood dream.

 

Although my priority is finishing up BB-8, and my progress will be slow in the beginning with my TK, my build will accelerate greatly this summer. Our Garrison has armor parties quite frequently, and one of our members has an amazing workshop. I'll be sure to learn from the masters!

 

I did my research, asked Garrison members a laundry list of questions, and settled on Walts Trooper Factory for my armor kit vendor.

 

While waiting for my big Brown Box Day,

I planned, and executed a one day "Adam Savage" Rubies E11 mod, which you can read here: 

 

 

Okay, let's get this party started!

 

~Andrew

 

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Edited December 23, 2017 by djmatrix09

[magni[TK]]

Welcome to the FISD Andrew! Be sure to check out the Advanced Tactics section to see how you can make your WTF more movie accurate. The best advice is take your time. You doing your best makes Us look our best. Good Luck Future Trooper!

[djmatrix09[TK]]

Welcome to the FISD Andrew! Be sure to check out the Advanced Tactics section to see how you can make your WTF more movie accurate. The best advice is take your time. You doing your best makes Us look our best. Good Luck Future Trooper!

Yes! I've studied the EIB level two requirements, and that's what I'm shooting for (aim permitting!). Starting from the ground up, I want to ensure my build can get there with little modification. Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Okay, build day 1... I've been watching numerous bucket build videos, and started by lining out my cut and trim lines. As you can see, I cut out the eyes this evening. I'll admit, I was a bit timid cutting into this pristine material, but it turned out pretty good (left some material for finishing):

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

With some encouragement from our Garrison's CO, silverBoyd, I was able to muster the courage to Dremel the backside of the frown. Used my needle file set to clean up the holes. Next, I've got to read up on how to align the cap and back in order to trim the flash.

 

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[bobafret[TK]]

Looking good! That face is intimidating to cut into isn't it? You did great - cut a little wide then file to perfection - that's the path I took as well.

 

Sounds like you've got the right attitude with research research research and then make the cut.

 

I would encourage you to shoot for Centurion out of the gate. It's easiest to do it when you are doing the build, and the little extra steps really aren't much when you consider all the work you are doing to put it together.

 

Keep rocking your build!

[djmatrix09[TK]]

Looking good! That face is intimidating to cut into isn't it? You did great - cut a little wide then file to perfection - that's the path I took as well.

 

Sounds like you've got the right attitude with research research research and then make the cut.

 

I would encourage you to shoot for Centurion out of the gate. It's easiest to do it when you are doing the build, and the little extra steps really aren't much when you consider all the work you are doing to put it together.

 

Keep rocking your build!

Thanks! Yeah, I'm aiming for the Centurion requirements in the CRL. I've got all the parts to make it happen. The biggest hurdle will be the blaster spec. A while back I did a Rubies mod (see pic in OP), though I doubt that will fly. In time, I might spring for a level 3 blaster. But yeah, the helmet and armor I'm going for Centurion early on so I don't have to rework it.

 

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[artimorty]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm aiming for the Centurion requirements in the CRL. I've got all the parts to make it happen. The biggest hurdle will be the blaster spec. A while back I did a Rubies mod (see pic in OP), though I doubt that will fly. In time, I might spring for a level 3 blaster. But yeah, the helmet and armor I'm going for Centurion early on so I don't have to rework it.

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Best wishes in your build, Andrew. Stellar paint job on the fast build blaster. Following this since I've my BBB stored in my messy basement waiting for me to get the space, the skills and the guts to start it. Will learn a lot here for sure.

Cheers.

Edited June 8, 2017 by artimorty

[djmatrix09[TK]]

Progress for tonight was getting the cap trimmed in the front, and installing the black trim. I will say, that corner near the trap is pretty crazy. A YouTube assembly video suggested a hole punch to relieve the stress at the corner, so I picked up one at the grocery store for $2. Worked like a charm!

 

The rare earth magnets shown are pretty weak, so I'll use some clamps in the eye holes to hold it in position before I drill the holes for the Rivets.

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Rough trim on the ears. I just got my rivet gun from Home Depot, and I'll finish these up once the Rivets are in, and the bucket is assembled.

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Okay, assembled the mask to the cap & back. Now I'm working the ears. Thankfully, Walt provided two pairs. This is really testing my patience! All the build videos make it look so easy. Yeesh...

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Finally got the ears trimmed out. Gave my pound of flesh, with my first cut. To the chagrin of my wife, I wasn't wearing my cut proof gloves. Lesson learned. I gave up trying to make them symmetrical, after watching some videos and reading some other build logs; so... I focused on sucking up the gaps. Hey, they weren't perfect in the movies, we're they? Pictures once I've got the holes drilled, and assembled.

 

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Edited June 14, 2017 by djmatrix09

[djmatrix09[TK]]

I hate the left ear. I hate the right ear. This was very difficult, I must say! But having trimmed, cut, sanded, repeat I finally got the left ear on! Very happy with it. It's true, they sit differently, and are NOT symmetrical. But it turned out great. I'll get the right ear mounted tomorrow. It sits more vertically than the left, and there's a bit more material there.

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

It's such a relief to finally have this bad boy assembled. I trimmed more around the ears, drilled up through the precarious Y at the bottom of the ears, and got the S-Trim trimmed out. Working on the lenses now, my plan is to use three tnuts and epoxy putty to mount them. More later this afternoon!

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Now, I'd like to say that's a lot of masking. However, after my wife and I painted BB-8, that's really pegged my maximum tolerance for taping a prop piece! What you see here is two coats each of gloss white on the hovi tips, and fasteners, plus all of the gloss grey. I was lucky enough to find all the Testors versions of the paint recommended in the "new recruits" section of FISD.

 

Does anyone have tips for painting the black lines around the details, and the vertical lines inside them?

 

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[CableGuy[TK]]

Hi Andrew,

I did my pinstripes by hand with a thin brush. If it's not perfect first time round, (mine certainly weren't), you can touch up any areas with your grey or a gloss white paint, depending on which side of the pinstripe you're correcting.

For the vertical stripes and tube stripes, personally I used templates/stencils from TK4510 (trooperbay). Here's an example of mine below:

 

 

Just out of interest, (and I'm no expert here), are you finished with the ear trimming? I only ask as they look a little thick compared with some screen used examples. Just an observation. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited June 17, 2017 by CableGuy

[djmatrix09[TK]]

Hi Andrew,

I did my pinstripes by hand with a thin brush. If it's not perfect first time round, (mine certainly weren't), you can touch up any areas with your grey or a gloss white paint, depending on which side of the pinstripe you're correcting.

For the vertical stripes and tube stripes, personally I used templates/stencils from TK4510 (trooperbay). Here's an example of mine below:

 

 

Just out of interest, (and I'm no expert here), are you finished with the ear trimming? I only ask as they look a little thick compared with some screen used examples. Just an observation. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I admit the right ear is a bit thick. The way it came together it needs a little more material there. My first attempt trimmed too much away, so I erred on the side of too much, rather than too little. Thanks for the tips!

 

Hey, do you happen to have a picture of the rear trap details? Thanks for watching!

 

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[CableGuy[TK]]

I admit the right ear is a bit thick. The way it came together it needs a little more material there. My first attempt trimmed too much away, so I erred on the side of too much, rather than too little. Thanks for the tips!

 

Hey, do you happen to have a picture of the rear trap details? Thanks for watching!

 

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No worries. Looking forward to seeing your progress. :-)

 

 

There's loads more pics on my thread, if needed. :-)

 

Dan

 

 

 

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Got a little crafty with it!

 

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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along great. Just a tip, if you paint white before any other colour it will help stop bleed out

[djmatrix09[TK]]

Coming along great. Just a tip, if you paint white before any other colour it will help stop bleed out

Gah! I wish I had done that. I'm going to clean up the lines with more grey tomorrow. All in all, I'm really happy with how the paint went on. I'm having to remember back to my younger years painting models, and how this paint flows, how to hold the brush, etc.

 

The vocoder came out great, and I'm happy with the lines for the most part. At one point, my nerves got the best of me and I dropped the brush. Devastating to the front right trap. But I'll recover tomorrow.

 

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Whoohoo! Such a sense of accomplishment, getting this bucket finished. I'll probably take a quick break, and regroup with my local Garrison at an armor party, before I even touch the armor pieces. Thanks for watching, I'll be back soon.

 

And thanks so much for the encouragement along the way... you guys rock!

 

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Edited June 18, 2017 by djmatrix09

[rwbowri[TK]]

great work on the helmet, can't wait to see what you have finished next, enjoy.

[djmatrix09[TK]]

Ok, going to start in on the TD. As you can see, I have a couple of options. On the left, are Walt's pulls. On the right are from a TD kit another member was selling (I bought it for the clips). Walt's since upgraded his TD caps, so these ones might fit a bit snug. I'll have to sand the tube a bit to get them on.

 

I read in another build thread to drill a hole under the plate, to relieve internal pressure during assembly. So once I've got things trimmed up I'll locate the plate and drill the hole.

 

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[djmatrix09[TK]]

Okay, so I was chatting with my CO about the ear gaps and he recommended I speak with our GML regarding the ear gaps. Jason was super informative, and I've decided to try trimming the round ear caps to suck up the gap a little more.

 

We also talked about the eyes and the return flange. Now some photos have extra material, and some don't. It may be a matter of more peripheral vision if I disassemble and fox, but I've got a pass if I don't. Thanks again to the Carolina Jasons!

 

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