Wook's First Build - ANH Stunt TK (AP)

[wook1138[TK]]

Question about painting the helmet (for those of you not sitting in a theater right now).  This is my first coat of grey.  Am I getting enough of the teeth covered?  And, how long should I wait before applying a second coat of humbrol paint?  Thanks.  I'll post more pics of this process later.

 

 

I think I have to take the end of the frown a little further.

[wook1138[TK]]

So, I took today off from work to work on my armour.  My way of celebrating TLJ - which I'll be checking out tonight.  I think this is the first date my wife and I have had since the last kid was born.  I'm excited - the wife continues to shake her head but she is happy to get out of the house at the very least.  Anyway, I glued some nylon base plates into the torso parts and did some trimming, I'll show more of that later, but today I tackled the helmet.  I wasn't going to, but a day without the 4 year old in the house is a good day to haul out the paints.

 

The helmet came pre-trimmed and has the holes drilling into the side for assembly.  Mark also included all the required hardware.  The only things I had to so was to trim the brow area a bit to make it even and trim the ears - which took some time.

 

I assembled the helmet and checked the fit of the ears.  Mark includes screws for the inner attachment - so I can completely assembly the helmet and take it apart fairly easily.  Which I did many times.

 

Left ear.  I forgot to take picture of the before, but her is the ear with faint pencil marks indicating where I needed to trim or sand.

 

One round of trimming and sanding and the left ear looks ok.

 

From the front.  there is a little gap, but... .

 

The right ear was a different story.  It was sticking out quite a ways so I trimmed it a few times.

 

Before shot of the front of the right ear.  The trimming and sanding was not doing much.

 

I trimmed the bottom to a very thin point to get it to sit right - that didn't do it either.  I then realized it was a problem with the location of the bottom screw holes.  They were just a bit to high.

 

The is a hole that goes through the bottom of the ear and the back and front parts of the helmet.  I needed to lower the holes on the helmet parts.  I couldn't redrill because they would have been too close to the original holes. 

 

So I took out the soldering iron and expanded the size of the original hole towards the bottom of the helmet.

 

It worked! Right ear from the back - after shot.

 

right front - after.

Edited December 15, 2017 by wook1138
typo

[wook1138[TK]]

After the ears, the helmet didn't require much work before painting.  I just sanded the teeth and eyes a bit.

 

 

And then it was on to painting.  I decided to hand paint everything.  So today I put a coat of grey on.  Mark included decals and I also ordered stencils from TrooperBay.  I'll use the trooperbay stencils for the tube stripes and trap stripes.  But I am doing the traps and tears by hand.  Well, sort of.  I created a reference template based on the decals and stencils - I wan't the painted area to look similar to the decals, and I wanted to make sure that the Stencils will fit within the painted area - I noticed the the stencils from trooperbay were a little large compared to the decals from AP.

 

The traps on the stencils are larger than the decal traps and wouldn't fit very well into the space on the actual helmet.  So I made a reference piece.

 

the tears were the same size.  I think the right is actually left on the decals - unless I made the mistake labeling my reference piece.

 

I traced a line based on the contour of the ABS and then compared to the template - made adjustment where required.

 

When I tried to draw in the tears by just using the contour of the ABS, my original attempt was way too small compared to the decals and stencils.  The inside pencil line is my first attempt by just "eye-balling" it.

 

Just for giggles - my AP helmet and my Black Series helmet.  You can't really compare the two, but... anyway.

 

I showed this already, but here is my first coat of grey.  I hadn't worked with this paint before - and I haven't actually painted anything for a long time.  I tend to use an airbrush, and I would have for this if it was warmer outside.  Anyway, I put the first coat on way too thick and it is showing some runs or ripples in the paint.  The paint does level pretty nicely if you let it.  I will do another coat and that should be it for the grey on the helmet.

[wook1138[TK]]

Well, time to get ready and go see The Last Jedi.

[ABS80]

Great job so far!

 

Like the original movie helmets the back end of the right ear has more of a gap because of its weird shape, but you did a great job eliminating that gap

 

Mark (AP)

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Great work on the ears! I certainly didn't get mine that nice. I had to keep reminding myself that the screen used helmets looked very rough up close, especially the ears. I did two coats of grey paint on the teeth. I waited for the first coat to completely dry before adding the second coat. As far as the end of the frown goes, maybe a little further. Not much though. I think I might have taken mine too far. Time will tell for that. 

 

Enjoy the movie!

Edited December 16, 2017 by Sean

[wook1138[TK]]

Well, more painting yesterday.  Second coat of grey on the helmet.  I did extend the frown a little - it doesn't look like it in the pic, but I tried to make the thickness of the last tooth the same as the other, more defined teeth - if that makes any sense.  I forgot the ears during the first round of painting so I put a first coat on them (no pics).  Since I had the grey paint out, I also started the button plates.  I won't be getting much done today as my wife is doing Christmas baking and I'm entertaining the kiddos - which, unfortunately, does not include watching me build armor. 

 

 

for the buttons I traced a 7/16" circle on the button for guidance.  7/16 might be a little small, but 1/2" seemed a little large and these were the only sizes I had.

 

to get the template to sit flat on the button, I had to sacrifice one and cut it up. For the Empire...

 

I used a very small brush to do the outline of the buttons.

 

Coat one of the grey paint done.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

I think your frown looks better. Subtle difference for sure but better. Buttons look great.

[wook1138[TK]]

So I snuck away from my fatherly duties and put a first coat of blue on the buttons.  did a second coat of grey - I've never seen these things in person - is this okay or should I clean it up some more (the grey is done - the blue is not).  I have a shaky hand and old man eyes - this was not an easy process.  I also need new reading glasses - apparently. 

 

 

Glued the ABS shoulder straps on.  And yes, I did manage to get a few more clamps on it after taking the picture.  It doesn't fit snug to the chest so it is taking a lot of persuasion.  I positioned it so that the 5th small bump lined up with the end of the shoulder extension of the chest plate (I have no idea what to call these parts).  It makes the whole thing sit low on the chest where the contours are more pronounced.  I hope they are lined up and look even when all is said and done - this was not easy to do so that they lined up with the back plate.  There are so many clamps on it now, that I can't tell what it is going to look like.

 

On another note... I'm still trying to process what I though of The Last Jedi.  Hummm.  I guess I will need to watch it again.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

I hand painted my buttons without a stencil and just eyeballed it. Your stand alone blue button should clean up nicely with the second coat. It's the only one that stands out as far as the painting goes. The rest look great in my opinion. I also have a shaky hand and old man eyes. All the hand painting was tough for me.

 

I'm sure your shoulder straps will be fine. I think I got lucky with mine. Lots of clamps really helped. I see you have lots of clamps. Could use a few more though...haha. I had a couple clamps on the back plate joining the two side while the front dried just to make sure it all lined up with proper curve and arch. I cut off the big flat bumps on the back of the straps before I glued them on the chest. 

 

I'm still processing TLJ too. The only thing that really stood out for me...SPOILER ALERT, kinda... was how easily the Force was used. Vader had to concentrate to choke someone. Even the Emperor had to gesture to make things happen. Wasn't the case for Old Ugly when he moved Ray around. Seemed too easy to me. No effort involved. No concentration. Not Force like. More magical. Totally rubbed me the wrong way. Lots of other great stuff though.

[wook1138[TK]]

1 hour ago, Sean said:

I hand painted my buttons without a stencil and just eyeballed it. Your stand alone blue button should clean up nicely with the second coat. It's the only one that stands out as far as the painting goes. The rest look great in my opinion. I also have a shaky hand and old man eyes. All the hand painting was tough for me.

 

I'm sure your shoulder straps will be fine. I think I got lucky with mine. Lots of clamps really helped. I see you have lots of clamps. Could use a few more though...haha. I had a couple clamps on the back plate joining the two side while the front dried just to make sure it all lined up with proper curve and arch. I cut off the big flat bumps on the back of the straps before I glued them on the chest. 

 

I'm still processing TLJ too. The only thing that really stood out for me...SPOILER ALERT, kinda... was how easily the Force was used. Vader had to concentrate to choke someone. Even the Emperor had to gesture to make things happen. Wasn't the case for Old Ugly when he moved Ray around. Seemed too easy to me. No effort involved. No concentration. Not Force like. More magical. Totally rubbed me the wrong way. Lots of other great stuff though.

I didn't even think of connecting the back plate with clamps while gluing the front.  That would have been smart - but not how I roll   I was ready for the hand painting to be tough and it is.  I saw your paint job - I thought it was decals at first.  Nice work!

 

Yeah, the force usage was over the top.  Although... Vader did choke a guy via a hologram / phone call in EpIV.  That is pretty impressive.  You probably have to pay Bell for an extra data package to get that kind of service. 

 

SPOILER(?): The Kylo-Rey-Red Shirt Guys fight was pretty cool.  Anyway - I'll no doubt see it again... soon.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

2 minutes ago, wook1138 said:

 I saw your paint job - I thought it was decals at first.  Nice work!

Most of it is decals. There's no way I could have done it. My hand is too shaky. The ears took hours and then a lot of clean up. The buttons took a long time too. The frown was not that bad for me. Maybe on my Sandtrooper (please don't tell my wife I'm already thinking about doing this again) I will try to paint everything by hand. For my first build this was just too overwhelming.

[wook1138[TK]]

12 hours ago, Sean said:

Most of it is decals. There's no way I could have done it. My hand is too shaky. The ears took hours and then a lot of clean up. The buttons took a long time too. The frown was not that bad for me. Maybe on my Sandtrooper (please don't tell my wife I'm already thinking about doing this again) I will try to paint everything by hand. For my first build this was just too overwhelming.

Decals?  Thank God.  I was starting to wonder if you were actually human.  That is funny about the Sandtrooper.  I was going to do a Sandtrooper right out of the gates - but I figured I should ease into it.  I even built a DLT-19 (way back in early summer) with a sandtrooper in mind - or even HWT.  I like the idea of weathering the kit - making it more unique or personnel.   

 

Here's to wives who are willing to put up with this nonsense... .

[TheSwede[TK]]

14 minutes ago, wook1138 said:

Here's to wives who are willing to put up with this nonsense... .

Amen to that

[wook1138[TK]]

Arm strapping. I glued in nylon snap bases to the forearm and bicep. I followed the Billhags diagram and instructions. At first the forearm placement looked good. 

 

But when I bent my elbow, the elastic (1.5 inch) stuck out from the armor and the forearm moved around a bit. The front strips were not lining up. The elastic was too loose and the snaps allowed too much movement. 

 

The forearm was also dropping when my arm was bent. The strap was too close to the inside of my elbow. 

 

So for my right arm I just glued 3/4" elastic along the inside of the outside cover strip. See ukswrath's AM build. Anyway, it works much better now. 

Edited December 19, 2017 by wook1138
Typo

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

I found that there is still a little bunching of the elastic but your new placement looks and works better. Your arms are looking good.

[wook1138[TK]]

I puttered a bit today.  The Loctite I ordered from Amazon arrived so I glued my latex hand guards on to my gloves (both from AP).  I know people have had issues getting the latex or silicone guards to stick to the rubber gloves (or whatever they are made of).  So I followed Sean's advice (which I think he got from Darthanael, who got his idea from FencingCorvetteTrooper, who got... anyway, you get the idea - this forum is great.  And if you are building an AP kit, check out those threads - all really great builds).  Anyway...

 

I wasn't sure how well this would work, so I prepped my gloves in case I had to let this glue set up for awhile.  I had some old rice that was past its prime, so I filled up the gloves with the rice.  This is after I marked where I wanted the guard to go while wearing them, of course. The one on the left is done, the one on the right is not.

 

By the way, the glue sets up really fast.  I forgot to apply the primer to one of the guards and it did not adhere at all.  I applied the primer, and within seconds the guards are bonded to the gloves - and anything else that might have some glue on it.

 

yeah, that is a piece of the hand guard.  I forgot my PPE.  I usually wear gloves when using superglues - I forgot and paid the price.  That is not coming off.

 

True test for the hand guard.

[wook1138[TK]]

Oops. Double post.

Edited December 20, 2017 by wook1138
Double Post

[Frank75139[501st]]

I puttered a bit today.  The Loctite I ordered from Amazon arrived so I glued my latex hand guards on to my gloves (both from AP).  I know people have had issues getting the latex or silicone guards to stick to the rubber gloves (or whatever they are made of).  So I followed Sean's advice (which I think he got from Darthanael, who got his idea from FencingCorvetteTrooper, who got... anyway, you get the idea - this forum is great.  And if you are building an AP kit, check out those threads - all really great builds).  Anyway...
 
I wasn't sure how well this would work, so I prepped my gloves in case I had to let this glue set up for awhile.  I had some old rice that was past its prime, so I filled up the gloves with the rice.  This is after I marked where I wanted the guard to go while wearing them, of course. The one on the left is done, the one on the right is not.

 
By the way, the glue sets up really fast.  I forgot to apply the primer to one of the guards and it did not adhere at all.  I applied the primer, and within seconds the guards are bonded to the gloves - and anything else that might have some glue on it.
 
yeah, that is a piece of the hand guard.  I forgot my PPE.  I usually wear gloves when using superglues - I forgot and paid the price.  That is not coming off.

 
True test for the hand guard.

Looks like your giving the finger to the glove for messing with you. I really like the rice idea wish I had know that last week, probably would have been easier. Lookin good!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wook1138[TK]]

6 minutes ago, Frank1769 said:

 

Looks like your giving the finger to the glove for messing with you. I really like the rice idea wish I had know that last week, probably would have been easier. Lookin good!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha ha.  Yeah, let's just say I had a choice of fingers to use for the picture.  Thanks!

[wook1138[TK]]

I need some opinions here, please.  I glued the ABS shoulder straps on to the chest plate.  They are not symmetrical but seem to line up with the back plate ok.  Is this passable?  Also, I  have a question about the holster - see below.

 

 

 

 

And I replaced the black straps on the holster.  I read someplace that I should use 7 to 8 oz leather.  But the stuff I got looks way thicker than what was on there.  Is this thick of leather going to cause issues?  See second pic for comparison.  On a good note, the straps were attached with Chicago screws so this was an easy fix. 

 

[wook1138[TK]]

Oh yeah, I started putting the strapping on (I'll go over that in more detail later) and I also started to install the snaps.  I put line 24 snaps on the cod and the right ab snap.  To make the snap bases sit flat and somewhat flush, you need to ream out the hole a little (I think they are 5/32" holes - Mark pre-drilled them so I'm guessing here).  When I bought my lexan scissors they came with a reaming tool.  It works like a charm.  Just a couple of light turns and the snap base sits nice and flush.

 

the tool.

 

Nice clean bevel to the edge of the hole - kind of hard to see.  This was probably two turns with very light pressure.

 

Snap base just sitting on the plastic - not actually set yet.

[TheSwede[TK]]

1 hour ago, wook1138 said:

Is this passable? 

Looks fine, for screen accuracy they should be trimmed more in the front, see pic, the CRL however shows them just like how yours are

 

CRL

 

1 hour ago, wook1138 said:

Is this thick of leather going to cause issues?

No

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Looking great! I found the chest plate to be asymmetrical. Hand sculpt, go figure. The bevel on the right side made gluing up the strap there tricky. Once you're wearing it I don't think anyone will be able to see what you perceive to be asymmetrical. The reason you'll get Centurion is your attention to detail.

[wook1138[TK]]

Awesome! Thanks guys!