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

[Harbinger[IPM]]

I did velcro for ab to chest so I can get in/out of my suit easier. I would suggest elastic (heavily reinforced) for back to kidney though, I had nylon at first and every time I had to reach forward I could feel it tugging.

[wook1138[TK]]

30 minutes ago, Harbinger said:

I did velcro for ab to chest so I can get in/out of my suit easier. I would suggest elastic (heavily reinforced) for back to kidney though, I had nylon at first and every time I had to reach forward I could feel it tugging.

That is a really good point for the back to kidney connection. 

[wook1138[TK]]

Okay, so I got home today and the little one was sleeping and the wife and older kid were just heading out so I thought I could get some work done.  went done to the office to take the clamps off my right thigh and noticed an issue.

 

the cover strip is way off to the left (relative to picture).  It actually overhands the return edge a bit while you can almost see the flat part of the return edge on the right side.  This edge has a bit of a curve in it - and it is already trimmed down to 20mm (or less in parts) so I don't have much to work with.

 

Anyway... off it came.  I might have got away with it, but it would have bugged the hell out of me over time.

 

It came off alarmingly easy.  I think I will be using more E-6000 and be better about sanding the surfaces. 

 

Also, in this process I noticed that the cover strip pieces have a shiny white side, and a not so shiny or white side.  Sh!t.  Didn't know this.  I have a few strips with the "bad" side out. None of the provided emojis express my feelings here.

 

At least the E-6000 is easy to clean up.

 

And on top of this, I managed to break a bicep hook while forming with a hot bath (I need a heat gun) and broke 3 magnets (they attract each other with such force that they will break). 

 

So - since I can't do much with the edge of the thigh and keep a nice 20mm cover strip by trimming - I will apply an inner cover strip first - then I can carefully place the outer cover strip on the thigh once the two parts are attached.  So back to cleaning up E-6000.  Oh wait, the youngest kid just got up - time to go clean up a totally different mess.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

12 minutes ago, wook1138 said:

Okay, so I got home today and the little one was sleeping and the wife and older kid were just heading out so I thought I could get some work done.  went done to the office to take the clamps off my right thigh and noticed an issue.

 

the cover strip is way off to the left (relative to picture).  It actually overhands the return edge a bit while you can almost see the flat part of the return edge on the right side.  This edge has a bit of a curve in it - and it is already trimmed down to 20mm (or less in parts) so I don't have much to work with.

 

Anyway... off it came.  I might have got away with it, but it would have bugged the hell out of me over time.

 

It came off alarmingly easy.  I think I will be using more E-6000 and be better about sanding the surfaces. 

 

Also, in this process I noticed that the cover strip pieces have a shiny white side, and a not so shiny or white side.  Sh!t.  Didn't know this.  I have a few strips with the "bad" side out. None of the provided emojis express my feelings here.

 

At least the E-6000 is easy to clean up.

 

And on top of this, I managed to break a bicep hook while forming with a hot bath (I need a heat gun) and broke 3 magnets (they attract each other with such force that they will break). 

 

So - since I can't do much with the edge of the thigh and keep a nice 20mm cover strip by trimming - I will apply an inner cover strip first - then I can carefully place the outer cover strip on the thigh once the two parts are attached.  So back to cleaning up E-6000.  Oh wait, the youngest kid just got up - time to go clean up a totally different mess.

I noticed the two colours/sides a while back and should have said something. I have a couple cover strips with the 'other' side out. Not too bad though. At least not bad enough to change them out. I sand the edges thoroughly with 120 grit before applying E6000. I really am amazed at how strong that stuff is. BTW, I am a total OCD perfectionist. Part of my ongoing therapy is 'letting go. Accepting the imperfect.' Yeah right. Whatever. The Empire demands our perfection! 

[Harbinger[IPM]]

I think that's the thigh where there top swoops out? Mine was the same way and if I tried to get that right the coverstrip overlapped everywhere else.

[wook1138[TK]]

15 minutes ago, Sean said:

I noticed the two colours/sides a while back and should have said something. I have a couple cover strips with the 'other' side out. Not too bad though. At least not bad enough to change them out. I sand the edges thoroughly with 120 grit before applying E6000. I really am amazed at how strong that stuff is. BTW, I am a total OCD perfectionist. Part of my ongoing therapy is 'letting go. Accepting the imperfect.' Yeah right. Whatever. The Empire demands our perfection! 

Now that I've calmed down and assessed the full damage of my stupidity - only one strip on one bicep is the wrong way.  I guess that will get turned to the back.

 

Yeah, I started sanding the parts - then just  started to forget.  Reflection of my age?

[jethroskull[501st]]

Note to self; mark strips when tagging parts.

[wook1138[TK]]

After a few minor set backs, I decided to have a nice hot bath... with boiling water in a pot on the stove.  Decided to take a break from gluing and deal with some other items.

 

Shaped the shoulder straps (so I can finally get the torso together for a proper fitting)

 

Shaped the second bicep hook.  After breaking a few pieces of ABS, I finally gave up on the hot water and just held the piece over the open flame of the range.  Worked like a charm - yeah natural gas.  No need to run out and buy that heat gun.  Need to trim one - but I'm going to wait to see how they fit.  I may want them sitting up a little higher to let my biceps down a bit.

 

Best of all, I was able to get a slight bend in this cover strip for the right front thigh seam.  I guess I will see if it was enough.  I think doing the inner strip first and then putting this piece on after - so I can align it the best I can, it my best bet at this point.

[wook1138[TK]]

Question.  I've finally started to look at the helmet - I had some trouble getting it on my disproportionate melon.  What and how much can I trim from the bottom?

 

[wook1138[TK]]

Have not been working on armour much. The wife is dragging me away to a early Christmas with the inlaws. I packed a little project for myself. Nylon snap plates.

 

[wook1138[TK]]

While the wife was packing and wrapping presents and getting kids ready and preparing some food, I snuck down to my office and got my thigh pieces sorted out. Inside cover strip is in both thighs now. I really like the inside strip - if I knew I had enough extra ABS, I would do this for all joins. 

 

 

right thigh with curved seam. Left thigh was good. I also trimmed the left thigh some more. 

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

On 2017-12-05 at 11:22 PM, wook1138 said:

Question.  I've finally started to look at the helmet - I had some trouble getting it on my disproportionate melon.  What and how much can I trim from the bottom?

 

Hey Greg, After I assembled my helmet I realized I would never be able to put it on without trimming a bit away. I took about half an inch off all the way around. Weird. My melon isn't that big. Everyone seems to put the bucket on sideways and twist it into position. I guess that's the way it goes. Now that I've done that it fits really well. Still tight to get into but it is fine.

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

On 2017-12-05 at 11:16 PM, wook1138 said:

After a few minor set backs, I decided to have a nice hot bath... with boiling water in a pot on the stove.  Decided to take a break from gluing and deal with some other items.

 

Shaped the shoulder straps (so I can finally get the torso together for a proper fitting)

 

Shaped the second bicep hook.  After breaking a few pieces of ABS, I finally gave up on the hot water and just held the piece over the open flame of the range.  Worked like a charm - yeah natural gas.  No need to run out and buy that heat gun.  Need to trim one - but I'm going to wait to see how they fit.  I may want them sitting up a little higher to let my biceps down a bit.

 

Best of all, I was able to get a slight bend in this cover strip for the right front thigh seam.  I guess I will see if it was enough.  I think doing the inner strip first and then putting this piece on after - so I can align it the best I can, it my best bet at this point.

Hot bathing the shoulder straps made all the difference for me. Really helped with fitting the chest to back. The thighs were a challenge for sure. Hand sculpted parts means few straight lines. I have a few curved cover strips but some I couldn't do a lot with. Looking great!

[TheSwede[TK]]

On ‎2017‎-‎12‎-‎06 at 5:16 AM, wook1138 said:

so I can align it the best I can, it my best bet at this point.

Don`t worry about it, the goal is to try and cover the raised edges as much as possible.

RS suit

Don`t use rivets though

 

[Steaditrooper[TK]]

Hey Greg. I'm almost done. Thanks for your words of encouragement along the way. It's been fun building along side a fellow Canadian with the same Canadian made kit. I hope I've been able to help you out in some way the way you have helped me. I will be following your progress. Maybe, some day, when I'm passing through Saskatchewan, or even planning a visit, we can meet in person. What a great community we are a part of. Star Wars  nerds. Oh yeah! Long Live the Empire!

[wook1138[TK]]

Right back at you! Your comments and build have been of great help!  I'll be referring to your thread over the next little while as I pick away at my kit. 

Absolutely -  if your are ever in this neck of the woods be sure to let me know.  Having a fellow AP builder (and Canadian no less) for this has been a tremendous boost for me.   I am looking forward to your completion pics!  I couldn't agree more with your comments about seeing the movie back in 77 and the stormtrooper being so cool - I don't know how many times I thought about ordering a Don Post helmet via a add in Starlog magazine - but the price was too much for my meager means at the time. 

[wook1138[TK]]

Have not got much done in the last week but I did manage to make some nylon snap bases while visiting the wife's family.  I had never made snaps before, so this was certainly (another) learning experience.  I'm using Tandy line 24 snaps (5/16" post) for most of my snaps needs - probably all.  I'm using 1" nylon strapping and cutting to about 1.25" strips.

 

 

I used an old leather punch I had, but it wouldn't completely cut out the hole.

 

It did cut it enough to that I could easily burn it out with a soldering iron.  And I cauterized all the cut edges as well.

 

Ready for snaps.

 

Since I was a complete noob I had to figure which parts are the "male" base and which were the female parts.  Male ends are on the right.

 

So, I set up my assembly line on the cement floor in my father and mother in-law's basement.  The first few swings of the hammer on the setting tool, and I noticed the little  Tandy anvil  was sliding around.  So I removed the anvil and just used the cement floor.  I quickly noticed I was marking up their painted cement floor.  So I decided to use a old 2x4 board as a backing - bad idea.  It is too soft.  The below pic is the result of using the wood backing.  The base is totally bent outwards in a strong convex shape.

 

So, I needed to use the anvil after all.  Lacking tools, I simply hammered the anvil into the chunk of wood.  It was then stable and I could continue without worrying about the anvil slipping around or messing up my mother-in-law's floor.

 

Snap bases.  there is still a bit of a convex curve to some of the bases.  I'm not sure if this is normal or not.

[wook1138[TK]]

Strapping for the arm.  I added some 3/4" elastic to the top of the shoulder bells by gluing them directly to the inside of the bell.

 

 

E-6000 is drying. 

 

Added some of the snap bases to the inside of the biceps.  Forgot to take a picture of the actual snap bases in the bicep.

 

Biceps and forearms have snap bases and are waiting for E-6000 to dry.  I will use 1inch elastic to attach the biceps to the forearms.  It might be hard to see, but I am using the BILLHAG TK-1650 diagram as a template for this part.  I've seen other builds where the elastic (3/4") is glued right along the inside of the front cover strip.  I have no idea which is more screen accurate or which one works better - I went with the snaps just in case I wanted to change out the length of the strapping at some point.

 

 

Edited December 12, 2017 by wook1138
typo

[TheSwede[TK]]

Here`s the screen accurate way with 2inch elastic (left arm is top) It works like a charm

[wook1138[TK]]

3 hours ago, TheSwede said:

Here`s the screen accurate way with 2inch elastic (left arm is top) It works like a charm

So the elastic is just beside the cover strip seam?  I was planning to use 2 inch elastic, but I've had issues getting it (somewhere in Amazon shipping purgatory).  Are those just glued directly to the armor?

[Harbinger[IPM]]

Screen accurate method is glued directly to armor. There's a diagram somewhere of placement, check Tony/ukswrath's build threads, I know for sure the Anovos one has it. Some use snaps or velcro to make it less permanent.

[wook1138[TK]]

Question about rivets for the thigh ammo pack: I've read that they should be 7mm single cap (with 9mm stem?).  All I have are the Tandy "medium" rapid rivets which are 8mm caps with 8mm posts.  Will these work and be OK for Centurion?  Thanks.

[Harbinger[IPM]]

I don’t think Andrew or Tony are going to deny you for being a millimeter off.

[wook1138[TK]]

7 minutes ago, Harbinger said:

I don’t think Andrew or Tony are going to deny you for being a millimeter off.

Are you sure?   Yeah, I guess I'm letting the OCD beat out the common sense.  Thanks.

[TheSwede[TK]]

13 hours ago, wook1138 said:

Will these work and be OK for Centurion? 

 I would check with them just to be sure