Shaun’s RS Props ANH Stunt build

**shadan[TK]** · January 3, 2020

13 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

Just my OCD kicking in here, lol, but if you really wanted to, you could trim back the small plate a bit more . GREAT to see that you didn't round off the edges on either plate!!!

Great to hear that you are safe, Shaun... you folks down-under are getting hammered by those bush-fires! Nice to hear that you may not have to shim, and looking forward to seeing photos of your ab/kidney updates.

Note: EXCELLENT job painting those buttons!

Nothing wrong with a little OCD! Or, as I prefer to call it, CDO...

I really did want to trim it down further

**shadan[TK]** · January 6, 2020

Only a small update today but it’s something that I’ve been fretting a little about, mainly because of the shimming issue. But I don’t think it’s actually going to be an issue after all. Phew!

Split rivets and webbing are installed on the left side of the ab and kidney plates.

It may look a little wonky here but I was trying to hold it in place on the other side and take a picture at the same time. There was some weird contortion going on

It is tight but not not uncomfortably so. Plus I was wearing normal clothes and not the proper undersuit.

I will need to do some minor trimming and tidying up but that was expected and planned for. I don’t plan to paint these or re-attach the ab buttons until everything else is done.

On the other side I also installed the Han Snap in the top corner. But that’s a boring picture.

**Sly11[Admin]** · January 6, 2020

It’s looking real good Shaun, keep up the great work.

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**TKSpartan[Staff]** · January 6, 2020

looking great mate, keep on doing a great work !! :th_AnimatedBravoSmiley:

**shadan[TK]** · January 7, 2020

Thanks gents.
Not the longest build ever but certainly up there!

With the bushfire smoke being so bad outside here lately it’s good to have something to work on to keep busy. Really trying not to rush things but aiming to be finished before going back to work!

**Sly11[Admin]** · January 7, 2020

With the bushfire smoke being so bad outside here lately it’s good to have something to work on to keep busy. Really trying not to rush things but aiming to be finished before going back to work!

Hope you are well enough away from those fires and it’s only the smoke blowing your way mate. You have enough on your plate already.

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troopermaster · January 7, 2020

You might want to reposition your brackets on the abdomen more towards the end of the armour. The first screw should be much closer to the very end of the armour and the chest brackets should be 10-15mm from the end of the chest plate. The way you have them fitted now will mean your chest brackets will be way too central on the chest and look odd. There seems to be a trend with RS armour, be it RS commissions or RS owners putting the brackets in the wrong places.

**shadan[TK]** · January 7, 2020

1 minute ago, troopermaster said:

You might want to reposition your brackets on the abdomen more towards the end of the armour. The first screw should be much closer to the very end of the armour and the chest brackets should be 10-15mm from the end of the chest plate. The way you have them fitted now will mean your chest brackets will be way too central on the chest and look odd. There seems to be a trend with RS armour, be it RS commissions or RS owners putting the brackets in the wrong places.

It’s actually funny you should point this out. I’ve long suspected I’ve positioned these incorrectly and just tonight I’ve begun replacing these with snaps instead. I’m leaving the screws in place but have removed all the brackets. Lots of snap setting occurred!

**shadan[TK]** · January 8, 2020

So last night I went and made a bunch of double snap plates out of webbing material. I figured using the webbing would help the plates align with the curvature of the armour for a better bond. I used this technique in my Shoretrooper and not one has come off yet.
I was considering not even using two snaps and just going singular as I’ve never had one pop over accidentally either but seeing as I had them available, why not?!

The two snaps could have been closer together it’s true but that’s alright.

(this isn’t quite all of them, just a sampling for you fine peoples)

Then it was a case of glueing them down and being careful to align them with their counterpart on the other armour plates. They may not looked aligned here but when you take into about the curve of the plates etc they do actually line up.

(Almost a bit of an optical illusion here, the snaps are on the inside of the armour plates I assure you!)

Not pictured above is the chest piece. I still need to work out exactly where to position that as there will be more of an overlap. Will need the assistance of a fellow FISD member from up the road for that one!

While the glue was curing I began work on the connections themselves with the female parts of the snaps. Because I still need to work out the exact distance I need between the plates to fit me, I only cut, sewed and set the snaps on one side leaving plenty of material to complete the other side later.

(Yes, my sewing machine skills aren’t the best. These will be functional even if they are not the neatest!)

So now I think I’m at the point where I can’t really do much else on my own!

I do need to affix the hand plates to the chemical gloves better though as they appear to have come loose over time.
Getting close!

Edited January 8, 2020 by shadan

**Sly11[Admin]** · January 8, 2020

Looks like you are on top of it Shaun. Definitely easier to work the positioning of the chest plate strapping with help.
Keep up the good work.

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**shadan[TK]** · January 9, 2020

I did a little tinkering with the bucket today.
The brow has always bugged me as it was a bit too high for my liking. Pulling the ears off revealed the lovely Swiss cheese impression I made back in the day, and no, I’m not sharing a pic of that. But here is a slowly lower brow...

It was a good opportunity to TRY and get the ears positioned a little better. The hardest part was trying to avoid revealing the aforementioned cheese holes! I’m somewhat happy with the improvements. Getting the screws perfectly aligned with the traps was impossible but it’s a bit better.

The screw hole markings in the pull (from where they were on the original screen used bucket) aren’t all that perfect.
[EDIT: I’m not complaining about this. I love the RS kit!]

(I still need to fix that wonkiness at the bottom there)

I don’t know, I guess this is better.
One thing is for sure, I have a much better understanding of how I should construct my next TK bucket. Mistakes were made!

Edited January 9, 2020 by shadan

**justjoseph63[Staff]** · January 9, 2020

It may be the photo, but is there still a small return edge (blue line) on the bottom of the ear? If so, you may be able to trim it off (red line) so that the edge can be tucked in (or at least sit closer) to the S-trim. It won't affect approval at any level if you can't, so not to worry.

EXCELLENT job on those straps... textbook work, sir. :salute:

**shadan[TK]** · January 9, 2020

7 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

It may be the photo, but is there still a small return edge (blue line) on the bottom of the ear? If so, you may be able to trim it off (red line) so that the edge can be tucked in (or at least sit closer) to the S-trim. It won't affect approval at any level if you can't, so not to worry.

EXCELLENT job on those straps... textbook work, sir.

I’ll give it a shot man, cheers!

From memory I was hesitant to remove any more material off the bottom of the ears as there just didn’t seem to be enough of it! Of course I 100% admit to making many mistakes when I first trimmed this. So now (with what I feel is greater knowledge, and dare I say skill) I’m just trying to make things as right as I can

**shadan[TK]** · January 11, 2020

Made some good progress today... I just don’t have the imagery to prove it :/ I’ll fix that later.
A FISD member came over and helped with some fitting and adjustments. This allowed me to attach the elastic shoulder straps and finish off all the snap connections.

While going through my box of random stuff I’ve collected I even found some sew-in snaps, I must have bought them back in the day and completely forgotten I had them!

This evening I sat down and painted all the bracket screws. Yes, I’m no longer using the brackets but thought having the white painted screws make it look a little more authentic. Besides I couldn’t just leave the holes as they were.

The side split-rivets are now white also.

I did go back and make a few adjustments to that left ear on the bucket. It’s sitting a lot better now. Not perfect but definitely better.
Also affixed the mesh inside the frown.

Next I better work out what is left to do:
- Glue on plastic shoulder straps and add the white elastic (we removed them today because they didn’t quite sit right. Easy fix)
- Re-attach the ab buttons

- Trim white canvas belt to a me-sized length and re-sew in the velcro

- Finish and attach the shoulder bells and elastics
- Connect biceps and forearms

- Give everything a clean and polish

- Take approval shots

Edited January 11, 2020 by shadan

**shadan[TK]** · January 11, 2020

One thing I forgot to mention is that the shoulder bells seem to be really narrow. I can push them over my shoulders, but only just... and I’m honestly not a very muscular guy at all!

But to put them over the bicep armour also? It’s tight!

I imagine I’m going to have to give them a bit of a hot water bath to be honest. Not much, I don’t want to risk messing up the shape, but just enough to widen them slightly.

**gmrhodes13[Staff]** · January 11, 2020

Some photos would help. You can remove any return edge from the bottom of the shoulders which may give you a little more room

**TheSwede[TK]** · January 11, 2020

I find that when the bells are trimmed they slip nicely over the biceps as they are flexible. I’m fairly built (5’10 205lbs) and they fit me fine. If trimmed correctly there’s ample space. Not trying to be smart about it but I feel the RS bells has gotten alot of complaints (I mean in general) about beeing small when, as I see it, they are not. Just saying for those looking at this thread and wondering about the bells.

**justjoseph63[Staff]** · January 12, 2020

Daniel's advice is spot-on. Removing all the return edges on those bells will not only allow them to ride closer, it is 100% screen accurate. Many troopers like the "thicker" look the return edges give their armor, but in reality those were pretty much non-existent in the screen used armor. This thread may help explain that:

**shadan[TK]** · January 12, 2020

Oh please don’t think I was complaining. I LOVE this kit with all its (accurate) quirks.
I didn’t mention it in the post, I really should have, but my plan was definitely to remove all the return edge which will certainly help.
Cheers again gents.
I’m on my way home from a troop now and will do a bit more work tonight. Hopefully even take some pics. I did mention I’d neglected to take more earlier.

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**shadan[TK]** · January 15, 2020

I’ve been slack in posting updates here over the last few days but figured I’d better do a quick catchup.

The internal strapping is now all done. And seems to be holding quite well.

The Han Snap is functional and I put a second snap a little further down to even out any tension that may be there when everything is done up.
As I did the second one I thought it might be a little high but I didn’t want to interfere with the other connections. Sure enough, I couldn’t get to it myself. But my wife was able to snap it ok so it will be a two person job for now. I may revisit this later and move it lower.
With this all done I did a test fit of the legs and torso and was quite happy with the fit. There is a slight alignment issue but I believe once the canvas belt is added and tightened it will even things out. Plus, like in an earlier photo, I’m twisting around to take this shot...

(Please excuse the messy ‘junk’ room!)

I haven’t put the cod to butt connection in yet so the butt plate isn’t quite sitting correctly. I’m probably going to have adjust some of the other strapping as the sides of the butt plate stick out a little, much like the Anovos kits seem to do.

Next up, adding the strap...

Pretty straight forward really, elastic, snap and split rivet.

A friend suggested covering the inside of that split rivet to avoid any potentially painful snags. Could be the best advice I’ve ever received!

Next I trimmed the canvas belt down the required length and re-sewed the Velcro in place. I made sure to sew up the edge in a way that will hopefully stop any major fraying.

The last thing I did this evening was to sew on the snaps for the shoulder bell elastics.

I took my time with these and tried to sew them in really well as I’ve seen several come undone in the past. I’m sure they will need maintenance some day but that’s a problem for Future Me.

**Sly11[Admin]** · January 15, 2020

Ive got to mention how clean and tidy I think this build is Shaun, lots to be proud of.

The but plate is a common issue members have. It may sit a little different once you have your belt on so try that before making any adjustments to is.

Failing that, you can try shortening the connecting straps a tiny bit to see if it helps pull the ends in.

Lastly if you need it to flex a little more you can remove more or the return edge.

Almost there mate :duim:

**shadan[TK]** · January 16, 2020

9 hours ago, Sly11 said:

Ive got to mention how clean and tidy I think this build is Shaun, lots to be proud of.

The but plate is a common issue members have. It may sit a little different once you have your belt on so try that before making any adjustments to is.

Failing that, you can try shortening the connecting straps a tiny bit to see if it helps pull the ends in.

Lastly if you need it to flex a little more you can remove more or the return edge.

Almost there mate

Thanks mate. I’ve really tried to keep this as neat and as tidy as I can.

I tried kitting up again but the wife wasn’t here to do up that pesky side snap or do the belt up tight so things still didn’t quite line up. Will have to get someone over soon to help dress me properly.

(These are mirror shots again so obviously everything is backwards)

The butt plate is still a little out but yes I do have some return edge there (not much but some) to play with if need be.

I need to tackle these shoulder bells next. Not exactly sure now much I’ll need to trim them but I would guess not much at all.

One thing I’ve realised is that my neck seal is too big on me. I’ve just ordered one from Darman with custom neck measurements.

Edited January 16, 2020 by shadan

**shadan[TK]** · January 16, 2020

I gotta get these shoulder bells done...

Looking at the bells there is a very subtle mark or notch near the top of each one which I suspect is where the original part ends in the mould. The Sharpness of the ridge certainly seems to ‘fade’ behind this point.

Assuming this to be correct, I measured from the tip of each bell to this mark. The weren’t both exactly the same distance (not that I expected they would be) so I erred on the side of caution and took the longest distance and marked both.
Looking at the way both bells had been pre-trimmed by RS it was clear that one side of one of the bells (can’t remember which one now sorry!) had been cut much shorter. I decided to make this my guide so I measured from the centre of the ridge around to the bottom corner, then marked this same measurement on all sides. Then it was a simple matter of joining the dots to mark my trim lines.

In this pic I’ve circled the other ‘notch’ as it’s too faint to photograph. It also shows how the pull becomes softer beyond the notch and finally my trim lines.

Lexan scissors are one of my favourite tools. I use them all the time.

Not a bad cut if I do say so myself.

Just needs a quick sanding to smooth it out now.
What you can see there is probably the widest part I removed, so if my assumptions were wrong I really haven’t taken much off and therefore (hopefully) it shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Essentially I have just evened out both bells and made the edges straight.

Edited January 16, 2020 by shadan

**justjoseph63[Staff]** · January 16, 2020

If they are still sitting tight against the biceps, part if the issue may be that the bottoms are pinched in a bit too much. As seen in another RS example, that pinched area is causing the bicep to ride too far away from the shoulder bell. Rounding it out with a hot water bath may help.

**TheSwede[TK]** · January 16, 2020

Hey Shaun and apologies for not thinking to say this sooner, when trimming the bells you should idealy trim them with a curve. Perhaps not as wavy as the back of this ex.

Also, to get the bells to fit right you need to keep the biceps as small as you can (not too small as they need to be proportioned to the rest of the suit) Bottom of the bicep should idealy be smaller than the elbow end of the forearm.

Lastly, my advice would be to try and avoid any hot water treatment unless you really and I mean really have to! The pinching of the shoulder bell is one of the things that gives the suit an organic feel, just as it was intended by the sculptor that invisioned the armor to look as it had grown onto the body. Same as trying to make the bicep and forearms rounded, they are meant to be oval as that is the general shape of the actual limbs.

TK-awesomness