Lorelei's 5'4" ATA ANH-S Centurion-Hopeful Build

[Frank75139[501st]]

How’s it going? Any progress from the holiday get together?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Well, you've all convinced me to at least give nylon snap attachments a try. Still have a while til I get to that stage though I'm afraid, as I found out yesterday while learning to put my armor together(!). As it turns out, a fellow Garrison Carida cadet got his BBB two days before I did last week, and we managed to coordinate a time to get together yesterday and take our first steps down the long path ahead. A few Carida vets were free and came by to help us learn how to properly fit things (and form pieces with a hot water bath, in my case), which was so (so) helpful.

 

I got less done yesterday than expected, but came away from our build time much more confident than expected. For good or ill, I believe I have a shot at putting together much of my armor now. I'll need a hand, literally and figuratively, fitting pieces, but I can get things to that point now which is pretty thrilling.

 

I totally forgot to take pictures of my biceps before all the work I did on them, but here they are as they stand now! It was crazy how bad the shape was for me before the hot water bath. Which, by the way, requires water at a rolling boil, no less, for at LEAST 30 seconds to soften that thick ATA ABS.

Looks like a pretty respectable shape, right? At least the cover strips will go on!

I ended up having to take off much more of the return edges all over than (I guess) ideal in order to bend the curves right. I suspect that will be a theme for this build...

This one (right) looks a lot wider but is actually much more comfortable. I will likely reshape the left to be more similar to the right.

 

I was reminded yesterday to check Cricket's build thread religiously. Boy is that a good idea. Especially moving on to the forearms, and trimming the wrists which is totally nerve wracking... confident about this build?? Who, where?? 

[lucnak[TK]]

You're doing great so far!

[TheLorelei[TK]]

10 minutes ago, lucnak said:

You're doing great so far!

Thanks, Luc! It's pretty daunting but I keep reminding myself it's just plastic and I can either fix it with shims and ABS paste or just get a few new pieces. This brand of low-stress thinking is brand new for me.

[TheSwede[TK]]

16 hours ago, TheLorelei said:

and trimming the wrists

Just a little reminder to trim all the return there, more comfortable and as a bonus a Centurion requriment

RS suit for reference

[TheLorelei[TK]]

3 hours ago, TheSwede said:

as a bonus a Centurion requriment

For sure! I'll likely need to take an entire bump off the forearms anyway. I'm quite glad I don't have to recreate those return edges.

[Xanthais]

Awesome thread!  My ATA is about to hit production, so I expect my BBB to be here in the next couple weeks.  I'm 6'-4", so I won't have your height issues, but I'm still pretty nervous about my first build, regardless. Hahaha

[TheLorelei[TK]]

10 minutes ago, Xanthais said:

Awesome thread!

Thanks, Craig! You must've been just a name or two behind me on the ATA list. Terrell makes good stuff - you should be excited.  I have yet to hit your build thread but if you haven't seen it mentioned anywhere yet, ATA is one of the kits in which all the left side pieces are appreciably smaller than the right side pieces. It's handy for figuring out which limb pieces go where, but makes sizing a bit of a pain. Of course you'll be on the other side of the spectrum, probably shimming more than hot water bathing... gotta say I'm jealous! (or is it envious? either way.) But not as jealous as I am that you're in the SoCal garrison. I used to live down there before I had an appreciation for the finer (Star Wars) side of life. 

[Xanthais]

3 minutes ago, TheLorelei said:

if you haven't seen it mentioned anywhere yet, ATA is one of the kits in which all the left side pieces are appreciably smaller than the right side pieces. It's handy for figuring out which limb pieces go where, but makes sizing a bit of a pain.

Good to know on the ATA sizing, thanks! I'm hoping my height won't produce too much gap in ab/kidney/buttplate area. The anticipation is killing me! Hahaha

[TheLorelei[TK]]

3 minutes ago, Xanthais said:

The anticipation is killing me!

I feel ya! I was practically useless the day my box was supposed to arrive, could hardly think straight. ATA hits a sweet spot between instant gratification - ordering your armor and them shipping it out then - and the sheer mind-numbing year+ waits that other kits can run to. Or so I think. But anyway. From what I've seen, you should be able to make the torso look right with careful strapping. It's gaps like the elbows and (to a lesser extent) the knees that tall folks seem to run into situations with. I'm sure you'll do just fine, though. Do you have a goal completion date in mind?

[gatetrooper[TK]]

I got to see Lorelei's neck seal creation live and up close this weekend...it was pretty cool, and an ingenious approach. The rubber might get a little sweaty, but some fabric on the inside will fix that nicely. I think Lorelei got past some of the initial butterflies giving her biceps a workout, and she should be off to the races now! Watching with keen interest.

[Bazz[TK]]

Hey Lorelei , I also making TK ANH Stunt with ATA kit also

Can you explain to me  how to use the hot boiling water technique?  and after we bath it, then we can bend it? 

I'm so afraid making the wrong move haha

thank you

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

2 hours ago, Bazz said:

Hey Lorelei , I also making TK ANH Stunt with ATA kit also

Can you explain to me  how to use the hot boiling water technique?  and after we bath it, then we can bend it? 

I'm so afraid making the wrong move haha

thank you

 

Safety first: USE PROTECTIVE GLOVES! 

 

Bring a pot of water to a boil. 

Reduce to simmer or remove heat

Submerge item for 30 seconds

Remove, shape as needed

Hold under cool water for 60 secnds

Repeat as necessary

 

NOTE: Try not to apply pressure with finger tips instead entire hand or palm. 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

7 hours ago, Bazz said:

Can you explain to me  how to use the hot boiling water technique?

Hi Adi! Honored to be asked. Tony has given great instructions; sorry I only just now saw your question! (Who ever thought I'd give advice on my thread?!) If you're still curious what I did, here's my experience with hot water bathing.

 

When learning to reshape my pieces, I first tried pouring the boiling water into another container and placing the armor in the new container for 30 seconds. It hardly did anything to soften it, even when I left it in for longer. I think it just cooled down too fast in a new container.

What ended up working for me was putting on protective gloves and bringing water to a rolling boil, then holding the piece I wanted to shape with a pair of tongs and submerging it in the pot only to a little past the point I wanted to bend. For instance, I knew I didn't want to risk messing up the clean line of the ridge along the outside of the bicep, so I only submerged the bicep edge horizontally until the ridge. You'll want to grab the part that's above water with the tongs. I held the piece partially underwater for 30 seconds then pulled it out, shook the water off, and pushed it into shape with my palm and the heel of my gloved hand while I turned to the sink. I pushed the cold water on with my wrist while holding the new curve in place (if that won't be possible for you I recommend filling the sink with cold water before you start so you can dunk the pieces in that instead), and let the water run over the plastic until it started cooling off. My gloves were thin enough that I could feel it cooling off - it took about 10 seconds to be past the point of easy damage.

30 seconds in boiling water was just enough time to get it to bend - I only had a little bending time when it came out - but not enough time for it to be floppy, or make me concerned about leaving dents with my fingers. It will feel stiff, but it does move. Bend a little, cool it, check, and repeat if you need to. It's better to have it in the water for too short an amount of time than too much! You should get a feel for things pretty quickly. At first it felt like nothing was happening but then I held the pieces up to each other and was happily surprised by the progress.

I will have to reinvestigate options when it's time to reshape pieces too large for a pot, but I've heard of people filling their sink with boiling water and adding new water to keep it hot occasionally as they worked, which is what I'll try.

Be safe, and let me know how it goes, please! ATA ABS is thick, but workable.

[Bazz[TK]]

Thanks Tony and Lorelei for the super detailed explanation, Good luck with your build lorelei

btw I'm doing your magnet wrapping technique haha

[TheLorelei[TK]]

On 9/8/2018 at 8:36 PM, Bazz said:

Good luck with your build lorelei

Thanks and you're welcome, Adi!

 

ALRIGHT. So. My free time was rather taken up since I last posted by a) a side project for my honorary nephew's first birthday

and b) my first 501st event, squiring for Garrison Carida

both of which were incredibly fun and worthwhile.

 

Amid the fun, I did steal a few hours to mark out my front seam widths and trim most of those down, since they won't be changing size on my leg armor pieces. I also trimmed my return edges to where they MAY end up, though I recognize that many of those may go away. I erred on the side of leaving too much on, just to be safe.

 

One question, before I proceed with applying inner cover strips on my unmoving seams. Particularly @Cricket because I can't quite tell from your WTF build. Should I be gluing the top seam of the forearms as-is, and cutting only the bottom/back, or should I remove the ridge on both sides (as with the biceps) and size it down from both directions?

[Cricket[TK]]

1 hour ago, TheLorelei said:

Should I be gluing the top seam of the forearms as-is, and cutting only the bottom/back, or should I remove the ridge on both sides (as with the biceps) and size it down from both directions?

 

You're meaning the "top seam" as in the front facing seam, correct?  If so, then you'll want to make the widths on the front facing seam slightly wider than your 15mm cover strip.  I like to aim for 9mm of ridge on each half- which will give you somewhere around 18mm of total ridge on which to glue your 15mm cover strip.  Always adjust for size in the back.  Does that make sense?   

I don't know if this post will help or not.  In it, I showed how I kept the front facing seams and how I cut the backs for sizing (be sure to watch your inside 'swoops' on the forearms as you size!).

 

Edited September 11, 2018 by Cricket

[TheLorelei[TK]]

3 hours ago, Cricket said:

be sure to watch your inside 'swoops' on the forearms as you size!

That's exactly what I was concerned about - and it just now "clicked" as to how I avoid that while only sizing along the back seam, as per your post. Thank you! I was thinking you only trim the piece with the swoop on it, so you'd have to trim both sides of the swoop to maintain symmetry - but really I'll be trimming both the front and back along only the rear joining seam to just trim less of the swoop. Think I've got it now. Thanks again.

Edited September 11, 2018 by TheLorelei
edited for clarity

[Xanthais]

Do you have a goal completion date in mind?

I'm HOPING by Halloween, but we'll see. Have a lot of the docket most weekends (the time where I'd be able to get most of it done) between now and then, and I don't want to rush it whatsoever.

Sent from my MSE-6 droid using Tapatalk

[TheLorelei[TK]]

My blaster appears to be stuck in customs. I'm choosing to believe that USPS is being characteristically bad at updating tracking information, instead... I'll worry more about it in another week.  I can't wait to get it, though, so I can finalize sizing on - and make - my holster!

 

Today I left work bit early due to having come down with what is no doubt the plague, but I mustered enough energy to sit on the floor and score and snap and score and snap and score and snap for 5 hours or so. Fortunately I had marked my front seam lines and sketched my return edge cut lines when I had more mental clarity so it wasn't too taxing, just tedious. Leaning back and admiring all those smoothed out pieces, I thought, "Wow! I must be almost done with the rough trimming! This isn't so bad after all."

...then I leaned over and looked into my BBB...

...and a moderate wave of disheartenment washed over me.  However, Vader came to help me clean up all those little ABS curls, and all was right with the world once more.

(Yes, I do find it a bit off that Lord Vader cleaned up after a TK's mess. I figure he's just a real stand-up guy.)

 

Looking forward to getting my strength back so I can forge ahead. Prime weekend crafting days are ahead of me - won't do to waste them!

But to end on a high note, and a surprise, I held up my freshly trimmed thigh pieces and they might actually fit me pretty great with minimal trimming. I was blown away. I expected to be able to keep them at standard length (I may be fun-sized, but my legs are stupid long), but definitely expected to have to slim them down. Small [potential] victories! Yay!

[Frank75139[501st]]

Vader knows it’s all about team work


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheLorelei[TK]]

1 hour ago, Frank75139 said:

Vader knows it’s all about team work

For sure 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Ok, troops. Rally 'round, if you would be so kind. Today, the tissues and I (we're inseparable at this point) attacked Smudge's torso. Of all the prospective resizing, I've been most afraid of the kidney. I trimmed the rear torso pieces to the pull lines and taped them together to get a feel for the size and honestly, y'all, it's not a total travesty beyond the width which seems absurd even in comparison to the back plate.

I'll try to get a pic of me in it today but depending on where the butt is supposed to sit (haha), which I need a second set of eyes on, I don't see myself having to do much besides serious slimming down. Here's where I need the advice, though. IF I DO have to trim the kidney down (which I fully recognize I probably will, just let my optimism soar for a few more hours), would it be Centurion-approvable to trim the bottom of the kidney, and attach it permanently to the buttplate? That would save me from having to reconstruct that return edge, at least.

Just a thought, idle question, etc., but anyway my water is boiling so I'd best go do some reshaping.

Edited September 17, 2018 by TheLorelei
I meant kidney everywhere I said ab. Sigh.

[Cricket[TK]]

7 minutes ago, TheLorelei said:

would it be Centurion-approvable to trim the bottom of the ab, and attach it permanently to the buttplate? That would save me from having to reconstruct that return edge, at least.

 

Do you mean the bottom of the kidney?  Because I can't visualize how you'd attach the bottom of the ab to the butt plate.  :/  

[Frank75139[501st]]

Likewhere you have it taped?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk