Jeff's ANH Stunt (RS) Build

[Jeff Duncan]

Hi all

 

I've already made pretty good progress on my ANH Stunk kit from RS Propmasters but figured I'd start a thread for review.

 

I created all of the brackets and connections for the torso and have it all assembled.
 

 

Obviously I need to fix the shoulder straps for the bells to make them sit closer in.

 

 

I'm having some trouble with the legs and getting the stents cut to look good. I'll take some photos tonight when I get home from work. I also discovered I foolishly drilled holes for the knee ammo pack on the wrong thigh so I'll need to do some repair work for that one.

 

I'll add more photos tonight.

 

THanks for the help.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by Jeff Duncan

[lucnak[TK]]

Can you clarify what you mean by "stents cut?"

[Jeff Duncan]

1 hour ago, lucnak said:

Can you clarify what you mean by "stents cut?"

The cover plastic strips that go on the front and back of the leg pieces. I'll send some photos when I get home from work.

 

[Jeff Duncan]

I'll post more photos of this, but getting very frustrated with the thigh pieces. They just won't stay together when I try to attach with the cover strip stents. Maybe I need to shape them more so they are more pliable, but it's really annoying.

 

I ended up having to trim down the top curve on the right thigh as they were looking pretty horrible and misaligned after I trimmed down the armor to fit my skinny thighs. I tried to mimic the curve of the original piece so hopefully it's not obvious. 

 

Next steps is the shins. The left one is basically done and I need to add velcro to the back. The right one still needs to be trimmed down, so I hope it goes smoother than the other pieces.

 

 

[Jeff Duncan]

Here’s one of the thighs. My stent looks pretty awful.




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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Stent (cover strips) need to be a lot straighter, use a metal rule and nice sharp utility knife, score a few times the it is easy to snap apart using some force, you can even use pliers if you apply some scrap abs to the teeth so the don’t mark the stents.

[sylverbard[TK]]

Magnets covered in painters tape or wrapped in cloth.  Clamps for the end.  And use an inner strip if you have spare material so it doesnt peel away as you flex.

 

And dont overtrim.  You will end up with a bucket thats correct, then teeny skinny arms and legs that look out of place.  You want comfort, airflow, and consistent sizing.

[Jeff Duncan]

2 hours ago, sylverbard said:

Magnets covered in painters tape or wrapped in cloth.  Clamps for the end.  And use an inner strip if you have spare material so it doesnt peel away as you flex.

 

And dont overtrim.  You will end up with a bucket thats correct, then teeny skinny arms and legs that look out of place.  You want comfort, airflow, and consistent sizing.

 

Thankfully I used e6000, so I removed the cover and will give it another shot.

 

I'm gonna just take some time off from the project though. It's become more of a frustration than fun at this point. I had nearly a full container of e6000 explode all over my hands last night and that was kind of the last straw.

 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

Good call in taking a break if it`s not fun, because is should be And if I may, unless you`re just fed up with all things Stormtrooper at the moment, use the "down time" to read up on the many build threads, that will get you ahead of the game for when you get your mojo back

[Jeff Duncan]

Good call in taking a break if it`s not fun, because is should be:duim: And if I may, unless you`re just fed up with all things Stormtrooper at the moment, use the "down time" to read up on the many build threads, that will get you ahead of the game for when you get your mojo back:salute:

So I’m back at it but still running into issues getting the cover strips to lay flat on the thighs.


I’m going to try some magnets to see if I can get it to lay flatter



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[Jeff Duncan]

At least the helmet looks ok






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[CableGuy[TK]]

 

 

So I’m back at it but still running into issues getting the cover strips to lay flat on the thighs.

 

 

I’m going to try some magnets to see if I can get it to lay flatter

 

 

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Hi Jeff,

 

I’ve been following your progress on FB too. Looking at these pics, I think those magnets might be part of the issue. For this sort of project, they look very lightweight. You need nice strong magnets to hold the coverstrips down whilst the glue is curing.

 

Personally, I didn’t use inner coverstrips on my build and all is well after 10 troops. So, whilst it is certainly an option, I wouldn’t say that it will necessarily solve the problem - strong magnets are a must to ensure a strong bond.

 

Mine were approx 10mm x 20mm.

 

 

Here’s a video of my armor maker doing the thighs and shins. I’ve shared similar videos before as they worked for me but I’m not saying it’s the only way to do it. Just a suggested option.

 

 

 

Hope that helps a little.

 

Dan

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I tend to use quite a lot more magnets which seems to do the trick, the more the merrier. Also wrapping the blue tape completely around on itself can help, only using strips they can loose tightness.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I know things can get overwhelming at times, Jeff, but hang in there.  I think we have all had times where we got frustrated and sometimes it's best to take a break and then dive back in.

As Dan mentioned, the stronger the better when it comes to magnets.  I have a little tutorial with lots of info. that may help:

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44619-magnets-101/

 

Nice job on the bucket, but I would extend the frown ends a bit:

                                                                            

 

I would suggest cutting the length of your brow down on the left side just a bit to keep it from flaring out like that:

            

 

Did you get this helmet from RS?  The reason I as is that the ears seem to be one piece with the sides, which is quite unusual. 

 

                                                                                                             Reference image

                                

 

[Jeff Duncan]

I know things can get overwhelming at times, Jeff, but hang in there.  I think we have all had times where we got frustrated and sometimes it's best to take a break and then dive back in.
As Dan mentioned, the stronger the better when it comes to magnets.  I have a little tutorial with lots of info. that may help:
https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44619-magnets-101/
 
Nice job on the bucket, but I would extend the frown ends a bit:
                                                                            
 
I would suggest cutting the length of your brow down on the left side just a bit to keep it from flaring out like that:
            
 
Did you get this helmet from RS?  The reason I as is that the ears seem to be one piece with the sides, which is quite unusual. 
 
                                                                                                             Reference image
                                
 

I believe the bucket is from RS. I bought the kit from another builder who did most of it.





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[Jeff Duncan]

I am pleased with the torso though. I think it looks pretty good.




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[Jeff Duncan]

Also got my new bucket bag from Trooper Bay today. I’m pumped!


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[Jeff Duncan]

I took a look at some other TK kits this weekend at a troop and realized my shoulder bells are significantly duller than those other kits I saw.

I'm wondering if the person I bought the kit from hand sanded them down for painting. They don't have the same sheen or polish as the rest of the kit by far. I did check if there was a protective layer and there certainly is not. Is it worth painting them to get the glossy look back?

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Jeff Duncan said:

I took a look at some other TK kits this weekend at a troop and realized my shoulder bells are significantly duller than those other kits I saw.

I'm wondering if the person I bought the kit from hand sanded them down for painting. They don't have the same sheen or polish as the rest of the kit by far. I did check if there was a protective layer and there certainly is not. Is it worth painting them to get the glossy look back?

I would suggest first trying to polish them, if you paint them they may still look different from the rest of your kit.

 

With automotive acrylic the paint is dull until it is buffed and polished. You could try with some polish first and if that doesn't work then use some automotive cutting compound, this should help to bring the shine back.

[Ensi[TK]]

Depending on the condition, you could either just polish it out, or maybe wetsand then polish.

 

You can follow the tutorial I made here, it's meant for painted/clearcoated surfaces but should work fine for bare plastic as well.

 

 

Do you have a high-res pic of the shoulder bell surface? One that we can see the surface scratches/imperfections in  

[Jeff Duncan]

I picked up some crazy strong magnets on Amazon and think I went a bit too far with the size and strength



They fly off and connect to each other when I put them on the arms and thighs. This project is going all kinds of wrong




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[justjoseph63[Staff]]

These things are SUPER strong, Jeff.  When using them, remove them from the stack one by one.  Always slide them apart, and keep the plastic inserts in place when not in use.  

When attaching them to the area you are gluing, do it like this:

 

1.  Slide one off of the stack with your left (or right) hand and set it down on the work surface (well away from anything metallic).

2.  Slide another one off and set the stack aside at least 24 inches from the first one and again, anything metallic.  Keep that magnet in your hand.

3.  Place it under the area you need to clamp, (join) and hold it there firmly with your index finger and thumb.

4.  Pick up the first magnet with the other hand and place it directly on top of the join over the one underneath.  It may flip over because of the polarity but will line up automatically.

5.  Repeat as needed.

As you add new sets to the seam, keep them as far away from the last ones as possible.  Once you get them all on, you can slide them into the correct area(s).

 

To remove them:

1.  Starting at the ones on the end, hold the inside one firmly in place and SLIDE the top one off.  Set it aside (24 inches away).  Do not let the interior one move.

2.  Keeping a good grip, remove the inside one.

Repeat as needed

 

As suggested in my magnet tutorial, https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44619-magnets-101/ covering them in blue tape will keep them from scratching your armor.  Also, if these "jump" too far to connect with each other (or a metallic object) they can (and will) shatter, rendering them useless.

 

[Jeff Duncan]

4 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

These things are SUPER strong, Jeff.  When using them, remove them from the stack one by one.  Always slide them apart, and keep the plastic inserts in place when not in use.  

When attaching them to the area you are gluing, do it like this:

 

1.  Slide one off of the stack with your left (or right) hand and set it down on the work surface (well away from anything metallic).

2.  Slide another one off and set the stack aside at least 24 inches from the first one and again, anything metallic.  Keep that magnet in your hand.

3.  Place it under the area you need to clamp, (join) and hold it there firmly with your index finger and thumb.

4.  Pick up the first magnet with the other hand and place it directly on top of the join over the one underneath.  It may flip over because of the polarity but will line up automatically.

5.  Repeat as needed.

As you add new sets to the seam, keep them as far away from the last ones as possible.  Once you get them all on, you can slide them into the correct area(s).

 

To remove them:

1.  Starting at the ones on the end, hold the inside one firmly in place and SLIDE the top one off.  Set it aside (24 inches away).  Do not let the interior one move.

2.  Keeping a good grip, remove the inside one.

Repeat as needed

 

As suggested in my magnet tutorial, https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44619-magnets-101/ covering them in blue tape will keep them from scratching your armor.  Also, if these "jump" too far to connect with each other (or a metallic object) they can (and will) shatter, rendering them useless.

 

 

Thanks for the info. I ended up getting the stack of 10 all stuck together in one big tower without the plastic separaters and had one shatter a bit (it's still usable). I assume the easiest way to get them apart now would be try and slide them against a desk or something similar.

 

I'm also still having some trouble getting the cover strips to lay flush against the 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

4 hours ago, Jeff Duncan said:

 

I'm also still having some trouble getting the cover strips to lay flush against the 

against the.....  ridges that you are gluing them to?  You can certainly tape them down in place first before adding the magnets.

As for separating them, you should be able to slide them with your thumb as such:

 

After the glue dries on the joins, be sure to add the spacers back before storing or using them again.

[Jeff Duncan]

I’ve given up on my N52 magnets after one nearly took my finger off last night. I ended up grabbing some c clamps that seem to be working better but don’t reach all the way to the middle of the thigh piece. I’m using a few of the smaller magnets I had stacked together to hold the middle where the clamps won’t reach. Unfortunately it’s a bit slow going as I can only do one cover strip at a time with the clamps, but I think this solution will work. I’ll need to do some major glue residue clean up and polish before I’ll feel good about wearing it out. Fingers crossed and pics to come. So close!

 

 

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