Mayo's ANH Stunt (AP) build

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

Hello everyone!

With the glue tried on my snaps, I started on some strapping today! Regretfully, I didn't take too many photos this time around. I was too caught up in the work!

 

Firstly, I did some test fitting of the chestplate and backplate with painters' tape in preparation for the shoulder straps. I've seen it suggested to reinforce the snaps on the shoulder straps with ABS since they're elastic instead of nylon. So, I first cut out and drilled four 2-by-1" rectangles of ABS.The straps themselves are 2" white elastic from TrooperBay.

 

 

 

Then, I installed the female snaps. After another test fit, this time with the shoulder bells, I cut and cauterized straps for the bells and installed female straps in those, as well as male snaps on the underside of the shoulder straps.

 

 

 

 

 

And the test fit so far!

 

 

In that photo, there are no straps on my biceps or forearms—they're just sitting freely on my arms. Currently, the next set of snaps are drying inside the bells and biceps. I have a question about the forearms, but I'll come back to that in a moment.

 

Lastly, I prepared my latex-ish handguards for gluing onto the black gloves (all from AP).

 

 

I stuffed the gloves with plastic bags first to simulate hands. I can't remember which thread I saw this on. Probably several!

 

My reading here on the FISD forums indicated that Loctite Plastics Bonding glue was just about the only glue that would hold these pieces together, so I tracked it down. I ended up finding it on Amazon.

 

 

And there sit the gloves, curing until tomorrow:

 

 

And that's where we are for now! As always, I welcome and appreciate your critique and feedback. On to my questions!

 

1: Does everyone attach their forearms to their biceps with a strap, or do some just let the forearms free-float? Mine are pretty secure on my arms all on their own, and I haven't even added any padding inside yet (which I plan to—a small amount).

 

2: Next I plan on doing the outer, ABS shoulder straps. The ones come from AP come straight and I expect they'll need to be curved with some heat. What are your suggestions for doing this? I've heard of hot water baths, but I don't know all the steps (how long, etc.). I've also seen a hair dryer suggested, which I could do. I don't have a heat gun, though. 

 

3: Is there a proper amount to cut off of the shoulder straps? Most builds I see trim off the back large rectangle. 

 

That's it for now! Thanks everyone. :-)

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely.

 

There are different strengths of elastic also, I found the ribbed style elastic to be not as strong as the denser sewn elastic and you can even find a thicker version of the tightly sewn elastic which is what I use, definitely makes a difference on the shoulders., or you could even double over.

 

Most do attach the forearms to biceps, they can move around when bending and stretching, but if you find tight enough and don't move you don't have to add strapping. It is screen accurate to have it though  

 

Elastic is used in most areas that need flexibility and for stretching, bending.

 

 

I use a heat gun for the shoulder straps, it is a lot quicker than using a water bath or hair dryer, here's a post on using water bath:

You can bend the shoulder straps using a hot water bath (boil water, remove from heat, dip part to bend in for 25-30 seconds, bend, cold water).

 

It is more screen accurate to cut off the larger tab at the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

4 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Coming along nicely.

 

There are different strengths of elastic also, I found the ribbed style elastic to be not as strong as the denser sewn elastic and you can even find a thicker version of the tightly sewn elastic which is what I use, definitely makes a difference on the shoulders., or you could even double over.

 

Most do attach the forearms to biceps, they can move around when bending and stretching, but if you find tight enough and don't move you don't have to add strapping. It is screen accurate to have it though  

 

Elastic is used in most areas that need flexibility and for stretching, bending.

 

 

I use a heat gun for the shoulder straps, it is a lot quicker than using a water bath or hair dryer, here's a post on using water bath:

You can bend the shoulder straps using a hot water bath (boil water, remove from heat, dip part to bend in for 25-30 seconds, bend, cold water).

 

It is more screen accurate to cut off the larger tab at the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tips! 

Based on your suggestions, I went with the hot water bath. It wasn't nearly as scary as it seemed!

 

Firstly, here are the shoulder bridges as they come from Mark at AP:

 

Cut them out:

 

Removed the rear tab and sanded:

 

 

Then came the hot water bath! I boiled a big pot of water. Q's directions were bang on. 30 seconds in the water:

 

 

Then I curved it in my hand and ran it under cold tap water (no picture—hands were full, haha).

 

And the result!

 

Once more, and we're done.

 

 

Next, as many suggest I reinforced the shoulder bridges by cutting out small bits of scrap ABS to fill in the slots on the undersides. I was rather generous with the e6000 here. I figure that, if needed, I can peel away the excess, and the goop that remains will further reinforce the bridges. 

 

 

 

And that's where they now sit. Once they dry, I'll glue them to the chestplate. 

 

Here's a question. I know that the bridges will free-float at the rear and will be secured by a thin white elastic to the straps at the backplate. How does this factor into suiting up? As we've already established, my head is on the large side and doesn't fit through the head opening on my armour on it's own, so I'll have to undo and redo one shoulder each time I put it on. I might be overthinking this—we'll find out once I glue them to the chestplate, haha. Is it doable to snap the chestplate on, then reach back and slide the bridge through the elastic?

I know this is a total non-issue if you have a second person to help, which will be always when trooping. But I'd love to be able to put the suit on by myself just in case, even if it is more of a pain. :-)

Edited January 13, 2019 by MakeNoiseMan
grammar

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Pretty easy to kit up on your own, but some can struggle, with time it gets easier. You only have to unsnap

one shoulder strap, the other stays connected as you open the armor up, it’s like a clam shell. Still easy to get the elastic over the strap once connected.

 

Well done with those shoulders bridges, came out great.

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

Hi everyone!

I got a lot of little jobs done today.

Firstly, while the glue was still drying from yesterday, I cut out and painted the ab buttons. Here's how they come from AP:

 

I trimmed them out, leaving the 1/8" border around the bigger plate, and sanded them.

 

 

And paint applied! I will clean up the edges with a toothpick once it dries.

 

 

By this point, the glue on the shoulder bells and biceps had dried:

 

 

So I cut, glued and installed the bell straps, using small rectangles of ABS to sandwich them in place:

 

 

 

Then the shoulder bridges were ready to be installed, so I got those glued to the chestplate. You can also see the velcro and straps I installed to hold the Aker amp I'll be using. Ukswrath's helmet speakers sound awesome, but are a little too quiet on their own in my opinion. Using a 3.5" Y splitter, I'm running my helmet mic to both the hovi-tip speakers and the Aker speaker in the chestplate for a satisfying blend of volume and clarity. I'll post pictures later on in case anyone else wants to do the same!

 

 

Next, I cut two strips of scrap ABS and hot water bathed them into hooks for the biceps.

 

 

 

 

Lastly, with all my clamps and magnets used up, I started trimming the ab section.

 

 

 

 

And that's where we are for now! Question—I've seen the return edge on the top of the ab section used for bracket assemblies. Since I'm using snaps instead, should I trim off this return edge for a closer fit to my body? Or is it still better to leave it? I can see how on the back, kidney and butt plates the return edges will keep them all lined up together, but the since chestplate will hang down in front of the ab section, I am unsure here.

 

Thanks guys! :-)

[wook1138[TK]]

You can trim the ab or leave it - whatever is more comfortable for you. Personally, I would trim some more off - to reduce the chance of rubbing while trooping.  Also, leaving return edge increases the rigidity of the piece. 

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

Thanks guys! Away it shall go.


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You don't want too much of a hook on your biceps as they can catch

 

 

Ab button paint is a little big on your smaller plate

 

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

You don't want too much of a hook on your biceps as they can catch
 

 
Ab button paint is a little big on your smaller plate
 

Noted! I will correct those once the glue/paint has dried.

Thanks! :-D


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[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

Hi everyone, happy Monday!

Since those other pieces were still finishing up their 24-hour dry-time, this morning I set about the ab assembly. Since I'm building for Centurion, this means the left side will have six visible rivets (three on the ab, three on the kidney) painted white, and the right side will have one visible male snap.

I used Ukswrath's ANOVOS build as a guide for my measurements here:

 

After a test fit, I discovered that trimming to Mark's indicated "movie accurate" size is the correct fit for me. Hooray for accuracy! Those OTTKs must have had some extra room in there. Also, I decided to leave on the ab's return edge for now, until I have the strapping done. Then, I'll see how it feels and if I need to open it up some more I'll trim some or all of it away. Back to business: I scored and snapped both the ab and kidney to the pre-drawn pencil lines.

 

 

 

For clarification, I'll be referring to the sides of my pieces as "left and right" relative to how they fit on my body when assembled (i.e. "left side" of the ab closes on the left side of my body). 

 

Here is the left side of the ab with its drill holes marked, starting 2cm away from the return edge and spaced 6cm apart from each other:

 

 

And here are my pre-drill guide marks:

 

 

Voila!

 

 

Since I would still like to disassemble the ab and kidney at will, I'll be using the "turn rivets into snaps" method. I cannot remember where I read this first, but it's a great idea. All you have to do is trim down the split rivet, and using a chisel (or in my case flathead screwdriver) and hammer, set the rivet into the inside of a male snap. I found that finishing the job with the snap-setting tool firmed up the snap nicely.

 

 

 

 

Next, I moved on to the right-side snap, which I'd like to be functional. As directed in Ukswrath's guide, I measured 20mm away from both the return edge and the kidney-side edge.

 

 

I drilled, countersunk and installed the male snap. I used a supplied AP snap instead of a Tandy snap for this so that I didn't become a non-canon Tandy advertisement (even though half of the Empire is held together with their supplies!). 

 

 

 

And that's where things are for right now! Tomorrow, I'll get the interior strapping done. I'll be adding one more strap on the bottom of the right side, and also using the "tab and slot" method to keep things lined up properly.

[wook1138[TK]]

Looks great!   Things get real when the strapping starts to go in. 

 

I'm sure you are aware, but just in case - remember to paint those ab/kidney rivets white.

[TheSwede[TK]]

39 minutes ago, MakeNoiseMan said:

I'll be adding one more strap on the bottom of the right side

Great job so far And really no need for any extra as the belt holds the rest - up to you though 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great work, I have snaps behind my rivets, helps to break down the armor for air transportation, the clamshell is just a little wide for my suitcase  

 

Keep up the great work.

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

Thanks so much, guys!! :-D I'm having a blast.

 

Last night I glued in the remaining male snaps on the right side of the ab/kidney (but forgot to take pictures). It may be redundant, but I am adding one more strap on the the bottom of the right side, even though the belt is sufficient to hold it together. I'm just paranoid. :-)

 

Since the glue was still drying, this morning I moved on to the butt plate. Using the measurements from Ukswrath's ANOVOS build, I marked, drilled and countersunk holes for the two male snaps.

 

 

 

And got the snaps installed. Again I used the supplied AP snaps here because they are visible from the outside (from a very specific, unlikely angle).

 

 

 

I really liked the sturdiness of the elastic/ABS combo used for the shoulder bridges, so I decided to use it again here (even if it's a little overkill). I'll be turning the codpiece rivet into a snap on the inside, so I installed one female snap on the other end of the strap.

 

 

 

 

 

Right about here, my latest (and probably final—probably) package from Amazon arrived with more snaps. Just in time! There are also some more rare earth magnets, a belt for my thigh garter, and some springs and clear cabochons (I didn't know what these were until yesterday!) to enhance my E-11 a little.

 

 

With my snap stock replenished, I made straps for the ab/kidney connections, as well as the 14 remaining male snap assemblies I'll need to put the rest of the torso together. After this, I'll only need to make snaps for the thighs and possibly for the forearms.

 

 

 

 

And lastly, I got the male snaps glued into the butt plate. The rest will go into place on the other pieces tomorrow, after the current round of gluing is finished.

 

That's it for now! As always, your critique is much appreciated. Thanks everyone! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

17 minutes ago, Bud Spaklur said:

Brendan...do you work? Lol. Where do you find the time to do all the building?! Nice idea on your elastic and ABS on your COD piece. Overkill? Nahhh! You’re just protecting your expensive armor. I still have yet to reinforce the sides and neck of my chest.

 

 

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Haha! Yes, I do work! My workday just happens to accommodate armour-building really well. Our family owns and runs a music school in our town, and since most of our students are kids in public school, we don't open until 2:00pm on weekdays. That means that most days I have a few hours in the morning to build before heading into the office. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely. With elastic straps I normally use a soldering iron to make the hole but then add a drop of E6000 to the area before adding the snaps, doing both of these does help to stop the snaps pulling through, nice work on add the abs strip, they will work just the same  

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

Hello everyone!

I didn't get the opportunity to post yesterday, but I've had a productive couple of mornings.

While the glue was drying on the male snaps, I measured and created the remaining female snap straps I would need for the torso assembly. 

 

 

Then, after the glue had dried, I measured, drilled and installed the cod rivet. As aforementioned, I turned it into a male snap on the inside to connect to the posterior strap.

 

 

 

 

And with that in place, I was able to do my first real fit of the torso assembly! Much to my relief, everything seemed to line up well and I was comfortable while wearing it. I think I'll sand down the inside return edges just a bit—unaltered, they're a little sharp. I do still have to install the tab and slot system on my right side—you'll notice the ab and kidney aren't yet flush with each other.

 

 

 

 

 

Question about the thigh garter—in those photos, I am wearing my black belt comfortably around my waist, but you can see it from the side angles. Is this normal? Or should it be worn higher up on my stomach?

 

Moving on, I started with the ammo belt. 

 

 

First, I scored and snapped it out.

 

 

Then, after measuring and marking the centre of the canvas belt, I marked and trimmed the corners of the ammo belt at 45º. I also marked the points along the ammo belt that would be drilled for pop rivets.

 

 

 

Then, using this image is a reference, I marked the points on the ab section for male snaps. However, I had read on a couple of threads that on AP suits the lefthand side snap  (right side of the photo) should measure 40mm instead of 59mm. With this in mind, I drilled and installed the male snaps.

 

 

 

Then, as others suggest, I traced the tips of the male snaps with a pencil and lined up the canvas belt in the proper position. Pressing on the male snaps left marks on the canvas belt where the female snaps would be installed.

 

 

And with the female snaps installed, I was able to attach the canvas belt to the ab.

 

 

Afterwards, I lined up the ammo belt over the canvas, followed the curve of the ab, and marked through the drill holes for rivets. I might have overthought this step a little—in hindsight, it probably would have been fine to lay the belt flat and rivet it that way. As it is, my ammo belt has a slight outward bend on the left side when laid flat, but not on the right side. I should have taken a picture. I don't think it's a big deal at all, though—when it's curved, it aligns just fine and there's no issue. 

 

 

And lastly, I cut, trimmed and sanded the rivet covers for the belt. I also tidied the paint on my ab button plates. These pieces have all been installed with e6000 and are now drying. I didn't have any clamps that could reach far enough, and magnets kept pulling the buttons out of position, so I end up just pressing them in with glue and leaving them as they are. From what I've read, that should be sufficient. We'll see tomorrow once it's dry. Fingers crossed!

 

 

 

And that's it for now! Thanks in advance for your feedback and suggestions. :-D Talk soon!

 

 

 

[Scimitar[TK]]

Keep it up! You'll appreciate later that you curved the plastic ammo belt when attaching it. I didn't do that the first time I built my belt and there was stress on the plastic reinforcement inside the canvas belt and quite a bit on the rivets when I snapped it to the ab. It's a small detail but it will help with the longevity of the connections.

 

Regarding the garter belt, I think it's just fine where you have it, you want to be as comfortable as you can be. And when you're fully kitted up it won't be very visible as the ammo belt almost completely covers it up. Most of the general public won't even notice it. When it comes time I'd also recommend running the garter straps along the sides of your legs instead of the front, this allows for more flexibility and movement. You can see how the belt and straps sit in my setup below:

 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

59 minutes ago, MakeNoiseMan said:

I might have overthought this step a little

Nope, following the curve is the best way to do it - if it looks wierd laying on the table you know you´ve done it right

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, coming along great. Just with the ab buttons if you are aiming for the higher levels don't go too wide with the paint, screen used didn't fill the whole button

 

 

[BigCara[TK]]

You're making awesome progress, much better than my slow progression.

 

Love the detail your putting into your posts.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Incredible progress, Brendan!  Just a few minor items that may help..

 

I realize that you have already set the snaps to hold the belt in place, and that the requirements are met for L3 at this point but hopefully the top of the belt will cover a little more of the ab button plate.  Again, not a deal breaker by any means, but just my OCD nature, lol.

      

 

You may want to think about shaving down the return edge at the top of your ab plate just a bit.  It doesn't appear to make your chest plate bulge out, but may cut into you and get a bit uncomfortable while trooping, especially once you get strapped in and your belt is tightened.  

   

 

One of the issues we see a lot is misalignment of the posterior/kidney connection, but you pretty much nailed it.  Well done!

 

  

 

Gotta say that this is one of the best build threads I have seen in quite a while, sir.  Keep up the great work!

[MakeNoiseMan[TK]]

On 1/17/2019 at 4:46 PM, Scimitar said:

I'd also recommend running the garter straps along the sides of your legs instead of the front

That is an excellent idea, thank you! I'll do that for sure.

 

On 1/17/2019 at 4:57 PM, TheSwede said:

if it looks wierd laying on the table you know you´ve done it right

Awesome!! That's a relief, haha.

 

On 1/17/2019 at 6:17 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

Just with the ab buttons if you are aiming for the higher levels don't go too wide with the paint, screen used didn't fill the whole button

Sure! I can take some more off no problem. I'll save that bit for a little later, like re-doing my tube stripes. Once I've got my application for basic acceptance submitted I'll go back over and touch up the paint for L3. :-D

 

5 hours ago, BigCara said:

You're making awesome progress, much better than my slow progression.

Thanks! Don't worry about speed—I just happen to have a lot of time. Enjoy the process! I sure have. :-D

 

4 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

Gotta say that this is one of the best build threads I have seen in quite a while, sir.  Keep up the great work!

Thanks so much!! That means a lot. It has been (and continues to be) so much fun. And thanks for the tips, I will trim some more off the ab return edge—I definitely value comfort. :-) It maaay be a little too late to move my belt higher. We'll see how it looks when it all comes together. If it is an issue, I'll make it happen!

 

Onwards we go! It's been a busy few days. Starting now, I've got a (soft) deadline on my build! For two reasons: Firstly, I'll be moving in about 45 days and would love to have the suit finished before I start boxing up my house. Secondly, I'll have my first opportunity to troop as a TK (if it's ready) on February 8th! The event is with a local costume hobby group I'm with called Heroically Ever After, but they are running a Star Wars segment of the day in partnership with the Southwestern Ontario branch of the Canadian Garrison. Even if the TK isn't ready by then, I'm very much looking forward to meeting the other troopers in my area. Woohoo!

Back to the build: With the ammo belt finished, I started working on the drop boxes. I decided to try and make them functional storage compartments for small items like money, ID or keys. I cut out and trimmed the outer and inner boxes, and cut the elastic and velcro strapping I'll use for the assembly:

 

 

 

They'll be fastened together at the bottom with nylon, and attach together at the top with velcro. Hopefully this works! If not, they'll still be sufficiently decorative. :-)

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow, the glue will be finished drying and I can attach them to the belt.

 

Next, my acrylic paint arrived in the mail, so I spent a little time with my E-11. Here's how it comes in it's original (gorgeous) state from Brett and Quest Design Canada:

 

 

Firstly, I stretched and installed a spring I bought off of Amazon. The width was labelled 19mm, which fit into the 20mm back opening of the gun perfectly without any need for adhesion. After that, I glued the back cap on with E6000.

 

 

Then I got to painting! I followed advice and colour choices from this great youtube video:

 

 

I also painted the back of these clear cabochons black and glued them into either end of the scope to simulate glass. The smaller one is 10mm and fit perfectly, the larger one is 25mm and had to be sanded down a little. 

 

 

 

And the result:

 

 

 

 

 

I am very happy with how it turned out!

 

And finally, I attached my holster to the canvas belt. I used this image as a guide for measurements. Quick note, I found the measurement between drill holes to be approximately 12cm on the AP-supplied holster. 

 

 

I marked, drilled and cauterized the holes.

 

 

 

 

Once again, I fastened male snaps on the inside with split rivets on the outside. Then, I installed female snaps on the holster straps—which, by the way, thanks Mark (AP) for supplying the tan leather straps! From earlier threads, I assumed I was going to have to track some down myself. A pleasant surprise that they were already this colour. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

And that's where we are for now! Next I'll be installing the tab and slot system on the abs, and then I think all that's left are the thighs and shins (and painting some rivets white). We're getting there!

 

[CableGuy[TK]]

Good luck on the 8th Feb. I’m sure you’ll have a great time, in kit or out. :-)

 

Your blaster’s looking really nice. I also watched that video before painting mine and there are some good ideas in there.

 

Just a couple of small things for your consideration. The t-tracks on the screen used E-11s were plastic, so would not have the metal effect weathering. (Same goes for the grip and the rear half of the Hengstler, neither of which you’ve weathered, by the looks of it).

 

Also, although many hengstler counters had fallen off during filming (as, rumour has it, they were simply hot glued on), some of the E-11 reference material indicates that the hengstler counted would sit a little higher than you have yours. Following the FISD E-11 Blaster reference, the top of the Hengstler counter would line up approximately with the centre line of the scope. As below;

 

 

Obviously, I’m not saying that you should make these changes, just some details I’ve picked up on over time. :-)

 

Keep up the great work.

 

Dan

 

[ABS80]

Great job!!!!