Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) After lots of research I decided to purchase a set of RS Prop Masters armour. I was swayed by the fact that their armour is cast off an original ANH set and I figured that if I was going to spend any money, that I wanted to get the most screen accurate that I could manage. I had the money, so I took the plunge even though I knew I might not be able to put it together right away. I originally purchased my armour August 26, 2016. I ordered the armour and helmet in kit form, Strapping Pack, Neck Seal, Under Suit, Boots, and Holster. I was intending to go for full centurion right off the bat, but only recently did I realize that I need a blaster for that level. I had misinterpreted the CRL when it said that weapons are not required for admissions into the 501st (I assume that only refers to the lowest level accuracy level). Until I get a blaster, I'll be a very accurate unarmed stormtrooper, hahaha. The Invoice: My order arrived on October 10, 2016. I went through the unboxing: The Helmet: The Armour: Shoes are a perfect fit, though the painting or dying on them is not quite 100%. The brushmarks on them are very evident. I will likely need to give these another coat. The undersuit is a little loose fitting on me... I might go find a tighter fitting set at a later date, but for now it will help for getting sizing measurements. Neck seal is a perfect fit Strapping pack contents I went through everything to make sure I had all the parts and found that the left shoulder bell had a crack in it, and they had not included the gloves with Latex hand guards. I sent them an email and got a response on the same day. They were waiting for another batch of ABS from their supplier, so I held off on requesting a replacement at that time. I also figured that this area might get trimmed off and therefore not be an issue. I have not gotten to the bells yet, so I still have yet to see. They sent out the gloves the same day - very pleased with the response time on that. All of the pictures in this thread will be located on my facebook and now Google Photos album: Public Facebook Album: Stormtrooper Updates Public Google Photos Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1RuyaqPACPp9sQNi6 Edited April 25, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Replacing all Facebook image/links with Google Photos image/links. Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Great news. With posting images to the forum most of use a 3rd party imaging host like Imgur, you can upload to Imgur, then right click on the image, select copy and paste directly into your posts, or use the "direct link" to the image, both ways work. BTW yes I can see the one image you posted 1 Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 Excellent. I'll get the other pictures in there, XD. Thank you! 1 Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) A couple interim relocations... After my life imploding a little and a house move, I was getting ready to do some trimming and cover strip cuts. Trimming the biceps. Used the woodshop pencil technique to draw a line and cut with some hobby scissors (similar to lexan, but different brand). (Following the suggestions from Panda Props & Costuming Stormtrooper build on Youtube) Outer: Inner: ... So tempted to put the helmet together, but I know I should save it for last, so it sits in wait After trimming the outer biceps and attempting to match them up to their inner counterparts, I realized that both were identical... I didn't take care of it right away because I wanted to double check all the other parts before sending out an email... I did a video unboxing in February of 2018 and went through all the parts to make sure everything was there: This is basically just raw video of me rambling on. Here's another thing I didn't notice, for whatever reason: The shins are identical for both legs. They are labeled as left and right, but they're exactly the same. After I got all that all sorted out, I finally sent an email to Studio@RSPropMasters.com that same day (Feb 22, 2018). I didn't get any response initially and I was worried I had sent it to the wrong address, so I sent another email on Feb 27 to Info@RSPropMasters.com. Still no response, so I sent the email again to the same address on March 7th. Finally got a response on March 9 requesting pictures of the pieces, so I sent the pictures below on the 10th. I got a response again on the 15th saying they would send me out a new piece. No request for payment or to cover shipping. I gave them my new address and it showed up on March 28th. It's a good colour match and it is indeed a proper Right outer bicep. Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images 1 Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) After another year of my life imploding and the armour sitting in its box quietly in a corner, I finally finished a different personal project (organizing and cataloguing my movie collection) and in the beginning of January 2019, I made the decision that I wanted to get the suit put together by the end of the month. I think now that I've been working on it for a while that it's going to take me longer than a month. Still, I can have hope that I will complete this soon. My new battle-stations: The new outer bicep piece on the right. Still needed a little tighter return edge trimming at that point Another pile: I did some sizing and got the left bicep around the right sizing: Visited my parent's place and brought my armour along for the weekend. Got both the biceps down to a good size. Then I agonized about the forearm alignment and sizing for a day, but I got them cut down enough to tape them together and get a better idea on sizing: *muscle pose* Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) After that I decided to work on the thermal detonator / O2 canister. Usually just refer to it as TD. I got the end caps cut down to size (about 20mm). In order to get the right size, I measured down 20mm and made a few marks on the sides, then used blue tape to connect the lines to aim for the excess tape at the top of the caps to be parallel with the ends, then cut along those lines using the "lexan" scissors. Those are glued on with E6000.. I removed the clips from the tube (the screws included are silver, so I hand-sanded the tops a little and painted them. I used my sandpaper to scratch up the tube in the location where the control panel will get glued on. Same on the inside of the control panel. Used E6000 and a bunch of zip-ties to secure the control panel. You can see the light going through the end-cap. I had to adjust the positioning to get the total length to 7.5 in. That meant not seating the end-caps completely and aiming for the ends to be perpendicular to the line of the tube. This was a little iffy going considering that once one of the ends was on, I couldn't place the tube down and tap the other into place for obvious reasons... So I had to wiggle them into place only holding onto the tube. I think I managed to get the right length and positioning. One snag I ran into with the zip-tie method here: after letting it set for a half-day, I was going to put the clips back on, but I realized the panel wasn't centered... So off it comes, removed the old glue, drew some new lines on the tube, glue on again, and centered it properly this time. Final product: Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) Today and yesterday I've been working on the belt. Got the drop boxes trimmed down (though still not certain on the thickness). I got the angles to line up roughly 45 degrees with the edges of the canvas belt, though the edges aren't quite as straight as I would like. I put the rivets in but haven't locked them in place yet since I'll be sanding it a little more. I managed to knick a couple of the corners here :/. Might go away when I sand it down a little. I have a feeling that the belt is slightly too wide. Measuring from the boxes is a little tricky too. Initially I measured from the bottom of the boxes where it curves into the flat of the belt. Comparing that to measuring from the flat edges of the box it's roughly a millimeter difference. It's not a huge disparity, but enough that I think I will take off a little more. Considering the small amount of material to be removed, I think I'll go with sanding. Measuring it at the moment, it's not quite a straight cut anyway, so I'll remark lines and sand down to them. Flat with the box measurement Bottom of the curve measurement Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) Made new marks, drew new lines. Sanded off most of the excess with the dremel, then finished the edge off with 120 grit. Remarked the 45's and adjusted them. Was able to get the surface cuts out with the trims. Much happier with how it looks now. Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Really nice work so far!! Have you glued the forearms or biceps yet? If not, you should post up a few pics of the openings before doing so. 1 Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) Not glued yet! Leaving the majority of gluing until everything is sized correctly. Thanks for the input! The biceps I'm pretty happy with. They fit on my arms on their own pretty decently without falling off but aren't too tight either. Top-down Bottom-up The forearms need work for sure. They still need to be trimmed down to better fit at both ends. Return edge at the top of the forearms probably needs to be reduced, particularly around the cover strip joins. Still needs trimming to size. Lots of space at both ends. Left Arm: Wrist edge Left Arm: Elbow edge Left Arm: Elbow cut Right Arm: Way too much wiggle room, both ends Right Arm: Wrist edge Right Arm: Elbow edge Right Arm: Elbow cut Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images Quote
A.J. Hamler[TK] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Jeklyn... You were asking about Drop Box thickness. Here you go. The "Billhag diagrams" -- of which this is just but a tiny sampling -- are fantastic aids for any build. Hope this helps. A.J. 1 Quote
Commander Gree[501st] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 did you ever get your shins figured out? most times this is something people get wrong, and think they have 2 of the same shin, but they don't. there should be 4 parts, and 2 similar, and the other 2 similar, on of each to each leg if that makes since. one side of the shin will have more curve to it than the other side (same leg)(inside will have more of a curve than the outside of the leg). Posting a pic of what you have exactly would help to pin point better what goes where. Quote
TheSwede[TK] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 The RS shins comes with only outer parts so the shins are identical, right outer and left outer. 1 Quote
Commander Gree[501st] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 21 minutes ago, TheSwede said: The RS shins comes with only outer parts so the shins are identical, right outer and left outer. really? was that part of the original kits? learn something new every day Quote
TheSwede[TK] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 38 minutes ago, Commander Gree said: really? was that part of the original kits? learn something new every day I don’t know the full story on the RS suit (R standing for Rob and S for Simon) but it does have shins of only outer parts and so did some of the suits on screen. 2 Quote
troopermaster Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 The original armour owned by RS has shins that are identical both sides - meaning they are made up of the same two parts for both legs that are 2 x outer left parts and 2 x outer right parts. The only difference between them is they are assembled with the backs opening to the left or right which determines which leg they are worn on. The left did have a knee plate originally but has been knocked off at some point before Simon got it. 1 Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 21, 2019 Author Report Posted January 21, 2019 5 hours ago, A.J. Hamler said: The "Billhag diagrams" I will definitely check these out. I've been reading a bunch of build threads simultaneously. At some point I'll post a list of all the resources i took a look at. Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Here's a link to Billhag's photobucket 2 Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted January 22, 2019 Report Posted January 22, 2019 You mentioned that you had too much wiggle room in the arms and that you need to cut down the return edges at the tops, and I'm glad you haven't glued them yet. You will have to re-fit them so they are not too loose, but below are a few suggestions that should help them fit better. I can see in the third photo below that it appears that the "scoop" is a bit too small and is already beginning to cut into your arm, and considering your arms will be bent most of the time I would recommend opening them up as shown. Keep up the great work and posting those photos! 1 Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 22, 2019 Author Report Posted January 22, 2019 Thanks justjoseph63! I was getting worried that i was cutting them down too much already at the elbows, so it's good to hear i can still cut off more. I hadn't gotten to it yet, but i was wondering how much material i could trim off the wrist end. Last night I was scrolling through Billhag's Photobucket. There's a ton of great reference in there. I found the button plate dimensions and trimmed those out. According to the drop box diagram, it seems i trimmed the outer boxes down a bit too much, but not horribly. I'll get pictures up later. Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 23, 2019 Author Report Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) Drop boxes. They're a little thin maybe, but I think they're ready to be glued and attached. When I measured to place the holes in the canvas belt for the rivets, I did so on a flat surface. In attempting to attach the belt onto the ab section, I found it impossible to get it to attach to the snaps on the ab... Current position won't allow belt to fit properly along the curvature. Attempting to re-seat the rivet at the left in the picture pulls at the belt up on the right. I got the larger ab button plate sanded down. I was going to glue it on, but the photobucket album kept timing out, so I save it for tomorrow. I'm a night shift person, so this is way past my bed time XD Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted January 23, 2019 Report Posted January 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Jeklynhyde said: I got the larger ab button plate sanded down. I was going to glue it on, but the photobucket album kept timing out, so I save it for tomorrow. Before gluing them on, try to make sure that they match as closely as possible to these. Note that the corners are not rounded and that the small one does not cover the raised area it is mounted to and has space on all 4 sides. You may not be at this point yet, but I would recommend some trimming on the top of the ab plate: 1 Quote
Jeklynhyde Posted January 24, 2019 Author Report Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) With new rivet holes in the canvas belt, the belt conforms to the curvature correctly now. Got the main ab buttons glued and waiting to set. Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde Fixing broken images 1 Quote
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