JeklynHyde's RS Prop Masters, ANH Stunt Build

[Jeklynhyde]

19 hours ago, Cricket said:

And if you want to take the scope of your blaster a little further, ...

That looks fantastic! I'm looking forward to that build! It's going to be tons of fun.

[HSM76[TK]]

Looks a bit more interesting than the real thing :-)

Gesendet von meinem ONEPLUS A6013 mit Tapatalk

[Jeklynhyde]

Paints arrived! Turns out I don't think I'll be needing the Gloss 48 (Mediterranean Blue) as this was an old recommendation. But I've got it if I need it. 

 

Put all the screws in, taping the brackets to the armour to keep them correctly associated, then painted the ends. This kept the screws from touching other surfaces while drying.

 

Got coverage all around the heads of the screws to account for any face that would still be visible. Set them to the side for close to 24 hours before I installed the first set of brackets on one edge. The paint was still kind of malleable, so I let it sit for a while longer before I installed the rest. Even then the paint still got mussed up a bit.

 

All the back brackets mounted. I squeezed in a little E6K into each of the holes before I screwed everything in place. I should have figured out the straps first so that I could avoid some hand-sewing... Otherwise I would need to take up at least one screw per bracket in order to slide them in .

 

Cut up the elastic for the connections. Temporarily have them kept in place with staples just in case I need to take it apart again for any reason. I may repaint some of the screw heads to cover up what I managed to knick off.

 

At least now I can do better torso fitting.

 

Painted the abdomen button panels!

Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde
Fixing broken images

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Wow, EXCELLENT job on painting those ab-plate buttons!  

[TheSwede[TK]]

What he ^^ said - an excellent build altogether  Looking forward to your EIB and Centurion submissions

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Very nice painting skills, well done

[Sly11[Admin]]

Such a neat and tidy build, you will smash EI and Centurion if that's the direction you intend to take.

[Jeklynhyde]

Gluing cover strips on the biceps, one side at a time.

I wanted a tight bond, so I got full coverage by using bar clamps and C-clamps AND magnets, haha.

 

THE CLAAAAMPS. Blue tape on the inside keeps any glue from squishing out onto the clamps and is easily removable after cure time.

Last one set to cure. Next step is the forearms.

The thing that was holding me back from completing the forearms was the overall length. I was debating between trimming the wrist end more, or cutting the elbows out deeper. I think I can manange with a deeper elbow cut. That decision was holding me back from setting a final cover strip length. But I've made the decision, so now I can progress.

Taping the inside of the forearm to keep it in place for gluing.

Trying to keep the line at the wrist edge even.

 

I taped a couple popsicle sticks together and then to the ends of my bar clamps. I put one of them on the wrong side, but it ended up working anyway XD.

"Dry fit" testing out all the clamping gets good coverage before any glue gets involved.

Inside view. This will be a little more difficult to get the magnets set correctly once I go to glue this other side.

And glue in place and set to cure.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde
Fixing broken images

[CableGuy[Admin]]

Nice work. :-)

Just a little tip - sizing the coverstrips before gluing allows for coverstrip shaping at the ends. Here’s some examples;



If the coverstrip is glued and then has to be cut back, shaping the ends can tricky and could lead to damaging your armour.

If you had this planned already, just ignore me ;-)

Best wishes
Dan

[m3tal_man84]

You are doing a great job! Keep it up! Love the use of zip-ties. 

[Jeklynhyde]

When it was first glued in place, it kept contact, but after bending it to assess the lower join, it split away along a fair portion of one edge.

One of my friends suggested using Loctite, but I'm not sure how well that would work.

 

Squishing the sides together for the lower join causes this strip to split significantly from the one side.

 

A little bit better view to show the separation. Will need to determine a heat-bend solution.

 

Cut the left forearm cover strip to size.

 

 

Dry fit testing clamp positioning.

 

And with glue and more magnets. Waiting to cure.

 

Sooooo. In other news, I've been invited to go to a sports-ball game on Star Wars Day. Since sitting for an unknown number of hours in a plastic suit of armour seems non-conducive to either my butt or the plastic, I've decided to shift my attentions to the bucket completion so that I can wear it for the game.

 

So I'm digging into the research on how I wanna do the trimming around the eyes and the frown teeth. I've already purchased some Plasti-Dip so that I can black out the inside of the bucket while it's still in two pieces, as I've heard that it's a lot easier to do that way. I've also been digging into the EIB/centurion request threads and making note of the corrections suggested to others. I'm definitely going to make sure my ears are slanted to match the angle of the brow detail bit at the top and make sure my tube stripes are a pencil width away from the cheek edges.

 

Beyond that I've recently been updating a youtube playlist of all the music I'm jamming out to while I work on things. Right now that's a lot of dance and French music (Stormae in particular - super recommend!), haha. Here it is if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyG3QoHhi8SfZGwLfNf1Sblj5bx72TY7D

 

And tonight, my drink of choice is Fireball!

 

 

The rough edge of the mask... Used this as a practice surface for more precise Dremel work before moving on to cleaning up the teeth and eyes.

 

Rough edges of the eyes from the inside.

 

Rough edges of the frown teeth from the inside.

 

Best results from the Dremel are achieved by using the tool like a pencil.

 

I found it easier to get the angles I wanted and see the effect I was creating by Dremeling from the outside in with the eyes.

 

 

Got me some Plasti Dip.

 

And taped off around the eyes and frown teeth. I didn't think about getting around the other edges till later.

 

Close-up on the tap squished into the frown teeth.

 

And the outside glamour shot.

 

Another view inside of the tape-off.

 

Doing this in a basement with no proper ventilation... Gotta still use the proper PPE.

 

 

Started spraying without tape to cover the edges and some got on the outside.

 

So I got smart and put tape around the edges for both cap and face.

 

 

 

 

 

A bit excessive. Turning it around I ended up dripping some excess on the tarp throw and the floor.

 

And now it waits. I did get a little on the outside, but it was pretty easy to scrub off using the painters tarp.

Edited July 10, 2019 by Jeklynhyde
Fixing broken images

[Jeklynhyde]

Ok. So going back through my earlier posts here, I see that some of the photos are breaking. The error being "URL signature expired". So I'm going to consider Facebook to not be a good place to host pictures. So I've taken the time to create a google photos album of all the pictures I've already uploaded. I'm going to go through and update all the pictures in previous posts so that they won't expire again (hopefully).

So far, I've replaced all the images in the first post. I'll wait a little while to see if it lasts (or if pictures start majorly breaking - not too difficult to update now that I've got the pictures uploaded to another source location), then I'll update the other posts.

In other news: As it turns out, sportsball game stadiums don't like it when you wear masks to their events... even when they're Star Wars themed..... so the pressure is off for getting it done before then. I was side-tracked a bit by realizing that my older pictures were starting to break. But I still plan to get the helmet (I should be saying bucket, shouldn't I?) completed next in line. My current pause point is trying to find the size of drill needed for the rivet holes, haha. I've already set the brow trim to length, but I'll make a separate update for that.

 

Cheers!

[Jeklynhyde]

So after more than a year's inadvertent hiatus, I'm looking to get back into working on and completing this build. Plenty of time to do so with the COVID thing going on (not that I got out much to begin with anyway).

 

I just wrote up a status update on my profile to give a PSA about mental health. Click my name to go check it out.

I think I will start up where I left off with trying to get the helmet completed. Plenty of research to do to get back into the flow of things, but expect updates soon!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking forward to seeing your progress and build pics, Jeklyn!  

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi, excellent work you have made. following your building thread now. 

 

Cheers 

 

 

[Jeklynhyde]

Was aiming at having the helmet completed by the end of a week, but now I'm debating electronics. I would like to fully deck out the helmet (hearing amp, speakers, fans, static burst/radio chatter) and that's got me thinking that it may be easier to do with the helmet not completely assembled yet. I'm busy digging into the research on that, could go either way I suppose. Also I'm debating on swapping out the flimsy green-tinted film that was provided with something a little more significant. I believe I read somewhere that welder's visor has been used. - In other words, plenty of research still yet to go.

 

 

A couple other parts I'm stuck on - The forearms were giving me a hell of a time trying to get them glued together. Even after a 24-hour cure time on the E6000, the cover strips kept pulling apart - too much pressure from the curvature for the E6000 to take... I may need to look into ABS cement to get those to behave correctly.

 

As for the chest plate, I think I may cut the neck line slightly deeper to avoid having to cut the bottom edge and recreate the return there. I know it's canon to Mark Hamill's suit to have no return edge, and I know return edge can be restored (looking at Diana's thread), but it's so close to working as is.. We shall see.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

"As for the chest plate, I think I may cut the neck line slightly deeper to avoid having to cut the bottom edge and recreate the return there".

Don't go too deep on the neck line just yet, as this may throw off the look/positioning of your chest plate.  Can you post up a pic of how it fits at present?

[Jeklynhyde]

I do not have a picture ready for that at the moment, but I will not move along on that until i have posted a pic of the chest for sure!

[Jeklynhyde]

I’ve been digging through a number of various electronics builds of varying sophistication and quality. I’ve seen neoprene used as padding, and the insulation from a motorcycle helmet, or the internal support headband from a hard hat.

As it turns out, I was in a motorcycle accident a year ago this month. My helmet sure saved my face, but is now retired since you’re not supposed to reuse a helmet so-damaged. I can repurpose some of that padding if it fits the bill. I know there’s a lot of room in the helmet, but space will get limited with the addition of the electronics. I also wonder about the level of insulation, if it will increase the amount of heat retained in the helmet, or help to block it out? The motorcycle helmet padding may be excessive considering that the high speeds experienced on a motorcycle do a lot to make the insulation worth-while due to the cooling effect of the wind… I get the feeling that the top speed I can reach running around in stormtrooper armour won’t quite match that of the motorcycle, but I can try! Haha.

 

 

I may not be familiar with trooping in stormtrooper armour, but I am highly familiar with wearing various types of masks for an extended duration. It’s hot, even in cold weather. The moisture from my breath ends up condensing on the inside of the mask and dripping down the sides, onto my face or down my neck, joining the ample amount of sweat produced from the mini-sauna. That and the inevitable glasses fog. Not pleasant and certainly not very conducive to extended wear. So I’d like to head that one off at the pass. Along with a fan system, I’d like to include the other fun electronics upgrades. So here’s what I’m looking at so far.

 

 

I’ll aim to keep this post updated with all additional finds and final purchase choices so that all the electrical parts are available in the same location.

 

 

Bucket electronics build “wishlist”:

• Fans (Intake and exhaust?)

I’m a corrective lens wearer and already struggle with dry eyes, so I don’t think I’ll be aiming a fan down from the top.

• Hearing aid

• Voice amp (Considering small speakers in the hovi tips as well as an amp in the chest plate for varying environments / external sound level use).

Options: Aker

• Static burst pops

Options: iComm / ROM/FX / Tramp

• Trooper background chatter – interrupted by PTT / voice activation?

• Echo Bracket? Or “project box”?

I would like the option of being able to turn on / off any aspect of the system on the fly with switches without needing to take anything off.

• Power supply, last but not least. I would like to go with a rechargeable unit with enough bank to last an entire day of trooping with all elements of the system on.

 

I’m not sure if the system will require any soldering, but I’m comfortable with those kinds of modifications (and have the materials and equipment to do so).

 

 

Considering everything, I think the electronics system can easily be done after the helmet is assembled. Certainly the cabling and positioning of the system will be highly dependent upon the completed structure of the helmet since once the rivets are in place, it’s not meant to come apart. It looks like any other modifications can be completed after the fact as well.

 

 

So my next step with the helmet is the frown mesh (doesn’t look like this was included with the RS kit unless I lost mine), the eye lenses, and painting.

I’ll dig around on lens mounting options and perhaps start in on the painting while I wait for additional supplies to be ordered and arrive.

 

 

I also did research into the boots. I got mine through RS as well and they were painted white, but the quality of the paint job is very lack-lustre. I’ve worn the boots once on a Halloween dress up day at work along with a stormtrooper hoodie. Just that much use and the paint is already peeling off in places. I am considering stripping off all the paint, baring the top layer of the leather to make it more accepting of leather dye and going from there (5 – 9 coats from what I have seen so far). I liked the look of the use of an air brush and I like tools, so I may look into getting one of those.

 

[ticopowell[TK]]

Great thread so far. I've probably read it twice, working on a third run through. RS builds seem uncommon, and they seem to have some unique difficulties so thanks for posting what you can, it helps my RS build!

 

With the helmet, yes you can do everything afterwards, but if you want to add the external microphones you might want to do those before finishing the ears. I hear its a good place to put them. 

 

I also didn't get any frown mesh from RS, idk if it's 100% needed (nylon pantyhose should do the trick if you have an old pair lying around, I know I do... wait, I mean my wife does...)

 

How much of your helmet is assembled? I haven't started mine at all, and I'm nervous on how much to trim. do you have any before and after pics of your trim lines? or did you just follow the molded lines already in the helmet?

 

Thanks! 

Caleb

[Jeklynhyde]

Hello @ticopowell! I just checked out your TK build thread and you're making great progress! I wonder if you could actually help me out a little. I was super cool and did _not_ take any close up pictures for the hardware that came with the helmet at the beginning and now I'm in a little pickle. The bag that I was keeping the hardware in was not sealed completely and it was in the RS strapping box which has holes on the sides. I think I have the correct number of rivets and screws based on zooming in very close to the couple overview pics that I have with the bag in the shot, but I don't know about the nuts and washers. Would you mind posting a pic or list of the hardware you have?

The holes! Big enough for washers and maybe nuts to slip through. Small enough that hopefully nothing else was lost.

 

 

Here's what I've got left. 5 pop rivets, one longer than the others, 4 long screws, 4 shorter screws, 9 nuts, & 15 washers.

 

 

Screws are flat-headed & slotted.

 

 

I have not figured out what this long boy is for considering it came with the helmet. The other rivets are to attach the faceplate to the cap, two on each side.

 

 

In order to prevent any more wandering parts, I've put the washers on the screws and the nuts on after.
As a note the washers do not fit over any of the rivets pictured. I may pick up some additional washers to assist with the faceplate rivets as I've heard it can do a better job of securing them.

I have also not determined why there are so many washers to go with the screws since the only place I can think that they would be helpful is on the inside of the helmet between the plastic and the nut. The other side won't have any effect since the slotted sides of the screws are going to be countersunk and anywhere else I feel like the washers would just be loose and flopping around. I took a look at Trooperbay and their helmet hardware (https://trooperbay.com/trooper-helmet-fastener-kit) is 6 screws, nuts & matching washers, & 4 rivets & matching washers.
I've got what I need for the helmet, but I'm still left confused. Did RS provide extras for these? Do they belong with another part of the build? What am I missing?

 

 

 

To answer your question, I have gotten as far as rough trimming & using magnets to try to figure out the faceplate placement. I'll put that in a second post below in a lil bit when I get it written out. I've done enough for a full picture update. Might as well ask some more questions while I'm at it.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Jeklynhyde
fixing pictures

[ticopowell[TK]]

uhh.... you got a lot of hardware there. You sure it's for just one helmet?

 

Here is what was included with my helmet. 

 

 

2 Hovi Mics (needs painting)

2 pop rivets

mesh for hovi mic

lens material

chin strap

6 nuts

6 washers

4 long scres

2 short screws

 

I plan on getting other screws instead of rivets for the helmet. 2 reasons, 1, I don't have a rivet gun, 2, I can make a mistake and readjust the helmet if needed. 

 

The helmet builds Ive watched/followed usually only have 1 rivet per side and the 3 screws in each ear. Also I know to not go by the bumps that are already in the helmet, they are incorrect.  I think your extra parts are just extra. I don't have any other rivets in my kit at all. They could be for the belt since you have 3 extras. The extra washers might be for the back side of the rivet, in case the plastic is thinner than desired. other than that I dont see any need for all those. The extra screws are possibly in case you don't want to rivet the helmet, now you can just screw it and call it good. 

 

Hope that helps! 

[Jeklynhyde]

But before I jump into that, a couple fun things.

The month that I received the shipment from RS, I was out with my friends for Halloween, as Deadpool of course, and I ran into a Wookie!

That was a great night of dancing

 

 

My brother got me a stormtrooper mug! Only, there's a little something off with it... Can you tell?

Hahahaa.... aaahahahahahaaa... This is most special mug.

 

 

 

Much more recently, around when I went radio silent, last year on May Fourth, I got to tag along to a baseball game. I could have done without the baseball, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see all the star wars love, especially the guys that got to go out on the field! Colour me super jelly, haha. I'm looking forward to being able to actually join and participate in some events in the near future (perhaps when things calm down from all the COVID).

 

 

 

Here I'm pulling a Diana just for funsies

 

 

 

If you haven’t noticed yet, I’ve got a little problem with keeping my focus narrowed down to one part. Or even one side project at a time, haha. I am too easily distracted.

 

Picture of Metal Earth Tie Fighter Model Kit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can also get a bit wordy. Bare with me. You can skip most of the additional commentary. Skip along to the pictures.

 

 

All that being said, I am going to try to focus this build down to completion. To do that, I’m going to select a part, dig into the research for that part only (saving any other helpful stuff for later review or making a note of it), and then focus that part down to completion. You might think that sort of order should come naturally, but for me it’s a difficult task.

It’s also hard to put a timeline on it. At the beginning of this project, I was like, “One month, I’m gonna get this done!” Oh how I envy that spirit... Two weeks ago I said I’d have the helmet complete by the end of a week. Hah! Started digging into the research and realized there was a lot more to it (for me) than just putting it together and being done.

I’ve had the kit for this long, I’m not going to rush it to completion now.

 

 

To reiterate what I said at the beginning, I’m aiming for Centurion from the get go with as little additional modification after the fact as I can manage. I’m not afraid of a challenge. That’s part of the fun. I’m shorter than the average stormtrooper, though about the same height as Mark Hamill, so I could easily have gone for a Luke suit, but I like the look of the stunt troopers better. It all comes down to personal preference. Go with what you feel, what you enjoy the most.

I'm hoping to do as little alterations to the suit as I can manage, but we shall see - if it needs to happen, that's what's going to happen. With everybody's build that I've looked at, it's a journey for everyone. I'm just pleased I can be joining you all.

 

 

Beyond that, the best advice I’ve heard so far is: always go back to the source. Always base your build off the original armour. Reference other people’s builds to help you determine technique, but definitely go off as much original reference material as you can. That, and don't be afraid to ask questions! I need to do that a little more of that maybe..

 

 

One more before we get back to the real build. Here’s a motivational phrase that I’ve been trying to take to heart.

Choose courage over comfort.

 

 

 

Sometimes it’s hard to do the hard thing, but in the end, you’ll thank yourself for getting off the couch and doing something constructive… For standing up for the people you care for or what you hold close to your heart. (Thank you Brené Brown!)

You build the best memories when you go do something… So go do something!

 

Haha, ok, done with the mushy stuff for now.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Jeklynhyde
Fixing pictures

[Jeklynhyde]

Thanks @ticopowell! Very helpful indeed!
On my faceplate, the teeth were already trimmed. I've seen sets where this was not the case. The hovi-mics in mine were already painted and mesh glued in. It's interesting to see how the RS sets seem to come differently for each person.

 

As for the frown mesh, after more research I believe it wasn't provided because they were not used for the screen. A balaclava can be used to obscure the face and stay more screen accurate. I think I will make a removable mesh. I happen to have some extra window screen lying around, so I can repurpose that.

I'm aiming somewhere between super screen accurate and super convenient for trooping. (I am reconsidering my internal strapping system for the body to go with the snap method.. but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it).

 

I've seen a second rivet being placed at the base of the helmet. See this one from StarWarsHelmets.com

[ticopowell[TK]]

That helmet definitely has 2 rivets, I wonder if it was put in because it's missing ears?

 

Guess I was wrong, good thing I have 2 other rivets hanging around... but Ill use screws if I can. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by ticopowell
I was wrong... so I commented to not mislead anyone.