rtfitzpa[TK] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Hello FISD! I ordered Jimmi’s V5 armor last November (after well over a year of waiting on Anovos) and am finally getting around to acquiring all of the needed supplies. It’ll be the first FOTK in Alaska, so I hope to continue the influence of the Empire in the great white north! I’ve already put together a Centurion-level Anovos ANH TK and a WTF Snowtrooper, so I’m looking forward to this build, having had a bit of experience and practice.... not to mention practice mistakes and then having to fix them... more than once! I’ve not documented either of the builds before, so I thought I’d keep track of this one a bit more thoroughly. I’ve always had GREAT support from those who have built before me, so I hope to continue that trend and share my experience with others. I’ve got the armor, and I’ll post the unboxing photos in the coming days, as well as listing where my other supplies came from. Thanks all for your support, guidance, and inspiration bringing this world to life! For the Empire!TK38991 Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2 Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Looking forward to seeing the progress, good luck with the build Quote
Ghollum[TK] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Enjoy the build. There are some great threads on here to help too for help advice and tips.. Looking forward to seeing the progress.Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk Quote
justjoseph63[Staff] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Great to hear we have another FOTK build thread coming, Ryan! No pressure here, lol, but since you have the experience we look forward to great things, trooper. I've been mulling over whether or not to order one of Jimmi's kits, and hopefully your build thread will push me over the edge. Quote
masterjedi322[TK] Posted January 21, 2019 Report Posted January 21, 2019 Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing how Jim's FOTK comes together as I'm considering one myself. Good luck! Sean Quote
rtfitzpa[TK] Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Posted February 2, 2019 (edited) Laid out all of the parts from Jim today - turns out I'm missing the spats, but he's sending them right away! I'll take some close up photos this afternoon. -------------- Edited May 26, 2022 by gmrhodes13 link removed no longer working Quote
rtfitzpa[TK] Posted February 2, 2019 Author Report Posted February 2, 2019 Initial thoughts - armor is well made and already quite smooth. I live in Alaska and have limited use of a garage, so sanding may have to wait until warmer weather when I can use the deck. There are four small cracks in total. I have not worked with fiberglass, but it seems like it should be easy to fix. Most of the pieces are going to have to be cut down for my frame (5 foot 7 inches, 140 pounds). I’ll have to order some ABS to help bond these split pieces, unless there is another suggestion? I’ve ordered decals from Trooperbay and will pick up some bondo and new Dremel saws. Obligatory photo dump.... Small crack Two small cracks R2Dan’s holster (top) next to Jim’s. I’ll be using R2Dans. JAFO’s belt and Imperial boots and gloves. All fit perfect and are of excellent quality. Ukswrath yoke brackets Anovos bucket with Vaderpainter aerator. Good quality, but not sure how to get the plastic one in the helmet out... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted February 2, 2019 Report Posted February 2, 2019 I've seen one of Jim's kits in person and seems pretty sturdy. You can purchase fibreglass filler, you can also get fibreglass matting and resin, this is more for strengthening areas from behind as it can get quite messy. Mask sure you are wearing gloves and a mask as the tiny fibres can go everywhere, I normally keep a set of clothing just for working with fibreglass and don't mix them with others. Lots of youtube videos on working with fibreglass and filling so I'm sure you'll be fine. One thing in case you haven't considered it is to give all the pieces a good wash with soapy water, this will remove any release agent that some use in the molds. Looking forward to the progress, good luck. Quote
yo_its_nino[TK] Posted February 3, 2019 Report Posted February 3, 2019 Congrats on the Jimmi v5 kit! I have the same setup you have and his armor is amazing! His fiberglass material is very strong and those cracks are easily fixed. I’m 5’4” so you should not have any problem scaling the armor to your size. Be prepared to sand and fill a whole lot. The more time spent on prepping, the better the end result! Good luck and don’t hesitate to reach out for any help or advice. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote
rtfitzpa[TK] Posted February 3, 2019 Author Report Posted February 3, 2019 I've seen one of Jim's kits in person and seems pretty sturdy. You can purchase fibreglass filler, you can also get fibreglass matting and resin, this is more for strengthening areas from behind as it can get quite messy. Mask sure you are wearing gloves and a mask as the tiny fibres can go everywhere, I normally keep a set of clothing just for working with fibreglass and don't mix them with others. Lots of youtube videos on working with fibreglass and filling so I'm sure you'll be fine. One thing in case you haven't considered it is to give all the pieces a good wash with soapy water, this will remove any release agent that some use in the molds. Looking forward to the progress, good luck. Yes, I was planning on the wash. I have gloves and a mask as well. That’s a great idea to have specific clothing for fiberglass work.. Thanks for the advice!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote
rtfitzpa[TK] Posted February 12, 2019 Author Report Posted February 12, 2019 Spats made it! Next step is going to be a first wash of all the parts, then filling the small cracks in the armor.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 3 Quote
Ensi[TK] Posted February 13, 2019 Report Posted February 13, 2019 Great to see another FO! For the cracks I used fibreglass matting and polyester resin from a boat repair kit. I applied on the backside of the armor where the crack was and made sure to cover way more area than just the crack itself. This will kill the flex in that area and prevent the crack from progressing. After this you can use body filler as normal on the front and sand flush I sanded all of the pieces on the inside with 120grit sandpaper to get rid of stray fibers and sharp spots, then gave the entire kit a good wash. This eliminates itching/snagging and just promotes good adhesion for snaps etc. Some use plastidip on the inside but I don't see the point in that personally. After this i'd recommend giving the outside of the kit a light sanding with fine grit sandpaper (320+), then hit it with a coat of primer. This will show every single little blemish, pinhole, and crack. My kit looked flawless until I had a layer of primer on it 1 Quote
heartstopper85[TK] Posted February 13, 2019 Report Posted February 13, 2019 Good luck trooper! Just remember success in your base coat starts with solid prep work. I would strongly advise sanding your primer all the way to 3000 the Phasma's do it and I actually learned this trick from local Phasma. If your primer looks great in theory everything else should look good as well. Quote
rtfitzpa[TK] Posted April 26, 2019 Author Report Posted April 26, 2019 (edited) Whew! It's been a couple of months, but I moved across town and all of my projects (personal and professional) got put on the backburner. But spring has arrived in Alaska! Over the next few days, I'll be washing down the parts for the first time and hitting those cracks with the fiberglass matting and resin. I'll post some photos as it happens. I've been looking into heavy-duty snaps, as they are some of my last parts to acquire, but am also very interested in this magnet idea, especially for the chest and back. On another note, I know I'll have to trim down quite a bit of material and reshape as much of it as possible, as I do not have an especially large frame at 5'7". I have some ABS from Trooperbay that I'm hoping to use to bridge some of those cuts. Does anyone have suggestions on paint/primer? Huzzah! Edited April 26, 2019 by rtfitzpa Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted April 26, 2019 Report Posted April 26, 2019 Looking forward to the progress. I used an automotive acrylic paint, dries quick and can be sanded and buffed, standard white match the anovos helmet perfectly but that paint is local here down under. Some threads you may find useful for paint info: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37847-tfa-tk-which-paint/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37377-questions-on-finishing-and-painting-fotk-armor/ Quote
rtfitzpa[TK] Posted April 27, 2019 Author Report Posted April 27, 2019 (edited) 20 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said: Looking forward to the progress. I used an automotive acrylic paint, dries quick and can be sanded and buffed, standard white match the anovos helmet perfectly but that paint is local here down under. Some threads you may find useful for paint info: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37847-tfa-tk-which-paint/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37377-questions-on-finishing-and-painting-fotk-armor/ Perfect - I may take to be professionally painted. The video in your second link was made by a former member of this garrison - thanks for linking it! Edited April 27, 2019 by rtfitzpa 2 Quote
FN1313[TK] Posted May 15, 2019 Report Posted May 15, 2019 On 2/2/2019 at 4:36 PM, gmrhodes13 said: I've seen one of Jim's kits in person and seems pretty sturdy. You can purchase fibreglass filler, you can also get fibreglass matting and resin, this is more for strengthening areas from behind as it can get quite messy. Mask sure you are wearing gloves and a mask as the tiny fibres can go everywhere, I normally keep a set of clothing just for working with fibreglass and don't mix them with others. Lots of youtube videos on working with fibreglass and filling so I'm sure you'll be fine. One thing in case you haven't considered it is to give all the pieces a good wash with soapy water, this will remove any release agent that some use in the molds. Looking forward to the progress, good luck. I have actually recorded some of the work I’ve done with repairs on my Jim Kit that I will post to YouTube and include some links on my Build thread as well. 1 Quote
FN1313[TK] Posted May 15, 2019 Report Posted May 15, 2019 On 2/13/2019 at 10:41 AM, Ensi said: Great to see another FO! For the cracks I used fibreglass matting and polyester resin from a boat repair kit. I applied on the backside of the armor where the crack was and made sure to cover way more area than just the crack itself. This will kill the flex in that area and prevent the crack from progressing. After this you can use body filler as normal on the front and sand flush I sanded all of the pieces on the inside with 120grit sandpaper to get rid of stray fibers and sharp spots, then gave the entire kit a good wash. This eliminates itching/snagging and just promotes good adhesion for snaps etc. Some use plastidip on the inside but I don't see the point in that personally. After this i'd recommend giving the outside of the kit a light sanding with fine grit sandpaper (320+), then hit it with a coat of primer. This will show every single little blemish, pinhole, and crack. My kit looked flawless until I had a layer of primer on it Good advice. Definitely do this, sand and fill again, then sand to 600/800 grit but not higher prior to painting otherwise your run risks of your paint running. Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted May 15, 2019 Report Posted May 15, 2019 7 minutes ago, FN-1313 said: Good advice. Definitely do this, sand and fill again, then sand to 600/800 grit but not higher prior to painting otherwise your run risks of your paint running. And professional automotive painters use 400 grit before final paint, so yea no higher than 600/800 1 Quote
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