TheRascalKing's Anthology Jimmiroquai TK Build Thread

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Hey party people, Justin "TheRascalKing" R. here. My Anovos ANH-S TK is starting to show some wear and tear after 3 years of trooping in it pretty frequently, and I've decided that it's finally time to start moving towards retiring it. That being said, I'm a stormtrooper through and through (Centurion #396, TK Mentor for SCG, working towards Armorer), so I knew I had to replace it with something else white and shiny. 

 

After some research, (at time of writing) it looks like Jim Tripon ("Jimmiroquai") from the Philippines' kit is the only high quality one currently available (aware of 850AW soon at least). But I liked the idea of flexible fiberglass and I was very impressed with some of his Praetorian Guard suits that SCG members have. Plus, it looked most similar to the material used for the suits I saw on set (recycled from R1 and Solo). I already knew shipping from the Philippines was expensive and group buys were the way to go, so I started reaching out to others in my Garrison to see if we could get something going. Turns out another member was already starting to do the same and we were able to get together a group buy of at least 7 suits!

 

Parts are starting to come off the line and Jim has been great to work with. I'll post back with more when BBB day comes, but I thought I'd start a thread and get things going. I'll do my best to document our build, as there isn't much out there on these suits yet. We have some experienced builders and we plan to loop in some master Clone builders as well, as this almost has more in common with a Clone or FO build in many ways. Teamwork makes the dream work. Planning on getting Jim's undersuit and having it tailored if needbe, and having a friend who has his own paint business spray the kit for me (he mostly does motorcycles, but has sprayed helmets in the past for me and does top notch work). Boots from Imperial Boots, gloves from Endor Finders. 

 

Excited to get started and I'll post more soon! Thanks for the interest and keep checking back!

 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2023 by TheRascalKing

[Harbinger[IPM]]

[Sly11[Admin]]

Exciting times ahead.


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[ukswrath[Staff]]

Awesome, looking forward to your build 

[TK 14166[TK]]

Can't wait to get our builds started! 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Great !! Following now!  

[darthcue[TK]]

I am following! This is going to be awesome!

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[TheRascalKing[TK]]

If all goes well, BBB day should be today! Heck yea, group shipping! Several of us also picked up flexible shoulder bridges from Jeff (@11b30b4), who has graciously agreed to offer his advice and guidance on our build. I may have a helmet to post later today if all goes well.....

[11b30b4[TK]]

Oh my.... thanks for the plug and wow you guys are doing 7 kits! I just want to through out that if yall get asked to do some stand in roles for Season 2 of the Mandalorian or any other SW projects, yall need to reach out to me so I can take time off, fly in to CA, and stay with one of yall to participate. Best of luck on the builds.

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

19 minutes ago, 11b30b4 said:

Oh my.... thanks for the plug and wow you guys are doing 7 kits! I just want to through out that if yall get asked to do some stand in roles for Season 2 of the Mandalorian or any other SW projects, yall need to reach out to me so I can take time off, fly in to CA, and stay with one of yall to participate. Best of luck on the builds.

They flew a few Golden Gate Garrison and I think one Central California Garrison TK down for it! Our leadership and Jon know we're planning to be ready if we get the call again! And if they need extra ROTKs specifically, you bet we'll mention ya.

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

BBBs are starting to arrive... 1 out of 4 so far... BIG THINGS are in the works, guys... big things... XD

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Box a little worse for wear but still exciting  

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Edited December 20, 2021 by TheRascalKing

[menace51799[TK]]

oh man i cant wait to see this in person!! good luck with the build!!

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Got around to snapping a pic of all the parts! Got a couple of the belt boxes mixed up, but otherwise stoked!

 

Edited July 31, 2019 by TheRascalKing

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Next steps:

- I picked up a 5 yard spool of 1" velcro the other day ($$$?!?!), so my first test "assembly" will be soon.

- I will be dropping my undersuit off for some tailoring this week (it came a bit big, but better than it being too small!)

- I found a place somewhat near me that specializes in fiberglass and has a showroom/dealer area. I'm going to bring a few pieces of my suit in and see what the pros recommend for reinforcing the kit in key areas. I don't want any cracks and the kit is light enough that I won't mind adding weight.

- My gloves are already in, but I'm helping coordinate a group buy from Imperial Boots for some FO boots - we are even bringing other folks from our Garrison in so we can all save a few bucks.

 

Our build group is meeting up this weekend to go play "The Void", the virtual reality Star Wars experience in Downtown Disney, have a few brews, and strategize, so I'll have more to share this weekend and I'll try to post some more pics too. This will be part instruction thread, part just random info and documentation of our adventures - thanks for coming along for the ride!

Edited April 24, 2021 by TheRascalKing

[kman[TK]]

'Sup, Justin!

 

I'm curious about this build... wish I had known about it!  I look forward to following this, though, and seeing the final product.

[darthcue[TK]]

I would like to try that white plastidip on my armor... How many cans would it take to cover the whole kit?

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[TheRascalKing[TK]]

On 7/31/2019 at 4:44 PM, darthcue said:

I would like to try that white plastidip on my armor... How many cans would it take to cover the whole kit?

No idea, but I'll keep you posted if I find out!

 

Sorry for the lack of updates lately - I've been mentoring a couple guys in my Garrison, helping them finish AM ANH-S suits, so I haven't been working on my projects as much, butttttt... ready to submit one of my mentees for basic approval today! 

 

 

Now that he's done, time to focus on my stuff! Taking the armor to my paint shop today to get a more precise quote to have it automotive-quality painted. Our build group meetup got rescheduled, but I picked up my undersuit from the tailor and it fits much better now. Been messing around with Plasti-Dip and Flex Seal as well... More on that later...

Edited August 13, 2019 by TheRascalKing

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Some updates! This may be a long one...

 

Realized that I don't think I ever posted my helmet... but here it is! Arrived safe and sound. The detail is impressive and while it is decently sturdy and very lightweight, I will definitely be reinforcing it - I don't think it would take impact or a fall from any height well. 

 

 

 

I also mentioned having had my undersuit tailored... well, here's some pics of that too! It fits much better now that a lot of the slack was taken out. It's still a bit loose so I have good mobility, but we'll see if I end up needing to have it taken in more once there's armor on top. I'm wearing a black t-shirt underneath so you can't see where the mesh is that well, but the internet didn't need to see my back and stomach lol

 

 

I also went and dug around until I found the velcro-based strapping kit that I pulled out of my Anovos suit when I switched to snaps. I will likely use it to help start mocking up fitment for the suit. Sure, I'll waste some Velcro, but I think it'll be worth it to learn and size the kit properly. I will also likely let any of the other group build members try mine on so they can adjust and mark theirs for trimming, if needed. Mine may need some off the top of the barrel, and I will likely be splitting the back of the thighs at the cover strip to overlap them and size them down a bit. The kitten's name is Zero and at 10 weeks old, he was terribly curious about what was going on.

 

 

I also started playing around with coatings and ended up spraying the back of one of my handguards with Flex Seal to test it out. I was pretty pleased with the finish and it stopped the itchiness that the armor still caused, even after a thorough washing with a red Brillo pad. I'll probably be spraying the entire inside of my kit with this stuff after I have reinforced it (still figuring out how to do so). I was also pleased to see that industrial Velcro still stuck to the finish and was able to attach the handguard to my Endor Finders gloves securely. The gloves are awesome and the lining is very comfortable, if likely a bit warm for us out here in CA.

 

 

 

Finally, I started trying to mock up and assemble the forearms and biceps - it's been a topic of much debate how we want to end up attaching the pieces together, but I decided to give 1", regular (non-industrial) Velcro a try. I wasn't super stoked on how it came out - it's pretty visible, though mostly from the back. I may try to reposition it further from the edge and see if that does anything. The thickness is also somewhat concerning, but we need to be able to get these apart, as I confirmed that there's no way my hand will fit through the hole at the wrist without opening them up. I'm hesitant to use glue pretty much anywhere on the suit as a result. There's some discussion of Boba-gauntlet-style magnets, but we'll get to that. Can anyone also confirm that this is how the pieces are supposed to sit? Feels kind of awkward for sure.

 

From the elbow down:

And from the wrist down:

 

 

I also realized that when we distributing all the pieces after the bulk shipping, I ended up with two of the same outside bicep, when I need with a cover strip on each side for it to assemble properly. Gotta figure out which of the 7 other guys has the same problem and switch with them! D'oh!

 

 

 

Anyways, more test fitting with some assistance coming soon. I mocked up the chest how it should assemble (except the shoulder straps will go UNDER the chest plate - I just couldn't get it to sit like that for the photo), but I think I'm going to hang the cod, then use that to help position the barrel, then fit the chest OVER that. Gonna need some extra hands though, so not today. 

 

 

 

Aaaand finally, I was able to take the kit to my paint guy Andrew "Bondo" Babish with Paint by Bondo  - he quoted $500 flat to surface prep, prime, and paint the whole kit with flexible automotive quality paint, handpainted color details on the helmet and ab, and clear coat on top. Not too shabby and this is likely the route I'll go. Just for fun, he sent me a pic of a helmet he painted for the big 501st TK Helmet art exhibit they had a while back. At the time, he was painting for West Coast Choppers, so there's Jesse James next to him if anyone remembers that guy. Pretty cool. Plain white paint and a couple helmet details should be no problem for him, I daresay.

 

 

 

 

More updates soon, but things are moving and we're problem solving as we go!

Edited August 19, 2019 by TheRascalKing

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Hey all, just poppin in for a quick update. Haven't made a ton of progress lately - unfortunately I've been having some health issues and am waiting on some scans to know how worried to be, plus it's been difficult to coordinate with our build group and I've just been busy personally (and SUPER tired all the time). Got my 50th troop with the Legion (37th FTE) in this past Friday though, so that's cool! Been a member for almost 2 years, so I'm right on track for my original goal of 2 events a month. Forums are cool, high five-ing kids is better tho haha

 

I did start doing some test fitting and am so far very pleased with the fit of the suit and how comfortable it is compared to ANH. I also worked out the bicep issue and found the matching one in another trooper from our group order's kit. I'm still researching how to reinforce the kit before paint or final strapping, but I think I'm making this too complicated in my own head and just need to commit! haha Hopefully some progress and pics this weekend!

 

Also, our group order from Imperial Boots is ready, so my T7s should be arriving in the coming weeks. We saved like $30 a person working with Vince! Awesome.

Edited September 17, 2019 by TheRascalKing

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Oh, I did make a little progress the other day if anyone's curious. Bought some random 2" suspenders off Amazon and retrofitted them to (mostly) work to hold up the barrel. It was just me working on this, so taking pics and adjusting things was a challenge, but I might as well bring ya'll along for the ride.

 

Random Amazon suspenders:

 

Chopped the ends off to add snaps:

 

My assistant is useless, but means well:

 

Made some tabs to stick in - these are only temporary until I finalize what I'm going to do to reinforce the barrel a bit:

 

Boom, all mocked up! In hindsight, the suspenders are way too long and I had to max em out to get the barrel sitting high enough. I'll either need to cut and shorten them, or mount them lower in the barrel.

 

A couple of crummy test fitting shots:

 

The side connectors are definitely too long and will need to be trimmed down a bit so I didn't attach them in the front yet. I'lll also likely be taking a little off the top of the barrel, and off the top of the cod plate to get everything to fit well. I'm about 6ft and 160lbs, so on the slim side. This kit should fit slightly bigger troopers easier than I originally thought, but I'll need to trim it down, which is intimidating.

 

Anyways, that's it for now! 

 

 

Edited September 17, 2019 by TheRascalKing

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Coming along nicely Justin 

[TheRascalKing[TK]]

Got wayyyyyyyyyyyy off track with this project after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma late last year... so, you know, that sucks. Costumes and the club have definitely taken a back seat to my health, but having projects to keep me busy in between rounds of chemo definitely helps. So I'm back at this a bit while wrapping up the 15 other projects I constantly seem to have going at once.

 

First up, some overall objective updates. I'm pivoting and going a different direction yet again. I think I am going to rattle-can paint the suit myself to save money (treatment bills, boo), but I think it will be fine for my new goal... which is possibly helping develop a new CRL using the suit. It'll become pretty obvious which one at a certain point, but I should technically stay quiet for at least another month. That being said - the paintjob doesn't need to be perfect, and I can have it painted by my auto paint pro down the road. For now, I'd like to get it going (possibly in time for WonderCon?) so I'll be doing the prep and spray myself. Jim's kit is actually pretty darn smooth to begin with, but I have high standards. So... Sanding. So much sanding.

 

Initial paint tests are looking like if I do one coat of filler primer, sand it to like 400, mark any low spots or holes and add glazing putty, sand to 400 again, then spray an alternating color of sandable primer, sand to 400, then 1000, and then spray two coats of white, it should look halfway decent and acceptable for my next two projects using the suit. I have another helmet on standby for my first project, will likely have the fiberglass helmet professionally painted for actual R1 submission, and will probably convert a Black Series down the road for project #3 (already ordered and gutted, couldn't help myself). I'm starting with the pieces that I know will not need additional reinforcement while I continue to look for just the right type of resin to add to the rest of the panels that have thin spots or major stress points. I'm not good about documenting, but I'll give it a shot in case it helps others.

 

 

I moved a mannequin in from the garage to the bedroom to test hanging some of the armor on him and forgot to tell my girlfriend. Scared the hell out of her hahahaha

Edited February 7, 2020 by TheRascalKing

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Great work mate. Get well soon.