R1 Build 850 Armor Works

[Imperial Valour[TK]]

Hi everyone, my BBB arrived about a week and a half ago, but I was moving so I couldn't really start on it. 

I started working on the abdomen, I have now cut out all of the pieces and I am waiting for some clamps and magnets to glue it all together. For anyone planning on buying this kit, mine had some cracks in the ABS plastic. The hand guard seems to be the only one that has a crack that I will have to fix. Other than that, the kit looks pretty good, the armour has varying thicknesses depending on the part. Couple of questions for everyone.

 

What colour white are we using? Some of the abdomen details and cover strips will have to be painted white.

The plastic came white, so do I have to paint it or use clearcoat?

Are the forearms connected to anything with straps?

Same question on the shins.

 

That is all I can think of for now, once I figure out how to add pictures, I will do so.

Testfitting.

Forearm pieces cutout.

Split in back of abdomen armour, per the CRL.

Resin details and cover strips that need to painted.

 

Edited July 7, 2019 by Imperial Valour

[Twelveravens[TK]]

Forearms should be as snug as comfortable. They close with velcro under the rear facing cover strip. So no strapping to the bicep like the ANH TK.

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[Imperial Valour[TK]]

Well, I made some good progress this week on the abdomen after all of the tools arrived. 

 

I glued the ab pieces together with E6000 and then held it in place with magnets and clamps.

 

Then I attached 2 straps on the back side to hold it together, I will just have to reach behind my back to put the armour on. I used rivets to hold the strapping because I was concerned that the E6000 would not be strong enough

 

Next I put the shoulder straps on and attached them with rivets. The straps attach with the X style so that they stay on my shoulders.

 

Finally, I cut out the indents on the hand gaurds and finished them up with velcro on the inside. Here they are on my gloves. The gloves are from Imperial Boots as are my boots.

 

Next steps will be the cod and butt armour, followed by the chest and back pieces. The kidney plate seems to be too small, so I have to reach out to 850 about that.

Edited July 14, 2019 by Imperial Valour

[Twelveravens[TK]]

Which part are you concerned about being to small? The trauma plate that hides the rear split?

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[Imperial Valour[TK]]

Yeah, I can post a picture but the trauma plate is too small, so I will have to shorten the rear split part it looks like.

[Imperial Valour[TK]]

Moving right along with the build.

I glued on strips of velcro to close the back together, turns out the straps were not even necessary but oh well. You can also see my cat supervising my work. 

 

I glued snaps onto the cod and butt armour, and those are done now.

 

With the trauma plate, I trimmed one side and glued velcro on the inside.

 

Shoulders were cut out, and a I glued some snaps there as well.

 

This is the chest plate with velcro to hold the shoulder bridge and snaps for the strapping that I have yet to do.

 

Back plate with velcro being glued on for the black side pieces.

 

I painted the side pieces black and cut out 2 strips of ABS for the abdomen armour and painted those as well. I am pretty happy how they came out.

 

I also painted the abdomen and back details but this is where things went wrong. I did not sand those pieces as much as I probably should have so it took multiple coats to look decent. Even now, they look acceptable but not great. More importantly, the white I used does not match the armour. I am still trying to decide what to do from here but I clearly need to go colour matching.

 

From here, I will finish the shoulder strapping and assemble the chest armour. After that I will have to get to work on these resin parts that I have been dreading. My friend has a belt sander I can use but it will be a few weeks before I can get it done. Once those are done, I can continue with the arms and leg armour. The belt and thermal detonator will probably be done last to finish this off.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Imperial Valour
Typo

[Sly11[Admin]]

Great progress so far, looking forward to seeing this come together and approved.
Keep up the great work.


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[delcid23456]

really liking the build can't wait to see the progress 

[Imperial Valour[TK]]

Small update this time.

First some test fitting.

Then I worked on the belt since I have not gotten to sanding the cover strips yet.

 

Hopefully I will get to sanding those cover strips this week or next, then I can work on the arms and legs.

[Sly11[Admin]]

Slowly coming together. Back plate needs to come up and judging on the size of the chest plate means the shoulder straps will need to be short or the overlaps will be too big.
When test fitting parts it’s always a good idea to be wearing the under suit so your adjustments will be more accurate.
Keep up the good work.


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[Imperial Valour[TK]]

On 8/3/2019 at 7:32 PM, Sly11 said:

Slowly coming together. Back plate needs to come up and judging on the size of the chest plate means the shoulder straps will need to be short or the overlaps will be too big.
When test fitting parts it’s always a good idea to be wearing the under suit so your adjustments will be more accurate.
Keep up the good work.


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So, I made the straps adjustable and simply put velcro on them so pulling up the back plate should be an easy fix. I was concerned that fixing them in place would be a mistake later down the road. I plan to order Jimmi's undersuit but just haven't done it yet. I will look at ordering that this month so I can size the the suit properly. I ordered a helmet from Head Shot Props but there is a quite a wait. I'm considering getting a Jimmi bucket too, but we will see.

[Imperial Valour[TK]]

They say that double posting is a sin, but I will do it anyway. First things first, I added some more velcro and shortened the shoulder straps to help pull up the back plate.

 

I then made a 3 week mistake and pulled the details off the ab armour becuase I wasn't happy with it. Long story short, it got repainted and is back on.

 

My helmet from Head Shot Props finally came in! Overall it is in pretty good shape, I will have to fill in a couple of spots with bondo or something before I can do anything. This thing is going to be a project and I will finish the armour and then work on the helmet.

 

Biceps are done and attached, here I am adding some foam so they sit better on my arms.

 

And lastly, thighs are going together and should be done this weekend. Forearms and leg armour are next then I will finish the belt. I ordered Jimmi's suit and once that is in, I will be able to size the belt properly. I am getting pretty excited now, my box of loose parts is getting empty!!

[Imperial Valour[TK]]

So at this point, I have finished the majority of the work. First the thighs.

 

The shin armour. I added some foam to help keep them in one spot on my leg, real happy with how these came out.

 

I added some foam on the inside of the bicep pieces to help them sit right. They were digging into my sides originally.

 

Finished up the forearms for the most part, they are tight on one end, but I don't like how they fit right now. 

 

I also trimmed down the ab section so that it doesn't show per the CRL. 

 

Started working on the thermal detonator, the paint I used took like 4 days to finally dry.

 

And then there is the helmet....

So, this is the HSP helmet and I have mixed feelings right now. For the most part it looks pretty good, but in the second picture you can see that the slits were messed up so I will have to fix that. The brow has some pits in it as well that will have to be patched. What really bothers me is that the frown is a separate piece and I will have to try and grind down a bunch of material to get it to fit right. I'm really not sure why HSP didn't just mold that into the helmet as well, but oh well. With some patience it should turn out okay.

 

And finally some shots suited up. 

 

 

Edit: I forgot to ask if anyone has a template or a guide for the slits on the helmet that have to be cut out. I am a little nervous about trying to guess about the spacing.

 

Edited September 24, 2019 by Imperial Valour

[delcid23456]

looking good i can't wait to see the final result 

Edited September 24, 2019 by delcid23456

[Twelveravens[TK]]

"Edit: I forgot to ask if anyone has a template or a guide for the slits on the helmet that have to be cut out. I am a little nervous about trying to guess about the spacing."

I would suggest finding a picture of ESB or ROTJ decals and printing them out to use as templates maybe? The big thing is that they are on a raised surface, just not slits cut into the spaces.

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[Twelveravens[TK]]

I took some close up shots. Maybe you can scale them and print them out to use as templates?

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[Imperial Valour[TK]]

7 hours ago, Twelveravens said:

I took some close up shots. Maybe you can scale them and print them out to use as templates?

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Thank you so much, this should work perfectly.

[11b30b4[TK]]

Imperial Valour, based on the HSP helmet, it looks to me like there is a recessed area in the center of tear traps, temples, and rear vent boxes? If this is the case, I would suggest you make the (grey area) out of styrene. Make a stencil for the lines and cut them out if the styrene then shape (hot water bath or heat gun) the styrene to fit the curvature if needed. Paint the area on the helmet black then paint the styrene admiral grey and glue it in place. I think this is how the actual screen used helmets were made and why we have in the CRLs that there must be a recess black outline of each of the boxed area. Most of us have this already molded in our helmets so we can not make the tear traps like this but it looks like you have the ability to do so.

[Imperial Valour[TK]]

On 10/2/2019 at 10:14 AM, 11b30b4 said:

Imperial Valour, based on the HSP helmet, it looks to me like there is a recessed area in the center of tear traps, temples, and rear vent boxes? If this is the case, I would suggest you make the (grey area) out of styrene. Make a stencil for the lines and cut them out if the styrene then shape (hot water bath or heat gun) the styrene to fit the curvature if needed. Paint the area on the helmet black then paint the styrene admiral grey and glue it in place. I think this is how the actual screen used helmets were made and why we have in the CRLs that there must be a recess black outline of each of the boxed area. Most of us have this already molded in our helmets so we can not make the tear traps like this but it looks like you have the ability to do so.

You are correct, those areas are indeed recessed. Too lazy to take any pictures right now, but last weekend I tried to cut out the vents in the helemt itself. Things didn't go well and I have now patched the holes with Water Weld resin. I have to finish sanding down those areas so the styrene I bought will cover it nicely. These vents are turning into a major headache, I made a template and tried to use the dremel which caused the styrene to melt. So then I switched to a cordless drill and inevitably rushed and now it looks pretty bad. No big deal as I have a bunch of styrene to remake the trapezoid. At this point though, I am tempted to just paint on the black lines rather than try again. I just can't figure out a good way to cut out these vents without taking forever. 

[Twelveravens[TK]]

Found these on shapeways, a bit pricey, but may work for you to get an accurate look to the helmet.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/8QPB2Z6EW/stormtrooper-helmet-grey-parts?optionId=62710787&li=marketplace

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[11b30b4[TK]]

IV, not sure what equipment you have access to but I can create a template graphic that you can have cut out on someone’s Cricket or Silhouette vinyl cutter. You can then use these as templates on some 1/8” thick HIPS then use a media blaster (sand blaster) to at least replicate the lines being engraved. Another option for you if the styrene is melting when you try to cut it out is to use a different thermal plastic like ABS. Ultimately, I believe 3D printing the parts would be the most effective option but your bucket is not exactly the same as mine and the curvature of the parts would be different as would the exact size.

 

I would assume you have someone in your garrison who 3D prints and can model, perhaps talk with them and have them work up a model for you. You could always have someone do models and if necessary, cut out the areas on the bucket. Back the printed parts with styrene and glue them in form the inside. When doing my two buckets, I found that I needed to clean the needle bit on my Dremel after each line was cut. This removed the spinning residue plastic and allowed the bit and plastic a brief cool down.

[Imperial Valour[TK]]

I figured it out guys!!! I was geting ready to take a shower and I thought about scoring the styrene and then drilling a bunch of holes in a line. The scoring helps to prevent the bit from jumping around, and then I just clean the channels with an Exacto knife.

 

I also worked on sanding down the nose area on the helmet to give it the proper shape.

 

[Twelveravens[TK]]

Get a set of files to clean up the cuts. Using an exact may removes to much plastic if you have an accident. You'll have more control with a needle file set. Amazon has sone ver good an inexpensive ones.

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[Imperial Valour[TK]]

This will be a long post, as I was locked out of the forum this past week.

This helmet gave me so much trouble, mostly because I forgot how much I hate painting. In any event, I attached the brow and realised afterwards that the CRL states that it should be a 1/4 inch above the eyes. I decided to keep pushing forward since taking it back off would have been a major pain. It's a shame as I was aiming to hit all of the level 3 certifications. After that I fought with painting for around a month with numerous coats before I painted on the details and got ready for the clear coat.

 

However, when I put the clear coat, it reacted with the paint and caused it to bubble and distort and made a big mess. I thought about launching the helmet off the balcony but decided against it, and sanded it back down as best I could. I repainted it and took extra time for it to dry before putting clear coat on, and that helped but still left the helmet less than perfect up close.

 

I also painted the interior black and put all of the electronics in and the lenses.

 

I finished up the belt by using snaps and glue, and I'm pretty happy with how that came out.

 

And finally today, I glued on the last of the grey squares on the helmet, so I donned the whole suit and took some pictures!! I think that it's ready to submit and I'm super excited to get approved and start trooping with all of you!

 

 

[delcid23456]

your armor looks great but there is something off about you left leg it looks like you have two right shins from looking at it, and if that's the case look in to getting a replacement for the shin, but i could be wrong, also you may need to paint the resin cover strips to match the armor 

Edited November 19, 2019 by delcid23456