Bishop's 850 Armor Works FOTK Build

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

On Halloween in 1977, I promised myself I’d have a Stormtrooper costume “someday.” A brief 42 years later, I fulfilled that promise to myself with an ANH TK Stunt kit. After nearly a dozen troops, there’s no doubt that the Stormtrooper's popularity has endured. But as the young fans of today are probably more familiar with the redesigned TKs, I thought I’d give a FOTK a go.

 

I decided on an 850 Armor Works kit, mainly because it was readily available and is made from ABS which is in my comfort zone. I ordered the armor only, no helmet, because I have an Anovos Standard Line (TFA) on hand. The order took about a month to fulfill and the people at 850 were very friendly and responsive. That kind of goodwill goes a long way with me.

 

Obviously I’m here to get this, my 2nd costume, approved at some point. I'm reasonably confident with building and modifying. While I’ll take Basic approval, I’m going to take a shot at Centurion for now. If I hit a wall at some point, I’ll downshift with no regrets. I plan on posting many photos, asking stupid questions and most of all looking forward to receiving constructive feedback that will keep me on target. Hopefully this build log will serve as a good resource for other 850 builders.

 

With that, here are parts I received.

 

Let the games begin.

 

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

The Hand Guards

 

Figure these were a good starting point. I recently picked up a pair of Imperial Boots FOTK Gloves. They have the black stitching in the palm so I think I can check that Centurion requirement off the list.

 

Happy that the kit is not overly trimmed. Gives me some control over the build and provides some extra ABS should I need it for reinforcing, etc. I picked up a budget priced metal shears for trimming the parts then used a Dremel with a 3/8" cutting wheel. Given my eyesight has become a little unreliable over the years, I use tape to mark the cutting lines. Later, I use a Dremel with a sanding wheel to shape the part.

 

From the screen cap references, the guards appear to be thin, perhaps no more than 3/8". I feel the 850 pull is a bit flat so I used a heat gun to give the guards a bit of a curve to better fit the hand. You don't want to do too much here or the edges of the ABS will crease. A photo below shows before and after heat so you can judge for yourself. although I probably should have shown the parts from the same side to more clearly illustrate the flatness of the original guard.

 

QUESTIONS:

• Should these be thinner?
• For the oval on the index finger bump, should there be an indentation of some sort?
• Are labels required or can I cut a pill and fill or backfill with black paint/material? 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great to see your build underway.

 

Hand plate oval, doesn't specify sticker or recess in the CRL   : The black oval detail is aligned with the index finger of each hand.

 

NOTE: the CRL's are undergoing some updates, here is a copy of handplate updates  

The black oval detail The recessed oval detail is aligned with the index finger of each hand. 

• A black decal or paint may be used to emulate the recessed oval detail.

 

Here is a reference of the recess:

 

There is/was someone selling resin handplates, unfortunately not advertised on the forums (Dantooine Props)

 

 

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

5 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

NOTE: the CRL's are undergoing some updates, here is a copy of handplate updates  

The black oval detail The recessed oval detail is aligned with the index finger of each hand. 

• A black decal or paint may be used to emulate the recessed oval detail.

Thank you and sounces like if I add a pill opening, that wouldn’t disqualify me from Centurion. I like the added realism that the recesses and openings give to the armor.

[JAFO[TK]]

Great to see another FOTK build underway. Look forward to seeing your progress.


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[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

With the help of my vinyl cutter, had some time to add those pill openings to the Hand Guards. I left this undersized just a tad to allow for sanding cleanup later before painting.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great work

[JAFO[TK]]

Nice mod, nicely done


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[Sly11[Admin]]

Solid work Don, keep it up.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thank you for the encouragement, guys.

 

Spent a few hours trimming the smaller parts. Not much to see in the next few posts. These are just obligatory to show other kit builders what the parts look like. I plan on modifying some of these.

 

Shoulder Bells:

These have a built-n lower bell. My plan is to remove these faux lower bells and craft some from scrap. I think it would look more authentic. Is that a mistake?

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Biceps:

Overall these seem quite nice. Will open pill holes.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Spats:

I forgot to grab a photo of the untrimmed front spat. Again, nice pulls. I think clasps attach here but there are no indents. Might need modding.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Forearms:

There are resin greebles included for the picatinny rail (not shown). I'll need to dig those out and determine how to approach that.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Knee Plates:

Nice. Not sure how much return edge I'll leave here. Given they sit on knees and pinching probably not an issue, might leave enough to suggest a thick plate.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Belt Boxes:

The front and left side pouch cover look nice. I just ordered pouches so I will see later if it fits.

 

The corners of the right side boxes don't look square enough for my taste. Also, the larger one will need additional modding for the top cover. Will need to address that. There is no inner box for the small one. No big deal but having one would have been convenient.

 

That's all for today. More trimming tomorrow.

Edited November 28, 2019 by bishopdonmiguel
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[JAFO[TK]]

Biceps:
Overall these seem quite nice. Will open pill holes.

Don’t open the pill holes unless you want to. It isn’t screen accurate. The only pill holes which are open are the chest. Everything else are decals on the production used kits.


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[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Don’t open the pill holes unless you want to. It isn’t screen accurate. The only pill holes which are open are the chest. Everything else are decals on the production used kits.

Okay that’s great info to know. Thank you.

From the screen caps I’ve seen, looks like a lot of these pills have a flat bottom. Was thinking of sanding the backside off and placing flat backing, perhaps black styrene or ABS. Cleaner look and avoid stickers where possible.

Would doing something like that disqualify me from Centurion?

If I miss the mark resulting from my inability to do so, I could live with that. But doing something accidentally that disqualifies me would be a regret.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Just on your shoulders I agree, they are a soft pull so cutting off and replacing the "faux lower bells" will look a lot better. 

[JAFO[TK]]

Okay that’s great info to know. Thank you.

From the screen caps I’ve seen, looks like a lot of these pills have a flat bottom.

A flat bottom? What pics are you referencing?


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[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

1 hour ago, JAFO said:

A flat bottom? What pics are you referencing?

Screen caps hosted here. And I should note I’ve only briefly studied them. Really need some time on my computer with the Blu-ray.

 

Here’s a link to an example. Dark scene but those Shoulder Bell pills look just like the chest pills which is why I assume they needed to be hollowed out.

 

TFA009
 

Main thinking here is a “sticker” will not fit a curved hole very well. Paint would work better. Or... removing the curve and putting a flat black piece against back.

 

Just thinking out loud. I appreciate any and all feedback.

[JAFO[TK]]

I wouldn’t get too hung up on the bicep pills. Many cut them in the early days, myself included, so they are certainly approvable that way.

I don’t think anyone produces a decal set for the 850 kit yet as they do for Jim, Anovos etc.

Here’s a couple of pics of screen used TFA assets for further reference.




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[Sly11[Admin]]

5 hours ago, bishopdonmiguel said:

Screen caps hosted here. And I should note I’ve only briefly studied them. Really need some time on my computer with the Blu-ray.

 

Here’s a link to an example. Dark scene but those Shoulder Bell pills look just like the chest pills which is why I assume they needed to be hollowed out.

 

TFA009
 

Main thinking here is a “sticker” will not fit a curved hole very well. Paint would work better. Or... removing the curve and putting a flat black piece against back.

 

Just thinking out loud. I appreciate any and all feedback.

Here is a close up from a screen used asset right arm pill indents.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thanks for the references, guys. I think what I've been trying to say, and did so poorly, is the pills look like they have a "flat" bottom where apparently a decal is applied. If I leave the bicep pills unmodified, not sure how I'd get a decal to fit that nicely with a rounded bottom. So I think flattening the bottom of the pills is the mod that needs to be done.

 

As an aside, was looking at the Blu-ray today. Didn't notice until now there are some sort of vent lines at the top of the back. Are there any good reference shots of the costume? I assume it has been on display at various venues over the years.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Have you checked the Gallery section https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/category/27-tfa-tk-reference/

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Have you checked the Gallery section https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/category/27-tfa-tk-reference/

THANK YOU!

 

Well I feel dumb. User error. I did look for a Gallery section in the forums but didn't see one. I did have that link to screencaps from another builder that I have been using. I didn’t understand that was in the gallery. After searching, I now see it is located under the “More” drop down menu.