Flinty's FOTK TLJ Build

[flinty360[TK]]

Hello fellow troopers,

 

Been meaning to post something for a while but work and life seem to always get in the way - so apologies.  I will start by saying that I have completed my build and had clearance approved by my local garrison but I still wanted to drop some notes in here on issues I came across / experienced along the way in the hope that it may prove useful or even just interesting to others on this journey......I will also include a bit at the end on some minor upgrades that I have completed and plan on completing, I'm also looking forward to seeing what other bits you guys can suggest to improve my build.........

 

I will break up the build thread so its not just one long post and I will try to post updates as often as possible,  but please dont expect anything like the quality of the build threads that ive seen from others, I'm just not that good .....tbh I forgot to take pictures a lot of the time!!

 

So to start the list of bits / kit

 

- Jim's TLJ fibreglass kit - think this was v4 - more on this later....

- Boots from Imperial boots - so comfy......

- Gloves - as above Imperial Boots

- Belt - one of Darrens fantastic belts (Belts of the first order) - a work of art.

- Undersuit - think this was from stormtrooper undersuit.com with shiny stictched in crotch area (ooer)

- Gaskets - Geeky Pink

- Neck Seal - Geeky Pink

- Harness - home made

- Blaster - originally from Heston studios but gave that to my son to play with and went with JJ industries 3d print (with my own electronic bits)

- Aerator - 3d abs print from a friend - looks brilliant

- Lots of sandpaper of various grades

- Filler primer

- P38 filler

- Various webbing / elastics

- Snaps

- Small Files

- Various screws / ball bearings for holster

 

Pic below is from my BBB day, packaged extremely well and came within a matter of a couple of weeks after placing the order....

 

Note - Ive posted this in the WIP section but if any Mod feels it needs moving to the general TLJ area then please move ....

[flinty360[TK]]

Boots & Gloves

 

Imperial Boots were fantastic to deal with....even came with a little patch.

 

Boots are extremely comfortable and due to the sixe of the sole lift me slightly so I'm a little taller in kit

 

The gloves are also very comfortable also supplied by Imperial Boots....

 

Not really much more to say on these.....great products, great quality and accurate from what I can see......

[flinty360[TK]]

The kit.......

 

Im pretty sure this was Jim's v4 kit, it does not have the full closed chest piece / yoke but the two prong version.  I am hoping to upgrade to the enclosed version at some point in the near future.....

 

First thing was to lay out all of the pieces, check over the kit for any transport damage (luckily I got off scott free) and then to wash it down - I had a plasterers bath to hand so filled this with warm water and gave the kit a quick rub down with some high grade sand paper....then left to dry....

 

I dont have the luxury of a work shop or gargae etc so painting was going to be a challenge.....more on this later....

 

Pics below are from the day I received the kit from Jim

 

 

[flinty360[TK]]

The Long Haul (at least the start of it)............surface prep!

 

I can not stress enough the importance of the surface prep needed on this kit (probably others as well) to get a really slick, clean paint finish, get this right and your finish will look superb.

 

So at first i wanted to understand what sort of finish the kit was like straight out of the box, I gave it a light rub down and then hit it with a spray can filler primer (yellow in colour), to be honest I was amazed at how many pin holes the filler primer had filled but could also see a number of larger isuses that I would need to fill and sand down prior to painting etc.

 

The whole surface prep took me months to get all pieces of the kit to a place I was happy with ready for painting this is not a criticism of the kit more so it was down to the weather, life and generally trying to steal a few hours in the evening / weekend to get out in the garden to carry on.......Oh and due to my own enthusiasm I actually started to prep a number of pieces that I later wanted to improve and did improve so these had to be re done....

 

The process I used (this bit is from memory so im a little fuzzy on the exact process) was to sand down with around a 400 grade paper the internal parts of the kit - you want to remove any loose fibre glass (itchy whilst trooping doesnt appeal to me), then I used 400 grade for the first pass of all the outside surfaces, I then went over and circled any large holes that needed filling, then I would fill, sand, fill, sand etc etc, slowly working my way up to 800 then 1000 and 1500 grade...as I say this was a long process and a lot of hard work but its worth it.

 

Once I was happy that it looked like the surface was ready I then sprayed it with the filler primer one more time and sanded it with 1500 paper ready for the paint primer

 

One picture below is from that first pass of filler primer, I'm hoping it shows up the imperfections....and the other just some bits after some filling and filler primer etc

 

 

 

[flinty360[TK]]

Think thats it for todays update....I will post some more up tomorrow (if anyone is interested?"!?)

[Parquette[TK]]

2 hours ago, flinty360 said:

Think thats it for todays update....I will post some more up tomorrow (if anyone is interested?"!?)

Of course! 

[StarTrooper]

2 hours ago, flinty360 said:

Think thats it for todays update....I will post some more up tomorrow (if anyone is interested?"!?)

Interested as well, I’m about to start an FOTK build myself

[JAFO[TK]]

Yup, that’s the v4 kit. Great to work with.

Looking forward to the build and, thank you for the kind words regarding the belt kit


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Always interested, good luck with the progress 

[Krisko720]

Think thats it for todays update....I will post some more up tomorrow (if anyone is interested?"!?)

Also interested. Everyone loves pictures! Seems there’s quite a few FOTK builds going on at the same time right now. Pretty exciting.


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[flinty360[TK]]

Thanks for the words of encouragement everyone......

 

Right, lets crack on......

 

As i was completing the surface prep I should also mention that I was re enforcing some of the 'softer' fibreglass areas and some parts in general that I thought would need it - as I said previously the kit is great and very flexible but can be quite thin in places - I would recommend anyone using a similar kit to do this early on in your build.  I purchased a simple fibreglass repair kit from a local car store this had everything needed to complete any repairs or re enforcing (glass sheets, brushes, small mixing cup, resin, gloves etc) and is a good investment if you have the same kit for any trooping repairs you may need!

 

The areas that I glassed for additonal support were:

 

- Chest piece

- Yoke - more on this later

- Spats  - only a thin layer of glass as these need to move when putting them on

- Calfs - again thin layer

- Cod - see below

- Forearms

- Some small areas on the Abdomen section

 

Hoping these pictures now show up as I am now usiung Imgur..

 

Chest piece with additional glass for support

 

Cod piece was going really well,

Then a bit of a set back (not the worst set back that was still to come?!), my own fault, as i was sizing up the thighs to see where to trim i bent over slightly and the thigh literally sliced into the cod, luckily other than a damaged cod and my pride there were no other casualties!!

 

Damage to the cod was a split in the fibreglass that i was able to glue and fill then sand bakc down

 

I then glassed the whole rear of the cod and its now solid

 

 

 

[JAFO[TK]]

The key to this kit is reinforce it where necessary but don’t kill the flexibility. Some have used too much filler etc and it makes it too rigid, and that’s when cracks occur.

You’ve made a great start. Keep up the momentum!


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[flinty360[TK]]

Other little details.....

 

The biceps now come with the little raised bits on Jims new kit (I think thats correct) but mine being the older version didnt have these...soooooo what to do.....the answer came to me one night whilst eating pringles (I know once you pop you cant stop), the circular top was thin enough so i cut out some small strips from this and glued them in place well if it works.....

 

 

I then filled in the cut out section on the inner calf pieces as below..

 

 

Then the spats were cut open, re enforced as i said earlier with a thin layer of fibreglass on the rear, then I used a small piece of ABS to glue onto the inside with a magnet attached, drilled out the hole and glued the other magnet to the clip greeblie on the spat.....the spat can now be put on without the worry of it snapping and it clicks into place and is very secure

 

 

All that was left to do was tidy the spats up with some sanding etc, then final filler, primer, then paint them....

 

I also trimmed the top of the calf pieces as these were digging in when i tried them on and tbh looked too pointy, so i trimmed them to match troopers I could see on the film and also the CRL pic

 

 

The thighs also needed a trim (they just looked wrong at the top and also the bottoms), so they were cut down to be more accurate and at the same time not restrict movement when walking

 

 

 

 

this one is a little bit of a preview but gives you the idea of the shape i was going for

 

thanks

[JAFO[TK]]

Other little details.....
 
The biceps now come with the little raised bits on Jims new kit (I think thats correct) but mine being the older version didnt have these...soooooo what to do.....the answer came to me one night whilst eating pringles (I know once you pop you cant stop), the circular top was thin enough so i cut out some small strips from this and glued them in place well if it works.....
 

 
I then filled in the cut out section on the inner calf pieces as below..
 

 
Then the spats were cut open, re enforced as i said earlier with a thin layer of fibreglass on the rear, then I used a small piece of ABS to glue onto the inside with a magnet attached, drilled out the hole and glued the other magnet to the clip greeblie on the spat.....the spat can now be put on without the worry of it snapping and it clicks into place and is very secure
 

 
All that was left to do was tidy the spats up with some sanding etc, then final filler, primer, then paint them....
 
I also trimmed the top of the calf pieces as these were digging in when i tried them on and tbh looked too pointy, so i trimmed them to match troopers I could see on the film and also the CRL pic
 

 
The thighs also needed a trim (they just looked wrong at the top and also the bottoms), so they were cut down to be more accurate and at the same time not restrict movement when walking
 

 

 

 
this one is a little bit of a preview but gives you the idea of the shape i was going for

 
thanks

Great mod on the spats

Well fine on shaping the shins and thighs, not enough owners of this kit take the time to do it. It’s essential in my personal opinion.


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[flinty360[TK]]

58 minutes ago, JAFO said:

The key to this kit is reinforce it where necessary but don’t kill the flexibility. Some have used too much filler etc and it makes it too rigid, and that’s when cracks occur.

You’ve made a great start. Keep up the momentum!


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I agree 100% with this and anyone else reading if you have a similar kit this is brillaint advice.....dont kill the flexibility but reinforce only where necessary

[flinty360[TK]]

So onto the TD (Thermal detonator)

 

Ill be honest when i first looked at the CRL images I was a little confused then quickly discovered that the main CRL trooper image is wrong (I know both TD's were seen in the film but still...) so I followed the actual image in the detail of the CRL for the TD...just one problem both ends are not quite accurate on this kit

 

This is what the TD looks like as supplied - apologies I dont have a pic of the right hand side detial but this also needed improving

 

 

I needed to enlarge the LHS detail and build up the RHS leading edge also.......I was going to build up with filler etc the LHS then i had an idea, after checking the size i needed was basically the same as a rattle can lid, so i chopped one downand ended up with this...

 

 

then onto the RHS, the edge was not large enough / deep enough so again i used a rattle can lid as a template and slowly built up the end piece then i removed the cap and filled in the minor imperfections and sanded down to get a good finish prior to painting

 

 

[flinty360[TK]]

The lid......

 

Straight out of the box it looks like this

 

 

not a bad looking lid and there are a few things you can do to improve it....

 

I wanted to replace the mesh - the moulded mesh isnt too bad but I felt the lid needed more work so iff i went with my trusty dremel removing all the bits I did not want

 

 

 

Ended up with this

 

 

Next taks was to find a suitable mesh replacement - a trooper buddy of mine had some spare tat fitted the bill perfectly, agian out came the spare ABS and i glued in place mesh bits over the teeth etc and then backed it with abs, I think it looks much better

 

 

 

Next was the aerator, the one supplied is just wrong so it was either buy a metal version or see if someone could make me one?

 

Supplied version

 

Luckily a trooper buddy of mine was also looking for one at the same time and managed to convince his friend to 3d print some for us

 

all that was left now was to sand, paint and install to the lid

 

Aerator installed

 

I then finished off the lid by giving it some final surface prep work, sanding etc then applied the priner and paint, pic below is before the lenses were installed, all black pieces are correct matt / gloss where required and all hand painted by myself

 

 

 

 

Lenses installed

 

I might tidy up the frown - slightly wonky on this lid and also tidy up the small discs over the ears in future

 

 

[flinty360[TK]]

Gaskets,

 

Ordered a set of gaskets from Theresa, and they are gorgeous..

 

Come really well packaged with a lovely hand written note from Theresa and a patch....

 

Also ordered one of her super neck seals

 

 

The gaskets needed a little taking in as they were just too baggy when i tried them on with the armour, remember you need to leave enough fabric to attach to the armour (if that is how you are doing yours) but at the same time you dont want them to bunch up.

 

The following picture shows how i ended up after the adjustments with the chest / shoulder gasket - the orange line shows you where they originally sat.  I also had the knee gaskets and elbow gaskets adjusted to fit me better, luckily my cousin is a dress maker and she loved the challenge of doing something different.  nice and snug even before i put my undersuit on...

 

 

 

I attached the gaskets to the different pices of armour using velcro - theresa's come with velcro on them so its just a matter of glueing the opposite male / female velcro side into the armour.  Ill take some pics of the completed set up and post these later on.....

 

 

[Krisko720]

It’s always impressive to see someone not only take pride and care in what they do, but to also put the same into how they package their items. It’s the presentation of the items as you unbox it that really gives you a sense of the person/company you’re doing business with. The little added touches are such a pleasure to see. And who doesn’t love patches and stickers!

 

 

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[flinty360[TK]]

6 minutes ago, Krisko720 said:

It’s always impressive to see someone not only take pride and care in what they do, but to also put the same into how they package their items. It’s the presentation of the items as you inbox it that really gives you a sense of the person/company you’re doing business with. The little added touches are such a pleasure to see. And who doesn’t love patches and stickers!


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Couldnt agree more....

[StarTrooper]

1 hour ago, flinty360 said:

The lid......

 

Straight out of the box it looks like this

 

 

not a bad looking lid and there are a few things you can do to improve it....

 

I wanted to replace the mesh - the moulded mesh isnt too bad but I felt the lid needed more work so iff i went with my trusty dremel removing all the bits I did not want

 

 

 

Ended up with this

 

 

Next taks was to find a suitable mesh replacement - a trooper buddy of mine had some spare tat fitted the bill perfectly, agian out came the spare ABS and i glued in place mesh bits over the teeth etc and then backed it with abs, I think it looks much better

 

 

 

Next was the aerator, the one supplied is just wrong so it was either buy a metal version or see if someone could make me one?

 

Supplied version

 

Luckily a trooper buddy of mine was also looking for one at the same time and managed to convince his friend to 3d print some for us

 

all that was left now was to sand, paint and install to the lid

 

Aerator installed

 

I then finished off the lid by giving it some final surface prep work, sanding etc then applied the priner and paint, pic below is before the lenses were installed, all black pieces are correct matt / gloss where required and all hand painted by myself

 

 

 

 

Lenses installed

 

I might tidy up the frown - slightly wonky on this lid and also tidy up the small discs over the ears in future

 

 

Wow! The new mesh looks really good! Very sharp! 

[flinty360[TK]]

Thanks Jayke, i was really happy with how it turned out...much better than the original.

 

Forgot to add a bit on the calf / shin pieces.....so ill drop it in here

 

As well as altering the the shape of the tops of the calfs I obviously had to cut out the pill holes...I found a template from another of my friends and made similar to line this up with the top of where the spat finishes ofn the shin (mark up the top of the spat line when trying on the calf with boots) then cut out the holes with a dremmel and finally fine tuning the shape with small files

 

disclainer - the 2 pics below are my friends as I threw my template out before taking a pic but the same procedure applied to my shins for the pill holes....afterwards i then backed them with black gaffer tape shiny side outwards...

 

 

more to come............

[flinty360[TK]]

Holster time......

 

I was toying with the idea of buying one of R2Dan's holster kits (but if the wife saw another delivery in coming i may as well leave home) but instead decided to see if I could finish off the one supplied in the kit with a few additions (ball bearings, screws etc), until at least i can get a new holster ordered without her seeing

 

I started looking around and found the pic below (think it was from here so apologies to whoever created this for using this pic here in my thread and many thanks also,  it really was a fantastic reference for me to work with)

 

 

I spent a couple of hours on line tracking down cheap screws etc on ebay and in a few days had all the parts i needed. 

 

My concern was when screwing these into the body of the holster that i was going to split the resin holster in half - be careful!

 

Any how, this is what I started with, the top section was a metal plate that i prepped and then painted and stuck onto the main body of the holster

 

An hour or two later and i ended up with this....

 

Next on my list was Darrens awesome belt, I will post an update on this tomorrow now as i need to take a few more pics and want to do it justice, needless to say i was a little worried about wrecking the belt as i literally didnt know where to start...turned out i need'nt had been....

 

Thanks for looking and any questions / pics you want to see that ive missed let me know..obviously still alot more to come....

 

cheers

[Krisko720]

Enjoying this thread! You’re a step ahead of me and I’m just going to follow along.

I’ll have to agree with you.. if another package shows up at my house I’ll be in trouble. Luckily it’s Christmas time and I pass it along as another gift.

However once I spread out all the armor pieces from my delivery, it really set in with her what I was actually getting into. But she thinks it’s probably lots better to be doing this than a number of other activities.

That’s a great reference pic on the holster. I ordered Dan’s but don’t have it yet. Nice to see someone took the time to label everything for a visual reference.

I also have Darren’s belt, so I’ll be following along!


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[JAFO[TK]]

Great mod on the TD. Like you, I used a can lid to add the extra length. I took things even further by cutting out the strip on the back of the TD to make it more accurate to TLJ.



The TFA TDS were solid resin and weighed 1.5kgs. For TLJ they completely redesigned the TD, cut-out the apertures and created a lightweight insert.





Thought you might find that interesting!

On cutting out pill holes, it’s not something you have to do and it’s not production accurate. The only holes which are cut are the chest pills.

Won’t matter if you have cut everything already but a simple heads up.


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