chiefbonan's TK ANH Stunt Build (Centurion)

[chiefbonan]

57 minutes ago, justjoseph63 said:

Those actually turned out pretty well, but you may want to re-think the shape/design a bit to be more screen accurate.  They definitely should be thinner, though, to conform with the shape of the top of your hand. 

 

     

Would it be good enough for Dert 3 though?

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I personally would not have an issue passing EVA foam hand guards for level 3 if constructed correctly.  But... although every person who makes flexible hand guards has their own small differences, the basic layout is the same.  You aren't too far off on the shape, but the center ridge always points toward the top, not leaned over quite so far as yours presently shows so they would need to be modified before approval.

 

         

 

As I mentioned, they would also need to be flexible, and a photo showing that would be required when you apply for Centurion like the one shown:

 

 

 

With Centurion level, it's all about the details, even down to the size of the screw and rivet styles/sizes.  While those are not always overtly noticeable, something such as the top of the hand guards would be.  Since you already have some experience with EVA foam, you should be able to whip up a couple of pairs of these pretty quickly!

As you know, EVA foam can get creases and dents over time, and if you can, I would use white instead of black for the base color.

[shashachu[TK]]

The CRL states 'latex or latex-like' so I also don't have a problem with EVA foam, but like Joseph said it may be a little hard to keep the paint sticking to them. I know a lot of foam costumers will seal EVA foam with plastidip before painting.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

3 hours ago, shashachu said:

The CRL states 'latex or latex-like' so I also don't have a problem with EVA foam, but like Joseph said it may be a little hard to keep the paint sticking to them. I know a lot of foam costumers will seal EVA foam with plastidip before painting.

GREAT call on using Plasti-Dip as a base coat, Sha Sha!  Although EVA is very versatile, it's important to have a clean level finish on the surfaces.  The reason I mentioned using white EVA as a base is that once the inevitable cracks and scuffs develop (like the originals) the color that peeks through should not be black.

[chiefbonan]

9 hours ago, shashachu said:

The CRL states 'latex or latex-like' so I also don't have a problem with EVA foam, but like Joseph said it may be a little hard to keep the paint sticking to them. I know a lot of foam costumers will seal EVA foam with plastidip before painting.

I actually did forget to mention we did use plasti-dip on the test piece! We thought it would be better to spend $10 on an eva foam sheet than $100+ on two pairs of laytex handguards, as we still need to get the S-Trim, Mic Tips, Paint Stencils and Visor for the helmets too, and eventually the blasters. 

I do have another question, what is the best way to attach the Ammo Knee? I've seen many way to place it but they all don't seem to be the same. Some say to have it centered to the thigh joint and some say not to. Dad and I can't figure out where to put the rivets either, thanks!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Although not specifically listed in the CRL, for level 3 approval the back edges (tabs) need to be an equal distance from the rear corners of the ridges (see arrows), as seen below.  With some kits, this means that the boxes do not always line up perfectly with the cover strip in front, which is fine.

                                       

             

[chiefbonan]

21 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

Although not specifically listed in the CRL, for level 3 approval the back edges (tabs) need to be an equal distance from the rear corners of the ridges (see arrows), as seen below.  With some kits, this means that the boxes do not always line up perfectly with the cover strip in front, which is fine.

                                       

             

ooo thanks this really helps! Dad and I are in the middle of resizing my thigh pieces. We made them slightly too big for me, so at the top of the thigh at the back it stuck out over the butt plate!

 

[chiefbonan]

I must ask, how high does the lower part of the thigh piece sit? Is it above the knee, below the knee or in the middle?

[CableGuy[Admin]]

Sorry to jump in, but, how do people think that EVA foam would hold up over time? The hand guards can take some beating from the wrist end of the forearm - I’d be concerned that, whilst they might look okay now, they might deteriorate quite quickly.

Just a thought. :-)

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Just now, CableGuy said:

Sorry to jump in, but, how do people think that EVA foam would hold up over time? The hand guards can take some beating from the wrist end of the forearm - I’d be concerned that, whilst they might look okay now, they might deteriorate quite quickly.

Just a thought. :-)

You are 100% correct, Dan.  For the short-term, EVA would be ok, but would definitely get beat up and creased over time.

[chiefbonan]

I'm having trouble sizing the thigh armour. Where is it meant to sit at the bottom? Is it in the centre of the knee or above it? Once we finish the thighs we can then do a full fitting of the armour and make adjustments!

[chiefbonan]

I would like to show some progress on the neck seal, as I am quite proud of it myself.
I followed @BrinkHouse 's tutorial on a neck seal. As I mentioned before we do not want to spend *heaps* if I don't have to. 

Link here to his guide: 

Instead of spending $90+ on a genuine neck seal, I thought Brinks cheaper option to be more favourable, I can always upgrade to the real deal.

 

So I started off by getting foam door trim, thin craft foam, black spray paint and a black t-shirt.
The door trim had a gap in between each rib so I cut them each down.

 

In Brink's version, he had black trim, so he didn't need to paint it and it looks like he stuck in directly to the tshirt seen below (On the far left), which I thought would be difficult to do. So instead I stuck in onto craft foam, to which I will stick that to the shirt arm. I used little dabs of E6000 to hold them in place. (they did have adhesive but it wasn't enough)


                                                                       



More of the ribs added:

 

So once I stuck all of the ribs on, it was time to paint! So I hit it with a few coats of black spray paint and let it dry in the hot aussie sun.

 

I then glued a tab/lip on for the velcro to sit on:

 

 

And pretty much done! All I need to do now is stick the shirt on underneath to give the 'frill' that sits under the undersuit! I left a cm gap at the top since it gave it a good look. Cost me around $13 to make. Will be making one for my dad too!

 

Thank you @BrinkHouse for your guide! Helped out alot!

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

6 hours ago, chiefbonan said:

I'm having trouble sizing the thigh armour. Where is it meant to sit at the bottom? Is it in the centre of the knee or above it? Once we finish the thighs we can then do a full fitting of the armour and make adjustments!

 

Hi, the following reference photos may help you. the thigs should sit just above the knee allowing a better movement.

 

Cheers 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[chiefbonan]

Thank you, this helps!

I have another question.
This is me holding the Ammo Knee onto my thigh armour, I noticed the shape of thigh at the back sort of is flat.  Is this how it is meant to sit kind of? After I cut it down and round the edges? I noticed my cut line ins't quite centered like the picture on the right. I know my thigh is a bit skinner so I'd have to cut off more if I'm correct. Thanks you wonderful peeps!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

3 hours ago, chiefbonan said:

Thank you, this helps!

I have another question.
This is me holding the Ammo Knee onto my thigh armour, I noticed the shape of thigh at the back sort of is flat.  Is this how it is meant to sit kind of? After I cut it down and round the edges? I noticed my cut line ins't quite centered like the picture on the right. I know my thigh is a bit skinner so I'd have to cut off more if I'm correct. Thanks you wonderful peeps!

 

Hi, You're doing a great job mate!!  here is a chart that can help.

 

Cheers, almost there Trooper !!!!   

 

 

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

A think these pics can help too

 

 

 

 

 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You will need to angle them around more, Thomas, as seen in the photo below.  As mentioned, it doesn't matter where the ammo boxes sit in the front in comparison with the cover strip, but it's the sides that are important.  The images that Mario sent you are perfect examples.

 

[chiefbonan]

HUGE UPDATE!
We are getting closer to finishing, sorry for not many updates! I'm pretty proud of it so far. Stormtrooper armour looks so sexy! This has been a dream of mine for like 3 years now. I remember sitting on the couch gorging over RS Propmasters ANH kit thinking i'd never get that or that I'm too skinny! Look at me now past me! They do have a convention at my local city May 5-6th, so it should be done by then, might even be approved, depending on how long it takes to get approved and if we have to make changes.

Even though the armour is just layed out I could use all of your advice, if you noticed anything wrong please inform me!

 

My main gripe right now is the boot right now, more on it below.

 

I will be doing a full body fit very soon, just making the ammo knee and finishing the straps to keep the thigh bits up. Once we finsh most of the hard armour, we will go through and take out small errors and even it all up.

 

I'm listing every item below starting now!

 

 

This is the armour so far (plus test boot):

 

Arms are pretty much done, maybe some padding here and there:

 

Chest piece is also pretty much done (with my toe in the photo):

 

Inside the chest piece i.e strapping:

 

 

Free floating straps held down by the good ol' elastic:

 

Ab armour is also pretty much done, will get some light trimming:

 

Inside the ab structure, note the tabs we added on the butt plate:

 

Some cert 3 stuff, the doo dads in the budgie smuggler area:

 

The doodad on the ab plate for cert 3:

 

The 6 rivets for cert 3, yet to be painted. We decided to do most of the painting + the detonator when we get our helmet parts:

 

This is my test boot, painted with white spray paint, a bit rought. I got these boots, yet one of them squeak as I step, so might have to get a new pair. To be honest I am not too happy with them, as I don't know if they'd pass. I'd like your guys opinion on these!

 

Good ol' shin pieces, glue still drying on the sniper knee, I'm proud of these!

 

Now I do have a question about these, notice on the left shin, the sniper knee one, the outer bottom side curves down alot more than the other shin. Should I cut this down to make them more symmetrical? 

 

Velcro in the shins, came out way stronger than I expected!

 

Cut down the loops for my holster for cert 3/ attaching to the belt:

 

Inside the left thigh piece. We had to rip these apart and cut them down more since they were too big! My mistake! All about learning though, that is why they are untrimmed at the backside for now. Also note snaps for the under belt are being glued:

 

These are two canvas belts we made, they are wrapped up since one of our cosplay friends will be sewing the edges soon. Mine and my dads are both here:

 

Said underbelt for the thighs:

 

This is one of the shins, a snap is being glued to have connect to the boots:

 

And finally inside the arm, pretty standard strapping:

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

GREAT job, sir!  To be honest, it would really help to see the armor as it looks (boots on) while wearing it even if it's not complete) which will help us advise of any fitting issues that may be present.  Wearing an under suit would be preferable, but anything that is not baggy would do.  Keep up this pace and you will be approved before you know it!

[chiefbonan]

Hello all!, attached the ammo knee, is this good for cert 3? DISCLAIMER: Yet to paint the rivets as we are doing the paint all on one day!

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by chiefbonan

[chiefbonan]

Hello, time for full armour fitting!

Things that haven't been done:

 

-Elastic straps under the shoulder bells

-Cut the backs of the thigh armour

-coloured in the rivets white

-attached the groin strap

-Got proper under leggings

 

Gripes:

Could've pulled the shirt up more and I personally think the back plate looks a little big.

Please help me out and tell me what needs to be done edit wise! Thank you!

[husky68[TK]]

You might want some more room at the wrists, biceps could be higher. Should get the hand guards on to get a sense of spacing. Holding blaster and raising it up will need some space at the wrist.

It all feels much different after getting the arms all strapped up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, chiefbonan said:

Hello, time for full armour fitting!

Things that haven't been done:

 

-Elastic straps under the shoulder bells

-Cut the backs of the thigh armour

-coloured in the rivets white

-attached the groin strap

-Got proper under leggings

 

Gripes:

Could've pulled the shirt up more and I personally think the back plate looks a little big.

Please help me out and tell me what needs to be done edit wise! Thank you!

 

Hi Thomas, overall your armor is getting good.  getting a proper inner black clothes would help to fit better and not so loose.

 

1- Your thighs looks a little low, but i think when you cut the back section properly they can be rised up.

2- You can try rotating your shoulder bells to the front to decrease the gap between the chest and shoulders.

3- As Robert has pointed, your biceps could be an inch high to have a better movement .

 

Keep on doing a great teanwork !!  

 

 

 

 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

 

You have some fantastic advice there, Thomas... this armor is looking better and better!  If I could expand and add a few things, they would be:

 

1.  As mentioned, the shoulder bells should be more evenly spaced in the front and back.  SO glad to see that you removed the return edge from the bottoms of them!  I would suggest taking Mario's advice about getting a tighter fitting under suit before final fitting.  The excess material can (and will) affect the way your armor fits.  At some point you will need to install the interior bicep straps, which along with the bell/bicep connecting strap will help keep them in place. 

 

2.  It looks as if you are leaning slightly to the left in the first photo.  If possible, try to stand as straight as possible for fitting.

 

3.  As seen in the third pic, I'm sure you are aware that the rear tops of the thighs will need to be trimmed, and the bottoms should be level (easy strapping adjustment).

 

4.  Also in the third photo the posterior plate tab (green arrow) will need to be connected to the cod with a strap.  But, (unintentional pun) when you do that the sides may flare out a bit  (if so, this can be remedied).  The red arrows show where you will be getting stress.  Depending on how much return edge you have and the angle they are cut at will affect this.

Note in the screen used plate how there is a crack at that point.  Sharp angles anywhere will eventually lead to splits.. and making sure the angle has a slight curve will help prevent this.

 

             

 

Incredible job so far, Thomas, and I applaud you for posting so many photos and keeping up on this thread!  

[chiefbonan]

Hello! Thank you all for your feedback!

 

So most of you said that the biceps need to come up a bit, which has been done! Alot more room at thw wrists now! I don't have a photo of them yet.

 

We noticed the bottom of the butt plate was a bit too big, especially on the sides when we pulled the thighs way up. Which we have done in the photos below. Got more room at the knees now, so I can move a heap easier. They do flare on the sides a bit which you can see in these incoming photos, which I'm sure all of you have run into that issue before. We have made some small tabs if need be to put on the sides to make it more flush.

 

After this test fit we did remove the sharp corner like you said for us to do on the butt plate! @justjoseph63

 

As for the shoulder bells, we have yet to move onto them yet to rotate them, we may do some edits to the back plate on the sides.

 

With your guys knowledge, already a huge improvment! Thank you!