iEmpire916 Requesting Pre Approval Review (AP)

[iEmpire916[TK]]

1. Name - William Stuart

2. Future Garrison/Squad/Outpost or local area - Central California Garrison

3.  Armor maker - Authentic Props

4.  Helmet maker - Authentic Props

5.  Cloth belt maker - Authentic Props

6.  Neck seal maker - DarmansProps

7.  Boot maker - Imperial Boots

9.  Blaster maker - Praetorian Blasters

10.  Height  - 6' 1"

11.  Weight  - 160 lbs

12.  TK type - ANH Stunt

13.  Name(s) of any Trooper(s) who significantly helped with your build - justjoseph63

 

Hi everyone! I was not sure if I needed to put this in a build thread first, but I believe my armor is pretty much done!

 

Yes, I do know I need to still bend my shoulder straps down, but I was hoping to get feedback on everything else first.

 

Thank you and ALL the feedback is welcomed! :)

 

 

Also, I am still not sure why my shoulder, particularly my right shoulder bell is off. I have a couple close pictures to see any anyone can give tips on that too! haha

 

 

[ABS80]

Lift torso and  lower chest, chest needs to overlap AB plate no gap! helmet is sitting to high remove foam padding if necessary or add thinner one, also biceps need to by higher and shoulder bells in place

 

Mark (AP)

Edited March 4, 2020 by ABS80

[husky68[TK]]

Shoulder straps needs to be curved down and biceps could be raised up.

[lucnak[TK]]

Agreed with comments above. Your shoulder bells seem to be twisting towards the back, leaving a lot of black showing in the front between the chest plate and shoulder bell. Make sure when you suit up that your kidney/butt/ab plate are straight and hiked up as high as possible. You can see on the right side that the kidney is not aligning with the ab, which is why it's sitting crooked (most visible in your back shot). I think you mostly have some small adjustments to make, which is good news!

[TK37015[501st]]

I agree with my colleagues storm, as regards the braces you can thermoform them on your shoulder with a thermoforming gun or with a simple phono. 

[wook1138[TK]]

Overall the armour looks great - you just need to adjust some of the strapping.  As mentioned above, you can tighten up your ab to chest strapping so the parts overlap.  This might bring your chest down and therefore your shoulder straps forward - which is good because this will also help with the placement of your shoulder bells.  Because of your height, you are going to want to hike up the cod and butt plates as much as possible if not done so already.

 

When you raise your biceps, you will probably want to raise your forearms a little bit too.  You may want to add a bicep hook to the inside to keep your bicep and shoulder bell sitting a bit more tidy.  

 

One thing I didn't see mentioned (I didn't read very carefully) is the coverstrips at the top of your thighs - you will want to cut that back to it is just flush with the thigh - it looks like it extends up past the end in the front-view picture. 

 

Also, if you have not done so already, try adding a bit of velcro to the top front of your boot and the inside of your shin (lower front).  This will keep the shins from rotating on you.

 

Just a few tweaks with the strapping and you are going to look awesome in that kit! 

[iEmpire916[TK]]

Thank you for all the tips so far! Just a couple questions for now.

 

1. Do you all think I should start with raising the ab strap in my chest plate first? From what it sounds like that will raise my torso a bit higher and under the chest, and therefore also lower my chest a little away from my neck? The chest is choking me a bit at the moment. Haha

 

2. Should I then raise the biceps higher into my shoulder bells?

 

I'm assuming these two steps will correct a decent amount of the issues and naturally move my shoulder bells forward?

 

3. What should I use the cut the coverstrips at the top of my thighs? Some kind of scissors?

 

Thank you! 

[wook1138[TK]]

44 minutes ago, iEmpire916 said:

Thank you for all the tips so far! Just a couple questions for now.

 

1. Do you all think I should start with raising the ab strap in my chest plate first? From what it sounds like that will raise my torso a bit higher and under the chest, and therefore also lower my chest a little away from my neck? The chest is choking me a bit at the moment. Haha

 

2. Should I then raise the biceps higher into my shoulder bells?

 

I'm assuming these two steps will correct a decent amount of the issues and naturally move my shoulder bells forward?

 

3. What should I use the cut the coverstrips at the top of my thighs? Some kind of scissors?

 

Thank you! 

1.  Yes, try tightening up the ab to chest straps first (either use shorter straps or move the contact points - depends on how they are installed).  

2. Yes.  Just guessing from the images, at least an inch.  You can test fit with some painters tape to hold the pieces in place.  Take a picture and show us - we'll guide you from there.

3. I would recommend buying a pair of Lexan scissors. They look like this:

You can get a curved or straight edge.  Amazon and hobby/hardware stores will have these.

And also get some sandpaper. 200 grit, 400 grit, and 600 grit to smooth out any cut edges.

 

 

[iEmpire916[TK]]

4 hours ago, wook1138 said:

1.  Yes, try tightening up the ab to chest straps first (either use shorter straps or move the contact points - depends on how they are installed).  

2. Yes.  Just guessing from the images, at least an inch.  You can test fit with some painters tape to hold the pieces in place.  Take a picture and show us - we'll guide you from there.

3. I would recommend buying a pair of Lexan scissors. They look like this:

You can get a curved or straight edge.  Amazon and hobby/hardware stores will have these.

And also get some sandpaper. 200 grit, 400 grit, and 600 grit to smooth out any cut edges.

 

 

Thank you! I'll start working on these tips tonight. For sanding my armor, I don't really know anything about grit. Haha Do I need all three of those grits for my thigh coverstrips? Or which should I use?

[wook1138[TK]]

2 hours ago, iEmpire916 said:

Do I need all three of those grits for my thigh coverstrips? Or which should I use?

for any cut edges I usually sand them down so that they are smooth and won't snag on my undersuit or rub against my skin.  I start with 200 grit, then follow up with 400 and then 600.  200 is coarser than 600 so you are working your way to a finer, or smoother, finish. 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You are close, William... so very close!  It's pretty obvious you have put a LOT of work into this kit, and I honestly think you can bring it to EI and then Centurion level with some modifications.  SO proud to see that you got rid of the return edges on the sides of the back and chest plates, and that the alignment of the kidney/ab gaps are absolutely PERFECT!  Well done, sir!  

I realize that you are only trying to get your Basic approval right now, but I think you have the will and the determination to get to Level 2 (and then 3)!  For that, you will need to raise the biceps and adjust the drop boxes to where the edges line up with end of the ammo belt and the shoulder bells, and the shoulder bells should have a much less significant gap in the front.  The chest has a gap between it and the ab plate which must also be eliminated, but we can help with that.

 

 

[ABS80]

The Gap were Joseph pointed out with 3 exclamations is perfectly acceptable and normal all the movie suits have thats same gap and some even more so.

 

 

Mark (AP)

[ABS80]

17 hours ago, wook1138 said:

 

One thing I didn't see mentioned (I didn't read very carefully) is the coverstrips at the top of your thighs - you will want to cut that back to it is just flush with the thigh - it looks like it extends up past the end in the front-view picture. 

 

The photos are misleading, the inner thigh part is shorter giving the impression the cover strip is not flush but the cover strips are flush at the top of the outer thigh parts,  It wasn't mentioned but he purchased the suit fully built from me    you can see photo below the cover strips are flush to the outer thigh parts, by design the inner thigh parts are shorter, I also explained to him how to adjust everything, he's 160 lbs I built his suit to movies specs but many parts are still too big on him, making the armor smaller would start to look out of proportion so I suggested he use foam padding were needed, he's not that far off.

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by ABS80

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

14 hours ago, ABS80 said:

The Gap were Joseph pointed out with 3 exclamations is perfectly acceptable and normal all the movie suits have thats same gap and some even more so.

The exclamation points were to show approval, not disapproval.  In the response that accompanied the photo I stated "the alignment of the kidney/ab gaps are absolutely PERFECT! ' 

[ABS80]

4 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

The exclamation points were to show approval, not disapproval.  In the response that accompanied the photo I stated "the alignment of the kidney/ab gaps are absolutely PERFECT! ' 

my bad completely misread that part

Edited March 5, 2020 by ABS80

[iEmpire916[TK]]

I'm pretty much done with all the corrections you all have advised! Now, I just don't get how to bend those shoulder straps back. haha I'm using a really hot hair dryer and it seems to heat up the plastic but it just bends back straight once I let go. Is there any advice on how long to heat it or where on the plastic to aim the heat? I'm also afraid of warping the plastic too. Thank you!

[ABS80]

once you put elastic they will stay in place, just warm up and slowly bend keep the bended while they cool off, they dont need to be fully curved they will hold in place once you put the elastic, I prefer to add some velcro to keep them in place.

 

Mark (AP)

Edited March 6, 2020 by ABS80

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

You can also give the shoulder bridges a boiling water bath. Just be careful not to burn yourself.


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[wook1138[TK]]

As mentioned, a hot water bath works well.  Boil a large pot of water, place plastic in water for about one minute, take out and bend to shape, while holding the desired shape run cold water over the plastic.  Done.  Don't burn yourself.  

[iEmpire916[TK]]

4 hours ago, wook1138 said:

As mentioned, a hot water bath works well.  Boil a large pot of water, place plastic in water for about one minute, take out and bend to shape, while holding the desired shape run cold water over the plastic.  Done.  Don't burn yourself.  

I will give this a shot today after work! Just a few questions:

 

1. The water should actually be boiled? Not just hot, right? Haha

2. Should I just wear some dish gloves to handle the plastic while bending it?

3. Can the shoulder straps still be attached to my chest plate? Or do I have to take them off? Not sure how much of the plastic I should submerge in the water.

 

Sorry for all the dumb questions! Haha

[lucnak[TK]]

Heat it to boiling and then remove from the heat. (I would just put them in for 30 seconds and see if that's sufficient, then increase the time you heat them up for if needed). Yes, wear gloves as the straps will get quite hot. They can stay attached, it just might get a little awkward. I would submerge the whole strap minus the part attached to the chest, though admittedly I have never done that myself and would heat bend them before attaching.

[wook1138[TK]]

I've heated the straps while attached, it's  easy enough to do.  In this case, yes, remove from the heat... just in case.  Just be careful to apply a nice curve and not a fold.  Take it slow and you'll be fine. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

4 hours ago, iEmpire916 said:

Sorry for all the dumb questions! Haha

Don't worry, we are here to help.

 

About the hot water bath for your shoulder bridges , I think It could be a good idea to a test with a loose piece of ABS to practice.

 

good luck  !!  

[iEmpire916[TK]]

Ok everyone! So I removed the top foam in my helmet to lower it down, rasied my abs, lowered my chest, rasied my biceps (looks like I could raise a little more later), added velcro to keep my shins in place, shifted my shoulder bells forward, bent the shoulder straps back, and added white elastic strapping to them. It maybe not be 100% perfect, but is it ready for approval?? haha Thank you all for all of your tips and tricks so far!

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Amazing Trooper, you did an extraordinary change!! Congratulations, go ahead.