Not a Jedi Yet's first build (RS ESB)

[Not a Jedi Yet]

Thanks guys!

 

Gaining in confidence I then cut out the cover strips and glued the  biceps together, learning very quickly how messy E6000 can be and how strong rare earth magnets are!

 

I let them dry for 24 hours but then discovered that one of the strips hadn't taken very well because the adjoining sides of the bicep were at slightly different angles, thus needing more pressure on the strip.  I re-glued it tonight and hopefully it will take this time - I think the clamps I have must be the small version, so may invest in some larger ones.

 

Having glued the biceps I then tackled the right thigh, trimming down to size:

 

 

I tried to cut it down to the right size, and was pleased that I had seemed to get the rear join to be vertical - however...........

 

When I tried it on again it was snug, too snug! 

 

 

 

Unfortunately there is no room anywhere and I know that the thigh is one place where a little wiggle room is recommended to aid mobility whilst trooping.

 

It seems that I have messed this up rather spectacularly!  

 

It's a valuable lesson though and I'm sure it's all part of the experience, I guess I just need to see if it's salvageable or whether I should just order the replacement parts?

 

Before I order anything though, I did keep the off-cut pieces when I cut the pieces down to size.   I essentially made one cut on each side, so everything lines up quite nicely when I offer up the off-cuts to the main pieces.

 

I have re-attached them to the main parts as follows (only one side so far), using a piece of scrap on the inner pieces to brace/bond the E6000.

 

Inside view:

 

 

Once everything dries it will be like nothing happened, right? 

 

So my plan now centres around one of four scenarios:

 

1) Best case - when I remeasure and (hopefully!) get it right this time,  the new cut line at the back (along with the original lines) will be able to be hidden by a 20mm cover strip (I think this is the miracle scenario!)

2) Mid ground - as above, but I will need to upgrade to a 25mm cover strip to cover the mess, or

3) Worse case - It's shim/ABS time!

4) Most expensive but better than worse case - buy new parts!

 

I would be grateful of any advice you could offer please - I have seen thigh shims on the forum but I don't think I've seen an optimistic reattachment scenario like the one I'm proposing.  Equally if I need to just cut my losses and buy replacement parts then that's life!

 

On reflection I definitely made the error when sizing - I found it really difficult to bend the pieces around my thigh to get a decent fit.  The return edges seem to get in the way (top and bottom), and I didn't want to force the armour into position for taping,  risking scratches etc on the outside.  Additionally, because the curvature of the two pieces is quite different at the point where they join, I found it difficult to get a good fit - an example of this is shown below on the left thigh pieces (don't worry, I haven't cut them down to size yet! 

 

Thanks all

 

Adam.

[Blast 'Em!]

Nice progress Adam, it sounds like you're rolling up your sleeves and getting into the thick of it! I'm also working on my first build and I'll be going the shim route because my legs are too big for my Anovos thighs. As you mentioned, I'll be using a 20mm spacer (my supplied cover strip) to provide extra circumference, and I'll back it with a 40-50mm wide inner strip to provide structural support. On the exterior, I will use a 25mm cover strip to hide my 20mm spacer. I think it will look quite fine as it will match the cover strip for the back of the calves. Unfortunately my extra ABS material for this shimming is super delayed in the mail, so you'll beat me to the finish on the thighs.

 

I like all of your proposed solutions, and I think you nailed your order of attack. We all learn on the fly while building these kits, and the good news is there's usually a fix for any mistakes we make. Keep up the good work!

[Not a Jedi Yet]

12 minutes ago, Blast 'Em! said:

Nice progress Adam, it sounds like you're rolling up your sleeves and getting into the thick of it! I'm also working on my first build and I'll be going the shim route because my legs are too big for my Anovos thighs. As you mentioned, I'll be using a 20mm spacer (my supplied cover strip) to provide extra circumference, and I'll back it with a 40-50mm wide inner strip to provide structural support. On the exterior, I will use a 25mm cover strip to hide my 20mm spacer. I think it will look quite fine as it will match the cover strip for the back of the calves. Unfortunately my extra ABS material for this shimming is super delayed in the mail, so you'll beat me to the finish on the thighs.

 

I like all of your proposed solutions, and I think you nailed your order of attack. We all learn on the fly while building these kits, and the good news is there's usually a fix for any mistakes we make. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Shane

 

I'll keep an eye on your build thread - I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to attack the left thigh until I've fixed the right, I'll have to see!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Adam,  don't feel bad , you haven't messed this up rather spectacularly , I have messed it better sometimes .  about your thighs, If i can make some suggestions:

 

1-  for alignment of the thigh you must start from bottom to top and them trim the excess on top. 

 

 

 

2- It is always recommendable to make the first fit using painters tape or some tape  before any cut.

You can gain some more room by removing all the return edge of the thighs, taking care of no cut the bottom ridge

 

 

 

What i certainly would do, Is  first, try removing the return edge, make a fit test and look if the shims are necessary.  You can also make an internal cover strip wider and leave more  space between both pieces and then hide them with the external cover strip.

 

 

 

 Hope I have been clear, it's difficult because of the language.

Try to post photos.

Cheers

 

 

[CableGuy[TK]]

Hi Adam,

Great progress, trooper.

Just to touch on something : there have been some suggestions in the thread to trim certain parts to remove the “offset” between certain inner and outer parts, in this case the arms and thighs. Personally, I’d advise against this - I’d say you’re doing the best thing and maintaining the beauty of the RS suit and it’s lineage to the original suits by NOT doing this.



Most other, idealised suits will lose this type of character and charm.

Keep up the good work.

[Mar2D2]

44 minutes ago, CableGuy said:

Hi Adam,

Great progress, trooper.

Just to touch on something : there have been some suggestions in the thread to trim certain parts to remove the “offset” between certain inner and outer parts, in this case the arms and thighs. Personally, I’d advise against this - I’d say you’re doing the best thing and maintaining the beauty of the RS suit and it’s lineage to the original suits by NOT doing this.



Most other, idealised suits will lose this type of character and charm.

Keep up the good work.

I totally agree with Dan, your doing great.

I am currently finishing up my RS build. For the thigh miss-alingment as shown in your pics, this will be covered by the knee ammo piece.

Here is my RS thigh. Behind the ammo piece is the exact same miss-alignment as yours which cannot be seen. The cover strips hide the top miss-alignments.

Hope this helps ease any worries and remember. The RS armour is made from an original suit which were literally thrown together for the movie, so there is very little symmetry which in my opinion, adds to the charm of the original TK's.

Cheers,
Martyn (Mar2D2)

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Mar2D2

[Not a Jedi Yet]

Thanks everyone for your kind words, suggestions and encouragement, it's reassuring to say the least!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

8 hours ago, CableGuy said:

Hi Adam,

Great progress, trooper.

Just to touch on something : there have been some suggestions in the thread to trim certain parts to remove the “offset” between certain inner and outer parts, in this case the arms and thighs. Personally, I’d advise against this - I’d say you’re doing the best thing and maintaining the beauty of the RS suit and it’s lineage to the original suits by NOT doing this.

 

Thank you Dan @CableGuy  for  clarifying about this armor.  

 

 

[Not a Jedi Yet]

***OPERATION RIGHT THIGH SALVATION*** - UPDATE

 

I've started to reattach the off-cuts to the rear of the right thigh pieces as shown below - one side is complete and the other is glued and drying overnight.

If you squint and hold your device far away enough from your face, you'll see that it looks as good as new from the outside, right?   No?  Okay, I know that Jedi mind tricks don't work on you guys, but hopefully it will be good enough when finished to give me a second chance to resize without any major surgery required - we will see!

Other side drying overnight:

 

 

[Not a Jedi Yet]

On 6/17/2020 at 8:04 AM, Mar2D2 said:

I totally agree with Dan, your doing great.

I am currently finishing up my RS build. For the thigh miss-alingment as shown in your pics, this will be covered by the knee ammo piece.

Here is my RS thigh. Behind the ammo piece is the exact same miss-alignment as yours which cannot be seen. The cover strips hide the top miss-alignments.

Hope this helps ease any worries and remember. The RS armour is made from an original suit which were literally thrown together for the movie, so there is very little symmetry which in my opinion, adds to the charm of the original TK's.

Cheers,
Martyn (Mar2D2)

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

Thanks Martyn

I saw your build thread over at UKG

On 6/17/2020 at 8:04 AM, Mar2D2 said:

I totally agree with Dan, your doing great.

I am currently finishing up my RS build. For the thigh miss-alingment as shown in your pics, this will be covered by the knee ammo piece.

Here is my RS thigh. Behind the ammo piece is the exact same miss-alignment as yours which cannot be seen. The cover strips hide the top miss-alignments.

Hope this helps ease any worries and remember. The RS armour is made from an original suit which were literally thrown together for the movie, so there is very little symmetry which in my opinion, adds to the charm of the original TK's.

Cheers,
Martyn (Mar2D2)

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

Thanks Martyn

 

I saw your build thread over at UKG. Like you, my thighs are larger than the originals. Your completed thigh pieces look really good.  Are you able to let me know please how you approached the fitting and measuring of the thighs before you made the cuts?

I have seen a couple of YouTube videos where the two thigh pieces seem to overlap quite easily when being fitted and measured, but I don't think the kits are RS.  I know that I struggle when trying to wrap the two pieces for fitting as the return edges at the top and/or bottom seem to get in the way of each other, making it harder to know when you have a good fit?  That said, it could be just me!

Thanks

Adam

Edited June 18, 2020 by Not a Jedi Yet
duplicate content

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

hi, take a look, It could be useful 

 

 

[Mar2D2]

Thanks Martyn
 
I saw your build thread over at UKG. Like you, my thighs are larger than the originals. Your completed thigh pieces look really good.  Are you able to let me know please how you approached the fitting and measuring of the thighs before you made the cuts?
I have seen a couple of YouTube videos where the two thigh pieces seem to overlap quite easily when being fitted and measured, but I don't think the kits are RS.  I know that I struggle when trying to wrap the two pieces for fitting as the return edges at the top and/or bottom seem to get in the way of each other, making it harder to know when you have a good fit?  That said, it could be just me!
Thanks
Adam

Hi Adam,
I will admit that I put these off for a couple of months before I felt confident enough to do them.

I followed the RS tutorials on youtube. They were making their kit to the original sizes. The forearms and biceps (with a little extra shaping to fit my arms) fit perfectly so I didn't give the sizes for the thighs a second thought. I cut the Right thigh to the RS sizes only to find a hugh gap in the back where the 2 halves wouldn't meet (First pic below). My heart stopped as I thought I had totally screwed them up. I emailed Rob from RS with pics and explained that I followed his tutorial only to find the thigh didn't fit my larger legs. Rob mentioned in his next tutorial that someone messaged to say the original sizes didn't fit (that's me), so he warned to cut away a little at a time from the back whilst trying them on until they fit. RS were great in supplying me a new thigh but as I said, this put me off continuing with my build.

I final gathered enough courage to try again (with extreme caution this time). Firstly, I cut, trimmed and attached my cover strip to the front of the thigh, as this doesn't change. I then taped the back together, one side over lapping the other until I felt it would fit. Then I cut away the excess plastic but leaving more then the original RS suit (picture 2). When I tried on the parts I had done, the thigh around the knee area was too wide, so I trimmed some more off, but not too much from the top (pic 3). I made sure either side of the bottom flat edge was about the same length before attaching the cover strip(pic 4). I can't stress enough about taking your time, cut a little at a time, then try on, then trim some more if needed.

The return edges are anything between 3 and 5mm. Again trim a little at a time until comfy.

I used the exact same process for the left thigh (pic 5).

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Martyn.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[Not a Jedi Yet]

3 hours ago, TKSpartan said:

hi, take a look, It could be useful 

 

 

Thanks Mario

 

I had a quick look and it looks interesting - may be my next option!

 

Thanks

 

Adam.

[Not a Jedi Yet]

2 hours ago, Mar2D2 said:

Hi Adam,
I will admit that I put these off for a couple of months before I felt confident enough to do them.

I followed the RS tutorials on youtube. They were making their kit to the original sizes. The forearms and biceps (with a little extra shaping to fit my arms) fit perfectly so I didn't give the sizes for the thighs a second thought. I cut the Right thigh to the RS sizes only to find a hugh gap in the back where the 2 halves wouldn't meet (First pic below). My heart stopped as I thought I had totally screwed them up. I emailed Rob from RS with pics and explained that I followed his tutorial only to find the thigh didn't fit my larger legs. Rob mentioned in his next tutorial that someone messaged to say the original sizes didn't fit (that's me), so he warned to cut away a little at a time from the back whilst trying them on until they fit. RS were great in supplying me a new thigh but as I said, this put me off continuing with my build.

I final gathered enough courage to try again (with extreme caution this time). Firstly, I cut, trimmed and attached my cover strip to the front of the thigh, as this doesn't change. I then taped the back together, one side over lapping the other until I felt it would fit. Then I cut away the excess plastic but leaving more then the original RS suit (picture 2). When I tried on the parts I had done, the thigh around the knee area was too wide, so I trimmed some more off, but not too much from the top (pic 3). I made sure either side of the bottom flat edge was about the same length before attaching the cover strip(pic 4). I can't stress enough about taking your time, cut a little at a time, then try on, then trim some more if needed.

The return edges are anything between 3 and 5mm. Again trim a little at a time until comfy.

I used the exact same process for the left thigh (pic 5).

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Martyn.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

Thanks Martyn, that's really helpful.

 

Your story resonates strongly with mine - I did pretty much exactly the same as you, though I even left some extra plastic over and above the screen accurate measurements from the video because I suspected I would need it, but I somehow messed up the measurements when I was taping the pieces!

I have a potential last option thanks to Mario's (TKSpartan) post above, more on that in my next post!

 

Thanks again

 

Adam.

[Not a Jedi Yet]

I have now reattached the parts that lost their way, please see pictures below:

Doesn't look too bad from the outside - however, on the inside it looks like an ABS disaster area!

And when trying to tape the pieces up for a fitting, one of the attached pieces started to come away again:

I think trying to hold all the pieces in place and then identify an accurate cut-line will be a nightmare, never mind trying to cut through up to 4 pieces of ABS at the same time.  I might look at the "extended seams" method by referred to by Mario (@TKSpartan) above.

This would need me to install a seam at the back (and only the back, to preserve the 20mm ridge at the front) of 15mm top to bottom between the two thigh pieces, stuck onto a wider (say 40mm) piece on the inside.  The 20mm cover strip would then be placed on the outside, hiding all the cut lines (except at the very bottom ridge I guess).  I would then cross my fingers and hope it's big enough.

If I look at the ridges at the bottom of the pieces, the inner measures 70mm and the outer measures 60mm.  There is also more "spare" material on the outer, with which to make the seam.  I could make a 15mm seam from the outer (right hand side) off-cut piece.

This would then make the ridge at the bottom of the outer piece measure 75mm, so I guess the other potential issue would then be whether the cover strip would be central and vertical at the back of the thigh?  Maybe 5mm difference wouldn't be noticeable anyway?

Do you think this sounds like a viable option? 

Thanks 

Adam.

[Not a Jedi Yet]

Picture attached for clarification (hopefully)!

 

Edited June 19, 2020 by Not a Jedi Yet

[Not a Jedi Yet]

Hi all

I had a go at trying to repair the pieces and then cover the damage with a cover strip, but it wasn't working out as the cover strip wasn't completely vertical, so didn't look quite right - I also would have needed to deal with the cut lines on the bottom on the ridges, which I didn't fancy too much!

So I ordered a new right thigh from RS.

I have trimmed the front so that it's just over 10mm on each side, ready to take the 20mm cover strip.

I also trimmed the return edges, but I have not yet attempted to trim the rear of the pieces:

Before I start trying to fit the pieces, I noticed that there are different amounts of "spare" material at the bottom of each of the two pieces - you can see this by where the ridges are angled, particularly on the right hand piece (see pencil mark in second picture).  Where the angle finishes on the right hand side suggests that this is where the cut line needs to be at the bottom - presumably the left hand side needs to be the same length at the bottom too to ensure symmetry?:

Do you have any tips for next steps please?  Should I fix the front cover strip?  I'm obviously super paranoid about messing it up again!

Thanks

Adam

[CableGuy[TK]]

Hi Adam,

No harm in fitting the front coverstrips to the front. You can then size the rears to your thighs.

Once the fronts are done, get your undersuit on and try the thighs on - tape them together round the back (masking tape) and then get some pictures (if you can). You can then look at where to cut.

[Not a Jedi Yet]

Will do, thanks Dan

[Not a Jedi Yet]

Hi all

Just before I glue the front coverstrip onto the thigh, I'd welcome your opinion please on the width of the ridge?  The coverstrip is 20mm, and each half of the ridge is slightly more than 10mm, so there is a small amount of overlap, and this increases slightly near the top as the ridge flattens out.  Is this acceptable or should I trim a little more off each side?

Also, I glued a coverstrip (with E6000) onto one of the forearms and left it for 24 hours.  I then took off the magnets and clamps, only to return half an hour or so later to find it had come away - this is the second time now that this has happened with this particular coverstrip (the first time the coverstrip wasn't completely central, so I put it down to bad placement).  Is there something I should be doing differently please to prevent this happening?

Thanks

Adam.

[Blast 'Em!]

Hey Adam, the thigh strip looks good to me, but again my experience is limited.

 

For your forearm, I've found that there's three things to examine if your having issues with glue holding

1. Adhesive potential:  you want to maximize the amount of surface area for your glue and make sure that the glue covers all of this surface (per Joseph's recommendation, I use a popsicle stick to spread the E6000 everywhere. Forearm cover strips are narrow, but it looks like you have over half the width of the cover strip available to glue which is great. I don't think this is part of the problem for you
2. Surface prep: myself and others have had success sanding (220 grit) the cover strip and the surface of the armor to create a rough layer for the E6000 to latch on to. I've been sanding in two directions, effectively cross-hatching the piece, which might be overkill. I can't tell if you've sanded your pieces, but this might be a solution
3. Alignment: If two edges have to considerably bend to meet up, your cover strip joint will be under a lot of stress while curing. The clamps and magnets we use help alleviate this issue, but sometimes a hot water bath is needed prior to gluing. I just learned this lesson with the rear cover strip for my shins. I don't think this is a big issue for your forearms.

[Not a Jedi Yet]

4 minutes ago, Blast 'Em! said:

Hey Adam, the thigh strip looks good to me, but again my experience is limited.

 

For your forearm, I've found that there's three things to examine if your having issues with glue holding

1. Adhesive potential:  you want to maximize the amount of surface area for your glue and make sure that the glue covers all of this surface (per Joseph's recommendation, I use a popsicle stick to spread the E6000 everywhere. Forearm cover strips are narrow, but it looks like you have over half the width of the cover strip available to glue which is great. I don't think this is part of the problem for you
2. Surface prep: myself and others have had success sanding (220 grit) the cover strip and the surface of the armor to create a rough layer for the E6000 to latch on to. I've been sanding in two directions, effectively cross-hatching the piece, which might be overkill. I can't tell if you've sanded your pieces, but this might be a solution
3. Alignment: If two edges have to considerably bend to meet up, your cover strip joint will be under a lot of stress while curing. The clamps and magnets we use help alleviate this issue, but sometimes a hot water bath is needed prior to gluing. I just learned this lesson with the rear cover strip for my shins. I don't think this is a big issue for your forearms.

Thanks Shane

 

I didn't sand the area before gluing, so I could definitely try that.  I think I could potentially be more generous with the E6000 too, though the more I apply the more it seems to find itself on the armour anywhere but under the cover strip it was intended for! 

[Blast 'Em!]

Haha yeah I've found the same thing. I didn't use as much glue as I could have on my biceps and forearms, but then I switched to using lots of glue on the thighs and shins. Thankfully E6000 isn't too bad to remove if it gets anywhere or squeezes out around your cover strips. @TKSpartan recommended using a cotton rag and just rubbing it over the glue. Friction from the rag will heat up the glue and it should ball up and fall off the ABS. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Not a Jedi Yet said:

I didn't sand the area before gluing, so I could definitely try that.  I think I could potentially be more generous with the E6000 too,

Hi, In addition to what @Blast 'Em!  Shane recommend I would suggest what worked for me. use an additional piece of woor or metal to press the hole cover side to side and let it dry for about 48 hours.

 

 

 

Hope this can help.  

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Roughing the surfaces prior to glue will help the glue adhere, E6000 can also take some time to dry, at least 24 hours if not more, some pieces I've had to leave for several days depending on thickness and weather.

 

A combination of clamps, magnets and even painters tape can be helpful. Even a metal rule or two, enough strength to hold pieces down but will allow it to curve to the armor pieces.