Shinyarmour1 AP ANH Stunt First Build

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Hello everyone

The time has finally come for me. I have recieved my AP Stormtrooper kit and am all ready and excited (a little nervous too) to begin my build for what I am hoping to achieve is ANH Stunt TK Centurion. I chose to have my kit untrimmed because I can use the extra ABS plastic to make inner coverstrips, ABS paste and plenty of tests and experiments on scrap pieces before apply to the armour itself.

　

I have done months of research, looked into tips and tricks and have carefully read other AP build threads. Since this is my first build (and I'm a perfectionist), I'm going to take things slow and start with some simple parts. I'll start with the Shoulder bells first, beacuse there's no gluing involved and not much to cut/sand either.

As I am aiming for Centurion, I want to be as accurate from the start as possible. Any comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

　

Thanks guys...lets get building.  

[husky68[TK]]

Welcome future trooper.   The AP kit is very nice and builds into a great set of armor.  Certainly taking your time is always a good idea and starting with lots of research before cutting or gluing saves a lot of time in the long run.

 

  If I may suggest,  best place to start is the biceps.  They are relatively easy and depending on dimensions will be under the shoulder bells which covers up any mistakes with your first time cuts.  Once you finish a few cuts you will feel more comfortable and the nerves will settle.  Usual words of wisdom, "It is a marathon,  not a sprint" and "measure twice cut once."

 

Many here will answer questions so post lots of pictures and don't be afraid to ask for advice.

[wook1138[TK]]

Congrats on your BBB day!  Great to hear you are going for Centurion!  

 

I found that I had enough extra ABS coverstrip material for inner strips with what Mark provided - so you should be good as long as you are conservative with the plastic.

 

Good luck on your build!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Congratulatiosn for you BBB day !!  

 

Good luck with your build. Post photos, ask questions, measure twice or more, cut once and enjoy.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great news, nothing better than BBB's, good luck with the build, when in doubt head to the gallery section, lots of great references there  

[Chemi[Staff]]

22 hours ago, Shinyarmour1 said:

Hello everyone

The time has finally come for me. I have recieved my AP Stormtrooper kit and am all ready and excited (a little nervous too) to begin my build for what I am hoping to achieve is ANH Stunt TK Centurion. I chose to have my kit untrimmed because I can use the extra ABS plastic to make inner coverstrips, ABS paste and plenty of tests and experiments on scrap pieces before apply to the armour itself.

　

I have done months of research, looked into tips and tricks and have carefully read other AP build threads. Since this is my first build (and I'm a perfectionist), I'm going to take things slow and start with some simple parts. I'll start with the Shoulder bells first, beacuse there's no gluing involved and not much to cut/sand either.

As I am aiming for Centurion, I want to be as accurate from the start as possible. Any comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

　

Thanks guys...lets get building.  

Hi "C" , Happy BBB Day!!!!

I'm glad to see that you are aiming for Centurion...We are waiting for a lot of photos and a lot of questions.

Good luck with your build!!!

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Thanks Guys

After looking at the different pieces, I decided to start with the plastic hard guards instead. Because I'm going Centurion, I'll be using the silicon hand guards, so it won't matter if I make a mistake on the plastic ones.

 

 

 

This was a good opportunity for me to get to know the ABS strength for cutting and sanding with various grits. I'm using the score and snap method, followed by sanding with 120g, 240g and smoothing out with 400g.

 

 

After getting used to the plastic strength, cutting and sanding method, I then moved onto the Shoulder bells.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Shinyarmour1

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

 

I've researched build threads and seen many reference pictures about the return edges on different armour parts. As long as the forearm wrist and bottom of shins have no return edges, everywhere else is optional. I like the thick armour look, so I am going to keep a little return edge on some of my pieces. However the illusion of thick armour can also be prone to stress cracks/splits, so I will also keep that in mind.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Shinyarmour1

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Looking good.  If you haven't done yet , you may want to take a look to this post about Return Edges. I think It could be useful as it has been for me.

 

cheers  

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Made a start on the biceps, I measured 15mm on both halfs and even added an extra 2mm so that I woudn't cut too close to the trim line and just in case I needed more fitting room.

 

 

After looking at other build threads, I found in Mayo's build, he trimmed the highest side of the biceps off so both sides were level and even. By making a comparison between those that left the higher piece and Mayo's trimmed one, I decided to do the same and trim the top part off. I like how both side match, they give an even look to the biceps.

 

 

Here is the result.

 

 

Very pleased with my progress so far, it's great to see things start to come together. I did a test fit and found them quite big on me (I'm such a skinny fellow).  Taking the advice from more experienced builders (measure twice and cut once), I measured so many time before cutting/sanding the armour to make sure everything would line up correctly. So I double checked the measurments, sanded down the ridges 1mm, checked again and sanded some more to 15mm (screen accurate measurments). That seems to be the size that best fits me best so I'm going to make my bicep and forearm coverstips 15mm. Made the inner cover strips from scrap bicep pieces and started on the gluing.

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Great work.  

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Although the biceps fit better than before, they are still a little big on me, so I'll just do what other troopers have recommended and add some padding.

I've cut a 15mm outer coverstip so I can see how the ridges look before continuing.  Does it look like it would sit correctly on the bicep ridges evenly?  I don't want to have the ridges showing underneath the coverstrip, nor do I want to accidently trim off too much.  Please let me know what you guys think.

 

Here is the right bicep

 

Here is the left bicep

 

Test fit

 

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Thanks Mario

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Moving onto the forearm now.  From what I have read in other build threads, the forearm can be difficult and awkward.  So I hope I get it done right.  Same as the biceps, using the score and snap method, I measured 7.5mm on both sides and left an extra 2mm just in case I went off the marked lines.

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

All 4 section of the forearm are trimmed and sanded to the 15mm ridge size.  Have I removed enough on the wrists?  Do I need to take off some more?

 

 

They do not align as easily as the biceps, so a lot of tape, magnets and persuasion will be used for the forearms.  I have made the inner cover strips so I can glue the 2 halves and leave them for 24 hours to cure.  If there are any issues that require me to remove the forearms, at least I can remove the inner strips and not risk damaging the armour face or even the outer cover strips.

    

 

Please let me know if everything so far looks to be correct.  Thanks

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Everything looks correct.

 

As you have read, the  forearms are usually problematic   for cover strips due to the curve.

 

As a tip I can tell you that using a couple of wood strip over and this add some more pressure to the cover strip so they can attach better. take a look to the photos.

 

 

 

 

Another consideration is to leave at least 48 hours to dry.

 

It worked for me i many cases .

 

Cheers a keep on doing a great work. almost there.  

 

 

 

[husky68[TK]]

You will need to clamp them down hard to get them to line up. Then hot bath them to adjust the shape and reduce the stress in abs.


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[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Thanks for the response guys, I'm defiantly going to need as much help and info as possible.  That's a great idea using wood to apply even pressure across the forearms.  I had the same thought about leaving the forearms 48 hours instead of 24 when I glue the other half together, because of the tension. 

 

If I glue the forearms together, let them dry and then place them in boiling water, would that effect the glue performance/durability?  And do I put the whole forearm in water or just where the edge to edge join?

Edited June 9, 2020 by Shinyarmour1

[husky68[TK]]

Some put tape over the cover strips to cover the glue. I just dip in boiling water a few second and pull out.

Should let the glue cure for 48 or 72 hours before hot bath. Rushing glue will mean having to do it all over again.


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[wook1138[TK]]

4 hours ago, Shinyarmour1 said:

If I glue the forearms together, let them dry and then place them in boiling water, would that effect the glue performance/durability?  And do I put the whole forearm in water or just where the edge to edge join?

The hot water can soften the glue, but you should be ok.  If you think the glue has been compromised after the hot water bath, it is not difficult to remove the coverstrips and re-glue with new E6000.  As far as timing after you glue with E6000 - as mentioned, 48 hours is best.

 

I dipped about half the forearm into the water (due to the size of my pot) - it also took me close to a minute before the plastic was soft enough to shape.  I think I did 3 baths before I had the shape I wanted.  Remember to hold under cold water to set the shape.

 

Keep up the great work!

[husky68[TK]]

Practice with scraps to get comfortable with hot bath timing.


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[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

Hey everyone

Thanks for the tips and advice, I will be using those ideas for sure.  Made some progress on the forearms. I glued the two halfs of the forearm together, left it to cure for 24 hours and it worked great.  I highly recommend to any furture armour builders reading this thread, that you install inner coverstrips as well as the outer coverstrips.  The forearm pieces are really tight when you try and line them up together, so not only will it help to give them a hot water bath to easy the tension, but the inner strips provide that extra strength for piece of mind. I went ahead and glued the two halfs of the other forearm together and left that to cure.

In the movies, they had the return edges on the elbows removed, however I wanted to keep a little bit of return to add the appearance of thinckness to the armour.

 

 

I was so excited to see the arm comming together, I decided to do a test fit. I tapped the other half of the forearm pieces (quite a lot of tension, so a hot water bath will be required). It fits my arm quite nicely, with no tightness or pinching issues.  I even tried slipping my hand thought the wrists several times, with no problems getting through.

 

 

Tapping the biceps and shoulder bells to where I thought they would sit right on me. I even stuck the rubber hand guards on with double sided tape just to see what the arm would look like when completed.

 

 

How does it look so far? I used a long strip of tape to connect the right shoulder bell to the left. But the moment that the second picture was taken, the tape came off, so that's why the shoulder bell looks so far out of my shoulder in the last image.

Does everything look correct for size and positioning? I'm a little concerned that the forearms and biceps are not in proportion. When my arm is straight, it almost looks like the bicep is wider by a couple of millimetres. Am I worrying about nothing, or do the forearm and bicep widths need adjusting?

Any help and feedback would be greatly appreciated.  If they both get the tick of approval, I can then glue the outer strips on.

 

Thanks guys

 

 

[wook1138[TK]]

Looks good!  I wouldn't worry about the forearm and bicep being out of proportion.  They have to fit.  The coverstrips should look the same, but that is about it.

 

It looks like you could pull your bicep up a bit (5-7mm - just guessing).  There should be a little space between the forearm and bicep.  This will allow for better movement too. 

 

[husky68[TK]]

You’ll need to pull that bell in a bit to make the connection at the top close.

My forearms were a really challenge both for size and shape. I put in a gap and had to hot bath to change the shape to match my forearms. Now when I put them on they feel tight but after a few minutes wear I forget all about them and they even shift around.


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Edited June 18, 2020 by husky68

[husky68[TK]]

1 hour ago, Shinyarmour1 said:

In the movies, they had the return edges on the elbows removed, however I wanted to keep a little bit of return to add the appearance of thinckness to the armour.

  If you have the space and size to spare then you could consider leaving some return edge.  However,  I would suggest against it because it might only increase armor bite and rash while also risking stress fractures.  Bending your arms with blaster or waving to fans will be a regular part of trooping life. Fellow troopers will also not look as closely at your armor as you do,  and even less from members of the public so I doubt anyone else will perceive that extra thickness.

 

  In my case,  I built for look but continued to modify for comfort ( it never ends ).