From Pilot to FOTK - TFA KB Props build

[jaxninja[TK]]

Feel like forever since I made my introduction post, but I'm finally starting my very own build thread! Been waiting for my KB armor to arrive since October and it's finally on the way, hurray! 

As I've done an ANH TIE Pilot and Inferno Squad build so far, this'll be my first "full armor" build. My goal is to go for Centurion level, so... that'll be fun.

Pretty much have all of the accessory bits ready to roll, now just need the armor. Luckily enough my squad is doing an armor party next weekend so I am hoping to make some good progress on it there.

I'm planning to document the build in detail, but we'll see how well I remember to do that as I go 

 

Parts:

Armor - KB Props

Helmet - Anovos

Gaskets - Imperial Gaskets, Geeky Pink's, Sheev's Emporium (redundant much?)

Belt - Belts of the First Order

Gloves and Boots - Imperial Boots

Neckseal - Anovos, Geeky Pink's, Sheev's

Metal Holster - R2Dan

Anything else I'm forgetting - Probably

 

F-11D and SE-44C - Imperial Factory

 

(updated 19 Oct 21)

 

My collection, with all my FOTK stuff anxiously awaiting. Don't mind the clone armor still in progress 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by jaxninja
updated parts list

[merkava74[TK]]

All the best! Looking forward to your build!

[Sly11[Admin]]

Some exciting times ahead Kevin, we look forward to you build thread.

We will also have some new visual reference guides for Expert Infantry and centurion available in the First Order Battle Group section in the next few days so keep a look out for those.

[jaxninja[TK]]

20 minutes ago, Sly11 said:

Some exciting times ahead Kevin, we look forward to you build thread.

We will also have some new visual reference guides for Expert Infantry and centurion available in the First Order Battle Group section in the next few days so keep a look out for those.

Awesome, thank you!

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Congratulations Kevin, good luck with your build !!! 

[jaxninja[TK]]

Finally had my armor delivered today, just in time for a squad armor party tomorrow 

Hopefully I'll be able to make some good progress with it tomorrow!

Also a question about the F-11D blaster for Centurion approval if anyone knows... I was looking at getting the Blast FX kit for it, but I wasn't sure if having the display screen for the counter box would count against that, or if I should play it safe and not have the display

[jaxninja[TK]]

And so it begins! Got most of the rough cutting done yesterday. Planning to sand down as much of the rest as I can today

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

On 6/13/2020 at 4:01 AM, jaxninja said:

knows... I was looking at getting the Blast FX kit for it, but I wasn't sure if having the display screen for the counter box would count against that, or if I should play it safe and not have the display

I’m not familiar with the Blast FX kit, would you mind post a pic what it looks like and I can give better advise, if I were to guess I think it will be fine though as the CRL states working lights and front torch 

[jaxninja[TK]]

 

On 6/15/2020 at 3:43 AM, TheSwede said:

I’m not familiar with the Blast FX kit, would you mind post a pic what it looks like and I can give better advise, if I were to guess I think it will be fine though as the CRL states working lights and front torch 

So this is basically the part in question. The screen there goes in the hengstler counter box. It's not required for the unit to function, but has a lot of neat features like shot count, overheat count, and the settings menu. I'd prefer to have it, but I can also order the system without it if it'd affect getting approved for Centurion. The rest of the system has all the other bells and whistler - LED's where needed, LED's in the barrel so it looks like it actually shoots, a laser aiming out the barrel if you want it, speakers, the full works.

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Edited May 26, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[jaxninja[TK]]

Worked on two different projects today.

First, one for the house:

 

Second, got the raw sanding/trimming mostly done:

 

 

Need to do some final sanding by hand to smooth the edges and then I'll post to make sure I've got them right.

 

 

[jaxninja[TK]]

Trying to figure out how to cut and modify the forearms for Centurion approval, as the side with all the greeblies and the box that's supposed to be separate is one piece. I'm thinking of leaving the sides as it is here, and cutting along the black line to let the flap be loose. while the rest of the lower section is adhered to the forearm piece

 

 

 

and then cutting the "box" off, filling the bottom with a plate of abs to make it solid, and filling the gap it'd create with another plate of abs. My only worry is the pull lines around the box are a little soft, so it might look real obvious, but we'll see!

[TheSwede[TK]]

On 6/15/2020 at 8:41 AM, jaxninja said:

 

So this is basically the part in question. The screen there goes in the hengstler counter box. It's not required for the unit to function, but has a lot of neat features like shot count, overheat count, and the settings menu. I'd prefer to have it, but I can also order the system without it if it'd affect getting approved for Centurion. The rest of the system has all the other bells and whistler - LED's where needed, LED's in the barrel so it looks like it actually shoots, a laser aiming out the barrel if you want it, speakers, the full works.

 

-----------

Should be good, if it’s not you can just cover it for approval purposes and then Troop away

[ukswrath[Staff]]

[jaxninja[TK]]

Spent some time tonight working on the forearms. Cut them as mentioned previously to have the front fit loose per the CRL for Centurion. Here's a rough mock-up to see how it worked

 

 

 

I realized of course that KB's working on a new forearm mold for Centurion approval so... I think I'm going to put these on hold for now till I get the rest done before trying to hack them apart any further

[jaxninja[TK]]

also tested the spats. Not sure I like how they fit on the non-greeblie side... have some work to do I think

 

trying to post photos but I keep hitting smaller and smaller size limitations. I need to figure out another photo host or something 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by jaxninja

[jaxninja[TK]]

Ok, finally figured out how to use Dropbox 

 

So these are the spats just roughly cut and sanded. I think I need to cut down way more of the return edge around the top on both parts, and where they meet together. I've got the inside seam wrong way around I believe, but it was just test fitting. There's no extra surface area on the inside portion to connect the parts together like on the Anovos kits, so... I'll thin it out a bit and test fit again.

 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

Too bad if they changed the mold, here’s how I did my second set of KB spats, did the usual greeble closure (screen accurate) on the first set and it broke. Did Anovos style this time around and works a treat

[TheSwede[TK]]

You can of course just ad a plastic tab for the ”Anovos-method”

[jaxninja[TK]]

7 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

Too bad if they changed the mold, here’s how I did my second set of KB spats, did the usual greeble closure on the first set and it broke. Did Anovos style and works a treat

 

Ah, interesting. So the greeblie side is fixed and the inner side is velcro? Did your spats come with that bit where you put the velcro on? Mine totally don't have it, so I am debating about cutting down the "main" spat to accommodate a slot for it, or manually adding on a tab for it

Edited June 17, 2020 by jaxninja
fixed typos

[merkava74[TK]]

Ah, interesting. So the greeblie side is fixed and the inner side is velcro? Did your spats come with that bit where you put the velcro on? Mine totally don't have it, so I am debating about cutting down the "main" spat to accommodate a slot for it, or manually adding on a tab for it

Before you cut, I would suggest you test fit the spat around the shins first. You don’t want to end up cutting too much, and the spats cannot wrap around the shin.

I also fixed the greeblie part and used magnets for the inner side. Do take a look at my build thread if you want.

[jaxninja[TK]]

Thanks for the tips! Cleaned up the spats tonight quite a bit. Will add a tab to them tomorrow so they can be securely attached. Then work shall begin on the shins! I've decided to try and work my way from the bottom up so I can try and stay focused on one part instead of constantly doing a bit on everything all at once, and then working on one part a day.

[TheSwede[TK]]

10 hours ago, jaxninja said:

Ah, interesting. So the greeblie side is fixed and the inner side is velcro? Did your spats come with that bit where you put the velcro on? Mine totally don't have it, so I am debating about cutting down the "main" spat to accommodate a slot for it, or manually adding on a tab for it

Yes and yes

[jaxninja[TK]]

Did some work on one of the shins tonight. Got everything test fit and lines traced and cut. Added on an abs strip for the outside part, but then a minor disaster struck. I didn't realize it but the abs strip I cut happened to be super stiff and did not want to conform to the curves of the shin. It was fine on the first half, but when I tried putting the entire thing together it would not seat down properly and left a bunch of ugly gaps where the shin curved away from the strip. I was able to separate it before it fully cured, with only some minor warping on the back half that I was able to separate off. I tried cutting it a little thinner but I'm not sure that'll work either. Now I need to figure out how to make it work. Thinking I'll either gently warm it to try and get it more pliable, or just grind it off and start new. My only worry is the part that it's actually properly adhered to is like paper thin so I'm worried about destroying the shin if I try and remove the strip entirely. We'll see tomorrow!

 

This is a picture of the shin after having to separate it again.

 

[jaxninja[TK]]

By some miracle I fixed the first shin. After much tinkering with various options, I was somehow able to separate the strip which ended up being the ultimate issue - it was way too stiff to conform to the curves of the shin and allow the halves to mate together. Found a bit of abs that was far more flexible and used that to ultimately get the shin together. There are a couple spots it didn't fully adhere, so I need to go back and sneak some more glue in there. There's a small gap at the top, but I'll figure that out later. Maybe abs sludge and then sand down to make the seam again.

 

Forgot to mention before, I cut out the insert part because the pull was super wonky there. It's still got one part with a weird lip but I don't really want to sand it down any more. If I recall though, it's supposed to be solid there with a black sticker and not cut out with gaffers tape like on the chest, correct?

 

 

Edited June 19, 2020 by jaxninja

[jaxninja[TK]]

Ok, so haven't updated the thread in a bit but have still been working. Have both shins essentially where I am happy with them for now. I want to add some abs paste or epoxy on the top of the right shin (first picture from the previous post) to seal it up a bit as there's a little gap between the pieces that needs to be fixed, but nothing major.

 

I finished both spats, but decided to go with what seems to be the alternate route of the opening clasp on the inside instead of where the clip greeblie is, as I don't really trust myself to not break a resin greeblie. 

 

I glued the back and yolk together as well since it was pretty quick to do. I was going to leave the yolk in one piece, but the opening fit close enough around my head I just decided to open it up and hopefully make getting in/out of it easier instead of having to wiggle in. I try to flex myself instead of the armor as much as possible . I'll get back to this part later

 

I also worked on the chest a smidge. I need to trim the return edge more, but I went ahead and cut out the pillholes and the chest detail. I sanded the pillholes down smooth with the armor, but they didn't all come out the same. I am not the best with eyeballing sanding out holes like that, so I made a reference for myself to help assist with the sizing. Using a flexible rules I drew lines on the top and bottom to help guide me to make sure they matched the same height. 

 

I still need to round them out a bit smoother but it's on the way at least.

 

I also finished painting my little house project - a First Order ceiling medallion for the ceiling fan in my den aka Star Wars room. Printed by The Imperial Factory.

 

Also did some work on the thighs. The back of the thighs are just half cylinders now, so... that's fun. I've got the left thigh shaped and the outer seam glued. Still need to get the right thigh together. Will post some progress pictures later. I think I'm at the point now I need to get around to putting my gaskets together so I can size everything properly.