Strider's TK ANH Build

[TKStrider[TK]]

6 minutes ago, MaskedVengeance said:

Some Troopers do utilize padding inside limb pieces to keep them from shifting, and if you’ve already gotten the cover strips down to the 15mm width, then there’d not be any more room to trim.

The hot water bath should also help with shape, and some even recommend doing a bath after all gluing anyway, to help release any tension that may exist from pulling two pieces together into a butt-joint.


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The most I think I could do is remove the cover strip on the end that has no edge, and then cut more from the elbow end and taper down so that I cut nothing from the wrist end, but I'm neither that confident in my cutting skills nor confident in that it would turn out the way I would want. I might just use the padding, but I'll wait until I join everything together. Maybe things wont shift as much once they are connected?

[TKStrider[TK]]

8 minutes ago, MaskedVengeance said:

Some Troopers do utilize padding inside limb pieces to keep them from shifting, and if you’ve already gotten the cover strips down to the 15mm width, then there’d not be any more room to trim.

The hot water bath should also help with shape, and some even recommend doing a bath after all gluing anyway, to help release any tension that may exist from pulling two pieces together into a butt-joint.


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Now that I think of it, how much room are you supposed to have on the forearms/biceps?

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

I believe most people have somewhere around half an inch of space, but of course it varies. You could definitely do tapered cuts if there are no raised edges to worry about.


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[wook1138[TK]]

24 minutes ago, TKSStrider said:

The most I think I could do is remove the cover strip on the end that has no edge, and then cut more from the elbow end and taper down so that I cut nothing from the wrist end, but I'm neither that confident in my cutting skills nor confident in that it would turn out the way I would want. I might just use the padding, but I'll wait until I join everything together. Maybe things wont shift as much once they are connected?

You can't really taper the forearms since there is a raised ridge that will show the taper.  Padding is probably your best way to go.  Also, I think the general rule is that you want to easily fit a finger under your arm armor when wearing it.  This will give it enough room to breath.  I'm a believer in making things a little larger than needed - if your body changes shape - it is easy to add padding, it is much harder to add plastic.

 

Keep up the good work!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

A lot of my costumes have padding in the arms and thighs because of my thin frame, if you attach velcro to the foam then you can remove and wash if it gets sweaty  

[TKStrider[TK]]

9 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

A lot of my costumes have padding in the arms and thighs because of my thin frame, if you attach velcro to the foam then you can remove and wash if it gets sweaty  

What kind of padding do you use, and where did you get it from? If from Amazon, do you mind linking it?

[TKStrider[TK]]

Alright, time for the end of the day post. I am excited to say that while waiting on all the gluing, I made the Thermal Detonator...it's the small things but it makes me happy that there is one less thing to do.

 

 

I also got the bracket system in the mail today, so I spent a good portion of the night marking where they need to go. Before I start drilling however, I am test fitting the armor one last time to ensure that no further cuts need to be made. Let me know what you think. Does this fit OK?

 

I'm not sure how I can go about reducing the gap between the back and the kidney plate...Not sure a hot water bath will do it this time around.

 

Side shots

 

Tomorrow I'll remove a little of the return edge before I start drilling, there's definitely just a bit too much and it's digging into my sides and probably making it harder to connect the sides as well.

Edited July 17, 2020 by TKSStrider

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

4 hours ago, TKSStrider said:

What kind of padding do you use, and where did you get it from? If from Amazon, do you mind linking it?

Local material shop, foam for pading  chairs

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

6 hours ago, TKSStrider said:

I'm not sure how I can go about reducing the gap between the back and the kidney plate...Not sure a hot water bath will do it this time around.

Hi, This painter's tape fit looks good,  in most cases there' a minimum gap in Back/Kidney , I should wait till the strapping stage to look how things match.

 

 

     

 

[TKStrider[TK]]

Time for another end of the day post! I ended up getting A LOT done today. Still waiting on a lot of gluing, but I can almost see the finish line in regards to all the sitting and waiting for this stuff to dry.

 

Started with the shoulder covers

 

And the back of the right thigh...they say you can never have too many clips

 

I also got the back and cod pieces put together with snaps. By the way, I've been told that Tandy snaps are great, which they totally are, but these things are TOUGH. So much so that I actually really worry about damaging the plastic when popping them off. Just gotta be super careful I guess, but I'm really considering swapping them out for less secure snaps.

 

Also got the bracketing system installed.

 

Considering we are talking about the bracketing system, I cannot for the life of me find a post that details how to connect them with the straps. Do I just glue the ends? Sew them? To be honest I'm lost here.

 

Sadly the one thing about WTF armor, is that the back plate and kidney plate come joined together, and when you separate them there is simply no return edge to install the rest of the bracket system...Sucks but Velcro seems to work fine. I just need to find a way to deal with the sticky back end. Maybe I'll stick some black felt there or something.

 

Lastly, I got the holes drilled for the rivets. This took me awhile to be honest...measuring, remeasuring, and remeasuring a 3rd and 4th time. Finally took the leap and drilled though.

 

Work week starts tomorrow, so I'll be moving slowly again, but I plan on at least to get the ab buttons painted and the thighs glued tomorrow. I'm waiting for a few more parts to come in as well (belt, replacement lenses).

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Well we did have a member with the nickname CLAMPS but you may very well have be on par with him lol.

 

 

[TKStrider[TK]]

6 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Well we did have a member with the nickname CLAMPS but you may very well have be on par with him lol.

 

 

These particular clamps are rather weak, so when I use them I have to use ALL of them lol

[TKStrider[TK]]

I'm onto gluing the thighs now, and ran across this neato problem...any suggestions on how I should make this flush? Am I able to just cut the cover strip at an angle? Is that L2/L3 legal? Lol

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

 

Here is a recent approved Centurion WTF kit for comparison

 

You will however need to fill the open section in the lower ridge, either ABS scrap glued behind or add ABS paste and fill/sand/polish

[CableGuy[TK]]

Hey trooper.

Nice work so far. :-)

Just something I’ve noticed - your thermal detonator looks very similar to the Return of the Jedi style. Just to be safe, it might be worth checking with your GML if they have a problem with this.

See below for reference;

[TKStrider[TK]]

Not much of an update. Work has been killing me these past few days, but I was able to get a little bit done here and there.

 

Painted the ab buttons...I need to preface that I am NOT a painter...as you can tell with my first pass.

 

After cleaning with some mineral spirits however, it came out much better.

 

I installed the shoulder bridges as well. I'll probably cut off the back big tab, but I'm waiting until everything comes together to see if that's necessary. I know it's screen accurate though so I'll probably just do it at some point. I also created the snap system for the chest to back strapping. I'm out of clamps at the moment though, so gluing will have to wait.

 

I got the Velcro system installed for the calf...not too sure I like it though. I may convert this to the hook system later on so that there isn't a noticeable gap. I'd do the magnet system, but I'm not confident in my skills yet to take on such a task.

 

Lastly, can anyone lend me advice on how to integrate the elastic into the bracket system? Do I glue the ends? Burn them? Sew them? I'm lost on this part and I can't seem to find the answer.

[TKStrider[TK]]

Finished up the strapping for the torso and chest, then it was time to finally try this thing on. If anyone is willing, I would greatly appreciate critiques at this point on what I can do to make this look better. I am still waiting for the belt to come in, after which I think things will snug together much better in the waist area.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

looking good Anthony,  what I can see that you would need to take care of is the shoulder bridges.  I think with a hot water bath they can bend down a bit to fit better over the back plate .

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                  Reference Images

 

          

 

 

Cheers  

[TKStrider[TK]]

Alright, large post time as I have spent the majority of the past few days just gluing and making final adjustments.

 

First up, I installed the strapping system to the biceps and forearms. I decided to use Velcro in places that house the support systems to make it easier for both removal and adjustments. Industrial strength Velcro seems to hold up very well, so I'm not concerned thus far about any unintended falling off.

 

Ammo box installed for the right thigh.

 

Got the belt in yesterday and proceeded to make it today. I still need to glue the ammo boxes in place so they line up with the edges of the belt.

 

Thigh support system made as well. Again, Velcro on the end, but then I sewed the belt portion on. Still easily removable if needed though.

 

All that was left to do was to try it all on!

 

Few things I can safely say so far with this build, and things I have to modify.

1. This thing is SUPER HOT to wear. Installing an AC system will be a must!

2. I'll need to create some sort of helmet mod to keep is strapped in, it rolls around just a bit too much. The button strap I installed so far isn't cutting it.

3. I'm going to have to install some support strips to the lower legs. I almost broke the thing off just trying to get the legs over my calves, so I'm not sure what to do besides support strips to keep that from happening.

4. The cod piece rubs up against the thigh pieces too much. I'll either have to trim the sides of the cod or the thighs (or both) a bit to account for this. Any thoughts here?

5. Is it supposed to be somewhat uncomfortable wearing this? Like I'm not in pain or anything, but I do notice it makes quite a bit of noise. Is this normal?

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for me at this point? Besides what I mentioned above, I feel like I'm 95% done, and just need a few mods here and there to finish it off. Thanks everyone so far for all the help!

[Sly11[Admin]]

Does you thigh armour fit snugly to your thighs or is there some room to move?

If there is room you could try some foam pieces on the inside of the outer thigh to pull the piece slightly away from the cod and your center line.  You could also reduce the return edge around the top of the thighs st the same time and if possible drop them ever so slightly. This combination might just give you the little extra room you need to stop them from rubbing as much on the cod piece.

[TKStrider[TK]]

2 minutes ago, Sly11 said:

Does you thigh armour fit snugly to your thighs or is there some room to move?

If there is room you could try some foam pieces on the inside of the outer thigh to pull the piece slightly away from the cod and your center line.  You could also reduce the return edge around the top of the thighs st the same time and if possible drop them ever so slightly. This combination might just give you the little extra room you need to stop them from rubbing as much on the cod piece.

The thighs are pretty snug at the moment but I can drop them a bit (like an inch) and just add some padding on the inside. That may work, if not then trimming is always an option

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looks like your cod is sitting low, can you move the ab/cod upwards, almost looks like it is coming out under your chest 

 

[TKStrider[TK]]

2 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Looks like your cod is sitting low, can you move the ab/cod upwards, almost looks like it is coming out under your chest 

 

Funnily enough I've been trying to do just that. I've tried tightening the bracket straps but it doesn't seem to be working...any suggestions?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

12 minutes ago, TKSStrider said:

Funnily enough I've been trying to do just that. I've tried tightening the bracket straps but it doesn't seem to be working...any suggestions?

You may need to leave the brackets for looks and add strapping behind. 

 

You could add some snaps and plate, or even a piece of ABS plastic with bend and a slot in large enough for elastic further up in the chest and connect that piece of plastic or snap plate to the original ab bracket perhaps. It just looks like the bracket system is not allowing it to come up and is basically pushing it down.

 

Here is some images of some strapping options

 

 

 

For the time being you could even remove the elastic from the brackets and add velcro, that you could adjust and trial and get the right position  

 

[TKStrider[TK]]

3 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

You may need to leave the brackets for looks and add strapping behind.

 

You could add some snaps and plate, or even a piece of ABS plastic with bend and a slot in large enough for elastic further up in the chest and connect that piece of plastic or snap plate to the original ab bracket perhaps. It just looks like the bracket system is not allowing it to come up and is basically pushing it down.

 

 

Do you happen to have a pic for reference so I can see what it is you are talking about?