R1TK WIP

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

Well I'm beginning the third part of my life as a Rogue One TK. The first being a Mandalorian Merc and second being a Biker Scout. Things have been on hold due to COVID 19 but we're starting back up slowly

 

For the armor, I'm using 850 Armor Works R1TK kit

 

Stole Images from Jeff

 

For the helmet we used Nicos R1 3D File and it's currently printing

 

 

We got the hovi mics and put those together

 

 

 

 

The helmet is PETG as well as Jeff's Armor he's working on (11b30b4)

 

 

 

That's all for now. More to come

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by Kal Akaan
Added better images of armor

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Kyle, welcome to FISD and Good luck with your build. 

 

looking forward for your advances .

[Roukie 1[TK]]

Welcome. 

Nice to see, there´s another R1TK coming up. I also built my R1 from 850 Armor Works. Have fun and keep us up to date

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nothing better than BBB's, looking forward to seeing the progress, good luck.

[Novak Dimon[TK]]

Hello and welcome aboard. 

Good luck for your build!

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

Thanks Everyone! I just saw the actual build thread. Should this WIP be moved or am I good here?

[11b30b4[TK]]

Welcome Kyle. I guess I will be very up to date with your build , anyway glad to see you on FISD and yes this should be moved to the build thread so I guess one of the mods will move it at some point. 

FYI

Dark Side Closet (On FB)  (The undershirt is $165, and the knee gaskets are $50 plus $10 for U.S. shipping)

Endor Finders ROTK Gloves $55.00

Reach out to Praetorian Blasters on FB for a price and turnaround for a Rogue One Rubber E-11. Or if you are lucky you may find a used Hyperfirm HFX RO E-11 for sale here. Expect to pay about 200 for a rubber one.

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

Finished printing the helmet

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking forward to seeing this together.

Was going to look at doing the helmet myself but Nicos files have gone up to $70 US (with shield) :

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

On 7/25/2020 at 11:02 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

Looking forward to seeing this together.

Was going to look at doing the helmet myself but Nicos files have gone up to $70 US (with shield) :

Thanks! On a side note, should this WIP be moved to the other Rogue One build forum? I think I mistakenly posted here.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

8 hours ago, Kal Akaan said:

Thanks! On a side note, should this WIP be moved to the other Rogue One build forum? I think I mistakenly posted here.

Moved for you

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

21 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Moved for you

Thank you sir!

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

Bought a pair of compression pants and ordered my undersuit shirt and knee gaskets form darkside closet yesterday!

 

[11b30b4[TK]]

Wasn't there some work done on this kit last night? I want to know more......

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

4 hours ago, 11b30b4 said:

Wasn't there some work done on this kit last night? I want to know more......

Why yes Jeff, There was. Allow me to expound on that.

 

My Rogue One TK gloves arrived from Endor Finders

 

You all will be pleased to know that my hands are still the same size they were when I ordered the gloves

 

After helping Jeff send one of his helmets, I started sanding the pieces of my TK helmet. PETG is pretty tough

 

Also managed to get my measurements for my undersuit top that I ordered from Darkside Closet

 

We've kicked it back in gear. Unfortunately, I will probably be away on military duty till the end of August.

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

Well after a series of unfortunate events (No reference to the book), I managed to get over to 11b30b4's workshop and resume my Rogue One TK build.

 

Sanding, sanding and more sanding as usual

 

 

 

 

Got a general idea of the placement of the torso and Jeff worked on the belt

 

 

 

That's it for now. Just wanted to post a quick update. Was down and out with COVID 19 and my truck completely died on me but back at 100% now. Hoping to get back at it full bore. Thanks for the interest folks!

Edited September 24, 2020 by Kal Akaan

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Don't you just love the sanding, NOT. Coming along nicely

[11b30b4[TK]]

As Kyle has eluded to, I sold him my 850 AW ROTK kit. As I will be helping him on this kit, I had already done some work on the kit prior to selling it to Kyle. Here is a breakdown of what has already been done:

 

When I started work on my Jimmiroquai ROTK, it was suggested I start with the abdomen and work away from the center since most of the armor is tethered to the abdomen. For the 850 Armor Works kit I have decided to do the same thing. Additionally, I did considerable cutting and modifying of the Jimmiroquai kit to be more screen accurate and although the 850 AW kit will be a Sandtrooper, I will need to modify some parts. I will endeavor to cover in detail the strapping and any modifications since these seem to be the type of questions, I still get about my Jimmiroquai kit. Lastly, I have never built a set of vacuum formed Stormtrooper armor like the OT stuff. My only Stormtrooper experience is with my Jimmiroquai kit so as unfair as it may be, I can only compare the 850 AW kit with the Jimmiroquai kit. I will make a few comments about comparison as the build progresses.

 

First, I trimmed the three parts that become the abdominal armor. The Front (C), the side extender (B) which must be cut in half, and the back (A) which also must be cut in half. There is also a back-cover plate that is not in this picture.

 

 

Next, I measured and glued the parts together. I used super (CA) glue along with a CA glue accelerator.

 

 

 

I will strap and continue to work on the abdomen as I move along with the build. For now, it is on hold because I have decided to 3D print the detail parts. The 850 AW kit comes with several cast parts that are fairly rough. Here is an example of the two horizontal blocks that go to the back plate.

 

 

It appears to me that 850 AW 3D printed these parts then cast them. The print lines are still visible in the casting. I really did not want to sand all the parts as much as would be required so I built my own 3D models of these parts and I am printing them on ultra detail with my Prusa I3Mk3 so the cleanup will be considerably less. One of the other issues I have with the supplied parts is that the cast parts have bubble holes in them and those would need to be filled so printing my own parts removes this issue as well. I do not think less of the kit or 850 AW for these parts. This kit cost 400.00 and all the cast parts are still very usable for someone who does not have the ability to recreate them. I will most likely shar my 3D files for free on my Thingiverse page once I have finished printing them and verified, they are good to go.

 

 

Next, I began to work on the belt. The first thing I noticed about the 850 AW kit belt parts is that they were smaller than the Jimmiroquai parts. All the boxes are smaller and the two supplied strips of ABS to use for the belt is smaller as well. The tallest box that mounts on the belt is 2 ¾” and the belt is 3 1/8” tall. This presents an issue since the RO belt has teeth that protrude across the top and lock into the abdominal armor. There is very little room above the boxes to cut the teeth out. Therefore, I will be making the belt from something other than the supplied strips. I do not have any HIPS or ABS laying around so I will make my belt out of Sentra; however, I do not know how well this will hold up so I may need to remake the belt at a later date. Another thing different from the Jimmiroquai kit is that the boxes for the 850 AW kit are 2-part boxes, a front and a back for each box. This is a good thing because of how I plan on attaching the boxes on the belt. Anyway, here are the parts before cutting.

 

 

And here are all the boxes cut. I still need to trim the edges.

 

 

Next, I have printed the greeble parts and they came out great so here is the link to download them for free if you want them.

 

https://www.thingiverse.com/11b30b4/designs

 

The weekend was very busy, and I did not get as far as I wanted but I did make some progress. First, the 29 hours 3D print turned out great.

 

 

 

Once these parts were sanded and cleaned, I used CA glue to adhere them to the abdomen. I also realized that the extension under the abdomen detail (where the belt would go) was angled and did not provide a good base for the belt to lay on so I cut most of it off the armor and used one of the 3” tall pieces of ABS to make a new mounting surface. I shaped this piece with a heat gun and a large metal (60qt) pot to get the basic shape. Then I used CA glue and applied the 3” strip to the overhang and clamped it in place. In this picture you can see the side by side comparison with my Jimmiroquai abdomen.

 

 

Next, I bit the bullet and purchased a .125 4’ x 8’ piece of HIPS (Black) and used this to make the belt. I was not sure the teeth on top of the belt would hold up if I made it out of Sentra. The front belt started out 3.5” tall and 27” wide. Once I had all the greebles in place I could figure out where the teeth needed to go. To be completely accurate, there should be two additional teeth between the two side greebles and the front center ribs but there is not enough room, so I omitted these teeth.

 

 

Next, I cut out the teeth and this removed most of the top ½” of the belt. Using the heat gun and large metal pot, I shaped the belt and clamped it on the armor to figure out where all the boxes would go.

 

 

As I said previously, the 850Aw kit comes with box inserts but I have decided to mount the boxes differently. Using ½” thick Sentra, I made tight fitting inserts for each box. I then drilled them and mounted T-nuts in them. I used #8-32 T-nuts along with #8-32 x ½” round head screws. The T-nut is     counter sunk after using a spade bit.

 

 

 

Next, I mounted all the inserts on the belt and test fit the boxes.

 

 

 

Next, because the round head screws would protrude on the back side of the belt, I needed to cut away some of the abdomen to allow the belt to lay flat. Also, I knew I wanted the belt to snap on the armor, so I mounted some 4-part snaps in the belt and abdomen. For the armor I used more abs glued from the inside for the snaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, I test fit everything together. You can also see that I used the center rib from the cast center greeble to finish out the piece. Once I was sure how everything would fit, I used CA glue and baking soda to glue in the T-nuts so they would not back out then glued the boxes over the inserts. These boxes can now be removed from the belt and then re applied after painting.

 

 

Next, I decided to modify two of the boxes. In this picture you can see the boxes that are on my Jimmiroquai kit. The boxes from 850AW are close but not as close as I wanted.

 

 

So, using a ½” acrylic rod, I cut and glued the rod in place then added some PC-7 to give it the correct profile. (I later changed this profile)

 

 

 

 

While the PC-7 was curing, I started work on the Thermal Detonator. The 850Aw parts are two end caps, two halves of the tube, one cover detail part and one cast part. I cut out all the parts and assembled the tube. I suppose I could have I used a piece of PVC pipe for this but I wanted to keep the weight of the Thermal Detonator down, so I stuck with the included armor parts. After I got the correct circumference, I glued the tube together and filled the seams with Bondo.

 

 

Most likely, I will do some modification to the round protruding part on the detail plate for the Thermal Detonator, Possibly a 3D printed part. If I do the 3D part, I will add it to for download on my thingiverse page.

 

I did model and print the greeble part for the TD. I have added the file for free download on my thingiverse page. It is embedded with the ROTK Greeble 01 files.

 

I have also been re-working my T-21, updates to follow here: http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?/topic/16557-11b30b4s-ro-t-21-version-2-build/

 

As far as the armor is concerned, like I said, I have printed the TD greeble, so I needed to cut the existing part. Here is how the part looks from 850 AW and the 3D printed greeble next to it.

 

 

So after some cutting and some gluing, this is what it looked like.

 

 

 

Next, I sanded the cast buttons and glued them in place. I cut out the “D” hole and sanded everything.

 

 

Next, using two blocks of ½” thick Sentra, I made a mount for the TD. It was not necessary to hollow out the center, but I did it before I figured out how I would mount the T-nuts. I mounted them the same way I did the belt boxes.

 

 

 

Once it was constructed, I glued the mount and the cover plate on the TD. Lastly, I needed to cut down the end caps to get the proper spacing between the end caps and the cover plate. Unfortunately, super glue is fairly instant and one of the end caps got **** eyed. So, I will need to figure out how to fix this issue before I paint the TD because the contrast between the grey and white will really make this issue stand out.

 

 

And that is where I stopped and sold the kit to Kyle. More to come soon.

Edited September 25, 2020 by 11b30b4

[11b30b4[TK]]

We have finally started strapping this TK.

 

For the strapping you will need some tools, some of these you can work around like using the soldering iron to seal the ends of the webbing; however, having the tools makes everything easier.

Sewing machine with nylon thread (preferred-straight stich industrial sewing machine with #69 bonded nylon thread)

Old soldering iron (to melt holes in the webbing for snaps)

Hot knife (to cut and seal the end of the webbing)

Snap setter die and a hammer

Exacto knife and straight edge to cut Velcro

 

For some reason, I run into a lost of people who do not know how to sew or are too intimidated by sewing. Honestly is very easy to learn and if you into cosplay and costuming, it’s a skill you really should learn. There are a ton of videos on YouTube on how to sew. For the strapping, you really only need to know how to start and end a stitch (back stitch/ lock stitch), sew a straight stitch, and sew a box stitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnTwT-ifLkU

 

Corset Zipper Closure.

We used black neoprene fabric, a 9” 2-part zipper (that means it comes completely separated when un-zipped, like a jacket zipper), and some 2” wide Velcro.

 

After all the measuring, cutting and sewing here is the corset closure.

 

 

Apply the soft Velcro inside the abdominal armor and simply attach the corset closure. This is very similar to how the actual screen used ROTKs were done. The brilliance of this method is that the neoprene is elastic and expands and contracts as you breath and move. Additionally, the attachment method to the armor is stupid simple and adjustable up to 1” in each direction. Unfortunately, it will be almost impossible to close this zipper without the assistance of an additional person.

 

 

 

Shoulder Harness for the Abdominal Armor

We used 1.5” wide black nylon webbing for the harness. So, you would need at least 3 yards of the webbing, 4 plastic 1.5” loops, 4 four-part #24 snap sets, and 2” wide Velcro.

 

Start by making the 4 attachment points. Although ours are not all the same size, it really does not matter. Start with 4 straps 5” long. Fold in half around the plastic loop then stitch along the edges in a square. Do not sew a box stitch (a crisscross x pattern inside the square) since you will be melting a hole in the webbing for the snap. Melt the hole large enough for the snap stem to pass through with the soldering iron. This is what you should end up with.

 

 

Next, you need to measure how long the shoulder harness will be. I had Kyle put the abdomen on and then I marked where all 4 attachment points will go. Then I measured from the top of the armor from one of the back attachment points to the top of the armor for the corresponding front attachment point. Keep in mind that the straps will crisscross in the back. For Kyle that was 33” so I added 3” to each end and cut two straps at 39”.

 

Next, we cut 4 pieces of hard Velcro at 3” x 1.5” and 4 pieces of soft Velcro at 4” x 1.5”. Since we were using adhesive backed Velcro, we stuck it directly to the strap. If you are using sew on Velcro, you can use some hot glue to hold the Velcro in place until it is sewn. You will want to apply the hard Velcro to the ends of the strap and the soft Velcro about ½” past the hard Velcro (see picture below).

 

 

Next, using a box stitch, sew the Velcro to the webbing.

 

Next, attach the #24 snap cap and socket to the webbing attachment points that have the loops and melted holes. We used scrap ABS strips to attach the other end of the snaps to the armor. In this picture you can see a piece of ABS that I heated up with a heat gun then using gloves I formed it to conform to the inside of the armor where I wanted to mount it.

NOTE- do not use a heat gun on the armor or you will deform it. Heat the ABS away from the armor and only until it becomes flexible then quickly lay it inside the armor and hold it in place till it cools.

 

Since the place I am mounting the front snap is on top of a recessed section, I cut an additional piece of ABS to fill in the gap a bit. Drill a hole in the ABS that is large enough for the snap stem then set the eyelet and stud in the ABS with the die. Lastly glue the ABS to the armor with CA glue and clamp in place of use a CA glue accelerator like we did.

 

 

Next, I did a similar process on the inside of the back of the armor, except there was no need for the filler piece.

 

 

Next, snap the attachment points in place then run the straps through the plastic loops. I had Kyle put the abdomen on then adjusted the straps at each attachment point. Since the straps have Velcro, you should be able to adjust them several inches at each attachment point.

 

 

 

And that is where we are currently.

[Sly11[Admin]]

This is starting to look awesome. I love the work around's and attention to detail

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

On 10/1/2020 at 11:09 PM, Sly11 said:

This is starting to look awesome. I love the work around's and attention to detail

Thanks!! trying to get over to Jeff's as often as possible! Hopefully, we can take a weekend and get much more knocked out.

[11b30b4[TK]]

Attaching drop boxes:

Using 2” wide black nylon webbing, we removed the outermost square boxes from the belt. We cut two 7” black nylon straps then punched holes in the webbing with a hot soldering iron to allow the bolts to pass through the webbing. The drop boxes were originally just over ½” deep. One of the issues I have experienced with my drop boxes on my Jim kit is that they rub on the top of the thigh armor and     wear away the paint. I later backed the drop boxes with white craft foam. Knowing this, we got some ¼” thick white craft foam and cut 4 rectangles to fit inside the drop boxes.

 

Next, we cut the drop boxes down to be a little over ¼” deep allowing the second foam rectangle to protrude from the back of the box by about 1/16” once glued in. So, we glued the first foam rectangles inside the drop boxes using hot glue then aligned the 2” black webbing and glued it to the back of the foam. Next, we glued the second foam rectangle on top of the black webbing (sandwiching the black nylon). Lastly, we mounted the webbing and top box back on the belt. There is a ¾” gap between the top box and the drop box.

 

 

Forming the back belt:

We formed the front belt using the same manner.

First, we measured and cut a flat piece of .125 thick HIPS (Black) to 3 7/8” x 23”. Next, using gloves, heat gun, and a metal cylinder surface, we shaped the back belt. In this pic we are using a roll of metal wire mesh as the forming cylinder.

 

 

Once we hade the overall shape, we used a large metal pot as the forming cylinder to finalize the shape.

 

 

Lastly, once we measured the center of the belt, we mounted the Thermal Detonator.

 

 

 

We are still working out how the back belt will mount to the front belt and torso. Most likely it will be a combination of Velcro and snaps.

 

Kyle continued sanding the helmet and is almost at the point to assemble and fill the seams.

[Kal Akaan[501st]]

The saga continues.  This is 2 days worth of work in the following photos. I've sanded the major parts of the bucket and put filler on them.

One part I found slightly aggravating was the vents

 

I then began sanding the smaller parts.

 

 

Jeff worked on the belt and then the lenses.

 

 

 

Jeff also trimmed the breastplate and back plate

 

 

That's it for now. Been super busy at work. I'll try to post more often. Thanks!!

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Prep work is definitely tedious work, coming along well

[11b30b4[TK]]

While Kyle worked on his helmet, I vacuum formed and dyed some lenses for him.

 

 

I made a tutorial on how I did this here: