Firedog's Dueling AM 4.5 ANH Stunt TK Builds

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

41 minutes ago, Firedog said:

Time is of the essence here. Can I place the clip in between the belt layers to allow it to sit in the right spot?

Yes you can try and see .  This is not an approval breaker, so you can fix it later when replacing the clips if you're planning to go for EIB and Centurion (We hope so) 

 

Pd:  When making the fix, you may want to post it here before  drilling the holes to give you some feedback. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

A suggestion  you can consider for more accuracy is to trim a bit more the small ab button . This is a suggestion we usually make when reviewing EIB applications.

 

 

                                         

 

 

 

 

Overall you have made an outstanding work mate.  hope to see your EIB application soon !! Good luck with your approval.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Firedog[TK]]

2 minutes ago, TKSpartan said:

A suggestion  you can consider for more accuracy is to trim a bit more the small ab button . This is a suggestion we usually make when reviewing EIB applications.

 

 

                                         

 

 

 

 

Overall you have made an outstanding work mate.  hope to see your EIB application soon !! Good luck with your approval.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tips. On the AM armor, I don't have the slot under the bottom of the button plate that other kits have. I could trim a bit more off, but was afraid I would get into the contour of the button due to the pull. Also, after thinking about the TD clips, I may be able to heat them with a propane torch to soften the metal enough to allow me to reshape them. I will try it out on one of the clips from the first set and see how that goes.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

12 minutes ago, Firedog said:

Thanks for the tips. On the AM armor, I don't have the slot under the bottom of the button plate that other kits have. I could trim a bit more off, but was afraid I would get into the contour of the button due to the pull. Also, after thinking about the TD clips, I may be able to heat them with a propane torch to soften the metal enough to allow me to reshape them. I will try it out on one of the clips from the first set and see how that goes.

I think if you don't have the slot and feel insecure about trimming, don't worry, it's not mandatory in any level. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Firedog[TK]]

I would also add that I feel bad for not posting more detailed progress photos on the first build, but I was under a time crunch.... I'll be adding more content to this thread as I begin my son's TK and hopefully will add more details in the process.

[LTM[TK]]

8 hours ago, Firedog said:

I would also add that I feel bad for not posting more detailed progress photos on the first build, but I was under a time crunch.... I'll be adding more content to this thread as I begin my son's TK and hopefully will add more details in the process.

If you haven't already, go for a troop in the neighborhood for 30+ min. Go up some steps, slight hill, down the same. Put the snaps to the test and check for armor bites (might need to remove some return). This would help as you are going to make the second set of armor. Easier to find out now and incorporate into the build. That being said, you will still have some adjustments when we can get back to 3+ hours of a troop. 

Great job by the way!
 

[Firedog[TK]]

Today was a good day. I received my E-11 from Quest Design and I couldn't be more pleased. I will likely paint the bolt and install a spring as well as apply some weathering, but for now, I hope as it stands in this state it is enough for EIB.

 

 

 

 

I also finished the install of @ukswrath's TK audio and fan bracket. I also installed a bluetooth receiver for TK chatter.  It's a little tight getting this baby on and off. and I may be able to do some tweaking to give more room, but I haven't figured that out yet. Any suggestions on better placement would be welcome.

 

 

For anyone not familiar with the products he offers, here's a one stop link to all of his products, tutorials, and build threads.

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Your blaster looks Great !! Congratulations. 

[Firedog[TK]]

So, I said this was a dueling build, but there was no way I was going to be able to build both of these kits simultaneously and make my goal of first 1k EIB. Also, as I mentioned earlier, building my kit first would allow me to use those skills to build my son's. In addition to this, if for some reason I screwed up and cut too much off when sizing, he is smaller than me and I could have swapped out parts with his and still had plenty to trim off. All that being said, here is what I have been up to the past week.

 

First, I worked on trimming return edges from appendages.

 

 

 

As he wasn't here at the time to do any fitting, I began cutting the fronts of the thighs and shins to about 11mm on each side and sanded them down to close to 10mm as I still wanted a small amount of reveal on either side of the 20mm cover strip.

 

 

And then, cover strip installation began

 

 

 

Front cover strips on thighs and shins done. The two pieces without magnets had already been sitting for 24 hours and I needed the magnets, so I removed them and left the clamps just for my own peace of mind.

 

 

On to the forearms. Here is where I have questions. My son takes after me at his age, as in there's not much to him. He's about 6' and 165lbs. His arms are a bit on the small size, but I don't really want to trim this armor down so much that he can't grow into it a little as he matures. If he's anything like me, he'll put on a little more weight in the not too distant future. You can see in this photo that there is about a finger width on the inside/outside of the arm, but in the next photo, you can also see that the forearms are a decent amount larger than his arm. Will this cause the armor to look wonky? I told him we would add padding to keep the armor from moving around.

 

 

 

While we're on the subject of things fitting properly in two different directions. We worked on fitting the body pieces this evening. I trimmed off the ab, kidney, and shoulders to get this fit. While it fits pretty good in front and back, as you can see, there is a decent amount of room on the sides. I put him in my arm pieces just to get the overall visual. He's a skinny fella and I don't want him to be swallowed in armor that looks way too big for his frame. I have seen some threads where the ab and kidney are reformed to hug a little closer on the sides, but it seems a daunting and risky endeavor. Any feedback here is greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, get's easier the second time, not as much research  

 

Some nice straight trim lines on those thighs 

[Daetrin[Admin]]

OK, I know I'm late to the party but wanted to put in a few thoughts...

 

First, thanks so much for a wonderful build thread.  There is so much crazy stuff in the news I can't watch it anymore, and having something deep and meaningful like this thread gives me something positive to look forward too on a Saturday morning with my coffee whilst my kids are still slumbering (aahhhh....teenagers!).  The detailing and care you are putting in to the build is exquisite.

 

One thing I always did, and also recommended when I was a GML, was to not glue the backs of the thighs or even the forearms until you've done a troop or two, or even three.  The reason is that it's one thing to get a suit to fit nicely in your home as you walk around a bit, quite another when you are at a real troop and walking fast (or even running), climbing stairs, etc.  The worst is the thighs, as it's not uncommon that people err on being too tight or too loose (e.g. the board short look).  Some small fixes are easy to hide behind cover strips, others...once I had to order a whole new set of thighs as I glued them before really dialing them in and they were beyond fixing.  Ouch

[Firedog[TK]]

Thank you for your kind words, Paul. You mentioned not glueing the strips prior to trooping. What did you do in lieu of gluing them? 

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Why velcro, of course.  That's how all the suits were put together in the FX days, even the biceps. It was only later that people started gluing them.  Velcro also has a little "give", so you could make the thighs look good, and if you did some serious flexing the velcro gave it a bit of room.  Same with the forearms, just open up to get in/out if the wrist opening is too tight.

[Firedog[TK]]

1 hour ago, Daetrin said:

Why velcro, of course.  That's how all the suits were put together in the FX days, even the biceps. It was only later that people started gluing them.  Velcro also has a little "give", so you could make the thighs look good, and if you did some serious flexing the velcro gave it a bit of room.  Same with the forearms, just open up to get in/out if the wrist opening is too tight.

I thought as much. That’s helpful information regarding the history of how these were previously made as I’m just getting into it and following current build techniques. I do think I could loosen the top of my thighs some, but I have been wearing boxer briefs underneath my compression pants and should gain a smidgen more room if I stop doing that, so we’ll see. I could even remove one side and use Velcro I have difficulty with them once I get out and walk for an extended period. Then I could dial em in to the sweet spot.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Firedog

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Originally all, or nearly all, were FX when I got in.  Even in the Rose Parade (2007) it was at least 90% FX suits.  Since they come pre-trimmed assembly is pretty easy, just glue the fronts and Velcro the backs.  As a long-time GML, I've lost count of how many times people glued the thigh backs only to be told that they were too big (board shorts look) or else found (like I did the one time) they were too tight to do more than walk.   Hence the advice to velcro the backs until you've done a few troops and really knew where you wanted them to be before doing something that is very hard to change.

[Firedog[TK]]

Well, my plans to closely document my son's build did not go as planned. After school started back I found myself trying to squeeze in a few minutes here and a few there to get his kit done. He was also back to FSU, so we were only able to work on fitment when he was home on the occasional weekend. That being said, I did manage to get him finished up in time to submit before our Halloween troop. We're still have a few adjustments to make, but he was looking sharp this weekend. We hope to have his TK ID this week.

 

 

 

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hey! you both looks great !!  congratulations  

[Firedog[TK]]

Thank you, Mario! 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great work

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Congrats on finishing the Trooper duel! Exciting to have that second TK number around the corner! Looking great there with Mando as well!


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[Cali_Nole]

Nicely done, Shawn!  Congrats on finishing both sets of armor.  Two good looking Troopers!