My first ANH TK Build-Assistance Welcome! (ATA)

[Phat Rob]

Hello Everyone!

Super excited on this first step into a much larger world! Here are a few pics from BBB day (Heck,even the cat was excited!). Now that I have all the armor I've checked out several hours worth of threads and tutorials over here and... I am pretty overwhelmed lol. I have my dremel, files and cutting tools ready (but I think I may need some tape) and I think I'll start with trimming the lower legs first. 

            

 

Here are some thread links that I'll be referring for beginning the trimming process.  

 

 

Since my kit is an ATA Works product I believe it's suitable for a Hero version but not Centurion. Is that correct?

There have been several references to 7.5mm as well as other measurements. If there's an experienced trooper out there that can clarify what any measurements refer to I would be eternally grateful. Also, any knowledge shared regarding the trimming and building of the legs would also be appreciated. Of course, if you have any other words of advice, those would be most welcome as well. Thanks in advance for your time and help!

Edited October 6, 2020 by Phat Rob
corrected type

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Greetings Rob, and welcome to FISD! You've come to the right place for building a stormtrooper kit, and there will be many people here to help you along the way! I'm a little north east of you in northwest Georgia (outside Chattanooga, TN), so we're relative neighbors in a sense! As far as your questions about your ATA armor, you would be able to build either a ANH Hero (Luke or Han) or ANH Stunt (all other stormtroopers), and likely take either variant to both EI and Centurion level. However, for the Hero you would need to get bubble lenses for the helmet, rather than the flat piece that Terrell (ATA) supplies, and you would also need different ears with only three bumps, rather than the two sets of four-bump ears that typically ship with the armor.

 

As for the mm measurements you're referring to, 7.5mm would be to each side of a butt-joint raised ridge which would later be covered by a 15mm cover strip on your arms pieces. Note that biceps, forearms, thighs, and shins will have different width measurements for you to use, and you'll also need to take your fitment into the armor into consideration. i.e. heavier troopers may need to increase the measurements to fit comfortably in their armor. More info on cover strips can be found in my post here (you'll need to scroll down as it's a long post). In general, and if possible, it's good to keep the front-facing cover strips to cannon / screen-used widths, and then widen the rear-facing (your back) strips if needed for fitment.

 

I myself have also been working on my own ATA Stunt build (link to my thread here) and at least until recently, have been having a blast. Since you're building an ATA kit I also thought I'd share with you a resource thread which I created for all Troopers, but particularly with ATA builders in mind. The second half of the long thread has links to helpful builds, and many of them are ATAs.

 

 

Post up lots of pictures and ask lots of questions, and answers will come! Welcome again!

 

Edited July 28, 2020 by MaskedVengeance

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Rob, welcome to FISD and congratulations for your BBB day.

 

looking forward for photos of your advances. remember "Measure twice or more, check the CRL, reference Photos and cut and glue  just once"

 

Good luck.  

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Hello and welcome aboard, following others builds is a great way to build, also check out the gallery sections for reference images. You have been given some great links so I'm sure you will do fine, good luck

[Sly11[Admin]]

Welcome aboard Rob.

[magni[TK]]

Welcome to the FISD Rob!

 

I'll echo what Glen said. Follow some ATA build threads. Check out some Members Centurion approved ATA suits for visual inspiration. And our Gallery has a great post from Locitus of one of the original suits. The photo's have great info on construction and sizes of everything taken with calipers. They helped me and will help you!

 

Good Luck Future Trooper!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Welcome, Rob, and congrats on your ATA purchase!  I see that you have a Stunt helmet, and you certainly can should head toward Centurion!  You have a fantastic start by posting a build thread, so feel free to ask all the questions you need/want to and post lots of photos, especially when you come across an issue.

One thing I would suggest is that you allow myself or another staff member to relocate your thread to the Build Threads area here and add (ATA) to the end of the title.  This way it makes it easier for others to add suggestions and advice, and also serves as a reference for future ATA builders!

 

My best advice at this point is take.... your....time.  Rushing things can lead to mistakes.  Trust me.  Also, when in doubt about something, always ask before cutting or gluing.

I would also recommend getting your under-suit as soon as possible.  Wearing this during the fitting process will ensure that the various pieces sit correctly against your body.  Some like the one-piece type, but most of us use the 2 piece.  I have some examples on my thread here.

 

Hint:  Keep all the scrap ABS when trimming, as these can used for interior cover strips for strengthening joins. 

 

[Phat Rob]

Alright fellas. Here's my very,very first progress post. After reading through everyone's helpful suggestions I'm left with a much clearer direction and inspiration! Caleb and Josheph, I intend to do some more research regarding achieving Centurion level certification. I'm sure I'll have more questions the further down the rabbit hole I get. For now I'm going to see about procuring correct bubble lenses and 3 column ear pieces. Also Caleb, the link to your build has so far served as a real useful guide in preparing my leg pieces.

Mario, "Measure twice, cut once." is now my motto haha. I am taking it super sloooooow so as to ensure success.

Glenn, anytime I begin a new process I'm making it a point to cross-reference other ATA build threads to ensure best practices.

Andrew, Randy and everyone, I truly appreciate the sincere welcome and all of your time and advice. In time I hope my build can be just as useful. Thanks everyone!

Joseph, I would certainly welcome you to relocate my build thread with the ATA suffix if it can get more eyes over here. Thanks for that!

 

So now to the creamy center...

All progress examples are from the right leg shins

So far I'm merely cutting all the excess flash off each part. 

If you guys think everything looks ok my intention is to make the final cuts at 1/8" thickness at the top, and cutting to show some curvature at the bottom ankle area. Since the front cover strips are 7/8" wide I'm assuming to half those dims for both the inner and outer pieces? 

I intend to measure/cut the rear halves until they fit snug n proper. 

The sanding will then commence! I've got 60 grit sandpaper for rough sanding and 120 grit to even things out. What do you recommend for a baby smooth finish?

I'm making sure that all corners are rounded off to mitigate snap, cracks n pops

For gluing pieces do you recommend glue with ethyl cyanoacrylate or good ol' E6000?

I think that's it for now. I can't thank you enough for all of your encouragement and advice but THANK YOU!

Until next time...

Edited July 31, 2020 by Phat Rob
Forgot pix

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

8 hours ago, Phat Rob said:

For now I'm going to see about procuring correct bubble lenses and 3 column ear pieces.

 

Joseph, I would certainly welcome you to relocate my build thread with the ATA suffix if it can get more eyes over here. Thanks for that!

 

For gluing pieces do you recommend glue with ethyl cyanoacrylate or good ol' E6000?

GREAT job on the trimming so far, Rob!

 

You mentioned you were looking for bubble lenses and 3 bump ear bars, but if you are aiming for a Hero build the frown can only have 6 openings (3 on each side).  The helmet you have has 8 (Stunt style).

                                           

                         Note the extra opening on the ends on yours                                                               Hero 

       

 

Can this be fixed?  Yep.  I changed an Anovos Stunt Helmet to a Hero using ABS paste to fill those holes (not an easy task, though).

 

I would steer well clear of CA (super) glue.  Seriously.  Although E-6000 takes 24 hours to dry, it is much more forgiving and can be removed easily if it drips on your armor.  If you make a mistake, the bond can be broken with no damage, but with CA glue, once it's set it's set.  Drips must be sanded off and the finish polished.  Not easy.  Trust me.

 

Thread moved, title updated!

[Phat Rob]

Ok the last couple of weeks have been mostly devoted to sanding, gluing, and adjusting the lower legs for proper fitting. 

Here we have all appropriate trim sanded. I've left it at 1/8" at the top and just below the curve along the ankles.

The front, inner edges of each half are at 12 cm of flat area along the middle area.

 

Cover strip was resized to run the length of the front shin. The strip was then glued

fastened, and set aside for 24 hours. The cumbersome process of marking the rear

section of the lower legs was slowly but surely successful after donning the leg armor. 

 

While referencing the CRL for the back section of the lower legs I noticed a discrepancy

along the top section of the rear side. The spots marked with "x's" will be cut out for 

better accuracy.

 

I need to acquire a PVC pipe (for the thermal detonator) that I believe can also 

function as a suitable template when tracing the curvature for the trim of the right 

knee ammo pack. If there are other ideas I'm all ears. 

 

Anyways, I've proceeded to trim the flash from the sniper plate. I wasn't sure about 

the cut along the bottom. Is 1/8" from the corner an accurate cut?

That's it for now. Thanks in advance for your time and help! I truly appreciate it!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Trim line looks good on sniper plate.

 

I use a spray can as a template for thigh strip curve

Some references

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Rob, great work with those shins.

 

For the "mobility cuts" the crl states for level 3 : " Any mobility cuts on back of piece do not go past raised ridges." consider this when trimming if neccesary.

 

Reference images-  Note that the top of the ridge is present

             

 

 

 

About the Sniper knee trimming. here is a suggested trimming from Joseph's Return Edges Post.

 

 Sniper knee plate

 

The bottom of this piece is an area often not trimmed enough.  To allow it to sit flat (or very close to flat) against the top of the calf enough for the glue to adhere properly I suggest removing most if not all of the bottom edge.

 

                                                                       

 

 

                                                     Note how in the first and third photos how the sniper knee is parallel to the front of the calf.

                              

 

Cheers 

[Phat Rob]

Lower leg and thigh work for this round of photos. GMRHodes, I made sure to create two curve areas on the knee ammo belt as per the CRL. TKSpartan, I think I'll go ahead and trim about a 16th of an inch along the bottom front of that sniper knee plate just to nail down the flushness more. Thanks for the suggestions. In order to ensure the lower legs close more tightly I heated along the front area of the left and right pieces. I decided to use the velcro method to close the back area of the shin. I simply glued the velcro strips along the cover strip and back area.

      

 

 

For the thigh ammo belt I used the score and snap method to remove from the original piece. I proceeded to cut two curve edges into the bottom corners. In doing so I believe I may have cut too much of a straight angle on each side. Any suggestions on how to fix this miscalculation are most welcome.

 

Here we have the left and right thigh pieces marked along the flash for cutting out and the final sanded result. I've left a half inch distance along the front creases for the front cover strip. For now I've left the return edges at less than half an inch along the top and bottom edges. Is this acceptable or is it advised to go thinner?

 

 

Lastly, I've seen several suggestions for the type of rivet to be used for the thigh ammo belt. Even the instructions in the CRL seem to contradict each other. (I think I'm shooting for Level 2 Centurion certification?) Geez this stuff is so confusing lol. Anyways, that's it for now and thanks in advance for your time and help!

[Firedog[TK]]

On the thigh ammo belt, I believe both the  split rivet and single cap rivet are acceptable at all levels. @justjoseph offers the centurion hardware kit, which would be a nice one-stop shop for what you are needing.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Firedog

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I like using the cap rivets myself, a bit easier to attach 

[Firedog[TK]]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I like using the cap rivets myself, a bit easier to attach 

I agree. The cap rivets are easier to install in such a tight space vs the split rivets.

[Phat Rob]

Hey y'all. Work continues for the leg portion of the armor. Both the left shin and the right thigh are what we're looking at this week. I  went ahead and purchased a hardware set by Joseph Pedigo. Thanks for the heads-up Shawn! And thank you, Joseph! For the thigh ammo belt I'm gonna apply cap rivets for attachment. In the pic there's only two but I think three should be applied for secure fastening. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Both pieces have been painted over with three coats of white enamel paint.

 

 

 

Speaking of the thigh ammo belt, is this the correct height and area of attachment on the right thigh piece? Note the circled-in holes. Is that the correct hole placement for the side rivets? Again, I believe there should be a third rivet punched through the right-middle area. I will supply an additional pic to confirm soon.

 

 

On to the right thigh. After measuring for accuracy the cover strip was glued in. There is a noticeable gap along the bottom area where the side join. I have placed a small cover strip but I'm thinking I'll make some ABS paste and cover it up on the inside. What do you think?

 

 

An additional cover strip was added on the inside for additional support. After measurements were confirmed, a heat gun was used to conform the sides inward. 

After the cover strip was measured, created and glued the awkward task of gluing and applying the velcro was completed.

 

 

Here's a pic of that small strip piece I mentioned earlier on the front part of the thigh piece. Yeah, I think I'll see about pasting that up.  On the rear portion of the right thigh you'll notice that gap there (again!).  Looking at the CRL, I noticed some pics do show mobility cuts along the back of the knee.  Is it recommended to reshape or cut out this area?

 

 

Lastly, the sniper plate was worked on. As you can see I decided to further trim the bottom area to make it more flush against the shin armor.

 

I will admit, I was so excited to attach this thing and got a little ahead of myself by actually gluing it onto the armor. Doh! For what it's worth, here are the shots with clamps aaaaand glued. If this doesn't work I'll take my lashes and reapply to ensure accuracy.

 

 

 

That's all I have for now. Oh! And my homework for this weekend will be doing more research on Hero, Stunt, EI and Centurion differences as I STILL haven't fully decided the path I'm going to pursue. I know, I'm awful lol! Thanks in advance for your guidance and time-I really appreciate it!

 

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

9 minutes ago, Phat Rob said:

Speaking of the thigh ammo belt, is this the correct height and area of attachment on the right thigh piece? Note the circled-in holes. Is that the correct hole placement for the side rivets? Again, I believe there should be a third rivet punched through the right-middle area. I will supply an additional pic to confirm soon.

Hi, this reference images  may help.

 

           

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Great progress, Rob! In regards to the knee mobility cuts, I would wait until you can fully kit up before making any such cuts. That way you can figure out exactly how much to take off, if any. If you do eventually make them, be sure not to extend the cutouts past the ridges area.

As for the Stunt vs Hero question, as previously mentioned, you’d need to make some pretty heavy mods to your helmet to go Hero (new ears, different lenses, completely repainted frown and two filled-in teeth holes). As for basic vs EI vs Centurion, since you’re still in the process of building, you might as well aim for Level 3 (Centurion). It really doesn’t cost any more money, except for purchasing flexible hand guards (another Joseph purchase I would highly recommend), and you need a good enough blaster. It’s really just about the fine details such as river locations, minimizing gaps, and securing proper alignment and proportions. You can totally do that!

Keep up the great work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CableGuy[TK]]

Oh! And my homework for this weekend will be doing more research on Hero, Stunt, EI and Centurion differences as I STILL haven't fully decided the path I'm going to pursue. I know, I'm awful lol! Thanks in advance for your guidance and time-I really appreciate it!
 
 
 

Hey there trooper,

If you are aiming for level 3 (Centurion), just be aware that you are not allowed Velcro closures for the rear of the thighs for L3. They must use the butt joint method.

As it stands, your coverstips look quite a bit wider than the suggested average of 20mm. As below, they look quite out of proportion to the armour. I’d suggest aiming for 20mm and moving away from the Velcro idea. It’ll look much neater and be more like the originals. :-)




Out of interest, what made you choose Velcro for the thigh rears?

[Phat Rob]

On 9/3/2020 at 1:04 AM, CableGuy said:

 

Hey there trooper,

If you are aiming for level 3 (Centurion), just be aware that you are not allowed Velcro closures for the rear of the thighs for L3. They must use the butt joint method.

As it stands, your coverstips look quite a bit wider than the suggested average of 20mm. As below, they look quite out of proportion to the armour. I’d suggest aiming for 20mm and moving away from the Velcro idea. It’ll look much neater and be more like the originals. :-)




Out of interest, what made you choose Velcro for the thigh rears?

 

"Out of interest, what made you choose Velcro for the thigh rears?"  Hey Dan. Honestly, my decision was purely based on convenience. I've had some velcro boxes left over from another costume. I will pull out the velcro and replace it with bands as well as adjust the rear cover strip of the thigh.  Thank you for your advice!

[Phat Rob]

Good evening folks. This post is mainly about my progress with making and sanding down ABS paste. First, I'd like to show the adjustments I've made on the rear cover strips for the thigh pieces. As you can see they're just a hair narrower than 2.5 cm.

 

    

 

With a little help from the Kman (Thank you!) I was able to make a healthy sampling of ABS paste culled from the smallest pieces of leftover trim.

 

I only needed an itty-bitty amount so the instructions were spot on for the correct amount of plastic to acetone ratio.

 

 

Here's what my poor thigh gaps looked like upon immediate application.

 

 

Pretty grody-I know. After over 30 minutes of vigorous sanding here are the results. You'll notice what appear to be bubbles. 

 

 

Drat! After refining my acetone concoction I proceeded to add another dab, let dry and sand away.

Here is the final result, pre-buffing.

 

 

 

IF no further adjustments need to be made regarding the smoothing out of the potential gap areas, do you think I am ready to apply the thigh ammo belt to the right thigh piece?

I know most dudes dread that moment of riveting this piece but I can't wait to be honest haha! I eagerly await your advice or concerns- as always I really appreciate your time and help!

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, Phat Rob said:

do you think I am ready to apply the thigh ammo belt to the right thigh piece?

Hi Rob, great work filling those gaps.   before attaching the ammo belt be sure to glue the back cover strips to have to correct support.

 

cheers .  

[Phat Rob]

Got it Mario-back cover strips have been glued/attached! I guess now is as good a time to clarify that I have decided to go for a Centurion level-stunt build. "Power Extreme!" Every reference I look at is at Level 3 Centurion level so it makes sense to me lol.  Ok, on with the progress! I've finally applied the thigh ammo belt. 

 

In an effort to keep the thigh belt stable, I've read some folks prefer to punch in a third rivet but I have yet to see any visual evidence of said application. I've also read other threads that advise gluing certain sections underneath where the ammo belt touches the lower ridge of the thigh. If anyone else considers gluing acceptable the areas that I've marked are where I plan on applying glue.

 

 

Other than the thigh belt I've begun some work on the upper arm pieces. Noting how the 501st insists on minimal gaps between the shoulder bells and chest and shoulder links I've cut out as much return edge as possible.

 

 

As for the bicep pieces I have only marked where I intend to cut away the extra flash. Is this correct?

 

 

 

I've also noticed that for the outer bicep pieces one of them flares out at the end. Does anyone know why this is?

 

 

Speaking of shape differences, the end corners of the inner bicep pieces are also noticeably different. On one piece the end corners arc at a near point, the other has two angled corners on the inside.

 

Any insights or directions regarding these observations and markings would be greatly appreciated. 

 

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

14 hours ago, Phat Rob said:

If anyone else considers gluing acceptable the areas that I've marked are where I plan on applying glue.

I always glue a couple of small sections like those you marked and great work with the the rivets .

 

For the biceps, I found this image that may be helpful.

 

 

cheers