Cadet Momoss KB Props TLJ FOTK Build

[MomoSS]

[EDIT]  Switching to TFA FOTK since KB Props armor is TFA and finding the TLJ parts is a little difficult.  I will return to TLJ later!

 

 

Hey everybody, Momo here!

I'm pretty new to this community, got cadet status for the Georgia Garrison not too long ago.  I have aspirations to become an FOTK someday and a few days ago I got my big start with the Big Brown Box!  Ive already ordered my lexan scissors off Amazon so im waiting for them to come so I can get started on trimming these pieces but I got a lot more tools and soft goods to gather.  I need to keep my eyes open for Imperial Boots to start taking orders again so I can get my boots and gloves.  Everything else will come with time.  This is my first stormtrooper and I'm still learning the terminology of stuff and exploring this side of costuming...but hopefully one day I can join the ranks!

 

This is the look im going for when its all said and done.  I'm still deciding on pauldron color, but red is probably what I'm going to end up with.

 

 

This is the aftermath of taking everything out of the BBB.  Its a lot of stuff!  I'm kinda worried about stuff not fitting right but some of these pieces are enormous xD  I'm only 5ft but I'm not the skinny variety so fitment will be interesting.

 

 

List of stuff for my stormtrooper thus far.  Most of it is not ordered yet, but its good to have an idea of where I'm going for things.  Research is still ongoing!  Will edit post to reflect updates on Parts List

 

Parts List:

-Hard Bits-

TLJ Helmet: KB Props (Received)

Armor: KB Props [Only comes in TFA] (Received)

TLJ Cod: TBA

TLJ Forearms: TBA

TLJ Thermal Detonator: TBA

TLJ Thighs: TBA

Pauldron: KB Props (Received)

TFA FOTK: In progress

 

 

 

Eventually I want a voice amp and stuff but I'll worry about that after I finish the suit.  Fans may be a must though.  I usually just rig a CPU fan in there but I might want something a little more professional this time around.  I'll probably be adding more to this list later.

 

For now this is all, updates will be slow as I'm not trying to rush this.  Dont wanna make any mistakes, I am new after all   Gonna take it slow and carefully for the best result!  This be exciting times!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2020 by MomoSS

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

The SS Momo has set sail!

[Hesikaya[TK]]

 Yes!!!  I can't wait to celebrate that first cut of ABS with you! And on that note you may also want some gloves like these.  ABS is nasty sharp stuff and WILL tear you up!--------------

Edited March 13, 2021 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking forward to seeing the progress, good luck trooper

[Cricket[TK]]

Congrats on your BBB day and your shiny white FOTK kit!  Looking forward to watching your progress on this.  I know @shashachu has been slowly working on her FOTK for a while- she's on the smaller size as well.   You're definitely in the right place to get your build going!

And welcome to the Georgia Garrison!   

Edited July 31, 2020 by Cricket

[MomoSS]

So as I was doing my research I stumbled upon this thread from a few years back and this storage case is awesome!

I decided I had to have it so I ran down to Home Depot to go get it!

 

It sure is a lot bigger in person, I was starting to get worried it wouldnt fit in my back seat when I realized the trunk was gonna be a no go.  But crisis averted!  I'm definitely painting this thing white and pimping it out later on.

 

I went ahead and moved all my armor pieces out of the BBB and into here.  Much more spacious, though I still dont feel comfortable shoving my helmet in there.  I also got my hands on some E6000 and ordered zap-a-gap off amazon as well as my boots and gloves from Imperial Boots.  Starting to accumulate a bunch of stuff, though, still waiting for my lexan scissors... 

 

The wait and research continues!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I've used mine for air travel but it's just a bit too big for transport to some of our smaller troops and for up stairs so I use a suit case and helmet bag most of the time.

[Sly11[Admin]]

Great to see you are under way Monica.

[MomoSS]

Alright, busted out the dremel today!  Took out the neck flash underneath the helmet enough to where I can put it on.

I cant see a thing!   I gotta cut these lenses out.  Preferably without ruining them too much.  Might need them to make sure the real lenses fit properly?  Or am I wrong?

 

Someone in my garrison told me I need to trim this some more.

Now my head does technically fit through that hole but do I need to cut it say...this much?

 

The helmet has some other work that needs to be done to it.

All the greeblies on it look like this.  I could take a dremel to it, but thats some pretty fine dexterity required to cut that without messing something up.  Rather not use a dremel for this...maybe exacto knife?

Theres some other flash I need to cut off but ones like these isnt really a big deal.  Just dremel off and then go over the blemish with some spot putty i guess?

Then theres the frown.  Some good detail but a lot of pitting happened here.  Theres even a little chunk under the nose plate missing  I really feel like cutting some of this honeycomb out, especially in between the teeth cause its hard to breathe!  But finding a replacement for the honeycomb might be an issue...I have no idea where to start there.

Finally theres this hairline crack.  I got some JB weld clear epoxy.  I'm thinking just putting some on the other side of this should fix that problem right up.

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Any cracks I like to add support/glue from behind then on the front grind into the crack a little and fill will bondo/filler so it won't show in the paint. 

 

For the pin holes hopefully spray putty will sort a few of those, if not some final glaze/blade putty should help, a lot of fine sanding. You may even find with the black areas they won't show as much.

 

Some differences between the clip area from TFA to TLJ

 

Here's a nice reference for the teeth area

 

[MomoSS]

Got my lexan scissors recently, thought i'd get to work on trimming some ABS.  Got more soft goods on the way as well!  Cant wait till they get here!

 

First thing I did was cut out this chest vent with a dremel.  Seemed easy enough.  Thank god I didnt have to do the other method of cutting it out and inserting a resin piece like I've seen some people do on here.  The pill boxes I'm gonna need to find a drill bit or something to go on my dremel to cut those out.  I'll see whats in the dremel box but I know I'm missing a couple pieces...

 

I decided to test fitment of back piece and yoke together and trim out the middle of the yoke like i've seen a lot of people do.  It wasnt an option not to, there was no way my bust was fitting in there without cutting the middle lol  I think the fitment of front to back is pretty good.  I'm still deciding how to cut the opening for the arms though.  They cant stay the way there are for sure, the chest piece ends up riding up too high and if I wear a helmet it will end up resting on the shoulders which is no bueno.

This is how im planning to trim it so far from the build threads I've looked at.  Any thoughts or adjustments?

Excuse my totally unapprovable ninja turtles FOTK helm  But I currently cant see out of my TLJ helm so this will have to do for now to get an idea how it looks.  I already feel like when I get to the ab plate its gonna have to be cut almost in half cause its so long on me.  I also feel like cutting off more of the yoke in the front, like the part that goes under my arms.

Something similar to this.  Would make putting it on ALOT easier too.

 

Being short was a challenge already, but I'm not the skinniest of short people right now D:  I'm working on that too!  Dieting and walks, with some biking.  Hopefully in a few months this stuff will fit better!  Till then, more trimming...

 

 

Edited August 13, 2020 by MomoSS

[zv288bot[TK]]

Welcome Monica! So excited for you! Keep up the good work!

[MomoSS]

Small update.  Trimming pieces is a long process...but I did finally get around to installing that mattress topper inside my TK Transport

Now I dont have to worry about armor getting scratched up, thats always a plus.  The helmet is not gonna stay there dont worry.  Just wanted to see if it would fit   I plan to get a helmet bag for that when its further along.

Speaking of the helmet...ran into a little bit of a snag.  The mesh I bought for in between the teeth are the wrong size, dang it.  At first I had no idea what I was going to do about it but after searching the forums for about an hour I think I found the mesh I actually need.

 

https://www.themeshcompany.com/cgi-bin/sh000003.pl?WD=hexagonal&PN=4.5mm-Hexagonal-Hole---5mm-Triangular-Pitch---1mm-Thickness---Perforated-Metal-Mesh---Mild-Steel---A4-Sample-Sheet-451.html#SID=96

 

It's a size up from the one I have.  And I double checked by measuring the hexagons on my KB helm, and 5mm is about right so hopefully this will match up with the helmet much better.  Not sure what I'm gonna do with the smaller one but I'll hang on to it.  Something may turn up for it...who knows?

 

Over the weekend I had a little fun at Harbor Freight and manage to nab myself a belt sander, some small metal files, and 10 plastic clamps.  Now I'm ready to glue that yoke together!  I'm sure the belt sander will save me alot of time down the road.  Still waiting on some soft goods to arrive.  Overseas shipping gonna take forever!

Edited August 18, 2020 by MomoSS

[MomoSS]

Did some more trimming and finally decided after cutting the yoke down like what I've seen on some others to glue the thing together.

 

After sanding the 2 parts that would be mated I applied some Zap-a-gap

 

Stuff is no joke, it bonds quick.  This was like 10 minutes later.

 

Trimmed around where my arms come out so I have more freedom of movement and bring down the ride height of the chest piece cause right now my helmet likes to sit on it which is no bueno for trying to move my head around and bad for line of sight.

 

This is about as far as I wanna cut down on the yoke.  I think I'm pretty happy with how it is now.  Dont wanna trim into the shoulder too far cause I plan on getting those metal support tabs to go in between for the shoulders.  Hopefully once the helmet gets padding and a hard hat liner it will all sit better and not clash so much.

 

Need to start putting some other pieces together like the forearms, but I still need to trim those...man trimming takes forever and hurts ya hands!

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by MomoSS

[Sly11[Admin]]

1 hour ago, MomoSS said:

Did some more trimming and finally decided after cutting the yoke down like what I've seen on some others to glue the thing together.

 

After sanding the 2 parts that would be mated I applied some Zap-a-gap

 

Stuff is no joke, it bonds quick.  This was like 10 minutes later.

 

Trimmed around where my arms come out so I have more freedom of movement and bring down the ride height of the chest piece cause right now my helmet likes to sit on it which is no bueno for trying to move my head around and bad for line of sight.

 

This is about as far as I wanna cut down on the yoke.  I think I'm pretty happy with how it is now.  Dont wanna trim into the shoulder too far cause I plan on getting those metal support tabs to go in between for the shoulders.  Hopefully once the helmet gets padding and a hard hat liner it will all sit better and not clash so much.

 

Need to start putting some other pieces together like the forearms, but I still need to trim those...man trimming takes forever and hurts ya hands!

 

Slowly but surely Monica.

Once you add the shoulder brackets you can then look how much material you can still trim away. Once you have your gaskets on it's going to be a whole different ball game

[MomoSS]

Alrighty, got some progress to post.  I've been busy trimming and trying to see what pieces go where!

 

Hand plates, pretty straight forward.  I still need to drill the holes in the front of these.

 

Kneecaps.  Seem a little warped, maybe a little heat can set these back in place?

 

Shoulder Bells and the little piece that goes behind them.

 

Spats, these already seem like they are going to be annoying to put together.  Got some alignment issues where I'm sure I didnt trim it down enough, but I'm not entirely sure where to stop.  I need some good build examples to follow!

 

Ab and belt boxes.  At least I think.  Theres a lot of these little boxes on this kit.  I know the long rectangular ones are probably for the belt.  I'll figure out where these go later.

 

Butt plate.  I left the top part there for the belt and ab plate

 

Biceps, got some alignment issues with these.  Might have trimmed a little too much on one of them.

 

Cod piece.  I realize this is TFA cod and if I want EIB status or higher I'm going to need a TLJ cod.  Unfortunately KB Props doesnt make TLJ cod.  Not sure where I'm going to find this piece right now, so this will have to do...or maybe I can pick up a TFA bucket to get EIB till I can get the right cod piece for TLJ.

 

I also threw together one of the forearm pieces.  I think I trimmed this correctly, at least I hope so...  I know a long greeblie is supposed to go in that middle part of it, but I'll wait till the forearm is further along before throwing that on.  Forearm is pretty spacious, but I think once I have gaskets and gloves on it shouldn't wobble about.  The length is a little bit of an issue, but I think trimming the biceps would be easier than trying to modify this forearm.

 

Still not done trimming, haha. 

Edited August 23, 2020 by MomoSS

[MomoSS]

Some stuff came in the mail today!  Woohoo!

 

Got my support brackets in the mail along with some Ukswrath swag.  Thanks ukswrath!  You're helping me out a lot, brother!  Been following your build, definitely going to copy your yoke support brackets

 

My belt pouches and undersuit arrived too!  Unfortunately, the undersuit doesnt exactly fit right now...I'm a couple of inches too big in some places   I'm hoping things will change in a couple of months as I slim down.  I've been on a strict 1200 cal diet and lost 4 pounds so far...but this is what will make this build take a while.

 

Dragon*Con is not happening this year, thats a big bummer!  Had to get some Dragon*Con swag to feel better about it.  Yeah, they are going virtual...but its just not the same!

 

So after work I went at the yoke with a dremel and right as I finished it rained on me so there goes the rest of my dremeling for the day.  Took a file to smooth things out but when putting in the support bracket it was a little stiff and wasnt really fitting right cause the bracket was so flat but the yoke is curved behind it on my kit.

 

Took some pliers to the support bracket and carefully bent the body and the smaller tabs more and this helped tremendously!

 

I was about to go at this with some JB weld but then I figured maybe I should wait till i get the snaps that go on these support brackets.  So I'll be paying JoAnn Fabrics a visit tomorrow!

 

I marked where im going to be cutting holes for the strapping too, this should be about right.  I'm a noob but I'm aiming for EIB out the gate and doing come centurion prep too.

 

Apparently this is a TFA thermal detonator.  I penciled in some missing detail that I'll need to cut in later on but right now I'm wondering how I'm going to fix that huge hole on the side.  After cleaning it up I'm thinking of slapping some ABS on there and calling it a day.

 

Still waiting on my stuff from Imperial Boots, and got some gaskets being made too!  Cant wait for another mail drop!

[MomoSS]

Another small update

 

After closer inspection of my cutout I realize I may have been a little overzealous in cutting out this detail because it lacks the depth I've seen in others.

This is what I'm talking about, mines doesnt look quite like this.  The CRL doesnt mention that it has to have depth but literally every other FOTK I've seen has this depth so I need to fix this or it will bug the crap out of me!

 

Went in my bag of scraps and cut some ABS together and used CA glue to rebuild the depth.

It's not exact but I think some bondo will take care of this and make it blend in with the rest of the chest piece.  At least I'm hoping.  It already looks a lot better.

 

Finally opened up the E6000 and clamped those extension things to the shoulder bells.  I'll let this sit for 72 hours before messing with it, but i'll check its progress in the morning to make sure there arent any gaps.

 

I finally finished a part!  Well finished as in, its put together, it's nowhere near finished xD But its something I can put on, and I think they turned out quite well for my first pair of forearms.  Still needs the greeblie clips but I'll put those on later. 

I also made sure the forearm top plate was not attached at the front.  On TLJ CRL its not mentioned this is needed for centurion but on TFA it is.  The forearms are virtually the same except the silver retaining screw on the picatinny so, just in case they forgot to add it on TLJ CRL I did it this way.  Can always glue it later if its not the case.

 

Also CA glue burns!   I'm going to see if I can do some more chest plate/yoke work tomorrow.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Just watch the elbow sections of the forearms as they are also different between TFA and TLJ 

 

Nice work 

[MomoSS]

Okay, been trimming as usual but I've been paying close attention to this thread here.

The first 1000 to Expert Infantry status.  This looks really appealing, historic, and epic to be a part of.  And I'll admit, as a TLJ FOTK I probably wont make it in time due to not having the right cod piece; which was not an easy thing to obtain like I thought, and having to modify the thermal detonator since the KB armor by default is TFA.  Not to mention I'll have to get the TLJ helmet cast up to spec.  So I have made the decision for the time being to go full on Force Awakens and put TLJ on hold.  Maybe I will make it in time to join this #1000 EIB bandwagon, maybe I wont.  But the armor will get done quicker regardless!  I WILL go back to TLJ later.  Maybe I'll make it an executioner?  We'll see...  This build thread will probably need to be moved to the TFA section now?  Eh, I'll leave it to the mods to decide.

 

To get the ball rolling, ive ordered the next size up on my undersuit (hopefully this one fits!) and snagged an Anovos TFA bucket online.  Ive also ordered a standard F-11D off Etsy made by Arsenal Studio that'll probably take a month to get here.  Once I get the helmet and blaster I'll have everything I need for EIB status, will just need to get it put together.

 

So we are now at the part of trimming thighs.  I've cut out the default areas from the pull, but this is where my height comes back to bite me.  Clearly this is for someone over 6ft  

 

Cant bend da knees, haha I knew it would be like this.  So I have to chop off the tops of these by a good I'm thinking 2 inches.  The bottom of the thigh protrudes past my knee in the front, and in the back its so long that my calf hits it.  So a lot has to be trimmed back there.  I'm going to lose the return edge though...is this okay?  Or will it need to be rebuilt somehow?

 

I'm thinking trimming it like this will be better.  If its still too tall I may trim it further, but I also need to figure out exactly how these thighs are supposed to clasp together too before I get too far with them.

 

Tomorrow I'm going to focus on getting the rest of my armor pieces trimmed.  Gonna get the ab plate done so I can figure out how long my FOTK belt has to be and I need to figure out which little boxes belong to the ab plate and which go to the belt and other places.  Also gonna dremel some more stuff on the chest and yoke and get those yoke supports installed with JB weld.

Edited August 31, 2020 by MomoSS

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You do have the option of putting this build thread on hold for the time being and start a new build in the TFA section, it's an option  

[MomoSS]

16 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

You do have the option of putting this build thread on hold for the time being and start a new build in the TFA section, it's an option  

Oh, alright, I'll do that then! 

I'll resurrect this thread when its TLJ time!

[Sly11[Admin]]

Go for it Monica