TheDarkJedi_67 Posted January 5, 2021 Report Posted January 5, 2021 Hi all, I am very excited to start this project of building a TK ANH Stunt. I inherited this Shepperton Design Studios battle spec armor and helmet and after making my way through the CRL, there are a lot of modifications to make. I took pictures included below, but I had to put on the armor and take the photos myself, which proved to be tough. I couldn’t get the thermal detonator on by myself. I would like to go for Expert Infantry right off the bat, but this is pending on not having to replace big pieces like the helmet. So here is where I believe I need to make changes, let me know what you folks think of this list, and if I’m missing something: Helmet: - Looks to me to meet all basic CRL requirements, I would like to think it may be EIB or close, but I need your expert opinions on this. Neck seal: - Got that. Shoulder straps: - They are attached with Velcro, which looks to meet both basic and EIB. Shoulders: - Looks good to me for both basic and EIB Biceps, forearms armor: - They all have the overlap construction and no cover strip. Just to be clear, I need to replace that with a cover strip for basic or EIB approval? Gloves and hand plates: - Got those, attached to the rubber black gloves with Velcro. Chest armor: - It is currently connected with black elastic straps to the side, does that need to be replaced with white straps for EIB? Back plate, kidney armor and under suit: - Got those. Abdomen plate: - The buttons seem to be on the lower end of the diameter measurement, not sure how much of an issue this is. - There is a clear gap between it and the kidney armor closer to an inch, do you recommend shims for this as the CRL mentions? - I don’t have rivet in there yet for EIB. Posterior armor: - I do not have the 2 rivets for EIB in there yet. Belt: - This needs to be replaced with canvas belt. - Is the ABS front ammo belt good to stay? - I need to get the buttons for EIB, they are not present right now. Thermal detonator: - I do not have metal clips, for now just one big ABS. I will need to get that replaced. - Also need the screws for EIB. Thigh armor: - Has the overlap construction, same issue and question for you as forearms and biceps. - The thigh ammo belt is on with 2 white screws on each side for now as it is a separate piece. Can I fix it for EIB without having to replace the whole thigh? Lower leg armor: - Also has the overlap construction… - The sniper plate is also attached with 2 screws same as above, not sure how to tackle this problem for EIB, has anyone dealt with a similar issue? Boots: - They work but they are huge! They go up to mid calve (see picture below). Is this acceptable? Holster: - I don’t have one, I need to buy that. Lastly, any tips on how to make the suit more comfortable? I feel like I can barely move, sitting is out of the picture for now too. Sorry for the long post, please let me know your thoughts on this, I am looking forward to joining the ranks!! Thank you for your help. Quote
TheDarkJedi_67 Posted January 5, 2021 Author Report Posted January 5, 2021 Here are the remaining photos. Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted January 5, 2021 Report Posted January 5, 2021 Hey Thomas welcome to the FISD. You have a lot of great questions, at first glance your garrison's GML officer will probably require you to make a few adjustments to your armor before basic approval, maybe not. I would contact them and inquire. As for the higher levels, or even basic for that matter the CRL is the best place to start to get some answers. https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_anh_stunt Looking forward to seeing you at EIB and above Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted January 5, 2021 Report Posted January 5, 2021 Nice work, if you are unaware we do have a pre approval thread that you could post in to receive some feedback https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/193-request-tk-pre-approval/ Boots are not acceptable by the way Quote
TheDarkJedi_67 Posted January 9, 2021 Author Report Posted January 9, 2021 Thank you all for the feedback. I have ordered some new acceptable boots from imperial boots, a holster and canvas to replace the ABS belt I currently have with SDS. I will post pictures of the updates here as I receive the materials! 1 Quote
Helotech[TK] Posted January 12, 2021 Report Posted January 12, 2021 Hey! You are off to a good start. On 1/5/2021 at 5:48 AM, TheDarkJedi_67 said: Here are the remaining photos. On 1/5/2021 at 5:47 AM, TheDarkJedi_67 said: First off, the armor is looking very good on you! You have the right build for it as we discussed in our PM’s. It does need tweaking, but you are well on your way. Let me know if the snap plates are they way you will be going and I will send all of mine. I have detailed pics of most of the mods done on my SDS, but I didn’t capture everything. Let me know what you need and I’lll send pics and info. If you try the button plates and don’t like it, they are easy but time consuming to remove. For doing the mods for Centurion, you may need to buy: Pencil E6000 glue Clamps Good small magnets Painters tape Plastic scraper for prying apart armor pieces Try and find a plexiglass cutter / scribes. Makes scribing and snapping plastic easy. at least a 24” metal ruler Foam sanding blocks and sand paper Good plastic polishing compound Do NOT throw away the SDS plastic wrap-around belt. This is what you will repurpose for your cover strips. You should only need about half of it. Dremel tool with cutter wheel. Not required, but makes cutting plastic overlap easier. Just gotta be careful with the speed so you don’t melt everything. A good set of heavy duty scissors can also be used to trim thighs, shins, and arm armor to get rid of overlap. It is hard to lay the round armor pieces flat so you can scribe and cut them. Proper grey and blue paint shades for redoing ab buttons and the helmet details (if you choose to repaint) Helmet: - Looks to me to meet all basic CRL requirements, I would like to think it may be EIB or close, but I need your expert opinions on this. I think the helmet is good for close to Centurion. You may have to hand paint the tears and traps if the stickers are “perfect” stripes and don’t look slightly wobbly/bumper. My ear bumps were outlined with a thin black sticker. This is easily removed and painted. -The vocoder may need it’s black stripes extended upward slightly. Mine were too short. Shoulder straps: - They are attached with Velcro, which looks to meet both basic and EIB. Yup! Good for EI. Centurion is only a days worth of work away. Shoulders: - Looks good to me for both basic and EIB Yup! To go for Centurion you will need to widen the bottom edge. Borderline pain to do, but is fairly easy with a pot of hot water and patience. Biceps, forearms armor: - They all have the overlap construction and no cover strip. Just to be clear, I need to replace that with a cover strip for basic or EIB approval? -This is where your adventure with trimming and gluing will begin... Let me know when you want to do this. Gloves and hand plates: - Got those, attached to the rubber black gloves with Velcro. -You will need to get latex plates for higher approval. Fairly inexpensive Chest armor: - It is currently connected with black elastic straps to the side, does that need to be replaced with white straps for EIB? -I believe Chest should only be connect to the back with white elastic strap under shoulders, and then down wards to the ab and back plate with black elastic. Back plate, kidney armor and under suit: - Got those. You should be good with these. I use a Tommy Copper undersuit. A little pricey, but SUPER comfortable and form fitting. Leaves nothing to the imagination.... Breaths really well. Abdomen plate: - The buttons seem to be on the lower end of the diameter measurement, not sure how much of an issue this is. -For higher You will need to replace the small button plate as the SDS has a rectangular plate with simple thumbtacks stuck in it. At least mine did. This is fairly easy to fabricate with a small piece of your plastic belt, some nail heads and a heat gun I can send instructions how to do this. You may have to pry off and trim the larger button plate. - There is a clear gap between it and the kidney armor closer to an inch, do you recommend shims for this as the CRL mentions? I didn’t have to shim mine. I actually lost about 15 lbs just to fit into my armor LOL. You will have to research on shimming. Not too hard to do, but it involves gluing on plastic, filling and sanding the seam. - I don’t have rivet in there yet for EIB. I still have to look through my hardware and see what I can send you. This was one of the hardest things to source. I’ll send what I have. Posterior armor: - I do not have the 2 rivets for EIB in there yet. I may have these for you as well. Belt: - This needs to be replaced with canvas belt. - Is the ABS front ammo belt good to stay? yup! You may have to reposition the drop boxes, and possibly the button covers. Mine had uneven spacing to the outer edges of belt. Easy to pry off and reglue. - I need to get the buttons for EIB, they are not present right now. Thermal detonator: - I do not have metal clips, for now just one big ABS. I will need to get that replaced. Easy to replace with aluminum strip. Fairly easy to bend as well. Check my thread and let me know. I had to take apart my TD, then trim off a bit of the grey tube to make the length good. To take apart you may just need to dunk in hot water. My end caps weren’t glued on, just press fit. - Also need the screws for EIB. May have these, but they are easy to find, unlike some of the hardware. Thigh armor: - Has the overlap construction, same issue and question for you as forearms and biceps. Fairly easy to do - The thigh ammo belt is on with 2 white screws on each side for now as it is a separate piece. Can I fix it for EIB without having to replace the whole thigh? Screws will need replacing. I may have them. I also had to trip the length, and recut the lower corners. I think I ended up ordering a completely new piece when I ordered new ear pieces. I haven’t been on my. Build thread for a while, so can’t remember why..... Lower leg armor: - Also has the overlap construction… - The sniper plate is also attached with 2 screws same as above, not sure how to tackle this problem for EIB, has anyone dealt with a similar issue? The sniper plate is usually the pain in the a$* portion of every build. Check my build. You will need to remove screws, reposition, clamp and glue it like a mother!!!!! Then fill in screw holes with ABS paste (easy to make) and sand smooth. Boots: - They work but they are huge! They go up to mid calve (see picture below). Is this acceptable? Nope, as someone posted above Holster: - I don’t have one, I need to buy that. Does the holster you ordered come with tan leather straps? If not, I may have extra. Also check my build for this. I used snaps to attach it to belt, and it is super easy to take everything apart to transport. Lastly, you have a bit of flared-trooper butt going on . The front corners of posterior plate are flared out slightly and are overlapping the belt. Easy to fix. On 1/5/2021 at 5:47 AM, TheDarkJedi_67 said: Lastly, any tips on how to make the suit more comfortable? I feel like I can barely move, sitting is out of the picture for now too. Sorry for the long post, please let me know your thoughts on this, I am looking forward to joining the ranks!! Thank you for your help. Quote
TheDarkJedi_67 Posted January 17, 2021 Author Report Posted January 17, 2021 On 1/12/2021 at 12:36 AM, Helotech said: Hey! You are off to a good start. Lastly, you have a bit of flared-trooper butt going on . The front corners of posterior plate are flared out slightly and are overlapping the belt. Easy to fix. Thank you for all your help here and over PM! Here is the TD rivets. Let me know what you think to cover them since it’s in the middle. Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted January 17, 2021 Report Posted January 17, 2021 5 minutes ago, TheDarkJedi_67 said: Thank you for all your help here and over PM! Here is the TD rivets. Let me know what you think to cover them since it’s in the middle. I would remove them as they are not accurate, the back of the TD is not seen so having some holes there shouldn't be a problem. Correct TD clips; Correct sizing of pipe and placement Quote
Helotech[TK] Posted January 17, 2021 Report Posted January 17, 2021 Hmmmmmm. Weird. My SDS came with the aluminum securing straps screwed on. However, they were wrong size and shape. I know SDS sells different versions / detail levels of the armor, so maybe this came with one of those? But on their website all the TD's look to have the aluminum strap. Do you know how old this armor is? Maybe they changed it in the production run at some point? You have a few options: You can replace the entire tube with ABS or similar pipe if you find right diameter. You can simply fill the holes with ABS paste, sand smooth, and repaint the the TD. Remove the "button" detail plate and reposition it to cover holes. Quote
TheDarkJedi_67 Posted January 17, 2021 Author Report Posted January 17, 2021 14 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said: I would remove them as they are not accurate, the back of the TD is not seen so having some holes there shouldn't be a problem. Correct TD clips; Correct sizing of pipe and placement Thank you both for the answers, I’m going to get the measurements down and tackle that TD this week. I think the armor was purchased about a decade ago, but I am not certain. Maybe it was simply a cheaper option available at the time. Regarding my options for those 2 holes, I think I’m going to go the route of ABS paste for now! I’ll keep posting on here for progress. 1 Quote
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