Matt and James's TK build thread - AM 4.5

[Goggytalks[TK]]

Yes I glued a strip of ABS on the inside of the joint and then made up some ABS paste and filled the gaps.

 

[Sawanator[TK]]

So we are trucking along, getting some nitty gritty things done, and we come to the butt buttons (on the bottom), and the mention of the Han snap being a male snap, and James and I did a double take.

 

We realized that the nylon snap plates that we have built (but not glued yet) are female, and therefore the strapping was going to end up being male. 

Here are our snaps plates:

 

Here are the straps: 

 

Our goal is Centurion, so is it any problem if our strap snaps are opposite of most as long as our Han snap and butt snaps are male? Or are we looking at redoing all of our snaps plates?

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

21 minutes ago, Sawanator said:

Our goal is Centurion, so is it any problem if our strap snaps are opposite of most as long as our Han snap and butt snaps are male? Or are we looking at redoing all of our snaps plates?

 

 

IMO, since they are internal and nobody note them shouldn't be a problem.  is the first time I see this but would like if

@justjoseph63 @Chemi or @gmrhodes13 chime in .

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

12 minutes ago, TKSpartan said:

 

IMO, since they are internal and nobody note them shouldn't be a problem.  is the first time I see this but would like if

@justjoseph63 @Chemi or @gmrhodes13 chime in .

Shouldn't matter what is used inside as long as the external snaps are correct. I have actually seen this once before  

[Chemi[Staff]]

Not a problem for me...

[Sawanator[TK]]

This is great news. I have most of the nylon plates assembled.

 

May I also ask what type of button needs to be showing on the butt buttons? I can't really tell from CRL. Should it been to smooth side of the button on the bottom side with the hole?

 

I know the Han button shows the back side with the hole, but wasn't sure for the butt. Thanks again. Really helpful once again.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

[Sawanator[TK]]

Wonderful. Thanks for confirming.

 

Last question for now (we're just packing up from today's session). The split rivets on the code piece. Was that supposed to be functional? We just put the split rivets in and will put snap and strap over it. Hope we did that right. We did the same for the side rivets. They are there, but not attached to any strapping.

 

Thanks

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 minutes ago, Sawanator said:

Wonderful. Thanks for confirming.

 

Last question for now (we're just packing up from today's session). The split rivets on the code piece. Was that supposed to be functional? We just put the split rivets in and will put snap and strap over it. Hope we did that right. We did the same for the side rivets. They are there, but not attached to any strapping.

 

Thanks

Split rivets do not need to be functional 

[Sawanator[TK]]

So, I'm having a hard time with boots.

 

The problem for me is I'm size 13 wide or size 14. These are a little hard to come by. 

 

I tried Crowprops because they said they did customer boots, but they didn't fit me at all. I gave precise measurements and everything.

 

I saw the Imperialboots doesn't have my size.

Edited August 28, 2022 by Sawanator

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

5 minutes ago, Sawanator said:

So, I'm having a hard time with boots.

 

The problem for me is I'm size 13 wide or size 14. These are a little hard to come by. 

 

I tried Crowprops because they said they did customer boots, but they didn't fit me at all. I gave precise measurements and everything.

 

I saw the Imperialboots website isn't working anymore. Is there anywhere else I can try?

Imperial boots only opens up at certain times each month, you can still navigate their site. Next wave 2nd Sept - 9th Sept

https://www.imperialboots.com/product/stormtrooper_tk_boots/

 

You could try to find some black chelsea boots of the correct size then whiten as many have done in the past.

 

[Sawanator[TK]]

With this, would it pass inspection for 501st, or is this more for comfort when trooping and wear the proper boots when needed?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Just now, Sawanator said:

With this, would it pass inspection for 501st, or is this more for comfort when trooping and wear the proper boots when needed?

As long as you did a nice job they should pass approval

 

Here are some screen used boot references

[Sawanator[TK]]

Alright. Down this rabbit hole I will go. Thanks.

[Sawanator[TK]]

Not sure if there are any early risers. I was hoping to fet my shins done yesterday, but was too tired to focus. I was having a hard time getting the fit.

 

Any recommendation on the gap between armor and leg (both near the knee and the ankle)?

 

I assume it's ok it my cut is angled, as in I have to pinch more armor at the bottom than the top.

 

Lastly, is there a recommended height from the ankle? Obviously low enough the boot doesn't slip out, just just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. 

 

Thanks. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

9 hours ago, Sawanator said:

Not sure if there are any early risers. I was hoping to fet my shins done yesterday, but was too tired to focus. I was having a hard time getting the fit.

 

Any recommendation on the gap between armor and leg (both near the knee and the ankle)?

 

I assume it's ok it my cut is angled, as in I have to pinch more armor at the bottom than the top.

 

Lastly, is there a recommended height from the ankle? Obviously low enough the boot doesn't slip out, just just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. 

 

Thanks. 

Really depends on your height and were they will naturally sit on your legs and boots. You will find when moving and walking the shins can come up, this is why many add a loop of elastic with snaps or velcro to the inside of the shins and boots

 

 

 

[Sawanator[TK]]

Alright,

 

So, I had major issues with imgur (in fact I still am). Having such a hard time shrinking and cropping. As a result, I couldn't upload during the build, which was problematic.

 

I also have been guilty of not taking enough pictures in this journey. Been hard since we only work on this like 2 or 3 times a year, but I definitely should have done this more as a journal, and I regret not doing that.

 

Anyway, here are the updates so far. I'm about 80 to 90 percent done. Lots of little things. James is further behind, and I will post his stuff later.

 

I'm having "larger guy" issues.

 

My ab sides are bursting open, and I need to fix this. Been doing lots of reading, and I like the nylon fabic hinge idea I saw in AJ's AM build thread.

 

He used his rivets to support them, but I've already got mine set, so I'll work around that somehow. I also like this idea of a shim on the open side. I will rig something up there as well, and I hope this helps.

 

I noticed that my kidney's reallly push things out. It's almost like I need some padding on my gut (except I have enough) ;-) the push the bottom part our a bit. I'm hoping between the shim, and the new joint, plus wearing the belt, things will "shape up".

  

 

I can see some other issues here, such as my large chest is making a large gap between my shoulder bells (see main pics below). I really don't know how to proceed here. Do I trim them? Do I need to shorten the strap to the shoulders?

Onto the pics main pics. I have to admit, I got excited, and I just threw things on, even though I don't have many pieces done (including my thigh belt system yet (hence me holding my thighs up).

 

 

Please let me know if there is anything else you think needs fixing. I'd be happy to post more pictures or better angles (I didn't realize James took so few). 

 

Other issues that came up. I think I made my thighs too tight.I gained a bit of weight. When we were cutting and measuring, we didn't realize there was a belt system, so we went a little tighter than we were supposed to. Think I need to open them up a bit as I cant seem to get them high enough now. Plus, I keep pinching my skin from my inner thigh on the cod piece.

 

The last one is that I noticed I couldn't get my helmet down enough, but it may have been because I was holding my legs (which caused me to shrug my shoulders a bit(. I'll have to test that out next time/see if I can tip my helmet forward a bit. 

 

Anyway, I'm very happy with the progress so far. Got a long list of things to fix. Annoyingly, several snaps started coming off from the abs, so I have to re-glue. This works out ok in the end, so I have to kind of re-jig things there anyway.

 

I will make more posts in the next few weeks as I make adjustments to things. I'll sure I will have some questions.

 

Looking forward to hearing tips on how to proceed with some of these issues. 

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

For the Ab plate connections, I went with a hinge style on the left side to allow it to open like a clam shell and a tongue and groove on the right side to ensure it sits perfectly.  I used scrap pieces of my cover strips to make the parts. 

Ignore the extra snaps on the first photo. They were from the initial attempt for closure and I just left them as they were really glued on there. 
 

I also switched the straps on the left side from nylon to elastic so it opens better  but still use the nylon on the right side. 

 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Doggydoc

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

 

 

So, I had major issues with imgur (in fact I still am). Having such a hard time shrinking and cropping. As a result, I couldn't upload during the build, which was problematic. I've never had to resize images for Imgur, perhaps this thread may help 

 

I also have been guilty of not taking enough pictures in this journey. Been hard since we only work on this like 2 or 3 times a year, but I definitely should have done this more as a journal, and I regret not doing that. Happens to a lot of us, I'm more into the building and forget about photos

 

My ab sides are bursting open, and I need to fix this. Been doing lots of reading, and I like the nylon fabic hinge idea I saw in AJ's AM build thread. A tab or two of abs/plastic, one side glued to the kidney will help keep it held under the abdomen. Elastic works better than nylon as it can pull in any gap. 

 

I can see some other issues here, such as my large chest is making a large gap between my shoulder bells (see main pics below). I really don't know how to proceed here. Do I trim them? Do I need to shorten the strap to the shoulders? I don't think you will notice that once you have the plastic shoulder straps attached

 

• Author

Posted 25 minutes ago · IP 

Alright,

 

So, I had major issues with imgur (in fact I still am). Having such a hard time shrinking and cropping. As a result, I couldn't upload during the build, which was problematic.

 

I also have been guilty of not taking enough pictures in this journey. Been hard since we only work on this like 2 or 3 times a year, but I definitely should have done this more as a journal, and I regret not doing that.

 

Anyway, here are the updates so far. I'm about 80 to 90 percent done. Lots of little things. James is further behind, and I will post his stuff later.

 

I'm having "larger guy" issues.

 

My ab sides are bursting open, and I need to fix this. Been doing lots of reading, and I like the nylon fabic hinge idea I saw in AJ's AM build thread.

 

He used his rivets to support them, but I've already got mine set, so I'll work around that somehow. I also like this idea of a shim on the open side. I will rig something up there as well, and I hope this helps.

 

I noticed that my kidney's reallly push things out. It's almost like I need some padding on my gut (except I have enough) ;-) the push the bottom part our a bit. I'm hoping between the shim, and the new joint, plus wearing the belt, things will "shape up".

  

 

I can see some other issues here, such as my large chest is making a large gap between my shoulder bells (see main pics below). I really don't know how to proceed here. Do I trim them? Do I need to shorten the strap to the shoulders?

Onto the pics main pics. I have to admit, I got excited, and I just threw things on, even though I don't have many pieces done (including my thigh belt system yet (hence me holding my thighs up).

 

 

Looks like your helmet is sitting down at the back although the neck seal or shirt looks a bit bunched up.

 

Really a little hard to tell how the spacing will be until you have all your pieces finished and strapping attached,  your sniper plate and thigh ammo strip can make a big difference to the looks of gaps. If you do need a little more room in the thighs you could add larger cover strips on the rear, this will however give you an opening on the bottom ridge so you may need to bend up a piece of plastic for the ridge gap, abs paste and sand/polish. Here's just one thread on wider thighs, more for the filling lower ridge example

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sawanator[TK]]

22 minutes ago, Doggydoc said:

For the Ab plate connections, I went with a hinge style on the left side to allow it to open like a clam shell and a tongue and groove on the right side to ensure it sits perfectly.  I used scrap pieces of my cover strips to make the parts. 

Ignore the extra snaps on the first photo. They were from the initial attempt for closure and I just left them as they were really glued on there. 
 

I also switched the straps on the left side from nylon to elastic so it opens better  but still use the nylon on the right side. 

 

This is really cool. Simple too. Thanks for sharing. 

[Sawanator[TK]]

Any tips on what to do here? Do I need to trip the should bells or adjust them at all? Because my chest is bigger than the chest piece, I'm not sure how best to bring the should bells to minimize tha gap. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

42 minutes ago, Sawanator said:

Any tips on what to do here? Do I need to trip the should bells or adjust them at all? Because my chest is bigger than the chest piece, I'm not sure how best to bring the should bells to minimize tha gap. 

You could move the straps from the shoulder bells further forward on your shoulder straps, this helps them to come inwards.

 

 

Or if that doesn't work you could pull them further forwards/inwards for your approval photos, then adjust them back when taking the back photos. 

[Sawanator[TK]]

I'll give it a shot and see how it looks. Thanks.Nice thing is I can just add an extra snap connector, leaving both if it works.

[Sawanator[TK]]

So I'm trucking along doing my belt, and I read one post about how the bottom rivet is covered by the belt. We followed the standard rivet placement posted and once I placed my belt on, I can clearly see it's doesn't.

 

I'm worried that since AM armor was bigger, we were supposed to space it out more, which would bring the other rivet lower.

Is this a deal breaker? Does this mean I have to redo the ab and kidney plate? Feel like it's kinda permanent with the rivets set already and we would need to order replacements. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

AM armor is bigger so you should space equally.

 

This is a level 3 requirement

 

Rivets are equally spaced along the depth of the armor and about 10mm from the edge.