Oldracer’s SDS ANH HERO build

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

Here’s the start of my rebuild of a purchased complete, "ready-to-wear" ANH HERO Stormtrooper kit from Andrew Ainsworth’s, Shepperton Design Studios, 76 The Green, Twickenham, Middx, England, TW2 5AG 

 

This kit is far from being compliant to even meet Level 1 CRL guidelines; interesting having come from the shop that designed and produced all the original suits in 1977.

 

Ukswrath’s build threads have been my primary guide to all the revisions to get to my initial approval.

 

Many others have answered many questions over the past weeks as I’ve progressed through my first build or more aptly put, "rebuild". 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Oldracer
Grammar & spelling corrections

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

Here's my "brown box(s)" photo upon arrival, July 25, 2022 :-)

 

https://imgur.com/jzUOoup

 

 

I actually ordered this from Shepperton Design Studios in early May, 2022. 

 

Reference Ukswrath's stories about the Andrew Ainsworth and George Lucus saga elsewhere in this site for the back story, but SDS cannot sell or ship to the USA.

I ordered & paid for the complete, "ready-to-wear" kit in Canadian dollars, had it shipped to a buddy in Ottawa, Canada and he eventually brought it across the border to me in Indianapolis towards the end of July, 2022. So, where there's a will, there's a way, eh!

 

Why go to this trouble? As I started down this worm hole, I thought it'd be cool to have a Stormtrooper suit from the shop that originally designed & produced them for the first Star Wars movie back in 1977, complete with Ainsworth's autograph inside the helmet and chest piece.

 

Then I discover this site; www.whitearmor.net and now my build adventure begins.

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Oldracer

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking forward to the progress.

 

For your reference these SDS builds and pre approval threads may come in handy with your modifications/updates

 

 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Best of luck on this upgrade/rebuild Greg, some good links have been provided already so you should hit this out of the park.

post plenty of progress photos and ask lots of questions when in doubt.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Hindsight is 20/20 they say, and I am living proof.  Before I knew about the FISD I bought my first kit on ebay.  Terrible.  Not even passable for Basic, so I ordered one from one of the "vetted" vendors here.

 

I guess you know by now that Mr. Ainsworth did not in fact do any of the designing of the screen used armor, despite what his site says or implies. To bring one up to Basic 501st standards will take some work, but we can help!  

 

My advice is to start a build thread and post up all the images and ask all the questions you can.  This is especially important to do before cutting or gluing anything.  Speaking of which, I'm not sure about others but I cannot view the images using the links you provided above.  My suggestion is to post them up using imgur.  I have a thread here which will help.

 

Lastly, know that we do not judge, no matter who makes the kit.  You are on the right path by asking questions, and we are here to assist you however we can to give you the best looking TK armor possible!

[Helotech[TK]]

Hey Greg!

 

I was in the same boat. I ordered SDS before knowing the history of "issues" with the company. That being said, the SDS kit is actually very good. 

I'm not one for the politics of the controversy.

I receive a ton of compliments on my armor. It will take some work, but I believe it is less hassle than having to scribe and cut parts out of ABS sheets.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Looking forward to your build. 

 

 

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

Ok, completed the shoulder straps this morning. 

Question, should the back of the shoulder straps be trimmed down?

There's 3 1/2 small ridges and the large end ridge on the back armor.

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Oldracer

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Yep.  Since you have sufficient overlap of the bridge over the back plate tabs I would trim off the large one, which is screen accurate. 

 

The elastic strips should hold them down nicely, but it may help to add a bit more of a curve to the bridge to help it lay flatter against the tabs.   

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

A couple of references for you

 

ck.

 

      

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Can't quite tell in this image but are the front of the shoulder straps glued?, I only ask as I believe SDS use velcro

 

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

Thanks for all the guidance and references.  How's this? 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Oldracer

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

2 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Can't quite tell in this image but are the front of the shoulder straps glued?, I only ask as I believe SDS use velcro

 

Yes, E6000, clamped & dried 48 hrs.

The velcro is gone... 

 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by Oldracer

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

More TK Hero build updates; helmet electronics.

Thank you Ukswrath for all the electronic goodies and guidance 

The cooling fans came from Henry's Fans.

I'm good-to-go for L1 approval but will need to find 3-ear bar earpieces to meet higher levels.

I've got a flat green eye piece that can replace the L3 approvable grey bubble lens for trooping.

I'm pretty much blind with the bubble lens in. 

 

 

Full audio system+chatter loop system+hearing assist system + dual fans.

Helmet pads: Amazon.com : Airsoft Helmet Pads Set - Tactical Paintball Helmet Replacement Memory Foam Padding Kits for ACH Fast MICH MT IBH AF PASGT : Sports & Outdoors

Additional padding, comfort level: Amazon.com: 2 Rolls 2 Inch W 1/2 Inch T Air Conditioner Open Cell Foam Seal Tape, Window Insulation High Resilience Weather Stripping for Doors Window,Total 10FT : Tools & Home Improvement

Additional padding, base level: Sponge Neoprene Stripping W/Adhesive 1-1/2in Wide X 1in Thick X 15ft Long: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

Power supply for fans: Amazon.com: Miady 2-Pack Portable Charger 5000mAh, 3.45oz Lightweight Power Bank, 5V/2.4A Output & 5V/2A Input Battery Pack Charger, Mini Portable Phone Charger for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and etc : Cell Phones & Accessories

 

 

Fans are mounted in the jaw area of the helmet blowing towards my mouth with a layer of 1/2" padding over them.

The suction side of the fans are towards the helmet with the curve of the jaw line providing the input.

The speakers for the hearing assist system are above the fans with a layer of padding under them so they fit close to my ears.

Power button for the fans is inside my right jaw area.

Power/volume rotary button is above the fan button in my right jaw area.

Volume knob for hearing assist system is in my left jaw area.

Microphones for the hearing assist system are on the bottom of the helmet S-gasket on each side of the jaw area.

All three controls are accessible with my gloves and helmet on.

 

4 different rechargeable batteries to power everything.

The hearing assist system uses a 9V battery pack separately.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by Oldracer

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Lot's a lot in your helmet, I can barely get my head in mine and I only have fans.

 

I can only see well out of 5% of the lens, they are pretty useless most of the time

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

9 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Lot's a lot in your helmet, I can barely get my head in mine and I only have fans.

 

I can only see well out of 5% of the lens, they are pretty useless most of the time

Yup, there's no left over space inside my bucket.

With the padding, it slips on comfortable snug; I'm a 52cm noggin.

The green flat lens I retrofitted gives me very clear (tinted) vision but I'll have to use the grey bubble lens when I shoot for my Centurion level someday.

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

Just a head's up on all the revisions.

I just figured out how to create an imgur photo vault and link photos into my posts.

Just went back and deleted all the embedded images and replaced with imgur Direct Links.

Not bad for an old guy, eh! 

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

OK, on with my revision documentation; ammo belt & holster complete rebuild from the SDS ABS belt configuration.

There were all kinds of different measurements about the distance between the edge of the ammo belt and the holster.

I went close, 10mm, so the ammo belt didn't come right up to the TD when wearing it.

Hope this passes muster...

 

 

 

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

More TK Hero build updates; Ab & Butt plate rivets & snaps.

The paint on the top rivet on the Ab plate rubs off everytime I do a test fit.

The Chest plate overlaps that rivet and rubs the paint off pretty quick.

I'm thinking a dot of clear car paint shield over the painted rivet may fix this.

 

 

I'm replacing most of the elastic & velcro strapping that came from SDS

I'm using 1" nylon straps & snaps so I can control the spacing of the seams.

 

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

More TK Hero build updates; Sniper Knee remount.

It came attached with screws & nuts from SDS,

I got it as lined up with the upper ridge as I could. 

It's glued on each end and the middle with E6000

 

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

Continuing TK Hero build updates; cutting back bottom of cover strips on front of both thighs.

This is a progress shot; still have to finish, polish and scribe in a joint after filling with ABS putty (I love this stuff!)

There was almost a 1/2" gap at the bottom.

 

 

The SDS ammo belt was radiused on both top & bottom and fastened on with screws & nuts.

Here's the correct configuration from Trooper Bay ready to mount with rivets.

Edited September 14, 2022 by Oldracer

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

Continuing TK Hero build updates; lower shins to top of boots Velcro.

I saw this in someone's post and it's brilliant, easy & works great!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

19 minutes ago, Oldracer said:

 

 

This is the wrong snaps, you want these:

 

You could trim your sniper plate, the inner top curve as well and straighten the ends

Past centurion apps:

 

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

TK Hero build updates yet to do; large & small buttons plates on Ab armor.

Not sure what to do here. 

The SDS ab plate has separate buttons glued on.

To meet L3 CRL, they have to be integral.  

I've got some from Trooper Bay but notice the rather obvious difference in the whites.

I have already sourced the Humbro #14 French Blue Gloss and #5 Dark Admiral Grey Gloss for the buttons.

Guidance please.

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

15 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

This is the wrong snaps, you want these:

 

You could trim your sniper plate, the inner top curve as well and straighten the ends

Past centurion apps:

 

OK, I'll look at the Sniper Plate orientation.  I can trim it back as you suggest.

What are the snaps you have illustrated?

The CRL L3 doesn’t specify a snap type. Is this the correct type?

https://a.co/d/cCXh9yK

Edited September 15, 2022 by Oldracer
New reference link

[Greg Sickmeier[TK]]

TK Hero build updates yet to do; Thermo Detonator

It appears the mounting brackets from SDS are too narrow.

I should be able to fabricate the correct width from Ukswrath's build thread.

The ABS cover piece is about 1/2" too long. Do I try to unglue it to shorten it?