FN1313’s ANH Stunt Build thread

[FN1313[TK]]

Once again, time to start another journey of armor building. 
 
I just put a down payment for a Dave’s DarkSide Depot armor set. I’ve heard he is one of the better options for larger troopers and my thighs and calves definitely need absolutely all the width I can get compared to some kits. All those squats make armor worse to fit lol.
 
Anywho, just like my FO build kit I will detail the process here.
 
I’m having Dave build the helmet out for me just because I’m not full of time in life like before, but beyond that I will build the rest.
 
I am aiming to get centurion status.
 
Components
Hard Parts
Helmet and Armor Kit - Dave's Darkside Depot (AM 4.5 or 5.0)
E-11 Blaster - link removed by staff (agreed on by me)

 

This being said I eventually will work to get a more extreme level of accuracy in a blaster. For now I will live with what I have. I share this note here just to recommend others don’t follow my same mistake in vendor selection for the blaster and instead look for a different vendor as shared in the post above.

 

• Inventory/BBB Unboxing Images
• Biceps
• Forearms
• Shoulders
• Gloves
• Helmet
• Shins
• Thighs
• Posterior Armor
• Kidney
• Chest and back
• Abdomen
• Belt
• Thermal Detonator
• Strapping/Rigging

 

Information

• Cover Strip Widths
• Cover Strip Bezel
• Bicep Shoulder Strap Retaining Clips

Edited April 7, 2023 by FN1313
Updated

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking forward to seeing the build progress, good luck trooper.

 

Some great links to tutorials and other tips (if needed  ) 

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

Awesome Kyle. Looking forward to your build. 

[Chemi[Staff]]

hace 18 horas, FN1313 dijo:

I am aiming to get centurion status.

 

Wow!!!

[FN1313[TK]]

I decided to pick up an E-11 blaster from a vendor on Etsy.

Link removed by staff (agreed on by me. The vendor is not a reputable individual)

They had some great reviews and the images I saw looked really solid for a rubber blaster. Considering how difficult it can be to find rubber blasters I was happy to give it a shot.

I did find out later though that there are some reasons why this seller is not approved on the forums that are due to criminal activity that is not something worth supporting. I would encourage anyone reading my thread for inspiration to avoid this vendor and instead purchase from a vetted vendor.

https://imgur.com/a/dsMkdsU


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Edited March 16, 2023 by FN1313
removed link to banned vendor

[dblcross[TK]]

On 2/24/2023 at 11:57 PM, FN1313 said:

I decided to pick up an E-11 blaster from a vendor on Etsy.

Link removed by staff (agreed on by me. The vendor is not a reputable individual)

 

They had some great reviews and the images I saw looked really solid for a rubber blaster. Considering how difficult it can be to find rubber blasters I was happy to give it a shot.

Here are the pictures of what I received. Im also going to get some decals for the scope and counter.

https://imgur.com/a/dsMkdsU


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Your Blaster looks great! I know from having my 3D blaster looked at, You need to look into getting a D ring installed on the back cap. I'm pretty sure it's a lvl 3 requirement. I'm sure  I'll get corrected if I'm wrong.

Edited March 16, 2023 by themaninthesuitcase
Removed link to banned vendor.

[FN1313[TK]]

Your Blaster looks great! I know from having my 3D blaster looked at, You need to look into getting a D ring installed on the back cap. I'm pretty sure it's a lvl 3 requirement. I'm sure  I'll get corrected if I'm wrong.

Yeah I will for sure need the d ring. Though that shouldn’t be too bad, just drill the hole through and install it.


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[Chemi[Staff]]

Well, actually the D-ring is also required for level 2. Also make sure that the t-tracks, and the grip, have no weathering(level 3, "The blaster may have minor weathering or base metal exposure however, T-tracks and grips shall be of a black plastic appearance with no silver/metallic weathering allowed").

[FN1313[TK]]

Yeah, those spots with my inspection have no weathering.


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[FN1313[TK]]

Should be arriving within the next week or so.


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[Sly11[Admin]]

Exciting times ahead

[FN1313[TK]]

Exciting times ahead

Yes indeed.
I’ve wanted an OTTK ever since I made my FOTK. And after making a Scout it made me even more excited for a TK, Let’s be honest, there’s just nothing more fun to see or be part of than a Vader and a TK or a few.


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[FN1313[TK]]

Also, holy Tapatalk Batman. I wish I had known more about using this back when I first started. So much easier to respond and be on top of things this way than from my computer all the time. I’ve even talked to my garrison about finding out about getting on a forum platform that supports it to make GML and website usage much easier.


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[FN1313[TK]]

Happy BBB day everyone.



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[FN1313[TK]]

I didn’t unwrap everything just verified components were there. But here’s the pictures








Love the quality of the components as well as the care Dave took to wrap and even provide a couple extra components that are known to be breakable.

Also, praise him for truly providing armor that I won’t have to shim! (At least initial testing seems to indicate as such)


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

[FN1313[TK]]

BICEPS

I decided to start with the biceps for trimming as thankfully they are fairly hidden by the shoulder bells. I don’t see a lot of need to trim the shoulder bells as they are very minimal return edge as is. But we will see how they work out later.

I marked the inside edge with a pencil to better visualize where to score.




Next I used an exacto blade to score the curve. Note for those following along, don’t use too much force. Generally you just need to score a number of times and each pass will cut a little deeper.

I will admit Dave’s armor is thick plastic. Which is both great and a pain for the scoring. I also made some cuts outward to make it easier to snap off segments.




Now to just do the work to remove (as you see I started above



Here’s some comparison images of before and after score and snap
Before


After

Side by side


After sanding the rough edge (wear a respirator when sanding. This stuff not only has a smell, but it’s also probably not good to inhale.)

 

Proceeding on to the back part of the bicep.
Trimming and sanding

Before and After

 

Next came the dreaded first time sizing and cutting. To be honest this made me worry the most because I’ve always had armor either fit too tight or not tight at all unless I made it so I was very concerned of doing it right. After researching some I opted to have it sit comfortably, but not too tight I wanted some loose area for my undershirt and for the flexing. After multiple back and forth steps of tape-test size. I eventually got it. I followed Dave’s method in the video (will get link and attach later) as well as the links that @gmrhodes13 shared below in this thread.

 

Ultimately I found what worked best was a combination method, but I started by sizing the area around my elbow first. I needed to make sure that the pieces could slide up and over my larger than most forearms as well as still look good and not oversized. Once I was able to determine a size for the lower opening I started adjusting the upper opening until it was the right circumference around my arm.

 

Once the tape was set holding in the spot I wanted. I eyeballed the “middle cut” spot and marked it on the bicep back armor on the inside. Then I marked the outside where the front pieces overlapped (this to reconnect in the right place later). I then separated the parts and drew a line on the back interior connecting the two marks. I scored and snapped those pieces off.

I reconnected the two pieces with tape and putting the front edges with where I had previously marked on the back exterior so it was in the same position. And this time I marked on the inside where the back edges were so I knew where to cut the line so they would join up together.

After I removed, and cut one edge first. The lined things up so they were flush like this

 

On the rear side the front still overlapped the back (this was to make sure that things would be looking right with the cut down the center and then to tape and make sure the sizing was correct. After verification I separated and then cut the final front section off. I then connected both edges side by side and taped

 

 

From here I slid them in place again to do a flex test

 

 

The fit and comfort was good. And gave some space for my arm while still not being so large it would slide or flop around.

 

So then it was the start of the inner cover strips

 

 

I have E600, some clamps and a bunch of high strength magnets (just following the trends) I used a section I had cut off and put two lines of glue down both sides of the inner bicep seam. I placed the inner strip and clamped down both ends. I then connected magnets over the rest of the seam to hold the full strip down. Now I wait 24 hours.

 

In the meantime I did the same with the other bicep, but haven’t glued anything as I need to pick up some more clamps tomorrow.

 

 

24 hours down and here’s the results of the first internal cover strip

 

 

There will be some sanding and cleanup to do on this internal strip later, but I was pleased with it’s outcome.

 

I started the other side on this bicep as well as the back internal strip of the left bicep

 

And now the inner cover strips are in place and holding everything together ready for outer strips

 

 

 

I don’t have my undershirt just yet, but I will see about photos then.

 

Outer cover strips are now glued on to the biceps. I didn’t get a full picture, but I do have some pictures suited up

 

 

Next thing I did to finish up the work on bicep armor pre anything strapping related was build and install the shoulder strap hook.

The build process can be found in this comment:

 

Here’s the installation

I just added some e6000 onto the bottom bend and then clamp it in place for 24 hours.

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Edited March 20, 2023 by FN1313
Added more progress.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I find the dremel a really good tool for those thicker armors, ATA is even thicker

[FN1313[TK]]

17 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I find the dremel a really good tool for those thicker armors, ATA is even thicker

Yeah I got one around here and may employ it on the bigger parts as well. Now to figure out how to fit and trim the biceps.

I’ve seen a lot of example build threads, but can’t quite seem to find any direction on how to best go about fitting the biceps prior to doing the cover strips. From how these feel and my arm size I think I’m going to have to heat them and form them a little more curved, but I’ve also read that’s better to do after you’ve put them together. Any direction here?

Edited March 13, 2023 by FN1313

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

16 minutes ago, FN1313 said:

Yeah I got one around here and may employ it on the bigger parts as well. Now to figure out how to fit and trim the biceps.

I’ve seen a lot of example build threads, but can’t quite seem to find any direction on how to best go about fitting the biceps prior to doing the cover strips. From how these feel and my arm size I think I’m going to have to heat them and form them a little more curved, but I’ve also read that’s better to do after you’ve put them together. Any direction here?

Panda has a nice video on bicep fitment

 

Part 2

 

[FN1313[TK]]

Okay I’ve got the rear bicep extended bits trimmed off. So now I can size them on my arms some more and decide where the front biceps need trimming to line up.


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[FN1313[TK]]

Of course save all your scraps just in case you need abs paste



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[FN1313[TK]]

I’ve updated the section on Bicep armor, I prefer keeping each section of work in it’s own comment rather than having everything all over to hunt through. Makes it easier for those reading later to click on a hyperlink in the contents section and see the entire work done on that.

I also started the forearms and will get the forearm section going now too.


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[FN1313[TK]]

FOREARMS

 

Following the same score and snap work I did on the biceps previously I trimmed the return edge off the forearms. Aiming to get things to levels that I can eventually reach Centurion, I trimmed all the return edge off the wrist end and I also trimmed it off the elbow end because I really don’t like any level of armor bite.

 

 

Alright progressed with more work on the forearms. First I did some measuring and cutting until I got them to the point that I had them ready for the inner cover strips. Before I installed those I wanted to be sure on the trimmed ends to make sure I had mobility but was also looking at accuracy. Thanks to those who commented at points in my build thread with details on how the forearms should be. Also my fellow Attaché here in Alpine Garrison giving me pointers.

 

Before I trimmed I placed the halves together and held with tape

 

You can see in these images the general idea I needed to correct. I had originally trimmed a slight curvature inward where my thumb side would be so I could move my wrist around more. However after the discussions and information shared I came to understand that the wrist side should be generally “flat”. So I marked inside the wrists where that line would be to make things a little more “flat”

 

 

After using the Dremel to slice those areas off and sanding down I was able to get my forearms much improved. And yes they look much better too.

 

 

Prior to this I had sized them with the idea that I wanted them to barely allow my hands through at the wrist. I don’t want them to have a big opening down there, but at the same time if I can’t get my hand through, then that’s no good either. I also wanted them to fit reasonably close to my arm with a little space for the undersuit, so I made sure that size wise they were not flopping around, but they weren’t right up around my skin everywhere.

 

(The last picture here I took before I smoothed out and adjusted the elbow side of the armor to be prettier)

 

At this point I’m just waiting to finish the inner cover strips of my biceps and then I can start the inner strips of the forearms.

 

Finishing the whole inner cover strips of one forearm tonight, starting the other tonight

 

 

I started the forearm outer cover strip process today, Followed the same methods highlighted in my bicep process as well as the cover strip  bezel section in my build thread.

 

I’m going to need to get some more clamps to make this process go faster as the four I have were completely needed this time around more than the magnets to hold it down on both sides

 

 

BIggest difference here is the lengths on the forearm strips all vary unlike the biceps did, so I will also be cutting them out one at a time based on which strip I’m making to be sure to get the right length.

Edited March 20, 2023 by FN1313
More photos

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Looking good Kyle,

 

Just be sure that you trimmed and sanding completely the front section of return edges

 

 

References