Chef's AM 5.0 ANH Stunt Build

[Chef]

Good morning all.

Its BBBD!

Well, actually, it was about a month ago, but we went on vacation so I am just now getting started.

 

I want to start my build thread by thanking my wife. She has been so gracious in all that has gone into this just up to this point, and knowing this is only the beginning of this journey. Thanks Rach, you're the best.

 

I also want to thank Dave over at Dave's Darkside Depot. This armor is great. It looks nice, has a very nice thickness, he packaged it amazingly well, and included quite a bit of extra ABS sheets. He was also very patient with my constant nagging questions enthusiasm about the armor. All of this while he recently recovering from Hurricane Ian this past fall. Thanks Dave. 

 

 

And finally, there are so many great build threads out there, so I wanted to thank all who came before. Your posts and selfless dedication to the Empire are what inspire more to join the ranks.

 

Current build data:

Name: Brad "Chef" Erdel

ID: recruit 

Garrison: Garrison Tyranus, Inferno Squad

Armor Maker: AM 5.0 (Dave's Darkside Depot)

Helmet Maker: AM 5.0 (Dave's Darkside Depot)

Blaster Maker: Imperial Supply Drop (rubber), also just order a Troopacoola E11 kit

Height/Weight: 5'9 195lbs

Boot Maker: Imperial Boots

Canvas Belt Supplier: Imperial Issue

Neck Seal: Darman's Props

Hand Guard: AM 5.0 (Dave's Darkside Depot), waiting on silicone guards and rubber gloves

Holster Maker: Darman's Props

 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Chef
Updated build data

[Chef]

All right, let's get into this. I started by trimming my return edges. Heavily referencing the Return Edges 101 thread, among many build threads.

The AM kit came highly trimmed already. I hardly have to remove much at all. It's really nice.

To give you an idea of how pre-trimmed these are, here is a shoulder bell. (I started to trim it a bit and then remembered to take a picture.)

 

I have not sanded the cuts yet, so I'll post the trimmed pictures once they are sanded.

[dblcross[TK]]

20 minutes ago, RebelScum said:

constant nagging questions

Good to know I wasn't the only one!

[Chef]

Now begin the questions. Because the armor is trimmed so much, I am not sure how much more to take off on the chest and back plates. The marked in pencil where I was planning to cut. If anyone can let me know if that is correct, I would greatly appreciate it. I am not sure if these parts stay or are return edges and need to come off.

Back plate bottom

 

Back plate bottom left

 

Back plate neck

 

Back plate bottom left

 

Chest plate bottom

 

Chest plate neck

 

Chest plate left shoulder

 

Chest plate left shoulder inside

 

I have more photos, but I think that should give a good idea of where I am looking to cut. Thanks for your inputs.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

We have a gallery section full of references which should answer your questions, here's just a few images from the gallery  

 

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

Depending on how you are going to strap your kit, you may need some return edge at the bottom of the back and chest plates and at the top of the kidney and ab plates to attach the hooks if you opt to do them that way.  Even if you opt for elastic / nylon strapping with snaps, you will still want some return edge there. Your photos look like you are trimming a bit too much. 

[Chef]

6 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

We have a gallery section full of references which should answer your questions, here's just a few images from the gallery 

Thanks for the link. That helps. There are so many threads, I hadn’t seen that one. 

[Chef]

1 hour ago, Doggydoc said:

Depending on how you are going to strap your kit, you may need some return edge at the bottom of the back and chest plates and at the top of the kidney and ab plates to attach the hooks if you opt to do them that way.  Even if you opt for elastic / nylon strapping with snaps, you will still want some return edge there. Your photos look like you are trimming a bit too much. 

Doggydoc, thanks, agreed. After looking at the image gallery posted above, I definitely have too much marked for trimming. I’ll back it off a bit. My hands needed a break anyway. This AM armor is THICK. 
By the way, I’m going to use the elastic / nylon strapping. 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

GREAT start to your build thread, Brad!  Posting lots of detailed photos like you have here is the best (and fastest) way to get advice. 

I would definitely leave some return edges on the top/bottom of the kidney and top of the butt plate to keep them from over-riding each other.  Other areas will be up to you, but I have a thread here which may help.

AM makes a fantastic set of armor, but one issue that you may want to consider is that the bottom sides of the back plate often need a little extra work to keep them from overlapping the top of the kidney.  Not a big deal for Basic or even Expert Infantry approval, but if you are (hopefully) aiming for Centurion it's something that may need to be addressed.  A.J. has an awesome tutorial here that will help if you need it.

 

Keep the questions and photos rolling in!  

[Chef]

9 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

if you are (hopefully) aiming for Centurion

100%

[FN1313[TK]]

For the chest/back
I didn’t really trim much at all from the chest minus the neck area. The back I trimmed everything but half an inch of return edge and then the neck area and it looks to be pretty close to the images @gmrhodes posted above.


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[Chef]

Okay, I got a few things done last weekend but did have a chance to post, so here they are.

 

I masked off my helmet and sprayed the inside with truck bed liner.

I really like the look and feel, even though most of it will be covered up with padding and electronics.

A few learning points for anyone considering spraying the inside with the same:

 

1. Mask off you helmet really, really well. And be meticulous with you taping. I really took my time to make sure everything I didn't want sprayed was taped and covered, and I still had a few spots of overspray. There were a few really small creases in the tape where the spray got through, and a small spot where the tape came up and spray got under the tape. Fortunately, all the areas were in spots that will be covered, and I was able to rub the liner off with a paper towel (with a lot of pressure).

 

2. The spray is much runnier than I was expecting. I thought it would spray on thick, but that is not the case. You can see in the image below, because I sprayed too much on, it ran in a number of spots. I really thought I was being careful and not putting on too much.

 

That said, if you only apply a small amount each time, it dries quick, so you can spray another coat in just a few minutes.

I did sand it a bit and re-sprayed, so it is not as noticeable, but it still bothers me.

Here are the final coats

 

While I am on the helmet, I added some JB weld putty with wooden dowels to secure the lenses and then painted them black.

I cut out the teeth today. I used a Dremel from the inside with a small sanding drum until it just started to break through at a few points, then I used small files to finish shaping them out.

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Chef

[Chef]

I got most of my parts trimmed and sanded. Based off feedback, I may trim a bit more.

 

Biceps:

 

Forarms:

 

Calf:

 

Back:

 

Chest:

 

Thigh:

 

Torso/COD:

[Chef]

I did an initial test fit. This gave me a first fitting trim guide.

 

A few things I noticed right off.

 

1. If I position the back plate properly in relation to the kidney plate, the shoulder straps are really high. In the image, the back plate slipped down a bit, and the shoulder straps were even higher. I assume I will need to heat the back plate and bend it to fit my back.

 

2. My torso and kidney plate seem large. I think I have too much space. Can I trim just the kidney plate or should I take a little off both the front and the kidney?

 

3. I marked the butt plate for trimming. Just posting before cutting for more eyeballs to look at it.

 

4. My thigh pieces are too tall and I need to trim the tops down. I could not pull them up any higher and they were still at my knees. How far above the knee should the thigh be?

 

5. *Update - I got it figured out* I cannot tell the difference between the calfs. Does the AM kit have different left and right calves?

Edited April 18, 2023 by Chef

[FN1313[TK]]

About how tall are you? I’m 5’10” and didn’t need to do any trimming on kidney/abdomen so wanted to compare.

That being said I’d hold on trimming them and heating them for now. From what I could see in your picture of the abdomen and kidney alone it could be they could come up a little higher (not sure, but rather than heating the back I’d say trimming the kidney/abdomen is more likely the case. You’d trim them from the top of you need to.

The thighs I did have to trim from the top myself I basically didn’t do any specific height above my knee, just went to the point it wasn’t preventing movement. I think I did about an inch from the top of where I felt my knee bone when standing.

The shins do have separate side and you’ll be able to tell by the curvature in the pieces.

I have a picture I can attach later but I’m in a poor service zone right now.

And of course I’m sure you know but just figured I’d say it, measure twice and even three times before trimming. And when trimming things like thighs and kidney abdomen if needed best to trim small amounts at a time and test so you don’t over trim.


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[FN1313[TK]]

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[Chef]

5 hours ago, FN1313 said:

About how tall are you?

I’m 5’9”, so about the same. I was thinking to start with an inch off the top of the thighs,  so I’ll start with that. 

 

5 hours ago, FN1313 said:

The shins do have separate side and you’ll be able to tell by the curvature in the pieces.

Roger that. I’ll take another more discerning look tonight at them to see the difference. 
 

5 hours ago, FN1313 said:

That being said I’d hold on trimming them and heating them for now.

That’s a good idea. I don’t want to cut or adjust any of those if at all possible. I do think I need to take a little off the kidney plate sides to bring that piece in more. It feels too loose right now. That’s not a big deal though. 

[FN1313[TK]]

That’s a good idea. I don’t want to cut or adjust any of those if at all possible. I do think I need to take a little off the kidney plate sides to bring that piece in more. It feels too loose right now. That’s not a big deal though. 

As a note on my build I took one thigh down about half an inch at a time. Then that gave me an idea for the other about how much, the second thigh I did about an inch first then half the rest of the way to make sure that if I am oddly shaped I didn’t just guess based on the first.

The kidney I did trim half an inch back from each side because it was a little too long for my body and it now sits more accurately.

Also I used some tabs on the inside to help keep the sides of kidney and abdomen aligned.





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[Chef]

1 hour ago, FN1313 said:

Also I used some tabs on the inside to help keep the sides of kidney and abdomen aligned.

This is definitely in my plans. Anything to help keep things in place.

What did you use for those?

[FN1313[TK]]

This is definitely in my plans. Anything to help keep things in place.
What did you use for those?

I bought some black abs plastic off amazon for the reinforcement and tabs. It was 3mm thick and honestly probably a little thick for what I needed, so if I redid things I’d go thinner.


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[Chef]

This week at work has been brutal. Not much progress, but here's what I have:

 

Thermal detonator

Glued the control pad and end caps on. I realize now, maybe I should have drilled the holes for the clips first. Now I will have little bits of plastic rolling around inside. Oh well.

 

Calves

I trimmed the fronts to 10mm per side for the 20mm cover strip, then glued in an inside cover strip on the front.

I used clips and magnets and I kept the blue painters tape on the help keep the pieces in place. Strangely, the E6000 turned pink in the places under the tape. Maybe it will dissipate now that the tape was removed.

 

Helmet

I got the face glued into the helmet. The sides don't line up well, so I hoping the ears can cover it up. We shall see.

[Chef]

I am working on getting the side of my helmet secured and have some questions/concerns.

First, here are some images of the helmet alignment and the ears held in place.

 

 

In order to get the proper ear/screw alignment per the below reference photos,

 

I will need to trim some of the back piece so it will not stick forward of the ear. But if I do that, the screw dimples on each side will be visible. Is this normal, and do I just fill it with ABS paste?

 

Also, once I get the ear on, it appears I will need to trim the head opening quite a bit to make a uniform opening (estimated trim line in yellow). I'm worried this will be way too much. Thoughts?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Just watch the tilt of the faceplate, this can increase and decrease the opening, make sure you can fit your head through. The alignment of the ears is a suggestion not specified for higher levels so if you can't quite make it don't panic. As long as you have enough material on the sides you can trim some off, the ear will cover this.

 

This image without ears you could compare with, note the rivet on the ear portion to close the gap, a nut/bolt is fine and good for adjusting rather being stuck with a rivet.

 

Note same helmet and different ear angles  

 

 

Some great how to threads, especially for trimming and fitting ears

 

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

On 4/23/2023 at 7:52 PM, Chef said:

Thermal detonator

 

Nice job there Brad. 

 

Consider, when assembling the clips that the control panel,  "The white control panel raised ribbed pad faces the rear, with the controls/round washer style detail closest to the right end cap."  A common issue we have seen is that the control panel faces up or is angled but not enough.

 

Some references

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

[Chef]

Got my helmet sides riveted in place.

 

I test fitted the ears in place. The right ear (not pictured) will be pretty straight forward. A bit of trimming and sanding and it will fit nicely.

However, the left ear is going to be tougher. Below are pictures of it sitting in place. I am using a magnet to hold it in position, and if I press it down, it sits a little better, but I will need to trim quite a bit off the top and/or bottom to get it to fit. The ears came pre-trimmed, so what you see is what I have to work with.

So my first thought was that I should trim this area in yellow down and that will bring the whole ear down, but that will make this left ear look quite a bit different that the right ear, and I want them to look symmetrical.

I am not sure how to proceed here.