Star Wars Oregon
Public Information => Imperial Armor => Stormtrooper Builds => Topic started by: shwarzwald on December 22, 2016, 10:14:55 AM
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Ok so I got my Te kit in and already got cracking on some of the major trimming. (Leaving the precise trimming for later.)
That being said I went ahead and got started on the helmet. I made pretty good progress, but really would like some feedback before I went to the paint booth.(Also yes I have read up on many build threads for armor and helmet across fisd,here, and mepd.)
(http://i.imgur.com/5tde9QI.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/BNd6I7F.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/xwxXzSo.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/sY459ZC.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/CuWnGck.jpg)
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Ok so everything is trimmed up. Now it's time to fine tune everything, measure out my cover strips, and paint my helmet.
(http://i.imgur.com/KaniYHe.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/cytbr0R.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/BrtKlA3.jpg)
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Progress! Helmet has finally gotten a few coats of primer and sanding done. (With maaaany more to come. Weather needs to warm up!)
Also left bicep inside cover strips have been glued in!
(http://i.imgur.com/JNooEjY.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/4Kw7kPF.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/wYNZRsh.jpg)
(On a side note does anyone know how to crop the images to better fit this board? When I direct link it to mepd and fisd it auto crops it. Here you have to scroll across just to see everything.)
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Sorry for lack of updates. Been posting most of the stuff on mepd. However so far the left bicep is done, right is still drying, both forearms need the coverstrips glued in, right thigh started, shins may need to be replaced with am2.0,and currently just glued in the coverstrips so my fatboy kidney extensions will sit on them. (Shims for kidney)
(http://i.imgur.com/sc9uVsK.jpg)
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Ok so the thigh is about done, but I would like some feedback. Is the thigh facing the best direction, is the gap between thigh and cod look good, and is the shape correct? (Once I know the answer to those three I will shorten the armor so it sits a bit higher above my knee)
(http://i.imgur.com/CgIx3iD.jpg)
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Mine is a little tighter, but it doesn't look bad. Here is one of mine, for reference:
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh623/thehalstead3/Trading%20card_zpsvvhdvdrp.jpg)
Sometimes my cod and thighs will hit, but not that often and it's not uncomfortable. It's not a problem to walk in.
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Ok thats good to see. I'll go ahead and keep the shape and bring them in a bit more.
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Alrighty so I went ahead and attempted a mock up. Any feedback would be appreciated. If everything looks good I will continue on to the left thigh as well. (Shoulder bells need adjusted and kidney plate was off because the shims were drying.)
(http://i.imgur.com/QFF1h0l.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/zJd89Z2.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/dzmHioH.jpg)
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Looks like it's coming along nicely!
You'll never get accepted with all that tape though!...
Really, I personally find it tough to pick at the mock up stage. Everything is going to look a little rough right now, so I suggest taking this time to make sure everything fits comfortably and doesn't restrict your movement more than it needs to (though you'll hardly be able to move anyway ;P).
It's a bit hard to tell in these pictures (and on my tiny phone screen) but your butt plate might be riding a little low? The second picture is what makes me believe this, however the third picture looks like it's fine. You want that 'tab' to be a little closer to you. If you believe the plate is positioned correctly, then a little heat bending can slove that problem! This could also just be due to the kidney plate not being present to force the alignment. Either way this isn't really a major problem, just a comfort suggestion!
At first glance though, I don't see anything huge that needs to be addressed right now, so I think you're probably safe to move forward.
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Looks pretty good to me. I don't see anything to critique at this point. Many of the finer fit details can be tweaked a bit at the next stage, but you are well on your way!
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I appreciate the feedback guys. I do think at least a few parts will need mild reshaping to fit perfectly. (Butt and bells.)
But this does give me the confidence to move forward and finish up the thighs. Also not looking forward to strapping I figure thats gonna take a bit of time to perfect.
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MOST IMPRESSIVE! :)
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You'll definitely want to take out more plastic between the teeth on your helmet. Remove all the recessed plastic right up to each tooth. Looking good so far!
(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b67/jasonrall/Diagrams/ANHSTUNTfrown1_zpspzq2tdsn.jpg)
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Thank you for the feedback. I'll see about removing the excess material from the teeth area. Though this may end up a display helmet. The hdpe is much to thin and I'm concerned it would not last in any heat. Looking through my options now.
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My Sandtrooper helmet is HDPE too. I haven't trooped in extreme heat with it, but I'm sure it would be ok, as long as you have a good set of fans in there. :wink:
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That is pretty reassuring. Btw any advice on sanding the teeth down? The plastic tends to flex rather than sand.
Also onto progress! So while we got snowed/iced in I made do with what supplies I still had on hand and moved onto strapping. Currently I have the female sides of the snaps glued on the armor. Once I get more snaps I can move further with this step. Then its down to fitting. (However I am waiting on some shims from a member on here so I can finish the thighs and forearms.)
(http://i.imgur.com/gRO3omm.jpg)
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Did you try small needle files in the teeth to file them down? if you use a square or triangle one makes it super easy to cut the corners perfect.
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Those were the first things I bought. I'll try it again later to see if they work. The hdpe is just a really soft plastic.
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Ok so I need a little clarification on if I need to trim this or heat it and push it out so I can keep the length. I marked the lip on the butt plate with arrows so you can see what I'm talking about.
My biggest concern is that by trimming it I will have a half inch gap between the kidney and butt plate, and a half inch gap between kidney and back plate.
(http://i.imgur.com/z0CuM71.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/ItHxwfV.jpg)
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I would probably wait to see if anybody more experienced than me has input.
BUT
I'm pretty sure that the raised square detail is supposed to sit flush with the edge. You may need to trim that all down a bit.
As for the gaps that'll leave, you have a few options.
The first is the easiest, really, and I highly recommend it. Since you're going sandy, your backpack will cover any gaps. I have about a 3" gap between my back and kidney plates, but my pack covers it up!
Now, if you aren't going to have a pack, there are a few things I had thought of while making my armor. Note that last I checked, MEPD requires you to have a pack, even if the TD you're emulating doesn't have one. This isn't a problem for 501st acceptance, but if you plan on getting MEPD too, you'll need a pack!
Now, one option is to add shims. Same concept as what we *ahem* larger troopers have to do, just vertical. I did this to extend my ab and kidney plates using some ABS and Apoxie Sculpt to fill in the gaps and extend details. (yes, even after that I still had a 3" gap. I knew my pack would cover it though!)
A super lazy, and NOT recommended way is to kinda take advantage of the CRL. It states that there should be minimal to no GAP between the butt and kidney, however, it states that there should be minimal to no OVERLAP between the back and kidney. So teeeechnically, you can have as large of a gap between your back and kidney as you want. Again, I definitely do not suggest doing this and Jason could possibly not even allow it. He gets to make those kinda judgment calls! I only bring this up as a possible, desperate last resort. Besides, if your back is exposed it just doesn't look as good!
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I'll keep those options in mind until a more senior member comes by and says otherwise.
Until then onward. I got a little bit of strapping done and I'm still zeroing in on how far back the backplate can sit and how far up the chest piece has to sit.
Finally nice to get it off the floor and onto Mr.Bones. Although once I get the blaster and backpack I will have to finish Mr.Bones.
(http://i.imgur.com/FGQfCef.jpg)
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So I worked on a few more things which can better be described and shown at mepd. However I am requesting a little bit of help. Could a few of you guys snap a shot of the sides of your shins.
I'll post up my shins in a bit to show why I'm having an issue.
(http://i.imgur.com/LVkHTs0.jpg)
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I'm no expert on this kit, but it looks like you have your shins mixed up. Hopefully this is the issue you're talking about.
The right half of what you have labeled as 'left' should go with the left half of what you have labeled as 'right'. Those will be your actual left shin with the sniper plate.
I have marked the angle that should stay the outside of your left shin in green. The blue lines are just showing that those parts are meant for your sniper plate, which along with the general shape, is what makes me say that they're swapped.
(http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b449/PixBat/Help%20for%20other%20people/LVkHTs0_zpsw5cavmk4.jpg)
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I see what your saying. Let me see if that feels more natural.
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Ok so I tried it out. I have them set up. If this looks good I can do final trimming and get the inside coverstrips glued in.
(http://i.imgur.com/5BbZuUQ.jpg)
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Ok so I took all the opinions and put them together. So hopefully these look right. I may trim the bottoms a little more once I'm 100% sure they are on the correct sides and such. Once I see green across the board I will finalize trimming and put the coverstrips on.
So what do y'all think?
(http://i.imgur.com/UQlnTYb.jpg)
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Can you post another pic of the top edge
From the front shot without the shorts in the way of your knees? I can tell where top edges are
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
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Where your knees are showing with the top edge *to clarify*
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk
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Ah well that may have to wait 72 hours. Had a few people say they looked fine over at mepd and these have been holding me up for over 3 weeks. So...they already have the inside cover strips glued as of now.
Worst case scenario I may need to trim them shorter, but I can bend my knee almost a full 90 degrees.
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here is a really good example of the shins!! Alay from FISD posted this.. check out post #106
http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37704-alays-anh-stunt-build-ap-first-build/page-6#entry514245
she has really good images of the shin sides and the top angles for comparison.
I know I have some pictures of mine when I was building them but photobucket is well....being good ole slow photobucket and not loading for me...
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Ok so I should be good. They look similar. Thanks for the help.
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Ok so inside and now outside coverstrips are in for the shins. The thighs are the biggest things left afterwards.
(http://i.imgur.com/jjDrg5q.jpg)
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Nice! One chunk at a time, and you'll be suited up before you know it!
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The shins and the new college term really slowed progress down. At the rate I was going I could have been done in a month. But sadly thats not the case. However thanks to support from you guys and the people at mepd I really felt motivated to do my best.
Hopefully the thighs will be mostly smooth. They are already fitted. Just need to make the fronts less wide.
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It suuuuure would be awesome if I had someone around here that could help me. ( Like here as in Southern Oregon......)
Other than that here's where I'm at now. Still working on strapping. Trying to zero in on it all. A few need adjusting.
Also the thighs....
The chest and stomach plate will lower an inch to half inch, so they should be fine height wise. But I still feel like I need to trim the inner swoop.
(http://i.imgur.com/KHVmO9g.jpg)
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Well I went ahead and finished my helmet off. Also I'm pretty much at a stand still with the armor until I get some help with fitment and such. Anyways here's the lid.
(http://i.imgur.com/VYyDjWw.jpg)