ex507 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Hello folks! Finally! My ATA kit arrived yesterday. It wasnt a easy start because of some issues with customs but... The big brown box arrived safe at my home! I already have a rs props bucket that came fully finished and i am pretty excited how bad i am going to build the ATA because my DIY/workmanship skills actually do not exist. Still, i love Star Wars, having a trooper armor has been a dream since i was a kid and even if i get frustated sometimes for sure, i hope it'll still be a fun thing to do! I don't know if i can post pics via my phone but i will try so here we go: -alright, it does not work. I post pics later when i'm home... First i laid out all the parts to see if anything broke during transportation and if i got all the parts i ordered. Everything was fine, just as i expected it because during the whole process i experienced very good service and a nice communication. I am glad i chose ATA! Highly recommend it. The only thing that does not make me too happy is the difference in color of the armor compared to the bucket. RS props is more off white. ATA much brighter, shiny as ****! But thats not anyones fault. Its two slighty different materials. I hope the weathering will do the trick Alright, getting started: i turned on trooperbays (mark?!) video of building a armor on youtube. Started with the arms just as he did. But..... What..!?€&&@ The ATA seems to be much thicker and more "flexible" than the parts shown in the Video. Inner right forearms took me about 25 minutes. Even after working with a strong sharp knife the abs wasnt easy to break. Looks and sounds totally different in the video. I dont know what armor it was but he said it was abs. Just as my ATA. After a while i got used to it and with great help from one of my buddies we finished cutting the arms, biceps, shoulder bells and legs. Still pretty rough, did not sand anything and no strips cut yet but as soon as i got some time i will keep on working on it! I was a little confused about return edges. I read it like 1000 times in the last year but while building i wasnt 100% anymore. Tried to google but opinions seem to spread widely.... I will show you how i decided as soon as i can post pictures. I hope i didnt screw it up! Thanks for checking out the build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 So finally, the first cut! the desk: The parts after the few first rough cuts: Maybe you can see the difference in color here: i don't know if i screwed up here, the inner side has no return edge and the outside got some meat, let me know: biceps: test-fitting! i tried to leave as much plastic as possible to the shoulder bells because ATA seem to have slightly smaller bells than some other armor out there. I left the bumpy stuff on the shoulder but should i just cut it off? Is the brake from bumpy to clean a "cut line?" Check this out: please don't be to harsh, as i mentioned i am not really good in handcrafting. I try to take tiny little steps to make everything okay! Thanks for watching!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vf2112 Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Harsh!!? Your doing great brother good work Have you checked out pandatroopers build it's a must for all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 Yes i did! As soon as it comes to glueing it's gonna be so so so helpful! Pandatrooper did a really nice job. I went though so much threads, builds, information etc. the last months, i thought i was prepared but i am still so afraid to screw anything up or cut wrong or something. I know you guys are helpful! I am a pretty new member but i already figured out you all are the greatest community i've ever been part of. Looking forward to build a nice armor with your help.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syllander Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Be careful, and not saying be wasteful, but if you do just wreck a piece Terrell is very fair in pricing replacement parts, and rather quick. Looking good so far man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 Thanks! I will give my best not to need any replacement parts What do you think about the shoulder bells? Is the "bumpy strip" supposed to be cut off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syllander Posted August 22, 2014 Share Posted August 22, 2014 Only if it's flashing(really thin excess) more material at the shoulder bells to chest piece is better, unless you have small shoulders . I'd leave it if it's the right thickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millenium1 Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Nice work Cornell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vf2112 Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Not sure if you know but panda has many build videos for not just armour!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 First glueing session. Boy thats a PITB. Used E6000. I expected this to be much easier. Ended up with a lot of glue all over the place. Also i have a pretty big gap but it sticks together pretty good! See by yourself: What do you think? better just rip it off and try again? i could also just fill the space between the parts with e6000... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syllander Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Using plenty of clamps and rare earth magnets? Also use enough e6000 to get some squeeze out when clamped up. I'd fill it and move on, but make sure your clamping it good enough and waiting several hours before unclamping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Thats what i did. I think the problem was that i did the whole thing at one time. Right now i go strip for strip. Half of my magnets are broken now because when they get together they destroy themselves.. O.o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syllander Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I have the biceps and one forearm done, strip by strip and it's seemed to work for me, so hopefully that gets you square. I did it strip by strip just for lack of more clamps and that stuff takes forever to cure lol. So I just got lucky I guess.... With DCon this weekend MAN I wish I was done....sigh. Your armor is looking great though, and at least if you do decide to redo the strips the E6000 will work with you. I redid one bicep when I changed strip width and was relieved at how it does really hold, but at the same time you CAN get it apart if you desire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 strip by strip works great! but then i got impatient and put the backside of the forearm to the front side at once. almost screwed it and again glue all over the place. so i will do strip by strip. takes forever but its so much cleaner and easier. pictures soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millenium1 Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Take your time Cornell, you will feel happier with your results and it will save you time in the end. Make sure you have lots of magnets, i did as Sean said and used a fair bit of E6000 (Maybe a little too much) on my strips. I found the residue quite easy to remove before the E6000 set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancelot Posted August 26, 2014 Share Posted August 26, 2014 Residue E-6000 is easy to remove even after full drying. Take a small square piece of ABS and rub the edges with the corner. If it's a thick chunk, I score it with an xacto knife. Then rub against the blobs and just grab and pull at certain points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 Hey guys! Just a little update. After realizing that the hangover i had in the morning the past few days came from the e6000 i bought this: i got really dizzy and my stomach didn't feel too good after a night of working with the e6000. This helps so much and i highly suggest everyone to use something like this while working with glue! First test fitting after i roughly trimmed all the parts. Actually... i just wanted to see how the torso would look like... Here you see how i did the forearm. I slowly run out of magnets because almost all of them are broken now.. After a little bit of sanding it looked like this. I am actually very happy with the results so far..! Today i filled the little gaps with more glue. Biceps almost done, more trimming needed: And this is what i am waiting for right now. I thought its gonna be more of a pain but glueing the shin wasn't as bad as i expected it to be.. I now must get all the rivets and buttons and straps and so on. I looked online today but i couldn't find any good stuff. Any germans here that can give me some tips where to get the "soft parts"? Still a lot to do. I haven't decided what strapping system i wanna go for. Screen accurate is great but its also harder to make and much more risky, especially the connection between the chest+ab and back+kidney+butt. What do you guys think? Thanks for checking out my build!!! I am so excited for the best part: the weathering! This is gonna be fun.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millenium1 Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Original strapping gives you great movement and is well worth the effort Cornell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancelot Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Progress is looking shaping up nicely! I'd advise to do your test fittings while wearing your undersuit before committing to any permanent adjustments. Original strapping is great, but snap strapping done right provides the same movement benefits. I prefer it as it doesn't put stress on the ridges and allows for disassembly and easy maintenance. But it depends on your goals and personal preference. My goal is maximum external accuracy paired with maximum internal durability and comfort (fans, voice system, padding, etc). But some troopers really want a through and through movie prop replica. Do what you want to do for your suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 I am not aiming for swat. I think the (quote) "maximum external accuracy+maximum durability and comfort" plus "first armor i wanna make it easy" is my goal. I think i will do the snap strapping. It just seems to be much easier (remember i am no good in craftsmenship) and no aiming for swat. What about the rivets? I searched for the correct sizes for rivets and buttons (atleast the parts you can see when its worn) but could not find anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuteman Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 For strapping and snaps look here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?/topic/26477-What-we-know-about-strapping,-snaps,-rivets-etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vf2112 Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 The proper split rivets are hard to find I used to use them a lot yrs ago and you could find them anywhere but can only find in very specific places now Trooperbay sell the correct ones in a set of six as well as snaps n other things As for swat the armour is pretty much the same as officer it's more about weathering accessory configuration ie pack pouches weapon My only advise would be - don't try to take the easy way You say your not very crafty but it looks like your doin a great job so far bro Keep it up and enjoy One more thing you might wanna try is combining your snaps with Velcro there's a lot of poor quality snaps but combined with Velcro never had a problem especially its something you want to really stay together like crotch lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 Just a quick update. I am still in the glueing process. I just glued strips on the both left-side parts of the shin. Luckily i used E6000 so i could ripp one off. I had trouble with the left biceps as well because the parts were pretty sloping. Hard to glue, i will see how it turned out tonight. Found some strapping parts on amazon and ordered it right away. I am going to check the materials and snaps to see if i can work with it. Hopefully i can start with the strapping later next week. Thanks to everyone for help and advice! I now decided not to go screen accurate with the strapping. I will probably use snaps and elastics. See ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 so last night i did some research and watched ANH frame to frame and made some screenshots. I found the ATA shoulder bells a little bit too clean and straight after seeing these scenes: and a shot from a original used shoulder So i heated up water and carefully reshaped the shoulders a little tiny bit: i also put the straps to the shoulder and yes, after i did that i realized that i am supposed to glue both to the back plate and put a snap for one strap to the chest piece. I will either rip it off or put the snap on the backplate. Depends, if i can reach the snap on the inside of the back piece i will just let it stick as it is right now. If not, i will re-do the straps. i started on the thighs as well: Sloooowly i get tired of the glueing process. Because of the lack of enough clamps it takes forever. I am so looking forward to my weathering! Thnaks for checking out my build! Let me know what you think.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ex507 Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 Just a quick question. I could not find a good picture to see where the straps for the forearms are placed. I know its glued/a snap from the biceps to the forearm but where exactly should i place the straps? I think it should be the inner side of the biceps but i wanted to make sure on that.. Anyone? Thanks in advance!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.