iconoclasta_88 Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Well... I've been kind of reluctant to post a thread about my armor built. I do enjoy a lot posting and reading processes of prop building. But somehow I thought there were more than enough threads on this topic already. Anyway, I am enjoying a lot my built and loving each part of the process, so I guess not posting a thread was just not an option. hehe... I won't spend time detailing the process or describing how I did everything, cause I guess it has been done before and in a much better way for sure. I am merely following what others have done before. This will be more like hey guys, what do you think about my progress, than actually showing everything I am doing. HEHEHE... So. I am working slowly, but trying my best to build a screen accurate TD. Starting with the arms and legs, then going to the torso and finally finishing with the bucket. Im not 100% if I will be able or if Im the right person to make a 100% replica armor of any given trooper, but will try to copy all the best features I like about the Move Along trooper. Hopefully I will finish with a similar looking armor. Will take a bit longer to finish it to what tkes Rolf to do so, but... I will try and work constantly and hopefully fast aswell. No more blah blah blah... here are some pictures... My armor just after being delivered. Opening boxes, like xmas morning!! Putting stuff together after trimming. For trimming the arms and legs I'm using Braksbuddy's measurements posted in his own built thread a few weeks ago. So far, so cool... So, still at some early stage, but I am enjoying and liking it a lot. If anyone can spot anything that should be corrected or improved even now, please let me know. Your opinions and advice are very important for me. THX a lot. Saludos... To be continued. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchy Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I am looking forward to your progress and all the pics Juan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenthork Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 hey juan it's a good starting, i think you will do the best so the result will be ok mine is again in the box, no time again to build it and i'm in work in progress on my new pack and a lot of work in the house... i will also take my time to do the best like you and not doing a mistake. i hope the best to you for your built continuation suit. i want new pictures as soon as possible!!! +++ (just a small parenthesis do you sure the knee side form is the same like the stormtrooper? me i can see a half circle. what do you think about that? it is also interesting to me because i will do a move along ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troopermaster Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 He has the knee strap shaped correctly. My advice would be to trim the slight return edge from it though, making it more narrow and will help reduce the chance of any cracks. Personally I would get rid of any return edge on the wrist. None of sandtrooper or stormtroopers had this and only had return edges on the torso for the strapping to attach to. I realise there is some slight edging on some parts but this is minimal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 What ... Your name is not Juan, its Billy the kid whit when it comes to trimming. Only one day, and all part cut out, ready for the stripes glue together progress . Maybe i will have to give away my speedy trooper title, to you my friend Good luck in the progress, and remember to have fun. Cheers bro (love the TE2 kit, makes me wanna buy one more each time i see one) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 (just a small parenthesis do you sure the knee side form is the same like the stormtrooper? me i can see a half circle. what do you think about that? it is also interesting to me because i will do a move along ) Thx for your comments bro. I do had the question about how to trim the knee ammo pack, but I will show my research: He has the knee strap shaped correctly. My advice would be to trim the slight return edge from it though, making it more narrow and will help reduce the chance of any cracks. I still have a bit of a doubt here, but since everyone seems to have the knee belt trimed in that way, and with your advice Im happy I did it that way. Thanks a lot bro. But still, with Kenthork's reference I want to show all you my research on this... The first picture appears both edges round. These other pictures have only the bottom round. These one appears round on both edges too, but different round. What do you think? I think the correct way is to have it just round at the bottom, But there are many pictures where it looks like its rounded both top and bottom. And also, there are many ways to trim it, due to being made by hand. As most details in armor, uniqueness has more to do with mistakes than with actual planning, I guess. Personally I would get rid of any return edge on the wrist. None of sandtrooper or stormtroopers had this and only had return edges on the torso for the strapping to attach to. I realise there is some slight edging on some parts but this is minimal. By the return you mean the plastic over the edges? Like this: If so, I must clear that the only parts I have trimmed so far are the legs and arms. I just threw the torso for the picture to make it look cooler. Anyway, your comments are a lot of help cause one of the reasons I did not trimmed these parts yet was cause I didnt know how much to trim... Thnk a lot Bro!! Will keep posting as I work on it. Saludos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenthork Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I do had the question about how to trim the knee ammo pack, but I will show my research: again with your research pictures i'm ok to say that many sandtrooper had only one return edge (like TK), and other had two return edges, but i can see the "move along" had two return edges or slight edging on some parts but minimal like say troopermaster. what do you think... the "move along" with another photoshop try : on my actual TD i do two return edges but, for my next suit i don't know again, it is a no return possibility when you cut the two edges, so i think it is a great topic discution before use the dremel... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troopermaster Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 This is the elbow area and I would reduce the edge by half on the outer part and get rid of all of it on the inner to reduce pinching. The wrist area is over trimmed on the originals and had no return edge at all. When I commented about the return edge on your knee strap, I just mean't to trim off a bit from the bottom and top where you can see where the mould finishes leaving and edge. When you come to bend this and fit it to your thigh armour, any slight return edges can cause plastic to crack because it becomes more rigid so getting rid of it will help reduce the chance of future cracks. Heat the strap up gently before bending it to shape and attaching it to you thigh, again, to reduce cracks. Trust me, I have cracked a few of these in my time and know a thing or two about plastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 What ... Your name is not Juan, its Billy the kid whit when it comes to trimming. Only one day, and all part cut out, ready for the stripes glue together progress . Maybe i will have to give away my speedy trooper title, to you my friend Good luck in the progress, and remember to have fun. Cheers bro (love the TE2 kit, makes me wanna buy one more each time i see one) HEHEHE! THX bro... I must admit that it was not just one day. I have been working at nights after work for periods of 1/2 hour or so every night for a week. Trimming one or two parts every night. I am still waiting for the strips to arrive to glue everything together (they come in a different shipment), but I want to have everything ready to glue together when they arrive. Thx for your words and encouragement. Your work and post have inspired me in many different ways to try and make the best I can on this armor! (I love this kit too, already want another one. HEHEHE) Saludos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 This is the elbow area and I would reduce the edge by half on the outer part and get rid of all of it on the inner to reduce pinching. The wrist area is over trimmed on the originals and had no return edge at all. When I commented about the return edge on your knee strap, I just mean't to trim off a bit from the bottom and top where you can see where the mould finishes leaving and edge. When you come to bend this and fit it to your thigh armour, any slight return edges can cause plastic to crack because it becomes more rigid so getting rid of it will help reduce the chance of future cracks. Heat the strap up gently before bending it to shape and attaching it to you thigh, again, to reduce cracks. Trust me, I have cracked a few of these in my time and know a thing or two about plastic Yep, I did understand what you said then. I just posted the arm piece to show/ask an example of what a "return edge" was, cause I wasn't sure. So, about the return area in the belt and knee strap: it is clear and I understand completely what you mean. I did this same thing with my FX kit. Cut all the edges and heat it a bit with a blow dryer before bending it to prevent stressing the material. About the arm part... ok, what you suggest is: 1. Get rid of half the return edge of he outer part for the elbow end. 2. Get rid of all the return edge of the inner part for the elbow end. 3. Get rid of all the return edge on outer and inner part for the wrist end. Thats it, isnt it? So, you said original armors had no return edge at all on the wrist end. Were they also trimmed as you recomend at the elbow end? THX a lot for all your help bro. No doubt you are the trooper master! Saludos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted September 29, 2009 Author Share Posted September 29, 2009 again with your research pictures i'm ok to say that many sandtrooper had only one return edge (like TK), and other had two return edges, but i can see the "move along" had two return edges or slight edging on some parts but minimal like say troopermaster. what do you think... the "move along" with another photoshop try : on my actual TD i do two return edges but, for my next suit i don't know again, it is a no return possibility when you cut the two edges, so i think it is a great topic discution before use the dremel... I think what TM meant by return edge is not exactly that curve trimming on the knee strap... but you are right, the move along trooper seems to have curve trimming on both upper and lower edge of the knee strap. This is a good topic... dont know if it has been discussed to depth before, but know I have read about it somewhere over the forums. Will try and search the topic. In the meantime, what do everybody think, is it more TD to have one curve edge or two? Since the move along trooper is one of the iconic TDs and it looks that his armor has two round edges, would that be the way to go? Or just when trying to replicate this exact trooper? Any opinions? Thx a lot. Saludos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sands Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 That is the best looking armor! Can't wait to upgrade to TE2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troopermaster Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 1. Get rid of half the return edge of he outer part for the elbow end. 2. Get rid of all the return edge of the inner part for the elbow end. 3. Get rid of all the return edge on outer and inner part for the wrist end. Thats it, isnt it? You got it Seeing how the sandtroopers were the first sets of armour made for filming, they are essentially an early version of the stormtrooper minus a few extras added later when the returned from Tunisia. I would hazzard a guess that all the knee straps were trimmed the same and just had the lower edge with the curve, leaving the top squared off where it is attached to the thigh armour. I can't say I've seen one with both edges rounded but there may be the odd one, though both lower ends are rounded off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 HEHEHE! THX bro... I must admit that it was not just one day. I have been working at nights after work for periods of 1/2 hour or so every night for a week. Trimming one or two parts every night. I am still waiting for the strips to arrive to glue everything together (they come in a different shipment), but I want to have everything ready to glue together when they arrive. Thx for your words and encouragement. Your work and post have inspired me in many different ways to try and make the best I can on this armor! (I love this kit too, already want another one. HEHEHE) Saludos Ha ha i keep the title then, aka Mr. Speedy trooper Good luck in the progress bro. I´m sure your sandy will turn out A+, i know you got the skills. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchy Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Man, you're fast It always gets me excited to see a TE2 come to life.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Man, you're fast It always gets me excited to see a TE2 come to life.. Thx man! Hopefully will work on it this weekend and will post some new pictures on Monday. Saludos!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 As promised, here are the updates of the work I did on my armor on the weekend. First, I made the proper corrections on the arms to have them correctly trimmed just like on screen. This involved taking half of the return edge of the elbow end's outer part, and most of the return end on the inner side and both sides of the wrist ends. I have thin arms (maybe too thin), so now my armor arms are a bit to big for me, but will most likely fit alright when I ad some foam on the inside. This is how they look now: Elbow ends Wrist ends And then, re-trimmed the belt and knee belt so to get rid of all the return edge; I also made the corners of the belt round, this is more a pre-trimming. I expect to finish it later cause wanted to ask everyone if this is the correct way to cut the corners? About the knee strip, I have been studying pictures of the move along trooper, and I think he has this strip trimmed in a round edge on the lower part, and a slightly round corner on the upper one. What do you think? Have not trimmed anything yet anyway. And finally, I trimmed all the body armor. Getting rid of most the return edge on lower body parts and leaving it on the upper body parts. With this done, Im researching references, threads and other ppl's opinions and methods to come up with a strapping system that I want and can use for my armor. I have a few pictures and diagrams, and have an idea of how original were most likely put together (from post at the forums from Paul, Mike, Rolf, Seth and others). But I still need to come up with a way I want to do it... That will be my next step. I will probably make a diagram and come to you for opinions before putting it together. Any help or ideas are more than welcome. So thats it for now. If you have any suggestion, or can see anything that should be improved, pls, let me know. Will be much appreciated! Saludos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troopermaster Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Try this, works a treat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Geez,why i cant glue my armor with tape like that? i just using clamps all over,and that often cause trouble,the shape went south but the strip went nuts ,and i did glue another strips on the inside before i glue the outer part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share Posted October 6, 2009 Geez,why i cant glue my armor with tape like that? i just using clamps all over,and that often cause trouble,the shape went south but the strip went nuts ,and i did glue another strips on the inside before i glue the outer part Blue masking tape is the best! It does not leave any glue residue but still sticks very good to plastic and other materiasl. Love this tape... Saludos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share Posted October 6, 2009 Try this, works a treat! THX a lot bro! This is great and will be a lot of help! Saludos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 A little progress: I spend most of last week (most of my "armor time" anyway), thinking about how would I make the strapping system for my armor. I had some very cool references and did lots research on how it was made on the original armors. I came to the conclusion that I didn't want my armor strapped exactly like the movie ones, mainly because of the use of rivets I would like to avoid if possible cause of my lack of riveting experience. Anyway, I will use some rivets for practical and image purposes: 3 rivets on the left side of the body armor, 1 on the left of it; rivets for the knee strip, and probably to fix the plastic belt to the canvas belt. The rest of the system I will attach using E6000 to fix straps to the armor, and industrial strength velcro for closure of straps. And snap buttons to fix the belt to the ab plate. I have come up with this diagram. It is based in some very similar looking diagram I found somewhere, but that was not really accurate nor practical (IMO). At the end, this is based on the picture TM posted here, on Mike H's strapping system as it appears on his site, and on my own experience with armor and straps. What do you think? I will be using 1' black elastic, 2' black elastic and 2' white elastic for the shoulder straps. I alraedy have almost everything I need, except for the snap buttons. So if everybody think this is fine, I most likely will start making it this week. Or does anyone has any idea that might improve this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Here is another one. Cheers bro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconoclasta_88 Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Here is another one. Cheers bro Thx Bro... Thats the diagram my drawing is based on... but I thought it was not very accurate, or is it? Thats why I "improved" it in my own version. Saludos... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolf Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Thx Bro... Thats the diagram my drawing is based on... but I thought it was not very accurate, or is it? Thats why I "improved" it in my own version. Saludos... Your version is better/more accurate. Only one thing is better on the old version i think, and thats the belt system. It works so much better whit the belt system vs. to add the legs to belly part. Good luck whit the build bro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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