MisterXero
Active Member
Hi All,
I wanted to share my build for my son of a TFA Stormtrooper for Halloween. It is a conversion of the Jakks 48" Battle Buddy figure. I saw this figure a while back at Toys R Us and the first thing I said to my kid was, "Wow! That's as big as you are!" I didn't buy it, but in the days following I kept thinking how cool it would be to turn it into a set of armor. It was around this time when I saw TJ's video on YouTube doing exactly that. That settled it and I went straight back to TRU the next day and picked up the figure with the goal of finishing it for Halloween.
Now the first thing I noticed in the video was that it made it look like the job could be done in a day. I knew that wasn't the case, but I also didn't know how much time it will take to hollow everything out and what else needed to be done. I also didn't want to start hacking at it as per the video as I didn't know what I would need later, so the first thing we did was disassemble the entire figure screw by screw.
At this point, I needed to do a sanity check to make sure that this costume was a viable option, (so I could still return the figure if not). I held up the torso to my kid and roughly lined up the parts and it looked like a close enough fit. I still wasn't 100% sure, but I had a pretty high confidence level.
I knew I wanted to keep as many of the gimmicks as possible, so the first thing I did was set aside the battery box and the speaker. I knew I wanted to use them later somehow.
I noticed that the right arm was a static piece with the only movable joints being the shoulder and wrist. It is a blow molded piece and therefore it was hollow. This was by far the easiest part of the costume. Unfortunately, it was the only easy part and the rest of the parts had structural and support structures that needed to be Dremeled/cut/sanded away... so let's get to it!
I had tried several methods for support removal, Dremel, hot knife, etc. I found that the hot knife worked for the bigger pieces, but gave off toxic fumes as it melted the plastic. I decided to use the Dremel cut off wheel for the majority of the job. When the pieces just loose enough, I tore some off with a pair of pliers. When the majority of the walls were removed, I used the Dremel and its sanding drum to get rid of the rest. When finished, I use a rough sandpaper to knock off any high spots and any sharps that may still be left by the Dremel.
One of the things I added was for the blaster. The handle was molded as part of the hand, so when the blaster came off, the handle was only the skeleton that went inside the hand piece. I took a few basic measurements and took to CAD to design a grip based on some images I found online. After a few hours, I was able to print and paint a handle that looked the part.
Another thing I noticed was that the leg holster had some features that led me to believe that it could be retrofitted to accept the blaster. I drilled out the slots to see what could be done.
A quick trip to Fastenal and I came back with some shoulder bolts to attach to the blaster half and wholla. I now can holster the blaster onto the leg armor.
For the separate pieces, I separated the torso from the abs. This was done to provide some mobility and comfort. This left me with a gap between those two sections, so I used a piece of thin foam to cover it up.
For the thighs, I made a suspender system of elastic nylon webbing attached to a belt which secured around the waist with Velcro. This provides steady movement while walking and will not sag or droop.
For the chest, again, I wanted to keep the soundbox, so I relocated it to the chest , keeping the original location for the speaker and button. I painted the button black to be a bit more screen accurate as well as cut out the remaining speaker holes and covered the backside with acoustically transparent material so the sound can come through.
The sound board needed a little tweaking to remove some unnecessary components and make it a little easier for relocation. I cut out the wires for the motion sensor and the on/off switch. But in order to still have it work, I had to permanently connect the ground to the 'on' wire.
Now that everything was mostly completed, I attached the fronts and backs of the pieces which could be slipped on and off. This meant the thighs, shoulders, and forearms. Since all the screw posts were cut off, I used a strip of foam and glued them along the seams on the inside. This also provided a bit of padding so there is no rubbing to the clothing.
For the pieces that have the screw holes, I glued pieces of white foam behind it to cover them up to give it a more consistent appearance. I could perhaps bondo, sand, and paint, but time was again, of the essence, and it is for a kid costume which WILL be played with and perhaps damaged. On top of that, there's no telling if this thing will still fit in a week, so foam it was.
The shin pieces were attached together with strips of foam on the inside fronts, but the backs were left open and secured with Velcro on the outside. I tried Velcro on the inside in the beginning, but it proved too difficult to get my fingers in to secure it. The undersuit was just long sleeve black pajamas turned inside out.
I didn't have time to procure correct shoes, so I took the lowest slip shoes he had and made a quick foam cover for the top of the foot and secured it with elastic.
The helmet was way to small to fit even if I had hollowed everything out, so most shots were of just him holding it. I am planning on getting a Rubie's 2-piece helmet but I'm on the fence based on some of the reviews. With Halloween done, I have until the premiere. I'm also crossing my fingers that this still fits by then.
There you have it. 8 days, no sleep, glue burns and scraps... but totally worth it.
I wanted to share my build for my son of a TFA Stormtrooper for Halloween. It is a conversion of the Jakks 48" Battle Buddy figure. I saw this figure a while back at Toys R Us and the first thing I said to my kid was, "Wow! That's as big as you are!" I didn't buy it, but in the days following I kept thinking how cool it would be to turn it into a set of armor. It was around this time when I saw TJ's video on YouTube doing exactly that. That settled it and I went straight back to TRU the next day and picked up the figure with the goal of finishing it for Halloween.
Now the first thing I noticed in the video was that it made it look like the job could be done in a day. I knew that wasn't the case, but I also didn't know how much time it will take to hollow everything out and what else needed to be done. I also didn't want to start hacking at it as per the video as I didn't know what I would need later, so the first thing we did was disassemble the entire figure screw by screw.
At this point, I needed to do a sanity check to make sure that this costume was a viable option, (so I could still return the figure if not). I held up the torso to my kid and roughly lined up the parts and it looked like a close enough fit. I still wasn't 100% sure, but I had a pretty high confidence level.
I knew I wanted to keep as many of the gimmicks as possible, so the first thing I did was set aside the battery box and the speaker. I knew I wanted to use them later somehow.
I noticed that the right arm was a static piece with the only movable joints being the shoulder and wrist. It is a blow molded piece and therefore it was hollow. This was by far the easiest part of the costume. Unfortunately, it was the only easy part and the rest of the parts had structural and support structures that needed to be Dremeled/cut/sanded away... so let's get to it!
I had tried several methods for support removal, Dremel, hot knife, etc. I found that the hot knife worked for the bigger pieces, but gave off toxic fumes as it melted the plastic. I decided to use the Dremel cut off wheel for the majority of the job. When the pieces just loose enough, I tore some off with a pair of pliers. When the majority of the walls were removed, I used the Dremel and its sanding drum to get rid of the rest. When finished, I use a rough sandpaper to knock off any high spots and any sharps that may still be left by the Dremel.
One of the things I added was for the blaster. The handle was molded as part of the hand, so when the blaster came off, the handle was only the skeleton that went inside the hand piece. I took a few basic measurements and took to CAD to design a grip based on some images I found online. After a few hours, I was able to print and paint a handle that looked the part.
Another thing I noticed was that the leg holster had some features that led me to believe that it could be retrofitted to accept the blaster. I drilled out the slots to see what could be done.
A quick trip to Fastenal and I came back with some shoulder bolts to attach to the blaster half and wholla. I now can holster the blaster onto the leg armor.
For the separate pieces, I separated the torso from the abs. This was done to provide some mobility and comfort. This left me with a gap between those two sections, so I used a piece of thin foam to cover it up.
For the thighs, I made a suspender system of elastic nylon webbing attached to a belt which secured around the waist with Velcro. This provides steady movement while walking and will not sag or droop.
For the chest, again, I wanted to keep the soundbox, so I relocated it to the chest , keeping the original location for the speaker and button. I painted the button black to be a bit more screen accurate as well as cut out the remaining speaker holes and covered the backside with acoustically transparent material so the sound can come through.
The sound board needed a little tweaking to remove some unnecessary components and make it a little easier for relocation. I cut out the wires for the motion sensor and the on/off switch. But in order to still have it work, I had to permanently connect the ground to the 'on' wire.
Now that everything was mostly completed, I attached the fronts and backs of the pieces which could be slipped on and off. This meant the thighs, shoulders, and forearms. Since all the screw posts were cut off, I used a strip of foam and glued them along the seams on the inside. This also provided a bit of padding so there is no rubbing to the clothing.
For the pieces that have the screw holes, I glued pieces of white foam behind it to cover them up to give it a more consistent appearance. I could perhaps bondo, sand, and paint, but time was again, of the essence, and it is for a kid costume which WILL be played with and perhaps damaged. On top of that, there's no telling if this thing will still fit in a week, so foam it was.
The shin pieces were attached together with strips of foam on the inside fronts, but the backs were left open and secured with Velcro on the outside. I tried Velcro on the inside in the beginning, but it proved too difficult to get my fingers in to secure it. The undersuit was just long sleeve black pajamas turned inside out.
I didn't have time to procure correct shoes, so I took the lowest slip shoes he had and made a quick foam cover for the top of the foot and secured it with elastic.
The helmet was way to small to fit even if I had hollowed everything out, so most shots were of just him holding it. I am planning on getting a Rubie's 2-piece helmet but I'm on the fence based on some of the reviews. With Halloween done, I have until the premiere. I'm also crossing my fingers that this still fits by then.
There you have it. 8 days, no sleep, glue burns and scraps... but totally worth it.
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