Stormtrooper start to finish

[Clutch]

I thought to get me working on this stuff, I'd document my armor building experience. Not too many photos, but enough.

I started by collecting everything I could think of to help build it. Of course, some things won't be used because I got in a hurry buying the junk.

Here are the upper arm/forearm pieces glued together. I've since added IS velcro to the forearms. The velcro makes the joining sides sit far apart. I don't know if I like that. i could glue them because I can barely wiggle my hand through them closed. make darned sure you sand the correct sides before starting! I picked up one and started sanding away and noticed that it was going to be the side that faced outwards!!! Now I have some fine sanding and polishing to do on that boo-boo.

I'm using devcon plastic weld. Pretty strong stuff (fumes), but it seems to work fine. I have about 20-30 seconds of 'wiggle' time before the glue really starts to kick. If it squirts out, I can scrape it with my thumbnail. However, it will take the gloss off, so be careful!

I found a better set of suspenders. They are from an Altus Elastic Back Support Belt that I picked up at Wal-Mart for under 20 bucks. I cut the plastic clips off and glued them to the ab and kidney plates. Now I can easily remove the suspenders if need be. They just snap on.

Next, it was time to test fit the chest. Man, this GF is some small stuff. The dive skin I am wearing has a logo on the chest that can be seen with the chest piece in place! Luckily, I have a flat black unitard that I can use instead. There is a lot of trial and error with this stuff. I have to make sure all the plates are right before I start gluing/strapping stuff together. I have used masking tape to hold everything togehter here:

That's it for now...

 

[punisher]

keep it up im just starting myu armor as well~
but i think ill assemble my scout armor first but i still am waiting for it in the mail

 

[Atarian]

I hope we see more "start to finish" threads like this. I have a vader helmet thread going now.
Cant wait to see your trooper all finished.

 

[Goldenrod]

Thats a real nice suit you got there. And your right it is alot of trial and error. You will see after wearing it out a few times what else needs to be tweaked. BTW you will most likely look like a junky from the pinching here and there,BUT its all for the cause
-Goldenrod

 

[KevVader]

....nice so far....I've put together a few FX suits...I found that taking your time is the key...how small is this suit?...will it fit 6'4" 260 lb Canadian?

 

[Clutch]

Originally posted by KevVader@Jul 25 2005, 07:48 PM
....nice so far....I've put together a few FX suits...I found that taking your time is the key...how small is this suit?...will it fit 6'4" 260 lb Canadian? 

[snapback]1042129[/snapback]​

Hey Kev,
I'm 5'11" 180lbs. I think the goal is for the ab plate and the kidney plate to fasten together. I don't know if these were trimmed short, but if I hold my breath, they might touch on both sides. The way it is now, there might be an inch or two gap for me. I plan on using snaps and straps to hold them together. The shins are small too. I haven't tried yet, but it will be a very tight fit when they are velcroed together. I find that most of the barrel-shaped pieces (arms, legs) are coming up oval if you did a cross-section. I think heating them up and making more of an O-shape will make the suit more comfortable.

So long story short, you might fit into it, but you'd probably have to shim it.

Interesting find: very hard to look down with the helmet on. I'm sure more stormtroopers fell from tripping than laser fire.

 

[Trallis]

whered ya get the sweet GF suit?(feel free to PM me.)
awesome looking.
I have a question for you. I asked it on an old thread but that thread died.
does devcon plastic welder cause any melting or warping of the plastic like abs glue does?

 

[KevVader]

Originally posted by clutch+Jul 25 2005, 09:55 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clutch @ Jul 25 2005, 09:55 PM)</div>

<!--QuoteBegin-KevVader

@Jul 25 2005, 07:48 PM
....nice so far....I've put together a few FX suits...I found that taking your time is the key...how small is this suit?...will it fit 6'4" 260 lb Canadian? 

[snapback]1042129[/snapback]​

Hey Kev,
I'm 5'11" 180lbs. I think the goal is for the ab plate and the kidney plate to fasten together. I don't know if these were trimmed short, but if I hold my breath, they might touch on both sides. The way it is now, there might be an inch or two gap for me. I plan on using snaps and straps to hold them together. The shins are small too. I haven't tried yet, but it will be a very tight fit when they are velcroed together. I find that most of the barrel-shaped pieces (arms, legs) are coming up oval if you did a cross-section. I think heating them up and making more of an O-shape will make the suit more comfortable.

So long story short, you might fit into it, but you'd probably have to shim it.

Interesting find: very hard to look down with the helmet on. I'm sure more stormtroopers fell from tripping than laser fire.

[snapback]1042212[/snapback]​

[/b]

....yeah, I suspected as much....display piece only.... :$

 

[Clutch]

Originally posted by Trallis@Jul 26 2005, 12:31 AM
whered ya get the sweet GF suit?(feel free to PM me.)
awesome looking. 
I have a question for you.  I asked it on an old thread but that thread died.
does devcon plastic welder cause any melting or warping of the plastic like abs glue does?

[snapback]1042347[/snapback]​

The plastic welder does melt the plastic and gives off heat when it kicks, BUT if you spread on a thin layer, you don't even feel heat when pressing the two parts together. Just make sure you rough up the sides to be joined with sandpaper. Get any glue seepage off as soon as you can because it dries to a cream color. It's also cool because I don't have to leave stuff clamped together overnight.

You have a PM.

 

[TK1536]

Regarding Devcon... the stuff is a dream. I've probably gone through ten tubes of the stuff in the last sixteen months. It dries very fast, within 10 to fifteen min. But, this heat thing? I've never known Devcon to give off heat. Now Ultra Cal gypsum on the other hand... haha...

 

[Trallis]

thanks for the devcon info guys.
when i made my fx armor a while back i used mostly abs glue and the front of my thight piece has melty marks on it.. you cant really notice unless you look close.. but my next armor will be intended to double as display and trooping and I want it perfect.. but if i really mess it up I guess I could just downgrade to a more screen accurate look. tape.. borken pieces.. etc.

 

[Clutch]

Originally posted by TK1536@Jul 26 2005, 09:50 AM
Regarding Devcon... the stuff is a dream. I've probably gone through ten tubes of the stuff in the last sixteen months. It dries very fast, within 10 to fifteen min. But, this heat thing? I've never known Devcon to give off heat. Now Ultra Cal gypsum on the other hand... haha...

[snapback]1042618[/snapback]​

I found out it gets hot because I picked up the little cup I was mixing a big batch in. It was HOT. :lol

 

[Clutch]

Well, the thigh piece was a nightmare just as I figured it would be. If you ever let the halves touch momentarily and then pull them apart, the bond will not be very good. I had to attempt to glue the piece together twice. The second time I glued in sections working my way up the thigh. This is probably a job more suited for two people. Another set of hands would have come in handy. I can see where the glue seeped all down the seam. You can't tell it from the pic, but I can. I think I'm gonna buy some white enamel paint and touch it up some.

I forgot to mention previously that I pulled the foam out of the top of my helmet and replaced it with a headband from a five dollar hardhat. The headband is glued in with hot glue. Note: If you glue one into this particular type of asymmetrical helmet, then the connection points of the headband will not be the same for each side in the back. If you did this, the helmet would sit incorrectly.

 

[trooper70]

Thanks for sharing all this clutch, at looks like you're doing a great job and I'm really watching with interest as I have the same armour coming in a month or two to replace my FX.

I already have the same helmet which I purchased seperately some time ago but another one is coming with the new armour. Hey, you can never have too many trooper lids eh? I plan to do the new one Hero style.

Will you be using Devcon on the back of the calves too, or will you be using velcro?

Cheers, Sean

 

[vaderdarth]

Clutch, you don't know how much I appreciate this thread. My armor has been sitting in it's carton for over a year awaiting this thread. Many thanks

Dave

 

[Clutch]

Thanks guys. I'm hoping it will be a two-way process because I'm learning as I go. Feel free to chime in if it looks like I'm doing anything wrong.

Sean, I'm starting to think I need a stunt helmet. You can barely see through those bubble lenses in the hero. As for the calves, I'm not going to glue them. They are so small, I'm barely gonna fit into them as it is.

Dave, get to gluing..

 

[dadvader]

You want the front and back to touch??? :confused WOW...

I have an FX kit and there is a 3inch gap between the front and back..

Of course I'm 6' and 220 lbs and have a 36" waist and a 54"chest.

The only parts I didn't have to shim was the thighs,as I have a newer kit that came with the larger thighs,and the forearms they just barely fit.

I also have 20" biceps so even the upper parts were to small..

All in all it still looks good on me.. At least I think so,Maybe thats because when i saw the movie at age 13 and the troopers came through the door of the Tantaive,I wanted to enlist in the Imperial Navy...

 

[trooper70]

Thought they might have been a bit too small to glue together and get my big feet through

I did my Authenticprops helmet as a stunt, that's the one I intend on using with the new armour, the Hero I just want mainly for display, trying to get the bubble lenses for it is proving to be more of a challenge than I anticipated but I think I have a source now.

But keep those pics coming. :thumbsup

Cheers, Sean

 

[trooper70]

DOH. I only just noticed that I wrote calves in my earlier question.

I meant THIGHS... Lol sorry bout that :lol

Now, clutch, will you be gluing the back of the (ahem) THIGHS?

Cheers, Sean

 

[dadvader]

My thighs are glued both front and back,the only problem this creates is i have to put my legs through and then put on my boots.

My feet just barely fit through but it works out great..

Just my $.02