Stormtrooper start to finish

[Clutch]

Hehe. Yes, I'm going to glue the thigh pieces front and back. I'll be glad when I'm finished with this gluing. It's nerve-racking. Here's some shots of the ab and kidney/butt plates. I have the feeling I'm going to be using a lot of buttons and straps. Velcro and elastic have too much give for my taste. If you move a certain way, you can hear it 'crunch'. I just have a feeling that it's not going to be secure. I'll have to put more attachment points on the kidney/butt plates because if the kidney plate wraps around, the butt plate should follow. Otherwise the sides of it will be sticking out like wings. Doh!

Some good news - I cut the adjustment clips off of the first pair of suspenders and they'll work with the straps for the thigh armor making them adjustable.

 

[slave1pilot]

Originally posted by vaderdarth@Jul 27 2005, 04:35 AM
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

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Dude, I would have gone insane.
I guess I'mnot one for paitience.

 

[batman182]

This is a cool thread thanks

 

[Clutch]

Just a quick update. I've been taking a break from the glue fumes. You should really work in a well-ventilated area. I glued the second calf together and the back of the right thigh. After a quick test fit, all I have to say is, I'M GOING ON A DIET. Keep in mind, I'm 180lbs. Definitely GF is beanpole armor.

 

[Studio Stasis]

I hear ya on that one. My TE suit, and previous GF suit are built for people 170lbs and below. I can squeeze into my TE, but the back and front dont match up because of my stomach. I am 193lbs now and was 180 this time last year. I need to stop eating so much crap and get back to 175. It definitely makes costuming easier when you are skinnier. I am going to be getting my Fett done this year and a snowtrooper, so I am definitely going to slim down for sure. Good luck on your suit. It looks like its coming together nicely.

 

[Clutch]

Thanks Josh. Expensive armor is a good motivational tool to shed some pounds.

Small update. I knew I'd be reshaping some pieces so that they would feel more comfortable, so I started with the arms. When glued together, they took on an ellipse shape that felt tight and uncomfortable. To remedy this, I put on my nomex flight gloves (didn't have anything else handy at the time) and carefully started heating the plastic with a hot-air gun. I kept it moving all over and mainly concentrated on the inside of each piece. Once I could start feeling heat coming through the other side, I squeezed the piece together and 'shocked' it with running cold water so that it would retain its shape. Here is a comparison of a reshaped one to one that is not:

I glued the right shin together. It is gonna be a much better fit than the left. I highly recommend that you get a couple of 5" deep throat u-clamps and four 2" spring clamps. They come in handy when you need a second set of hands. I took sticky-back felt pads and stuck them to the clamps so that they wouldn't damage the plastic:

I velcroed the left calf, but before I did, I put the piece on and clamped it around my leg as far as it would go. I then marked where the piece overlapped in back, so I would know how wide to make the velcro strip. As you can see from this pic, the sides on the left calf piece don't line up very well:

I heated it to try and straighten it up. It worked a little, but one side started to curl from the heat, so I stopped. Here is the piece velcroed together. It still needs the edges lined up (cut).

If I get it overlapped like it should be, a ridge on the top digs into my leg. I'm thinking about cutting it off because it will be hidden by the sniper plate when I attach it:

I'm going to get started on the buttons soon. They will be attached to squares of styrene and then glued to the armor:

That's it for now...

 

[Trallis]

nice pics.. keep the updates coming

 

[Jedi-Bob]

What type and where did you get a Hot-Air Gun?

I need one for my trooper armor as I have to reshape a thigh.

Thanks and Fantastic Post...Thanks for the great info.

 

[Clutch]

I have a two speed Wagner that I've used for years, but it is lost in my house somewhere. So, I am now using a single speed Wagner HT900 that I got a Wal-Mart for 20 dollars.

Please be careful if you go this route especially for the larger pieces. I heated up my shin piece with no visible damage, until I started to put the velcro on. That's when I noticed that the edge had gotten too hot and started curling. Lucky for me, it is the edge that goes underneath. Take your time. It might take more than one try.

I would be tempted to do the near-boiling water trick, where you submerge the piece to heat it, but I'm too chicken to do that. If this stuff gets too hot, that's all she wrote.

 

[KevVader]

Originally posted by clutch@Aug 3 2005, 02:25 PM
I have a two speed Wagner that I've used for years, but it is lost in my house somewhere.  So, I am now using a single speed Wagner HT900 that I got a Wal-Mart for 20 dollars.

Please be careful if you go this route especially for the larger pieces.  I heated up my shin piece with no visible damage, until I started to put the velcro on.  That's when I noticed that the edge had gotten too hot and started curling.  Lucky for me, it is the edge that goes underneath.  Take your time.  It might take more than one try.

I would be tempted to do the near-boiling water trick, where you submerge the piece to heat it, but I'm too chicken to do that.  If this stuff gets too hot, that's all she wrote.

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....jeez Clutch....ya got balls.. I don't know if I'd have the nerve to heat it up enough to reshape it...probably burn a hole through it or set my arm on fire.

Good Job.

 

[Clutch]

Originally posted by KevVader@Aug 3 2005, 01:32 PM
....jeez Clutch....ya got balls..  I don't know if I'd have the nerve to heat it up enough to reshape it...probably burn a hole through it or set my arm on fire.

Good Job.

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Ha. Thanks. Although you could explain the hole by telling people you took a 'blaster' hit. :lol

 

[Jedi-Bob]

This is exactly what I have been planning on doing. I need to reshape the lower part of the thigh as it is too oval. I already glues the front seem shut. The back is open.

Anyone here try the water technique?

Originally posted by clutch@Aug 3 2005, 07:25 PM
I would be tempted to do the near-boiling water trick, where you submerge the piece to heat it, but I'm too chicken to do that.  If this stuff gets too hot, that's all she wrote.

[snapback]1048977[/snapback]​

 

[Clutch]

Got my RomFX in yesterday! Whoo hoo! This thing is cool. It's as simple as plugging in the speaker, mic, battery, and turning it on. Sounds very realistic and is customizable. Here's a picture of the board and speaker:

The battery should give you an idea how small it is. The three round areas near the battery are the buttons for the settings. The black post on the left is the volume, and the black post at the bottom next to the speaker plug is the on/off switch. The black and red wires go to a 9V battery clip and the yellow/black go to a 3.5mm jack for the microphone:

It works fine with the 9-volt battery, but the instructions say that you will get more volume and longer life with a 12-volt setup. After referring to their web page, I went to radio shack and spent a couple of bucks getting two 4AA battery boxes with the 9-volt clips and a package of heavy duty 9-volt clips. Wire the three 9-volt clips together black to red for all three and you're done. This was a quick, see-if-it-works setup. I may solder longer wires on when I get ready to install it in my helmet:

The speaker box, believe it or not, is pretty big. It won't fit comfortably under my chest armor and I am afraid it will feedback if I install it in my helmet. I plan on taking the speaker out of the enclosure and just letting it hang underneath the chest plate. That's it for now. I'm cutting out styrene tabs for the snaps now (whoopee).

 

[ob1al]

If it's helpful to you, I've noticed lots of troopers with the speaker velcroed onto their belt at the side. It seems to work really well.

 

[WinstonWolf359]

Moved to costuming forum at clutch's request.

 

[Clutch]

I'm undecided on the chest armor shoulder straps. Watching the movie, the look to be off-white in color. Even the Gentle Giant busts have them off-colored.
Can anybody confirm this? I plan on using some Krylon Dover White Fusion if I do go through with it. I've also noticed that the two straps do not line up perfectly in back. One hangs longer. They appear to be chopped off somewhat on Han and Luke's armor, so I plan on doing the same to mine.

 

[batman182]

Cluth the link to the latest pic seems to be down. I'm loving this thread by the way thanks

 

[Clutch]

It should work now. Thanks.

 

[OldKen]

hey i weigh about 155 and am about 5,9 (a little short for a stormtrooper?)


so if any of you guys want to get rid of those old pesky little TE suits for cheap, i can hook you up with a guy who sells FX suits.

GOD i want one SOOOOO bad.

and am Soooooo poor.

anyone know of anybody that has any TE or close to kits???

especially the bucket?

 

[troopermaster]

Hey Clutch,

I wouldn't paint the shoulder straps a different white.I can't say that I've ever noticed them being a different shade of white and as they are vac-formed plastic,there's no reason why they would use anything different from what the rest of the armour was made from.Don't forget the white elastic 'keeper' holding the straps in place if your going for accuracy.