TK8993 WIP New TM

The thighs are glued together but I have yet to do the thigh pack, that could be done today.

Ok my shins, has anybody worked out what's going on with them yet? Both of my shins are identical and are made if I am not mistaken, remember I am not an expert, of the outer left and outer right parts. This is why they are so wonky looking from the front. When I put in my order with TM, he asked if I wanted any doubled up parts, and I told him to surprise me... there is another doubled part somewhere, have you seen it?

Measure from the very top above the raised edge and drill small holes, just big enough to get the hooks through, 45mm down, 225mm down and 340mm down. You want to go in about 10mm from the edge of the joint so the hooks pull them in slightly when closed. While a lot of people add joining strips to the inside of the shins its not accurate. If you are worried you can run a bead of glue on the inside joint like I did.

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Again the elastics are just glued directly into the shins, try to match them up to the holes, but done sweat it if they are not an 100% match.. The elastic with the number 4 hook sits about half way along the outer joining strip on the back of the shin, this will pull the shin closed nicely when worn.

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That's about it for now, I'm going to have a cup of tea and a snack, and then get on with something this avo. I start nights today so have a while to get on with some more before work. More updates later stormtrooper fans.

So how are your abs? If its not stormtrooper related speak to Davina, if you are into white plastic speak to me.

Ok so on to the ab plate buttons. TM now makes these in reverse, there is reason for that but I never read that thread. However I like all things as accurate as I can so I like what he's done.

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Trim your button plates as seen here, also check out those vibrant colours. Back in the day there was a lot of 'discussion' on what colour the buttons were and I have been using French blue since around 2008 as other colours popular in the past were too dark. If anyone needed proof of the lighter shade of blue used on the original armour check out these pictures hot off the press from the Lucas Archives. You cannot argue with that.

Original ref pic

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When you are happy that you have your buttons trimmed get gluing. I like to glue mine and then paint them later.

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Thigh pack for right thigh.

Once trimmed out you need to make the lower side edges rounded. I trimed my thigh strip just a couple of mm from the boxes. You do not need much here. To trim the edges round use anything to hand. A spray can, your masking tape. I like to use a spent casing from a L21A1 RARDEN 30mm cannon that my brother liberated when he was invited to observe a live fire battle group exercise.

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When you are happy with your arc, trim and repeat on the other side. Remember that the strap needs to reach all around the thigh.

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You can either have 3 blocks on the inside and 2 on the outside or have it centred both are correct. I am going to use single head caps to hold this in place. Better charge up my Dewalt again..

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Did I mention I am working on nights this week? Well I'd barley been in bed for two hours this morning when I was rudely woken up by the postman knocking loudly on my front door. I didn't mind too much as he stood there and said 'hello mark' and passed me a parcel that was too big to put through the letterbox, as it was the vintage wooden clarinet I had bought earlier in the week after watching a couple of jazz programs. I bought it on a whim as it was 30 years ago this year that I first learnt to play the clarinet.

By the way I glued on the ab buttons and drilled and riveted my thigh pack on the other day, I also found my flexi ESB hand guards while trying to see if I had any spare reeds.

So my mum will be pleased if I can play Stranger on the Shore again, I better dig out my Acker Bilk records and see. My dad took me to see Mr Acker Bilk when he played at St Andrews Hall, here in Norwich. That must be nearly 30 years ago now. I went on to play at the very same venue years later with the various bands and orchestras I played with. Seems a long time ago now.. In a galaxy far, far away..

Anyway I am going to have a cup of tea, and then pop into Norwich to visit the music shop on St Benedicts St to see if they have any cork grease and a pull through cleaning rag. Better get some Rico 1.5 reeds too...

For those of you reading this and expecting more TM goodness, better luck until next time.

Until then rip Acker - ps have you any tips for my embouchure and fingering?

Hi there you've caught me in the middle of painting my buttons, French blue of course, that's no 14 in Imperial, just take your time and follow your ref pictures. I used a flat brush and remember not to load too much paint on and it does not really matter if its not too neat. I find most of this paint rubs off over time..

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While its not raining I'm heading outside to wash my car, maybe see you later?

Night shifts are over, and I have a ninja class this evening if I make it or not is another matter..

Ok so the car has been rinsed, washed, rinsed, dried, polished, buffed and if it rains this evening blame me, I started it.

Can you believe it, I cannot find any number 5 to carry on painting my abs. What self respecting pipe poking peas would be without their number 5 hey? Oh well better pop into the city tomorrow to get some. Nobody else is going to do it for me.. maybe nobody will notice if I leave the rest white? In fairness nobody would notice much about my new set of armour if I wasn't posting pictures and telling everyone on a public forum, then again I'm not entirely sure anyone is reading this anyways.

So my ninja sensei is not going to be at class tonight so I may not go, I may have a poke at something else on my build.

I will leave you for now with my final tip for today. Wear sunscreen, always wear sunscreen.

Although I did not have any grey paint yesterday I did have some black so I went ahead last night and starting adding the detail black lines to my thermal detonator.

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My ref of an original part

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It looks like the pipe needs to be black too.

Ok I'm not an expert but i'm not that stupid, and there is a serious point to this post. If you are unsure about anything at all with your build be sure to check the real ref material, double check and then ask somebody who knows what they are doing. Don't just blindly follow what others are doing. And by the way that was just an old detonator face plate I had kicking round in my tool box. The photo I used as reference was of the RS Props suit and all that black paint was added by Simon when he was a young lad and it has since been removed. The pipes are grey too, not black.

Right after I have had my porridge I'm off into the city to get some grey number 5 that I do need.

First coat of paint is on. Modern humbrol paint is quite thin and watery compared to what it once was. So give it a real good stir, im taking 10-15 minutes and leave the lid off and it will darken. When I opened my new tin it wasn't even grey, it looked white almost.

You don't need to laser cut masking tape to do this, just a steady hand. Up close these don't look like much but from 6 feet away they look perfectly painted. I usually paint the center and then go around the edge. Be patient and careful and if you need to do a second coat leave it to dry fully. Enamel paint takes quite some time so leave it until the next day.

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Finished buttons

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Check out your ref material

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Raiders of the Lost Ark is on the tv tonight, clearly the best Indiana Jones film. Hey has anyone else noticed that Henry Jones Jr and Han Solo look very alike?

Best build thread ever :D

You're too kind..

I put together the thermal detonator last night while watching Raiders. Not much to say about this as there are 501 tutorials covering this. So this is what I did.

Firstly I did not measure anything. I used the grey pipe as it came from the Big Brown Box. The faceplate, I simply trimmed off the flashing. The end caps I used 1 inch masking tape to guide me when I cut around with my scissors. Now at the moment the clips are about the only non original item I will use on this build. I was in a hurry and didn't want to bend up the alu strips I got from TM. I will when I get time change those over. These strips I have had for years I got them from Jesse in the States, and jolly nice they are too.

I heated the end caps with a hairdryer for a minute or two to allow them to fit over the grey pipe without cracking them, they are just held on with pressure fit. I lined up the clip screws with the faceplate, when I use the slightly wider alu clips they will fill the gap with the caps. And I glued the faceplate on with Stelmax. Job done.

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Original item for reference

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I'm agree with Mathias... this is the best build thread ever

You guys are just too kind..

So how has everybody's week been? I have not done a thing to my armour this week, and to be perfectly honest I'm feeling rather annoyed about it. I have been at work all week and did not really get over my night shifts last week, 15 hours sleep from Monday to Friday is not enough, despite what anyone tells you. Today was my first rest day and I spent it at the coast, at my ninja Sensei's house doing some temeshigiri. Check it out on youtube if you are not familiar with it, great fun. I was the 2014 temeshigiri champion with the Fugiyama School of Batto-Do and its a title I wish to keep this year.

Ok so I am going to getting my belt put together over the next few days and in the mean time thought I would leave you these fine pictures to look at while you are waiting.

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Day Thirteen

This day of my build thread will herby be known as Day Thirteen. Unlucky for some, hey? Now I have just been chipping away at this build a little each day when I have time. I'm not in any rush as long as it is ready for the release of the new Star Wars movie. I have already been out for a haircut and I have a few hours before my ninja class this evening. So while I watch Rachel Riley stack numbers and letters in random patterns and try to work out todays conundrum, lets get to work.

I removed all the screws from the torso and painted them white using a rattle can. I have also sprayed the 6 left side bifurcated rivets. This will be the one and only time they are painted, so if they chip from now on tough.

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I am also working on my belt as promised. So far I have trimmed along the top and bottom and am just about to cut off the corners.

Photobucket is a usual a total load of rubbish, pictures to follow when it starts behaving itself.

Ok so if its not photobucket ballsing up when I type out a reply and then wait ages to insert links from that rubbish site, I accidently hit the x on the tab and close what I spent ages tying. Getting pretty worked up so not much will be done today, or not much will be posted I should say.

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Keep checking you ref pictures for reference on where to cut trim and whatever..

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The corners are cut at 45 deg to match the fabric belt. I cut mine 12mm in from the edges and this is the result. I have given up trying to edit, rotate or anything else with my pictures, nobody cares anyway, least of all me.

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As always I trim with scissors, unless it is a straight line such as the corner cut, then its mark, score, snap and repeat. Mark, score, snap and repeat. Mark are you listening, score, snap and repeat.

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Ok I made the school boy error of having a rest before class and while I was inspecting the inside of my eyelids I accidentally dozed off and had a little snoozem, so I didn't make it to class. I was also going to visit a jazz club after and that didn't happen either. Nice.

What did happen was my dewalt came out and so did the hammer. Belt is now assembled pending rivet covers drop boxes and holster.

While we are on the subject of holsters and i have a lovingly made one by that great guy named only by two initials T and M, and i think they should be an optional accessory as there are plenty of scene's where stormtroopers don't have one. The scanning TK with the big weapon aboard the Millennium Falcon and these guys here escorting the Princess are missing something. I would do this trooper for ANH and then could use the same belt for my ESB stormtrooper. Let the discussion begin!

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Missing class has its benefits, you can watch 007 in The Man with the Golden Gun, doesn't Count Dooku look young?

Here are a few more troopers missing their holster,

The guy on the left

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Scanning crew

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Guy on the left at the back?

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Dude who shot Leah?

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Plus the guys in the detention block posted earlier. This should so be an accessory just like the thermal detonator, grappling hook, comlink and tube stripes.

I am not really doing much with my armour build today, im not really in the mood. In the Mood must be the greatest jazz swing track ever, it has everything you could ever want from a big band. Always went down well when I played with the Norwich Students Jazz Orchestra, we used to visit the US Veterans who served in WWII to play to them. Good times. Anyway I have just been doing some clean up of pencil marks and making a few slight adjustments.

I am leaving the strapping as late as I can as once this is glued everything will be attached and it makes packing away awkward. I would really like to make my holster practical and removable but that just would not be cricket, and this is going to be as close a build as I can get.

The belt, I used a small hole punch to put a small hole (naturally) in the canvas belt. I drilled the plastic belt part and started in the centre. Then I wrapped the belt around my middle before marking the holes for the sides, one at a time. This way there is less tension on the parts when worn, If you mark all your holes while the part is laying flat it will become tight and stressed when you wear it. Top tip there for you.

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The single cap rivets are facing in towards the belt, I did not use a special tool for this I just placed it on the table and hit the other side with a hammer, job done. It does not need to be neat as the rivets will be covered by the rivet covers.

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Here is my lovely holster waiting to go on

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We all know of the placement, 2 rivets for stunt, 4 for hero, blah blah blah

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Original photo for reference

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I have drilled the 6 holes for the left side front to back assembly using the split rivets, the posh name is bifurcated rivets if you are searching ebay to buy some for your build.

Using your fabric tailors tape from the outside as you look at the armour not as you wear it, measure 15mm down, then 70mm and then 130mm. on the TM you have a nice line to follow if not about 10mm in from the edge. Use a drill bit just big enough to get your rivets through, I used a 4mm bit for these. Then match up the kidney and mark where to drill. I went about 10mm in from the edge and eyeballed it using my reference picture to be sure.

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Original armour picture care of TE

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Life in plastic, its fantastic! Righty said Barbie.. ok here are the brackets fitted to the inside of the chest. These brackets are longer than the rest to allow for the overlay of the chest on the ab plate. I painted the screws white with the appliance paint seen earlier.

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Original ref pictures for Gary

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Shoulder bell elastic attachment and placement.

There are many ways to do this and I have tried most of them, but really the original way is the best and simplest. Shoulder bell placement can make or break a costume and it is so easy to get this right on the first attempt.

First look at your ref pictures of the real thing. Nearly if not all the original stormtroopers have the shoulder bell touching the top chest to back shoulder bridge. Try to replicate this in your build.

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So here we have the white elastic to connect the front and back torso armour. Notice if you are using the large press snaps they should be located on the inside of the strap. The snap will be on the underside of the elastic facing the body. Simply put together and mark where to glue inside the bell.

The white elastic for the torso connection will be placed in the centre so that the shoulder bell will also be centred.

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Can anyone remember what they were doing on 11 April 2007? It was a Wednesday if it helps?

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I don't have any pictures to post so feel free to skip this post.

All elastics have now been glued in place including in no particular order... bicep to forearm. upper back to chest, thigh elastics. Remember I am dipping my toes into prop replication and this is not for everyone. My elastics are glued directly in to the armour so it is permanent. I am using Stelmax and that dries fast, so when you put your elastics in make sure they are where you want them first time, no second chances by putting your bits in the freezer.

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Newbies have it so easy these days. When I first put together my first tk we did not know how they were held together. Nowadays its a one click stop to the most accurate armour builds.

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Don't forget when strapping the arms the biceps should be touching the forearms no large gaps, it will look wrong. Use 2 inch black elastic and it goes on the inner forward part of the elbow joint.

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Thigh elastic just goes straight in the middle of the thigh, 3 inch black elastic should do the trick

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I will get some pictures of my own armour tomorrow when the lighting is better.

Ok so here are some pics of my armour.

Completed belt sans holster, I still really want my ANH trooper to not have one. Plus mine will be riveted on just like the real thing and then storing it becomes a pain.

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The drop boxes should touch with underside of the plastic belt part, and your elastic may need to be trimmed to allow the snap that attaches the belt to the ab plate to connect properly.

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Drop boxes should be as far to the edge of your belt as possible.

Upper back and shoulder bell attachment

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For those inquisitive types the numbers written on masking tape refer to the original strapping brackets that were fitted and then removed to pain the screws. As they are all hand built by trooper master they are all individual and so I labelled them to make sure they all go back in the right place.

Arms, some armours have a left and right, some have doubled up parts and some are thrown together with mix matched parts. If you are unsure ask someone to help. Or do as I do and just hope for the best.. If you are using bicep hooks they are fitted bias towards the rear so that they don't show from the front.

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Thighs

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