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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/11/2015 Posts: 273 Points: 792 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
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So, as I am working on other things such as my Scottish Maid I have come into the possession of a suit of Stormtrooper armor from my son. When he moved out and got a job in Boston (Yes, I have asked him to go to the USS Constitution to take reference photos) he left a bunch of junk behind. Found a large box in the shed when I was winterizing the house and found a full set of Shadow Trooper armor. So, along the lines of building the Samurai Armor and I going to be working on this over the winter. This is wearable armor and I will be fitting it to my size. The armor wasn't properly assembled. My father helped him assemble it and they did it the fast and dirty way. It was assembled using self-adhesive Velcro. The armor isn't in too bad of shape considering its been in the shed in a cardboard box for 2 years. The helmet is scratched up but easily fixable. I am going to build this as the armorers did with the original costumes used in the 1977 movie even though this is a high gloss black armor. These are some pics of some of the leg armor I took to ask some questions on an armor building forum Earpiece for the helmet... not accurate but acceptable for 501st approval Thigh armor Back of the helmet... comes in 3 pieces for this model armor Top of the helmet Faceplate I will take more pics tomorrow (going to the new Star Wars movie first) of the rest of the armor. I have some stuff on order to help finish this build and I will be fabricating some parts also. I will show you how to properly build this type of armor. I am super excited to do this project and I hope you guys like this build. Best Regards, Ron
On the bench: DeAgostini '67 Ford Shelby Mustang, Hachette Space Battleship Yamato 2202, Agora Models T-800 Terminator Finished builds: DeAgostini Toyota 2000GT In the Stash: Losing count...
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 31/05/2010 Posts: 5,679 Points: 17,011 Location: Wiltshire
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This all looks very interesting Will be interested to see how you get on with this one. Happy Modelling
BUILDING: Hachette Spitfire Mk 1A, Constructo Mayflower SUBSCRIPTION COMPLETE (Awaiting building): USS Constitution, Sovereign of the Seas, 1:200 Bismarck (Hachette) COMPLETED: Porsche 911, E-Type Jaguar, Lam Countach
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I’ll look forward to seeing this come together. Enjoy the movie, I went to see it on Thursday, you won’t be disappointed. Mark
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Going to be interesting to see this project come together, hope it all works out the way you want it to... Look forward to following.... Regards Alan
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/07/2014 Posts: 4,269 Points: 12,713 Location: Scotland
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This will be interesting to whatch regards Phil COMING SOON =1/72 Italeri diorama`s Battle for the Reichstag and Stalingrad battle at the tractor factory 1/16 Trumpeter King Tiger with loads of extras ON THE GO= refurbishment of 1/25 Tamiya tiger 1 , amt Star trek kits and space 1999 models
So Much to Build,But What a Hobby!
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/11/2015 Posts: 273 Points: 792 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
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So its been in storage for a couple of years and like I said my father and my son put this together quick and dirty. I went though and pulled all the industrial strength self-sticking Velcro off. It leaves a tough amount of residual adhesive behind. Its super sticky and I was trying to figure out how to get it off. I did a Google search on how to remove adhesive from ABS plastic. This armor is made with acrylic capped ABS and I didn't want to ruin the high gloss finish. There where suggestions from isopropal alcohol to products like WD 40 and Goo Gone. Which I have all of them so I started there. The first forearm took me an hour using a combination of all three along with an old gift card as a scraper. I then washed it in dish washing liquid and warm water to get the chemical residue off. After the first piece of armor was cleaned I sat down and took a break and started thinking... "This is going to take forever". I picked up the next piece and started rubbing it with my thumb and the adhesive started peeling back and I ended up with a little ball of it stuck to my thumb. I tried getting it off and my thumb was stuck to the armor. I pulled it off the armor and it pulled up the next bit of adhesive. I thought to myself "huh... I guess there is something to fighting fire with fire" and just continued doing this until all the adhesive was lifted from the armor. Took me ten minutes to do the next piece and so on and so on. The ball of adhesive in my hand was getting bigger and bigger but I managed to clean the whole suit in about 2 hours. It was also cleaner then using the chemicals, less work and less smelly. This looks like the Velcro came up at one time and he tried gluing it back down with something else. Nothing can be done about this mess. No big deal though it wont be seen and most of it will get trimmed away anyways. Finished and cleaned part Best Regards, Ron
On the bench: DeAgostini '67 Ford Shelby Mustang, Hachette Space Battleship Yamato 2202, Agora Models T-800 Terminator Finished builds: DeAgostini Toyota 2000GT In the Stash: Losing count...
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,051 Points: -13,308
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Looks an interesting project
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/11/2015 Posts: 273 Points: 792 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
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Wad of adhesive I ended up with after all the armor was cleaned: Anyone want to buy a very rare genuine Wookie booger? Best Regards, Ron
On the bench: DeAgostini '67 Ford Shelby Mustang, Hachette Space Battleship Yamato 2202, Agora Models T-800 Terminator Finished builds: DeAgostini Toyota 2000GT In the Stash: Losing count...
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/11/2015 Posts: 273 Points: 792 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
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Hey all, An update on the Stormtrooper build... so there has been a change of plans for this particular set of armor. The wife has decided that she wants this suit so, I am building it for her. I have been given permission, with much sweet talk and cajoling, to buy another set. So, on with the build. Notice this lip... this older type of armor used a method called the overlap method of construction to simulate the finishing strips on the armor used in the movies. These need to be trimmed down and modified to an acceptable butt method and then covered with finishing strips. Marked where I wanted to put tape: Because of the nature of the plastic it's hard to see pencil or pen lines so I use blue tape for my cutting line: This bicep armor is fit to my wife's arm and taped together to make sure it still fit her. If not, we can remeasure and trim some more: Bicep mostly completed with cover strips... Just needs a sand on both ends to make everything flush and it's ready for the next phase. It looks like the finishing strip is crooked but it really isn't. These biceps parts are large at the top and taper quite a bit at the bottom: I cut the finishing strips a little long for trimming... I am going to do this a different, easier way when I do the forearms. Joint is now butted together and covered with a covering strip: On to more cutting, sanding and fitting. Until next time. Best Regards, Ron
On the bench: DeAgostini '67 Ford Shelby Mustang, Hachette Space Battleship Yamato 2202, Agora Models T-800 Terminator Finished builds: DeAgostini Toyota 2000GT In the Stash: Losing count...
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Rank: Pro Groups: Registered
Joined: 11/11/2015 Posts: 273 Points: 792 Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
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Been very busy working on this armor. Have finished the arm parts. Shoulder bells(not pictured), forearms and the biceps. Forearms have had all been fitted and the cover strips added. These were a little warped so, before I could glue the two halves together I had to boil a huge pot of water and immerse them for a minute or so to soften up the plastic to make it pliable enough to bend it into shape. Sorry I don't have pictures of this process as I tend to just dive right in to something that I am trying for the first time. Biceps also needed a hot water bath to get them to shape and to fit properly. All these need now is a good polish and we can start connecting them with the strapping. I will have more frequent updates on this build as I am under the gun to finish 2 sets of armor by the end of the month. Best Regards, Ron
On the bench: DeAgostini '67 Ford Shelby Mustang, Hachette Space Battleship Yamato 2202, Agora Models T-800 Terminator Finished builds: DeAgostini Toyota 2000GT In the Stash: Losing count...
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