The Road to TK# 40773

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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Fri Sep 04, 2015 8:39 pm

Hi Bros,

Just want to share my story for the whole journey to join the Dark Side of the Force.

My first Storm Trooper armor was actually a paper version. It took me 1-year to build it.

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After then, I decided to build screen accurate one. My armor assembly kit was bought from Authentic Pops in 2014 May. I did spend around 6 months to look for info through the internet and some Starwars forum for advice. The kit took one month to send to SG from US. There was no need to wait as AP had stocks.

The cost of building consisted of two parts. One was the parts purchase and one was the tools purchase. The former one was around USD 1,300. The latter one was unknown as I didn't keep records. I have to warn you it was not small sum.

I completed my armor building around April 2015, almost 11 months. I got my TK # on mid-August.

The coming posts will show the building history.
Last edited by XavierTam on Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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jedi7
Posts: 1679
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:34 pm
Location: Ossus & Tampines SG

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by jedi7 » Fri Sep 04, 2015 11:55 pm

Awesome bro!
A jedi's ally is the FORce, his strength flows from IT.

XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:38 am

First start with the "END" first.

Name : Steve Tam
TK # : 40773
Garrison : Singapore

Armor : AP
Helmet: AP
Blaster: Hasbro + Mod kit from Doopy Doos
Boots: TaoBao
Canvas Belt: Robs from FISD
Neck Seal: TaoBoa
Holster: AP
Gloves : AP

Height : 5'5"
Weight : 76 Kg

Front 1
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Front 2
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Front 3
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Right Side 1
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Right Side 2
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Left Side 1
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Left Side 2
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Back Side
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AB details
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Holster details
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dranoel
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Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by dranoel » Sat Sep 05, 2015 10:20 am

Well done and welcome to the Dark Side!
Administrator. Starwars.sg
IC/IS 3081. 501st Legion (Singapore Garrison)

XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Sat Sep 05, 2015 6:42 pm

Part 1 - Start with the armor parts and accessories arrival:

The first day when I received the parcel from US.

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After opening it to check the qty and quality

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Excellent quality!!! No critism at all.

Other parts also arrived.

Boot
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Holster and Gloves
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Neckseal
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Canvas Belt
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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Sun Sep 06, 2015 8:51 am

Part 2 - Tools to trim and glue....

Here is the tools I used to trim the armor.

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They are common tools. The glue is E6000. You can buy it from the Art Friend shop in Bras Basah Complex.

My drill is not here. But I never used drill to cut the armor. All the time, I used the cutting knife.

The special tools needed here is the clamps and the strong magnets. They are very useful to help to glue the parts as the E6000 glue needs at least 12~24 hours drying time.

I bought them through TaoBoa.

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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Mon Sep 07, 2015 1:03 pm

Part 2 - OK Start with Helmet.

Trim out the front, and top.

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Open the left eye.

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Open the right eye.
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Open the teeth.

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8 teeth were opened for ANH Stunt.

As I like back color inside. So I sprayed print the interior.

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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Tue Sep 08, 2015 12:36 pm

Continue...

Tried to assemble the front and top parts together.

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Initially the gap at the sides seemed not small.

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But after screwing tightly the ear pieces, it was much better fit.

Front view :
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Side view :
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Angled side view :
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Close-up
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Bottom view :
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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Wed Sep 09, 2015 8:49 pm

put up the decals and hand paint according to the official color table.

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Before
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After
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Next the green lens

Use a plastic sheet to make the frame
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Completed one
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Also make the teeth net
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Final touch-up
Front view
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Left view
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Right view
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Add-in the pads and fans (x5)

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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:10 pm

After the Helmet, I started from the shoulder bell

After Trimming
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Then Bicep trimming

Before trimming, it came in one piece
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After cutting into two pieces
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More trimmings on the edge
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Glue together by masking tape
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Trying to wear
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Gluing a 15mm wide cover strip for external side
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Gluing the other side 15mm cover strip for external side
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Completed
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Glue the internal sides cover strips
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Finished
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Check the edges alignment and the return edges
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They needed to be trimmed and adjusted. So bought a tool to do this.
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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Fri Sep 11, 2015 7:27 pm

Now DIY the Bicep hooks

Got two abs sheet and cut the size as that
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Bent it according to this profile.
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Finished and glued it to the Bicep.
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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Sat Sep 12, 2015 8:25 am

Now for the Forearm :

Before trimming
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After trimming
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Glue the cover strip with E6000
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Completed
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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Mon Sep 14, 2015 8:53 pm

Time to make snap plates

First bought a bunch of snaps from China.
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Cut out a no. of abs plates from 1mm thick ABS sheets. Each plate is around 5cm x 3,5 cm or 2" x 1.25"
Drill a 3mm hole in the center.
Use snap tool to punch a female snap on the plate.

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Prepare a no. of such plates.
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We can't glue this plate firmly to the armor as the surface is not flat.
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So we need to make a bigger hole on another extra plate so that the snap can go through it.
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By gluing these two plates, we can have a snap plate with flat surface and glue it on the armor.
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Using the same method, we made a no. of these.
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Here is the completed snap plates glue on the Bicep
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XavierTam
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:01 pm

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by XavierTam » Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:42 pm

Next glue the strap for the forearm

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Made snap on the other side. First made a hole first
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Position the snap parts
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completed
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Full view with the forearm
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Now snap it to the female snap of the Bicep
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Completed view
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Closer look
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Next is to connect the shoulder bell and the bicep

First glue the straps to the should bell
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Completed one
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Total 3 parts together
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Another side view
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jedi7
Posts: 1679
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:34 pm
Location: Ossus & Tampines SG

Re: The Road to TK# 40773

Post by jedi7 » Tue Sep 15, 2015 11:11 pm

Oh my god bro! Excellent lar!
A jedi's ally is the FORce, his strength flows from IT.

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