TX AM Armor Build

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

It doesn't matter what paint you use, just the end result lol. Any scratches should be filled by the primer, but the whole point of sandpaper is to make millions of tiny scratches for the paint to bite into

[THE TROOPER[501st]]

Hey Steve, if you use sandable filler primer, all you need to do after that is sand it with a scotch-brite pad. They are red or gray in color and you can get them at any autobody supplier. They are actually made out of recycled plastic bottles. And no thats not a snapple fact. After that you could apply a base coat, let it flash dry for a couple minutes depending on the temp. Then apply two more coats the same way evenly. When your finished, you could apply a clear coat depending on what type of paint your using,i.e. gloss, or satin finish. Hope this helps a little and congrats on the brown box.

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

I used some fiberglass in a scootch bucket to strength it up, smart move. As for the harness, I would do it from the start if you can. If you do go velcro to get it done quicker, you will be ripping it all apart again in 6 months to improve it so might as well start there.

[Tekket[501st]]

Thanks for the advice guys , this is my busy work week Flat out .....I try to work one week on one off that is why I haven't posted up any more pics sorry

I have unwrapped the armor and WOW it is nice and shiny .

 

I,ve had a spot of luck with Scootches bucket A fella I looked after for a while A few months back ( I'm a nurse) turned out unbeknownst to me to own a car restoration business and to cut a long story short is going to 2pak the bucket for me so it should lokk really nice In just gonna keep doing the prep work between the undercoat and then he's gonna do the top coat,

There is one thing though I'm not sure wether to do it Nova Elite or not. You see if i go nova I will have have to source various parts of the AM kit to Paint gold Shoulders Forearms etc, and that might be quite hard , see i thought I could do this so I didnt have to buy another whole set of armor. but buying just parts of a kit may prove difficult. So anyway if It were painted Nova then I might not get to wear it for a long time ...... Does anyone know where I could buy just parts of a kit or do you guys recommend buying another whole kit??

 

A friend and I are going to get stuck into the Armor next week and i"ve been reviewing Pandatroopers build and will be copying his harness system , and really the more I look at it the easier it looks . that is unless any of you guys can offer a better option because I know a lot of you have done the harness thing sucessfully.

 

Thanks for your advice Guys and darth empathic AKA steve do you have a thread that shows your harness system so I get an idea of what others do

[JeepGrrl[501st]]

 

Then I hid my head in shame

 

 

:laugh1:

 

Dude it's gonna look fantastic when you get it finished! Good luck with your armor next week!! I really miss the building part - maybe that's why this is so addictive

[toddo[TX]]

Scootch does sell individual parts. You have to paint them, but if you're going Nova, that's needed anyway.

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

I don't at the moment, but I know some other troopers do. You will probably need to pull from a few different sources to get the whole picture and you may want to change things after trooping it a few times. Without pics, I recommend suspenders for the ab/butt, a garter system (around the waste with hanging straps in front) to hold up the thighs, and connecting the chest in front to the ab armor to keep it in place and down. You have a lot of options for the chest to shoulder straps to back plate. My straps do not free float, I was never happy with how they came out when I went that route. Right now, the straps are permanently glued in the front and snap to the back plate. I have split my butt and lower back plate. They connect with a wide black canvas strap lined with snaps. This ensure it always stays lined up. The sides of my ab armor and the back plate connect the same way, thought you would never see it because of an extension piece of plastic on each side that bridges the gap for the ab to back armor. Shoulder bells connect to my shoulder straps and run a piece of elastic to either connect the left and right shoulder bells in the front or each one to inside of the chest. The reason for this is it keeps the should bells forward, otherwise they tend to rotate open. Biceps are connected to the inside of my shoulder bells. I don't connect my forearms to the my biceps as they sit perfect on their own. I do have foam in the forearm that prevents them from rotating. Same thing with the thighs. Calf armor free rest, but connects to the boot to keep them down. My calves clam shell in the back and are glued permanently in the front. I use one fabric hook and elastic in the top back of each calf to make sure they keep closed. That was a mouthful full of run-on sentences; I am sure I am missing things and now I will see if I can actually grab pictures of all this for ya.

[Tekket[501st]]

Thanks Steve I have seen those garters on fisd for sale and they look pretty easy to make, anyhow I guess I will Find out ....... spoke with the spray painter today I have decides to go with the standard paint job for the bucket for now so that I can at least wear it ......he said that it wouldnt take much effort to chang it in the future if i decided to go the nova way anyhow . Also I think were just gonna paint the vocoder stripes instead of using stickers

[xanthis02[501st]]

nice build going on steve i'm looking for a harness / suspender system as well i already have the garter from FISD

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

I modded a walmart special for the garter. Our DL uses the same one.

 

I had a bucket painted by an auto body shop and it came out great! I then ruined the bucket, but the paint job was great

[Tekket[501st]]

What do you guys think of these boots I can get them in black $50 and they are local

Brought a pair for our daughter for horse riding today

[Tekket[501st]]

Well at last I have unpacked the Armor and will commence the build tomorrow ..... wow it is Black and Shiny

 

 

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Boots looks pretty good...and that is some shiny armor!

[Master Tej]

Ohh, shiny armor! And just make sure that the yellowish logo on the boot tabs isn't showing.

 

- Master Tej -

[mr0072003[501st]]

Yeah if you use my helpful HOW TO make your Shins not shift, we can take care of the yellow writing on the boots. Good Find, what Brand are they?

[Tekket[501st]]

Saxon boots

[toddo[TX]]

[splinter[TX]]

Saxon, great band . Might be showing your age there ha..ha!

Tekket, your build is looking very good and will be most helpful when my armour arrives. Where did you get your boots from?

[Tekket[501st]]

Scott Horseland is the place to get the boots , not sure if you have that in tassie

[splinter[TX]]

Thanks Steve, I'll check out the Launceston store.

[Tekket[501st]]

What do you guys think of these boots I can get them in black $50 and they are local

Brought a pair for our daughter for horse riding today

 

Sorry Guys

My partner made a mistake the boots aren't available in black but they did have another pair identical design Dublin boots and they are definitely black but $89 so you may want to keep looking, sorry if this has inconvenienced anyone

[Griffin-X[501st]]

 

I played in a band once that opened for them in 1995. Good times...

 

[toddo[TX]]

you were in Legs Diamond?

[Griffin-X[501st]]

you were in Legs Diamond?

 

Uh...no. But those guys are cool, really old now, but cool.

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Nice Jim!