ptbenz Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Hey guys, been hard at work finishing a TX and I'm almost there, should be done next week. I wanted to post some pictures of my progress and get some feedback. This is the first costume that I've built from kit to finish (some of the armor was glued and trimmed before I got it, but I had to do the rest). A few things I've learned while building this armor: 1) Velcro, while necessary for some construction, is not the best to use for everything 2) sewing, assembling snaps, riveting, and gluing, while intimidating, is not as hard as I thought. 3) Novus works great for scratches and minor wear, but PlastX (found at Walmart) is the BEST for shining and protecting ABS. It is designed to clean and shine motorcycle visors, but worked great on the armor. 4) take your time! Seems like things take forever, but it beats redoing things over (which I did a few times during this) 5) Helmets are tough, took me almost 2 days just to assemble the helmet! Here is a few general details: Armor is AM boots are Amsterdam undersuit is Starter top and Down Under compression pants neckseal, pauldron, and vinyl belt from MightyTank Nomex flight gloves Underarmor skull cap RomFX sound card Aker amp Memorex wireless sound Aker headset Sansa Clip MP3 player Everything else - MADE BY ME! Let's start with the boots. Amsterdam boots with fabric hooks sen into my ankles, makes the shin armor fit better Left Thigh left shin with knee plate attached close up of Chicago screws I used to attached the knee plate. I like this option better than rivets because it allows me to easily replace the knee plate if I want to. I have the sniper plate armor also Link to comment
ptbenz Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 right shin right forearm right thigh with amo belt again, used the Chicago screws to attach the ammo belt ab plate with belt and buttons attached. Also, the female connectors for the suspenders using parachute clips. The belt is a patent leather, made by MightyTankhttp://www.wigarrison.com/forums/posting.php?mode=post&f=12&sid=2679a5c33a1e1410a94444a554eabc6d# inside of ab plate, still have snaps to install, that's why there is nothing to connect the cod piece yet Link to comment
ptbenz Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 inside of ab plate, still have snaps to install, that's why there is nothing to connect the cod piece yet left shoulder bell and bicep left should bell and bicep inside. used some elastic to connect the two and then snap the bell under the chest straps right shoulder bell and bicep right shoulder bell and bicep inside. Used some elastic to connect the two and then snap the bell under the chest armor straps pauldron, courtesy of MightyTank again Link to comment
ptbenz Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 back and butt plates, hinged inside for flexibility. male ends of parachute clipped elastic suspenders inside back and butt plate. used snaps to hinge to pieces together. Velcro elastic on either side to keep tight together Neckseal nomex flight gloves and handplates attached to velcro straps undersuit. The little starter logo glows in this picture. I used this starter top on these thermal compression pants because it is made of a less reflective material and looks consistent with the screen used suits. Also like these particular pieces because there is no emblem on the neck back like underarmor and no logo on the thigh, nothing to cover up! chest plate back plate Link to comment
ptbenz Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 inside of chest where I keep the electronics (my specialty!). left side is wireless mic receiver, then RomFX card, battery holder snapped to the 9V connector to power the sound card. right side inside of chest armor houses Aker amp and Sansa MP3 player (chatter loop I mixed). used the velcro cord tie to keep all the cords organized closer view of electronics close up of amp and MP3 player Link to comment
ptbenz Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 front of helmet. I need to replace the visor I installed (don't ask!) thats why the empty eye sockets. I hand painted the teeth to make them look more like a brushed metal, I think they turned out awesome! used kitched shelf liner for the teeth mesh, a lot more flexible and looks cool (same stuff I used in my Tie helmet) I did not trim each side while screwing the helmet together, might do that differently next time left of helmet rear of helmet helmet inside, you can see the mesh and hard liner installed. Also, installed a heaset underneath liner to make it easy to take helmet on and off and not have to do anything to the sound. close up of the Aker mic installed and Memorex wireless emitter E11 I made by converting a Hasbro. Added DoopyDoos resin upgrade kit and changed out the LED for a more powerful one What's missing? 1) still need holster (working on a deal for that now) 2) visor (on its way!) And finally, a dry fit of the suit (before I had the shoulder bells and biceps completed) Any feedback is appreciated, good, bad, or otherwise. If you have any questions or want more details, feel free to ask that as well. Look forwarded to finishing and adding this to my trooping experiences with you all! Thanks for looking Link to comment
Darth Agnon[TX] Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Very nice! Another Shadow Stormy! Link to comment
defiance7x13[TX] Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Looks great so far! Good Luck with your submission! Link to comment
bscheff[501st] Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 When you say visor, do you mean lenses? Also what is the sound card for? I have the same memorex wireless and aker amp, but I dont have a sound card. Just curious what its for. The armor looks awesome! Nice job. Link to comment
ACJay[501st] Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Looks great By chance where'd you get the hard hat liner? Link to comment
Darth Agnon[TX] Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Looks great By chance where'd you get the hard hat liner? That's an AM kit, the liner comes with that kit when you buy the full version with bucket. Link to comment
izzi[TX] Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Looks nice! Just one thing: Don't wear the pauldron for approval or profile pictures. The only canon ones accepted are plain black. You can probably still troop in it, but you just can't wear it for anything where your appearance has to be "official." Link to comment
ptbenz Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I am aware Lizzie, thanks guys for the nice coments. The sound card is a voice changer with static burst. Also has built in modulator so it only picks up my voice when I talk loud enough. Link to comment
ptbenz Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 I meant Izzi sorry, stupid autocorrect. By visor I meant shield for the lenses Link to comment
mightytank[501st] Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Looks great brother! i'm glad this one went to a good home! Link to comment
Rotccole Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 HAHA Lizzi....thats great. Just kidding! Link to comment
Wraith[TX] Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Looks great!! Also.. lol I think you just got yourself a new nickname iz.. Link to comment
izzi[TX] Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Looks great!! Also.. lol I think you just got yourself a new nickname iz.. Okay, Bodyprint. -iz Link to comment
ptbenz Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 Sorry Iz, I figured that would get some follow up posts. No disrespect to you intended. I will not take my photos with the pauldron on, but I will troop with it, when permitted Link to comment
izzi[TX] Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 No disrespect to you intended. There was something I could have taken as disrespect? Where? *pulls out his blaster* Link to comment
ptbenz Posted February 2, 2011 Author Share Posted February 2, 2011 No harm. In true trooper style you'd miss with the blaster anyway! Link to comment
izzi[TX] Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 No harm. In true trooper style you'd miss with the blaster anyway! Miss? Do you see white on my Armor? Link to comment
ptbenz Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 You're right. We never miss! Link to comment
ELP[501st] Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 That's a good looking kit! Well done! My only suggestion would be to put a strap / tie down between the chest and ab, and the back and kidney/butt ... The reason is that the weight of your sound system will cause your chest piece to slightly roll forward as you walk, and this slight shift forward will cause your back piece to move up and flair out. It's a really tiny thing but I had the same issue. No one seemed to notice except me when I saw my trooping pics. But that is just a suggestion - You kit looks great! Well done! Link to comment
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