Nytetrain's AM armor rebuild...

[Nytetrain]

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 and 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 bee seen and most of it will get trimmed away anyways.

 

Finished and cleaned part

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

I had to do that to my armor when I upgrade from Velcro to snap plates and I did it exactly that way. Got a raw thumb, but it was much faster.

[Nytetrain]

This is the wad of adhesive I ended up with:

 

 

I have a question about return edges... I know that the forearms don't have any but where should they be. When this armor was put together they cut everything off. I have seen a video about how to make them just not sure which pieces need them and where. Also if anyone knows where I can get a new ammo belt, some abs for finishing strips and a new bucket that would be much appreciated. Thanks for your help

[DeathMOS30[501st]]

Actually return edges are optional and not a requirement. I think if your case it would be a waste of time trying to build them up again unless you want it for aesthetics. Rather large wad of adhesive, I am glad things are working out for you with this armor you are doing a great job.

This is the wad of adhesive I ended up with:

 

 

I have a question about return edges... I know that the forearms don't have any but where should they be. When this armor was put together they cut everything off. I have seen a video about how to make them just not sure which pieces need them and where. Also if anyone knows where I can get a new ammo belt, some abs for finishing strips and a new bucket that would be much appreciated. Thanks for your help

[Nytetrain]

Yeaaaa... it's more my OCD then aesthetics. I have the need to have the armor look proper. I think not having the return edges would bug me... a lot... lol. But thanks for letting me know. Hrrrrmmmm... something I will have to think about.

[Nytetrain]

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.

[Nytetrain]

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.