Clone Trooper Build the 327th

[Zachg56]

Looking good so far....keep up the good work

[Wags]

Looks good so far man. I would do a few things to them.

Here is mine before I added the strap. You might want to heat up the toe section and stretch it out making it a bit smoother. Also bring the both the rectangle and the square pieces together. The rectangle should sit on top of the square. Take the Arc you have out of the side and straighten it up. If that makes sense.





Also,here are is a link with some better images. Mike does good stuff. I seen these at Dragon Con. Paint schemes is different, but the shoe is the same. Hope this helps!!!

http://web.me.com/mikeharrison/clones.html

[Rimshot]

Okay, made a paper template and drew some new lines. Do these look better?



Also, how would you recommend heating up the toe portion?

[Rimshot]

Oh, I've also done another test fit here tonight for the forearms and biceps along with gloves.


Gloves I have magnets sown in and blue tacked the magnets onto the hand armor.



The biceps are a little loose, should I bring them in more or just use padding? Sorta forgot how uneven my forearms are...that's going to take a little work.

As a side note, I was wondering what is the recommended adhesive for assembly? I've seen posts talking about IPS Weld-On ABS Cement, but looking around Low's didn't see anything even close.

[Wags]

For the shoes, better. I still might bring the toe part back abit more. And for the heat, you could start with a hair dryer or a heat gun on low heat. Unless your good with the heat gun then you can turn it up abit. Slow passes across it though. Dont hold it in one place.

As for the biceps, I would pad them up. I have found that if you put the padding in the back that you pull the armor piece snug on the front of your body. That way you get less pinch points. And when you get to the thighs, do the same thing and it will help with the thigh not wanting to ride over your knee plate.

[Rimshot]

Alrighty , I think this looks a bit better.


Nearly bought a heat gun earlier this week...hind sight and all... Regardless, I'll try and finish off the boots this weekend. Also going to try and actually assemble the arm armor as well, I'll keep you all posted.

[Wags]

Much better!! Clean line looks good. You will want to put a flap up the front from your foot to your shin. From exp, you will have a nasty rub mark.. just ask my wife.. big oopsy on my part...

[Rimshot]

Okay, few more questions here. Mainly not sure where to find stuff...

1: Will Gorrilla glue be sufficient for building? I've used superglue for the holsters and it looks to have held fairly well, but wasn't sure if this is recommended for building armor or not. I know I've see people suggest various abs cement, but for the life of me I haven't found any at the 1 Lowes, 2 Home Depot, 1 Aco, or Harbor Freight I have visited. Seen contact cement but don't think it's the same thing.

2: For filling, I do have bondo but several people have recommended using 'Thin Ice' as a filler instead in order to avoid cracking. Again, noooo clue on where to find that at the moment, haven't seen it anywhere. Would an epoxy putty or the Bondo Glazing & Spot putty work?

3: Welding Shields... As before, haven't seen any other then the full metal faces with a small window. I've found some things (face guard, motorcycle shields) that were the right size but un-tinted which would mean having to buy some form of tinting which dosen't seem to come in small quantities.

Thanks in advance

[Mowskwoz]

1. E6000 is, in my opinion, the best for armor assembly. It holds strong, sticks to about anything, is flexible, paintable and can be easily removed, if needed. Most of the other adhesives can be messy and are hard to remove if needed. The only draw back to E6000 is it takes 24 hours to cure.

2. bondo and the like are not my specialty. I will leave that for someone else to answer.

3. Welding sheilds can be found here: http://www.airgas.com/browse/productDet ... JAC3002813 Airgas have stores all over MI, so you might be able to find one locally. If not, I'm sure one of us could pick one up for you and deliver it to you at the next armor party.

[Wags]

1. I LOVE CA glue. You get it from any hobby store or on line. I agree with Mow on the E6000 though. But Im lazy and I dont want to wait 24hrs.I have made oodles of parts and costumes and have had no problem with the CA. They do make a release agent for it as well. I would not use gorilla glue. It is an expanding glue as it cures.

2. I think Gator used this wicked crazy stuff for his seams and it worked awesome. Not sure what it was thought. So not much help there. I use bondo. I first will the seam with the same glue i use to put it together. Then sand it down, smooth and you only have to use a small amount of bondo.

3. What Mow said about the shields I have an address at home from I bought them off of ebay. I will see if I can find it.

[Rimshot]

Alright, thanks, that is a lot of help there. I took a look online and it does look like there's an Airgas store location not too far from me. I'll have to go check that out then and see what I can find. Glad for the warning on the gorrila glue as well, hadn't done anything but it's good to know.

With that being said, obviously haven't gotten my arm stuff together yet. I did manage to finally fix my forearms. Trimmed down the top portions and used the heat gun to bend the abs back down for a return edge again. That and fixed the other half so it's more closer to the other half (sort of hard to explain in words but don't have a camera with me atm so didn't get any pics). Regardless, I'll see if I can get something together Monday or Tuesday. Did buy padding for the bells and some knee pads, so that's a plus.

[Terrell78]

Airgas will only carry various shades of green face shields, plus clear. They are so dark no one will know they are green except you looking out of them unless maybe you are in full sun. Check out the shade 3 and shade 5. The 3 is easier to work with, but the 5 has a little more brown tint in it and will be more perceived as being black.

[Rimshot]

Okay, take...3?




The toe portion needs to be cleaned up some, but don't have an exacto on hand to cut with. The rectangles are just taped still. Closer I think. Drove by airgas and they're only open during the week so I'll see what I can do.

[Rimshot]

Alrighty, managed to hit airgas al lunch, picked up the #5 shield. Definitly thicker then expected, is the dremmel a good choice to cut with?

[Terrell78]

Try tin snips, or a good pair of scissors first. You can also dip the shield into near boiling water and give it some curve if need be too.

[Wags]

Terrell is right with that. BUT if you are impatient like me.. a dremel works perfect. Just take your time.

[Rimshot]

Alright, brief update but no pics.

Visor has been trimmed down, just needs to be bent some to fit better. Pieces for assembling the arms have been cut and sanded. Would have tried to assemble some but forgot glue... Going to try the krazy glue with the brush applicator and see how that works.

Also, setting my target to have everything done and approved for MCCC if not sooner. Should be doable.

[Wags]

Sounds good man!! Ive used the Crazy glue with the brush. Not sure if you can get enough glue down to hold the pieces together. It should work pending on the tension of the two pieces. For instance, I would NOT use it on your forearms. They take a lot of beating and might pop loose. Hope that helps.

[Rimshot]

Okay, may have run into a snag.



Is this too much of a space on the forearms?

[Mr Fett]

Put sheet foam inside the gauntlets. I do that with some costumes.