Patrolling Tampa Bay! (Photo Heavy)

[wingnut65]

This is my Pathfinder Adventure to an Imperial Patrol Trooper! Or, ‘How my life changed at Target’!

 

It was a shopping trip to Target in April 2018, long before the Solo movie release and probably before there many promo pix available, I stumbled across the 12” Imperial Patrol Trooper toy.  I thought it was a pretty cool looking new costume for the upcoming movie.  And it was on SALE! I looked at it. Put it down and walked away. Then I came back and picked it up to really read the box and took pictures of the box.  Put it down and walked away. 

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BUT, IT WAS ON SALE!   Well, I talked myself into it!  And that is how a $7.99 purchase (regularly $14.99) has changed my life. Or at least has added another costume to my 501^st assortments, adding to my Tusken and ANH TK.

 

After I studied the toy from all angles came more Google research, and the release of the promo pictures… One thing led to another and early May 2018, a few weeks before the Solo movie release, I ordered the finished IPT helmet from ArmoryShop. And even though the IPT has only about 5 seconds of screen time, I also ordered the finished Armor kit. And the arrival of the BBB has led me starting the build thread.

 

I play architect in real life and I live in Florida.  After 20 years and 7 months with a firm, I was let go in Oct 2017 and decided to start my own architectural firm. I have one client and design his senior living facilities and I’m not looking for more clients.  I mention that because my wife is being realistic with finances, more than I am. Therefore, I am building this project on a tight budget, Yes, I splurged on the finished kit, because time is also a limited commodity.  Some of my thriftiness will be upgraded when funding is approved.

 

As a Stormtrooper and Tusken, I am a member of the Tampa Bay Squad, part of the Florida Garrison.  One of my fellow TK’s is Btabc (Bryce).  As I shared my admiration for the IPT, he was also admiring it.  He actually ordered his bucket before I did, but I pulled the trigger on the armor, just a little before he did.  At this moment, he is still waiting on shipping confirmation.  We look forward to the time we can have two Imperial Patrol Troopers patrolling local events. 

 

On with the build…

 

Build Specs

Helmet:                   ArmoryShop (Helmet #__)

 

Armor:                     ArmoryShop

 

Jacket & Pants:      ArmoryShop

 

Gloves:                     Endor Finders TFA Stormtrooper Gloves 

 

Blaster:                    ArmoryShop

 

Boots:                       Amazon

 

Step 1:  Order IPT Bucket and patiently wait for the fabrication, finish and shipping to Florida, my current base of deployment.

001  -  Bucket arrived in Sept 2018. 

 

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I was impressed with the packing.  There was absolutely no damage to my bucket!

 

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Of course, I had to splurge on the Funko Pop IPT from SDCC (Thanks Amazon!).

 

Step 2:  Decision was made that I must have this costume!  As I waited for funding to be available, I researched the other items I would be needing for the finished suite – boots, jacket, pants, gloves, EC-17 Blaster…  Researching them all, I was able to order the gloves without being noticed.

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Step 3:  Persuade the Finance Minister (Mrs. Wingnut) that I really, really, really needed the full IPT armor to go along with the bucket and gloves I already had.  The 2018 Halloween sale savings was her stamp of approval.  Then the wait game continued as ArmoryShop took all my measurements and 3D printed a suit of armor, just for me! And then they sanded and painted it. Then the shipping seemed to take forever. It sat in Customs for almost 2 weeks and then magically appeared at my door.  Well done!

 

My BBB arrived in Mid-July 2019.  Box came in great condition. All corners were fine and no signs of the Rebellion trying to penetrate if.  And, it was heavy!  Just over 25 lbs (11.3 kg)!!  Did I say it was BIG?

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Anxiously, I carefully opened the box and was thrilled to see the bag with my soft goods – pants and jacket.  I had heard that on occasion, these had been left out when Customs repacked the box.  Mine had arrived!

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The armor was extremely well packed!  Underneath my soft goods, were three bubble-wrapped cocoons.

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Smallest package is the Thermal Detonator.  Medium package is the Forearms, Biceps and all Shin pieces.  The big cocoon is everything else.

 

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I mean, this was literally wrapped like a cocoon. 

 

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Inside the Chest and Back, was the Abdomen and everything else.  My Abdomen is 1-Piece, plus the back.  I believe this is the 2.0 version.

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And the obligatory picture of everything after an enjoyable half hour of unpacking and drooling over the contents. I was very impressed with the packaging and am thrilled with the quality of the finish on this armor!

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Including the Jacket and Pants and counting all the parts for the EC-17 and Baton, I count about 90 individual pieces that must be put together.

 

Even though this is all prepped and painted as part of the ‘Finished Kit’, nonetheless,

 

And Kudos to Denis and the crew at ArmoryShop!  Besides the huge box, this is all the packing that was used to cushion the armor while shipped around the world.  NOTHING WAS DAMAGED!

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This is a good place for a station break.  Go get some adult beverage and come back for an list of contents and eventually, some actual work!

[wingnut65]

But, Before I get into the assembly, I thought it might be informative to itemize all the pieces in the package that I have laid out on my Kitchen table in the photo above.

I couldn’t figure out one piece, but Ruthar (Taylor) clarified that the rogue piece should be painted Black and it is a greeblie for the back.  Thanks, Taylor!

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015

 

016 

 

017 

 

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Hope this helps to put a name to the pieces, using the names used in the CRL.

 

I will be updating this thread as time permits.

 

Now, let’s get building! 

[Hask]

Great to see another build starting, dont forget the silver strip on the chest button panel now needs to be black, its probably easier to paint before you attach it.

[wingnut65]

Yep.  It will be updated 

[wingnut65]

Thanks for the input, Hask.  I am glad to finally be sharing my build.  Can’t wait to start trooping with this!

 

Step 4 – Sanding and Preparation

The IPT armor that is manufactured by ArmoryShop is 3D printed.  Because of this, they can adjust sizes of each and every piece as needed to fit the individual Trooper!  I’m impressed!

 

The ‘Finished Armor Kit’ is sanded and painted on the outside with high quality automotive paint. But, the inside of the armor is still in the ‘raw’ stage, which should be sanded down to protect damaging anything it is worn over – pants, jacket, boots, etc.

 

So, this seemed like a good starting point. This just shows an overview of my starting point

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NOTE: This is my first adventure into a 3D printed kit. If I’m doing something one way that could/should be done differently, please speak up!

 

I used a combination of a wood chisel and various grits of sanding paper.  I must also confess that the chisel was the cause of the first drops of blood shed on this build, which required the first band-aid.

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Major improvement!

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The front and back of the shins align with pegs and holes to confirm the correct placement. The painting process left a little paint residue in the holes. I used a small rat tail (round) file to clean the paint from the holes.

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The pegs were still a little tight, so I used my Dremel rotary tool and a sanding drum to run around the pegs.  And while trying to work alone and take pictures, I also added some smiley faces ground into the armor. ☹ Luckily, this is the inside and no one will know. Well, except you.

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This little bit of attention was all that was necessary to get the pegs to fit in the holes and make the shins look like they should. At least for now.  I had fitting issues later on…

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This sanding and prep work continued long into the night with the forearms, hand plates, biceps, toe armor, heel armor, chest plate, back plate, abdomen and ab back plate. And I probably missed a few that I needed to sand again before assembly.

 

Step 5 – Begin Assembly!

I decided to start with the easy pieces so I could see progress and feel productive.  First up were attaching the Knee Plates to the Shins.

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The 3D model includes pegs and holes to align the Knee Plates onto the Shins.  Once the paint was trimmed away, they still didn’t align perfectly and I needed to use the Dremel and sanding drum to take a little more off the inside of the Knee Plate. I wasn’t worried doing this as it is all concealed when finished.

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Then some of the Empire’s finest E6000 adhesive and some duct tape, and all was good.

(I did add more glue to the edge of the right Knee plate and clamped it, but didn’t get a photo at that time.)

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More assembly to follow as these clumsy fingers keep typing…

[wingnut65]

And to continue building with the easy items…  After all, anything you can scratch off the ‘To Do’ list is Progress!

 

Step 6 – Begin Assembly Continues - Hand Plate Armor

The gloves I purchased from Endor Finders includes Velcro sewn onto the back of the gloves.   Conveniently, they come with one side of each – soft Velcro and pointy Velcro - on each glove.  This eliminates the possibility of mixing up the Hand Plates when Trooping, so get them right the first time!

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NOTE:  Additional Velcro is not provided with the kit since strapping and connections can vary and are up to the builder.  From my previous DZ and TK builds, I had lots of extra Velcro that I used for this and other locations.

 

With Velcro already on the gloves, the only thing left to do, is to attach the other side of the Velcro to the back of the Hand Plate.  To get it aligned mostly correct, I cut a piece of black Industrial Strength Velcro, the same size as that on the glove, and stuck it on the glove. 

NOTE:  Like on a TK, the pointy side of the Hand Plate points towards the Thumb!

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I put on the glove, peeled off the protective covering and pressed on the Hand Plate.

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I then took off the glove, peeled the Hand Plate away from the glove and pressed the Velcro securely to the Hand Plate.

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Repeat the same procedure for the other hand and they are finished.  This photo shows the two different types of the Velcro attached to the back of the gloves and the Hand Plates!

032  Done!

 

Step 7 – Baton Assembly

The five pieces of my Baton fit together well and didn’t have any paint/fit issues.  I was worried about gluing this up and just sitting it on the table to dry, that it would not be perfectly aligned when cured.  I found a piece of aluminum angle in the garage that worked perfectly for alignment.

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The end caps of my Baton went in quite a ways, almost eliminating the silver groove around the end knob. I decided to add a washer into the hole to help provide some additional spacing. See results below…

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I found that my individual pieces went together better one way than another.  I kept playing with the alignment until it was perfectly straight and the grips were sitting flush on the middle spacer piece. I put tape and marked a line on the pieces to maintain that alignment while gluing it.    The ruler is to show the scale of the finished Baton – 14” (35 mm) long. (This also gives a better view of the aluminum angle)

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End Caps were also glued on at this time, but started sagging. A couple thin craft sticks at each End Cap were all that was needed to maintain alignment. 

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Me using E6000 is different than how Ruthar (Taylor) assembled his with super glue.  His Baton would have been dried and ready to go right after he was done.  My E6K was still a little soft and flexible after 24 hours.  I left the baton sitting in the aluminum angle for a couple days and it was rock solid. (Actually, if anyone would really read the instructions on the tube, it does say it fully cures in 72 hours (144 mm))

 

Step 7 – Thermal Detonator

The End Cap of my Thermal Detonator was having and attitude, due to some of the excess paint in the recess. 

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All it took was a little time with the Dremel tool and sanding drum and the cap was able to slip right in.  A little E6000 and it was done!

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The end is just a little wonky and I blame it on the time I was thrown off my Aratech Speeder Bike.  It is rough patrolling the streets of Tampa, let alone Corellia!   I did like how Ruthar used a piece of the ribbed Dogbone strap to wrap around the TD End Cap and I will be adding that detail.

Now, the TD gets set aside until it is time to fasten it to the belt.

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Gotta go do some Honey-Do’s and I’ll be back.  Be sure to refill your beverage at the Refreshment Stand!

 

 

[wingnut65]

Step 8 – Stop Calling These Steps and Just Build the Armor!

 

Fine, here goes…

 

NOTE:  I did mention in my first post that I am building this armor on a budget, but I also want to mention that I am building this with the idea of making storage as compact as possible.  I have a smaller family sedan with limited trunk clearance. My wife has an SUV, but my hope is to be able to use either vehicle when I want to troop. My Tusken and Stormtrooper costumes will fit in smaller bins that will fit in my trunk. A 50 gallon Husky, will not.  I will have to wait to see how my plan works out and how small this can be packed…

 

Calf Reinforcing

First off, this next step is an idea I came up with and is not required for this build.  I know how I Troop and how rough I can be. These costumes are not designed for the dancing and movements some of us do…

 

The Calves are connected to the Shins along the outside edge with a strip of plastic, about 7.5” (19 mm) with two peg/hole connectors.  The inside is only connected at the bottom with one of the Shin Straps, and at the top with a single strip of plastic and a single peg/hole connector. 

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Just to be on the cautious side, I wanted to strengthen that single top connection.  No, I don’t know how much stress will be on these pieces of armor while trooping or while it’s in storage, but, I’d rather be cautious, than sorry.

 

I found a piece of 0.060” thick (1.5 mm) aluminum out in my garage that would work perfectly for this.  I cut two strips – 5/8” x 3” (16 mm x 76 mm)

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I used my Dremel tool with the trusty sanding drum to round in the end of the aluminum, so that it will fit up against the peg.  I just used a pair of pliers to bend the aluminum, constantly comparing the bend to the curve in the armor, until it matches.

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Repeated same process for the other side, coated the backs with E6000, and clamped them well to sit overnight.

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The results look promising.  I’m not too worried now that I might crack these connectors!

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Chest Armor
As I was sanding the inside of the Chest Plate, I accidentally wiped off the black inside the recess on the chest. I used some Testors black paint to repaint the recess.

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Assembling the Chest Button Plate was straightforward – Find the Buttons - Glue the Buttons to match the layout on the CRL and the Hot Toys’ IPT – Set aside to dry!

EDIT: This would be the time to repaint the shiny strip on the top of this piece to be Black, per the revised CRL.

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That last step is very important (letting it dry), because the next step involves sanding the Button Plate, so it fits in the associated recess on the Chest Plate. My Button Plate was tight on the ends and at the bottom corners. This took some sanding with a sanding block to get it to fit.  Add a little E6000 and let it dry!

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Shoulder Straps

The armor has two shoulder straps that are mounted on the Back Plate and connect to the Chest Plate.  The Back Plate comes with two holes for attaching each strap. 

 

The Strap Covers were just a little tight.  I used a square file to file down the opening, just enough to get the strap through.

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To find the mounting location, I held the Shoulder Strap in place with the Strap Cover in the correct mounting location. Using a pencil while holding the strap in place, I marked from the back through the holes in the Back Plate to locate where holes need to be punched in the rubber Shoulder Strap.

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Using the round file, I opened up the mounting holes to accept Chicago Screws.

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I used a leather punch to make the holes where they were marked. I am using small Chicago Screws so that the socket end is the same thickness as the strap.  This allows for the removal of the strap with the Strap Cover installed.  I didn’t want the screws to be visible within the Strap Cover, so I used white tape to conceal. A little E6K on the Strap Cover and set it aside.

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With the Back and Chest Plates together on the workbench, I measured where the straps would get mounted on the Chest. I did not have to trim my straps.  So, I put tape on the Strap to protect the paint and coated the parts with E6000 and clamped them together.  I used plastic laminate samples as backer plates for the clamps.  I let these and they were ready to go.

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Almost!

TIP:  Be sure to remove the white paint from the Shoulder Straps BEFORE gluing and waiting for it to dry, just to fall apart.  Lessons Learned!

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Next Up… Side Straps and Belt Boxes!

[wingnut65]

I know, I know, I know…  I installed the Chest Button Plate before the CRL was changed!   At that time, the requirement was to have the top stripe look ‘metal-like’.  It was later determined that it was just Gloss Black and the CRL was updated. 

 

So, no better time than the present to repaint the top strip from Chrome Silver to Gloss Black.

 

I first taped off the area…  Sanded the Chrome to allow the paint to grip… And painted it with Testors Gloss Black, using a paint brush.  The strip actually has a small return on the bottom edge, angled back towards the buttons.  That needs to be painted, too!

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And now, I can stamp that step ‘DONE!’.  Oops, these aren’t steps…

 

And now, on to the Belt Boxes and a cool storage idea I came up with…  To Be Continued!

[wingnut65]

Belt Boxes

Next task I undertook was the Belt Boxes. The kit comes with all three front boxes and the back pouch with cover.  The front boxes have the amazing paint finish, but the paint overspray on the inside the boxes needs to be sanded down so the covers sit flush to the box.

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I experimented with several sanding methods and ended up using a large pocketknife as a scraper.

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Scrape… scrape… sand… test… scrape… scrape… file smooth… Done!  All covers can now fit snuggly on the boxes.

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And now for my little storage secret…

 

Wingnut’s Card Storage Idea:  As I built my Stormtrooper armor, I came up with a solution to a problem that all TK’s have – Where do I store my trading cards?  With my ATA brand kit, my drop boxes happened to be just the right size to store trading cards.  So, I used some elastic on the bottom edge for a hinge, aluminum to keep the cards in and some magnets to keep the box closed.  Success!

 

Well, it just so happens that the large Belt Box is also sized that it can hold our Imperial Trading Cards. Being an engineer and not wanting to waste any opportunities, I had to see if this would work on my IPT.

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I used some very small rare earth magnets that I had on hand and some wood dowels for spacers. The box cover has a lip around the edge that I had to remove a portion of to get the magnets to sit flush on the cover.  I did use super glue on these magnets as they pulled out of the E6K the first time. These magnets are 1/4” x 1/16” (6 mm x 1.5 mm).  I actually used two glued together on each corner of the cover to hopefully have more grip to hold the box closed.

 

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TIP:  Be sure to get the polarity of the magnets correct as you glue them!

 

I added two strips of 1” (25 mm) elastic inside the bottom edge of the cover and then the box using super glue. Having slits in the back of the box helped me press the elastic in place while it dried.

(The black stripe on box cover is the bottom edge)

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Following along my idea to make everything removable, as much as possible, I finally decided to use Velcro’s One-Wrap straps to fasten these Belt Boxes to the Belt. This is two-sided Velcro where it wraps and sticks to itself. I’ll discuss that further along in the build.

 

To finish off my Imperial Patrol Trooper Card Containment Apparatus, I used plastic from a thin ‘For Sale’ sign to close off the back of the box to conceal the fastening attachments with a dab of E6000.  I may come back and add a strip across the front of the box to keep my cards from falling all over the place. Hmmmm…  images pass through my mind of cards all over the floor and not being able to kneel down… 

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‘Leather Pouches’

As a budgetary decision, I wanted to first try to make the leather-style pouches with what I had available. Eventually, I will make a trip to Tandy to get the thick leather I need to make these more accurately. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of this assembly process, but I used the 1/4" (6 mm) thick sheet of craft foam to make boxes that were proportional to the other white belt boxes.  The first box on the left was based of measurements I found online, but was out or proportion for my plastic belt boxes. The image above the boxes is from the CRL.

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My smaller boxes are 3-3/4” high, 1-1/4” wide and 1” thick (95 x 32 x 25 mm)

My larger box is 4-1/2” high, 1-1/2” wide and 1-1/8” thick (114 x 38 x 29 mm)

 

I have a big roll of brown vinyl from a kitchen stool reupholstery project from many years ago that I keep going to for some faux leather.  I cut the vinyl to fit over the foam boxes and coated the back with E6000 before adhering to the box.

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Here is a close-up of the boxes seen in the background of the previous picture.  Nothing pretty about them, but I hope this concept can get me through for a little while.

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I used more of the 1/4" (6 mm) foam to make the back, top and front flap and glued them all together and covered with brown vinyl.  For the ‘black press stud’ that the CRL is calling for, I used just the cover of a Line 24 snap that I had left over from my TK.  I used a leather punch to make the hole and glued them in place with E6000.

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I spray painted the vinyl with ‘Meltonian’ Black shoe spray that is good for vinyl, plastic and leather. I painted the covers and boxes separately to make sure all visible brown vinyl was painted black.  I didn’t glue them together until I had figured out how I was going to attach these boxes to the belt.  That will be discussed soon.

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In comparison to the CRL image, these are getting pretty close.

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Here is a slightly better image that shows how the CRL required ‘hard plate’ looks.  I’m thinking I should have used super glue to adhere the vinyl to the box so it didn’t have a cure time where it could pull away.  From the distance needed for a photo, these look pretty good. Hope my GML approves!

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Back Pouch

Armory Shop provided the canvas pouch and the painted cover plate.  All I had to do is provide stuffing to back the pouch more rigid and add Velcro.  The rigid foam I had wasn’t thick enough, so I added some thinner green foam to fill the pouch.

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I used industrial strength Velcro on the cover plate and I could have used a lot less. This takes a lot of effort to remove, which is a good thing while trooping.

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All that is left for belt accessories are the Baton Holder and Holster.  Mounting everything to the rubber belt requires that I know the exact size of the belt. So, next in the build will have to be the Ab Plate and probably the Chest and Back Plates to make sure it all fits together.  Stay tuned!

[Edoode]

Reading this excelent build thread fills me at the same time with wonder and gratefullness, as wel as dread, because I have ordered a PT full armour set as well, and it is going to be my first White Armour build. But with these great pictures and tips I will have a better chance of success I like your idea of the Imperial Patrol Trooper Card Containment Apparatus so I will also try that. I was wondering if it would be possible to make for example a thin aluminium inset for the canvas pouch so I can use it to conceal my phone.

 

  -Edo

[wingnut65]

Thanks, Edo!  No need to fear or panic on building a Patrol Trooper as your first adventure into the World of White. Actually, this one is a lot easier than building a full Stormtrooper armor kit.

 

There are currently several IPT build threads here on the forum, each one tackling the project a different way. Ruthar (Taylor) upped the game by changing his rigid abdomen plates into an impressive flexible mat.  (I'm going to keep watching his troops to see how that concept works.) Hopefully you and other recruits can get some helpful information and build tips and ideas from all the builds in order to get your armor completed.  I appreciate the compliments on my documenting the process and the creative IPT Card Containment Apparatus I invented. 

 

I like your idea of an aluminum insert in the canvas pouch on the back for storage of phone, keys, etc.  I plan to try to use mine for that very purpose.  The idea of using Ruthar's aluminum box to form and hold that pouch as rigid, is a great idea! .  I used the foam inserts to at least get me through the submittal pix.

 

Progress is Coming!

I apologize about the delay in progress updates but work work has gotten busy lately. And unfortunately the Honey-Do's and Client requests come first.  That, and I've been mentoring a couple of Stormtroopers on their builds, taking up spare time I didn't really have to start with. 

[Hask]

Good to see you back, in the absence of my armour yours and Taylors builds were keeping me going 

[Haydeus]

Thanks for all of the input on your build.  I too have a PT kit from Armory Shop and in the middle of my build.  I like some of your ideas and will be putting them to use as well on my kit....especially using the aluminum to strengthen those let pieces.  Excellent thinking!!!!

[Ruthar]

On 9/10/2019 at 9:08 PM, wingnut65 said:

Ruthar (Taylor) upped the game by changing his rigid abdomen plates into an impressive flexible mat.  (I'm going to keep watching his troops to see how that concept works.)

I'm not entirely sure I deserve the credit of "upping the game" - more like taking a blind risk! But thank you for that all the same! As a follow-up, I'm a handful of troops in with the suit, and the ab section has held up fine.It doesn't afford a lot of movement due to the ribbing being diagonal and keeping it pretty rigid, but it is easy to slip in and out of. I'm overdue for writing up an update on my own thread about post-build stuff.

Thanks for documenting your process here and going into all this detail - it's always appreciated and very helpful for everyone with interest!

[wingnut65]

On ‎9‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 9:42 PM, Hask said:

Good to see you back, in the absence of my armour yours and Taylors builds were keeping me going 

Thanks, Kris!  Now that more and more Patrol troopers are being shipped, hopefully we will get plenty of new builds to fill these forum. I look forward to following your build!

 

3 hours ago, Haydeus said:

Thanks for all of the input on your build.  I too have a PT kit from Armory Shop and in the middle of my build.  I like some of your ideas and will be putting them to use as well on my kit....especially using the aluminum to strengthen those let pieces.  Excellent thinking!!!!

Thanks, John!  Glad to hear we have another IPT in the works and that my build thread is helping you along.  I have plenty more pix I need to be posting.

BTW, We have relatives around the Dallas/Plano/Richardson area and I hope to Troop with a nephew sometime. Still need to get his Ackbar finished first. 

 

2 hours ago, Ruthar said:

I'm not entirely sure I deserve the credit of "upping the game" - more like taking a blind risk! But thank you for that all the same! As a follow-up, I'm a handful of troops in with the suit, and the ab section has held up fine.It doesn't afford a lot of movement due to the ribbing being diagonal and keeping it pretty rigid, but it is easy to slip in and out of. I'm overdue for writing up an update on my own thread about post-build stuff.

Thanks for documenting your process here and going into all this detail - it's always appreciated and very helpful for everyone with interest!

Well, as I was looking over my one-piece Ab Armor and trying to slip it on like a girdle, I was impressed with your creativity to think outside the box and try another method to create the Ab details.  I was hoping that you would have found it to me much more flexible. 

I'm hoping that my documentation is helpful to future builders.  Being an architect in real life, my job is to be as detailed as possible to tell people what to do.  This is fun taking plenty of pictures and reporting on how I did mine.  And some of my 'Lessons Learned' and 'Tips' will help others to NOT do what I did!

[wingnut65]

The Boss isn't looking, so let me get an update posted...

 

 

Abdomen Armor with Back Plate

I believe I have the IPT 2.0 version of the armor as my Abdomen Armor is basically a one-piece print with a back cover plate. Pictures from Ruthar’s and Five’s PT Builds show that their Ab Armor comes in two pieces – front and back – with seams on the sides. I don’t know the reasoning of the factory updates, but here’s a picture from my unpacking day, showing the one-piece Abdomen.

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Since the time I sent my measurements to Denis, my Ab Armor was very tight around the mid-section. I noticed the ends were bending inward slightly, which may have contributed to the tightness, not my bad habit that l like to eat…

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I used a hair dryer to heat up the sides, just enough to allow the plastic to be adjusted to a new shape, not enough to damage the paint or make it too weak.

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I alternated heating inside and outside at the same time to heat up the plastic.  I also did this to the last 4” (100 mm) to pull that more open, instead of bending inward.

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Success.  This widened the back-opening gap on mine from about 2-3/8” (60 mm) to right at 3” (76 mm).  Front to back only shows about 3/8” (10 mm), but sideways was increased enough to feel comfortably snug.

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The Back Plate comes painted and finished. It has two pegs that slip into matching holes on the left side of the Abdomen Armor. I’m not sure I did this correctly, but I made the pegs as the fixed side and the right side can be opened for putting on, if needed.   And as I am typing this, I think this may be backwards that the pegs are the moveable side.  Hmmm…  Guess I will need to troop a few times to determine how I really want it…

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This is how the Ab and Back Plate look assembled.

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Inside view of same pieces.

077

 

Ab Strapping

The Ab is snug enough that it will stay in place by itself while I test fit it, but I don’t want to rely on my body size being the only thing to keep the armor on in our humid weather, and I may be the type of Trooper to dance around to make kids smile.  I decided to use 1” (25mm) nylon strapping and plastic parachute buckles to make suspender-type rigging.

078

 

The roll of nylon strapping I purchased is only 60” (1524 mm) and a test fit showed that might work, maybe not.  So, I dug through my Crash Kit and found another 19” (482 mm) of the nylon strapping.

079

 

I cut each of the straps in half and used a lighter to melt the cut ends.

080

 

I used a flexible ruler to determine where I wanted to mount the straps. I used some of the Imperial Blue Strapping Adhesive to mark the mounting locations.

081

 

I have these set to just go over my shoulders and clip at my chest.  Using E6000 adhesive, spring clamps, scraps of cardboard on the outside to protect the paint, and plastic laminate samples on the inside to spread out the clamping forces, I glued and clamped the strapping directly to the inside of the Ab Armor. 

082

 

With adding the extra length of strap, I now have strap enough that I can make adjustments to get the armor to ride higher or sit lower.  Let’s hope it all works well with the Chest and Back Plate Armor.

 

Next up…  Not All Great Ideas Are That Great!   and… How to Fix a Great Idea!

[wingnut65]

Back Plate Greeblies

As I unpacked my IPT, I noticed that the thin inserts for the Back Plate had warped slightly. No big deal!  These are thin and are flimsy, so a little bit of glue and a weight and all will be fine!  But, since I live in Florida and this is the Summer, why don’t I let them flatten out all by themselves?

 

083

 

Not All Great Ideas Are That Great!   Trust me!

 

TIP:  This is what NOT to do!  Do NOT put them in the back window of your car for a couple hours on a hot Florida summer afternoon!  This is not the solution you are looking for! Move Along!

 

084

 

How to Fix a Great Idea!

So, now my great idea made a ‘slight warp’ into a ‘tidal wave’ that even a LOT of glue and some HEAVY weights would not get this to stay.

 

Plan B: A hair dryer + heavy weight = Success!

I used a piece of 2x6 lumber to sit on the heated piece and let it cool.

 

085

Thinking this through, I think that if these inserts would have been just a flat piece of plastic, the heat should have gotten it to settle back to a flat sheet.  But, since these were 3D printed, they are made up of many small lines of plastic filament that doesn’t react the same way to heat, instead, creating more stresses within.  OK, that sounds good.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

 

Moving on…

From pictures of the Hot Toys’ IPT and Ruthar’s build pix, I figured out where these little pieces all went. 

 

086

 

I used E6000 to coat the backs of each and set them in place.  All Finished!  Except for…

 

087

 

It wasn’t until a little while after I had these all finished, that Ruthar submitted his pix for ChiPs approval, that BikerScout007 pointed out that the IPT back plate also needs the tube installed in the left back plate, similar to how it is installed in the Shore Trooper, shown here:

 

So, back to the workbench…  I found some small vinyl tubing that looks like it may work, except it is clear. After not getting Black Rustoleum paint to dry, I tried my ‘Meltonian’ Black shoe spray that says it is good for vinyl.  Yes, it worked fine on the vinyl tubing.  I inserted a coat hanger wire into the tubing, bent it and cut it to length.  With how I initially glued in the greeblies, I didn’t have room to get the tubing into place. I popped it off and trimmed about 1/8” (3 mm) off the left edge of the left greeblie. 

 

088

 

I pushed the tubing/wire into place and re-glued the greeblie.  I’m satisfied with the results, but I hope Boss approves this detail when I submit for CHiPs inspection!

 

089

 

Next up…  Chest Plate and Back Plate Connections!

[Btabc]

Looks great!!!   Still waiting on mine.  Haven’t heard back from Denis for a few weeks on how everything is going.  Of course, I like to know the status of things because I want to make sure there’s someone home to sign for the package... when it arrives...

[wingnut65]

On ‎9‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 5:58 PM, Btabc said:

Looks great!!!   Still waiting on mine.  Haven’t heard back from Denis for a few weeks on how everything is going.  Of course, I like to know the status of things because I want to make sure there’s someone home to sign for the package... when it arrives...

Patience, Young Padawan!    You have your hands full right now with your walking carpet. There will be plenty of time for us to Patrol Tampa Bay, together. It will be here in when you need it to be.

BTW, thanks for coming over and helping on my trial suit-up to see what I was missing. Always helpful to have another set of eyes seeing issues, like a shoulder strap that went AWOL. Like it just went to the Back Side...

 

[wingnut65]

 

Chest Plate and Back Plate Connections

Next, I worked on the Chest Plate with its elastic side straps with buckles and then connecting the Chest and Back Plates together. 

 

The Chest Plate has an elastic strap along the sides that have a buckle to look like it is attaching the front to the back.  My kit came with a length of 2” (50 mm) wide white elastic.  I did not measure the length, but I had plenty for my build.

090

 

I decided not to cut slits in the Chest Plate to insert the elastic and instead, trimmed the end of the elastic to be the same angle as the front piece.  I used a lighter to seal the cut thread ends of the elastic and then used E6000, spring clamps and plastic laminate samples to glue and clamp the elastic to the Chest.

091

 

This shows the angle that I was referring to.  My protractor shows this at around 99°.

092

 

From other build threads, photos and the Hot Toys IPT, I figured out where the buckle needed to be mounted.  I followed Ruthar’s build process for mounting the buckles to Chest Plate with the elastic. He noted that the elastic was slightly wider than the buckle and needed to be trimmed.  In this diagram, the Red lines are where I trimmed the elastic and then sealed the cut thread ends with a lighter. I trimmed it down until the Yellow lines matched in width – inside buckle clearance equaled the trimmed elastic width. On the back of the buckle, I used some scrap ABS to fill in the void so I would have a level place to fasten it to the Chest Plate (photo 095 shows this).

093

 

I fed the elastic under the back and over the big middle hump and tucked End ‘A’ into the pocket. (See diagram in corner of photo below). This allowed the narrow width of the Trimmed Edges of the elastic to fit through the buckle, with the transition to the wider elastic, hidden under the buckle.  I coated that hump and the end of the elastic with E6000 and let it sit overnight.  I did not clamp it as that pushed it too tight to the buckle and didn’t look realistic to me.

094

 

The ‘extra length’ of elastic that I trimmed off, became the strap extension that will go behind and fasten to the Back Plate.  Just as I did for ‘End A’, I also had to trim down the sides of ‘End B’ so that it would fit to the back of the buckle.  The Red lines are where I trimmed the elastic and then sealed the cut ends with a lighter.  ‘End C’ will fasten to the Back Plate.

 

The filler piece of ABS that I added to the back of the buckle is where I mounted a piece of Velcro.  I’m using Velcro to allow me flexibility to move the buckle forward or backward as needed to engage with the Back Plate and to give more tension, if needed. Photo 098 will explain this...

095

 

The mounting location for the buckle should be near the back edge of the Chest Plate so that the Back Plate will tuck into the end of the buckle.

096

 

The design of the buckles provided with my Armory Shop kit, provided enough space to create a pocket for the Back Plate to tuck into as shown above.

097

 

Inside the Back Plate, I added a length of Velcro (soft side facing body) with pointy side on End ‘C’ of the elastic.  Making it a longer strip than needed will allow me flexibility if I need to pull it tighter for more tension.

098

VELCRO TIP:  Always attach Velcro so that the soft side faces your body and the pointy side faces outward.  This will prevent the pointy side from rubbing and snagging your under suit, jacket, pants, skin, etc.

 

Shoulder Connection

My first attempt at the shoulder strapping was to mount 2” (50 mm) wide Industrial Strength Velcro across the inside of the shoulder.  I made this 6” (152 mm) long with half on each piece.

NOTE: This was excessive, and the Industrial Strength nature of the Velcro made it extremely difficult to remove.  This Velcro was removed shortly after this step.

099

 

Following Ruthar’s lead, I realized that having an ABS plastic tab on the Back Plate to allow the Chest Plate to sit on, made a lot of sense.  From some scrap 2 mm ABS, I cut a strip about 1” (25 mm) wide. Using the hair dryer, I heated it up and curved it to better match the curve of the Chest Plate.  My plan is to get the joints to meet together as a butt joint, not overlapping.

100

 

After trying the armor on a couple times, I determined the length of the tab shown above may be too long and I trimmed it down to 1/2” (12 mm) and rounded the corners with a sanding block. I’m not convinced that I want this join to flex, so I used white nylon strapping and Velcro, instead of elastic.  I glued the strapping to the plastic tab with E6000. 

101

 

This connection has worked for me the few times I’ve had the whole armor on and off. I will need to really take this for a test troop to see how it will all handle the mileage.

102

 

One last photo showing some progress!

103

 

Next up…  Boots and Shins and more Strapping!

[Btabc]

On 9/16/2019 at 10:41 PM, wingnut65 said:

Patience, Young Padawan!    You have your hands full right now with your walking carpet. There will be plenty of time for us to Patrol Tampa Bay, together. It will be here in when you need it to be.

BTW, thanks for coming over and helping on my trial suit-up to see what I was missing. Always helpful to have another set of eyes seeing issues, like a shoulder strap that went AWOL. Like it just went to the Back Side...

 

Thank you, sir!   And it’s my pleasure!  You’ve been there plenty of times to help me and my builds so I never mind helping you!  I look forward to seeing mine get here as well  

[wingnut65]

Glad to hear that several more armor kits are almost ready for shipping!  Can’t wait to see more build threads and more approved Patrol Troopers patrolling the streets of Corellia, or wherever you are deployed!

 

And, as promised, we continue with the build...

 

Boot Armor

The CRL calls for Three (3) pieces of Boot Armor.  Armory Shop armor fabricates these into Two (2) separate pieces – The ‘Toe Armor’ and ‘Dogbone’ are one piece and the ‘Heel Guard’ as a separate piece. 

 

I have small feet and the Toe Armor was too wide for my boots and I’m afraid I would have caught them and broken pieces off. So, I used the hair dryer again to persuade it to become a little narrower.

104

 

This helped reduce the overall width from 118 mm, down to 98 mm.

105

 

This shows the three pieces the CRL calls out for the Boot Armor. There is supposed to be a space between the armor showing the boot, but, since I have smaller feet than most, my armor pieces almost touched each other. So…

106

 

I trimmed about a half inch (12 mm) from the outside end of the Heel Guard.  This gave me a little bit of black between the pieces, but I was afraid to trim too much and throw the piece out of proportion. I did not trim anything from the inside edge as I would lose the point in the photo above.  If this isn’t enough, my only next option is to trim down the Dogbone. Or, separate and move the Dogbone further forward. Hmmm….

107

 

To fasten the armor to the boots, I used three pieces of black Industrial Strength Velcro on each piece of armor.   I used spare 1” (25 mm) nylon strap for the instep strap going under the boot.  I glued one side with E6000 and added Velcro on the loose end.

108

 

Shin Armor

We last left the Shin Armor after I sanded it all down, got the pegs to fit in the holes and added an aluminum strip to reinforce the top connection.  Now, to get them to stay connected while trooping, I need to trim the edge of the Front Shin Armor just a little to get the peg of the Back Shin Armor to sit firmly in the hole.

109

 

NOTE: This idea will be in testing mode to see if it actually works. There really isn’t much area for the Velcro to grip. I may go with rare earth magnets for these connections.

I used a hole punch and a hammer to trim some Industrial Strength Velcro to fit over the pegs.

110

 

Then, it is just peel and stick.

111

 

The outside edge of the armor is attached with another large strip of Industrial Strength Velcro. I clamped them overnight in hopes of secure adhesion.  A plastic laminate sample was used to spread the clamp grip over the whole Velcro.

112

 

Shin Straps

The Shin Armor is held together at the bottom with a ribbed rubber strap and two faux buckles, which all were provided with my ArmoryShop PT kit. I measured and thinned down the ribs on the rubber strap so that it can be glued directly to the back of the buckle using E6000 and clamps.  I started with only trimming and gluing two ends, before measuring and trimming the strap to the length I need.

113

 

I used scrap ABS Plastic to create tabs to connect these buckles to the Front Shin Armor. In the following steps, you will see that one of the tabs needs to be flat and the other needs to be curved to match the front curve.

114

 

The outside edge of the armor is actually fastened with the Velcro I added in photo 112, above.  The strap buckle is just for looks and only just needs to tuck in behind the Front Shin. Therefore, I just needed a piece of Velcro on the face of the Back Shin Armor to hold the strap and buckle in place.

115

 

Then, it’s just peel and stick the Velcro to have the tab under the Front Shin Armor.

116

 

With the outside edge buckle in place, the inside end of the rubber strap can be measured and trimmed. Hold the buckle in place with the edge right at the side of the Front Shin Armor.  

I’ve also noted on this photo, the curve of the Front Shin Armor that the curved tab will connect to.

117

 

Once the rubber strap is trimmed to length, thin down the rubber ribs so it will fit against the buckle. Also, since this buckle will be located where the leather boot is visible, I painted the curved tab black, where it will be visible through the buckle. Notice how it looks in the top buckle.

118

 

Once measured and trimmed, I used E6000 and clamps to glue the buckles to the rubber strap. I used three pieces of Velcro to hold the ribbed rubber strap/buckles to the armor.

119

 

Since this needs to be a secure connection while trooping, I used a piece of Industrial Strength Velcro to attach the curved tab to the inside of the Front Shin Armor.  I also painted more of the curved tab Black, since parts of it was still visible.  Now, it disappears!

120

 

Oops! I know I need to raise the whole Shin Armor up to get a space above the Boot Armor! 

Besides being too low, this does show how the Ribbed Rubber Straps and Buckles look on the finished armor. Currently, I just have a large piece of Velcro at the top front of the Front Shin Armor, that is holding on the armor.  Only time will tell if anything else is needed.

121

 

My Starter Boots…

With an emphasis on “Starter”, which will be changed…   As I mentioned in my introduction, I am building this Patrol Trooper on a budget.  Since I am currently between projects at work, I do not have approval from the Finance Minister to purchase the authentic leather riding boots that I want. Since this is costuming and the objective is the look, I have decided that since most of the boots are covered in armor, I can achieve the look by using of my old TK Boots and black leather riding chaps with the visible snap on top. All the rest of the boots and chaps are covered by Boot Armor and Shin Armor.

 

Again, Please note that these are my temporary set-up and will be replaced before too long. Especially since it is very difficult to get the boots and armor on. Can’t wait to make this easier to suit up! Correct boots will also help with the armor being too low.

 

My TK Boots were also a budget buy, Black Amsterdam boots that I painted white. I could not get the white paint off, so, I just re-painted them Black.  I used the ‘Meltonian’ Black shoe spray to get a matt finish and then Black Shoe Polish and a rag to get the shine.

122

 

The boots with riding chaps are an extreme pain to get on, with the armor already on the boots. So, Troopers, this is a solution, but not an easy one! 

This also shows the Velcro I'm using for the Boot Armor.

123

 

Next Up…. Back to the Belt!

[wingnut65]

Progress continues…  I hope all this documentation isn’t too boring to read, but I feel it is important to document in detail the various steps to this build.  Many of you will breeze over this as an overview of a process, others may use this and improve on these steps. 

 

Well, let’s keep going…  Please remain seated as this adventure is in motion!

 

Back to the Belt!

Earlier in this build, I put together the leather-like pouches, the small white boxes and the bigger box made into the Imperial Patrol Trooper Card Containment Apparatus.

067

 

Now, it’s time to attach all those puzzle pieces, along with the Canvas Pouch, Thermal Detonator, Baton Holster and EC-17 Holster, to the rubber belt.

124

 

The belt is mounted with no visible fasteners or buckles.  I decided to have my ends overlap on the right rear, behind the Canvas Pouch.  The rubber belt material provided in my armor kit measures 3-3/8” (88 mm) wide by 47.5” (1,206 mm) long.  My assembled Ab Armor is 42” (1067 mm) around. I may trim a little off.  This step also helped me determine where the centerline of the belt will be as it sits on the front and back Ab Armor so I knew where to install the puzzle pieces.

125

 

The Thermal Detonator comes with four dimples on the back, assumedly for fasteners.  I drilled a small hole through one of them and determined that the back of the TD is relatively thick plastic, thick enough to take screws directly through it.  I decided to use machine screws to fasten the TD to the belt. 

 

I made a backer plate to spread out the grip and hopefully lessen any torsion that the TD may cause on the belt as it hangs.  Since I wasn’t using the dimples provided, I overlaid the backer plate over the belt and the TD and drilled four holes through all of them, in a wider spacing.

126

 

I tapped the holes for a 6-32 flat-head machine screw.

127

 

I countersunk the holes so the screw heads would be flush with the backer plate.  I also will cover these screws with white tape to prevent scratching the Ab Armor.

128

 

I clamped the belt in place to locate where all the other boxes will be located. Here, I have the Thermal Detonator held in place with a couple screws and washers as I work out the details.  (Note, the armor is upside down in this picture)

129

 

Belt Box Fastening

I don’t know why I would ever want or need to, but I’m going to make my connections removable, instead of gluing them directly to the belt.  Since the belt boxes come with slits in the back, I’m going to use them with Velcro One-Wrap, where the Velcro can loop through and fasten to itself.

 

Also, I added thin plastic spacers in the smaller boxes to spread the width of the Velcro fasteners. I was afraid that the slots were so narrow and it may allow the boxes to rotate or twist while on the belt.

130

 

Using the slits in the boxes as templates, I cut out slits in rubber belt…

131

 

EDIT: I’ve had a few of these slits in the rubber belt tear in the corners.  This belt material really needs a layer of reinforcing behind it to prevent rips and tears. I’ve heard suggestions of vinyl, leather or plastic.

 

Here is the back side of the boxes installed on the belt.  The big box/card holder is on the left and the two smaller boxes on the right.  On the bottom of this picture, I tried to diagram how the Velcro is fastened through the boxes and overlapping other Velcro.

132

 

Here’s how the inside of the boxes look while fastened to the belt.

133

 

Since I don’t want to see this Velcro fastening as I hand out trading cards, I made a fake back plate out of extra For Sale sign plastic and tacked it in the box with E6000.

134

 

The other two boxes received some E6000 to hold on the covers.

135

 

Leather Pouch Fastening

Since the plastic boxes came with slits in the back, I decided to use the same idea to fasten the leather-like pouches to the belt with Velcro.  This is why I didn’t glue the cover to the pouches when I made them.  Once attached to the belt, I used E6000 to glue the pouches together.

136

 

7 puzzle pieces attached, 3 to go.  For the record, the CRL belt photo is NOT spaced apart accurately!  This shows how far apart my boxes, pouches and TD need to be to be placed correctly around my waist.

137

 

Here’s the back of the belt with what I have attached so far.

138

 

Fastening The Belt to the Armor

As I keep mentioning, I want my armor to come apart in pieces. Others may not want this option and can choose to glue the rubber belt directly to the Ab Armor.  I used quite a bit of Industrial Strength Velcro to fasten mine.

139

 

EC-17 Blaster Holster Attachment

From pictures, it appears that the top of the holster is to align with the top of the belt.  I used Chicago Screws/threaded stud posts to attach the holster to the belt.  This provided a thin screw head on the front and a flat fastener on the back. Also, I did need to use my hair dryer to heat the holster up to widen it to allow the blaster to slide in easier.

140

 

Baton Holster Attachment

Because of the unusual shape, the Baton Holster was interesting to attach.  It is also very tight to get the Baton to slide in and out. That means there is absolutely no space for a fastener to be sticking out.

There are two screw holes provided in the holster which are sized to accept the 6-32 flat head machine screws I have. The screws are flat head, because they are countersunk.  I used a small countersink bit by hand to countersink the hole.  It took a while to get the screw head flush with the plastic.

 

To fasten the screw, I needed to use a right-angle screwdriver to fit inside the holster.  Once fastened, I measured and trimmed the extra length off the screw, so it doesn’t scratch the armor behind it.

141

 

On the back of the belt, the screw is through a washer and then the nut. If I would be gluing the belt to the armor, this could be screwed into, or through the armor. Since I’m making my belt removable, I needed to drill a hole in the Ab Armor to accommodate the nut and washer. I will add a piece of black duct tape over the screws to prevent any scratching to the Ab Armor.

142

 

Almost finished!

143

 

144

 

Still to come…  Fitting, Building a Blaster, and Finishing Touches…

[Edoode]

14 hours ago, wingnut65 said:

Progress continues…  I hope all this documentation isn’t too boring to read, but I feel it is important to document in detail the various steps to this build.  Many of you will breeze over this as an overview of a process, others may use this and improve on these steps. 

 

 

No, no, no. It's not boring at all! It's a pleasure to read your clearly described steps and the 140+ pictures are going to be a great help and inspiration when my PT arrives which should be somewhere late November.

 

  -Edo

[Hask]

Agreed, all of these build threads are insightful and help a great deal.