Toybiz ROTJ TB Build

[toybiz]

Some background, I've been with the 501st / Golden Gate Garrison since late 2014, served on Command Staff for a couple of years and helped a bit with garrison merch,  but got retired due to lack of activity in 2024. A couple of reasons, one) all ABS armor eventually yellows. This was a battle with my ESB TK armor for the past 5+ years and it is now at the point of sanding and painting to rescue it. It saw quite a few troops when I was part of the Golden Gate Garrison. Two) we are in small numbers here in the Northern Nevada under Central California Garrison, thus event requests are far and few between.

So with that said, I am planning to return back to active status this year with Central California Garrison (relocated to the Outer Sierra Mountain Ranges in 2023). We are looking to change this in 2025, so if you know anyone who is looking to join the Empire here in the Reno/Sparks area. We are here to help!

This is my First Offical WIP entry. Not that there is anything that probably haven't already been done with other builds, but I did do a few tricks when fitting my TK armor to fit as good as I was able to accomplish. Something I am looking forward to doing here as well. 

My loadout:

Armor: Studio Creations full kit. Ordered April 12th, received May 3rd. (Which BTW, at the time of this entry, they were offering a $504.00 price for their kit. Unheard of IMO and don't know how long this sale will be good for! Plus Kurt took care of me when I asked if he could accomodate my request. That was customer service!)
Soft Parts: ChrisX909X: Full soft kit including boots. Hoping my experience will be better than some others had, especially regarding the boots. I wanted to give my business to someone in the USA. Ordered on April 27th, with an estimate of completion around June if I jumped in line but his original ETA was end of July, but as we say, "Time will tell"
Gloves: Wampa Wear - Size Med Received April 30th.
Base Layers: Basic black compression gear and balaclava used with my TK. I am hoping that I won't need to use the insulated ones during colder months with all the TB layers.😄
Voice Amps: Anker and Throat mic. Optional: TrooperTalk used with my TK.
Ground Transportation: Honda CBR650F with Imperial Graphics

Okay, since photo space is limited on the forum, here are pics from my Google Photo account. I'll be adding to it and sharing anything specific about my build in my WIP thread.

Obligatory Big Brown Box and initial unboxing. Hasbro Black Series TB Helmet and LEGO key chain for inspiration.

My next post will probably be helmet related as that doesn't need to have my soft parts for proper fitting.

 

Until then Toybiz out...🫡

[Chopper]

Hi, welcome back to the world of the legion. 

Re: photos, we don't have infinite storage space on the site, so you'll need to use external photo hosting.

See this thread for more info:

https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/topic/23053-faq-how-do-i-post-images/

[Dart]

Good luck and have fun with your build! We're all here to help if need be.

[toybiz]

Well, it's bucket-time! 👍

Been scrolling through some of the WIP threads and used the search for Studio Creation but not really coming up with the reference I'm looking for. The only other armor experience I have is my ESB TK and relatively speaking, the TB hard parts is definitely simplier. Not going to say "Easier" because that's relative. Where the TK undersuit is just black compression long sleeve and leggings, the TB has a flight suit, flak vest, cumberbund,pouches, and cod to content with. 

SC apparently marks in red what appears to be where the lens cut out should be. However, I penciled in on the front where a visible groove was and made my initial cuts there. I also penciled in where the red line would take the visor cut out higher but not the sides.

        

👇This is what it looks like from the front. For those who built an SC helmet, did you cut all the way to the red markings to the sides as well?

Side note, that extra "flashing" below "chin" - looking at other SC helmet builds, looked like it was left there. Is this a problem?

🙏 Thank you for your help and look forward to building this bucket. 

Toybiz out

[Chopper]

The studio creatons eyeslot is typically smaller than it should be. Your top marking on the final image looks good for additional trimming.

As for bit of molding irregularity on the bottom end of the snout, I think that's fine. The studio creations helmet is starting to show it's age, but it still works for many scouts.

[toybiz]

Hope we all were able to take a moment out of our day to Honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms that we get to enjoy.

Okay, with the extra time off, I wanted to post some progress on the bucket.

Previously I asked about the Studio Creations "red line" for the lens opening and Chopper advised I can go higher. So I did.

I also widened the opening ever so slightly so the shape of the lens opening was more of a goggle than being like an upside down Sonic the Hedgehog.🙃
(now that you know, can you "unsee it"?)

 

👇 Here's the "rough cut" up to the red line.  

👇 Here the lens cuts has been sanded and smoothed out. Studio Creations face plate is fairly thick without any thin spots from stretching.
So, I used a 180 grit sanding sponge with good results.

I know it's difficult to see from this angle but the droop of the lens opening was kind of pointed, so was rounded a bit more as well.

👇 Now onto the "ears", I free handed the shape and compared it to the reference pics and went for it.

   

The ABS in this area is paper thin, so it doesn't take much to cut through it. I just drilled a couple of starting holes and used a Lexan scissor to get the basic shape. Cleaned up some of the cuts with a small X-acto knife. I would highly advise limiting the use of power tools with the ears.

Here are the initial "rough cuts" - followed by the sand and smooth by wrapping a plastic pen with 800 grit sandpaper to get the round shape on the corners.

   

   

To keep things, separate, I'll post my next steps in the following post.

[toybiz]

This next section is purely OPTIONAL.

I ridden motorcycles for many years and the inside of the helmets are usually medium/dark gray or black. Because of this I painted the inside of my ESB TK helmet BLACK as well. 



I know it's more work but I like the end results. To me it makes the helmets look more "military". With that said, the time to paint the inside is BEFORE it's all assembled.

So the first step was to combine the top and rear helmet sections. I chose to use E-6000 because that was my go-to when building my TK. Strong, flexible and forgiving if you have to take anything apart. Rare earth magnets and some ratchet clamps held things together overnight.

   

What next? Here's that part of the journey of masking, masking, and guess what? More masking. Followed by cleaning and double checking the masking - then painting. Remember when painting, best results are from prepping prepping and prepping.

   

   

👆🏿 I got myself some 1/8" wide masking tape to outline the shape of the snout. As one of the features our fans see first, having a smooth blacked out snout is important.

I taped and removed the thin masking tape about 4 times before I was satisfied. This isn't an RS helmet so there are some imperfections along the snout "ridge", so just do your best that you can. Better to change your mind with masking than to remove paint later. I used Krylon Fusion Satin Black for Plastics spray paint. It's not as glossy in person as it does in pictures, so it should be good.

   

👆🏿 Got some old newspaper and wrapped the rest of the exposed areas to prevent any overspray. You will get some no matter what.  I used some plastic polish and any overspray, pencil marks, scuffs, etc - all came right off with a little bit of elbow grease.



Took some masking tape and visually found the center of the forehead and without peeling all three decals separately, I just peeled them back about halfway and lightly tapped them into place, stood back and checked for center/level. Removed them, recentered them (three times) and when I was
happy, I simply rolled back the paper while pressing out any air bubbles and all three decals stuck in a straight line just like they were on the cut sheet.

👉 My next post will be assembly. I KNOW all fan made helmets are slightly wonky. They are not symetrical and nor were the ones used in the films.

I have a Hasbro Black Series if I want to look at an idealized version of the Biker helmet.

So take a breather and just find some peace to do your best, just get as close to the reference images as you can and you should be good to go. You have literally over 100 years of combined experience here on Pathfinders to give you a hand so don't worry.

I am waiting for the E-6000 to dry on the face plate and visor at the time of this post and will share my assembly on the next post.

Until then Toybiz out...🫡