More white armor

[anerdyguy]

So I've cracked and have begun my process of building an ANH Stunt TK.

I've ordered my armor kit from Walt back in Mid October, ordered my boots, neckseal, and strapping from Imperial Boots last week and am currently looking at E-11's, belts, and holsters.

I'm curious if the E-11 I've attached would make it through the approval process along with the holster.

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated, thank you!

[Wildcardz]

Welcome to the addiction.

[Alay]

That's an ESB holster; the ANH one is riveted to the belt rather than looped.

 

A knife easily could convert it.

[anerdyguy]

On 11/24/2024 at 9:11 PM, anerdyguy said:

So I've cracked and have begun my process of building an ANH Stunt TK.

I've ordered my armor kit from Walt back in Mid October, ordered my boots, neckseal, and strapping from Imperial Boots last week and am currently looking at E-11's, belts, and holsters.

I'm curious if the E-11 I've attached would make it through the approval process along with the holster.

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Following up with some updates:

Received my boots, neck seal, holster (which is now modified to be an ANH style), and E-11 in. All I am waiting for is the actual kit from Walt's so then I can get an accurate size for the canvas belt.

[anerdyguy]

Starting to add my coverstrips and wanted to make sure they are thick enough. I've found other TK's with similar spacing but just wanted to double check.

 

[Maulevolent]

The cover strips should be sized to cover the flat area of the butt joint.

My understanding on the cover strips is for accuracy they should be 15mm wide for front and back of the arms, 20mm wide for the front and back of the thighs, and 20mm for the front of the shins and 25mm for the back. This provides a starting point.

Typically, the flat area of the butt joint on the front should be trimmed to about the same size so that the strip completely covers it when joined.  For the front of the shin with accurate size that should be about 10mm on each side of the joint and 20mm when together.

You have more latitude on the back to accommodate sizing in terms of trimming but use the same size strip.  If your calf implants require you to need more space, it can be bigger but it needs to be uniform.  Generally, minimum sizes on the front and larger on the back as they won’t be noticed as much. 

There may ultimately be GML latitude but I was a historically tough grader in that role.

Edited June 15, 2025 by Maulevolent

[anerdyguy]

1 hour ago, Maulevolent said:

The cover strips should be sized to cover the flat area of the butt joint.

My understanding on the cover strips is for accuracy they should be 15mm wide for front and back of the arms, 20mm wide for the front and back of the thighs, and 20mm for the front of the shins and 25mm for the back. This provides a starting point.

Typically, the flat area of the butt joint on the front should be trimmed to about the same size so that the strip completely covers it when joined.  For the front of the shin with accurate size that should be about 10mm on each side of the joint and 20mm when together.

You have more latitude on the back to accommodate sizing in terms of trimming but use the same size strip.  If your calf implants require you to need more space, it can be bigger but it needs to be uniform.  Generally, minimum sizes on the front and larger on the back as they won’t be noticed as much. 

There may ultimately be GML latitude but I was a historically tough grader in that role.

Thank you! Thats what I figured but I couldn't find the exact numbers.

[anerdyguy]

A bit of a spacing test. Thighs can be moved up about 1/4 of an inch if need be.

[Maulevolent]

Looking good!  You’ll probably want to raise the thighs that 1/4” to close the space towards the cod, assuming you’ll still have no issues with walking/movement. The small ammo belt and sniper knee will take up some space and close the knee area.

[anerdyguy]

A small update, but the arms and legs are all fully constructed and I am beginning the strapping process with the torso. Starting with the abs and kidney plate so I can get an idea for the length of the belt. I'll probably fasten the posterior plate tomorrow once everythign else is dried. 

[anerdyguy]

Trimmed out the eyes and teeth of the helmet and connected the front and back. Still some sanding to do but its coming together!

[anerdyguy]

Added the first ear, kind of bugging over the less than seamless look but several build posts on the FISD forums says that its not the end of the world. Still looking for opinions on whether it'll fly before I start the next one.

1 minute ago, anerdyguy said:

Added the first ear, kind of bugging over the less than seamless look but several build posts on the FISD forums says that its not the end of the world. Still looking for opinions on whether it'll fly before I start the next one.

It should also be noted I have not beveled the screw holes yet.

[Maulevolent]

Seamless ears are a bit of a myth.  This is an area you don’t want to pursue perfection over “good enough”.  

With that said, I would recommend hand sanding and filing  your trim lines/edges to remove the jaggedness and smooth out the shape, especially on the front, and that would help overall appearance as well as help form the curves closer to the helmet shape.  There’s a lot of trial and error and patience involved there until you reach a point you’re happy enough with it.

If it was a little cleaner, I’d probably let it fly. The screen used helmets in ANH were rarely seamless if at all:

[anerdyguy]

Got the second ear on and beveled the screw holes! Tried to get the left ear to have as similar as possible spacing and sizing to the right.

[anerdyguy]

Small update:

Entire torso is strapped together along with the shoulders, just waiting for the strap to dry.

Still trying to figure out how to hold up the biceps, I've seen people make hooks that they hang off the shoulder strap but I'm leaning towards running a strap from the shoulder to the bicep similar to what I have for Rex.

I replaced the black straps on the holster with undyed versions. 

Trimmed down the large belt ammo piece, just waiting on the white straps for the boxes to come in tomorrow along with a clip for the belt I'm planning on making to hold up the thighs.

My belt is a bit large and wraps around me even in armor about halfway past the velcro. I was thinking of just put another piece at the far end instead of having to trim it down but I'd also like to hear some others opinons on that.

Plan for tomorrow is to attach the stomach greebling along with the plastic shoulder straps to the chest.

Received my thermal detonator hooks in the mail so that will hopefully be done as well tomorrow.

Hoping to paint the helmet/buttons on Friday, just have to go organize my model paints.

I'm hoping to have it all together by this weekend and able to submit my photos by next week at the latest!

 

 

[Maulevolent]

Looking good so far! You’re definitely on the right track.

For holding up the biceps, both methods work, but I also lean towards the short elastic strap from the shoulder bell to the bicep. It’s simple, keeps the bicep from flopping around, and gives you more control than the hook method. Just make sure it’s not too tight or it’ll pull weird when you move.

Swapping out the holster straps for undyed leather is the way to go, nice catch there. That’s screen accurate for ANH stunt TKs.

On the belt wrapping too far: totally up to you. Some people just add a keeper or extra piece of Velcro to secure the overhang, others trim it down for a cleaner look. If you’ve got the room and don’t mind the extra length, you could leave it but if it bugs you visually, trim and clean up the edge.

[anerdyguy]

On the CRL it says for the tube stripes are "numbering 9 and 16 per side". I'm assuming that means there can be as 9 stripes per side, 10 per side, 11, etc... upwards to 16?

 

 

[Maulevolent]

2 hours ago, anerdyguy said:

On the CRL it says for the tube stripes are "numbering 9 and 16 per side". I'm assuming that means there can be as 9 stripes per side, 10 per side, 11, etc... upwards to 16?

 

 

Yep, you’ve got it! The CRL says “numbering 9 to 16 per side,” which means you’re good as long as each side has between 9 and 16 stripes. That range is based on what’s seen on screen and there’s some variation in the original helmets, so the CRL allows for that.

Traditionally, stunt helmets tend to have around 13–16 stripes, while hero helmets usually sit around 9–11. 

TL;DR: Pick whatever looks best to you, between 9 and 16 per side, and make both sides match. If you're going for an in-between “sweet spot,” 13 stripes is a popular and very safe choice.

[anerdyguy]

Put the first coat of paint for the trapezoids, frown, and vocoder along with the aerators. Letting it dry fully then I can outline and add the black lines. Only thing then will be to add the visor and mesh to the teeth.

[anerdyguy]

Small update:

Helmet is painted and 100% completed

Torso buttons are all painted

White shoulder straps are attached

Detonator is constructed

Belt is 99% done, just need to attach the holster

All that is left to do is put together the straps that connect the bicep/forearm to the shoulders and the belt that'll hold up the thighs. Shooting for Wednesday at the latest to submit approval photos.

[anerdyguy]

Approval photos submitted!