rwmead10

First suit up of the legs. There are a lot of sharp edges and pinch points, mobility cuts are needed. I may need to make the thighs bigger so they go higher. Am I on the right track?

I finished the garter belt straps. I also created some boot straps to hold them closed, inspired by the company boot snakes. Since my boots are size 13, the tops are too wide for the shin armor to fit over. This helps but I will need to reshape the right shin because it will not fully close.

I found a belt on Amazon and am waiting for the Velcro and straps to come in to make the thigh garter. While I wait I glued the snap plates 2 inches from the top of the thighs. WOLF TACTICAL Heavy Duty Simple... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BKTXXN1?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Moving really delays hobbies. I finally got my build out and made some progress. Following Mayo’s AP build, I made 4 plates to reinforce the shoulder elastic. These are 2” x 1” and the holes for the snaps are a 5/32” drill bit. Then I used a 13/64” drill bit to make the snap sit a little more flush. My chest and backplate are about 3.5” inches apart at the shoulder. I glued the plates into the elastic and clamped to dry.

More progress. I used the back plate and butt plate to line up the snaps on the kidney. Also glued the snap plates for the shoulder bells.

I guess I am rusty. After months of researching the measurements for the butt plate male snaps, I measured 5/8” and 1 3/8” and centered the holes. If you can see from my picture, I actually measured 1 3/16” which put the holes too close together...something i didn’t notice until after drilling the holes. After drilling the correct hole, you could see light through the extra hole that wasn't covered by the snap. So I got a leather punch, punched an ABS plug and used the snap to keep it in place. The process was infinitely more frustrating than that. Hopefully this passes approvals.

Well I’m back. Life has been crazy since my last post. On with the torso assembly. I cut some strips to help in gluing the snap plates. I am starting the strapping on the chest, back plate and shoulders.

I splurged and got a Quest Designs E-11 to upgrade my hasbro conversion. Does anyone know where to get the correct sized spring to add?

Do you have a picture of this?

Thanks for all the advice. Following Scimitar and Mayo’s builds, I made a snap plate template that is 1” X 2”. I marked the holes at the 1/2” mark and the 1.5” mark. Then I cut out the nylon from 2” webbing and used a soldering iron to make the post holes. Then using the Tandy leather line 24 setting tool and my vice anvil, I made 30 base plates.

I am planning on using the wingnut65 strapping diagram below I pulled from white armor.net. Do most people only use 2 straps for the ab/chest and back/kidney attachments? I’ve also seen 3 used.

Quick update: all return edges on the torso pieces are trimmed and ready for sanding. As I begin planning for snap plates, I wondered what most people use for the connector pieces. I have 2” white nylon webbing for the female snap plates and I got 2” elastic for the torso/forearms and 1” for the shoulder bell/biceps. I noticed that the builds I follow have nylon webbing for the torso straps. Which is preferred?

Do you have any issues with overlap on the back/kidney/rear pieces with 5mm return edge? I wasn’t planning on trimming them but it would help get me closer to movie size.

How much?

On to the torso! I am leaning towards removing all of the return edge on the top area if the abdomen. Is this recommended? Want to check before I make the cut.