TKModder421

Ok, I'm also looking for feedback about my best option for applying the cover strips to the forearms. Since I've trimmed them down, the opening at the top of the forearm (nearest the bicep) no longer lines up. What do you all recommend I do? Should I trim off some of the larger side at the same angle as the dip (red line) and make the cover strip (green rectangle) come up to the new butt point (this is the direction I'm leaning) Or do just make the cover strip go all the way to the top of the larger piece?

Yeah, I agree. I'm leaning towards just taking some off the top inside of the forearms

OK!! So I finally have enough of my soft goods (undersuit and gloves) to do fitment adjustments on the arms I previously had done some initial trimming to cut down the circumference of the biceps and forearms. But because of the amount I took off the forearms, the openings became very oval, which is going to pose problems when trying to attach the cover strips, since I wouldn't have a flat surface where the two sides of the forearms meet So per advice from Joseph I gave the forearms a hot water bath. They're much rounder, more comfortable and provide a much flatter surface to attach the cover strips. I've done some duct tape rigging to get an idea of how the shoulder, bicep and forearm will fit. Currently I'm using the plastic hand plates from the ANOVOS kit, but I've ordered some soft hand plates from Joseph. So here's my right arm... I like the length of the forearm when my arm is straight, but when my elbow is bent the wrist opening cuts into my wrist and handplate which either slides under the opening... or outside the opening So I'm still trying to decide on my best plan of action here. Do I trim only the dip in the inside opening of the top of the forearm (maybe 1/2")? Or do I take a combination of a little off the wrist (maybe a 1/4"+) and the dip (1/4")?

Alright!! So I received my undersuit and I'm ready to start moving forward with prelim fitting and some trimming. I did some test rigging with duct tape and found my right arm to sit pretty well and have a good range of motion. But when I did the same with the left arm (especially bending my elbow) I wasn't getting the same range of motion. My forearm was running into the bicep and the bicep wasn't sliding up my upper arm any further. So I was trying to figure out why that was happening, and I noticed that the bicep piece wasn't sliding any higher because it was pushing up into my armpit as far as it would go. I took off both arms to compare the biceps and what I found was that the inside, top opening of the left bicep doesn't dip down as far as the right bicep does. You can see it much better when you line them up So I guess my question is what course of action should I take? If I trim down the top inside opening I'll be getting close to that thumb dent, but I don't have enough length on the top of the opening to be trimming off the bottom opening without possibly leaving a gap between the bottom of the shoulder bell and the top of the bicep. I hope that all made sense Thoughts??

Awesome!! Thanks guys! I'll update my progress soon

Oh ok! Helmet removal is the base line I should use for arm movement?

OK, so I got my undersuit, so I'm ready to start with the rough fitting. Starting with the biceps first. How do I want these to fit exactly? I'm probably going to take in the top a bit but the bottom is comfortable when my arms are down but get snug when I flex my bicep. Is this a concern? Should I give myself a little more room at the bottom?

Good idea!! Do you recommend just a temp strap with tape cut to the right strapping length?

Alright I'm waiting to receive my undersuit so I can start making fitment choices. In the meantime I'm doing some quick size-ups with the arms first. I know I'm going to have to trim down the extremities just like a 1/2"-1". So my first question is how do I want the forearms to fit lengthwise? Here are some pics: I was thinking of trimming it at the red line. Thoughts??

Yeah that's the same tutorial I used for my mounts! That's where I got the idea for the threaded spacers. Yeah I hope to see you around too. I was gonna try and go to some events as a handler before I finish my armor, to try to get to know people in the community

Thank you sir!!

Thanks James! I see you're in Utah too? I picked up 6, 1/4" outer diameter threaded aluminum spacers and found black machine screws that I liked with the same threading at Ace Hardware and carefully bored wholes in the Plasticweld mounts with a 1/4" bit. After applying the black plastidip the holes were a little smaller so the spacers fit in there nice and tight, I was considering gluing them in but they were so snug and the lenses are already curved so there wasn't any additional flexing that is going to cause them to pull out (from what I can tell at this point anyway. I also considered the Sugru route like Matt used and they're both great options. I just liked how I was able to do additional sculpting to the Plasticweld to make the mounts look like a molded part of the eye sockets. If you have any other questions about it feel free to ask or even message me directly.

So after considering my options I decided to go ahead and apply the Plastidip to the inside of helmet. Later I'm going to attach velcro as needed for padding and eventually to attach electronics (fans, etc.). Ended up using a full can to coat the inside of the cap and face plate. I wasn't sure if I wanted to just go with just the bare lenses on top of the mounts or if I wanted to use the ABS I cut before to make rims around the lenses. They look pretty good like this. I decided to make the rims and just see if I liked it. I decided to paint them silver While that was drying I hot glued the screen into place over the frown and cut out an adhesive foam rubber border to hide the edges The next day I mounted them. I decided it gave it a more sophisticated look And it's all back together (minus the rubber trim)

Thank you! I appreciate it. Oh I’m sure I will be asking many more questions, lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh yeah I agree. I would probably fill them with ABS paste if I did. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I didn't even notice that the left one is off center until I posted that pic. Debating whether I want to drill again. If I do, I may put the holes a bit higher so they actually are above the trim. You can't tell in the pic but I did actually replace the screws, I just wanted to verify I had the right ones

OK perfect. Thanks Tony! Mine are virtually hidden under the trim unless you look at the right angle. Most of the screen references I've seen, the bottom screw looks to be around 0.25"-0.5" from the trim. So now that I've got the trim back on I was questioning whether I've got them placed wrong. Thank you for the detailed and invaluable build post btw, you are a master!!

I have a question about the lower ear screws on the helmet: 1. They need to be slotted flat top screws, painted white correct? And 2. Do they need to be placed so that they are exposed above the rubber trim? Will it not be Centurion if they are hidden or partially hidden under the rubber trim?

So I had taped up my helmet in preparation of darkening the inside with Plastidip and had already sprayed it with several coats of flat white enamel to add a whitening layer to the thin ABS before applying the black Plastidip when Matt gave me some good ideas of other good options to think about. He suggested applying velcro to the full interior. I really like this idea not only for ease of positioning of padding but also for comfort. I'm still weighing my options, but I think I may try a hybrid version of the two. Just gotta work through how I wanna do that. Helmet taped and coated with white enamel.

Haha, ok I guess that's now part of the plan

Oh dang! Yeah I like that! Looks like fans are gonna be a necessity. I guess I should probably try and consider that into my build

It was fairly easy to work with actually. Kind of like dry, thick clay, but it stunk. The instructions said to wear gloves so I heeded their warning. It was a little sticky with the nitrile gloves, but I just used a little water and it kept it pretty workable. And then after it has cured it still has a bit of flexibility to it. I considered using Sugru but I decided I liked the look of a mounting area around the eyes, wanted to give it more of a functional look I guess. I haven't even heard of lining the inside with velcro! I assume you mean line the inside with the soft "loop" side so you can attach the "hook" side to the padding? That sounds interesting (and possibly more comfortable). I was just going to reinstall strips of velcro, how the ANOVOS TK helmets come pre-built and possibly just supplement the padding that came with it. The thing is I've never done any trooping before so I'm not familiar with what I'd be most comfortable with, such as if I'll want to put things in the helmet, like fans or whatever. At this point I've already taped up my bucket and have applied a few coats of flat white enamel to the inside (for a whitening layer) in anticipation of applying the Plastidip. So hopefully that doesn't cause me any attachment issues regardless of how much velcro I put in there. Whoops! I forgot about that.

Oh yeah I agree about welding shield lenses! The lens that mine came with was the thick welding style plastic luckily so I didn't have to buy new lens material, I was able to reuse what it came with. Yeah thank you, I really like the way they turned out! I'm excited to see what they look like once I get it all darkened with Plastidip.

Haha! Thanks man! I'll be there ASAP lol

So I was trying to decide how I wanted to mount my lenses. It came built with the single long curved lens. I'm really not a fan of that set up or that look so after some research I decided to follow Spyder918's tutorial and make lens mounts out of Plasticweld. Here's his tutorial I used: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/38963-howto-another-way-to-do-lenses/?tab=comments#comment-521839 here's a couple pics: I just kneaded the Plasticweld around the eye sockets and left them to cure. The next day I started sanding them down, using my dremel and 80 grit sandpaper. Then once I got it close to the right shape I used 220 to smooth it out and up to 400 and even 2000 to make it really smooth. The one on the left is rough sanded and the one on the right is unsanded. So once I had them sanded down and cleaned up the inside of the face plate a bit I cut templates for my lenses using scrap ABS and then cut down the lenses. I decided I wanted to fix the lenses to the mounts with screws so I purchased some 1/4" OD (outside diameter) threaded aluminum spacers and bored a hole in the mounts for them to be attached. Then drilled corresponding holes in my cut lenses. I may use the ABS templates as rims on top of the lenses as well. I'll just have to see how that works out. I then glued the lens mounts to the inside of the eye sockets using E6000. I haven't glued in the spacers yet. I want to black out the inside of the helmet with Plastidip first. TBC...