SublimeBW

I have been doing some slow progress on the torso and was curious on the trimming of the posterior. I have seen mixed things about the return edge on the bottom (does it stay or go) and the tab at the bottom. I didn't see anything on the CRL for it so was curious on what is the proper approach. Additional question, is the a recommended return edge depth for the top of the posterior and the bottom of the kidney? I am currently sitting at around the 7.75 mm mark for it.

Thanks for the direction, gang! I will look into Ukswrath's build thread.

We did an uncut & untrimmed test fit of the torso armor and I was hoping to get some feedback on the fit prior to us making any cuts. It feels a bit large around the sides (see picture #3, #4, #5 & 6) but wasn't sure if I should adjust that at all (I am 5'9" and 180 LBS). If so, is there any recommendation of the process? Also, the back and chest plate seem to be sticking out a lot and wasn't sure if that was due to the spacing issue with the lower portion of the torso, an inaccurate tape job or if that is how the are. Any direction on the best way to adjust the torso along with any trimming/return edge tips/guidelines would be much appreciated.

Slow movement last week but I think my patience paid off. Sadly, Diablo 4 and building Star Wars Shatterpoint stuff with a buddy got in the way of real progress so that is all I have to share for the week. I will review the chest & abdomen build once again in prep for weekend progress.

Build progress from last week: Trimmed the thighs but will wait to size until chest & abdomen are done (thanks @TKSpartan for the reference shots) Glued flexible handguards to rubber gloves Attempting round 2 of adhering interior cover strips to forearms I got to antsy and removed my magnets & clamps before the E6000 was fully cured so the joint separated Goals for this week (aiming small as it is recital week for my daughter, so am busy most nights through Saturday) Trim Chest & Abdomen during the week so that I can fit it over the weekend Be patient about the forearms so that I can put the exterior cover strips on over the weekend

I was curious on what the stance is for the return edges on the thighs. It seems that the top edge gets removed fully but I am seeing mixed things about the bottom return edge (fully remove to around 6 MM). Does anyone have any input they can share?

Thanks for the feedback! I thought they looked a little long but the clips came from the vendor and I figured they were already sized. Nothing that cannot be remedied!

Knocked out the thermal detonator this week. Not the greatest progress but some progress is better than no progress. Next week will be a down week as I am at a conference for a majority of the week (unlikely, but if anyone is going to Epic XGM next week, let me know) followed by my wife's graduation when I get back. Maybe I will aim small and knock out both sets of gloves.

Slow progress last week (and weekend) but I managed to get my biceps set with the e6000. I have a little bit of glue clean up that is needed, but that should only take a moment. This week, I plan on tinkering with the detonator & investigating the sizing the the forearms more (talking with the vendor, it sounds like the sizing is mostly immaterial to qualification).

Biceps cut and lined up; I will likely get the interior cover strip on tonight. The forearms were a bit trickier than expected. One side went together easily while the other took several cuts & adjustments. I still have some additional cuts to do toward the bottom (as I see that they wrist side should be pretty flat) but do have some concern over one side being larger/longer than the other and the curvature (which came with the kit) on the interior side is far more present on one arm.

That is AMAZING to hear! I am going to get the sides glued down a bit better now and then will make that recommended cut. Also, I wanted to say thank you to the folks that have been taking their time to give feedback. It is really helping to build confidence. Thanks to that confidence, we are moving quicker each time we build and were able to measure out the biceps and cut them last night in between rounds of Frosthaven. I am hoping to also knock out the forearm fitting this weekend as well and take care of gluing & curing during the week.

Sniper knee is staying without issue! Any chance I can get some feedback on my alignment? I am trying to build with level 3 in mind and wanted to make sure the level 2 requirements were met. OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Sniper knee plate must be aligned with the ridges on the shin. Sniper knee plate must not have visible rivets or fasteners attaching it to the shin. Edit: Looking at it closer, I can see that the sides need to be glued down a bit more. I can do that after the positioning is confirmed.* *Bonus 3d printed Darth Revan mask in the background

Thanks for the feedback, gang! Glad to know that things are looking mostly right given that this is my first "complete" piece (I still have a minor bit of trimming at the bottom and mobility cuts). For now, I am going to hold of on heating unless it is an absolute necessity. Maybe once I am at full confidence of what I am doing I will revisit heating. Now to wait for the sniper knee to finish curing.

I took today to attempt to close the right shin with velcro. I placed one piece the inside of the cover strip and another where the cover strip lands/lines on the shin. I THINK I did it right but had some minor concern regarding it possibly showing a bit raised due to the velcro. Also, forgive the Rebel hat on my partially complete helmet. My wife put it there today thinking she was funny.

THANKS! And yes, E6000 as it is far more forgiving and I am sure I will make plenty of mistakes that need reverting. Hopefully, I will start to pick up the pace as confidence grows but am happy to finally have real progress after the initial build hiatus.

Thanks! Those pictures helped and I believe I was able to get the correct alignment and made me remember I had strong clamps.

Slow but sure progress on a busy weekend. We sized up the calves and I have the back cover strips going with some e6000. That said, I was curious if anyone has tips for adhering the sniper knee. I attempted to do so but it quickly turned into a mess as when I would clamp the sides it would case the other points to come out of line. Is it easier to cure the front and then the sides or is there a tool or clamping spot that I am missing?

Well, my shins officially have cover strips on them. I plan on moving forward with sizing this weekend (assuming I don't need to make an adjustment on my cover strip positioning).

Right, but wasn't there some sort of mismatch between the left outer / right inner and right outer & left inner or is that just for the RS Propmasters kit? Example reference:

Thanks! I have things sized up for 20mm in the front and just have to line these guys up and will have my first official gluing!

Thanks for the feedback! For some reason, I didn't get any notification about your response until today. Greatly appreciate the pictures.

Hey gang, I have my shins trimmed and ready for gluing the front but want to make sure I get the right pieces together. Any chance anyone can confirm which goes with which as I am not seeing one side overly shorter than the other at the when line them up?

First, let me say that this is awesome documentation of your build! Kudos. Second, I have to let you know that your photos & journey helped give me some reassurance with my resumed build. I too, am building an AM kit but made a few mistakes and got into my own head about my the dork up I did on my helmet and went on a year+ hiatus of build. Now that I am back at it, having someone documenting the build with the same kit is really helpful. Cheers!

I started on this shins this time around and am working with a friend so that we can bounce cuts and progress off each other (no prior build experience between us). Do I need to take more off the top return edge? I read that 3mm - 6mm is the thickness to go so went with 4.5mm. This seems thicker than what I saw on archive images but worry about taking too much off. Also, how much should be removed from the bottom of the shins/greaves? I couldn't find a good image of that.

Alright, after a several month break and being in my own head so afraid to progress, I think I am ready to get back in the saddle. I have a set of replacement ears so that I don't have worry about fixing the original set that cracked so can proceed on the helmet if I wanted, but I think I am going to pivot and work on an easier part to build confidence. Realistically, I never trimmed any of my pieces (AM kit, Dave said it come trimmed but when I look at some pieces compared to other posts, it seems they are mostly trimmed?) so maybe starting there will be a good confidence gain.