Pandatrooper's AM build thread[*AM]

[Jorran]

Did you use the same velcro/elastic assembly for the connection between the bicep and forearm?

 

(PS - Thanks for all the help and quick replies! )

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Yes. Snap in the bicep, velcro in the forearm. Not screen accurate at all but it works for me.

[DubTrooper]

Looking good

Love to see a picture of the complete set

[cameron]

Here's Wyatt's canvas "vintage cargo strap" belt material. I know Wyatt said not to, but I used a solution of 20% bleach to 80% water to clean / bleach the belt slightly. The AM kits is quite white in contrast to the belt, so I felt a little color match was in order. I only bleached for about 45 mins, then soaked and rinsed the belt overnight, and rinsed it again, to make sure no bleach was left to weaken the material. I hung it to dry (avoid using heat as heat will shrink canvas).

 

I wrapped the belt around the torso to make sure it fit the armor, and left a 7" overlap for the closure in the back. I sewed the ends of the belt and closed them with bar tack stitches, that way the ends can fray a bit for that "used" look but they won't fall apart. I've also sewn velcro for the belt closure which will also hold the TD in place. I also like to sew in some velcro (hook side) on the inside of the belt on each side of the hips, to support the holster and to keep things aligned. The front of the belt is held in place with snaps (belt to ab armor) to keep it centered every time you put it on.

 

For the drop boxes, I had a set of KWS designs "inner boxes" I had never used. I trimmed slots in the corners to make it fit snug inside the AM drop boxes, they fit perfectly! I also cut some 1" wide notches in the inner boxes, to accommodate the elastic to allow it to lay flat.

 

I took a different approach to attaching the elastic. I made a loop of elastic, and through the loop I placed a piece of ABS scrap, and glued the ABS scrap to 2 small "bridges" under it, and glued all the ABS into the inner drop box with Plastic Weld. I also spread some E6000 onto the elastic to glue it to the inner drop box. Then assembled the 2 halves, and used Plastic weld to seal them shut.

 

I found that this way, the elastic stays nice and flat and the inside is nice and tidy (yes, I know no one sees the inside, but I do!)

 

Here's an assembled one and an opened one before sealing it shut.

You can see how the elastic is attached inside the box, and I will attach this to the belt via the snaps (punch a hole in the elastic, and slip it under the snap before attaching the armor to the belt.)

 

You can see the rivet used to secure the drop box. I used a rivet and not the snap backing as that was too short to pass through the belt armor, cargo strap belt, the drop box elastic, and the female snap. I took a long 3/8" rivet and cut it exactly to the size I needed, and snapped everything together.

 

You can also see I've riveted in the Anrev made leather holster. I attached it "Stunt" style with 2 rivets on the lower part of the belt. I used rivets because I never really take the holster off, and I'm super paranoid about the holster falling off during a troop.

 

Great photo of the belt, holster and TD in place. You can also see I have installed the rivets on the side of the AB / kidney section, I will paint these white later.

 

A few people have asked for info on harnesses. I made a custom harness setup that's very easy for me to get in and out of. The left side is hinged clam shell style with a few elastic and snap straps, and a couple sections of velcro (not attached in the pic). The closure side is simply velcro, very quick to put on and take off.

 

The suspenders are attached via velcro on the ab section and kidney, but in the back they extend up to the shoulders of the back section and attach with velcro and snaps. The back has a bridge of nylon webbing across the back to prevent the shoulder bells from separating. The front of the suspenders have "suspender fastex" clips which are very flat and low profile. I usually leave the left side one always done up, and I only need to un-snap and snap the right side one. There is a short sternum strap as well.

 

 

 

have you had any trouble with the butt plate falling off? mine keeps doing it. i used the industrial velcro, but i see that im going to have to step it up to snaps. and do you have a more close up picture of that "stove door" setup? also, im having a little trouble figuring out how to attach snaps to abs plastic

Edited April 1, 2011 by cameron

[Trooper7753]

A word of caution!

I haven't had a chance to troop yet in my new armor but have noticed micro cracks on the neckline of mine. I last wore my armor last Halloween and I am very careful with it so it is not from being abused. I saw the first one recently and upon very close inspection using a magnifying glass I found 3 very tiny cracks in the same area. You can see another just to the left of the big crack. These may have been created when the excess was trimmed or the plastic is too stressed in that area and was not hot enough to take the shape of the mold.

So take a very close look at this area and be careful, this is a quality issue and if you have the same little cracks it is only a matter of time before they open up. I do not imagine a chest piece lasting very long if the cracks continue to grow.

I have sent an email to the manufacturer of the AM armor regarding this and am waiting for a reply.

 

 

Hi Terry congrats on the build mate you have done a fantastic job on the AM kit. I also have a AM lite kite which i purchased about 12 months ago when i fist joined the 501st. I have a crack very similiar to yours in the chest piece around the same position, i have trooped in this armour about 15 times and i always look after it and when its not in use i hang it in the wardrobe.

Is there a way that you know of that will stop the crack spreading further.

Edited April 3, 2011 by strooper

[TK-Fett[TK]]

Hey Panda do you think you could post a video showing how you put the armor on. Im helpin a friend assemble a set of AM armor and Ithink I can handle the armor mods and sizing but Im having trouble with the strapping system and I think seeing you put it on would help me with sizing the straps and garters for him. Thanks

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Hi Terry congrats on the build mate you have done a fantastic job on the AM kit. I also have a AM lite kite which i purchased about 12 months ago when i fist joined the 501st. I have a crack very similiar to yours in the chest piece around the same position, i have trooped in this armour about 15 times and i always look after it and when its not in use i hang it in the wardrobe.

Is there a way that you know of that will stop the crack spreading further.

 

I would apply some Plastic Weld to the crack and glue it shut. Then glue a wide plastic shim on the underside of the crack to take the pressure off it.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

have you had any trouble with the butt plate falling off? mine keeps doing it. i used the industrial velcro, but i see that im going to have to step it up to snaps. and do you have a more close up picture of that "stove door" setup? also, im having a little trouble figuring out how to attach snaps to abs plastic

 

I have never had a part fall off. The snap plates are glued in place with Plastic weld. Or Use E6000 if you need more work time. Avoid getting glue on the metal snaps as it can heat up and distort the plastic.

 

That last photo is a pretty clear shot of the "cut cod". Its simply seperated from the ab section and joined with 2 straps.

[Bill.I.Am]

Hi Terry congrats on the build mate you have done a fantastic job on the AM kit. I also have a AM lite kite which i purchased about 12 months ago when i fist joined the 501st. I have a crack very similiar to yours in the chest piece around the same position, i have trooped in this armour about 15 times and i always look after it and when its not in use i hang it in the wardrobe.

Is there a way that you know of that will stop the crack spreading further.

 

Sorry for the late reply but wasn't getting notices till now for some reason.

I did as Terry suggested and it works fine.

[kaptinkaos]

Man am I ever glad we have a guy like Terry in FISD... If he hadn't have posted this thread I don't know if I would have ever started into my AM kit... I'm pretty dang thin and this is going to be a LOT of trimming!

 

Thanks Terry for posting this up with such detail and knowledge.

[James[501st]]

Here's some completed pics one of my photographer friends took. Still working on a few small tweaks (fill and paint the rivets white, adjust how the chest plate hangs slightly, but that's it). Ive already trooped in it like 3 times!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome thread, thanks!

 

Do you have any images from the sides? Id' like to see how your chest, kidney, ab, back, cod and rear plates line up along the side. An image from the back would be helpful too. Thanks again!

[Bushido]

I got my AM kit about 2 weeks ago but me and my dad are trying to figure out how to actually trim it without breaking the parts. What kind of cutting tools do you use? I saw that you were using what seems to be regular scissors but I'm not sure if that's the best choice. And is it necessary to have the return edges?

[Laserbrain[TK]]

Panda quote: "I find that a lot of troopers leave a lot of room in their thighs, and I did that on my first build too. Then you have to pad it and the area above your knee sometimes has too much space. I call this "Church bell thigh" syndrome. When you walk, the thigh is swinging around! If you look at some of the promo shots, the armor is much tighter to the wearer. This is how I want to approach my build."

 

 

I am sizing my thighs and am curious how tight I need to make them. I have two sets of under suit, thin for hot weather and insulated for cold weather. Using the thicker cold weather to build over so I have built everything snug so far, but the thighs are more troublesome. To get them snug at the bottom, above the knee, they become too tight along my thigh muscles. Should I make them comfortable on my thighs and not worry about the gap around the top of my knee? I'd say there is about a 1 inch gap between the return edge and the top of my knee on each side.

[Plastic Fury[TK]]

You are going to want to "taper" the thighs. I did this with my AM thighs and have done it for other troopers as well. This allows the thigh armor to be both tight at the knee as well as tight on your thigh.

[Laserbrain[TK]]

Yea, I don't think I've got the opening at the top of the thigh big enough. Havent cut yet them, so I'm gonna play around with them more.

[senna1rossi[TK]]

dang, pandatrooper looks friggin hot in those pics! especially the third one

[Cardiac[TK]]

Awesome builder thread PandaTrooper !

[cameron]

does anyone know anyone selling a suspender/harness system like that? great build by the way

[Big Smoooth]

Mate i love what you have done with this kit. Can you tell me what helmet you are wearing?

Thanks

[bigironvault]

Hi Terry, I saw the neat strapping you did for your hand plates in another thread. Do you have a picture of the reverse side so I can how your system was attached? Thanks!

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Here's a tutorial on it.

 

http://whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8685

[Rennny]

Quick question about the 8/10/etc mm strips (Sorry if its been answered already!) did you just use some of the extra plates that came with the kit and cut out some strips? or did you just use some from a previous trim you did on the bicep/shin etc?

 

And how long did you make the strips? (The whole length of the plate or just measured out 8mm then chose a random size and cut out from there?)

 

Thanks!

[Fuseblown]

Quick question about the 8/10/etc mm strips (Sorry if its been answered already!) did you just use some of the extra plates that came with the kit and cut out some strips? or did you just use some from a previous trim you did on the bicep/shin etc?

 

And how long did you make the strips? (The whole length of the plate or just measured out 8mm then chose a random size and cut out from there?)

 

Thanks!

 

Some of the ABS strips that come with the kit are meant for the actual belt. If you picked up a new belt (which you really should, anyways), then you can use those for your cover strips and snap plates.

[nodoner]

The custom garters for the thighs I made for the build and offered for sale look like this:

 

More details here, but I don't have a run going currently. Feel free to make your like this if you wish.

 

- Adjustable belt can fit waist sizes up to 42 inches (*note: those that need suspenders can use low cost "clip on elastic" suspenders for dress pants. Super easy to find at a dollar store.)

- Fastex secure buckle closure

- The garters are "V" style, the thigh armor will stay in place very nicely (no floppage!). One end of the V is permanently sewn / bar tacked, the other end is adjustable.

- The garters are fully adjustable for length (waist to thigh), and also adjustable for position on the belt (put them as close or far apart as you like, make the V as narrow or wide as you like, whatever fits your body / armor).

- The webbing end tabs that go inside the thigh armor are triple thick where the snap is, the ends are bar tacked and the entire tab is box stitched for strength. These are strong.

The end tab comes with 1 snap already mounted, using a Tandy Line 24 female snaps (as most people use these). I've simplified the design to 1 snap since most people don't use 2 positions anyways.

 

these are awesome. anyway they're still available for sale?

[obrotherracing[TK]]

I know this is an older thread, but HOLY SMOKES!!!  What AWESOME mods you've done.  Great job.  I need to try to emulate some of these tips/tricks on my AM.  Thanks for the inspiration.