FX AM Armour need help

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Hi Guys n Gals

 

I have an FX AM Armour that need to be fit to my size, i am about 5ft 6in

For the Shin and the Thigh, once its measured fit, most sites say that a strip in the front is good to add.

What do you guys think? Also the thigh part on the top is too big, and rides up.

How did you guys cut it correctly according to the original curved grove on the top of the thigh? I need to lose one inch on the top of the thigh. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks

[TK-7980]

You may be able to get some tips from pandatroopers AM build thread. He needed to trim down alot of the pieces to fit it to his size, as the AM like the FX is a kit for larger troopers.

 

He-----re's a link:

http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=10434&st=0&p=131647&fromsearch=1entry131647

Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
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[Hawkeye[501st]]

Bro thanks so much for the link! this is excellent!!!!!

Whats the screen acurate size for the cover strip on thigh and calf? Is it 1.5inch or 2inch?

Thanks so much

[Eric]

20mm i think

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Eric is correct, 20mm wide. Here's a detailed build thread for thighs I recently made, that might help you.

 

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Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
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[Hawkeye[501st]]

On 6/20/2010 at 2:10 PM, pandatrooper said:

Eric is correct, 20mm wide. Here's a detailed build thread for thighs I recently made, that might help you.

 

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Excellent post mate! i thank you so much!.

Do you have pics on how you made the arm? Can you email me at hawk25m at yahoo.com

I made this 400% to view, and i could see the details.

 

Nice job mate, really nice.

 

I have a excellent chap who is helping me with this armour. I seek his advice as well!

Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
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[pandatrooper[TK]]

There's fairly detailed pictures of the bicep being assembled in the thread posted above, along with a few forearm pics. All limbs in my build are essentially constructed the same way (butt join with covers strips and inner shims).

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Hi Pandatrooper,

I have done the left leg. Any advice? Or am i headed the right way?

Nothing is glued yet, the strip is just there for show now.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

I'm also building my AM kit this way. The only thing I'd add is to make sure the parts line up first.

 

For the calves, line them up at the top and trim the bottom as necessary.

For the thighs and biceps, line them up at the bottom and trim the top as necesary.

For the forearms, line them up at the wrist and trim the edge near the elbow as necessary.

[Hawkeye[501st]]

I'm also building my AM kit this way. The only thing I'd add is to make sure the parts line up first.

 

For the calves, line them up at the top and trim the bottom as necessary.

For the thighs and biceps, line them up at the bottom and trim the top as necesary.

For the forearms, line them up at the wrist and trim the edge near the elbow as necessary.

 

Thank you tkrestonva.

This is an excellent tip!. I will be doing that, in the pic the dont line up for the legs, so i will do that from the top

The rest is bottom up. Thanks again.

But am i heading the right way mate?

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Looks good to me. Make sure you leave enough room at the back for the cover strip / velcro, and always test fit the shins with boots on.

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Looks good to me. Make sure you leave enough room at the back for the cover strip / velcro, and always test fit the shins with boots on.

 

Thanks again Pandatrooper. After i have glued the front of the shin with cover strip and inside strip.

When i open the back to put on the shins, would the front hold? thanks.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Yes. I did mine with inner and outer shims and it's nice and strong.

[Chunk[501st]]

Hi Pandatrooper,

I have done the left leg. Any advice? Or am i headed the right way?

Nothing is glued yet, the strip is just there for show now.

Hey Hawkeye,

One thing I would reccomend is changeing out that old brown masking tape for some new blue or green painters tape. The old stuff will leave a nasty residue. You'll have to remove it with WD-40 or some mild detergent. I found this out the hard way. I had taped all the pieces together just like you with regular masking tape. I had to spray the WD-40 onto a napkin & rub gently to remove the residue. I did this over the sink so I could rinse it off quickly if needed. I have an older FX kit. The WD-40 did not hurt my plastic. It even left a shiny sheen.

I know this was not what you were looking for. But Im doing my legs right now too. I was looking for useful information to help me. But Im on the right leg & need help with the "gas cylinder" belt. So Im off to find useful information

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Hey Hawkeye,

One thing I would reccomend is changeing out that old brown masking tape for some new blue or green painters tape. The old stuff will leave a nasty residue. You'll have to remove it with WD-40 or some mild detergent. I found this out the hard way. I had taped all the pieces together just like you with regular masking tape. I had to spray the WD-40 onto a napkin & rub gently to remove the residue. I did this over the sink so I could rinse it off quickly if needed. I have an older FX kit. The WD-40 did not hurt my plastic. It even left a shiny sheen.

I know this was not what you were looking for. But Im doing my legs right now too. I was looking for useful information to help me. But Im on the right leg & need help with the "gas cylinder" belt. So Im off to find useful information

 

Hi Mate

Thanks, any advice on here is always good advice. I found and easy way to remove the residue. Just use a drop of cooking oil and remove it by using a soft cloth to wipe it off. Works fine. The oil can be easily removed as well.

thanks

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Hey Hawkeye,

One thing I would reccomend is changeing out that old brown masking tape for some new blue or green painters tape. The old stuff will leave a nasty residue. You'll have to remove it with WD-40 or some mild detergent. I found this out the hard way. I had taped all the pieces together just like you with regular masking tape. I had to spray the WD-40 onto a napkin & rub gently to remove the residue. I did this over the sink so I could rinse it off quickly if needed. I have an older FX kit. The WD-40 did not hurt my plastic. It even left a shiny sheen.

I know this was not what you were looking for. But Im doing my legs right now too. I was looking for useful information to help me. But Im on the right leg & need help with the "gas cylinder" belt. So Im off to find useful information

 

Just incase mate,I am heading out to buy the tapes u recommended! you are all simply beautiful people!

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Yes. I did mine with inner and outer shims and it's nice and strong.

 

Hi Terry

Need your expert advice. When you wear your biceps? Are they glued both front and back or velcro at the back?

Also when you wear it, is there room between skin/undersuit and armour? how much? thumb fit? Hope i am making sense here.

 

Also for the forearm are you using velcro at the back? thanks in advance

[pandatrooper[TK]]

My biceps and forearms are glued front and back. Never really need to use Velcro for the forearms unless your hands are huge and you want slimmer looking forearms, and you need to open them to get your hands in.

 

For the biceps, I bent my arm at the elbow and flexed my bicep, so that there was enough room inside for my “huge guns”. You just want them big enough that you have room to bend your arm / flex, but not overly big. I prefer to not have any padding in there if possible. The screen look is very “fitted”.

 

For the forearms, I assembled them so that the front hand opening has little or no return edge (screen used didn’t have any if I recall) and leave enough room so that you can squeeze your hand through, and assemble the forearm at that size. The area near your elbow should again have enough room for flexing, but be snug. Since AM doesn’t have the ridges molded in, you can make them any size you want. Definitely check out the screen caps from the films for reference, but make them fitted to your body.

[Hawkeye[501st]]

My biceps and forearms are glued front and back. Never really need to use Velcro for the forearms unless your hands are huge and you want slimmer looking forearms, and you need to open them to get your hands in.

 

For the biceps, I bent my arm at the elbow and flexed my bicep, so that there was enough room inside for my “huge guns”. You just want them big enough that you have room to bend your arm / flex, but not overly big. I prefer to not have any padding in there if possible. The screen look is very “fitted”.

 

For the forearms, I assembled them so that the front hand opening has little or no return edge (screen used didn’t have any if I recall) and leave enough room so that you can squeeze your hand through, and assemble the forearm at that size. The area near your elbow should again have enough room for flexing, but be snug. Since AM doesn’t have the ridges molded in, you can make them any size you want. Definitely check out the screen caps from the films for reference, but make them fitted to your body.

 

Thanks Terry! very valueable advice. Any thing i need to watch out for while building the armour? Maybe something that you would have like done different?

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Hi Terry

About to glue the cover strips and the inside shim. I got myself the E6000 glue,

any tips before i start? I have got the clamps already, and have some ice cream sticks too!

 

Thanks

[pandatrooper[TK]]

This is a step by step guide for thighs, but the construction methods are exactly the same for other limbs. You can use this as a guide if you wish.

 

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Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[Hawkeye[501st]]

Hi Guys n Gals

Need help again. I am aiming for EIB, but I hit a bump!

I have attached 3 pics. Can i still mod this to have 3 rivets / snaps?

How do i do it?

 

Also can you send the best rivets or snap to buy? We have ACE Hardware here! but if there is other sites that ship international, i can buy it.

 

Need you help!. I have cut the top of the ab plate! and the site is curving downwards! Need your expert advice .thanks

[pandatrooper[TK]]

The snaps are not must haves for EIB, they are "should have'". You can use rivets that are approx. the size suggested buy the EIB guidelines, or use snap heads approx the same size. Some people use jean rivets too.

 

I'm confused as to why you cut the Ab plate at an angle like that? All you need to do with the AM kit put the ab / kidney section on, find out where they overlap, and make a vertical cut on both the Ab and kidney where you want the seam to be (it should be on your "side"), and they should match up just fine.

 

Judging by what I see, the front Ab section is the right "depth" if you didn't cut it already. I can just see a little bit peeking out the bottom. If you haven't cut the side of the Ab yet, use that as your vertical seam on the ab, and just cut the kidney to meet up with it. Then do your snaps on both sections.

 

However, I can't see what's going on with that angled cut you made. If you cut it at that angle all the way along that line - sorry to say, but you made a big mistake. You would either glue it back on and patch it from behind or something and maybe try and hide the glue seam, or buy another Ab piece.

[Hawkeye[501st]]

The snaps are not must haves for EIB, they are "should have'". You can use rivets that are approx. the size suggested buy the EIB guidelines, or use snap heads approx the same size. Some people use jean rivets too.

 

I'm confused as to why you cut the Ab plate at an angle like that? All you need to do with the AM kit put the ab / kidney section on, find out where they overlap, and make a vertical cut on both the Ab and kidney where you want the seam to be (it should be on your "side"), and they should match up just fine.

 

Judging by what I see, the front Ab section is the right "depth" if you didn't cut it already. I can just see a little bit peeking out the bottom. If you haven't cut the side of the Ab yet, use that as your vertical seam on the ab, and just cut the kidney to meet up with it. Then do your snaps on both sections.

 

However, I can't see what's going on with that angled cut you made. If you cut it at that angle all the way along that line - sorry to say, but you made a big mistake. You would either glue it back on and patch it from behind or something and maybe try and hide the glue seam, or buy another Ab piece.

 

Thank you. I was following an advice, from a FX user,but i should have known better.No love lost.

I havent cut the side of the ab yet, so I will use the vertical seem on the ab, and cut the kidney to me up and then do the snaps on both section. Thanks again Terry!!

 

So with out the rivets on the Left, would i still make EIB as its "Should haves"?

[tkrestonva[TK]]

I'm curious as to why it was recommended that you make the angled cut. Can you find out?

 

You don't necessarily have to replace the ab piece. Like Terry said, it is fixable, especially if you still have the pieces you cut off. But if you choose not to, it looks like you may be able to cover it up with the chest piece in place.

 

Put the cut piece back in place and use patch it from behind with a strip of plastic - you can cut a strip from one of the four ABS strips that came with the kit. Once it dries, fill the front seam with ABS dust/shavings, and dribble some Plastic Weld on the seam. The Plastic Weld will melt the ABS shavings into the seam. Afterward, maybe some light sanding and polish.

 

The side rivets are not required for EIB, they're more of a nice-to-have.