f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Finally the box arrived..excited....nervous...put on the imperial march...checked it was all there....... .....then left it in the box for 3 weeks Truth is ive waited so long for this (not just 6 weeks list time) that I was just to plain scared to mess any of it up. Well after some supportive words from the wife (she threatened to sell my armour if I didnt get on with it!) I got to work. First up was the hand plates. I figured if theses went wrong i'd be able to replace them easy enough. After a bit of work with the lexan scissors...wow they made things easy...and a clean up with a file I had some quality handgaurds I created a velcro base and use some eyelets and elastic to attach then to my gloves. Full of a new found courage I set to work on my next piece. Figured i'd do something else easy so I decided to build the helmet It went together pretty easily more thanks to Terrels quality moulds rather than my abilities! I painted on the tears, traps teeth using Humbrol paints just waiting on my sign vinyl to arrive so I can stencil the tube stripes. I lined the inside of the helmet with upholstry foam and made a suitable chin strap to keep the helmet in place when I move around. Figured id not bother with a complete liner as I did on my ROTS clone bucket as this helmet will hopefully be trooped in!! Im pretty dark skinned so there wasnt any need to paint the inside of the helmet but I did add some velcroed screen behind the teeth just in case. Stay tuned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted July 7, 2011 Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Nice build so far! Clever idea for the hand guards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2011 Sonnenschein Cheers, will be in touch for some hand gaurds down the line as I want to go swat. Rubber though as im allergic to latex. Are your hand gaurds relative in size to the stock plastic gaurds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Mike, my hand guards are a tad bigger than ATA. Have you ever tried black rubber gloves before(I think they're required for SWAT)? If I understand correctly, they contain traces of latex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith_241 Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Rubber gloves are required for SWAT on MEPD. The correct rubber gloves can be purchased at Home depot or any other hardware store. They have textured finger tips. You may be able to get a similar black glove in Nitrile if you are allergic to latex. Nitrile gloves are generally a latex replacement, just not sure if they are offered in black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 What a coincidence! I just found a source of black nitrile gloves. They identical in appearance of the rubber gloves I have. Let me know if you need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith_241 Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 What a coincidence! I just found a source of black nitrile gloves. They identical in appearance of the rubber gloves I have. Let me know if you need them. Make sure they arent the thin, disposable exam gloves Karin. Those would last about 5 mins trooping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 I have a pair in hand. They are identical. I will take a pic later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 I have a pair in hand. They are identical. I will take a pic later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith_241 Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Left: standard blackrubber glove, may contain traces latex Right: Nitrile glove, without any latex Now, back to the build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Sonnenschein Fantastic! come payday Im going to need a set of those plus hand gaurds. Clearly you are "Queen of Trooper Hands" not just the gaurds. Was getting concerned allergies might prevent me from going Swat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith_241 Posted July 8, 2011 Report Share Posted July 8, 2011 Karin Those look excellent. Definitely EIB/CENT worthy! Good find! Hopefully the glue sticks as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnenschein Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 Mike, thanks for the compliments! Dan, the glue sticks just fine, no problem there! I'm really glad I found these, just by accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 Ive trimmed out the main upper section of my armour. I finished off the edges with a dremmel grinding wheel on half speed. This left me smooth edges and allowed me to trim openings to my body shape. I figured I would strap up the upper sections to get a closer look at where the build would lead me. (Plus I really wanted to try a lot of it on together ) The armour straps together using mostly snaps and elastic strips to give some flexibility of movement. To enable me to dress more easily and stop my armour from moving around too much I made a harness to go underneath. The harness contains female poppers and I add more as and when is neccessary. Since the photo bellow I have added elastic for the shoulder bells. I will also be adding the voice wiring and suspenders for the thighs. Anyway a bottle of wine or 2 later I convinced my missus to help me with a test fit.........after a lot of jokes about my cod piece and butt plate we managed to get everything pretty much secured or taped to me.......Excuse the hair And thes side excuse the chest drop, the elastic was a little to strong for the cheap masking tape Lastly a cry for help. I will have to shim the sides a little but I am a bit unsure where the 6 rivets on the left hand side will go. I have marked where I think they go however this will leave a large gap between them because of the shim. are they in the right position? All comments (except about my hair) are greatfully recieved. Stay tuned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordietrooper Posted July 17, 2011 Report Share Posted July 17, 2011 you might want to trim a little more off the side of your chest plate the curved part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Small build update...mostly cause I like seeing pictures of myself in my armour Finally got the back section sorted and the straps on the chest so at least now its a "clamshell" and I can get it on and off on my own. Chest is a bit small on me.....drawback of being a "talltrooper" but think my ammo pouch and pauldron will help cover a lot of the upper black area. whilst looking over the photos I've discovered that my neckseal is infact a piece of junk and will be looking at getting that changed as soon as I can. Recieved my "sandy" sniper plate and buttons today so I guess its time to work on those legs!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith_241 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Small build update...mostly cause I like seeing pictures of myself in my armour Finally got the back section sorted and the straps on the chest so at least now its a "clamshell" and I can get it on and off on my own. Chest is a bit small on me.....drawback of being a "talltrooper" but think my ammo pouch and pauldron will help cover a lot of the upper black area. whilst looking over the photos I've discovered that my neckseal is infact a piece of junk and will be looking at getting that changed as soon as I can. Recieved my "sandy" sniper plate and buttons today so I guess its time to work on those legs!! Your shoulder straps look too long. The chest plate is riding way too low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Your shoulder straps look too long. The chest plate is riding way too low. Being quite tall, mostly long in the upper body; the chest piece is really small on me. I have minimal overlap on the AB plate. Any advice on how to solve this would be gratefully recieved..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Ok hopefully chest is sorted now raised it as high as I can same with the AB plate (gonna need some lycra shorts under my suit ) Hopefully this will be high enough. Im presently using velcro and elastic to keep the chest overhang to the AB not sure if this is a good long term solution, does this hold up well trooping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locitus[Admin] Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I would replace all velcro with snaps. Chest is looking better now btw. But I'd try to raise it even a bit more if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sith_241 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 That looks much better. At that height, the TD accessories (shoulder pouch and pauldron should cover it ok.) And no, velcro does not hold up well. Especially on the TD, since you will have a pauldron, shoulder pouch and backpack straps moving around there you will probably be dropping your chest all the time. As Locitus mentioned, snaps are the way to go. Its very nice having a suit that does not need to be babied when worn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted July 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 Quick update on the build. Got my pauldron sorted and spent most of yesterday dying my boots. I used Dylon shoe colour and they came up with a nice even colour. As its a rub in dye and not paint it doesnt crack. Still got to order my canvas belt and glue in a few more snaps. Finally got a place to put all the completed pieces. My kids call it DAD2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toreurke Posted July 25, 2011 Report Share Posted July 25, 2011 Man, you have lost weight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f0xtrooper[501st] Posted August 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) Quick update: Took sith and Locutis's advice and went to 100% snaps! Just some comfort issues with the cod and butt plate to do. Waiting for my Icomm and Belt to arrive and then on to the weatherin'. Can almost see the finish line..... Edited August 5, 2011 by Silv8rfox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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