AP armor arrived today... so shiny!

[niugnep[TK]]

So, my AP armor was delivered today and it was like Christmas in August! (Thanks, Mark!)

 

As I'm getting a ton of advice from these forums about what armor to buy (and now) how to build this shiny plastic, I figured I'd start my own thread. Also, I'm absolutely petrified to cut into it... so I'm delaying the process by starting this thread. It's so shiny and I really don't want to make a mistake.

 

Luckily, I have this website and the local garrison has been really helpful. Another TK even took me out to lunch just to show me his armor (AM build) was set up and how he put it on.

 

So, anyway... here's some pictures (that's the best I could fit it all on my poker table... can't wait for that picture) of me opening the box and inspecting everything to make sure it's all there. I guess I really need to get over this fear now and start the trimming process.

 

I'll have to update once I actually start making some progress. I'll be using TK-Dmian's guide a lot for the first stages!

 

Thank you whitearmor.net!

 

Cheers,

David

[Masterstumpy]

You've got yourself a nice kit there I've only just started my build as well. Looking forward to your build.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

I'm making 3 armors just like that.

such fun!

 

it's really helpful if you get a handheld belt sander. eats through plastic like butter and

sands edges quickly and sharply!

 

Edited August 6, 2011 by TK Bondservnt 2392

[RedSpecial[TK]]

Another AP build ! great stuff .

Good luck with your build, I hope you have a blast

Edited August 6, 2011 by RedSpecial

[2155TK[TK]]

Congrats!

[ZeroRoom[TK]]

Looking forward to this thread. Got me an AP lid on the way so I'll be keeping an eye on your build

[Dancin' TK[TK]]

I feel ya, on this one! I'm kinda scared to cut into mine, too!

Edited August 6, 2011 by maliagwin

[1mpulseS0D]

Looking forward to see another AP build here! Good luck mate!

[sith_241]

I love me some AP action. And i love my AP suit of course too!

[R2-E2]

Mines supposed to be here on Wednesday and I can't wait!!

[niugnep[TK]]

I've gotten over my free of cutting! It just took me setting up a station and getting a nice cold beer to steady nerves.

 

My workspace. Beer selection for today is Miller High Life. Dmian's post up for quick referencing. (sorry the pictures are orange... I forgot to white balance... which is kinda embarrassing, given my profession).

 

 

Per Dmain's suggestion, I started with the basic bits. Thermal detonator, drop boxes, and hand guards. That's the pile you see the to upper right of the card board. Thermal detonator trimmed. Just need to be sanded and the tube painted grey and it'll be good to go. You can't see it in the picture too well, but the curvature of the cut line is a little weird... I'm going to have to tighten that up later when I get around to finishing this piece. Still... kinda like a quick reward to see this complete.

 

 

I'm using painters tape to mark my cut lines. Also, I've noticed that this gives me a little protection if I accidentally miss. As Dmian did, I started with the calves as the lines are pretty clear. I've since switched to electrical tape though per a suggestion I saw on the web, as it is easier to curve slightly.

 

 

Some lines though, I felt more comfortable marking with a pencil... especially on the bits that were curved and not easily taped.

 

 

Right inner and outer trimmed (but not sanded)

 

 

Like Dmian's, they match up pretty well once you adjust for the warping.

 

 

 

Next up is the sniper plate. Very delicate. I worked from the inside as well, marking my lines with a pencil, and was really careful about scoring enough before trying to snap.

 

 

and completely trimmed (again not sanded).

 

[niugnep[TK]]

Okay... on to the biceps. Which frankly has me a little baffled... probably because it's one of the parts that you never see good photos of in already completed armor... more on that a little further down. The lines are pretty faint and actually kinda confusing (which maybe you can see in this photo... several pencil marks).

 

 

Anyway, I cut them into two piece to make it easier to work on and gave a return edge to the piece (although I'm not sure why... as I'm pretty sure that bit will be covered by the shoulder bell).

 

 

 

Okay, here it is cut.. and this is where my confusing sets in. I noticed one side of the inner bicep part was higher than the other, so I wanted to see how this matched up with the outer bicep before just cutting away like a madman. Man, am I really glad I did that!

 

In this photo you can see basically what I'm talking about... the near edge is shorter than the corresponding far edge (bottom right).

 

So, I trimmed some extra ABS away so I could match them up. Once I trim that excess on the right piece up, they match up find on the top.

 

 

But on the bottom, it's a different story... If I would have cut where my pencil marks were, I would have been very unhappy. On the right side, my pencil mark *was* where the indention is... That's not even close!

 

 

Is that indention just wrong? Should I instead go with the curve at the bottom of the right piece? I'm really confused and without being able to really see a good picture of how this piece is cut... I'm a little stuck.

 

My confidence shaken for the day, I decided to take a break until I could post up for help. The rest of the stuff I have to cut will be a lot more visible.

 

Another question for the group... I notice some of the indentions allow for a return edge and some do not. I already think I screwed that up slightly with the calve part and didn't allow for a return edge on my right up part where it meets the knee. I'm wondering how big a deal this will be.

 

Thanks for listening and hopefully this will not only help me, but someone else in the future.

 

Cheers,

David

[ZeroRoom[TK]]

Hi David,

 

I had some return edge confusion of my own and started this thread here:

http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=15664&hl=return+edges&fromsearch=1

And Joe R put me on to these great LFL archive shots here:

LFL archive photos

They are a great resource for getting a sense of where to and and where not to do return edges. As everyone reminded me at the time though every OT suit was put together differently and in somewhat of a rush so there's definitely room for personal choice and most of all comfort.

 

On another subject - this is a great build thread so far. I look forward to seeing the rest of it. keep up th stood work:D

[niugnep[TK]]

Lucas, hi and THANK YOU. That's an immensely helpful resource. Question though, what did you do with the bicep pieces? They're the ones giving me the greatest IDK moments.

 

And thanks everyone for the encouraging comments. I'm really glad there is such a great community for this obsession.

 

Today's beer: Abita Purple Haze

 

Okay, on with the show. Yesterday I jumped around a lot, so bare with me. I started with the shoulder bells. The lines were pretty visible and more importantly, the shape is very simple. I marked them in pencil first and then used electrical tape to mask them off. The opening I just did free hand. This was definitely the right piece to start with, it gave me a boost of confidence for the rest of the pieces (again, I'm saving all the sanding for last).

 

 

So, next I moved on to the forearm. I slightly more difficult part and HIGHLY visible, so I was a little nervous about this one still. I did the same technique though. Draw a pencil line, mask the straighter parts with electrical tape and score and snap.

 

[niugnep[TK]]

As you can see, I'm aiming to leave a larger (better to cut to little than to much) return edge here. First I was trying this without masking, as this curve part is hard to mask. But all it took was one slip with the blade to realize that I better mask it all (which slowed me down significantly).

 

 

Snapping off a curved section is not the easiest, so I'd split it down the middle, which made it much easier to snap.

 

 

In this image you can see my slight slip on the right side of the right most forearm piece. Very annoying.

 

 

I didn't complete the back of the forearms as (yet again) I'm having a little difficulty understanding the score markings and exactly where I'm supposed to cut. I think I'll tackle that today though (as this post is about yesterday).

[niugnep[TK]]

So this is where I kinda start to skip around. I was having some confusion reading the score lines of the back forearm pieces, so I skipped to the thighs. Standard practice, I started by marking my lines with a pencil (even those these lines are pretty damn visible). Masking the curve parts is horribly time consuming. Ugh.

 

 

The left thigh trimmed. It matched up pretty well. Not a perfect match, but I think I'll be able to work it into a better match.

 

 

And the front. Same problem.

 

 

The right leg is horribly off, however. I'm not sure why this would be the case. But, it is... more on that later though as I just started on that today and I don't have pictures yet.

 

Thanks for reading and if you have any advice or suggestion, please don't hesitate to add your .02 cents.

 

On to my other problems today... but this morning at least I got lexan scissors!

 

Cheers,

David

[RedSpecial[TK]]

Im no expert here mind but after just completing my own AP build I ran into the same issue with a few of the parts.

Try lining them up from both the top and bottom and you'll see that there will be a configuration where they line up a good deal better, although I did still have to do a little creative trimming here and there when all was said and done.

 

bear in mind though that the cover strips will hide some of the discrepancies .

As for trimming the curved parts Instead of scoring the whole curve I found that it was easier to just score a small section then score down vertically from there to the edge and snap it off.

It takes less time in the long run and minimises the chance of scoring over the line on curves.

 

You're off to a great start though David Keep up the good work

[niugnep[TK]]

Good to know about the "creative trimming"... I'm almost done with major trimming. Sanding and return edges will be the next step very soon.

 

I've done a little work since the last post, but I got hired for a production, so probably won't have anything new to report til Sunday.