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Posted

Looking good mate , i would personly trim some more return edge of the sides and the bottom of the but piece , i would say about another 3-4mm at the mo it looks to much and has no flex and will be prone to crack maybe only a surgestion mate , other than that looks like you have it all in control :)

Posted (edited)

looking good grant,how exactly did you get the flare on the forearms,its a nice touch? :duim:

 

Not my doing mate - TM's sculpt did all the work!!! I just made sure I could get my hand through lol!

 

Looking good mate , i would personly trim some more return edge of the sides and the bottom of the but piece , i would say about another 3-4mm at the mo it looks to much and has no flex and will be prone to crack maybe only a surgestion mate

 

No Stephen any suggestions then fire 'em off - that's a good shout looking at the pic. I'm gonna be dremmelling top rtn edges of all clamshells one they're glued to make sure they match up - I'll put this on the list

Edited by TK9477
Posted

Looking good! How did you determine where to place the side rivets? Is there a set distance from the edge?

 

I was wondering the same thing when I started researching the build. On the TM ab section there is an indented line about 10mm from the edge (2nd pic) and a similar line on the other side too (3rd pic) - I checked out other TM builds and the rivets went straight through it so I used it as a 1st reference. I then guessed from other pics the vertical height - looks about 20 mm, did the same at the bottom then measures the middle one dead centre.

 

After that I just place the rivets on the kidney plate to mirror the ab plate :)

Posted

More progress over the weekend...some good :D some bad :(

 

Last weekend I painted the buttons for the torso using humbrol 15 & 5. I decided to attach them to the torso using superglue as the plastic was slightly bent & If I used E6000 I'd need a good clamp to keep it flush - which I didn't have.

 

1btns.jpg

 

Next up was my first mistake - I was unpclamping a thigh when I saw this...

 

3thighmist1.jpg

 

2thighmist.jpg

 

I'd used some pretty old abs goo to add strength (which in hind-sight wasn't really required) to the parts of the thigh that weren't covered bt the internal cover strips...

 

4goo.jpg

 

Unfortunately this old goop must have been fully laced with acetone - that coupled with the compression from the clamp distorted the finish to the thigh. After crying in my beer for a little while I realised it was on the right thigh & this section would be covered by the battery pack....stoopid mistake & a bit of a let off :blush:

 

Next I started on the td.

 

I figured out the drill holes...

 

tdPhoto5.jpg

 

 

Attached the brackets (bought here on FISD)...

 

tdPhoto4.jpg

 

tdPhoto3.jpg

 

Fitted the end caps (heat gun as per TMs instruction) and detail (CA glue)...

 

tdPhoto2.jpg

 

Here was my second mistake - I hat heatgun work and was so pleased to get the end caps on without incident, I forgot to check the spacing & left the gaps between the caps & detail a little thin. The CA glue meant this is here to stay...until it falls on the floor a few times and pings off so I can trim it down.....in the meantime I'll have to live with it.

 

Saturday was reletivley uneventful.

 

I fixed the sniper plate on the left greave..

 

Photo5-4.jpg

 

Photo4-5.jpg

 

 

And the battery pack - this was a bit of a monkey due to it's springy nature and although TM warned about the fiddley nature of fixing it with the correct rivets, I was determined to get it done...

 

Photo3-4.jpg

 

Photo1-6.jpg

 

Photo2-6.jpg

 

Al that was left to do was to paint the rivets white.

 

Next job, the belt!

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

So, crackin on with the belt...

 

I lined it up to mark out where the poppers will go

 

4-1.jpg

 

Banged in poppers

 

3-1.jpg

 

Next I marked out the belt for full trim and to line up drill holes

 

2.jpg

 

 

Then I just placed on the belt and pooped the holes through.

 

I deceided (very fortunately as it worked out....my belt was too short!!!!!) to use chicago screws to attach the belt & it's cover just incase I felt the need to change the canvas belt at a later date. After drilling the holes in the belt I glued in the female chicago screw so I could gain purchase - tried it out, then cover with the plastic caps.

 

On to fitting the drop boxes - the trick mfor me was watching out for the angle of the dangle - I lined up the top of the box with the bottom of the plastic belt and placed and made sure that the elastic was between the snapper & chicago screw so it doesn't go wandering off when I'm mincing in the public domain!

 

Photo4-6.jpg

Posted

Finally I can get on with the strapping.

 

And this is what I've gone for.....however after a test fit I moved a few of these around as the chest needed lowering as it was sitting onto of the abs rather than just covering it and the butt needed to be tihghter to the kidney. By the way, the double snappers on the chest will not be being used for strapping but I may use them for the speaker system.

 

Photo1-7.jpg

 

I've also took a leap of faith and deceided to listen to my more experienced brothers and use the traditional lazzie band to keep the back bridges attached to the back plate

 

Photo3-5.jpg

 

I'm still not convinced but I'll give it a try before I get the velcro out

 

Hmmmmmmmn

 

Photo2-7.jpg

Posted

Stick with the lazzie band and forget about the use of velcro!

 

Would have been more screen accurate if you had leveled the snaps on the belt all the same.

 

Are you going for centurion? Then you will need drill out the snaps on the sniper plate and instead use glue for fixing them, also you could have lowered the knee ammo belt a little.

 

For the drop boxes, have you riveted the correct side? My TM drop boxes back needed a more cut down to fit into the front facing drop box half.

 

Could it be that you glued the cover strip on the left thigh (and maybe because off this also on the right) to the wrong side!

The open side needs to point to the inside and yours looks like it points to the outside.

 

All things I mentioned are easy to fix and behalf of this your armor looks good :)

 

 

Posted (edited)

Stick with the lazzie band and forget about the use of velcro! I'm not sure - but I'll decide after a few troops

 

Would have been more screen accurate if you had leveled the snaps on the belt all the same - not sure what you mean?

 

Are you going for centurion? Nope

 

For the drop boxes, have you riveted the correct side? My TM drop boxes back needed a more cut down to fit into the front facing drop box half - yes, the back (smaller tab)...that's right isn't it?

 

Could it be that you glued the cover strip on the left thigh (and maybe because off this also on the right) to the wrong side!

The open side needs to point to the inside and yours looks like it points to the outside. - not sure what you mean here, I have cover strips on both thighs...front, back, inside & outside

 

All things I mentioned are easy to fix and behalf of this your armor looks good :)

Edited by TK9477
Posted (edited)

Stick with the lazzie band and forget about the use of velcro! I'm not sure - but I'll decide after a few troops

 

Would have been more screen accurate if you had leveled the snaps on the belt all the same - not sure what you mean?

--------------

the snaps that holds the canvas belt to the armor and the snaps thats holds the canvas belt to the ammo belt should be centered in the middle of the belt all in one line.

 

th_ffe4c5a3.jpg

--------------

Are you going for centurion? Nope

 

For the drop boxes, have you riveted the correct side? My TM drop boxes back needed a more cut down to fit into the front facing drop box half - yes, the back (smaller tab)...that's right isn't it?

 

--------------

if it is the smaller side of the drop boxes then all is fine.

--------------

 

Could it be that you glued the cover strip on the left thigh (and maybe because off this also on the right) to the wrong side!

The open side needs to point to the inside and yours looks like it points to the outside. - not sure what you mean here, I have cover strips on both thighs...front, back, inside & outside

 

-------------

sorry i do mean the open cover strip on your shin with the sniper plate and not your thighs, those open sides should point to the inside.

 

th_19ca2d35.jpg

-------------

 

All things I mentioned are easy to fix and behalf of this your armor looks good

 

Edit: Paul is much to fast with his answers :)

Edited by Eldrik
Posted

I just think it's funny that Jens said "lazzie bands". He'll be "fiddlin' de lechy" next. Di do do dat dere dough don't di dough! :D

 

Ian Rush says dat if Jens doesn't drinch enough milch, when he grows up, he'll only be good enough to play for Ach-rinten Stanley! :P

 

Sorry for the hijack, as you were, ladies and gents ...

Posted (edited)
Di do do dat dere dough don't di dough! :D

 

Dee-do dee-do....that pic reminds me to get booked in for a new perm

Edited by TK9477
  • 1 month later...
Posted (edited)

Okay back on the road after a replacement belt....

 

As I've two blasters I need to holsters that can be interchangeable - so I went for the popper method....however.....the leather was a bit thick....

 

wip1.jpg

 

So I had to counter-bore the hole to thin it out a bit & hey presto, it worked!!!!

 

It was just then a matter of riveting the male snappers onthe indide of the belt.

 

wip7.jpg

 

wip5.jpg

 

Next was to strap the arms...

 

wip6.jpg

 

And finally I wanted to add the screws where the original brackets where fixed into the suit - purley for asthetics (like the side rivets) rather than for practical purposes..not in all the places just the real visible ones.

 

wip2.jpg

 

And so finally with baited breath I present you with TK9477

 

C1.jpg

 

C3.jpg

 

 

WIPb.jpg

 

WIPa.jpg

 

Please all feedback from you experts on how this baby looks?

 

My issues - does the helmet sit a little high? I can reduce the padding

 

Big issue - the top of the right calve REALLY digs in to my knee...any tips? Is there room on the length of the calves to trim off an inch?

 

Cheers all

Edited by TK9477
Posted

Looking good! I did the same thing with my holster. Riveted poppers to the belt and counter sunk the female snap because of the strap thickness.

 

Yeah, your helmet does look like it's sitting a bit high.

 

Yes, if you need to trim it, go ahead. Is it digging in at the front or back of the knee? You might just need to do the v-shaped cutout in the back.

Posted

Looking very nice there Grant!

 

I agree with Mathias. The helmet does look a bit too high on your head so reduce the padding if possible.

 

I can see your knee cap on the top of the shin in one of the photos so you might want to reduce the length a bit. You don't have to take an inch off though. I would start with half an inch first and see how that feels. If you look at some of the original trooper ankles you can see these have been cut short and don't have the original shape to them. If you do cut them, I would do it in a curved way rather than try and keep the original shape. I'll see if I can find a good photo to show you what I mean.

Posted

Never picked up on that bit of trimming before. I know Steve (SW1) always trims his shins at the bottom so he'll be able to chip in with some pointers no doubt.

Posted
I can see your knee cap on the top of the shin in one of the photos so you might want to reduce the length a bit.

 

That's the one - front, inside right.....thanks for the help on this.

 

Bucket padding will be reduced.

 

Anything else?

Posted (edited)

Did you move the rear cover strip on the left shin from the inner to the outer part?

 

It looks as though it is still on the inner part.

Edited by troopermaster
Posted

Did you move the rear cover strip on the left shin from the inner to the outer part?

 

It looks as though it is still on the inner part.

 

Okay eagle-eyes!!!

 

I got lazy on that one.......more homework lol :salute:

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