Trevor's TK build CAUTION: question heavy! [*ATA]

[Tesla Kinetic[TK]]

You are doing great! Much farther along than I am! I am stuck on how to size the thighs and calves!

[JLight[TK]]

For what it's worth, I think your progress is looking awesome! I am about finished with my ATA lid and am saving for ATA armor. But to be honest, after reading your threads, I am wondering if I can save headaches by spending more money. I too, am a perfectionist. Either way, no screen-used TK was "perfect" or "symmetrical". So I have to keep that in mind. But I will probably reach out to you when I start my build. Keep the pics coming!

[bigtrev503]

Small updates are still updates! I went to a local armor party and laid my suit out on the table.

 

 

 

 

People were really impressed with my work. They were looking at it like it was in a museum. Ever so gingerly picking it up and looking at it. That made me laugh, because at this point I toss the parts around and tell myself I can sand/buff any imperfections out later.

 

 

I talked to some local folk who have worked incredibly hard making a hyperfirm style E-11.

 

 

 

I fell madly and deeply in love with it. Needless to say, I am on the August list for one   I wouldn't be surprised if the THG props E-11 becomes the new standard. It is significantly cheaper than the other hyperfirms available, by the way. Golden Gate garrison just ordered 20 of them...

 

 

 

 

As far as actual progress, I have gotten the lenses into the helmet and the look great! It only took about 6 months to do it. Thanks again to John Danter for the lenses!

 

 

 

And lastly, a candid shot with Mr. Solo.

 

 

Yes, I am wearing my TK boots to get that realistic wear and weathering 

Edited August 12, 2013 by bigtrev503

[bigtrev503]

You are doing great! Much farther along than I am! I am stuck on how to size the thighs and calves!

 

 

Keep grinding, buddy. Just remember:

 

 

[bigtrev503]

Now I have another big concern. Not only is my left calf opening too tight because the ATA left is wildly different from the right, but also I tried to get clever with the closure method seen toward the bottom of the second page in this thread:

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11145-dashrazors-ata-incinerator-trooper-build-threadata/page-2

 

Here's me copying his pose to show I duplicated his method exactly:

 

 

 

My mistake is that this closure method worked for him because his kit is HIPS and mine is ABS, which is much more rigid. Instead of staying in place, it wants to pop open after a few steps. The left does it worse than the right, of course. I have to reshape my left calf opening and try to find a new closure method   I'm thinking white velcro or some kind of permanently attached piece of black elastic to pull the two halves together.

 

As for reshaping the lower opening of my left greave which do you recommend; heat gun, boiling water, blow dryer? I'm at a loss. I saw one thread where a guy submerged his two greaves in a tub of hot water and they relaxed into shape.

 

Here's how mine sit when open:

 

Left

 

 

right

 

 

I'm stuck on the greaves. Everything else is coming along just fine.

Edited August 14, 2013 by bigtrev503

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I had the same problem with mine, just used a heat gun on it, I heated both sides then applied some pressure on the closure and worked fine. You should do some practice with the heat gun on some scraps of abs as there is a fine line between heated and melted. Some just use hot water I have not tried that method as yet.

[Jancelot[TK]]

Likewise, I used a heatgun and pressure. Worked great.

 

 

[bigtrev503]

I'm putting this thread here for reference on my TD clips. I'll be making them. Somehow.

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/18746-osothebears-anh-ap-build-ap/page-5?hl=%2Bthermal+%2Bdetonator#entry297783

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Can't go wrong with those 

[bigtrev503]

Also putting this here.

 

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/19692-meanders-tk-build-ata/page-2

 

 

I'm gonna soften up my shins in their entirety in a big bucket of hot water. Hopefully this will soften them up enough so they will sit correctly on my boots. Also gonna use white velcro just to be safe.

Edited August 19, 2013 by bigtrev503

[bigtrev503]

I need a bit of advice on my belt. I am seeing conflicting measurements regarding where to cut on the ends.

 

I swear I heard 45mm from the last box, which is how I cut my inaccurate belt. However this diagram shows 1 1/2 inches from the last box.

 

 

http://i405.photobucket.com/albums/pp139/Billhag/TK%20Armour%20Help/MainKneeAmmobeltdims03.jpg

 

Which is more accurate?

 

Here's another thread in which TM himself says 40 mm

 

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24261-lemaxims-rs-pvc-anh-stunt-build-rs-wip/page-2

 

 

Which is it??

 

 

Here's what it looks lie marked at about 40 mm from each side. Placed next to the older belt for comparison

Edited August 28, 2013 by bigtrev503

[SCTrooper[TK]]

You be the judge, one looks 40mm and another say 45mm 

[bigtrev503]

In the first picture it seems to be the same width as the space between the boxes. I'll go 42.5 to be safe 

[SCTrooper[TK]]

In the first picture it seems to be the same width as the space between the boxes. I'll go 42.5 to be safe 

The one thing I noticed,  they have in common is the button covers are right next to the edge of the belt.

[bigtrev503]

Yeah, I've cut the corners, cut and fitted the inner and outer drop boxes, and am polishing up the edges of the button covers. 

 

 

They're not glued on, just placed there to make sure I'm doing everything right

 

 

 

My MAIN problem is the same as it has been: This stupid left shin!!!

 

 

Still too oval! I've tried the blow dryer, I've tried hot water. Maybe more hot water treatments will help...

 

Til then, I shake my fist in anger

 

 

 

Seriously, did anyone else have this hard of a time? I measured both calves exactly the same and the left one barely fits around my ankle and if I move it pops right open, whereas the right is perfectly fine.

 

What do I do???

Edited August 29, 2013 by bigtrev503

[bigtrev503]

All right, I've had it with the ATA shins. This is ridiculous. The left is so wildly different than the right it's a joke. I followed the measurements exactly

 

 

 

I just spent an hour boiling the thing, burning myself, and fighting it to shape into a circle with NO luck. I changed the shape of it a little bit but obviously not enough to make a difference

 

 

 

 

 

 

I feel like throwing in the towel, I'm this close to giving up. If I can't make this work, I'm gonna sell the whole thing and get a TM kit

 

Just remember, you get what you pay for, and anything that says "affordable" in front of it is probably low quality.

Edited August 29, 2013 by bigtrev503

[bigtrev503]

Here you can see the right shin is 9 cm in the middle

 

 

 

The left is not even 7cm across

 

 

 

Where do I apply the pressure? I'm already starting to warp the back seam with all this heat

 

Edited August 29, 2013 by bigtrev503

[bigtrev503]

Any advice on this?

[bigtrev503]

All right, back to the stove to boil some more...

[bigtrev503]

I reshaped it some more with the boiling water. That E-6000 sure took a beating before softening up a little. Only the parts that were boiled the most came up a little. The CA glue + accelerator crap snap crackle popped off a while ago. I don't recommend the CA glue on any parts that have to flex or bend. Biceps, thighs and forearms are fine, but shins, snap plates, and the shoulder bridges should be glued with E-6000 unless you want them to snap off.

 

 

This also answers my question about whether the armor could deform in the heat of the sun. Not unless it's as hot as boiling water (100 °C or 212 °F)! 

 

The shin will take some creative velcroing to sit right. More on that when the velcro arrives. For now, belt and shoulder bridge assembly!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Sorry didn't see your post earlier. I'm not sure with the boiling water method as I've never used it, I did mine with a heat gun, seem to have more control, warmed both sides the applied downwards pressure on the front of the shins. It just eased out the sides, you can feel when it's moving. Looks like your backs are getting pretty flat, just keep an eye on that

[bigtrev503]

If you go back a few pages you"ll see where I dropped my knee ammo pack in boiling water for about a minute and I was able to soften it enough to form it around the thigh. I should have done that for the sniper plate too.

[bigtrev503]

Ok, crisis averted. I'm not gonna sell my kit on ebay for $14.99   

 

Had to have a drink and calm myself lol 

 

Onward!

 

I had been upset because very early in my build I got webbing for the boxes. Now I can see that is unacceptable. I didn't want to take another trip to the fabric store so I converted my 2 inch elastic (left) into 1 inch elastic (right)! Tutorial below:

 

 

 

TUTORIAL: I cut it in half

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

If you run along the cut edge with a lighter it will help stop the elastic from fraying

[bigtrev503]

If you run along the cut edge with a lighter it will help stop the elastic from fraying

 

 

Oh, I did that. I've also seen loops on origial belts that get all snagged and frayed from rubbing on the snap, so I'm putting the cut edge toward the inside for added accuracy!