gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted September 29, 2012 Report Posted September 29, 2012 Looks great just one small thing your side rivets look a little large, I only say this as a trooper was asked to change his when he applied for centurion. Keep up the good work Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 5, 2012 Author Report Posted October 5, 2012 Definitely making good progress! I see what you mean about the but plate... mine does that a bit too. Butt's don't all sit just right, and it would help if you actually had some fat on your gluts... lol. You could possibly take a technique from the clones, and put a shim up the back of the butt plate that will hold it under the belt. I had to do this with my cod (mine's cut). You could also try trimming about 3/4" off the top of the butt and it might settle a bit better. Your back plate looks really low. Since I'm hoping you didn't glue the plastic bridges on the back, it should be easy enough to readjust it so it sits higher. At worst you can trim a bit out of the neck (not too much, maybe 1/2") and shove it higher up. Ideally you want the back plate's bottom edge to align with the top of the kidney plate's top edge. This might be an aspect of the FX, I'm not entirely sure. It would be better to see all this in person of course LOL. UPDATE HERE!!! Added strapping from biceps to forearm and fits really nice and snug. I trimmed about 3/4" off the top of the butt plate, added a couple of strips of foam to the inside of the kidney plate to add space to where it sits on my lower back and a couple more snaps to the edge of the butt plate and kidney to hold it in place better and voila! Butt plate is positioned a lot nicer and no longer rides up. (See photos below) Note: They are taken in the mirror so they are reversed) One thing I am trying to figure out is how to make my back piece sit higher up. I can readjust the shoulder strapping and minimize the gap, however I think if I do that, the back of the plastic shoulder straps will start hitting the top of the square on the back piece... Since I have to bring the chest and back closer together so the back sits higher, the back of the plastic strap would be resting lower on the back... So is it ok to trim the back of the plastic shoulder straps if this is happening? Any input? (See photo of back above in previous photos I posted) Also I noticed I really can't get these FX shoulder bells to stop moving around. I have not tried adding the inner elastic strapping that I've seen is connected to each shoulder bell and wraps around each bicep. Is this why they keep moving? I notice some troopers don't have that inner elastic strapping around their biceps. Any suggestion and input here would be nice. Once I figure it out I guess my next step is to fix this and the backpiece position. Also I can't find anywhere to buy cover buttons for my belt to cover the snaps. Is it ok just to paint them? Quote
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted October 5, 2012 Report Posted October 5, 2012 Whee! I'm traveling so hard to answer right away, but yes you can trim a tab or two off the back of the shoulder straps. For those bells, i suggest you pull them higher; this will situate them more securely over the curve of your arm. I believe the inner strap is not required for basic but it does help hold it in place. But what really matters is how you attach it at the top. Also there are some little inside tricks I've had to do to keep mine forward, like a thin black elastic cord connecting them across my chest (inside the chest plate, of course). I attached this cord to the straps holding the bell in place. You can also try using a "V" shape to anchor the bells (vertex on the canvas shoulder strap) but you might not need to if you raise them a bit. I'll be seeing you in a week, right? Save anything you think makes the most sense to get help with and move along, move along with any other easier stuff Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 5, 2012 Author Report Posted October 5, 2012 Whee! I'm traveling so hard to answer right away, but yes you can trim a tab or two off the back of the shoulder straps. For those bells, i suggest you pull them higher; this will situate them more securely over the curve of your arm. I believe the inner strap is not required for basic but it does help hold it in place. But what really matters is how you attach it at the top. Also there are some little inside tricks I've had to do to keep mine forward, like a thin black elastic cord connecting them across my chest (inside the chest plate, of course). I attached this cord to the straps holding the bell in place. You can also try using a "V" shape to anchor the bells (vertex on the canvas shoulder strap) but you might not need to if you raise them a bit. I'll be seeing you in a week, right? Save anything you think makes the most sense to get help with and move along, move along with any other easier stuff Thanks for the help Ingrid! Back to the drawing board for me. Gonna adjust a few things and give it another fit. Send me a PM of the exact date and time for next week so I can make a reminder. Thanks again! Happy traveling! Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 7, 2012 Author Report Posted October 7, 2012 OK! Moving along here! I added the elastic cross straps to the inside of the shoulder bells to keep them in place, and it works great. Then I readjusted the shoulder strapping from chest to back, minimized the gap by making a new strap and now my backpiece sits higher up, which I was trying to accomplish. I also minimized the gap of the shoulder bells to the shoulder strap so they are now in the right position. Did another test fit and now it feels comfortable and I'm able to move around now without anything moving around and out of place. Best test fit yet!!! (See photos below) Note: They are taken in the mirror so they are reversed) Next steps will be making a belt to hold up thighs, and attaching my holster to the belt. Still waiting on my TD clips to finish that. I need to figure out where to get cover buttons to cover the snaps on my belt, or maybe just paint them? Then install my Aker/Icomm into the chest. Also waiting on fans to install in my bucket!!! Looks like I'm almost there!!! Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Report Posted October 8, 2012 Ok so here it is! Constructed my thigh belt. two male snaps in the front near the buckle and holds them up great with just two elastic straps with snaps attaching. Just dont know what to do with the belt yet, which is keeping me from attaching the holster as well. Thinking I should make a new one with the extra one I have that came with my MTK kit that is sitting here. Yup. Just ordered a new white canvas belt from Trooperbay. Seems like the easier things are holding me back right now. Still waiting on TD clips as well. Aker/Icomm installation seems a bit confusing right now. On the bright side, My new test fit is looking good! See photos below!!! Note: They are taken in the mirror so they are reversed) Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 15, 2012 Author Report Posted October 15, 2012 UPDATE! Gloves from Karin arrived! also adjusted my belt, got rid of the FX one and switched to the one that came with my MTK kit and attached my holster. However I am going to move the drop boxes one more time. Also another test fit. About to install my fan kit into my bucket and icomm onto the chest plate. Tested out the sound with the wired mic and it sounds great! Still waiting on clips for my TD. I'm just eager to get 501st approved here so I think I'm gonna construct my own TD clips out of bankers / money clips. Just so I can take my final photos and submit them already. Thanks to Lady in White / Ingrid for the in person help / meeting this past Saturday. It was very informative and inspiring! Thank you Ingrid, I appreciate all your help! See photos below!!! Note: They are taken in the mirror so they are reversed) Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 17, 2012 Author Report Posted October 17, 2012 Ok so my clips never came from Jesse TK_LEPER. So I had to construct my own out of some bankers clips for the meantime. Worked out well. Also installed my Icomm onto the chest plate with velcro. Installed my Evilboy fan kit in my bucket. Adjusted drop boxes and cut my 45 degree angles at the corners of my belt. I'm done! Gonna post my final pics of me suited up later today. Quote
Sith Devildog[501st] Posted October 17, 2012 Report Posted October 17, 2012 Looks Great, Hopefully we can have an armor party soon in So Cal sometime soon Quote
FunkyTrigger[TK] Posted October 17, 2012 Report Posted October 17, 2012 May I ask what you are planning to connect to the 4 snap plates located on the inside of your chest plate? Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Report Posted October 18, 2012 May I ask what you are planning to connect to the 4 snap plates located on the inside of your chest plate? The two lower snaps are now removed but the two on top are to connect elastic straps from chest to back to help hold it in better place while trooping/walking around. Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 18, 2012 Author Report Posted October 18, 2012 Ok all done!!! Here Are my final pics I submitted to the SO CAL Garrison GML Nick. Woohoo!!! Next up I'll be building an MTK kit and going for Centurion! Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 23, 2012 Author Report Posted October 23, 2012 Looks Great, Hopefully we can have an armor party soon in So Cal sometime soon YES! Long Beach Comic Con? Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 23, 2012 Author Report Posted October 23, 2012 Here is one more shot. Quote
Rezablad3[TK] Posted October 23, 2012 Report Posted October 23, 2012 Well done Nate, looks awesome..... Quote
darthnayce1138 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Report Posted October 30, 2012 A couple of adjustments here, trimmed up my MTK chest and backplate and snapped it together. worked out great, especially with still having the FX shoulders, they dont fall back anymore with this chestplate. Feels a lot better! Woohoo! Quote
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