Side shims for EIB and Centurion Question

[TK-42779[501st]]

Oh, I see what you're referring to! Got it. Learned.

[troopermaster]

If you are going to have to shim your armour then I think it should look like it is shimmed and not try and hide it. I think the armour below should be acceptable but maybe just rivet the shim to the kidney so you only extend one part of the armour.

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You are never going to hide the shim no matter how good you try, so why not make it part of the armour? The real stunt suits had extra rivets down one side so I don't see what the problem is.

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You will always have guys who are too big for armour, so my advice is make it easy on them and simply pop rivet a shim to the kidney to close up the gap and have done with it

Edited January 13, 2021 by gmrhodes13
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[DudeSidious]

So whats the story about that armour ?

On 10/24/2012 at 3:58 PM, troopermaster said:

If you are going to have to shim your armour then I think it should look like it is shimmed and not try and hide it. I think the armour below should be acceptable but maybe just rivet the shim to the kidney so you only extend one part of the armour.

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You are never going to hide the shim no matter how good you try, so why not make it part of the armour? The real stunt suits had extra rivets down one side so I don't see what the problem is.

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You will always have guys who are too big for armour, so my advice is make it easy on them and simply pop rivet a shim to the kidney to close up the gap and have done with it

Ive seen those photos before,surely it was modded after ANH

Edited January 13, 2021 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021

[TK-42779[501st]]

I have PMed Tom to weigh in on this. After seeing many similar topics posted asking for guidance on this I think we need some sort of official definition on what is acceptable. I know myself, I want to get my kit and not have to shell out more hard earned money because I do something irreversible like riveting a side shim piece or do something that might not ruin the kit but might mar it permanently.

[BIDS[TK]]

I'd really love an outcome on this as well as I've got my RT-Mod and have an AP tomorrow. My plan right from when I first joined the legion was to build for Centurion from the start, get my basic approval, follow it up with an EIB, and then Centurion. I'd hate for this to be the thing that holds me up.

I've glued snap plates into the sides of the Ab/Kidney and have made short straps (as if I have the mythical 40" waist I've heard about) to connect them both. I made a couple of templates (heavy white craft cardboard) up for shims just so I could try on the torso and I was going to copy them onto ABS. I made them with enough extra on each end to match up to the velcro on my snap plates and then I drilled out holes so that the male snaps located into them (I'd planned to put female snaps in the final ABS version). This allows them to fill the gap and can be achieved without a permanent mod to the armor as the rivets for the Left side can be installed into the Ab/Kidney as they would normally be.

My plan has always been to loose weight, although I don't know if I'll get down to the 40" required to fit Robs armor without shims. With the shims attached in this way they can simply be replaced with shorter versions as you loose weight, and hopefully eventually discarded completly.

Just my 2c as a newbie.

Cheers

Craig

Edited October 26, 2012 by BIDS

[rhapsodyred99[TK]]

try the 30-32 inch waist you need for screen cast armor! I wear 36 jeans and 38 dress pants, my side armor on the RS leaves about 4 inches on each side, so I would need a 30 inch waist to fit.

 

Not many American Males are going to fit that anymore....

 

I challenge armor makers, or at least one armor maker to make a "big Boy Buck" for the kidney! make it 8 inches on each side longer than you normally would which should give most people plenty they can trim off to fit! I bet you would make a mint. I would buy 2 of them!

[Clamps[TK]]

here is my personal story re: side shimming....

 

I reached Centurion approval not too long ago. I had about 2 inches of gap on each side of my AP kit (curse that TK Pork Belly). I added roughly 2 " shim to either side to close things up for a nicer look. I connected the shims to the kidney on both sides, butt-end connection. I then used thin For-Sale sign material with E6000 to hold the pieces together, but keeps flexibility to the joint .I then added a layer of Black Gaffe tape for safety. while not pretty, but its hidden and it works.

 

Here are the two photos from my Centurion application that shows this. The angled gap at the top is because I am leaning back to expose the rivets or snap. sorry, I don't seem to have any internal photos of this.

 

 

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Edited January 13, 2021 by gmrhodes13
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[TK-42779[501st]]

On 10/27/2012 at 1:01 AM, chookaboom said:

here is my personal story re: side shimming....

 

I reached Centurion approval not too long ago. I had about 2 inches of gap on each side of my AP kit (curse that TK Pork Belly). I added roughly 2 " shim to either side to close things up for a nicer look. I connected the shims to the kidney on both sides, butt-end connection. I then used thin For-Sale sign material with E6000 to hold the pieces together, but keeps flexibility to the joint .I then added a layer of Black Gaffe tape for safety. while not pretty, but its hidden and it works.

 

Here are the two photos from my Centurion application that shows this. The angled gap at the top is because I am leaning back to expose the rivets or snap. sorry, I don't seem to have any internal photos of this.

 

 

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There have been quite a few examples given and than you for yours as well, the issue I am trying to address is if and how can we achieve what the CRL calls for exactly? It calls for a SINGLE visible seam line. As Locitus stated before, what people are doing to close the gap is creating more than one seam line, in your case you now have two seam lines per side. Hopefully Tom will drop everything that he is doing in his life to answer us. lol (Kidding of course....I know he is a busy guy....)

Edited January 13, 2021 by gmrhodes13
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[Clamps[TK]]

There have been quite a few examples given and than you for yours as well, the issue I am trying to address is if and how can we achieve what the CRL calls for exactly? It calls for a SINGLE visible seam line. As Locitus stated before, what people are doing to close the gap is creating more than one seam line, in your case you now have two seam lines per side. Hopefully Tom will drop everything that he is doing in his life to answer us. lol (Kidding of course....I know he is a busy guy....)

 

oh, my bad I was missing the point entirely then. I mis-interpreted the CRL seam to refer to where the shim lines up with the Ab, not where it is connected to the kidney. Now that you raise this point, it seems very obvious.

 

I look forward to hearing how this progresses. If there are good ways to accomplish a single seam, I would love to improve the look of my kit.

[TK-42779[501st]]

oh, my bad I was missing the point entirely then. I mis-interpreted the CRL seam to refer to where the shim lines up with the Ab, not where it is connected to the kidney. Now that you raise this point, it seems very obvious.

 

I look forward to hearing how this progresses. If there are good ways to accomplish a single seam, I would love to improve the look of my kit.

 

I honestly didn't think about it either until Locitus pointed it out. lol We will just have to see what the head honchos say. *sigh*

[RogueTrooper[TK]]

Hey All,

 

I have been looking this over and my true opinion is, that until there is an armor maker that makes a kidney plate large enough to take away the problem of having to shim, that the method or outward look that Charles (Chookaboom) shows below is perfectly acceptable. I am not going to make anyone go on a crash diet nor risk the problems of ruining or doing irreversible damage to their armor. If in the future they lose some inches from their waist, it would be easy for them to remove the shim and do the necessary detailing to maintain their artisan program level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 10/27/2012 at 1:01 AM, chookaboom said:

here is my personal story re: side shimming....

 

I reached Centurion approval not too long ago. I had about 2 inches of gap on each side of my AP kit (curse that TK Pork Belly). I added roughly 2 " shim to either side to close things up for a nicer look. I connected the shims to the kidney on both sides, butt-end connection. I then used thin For-Sale sign material with E6000 to hold the pieces together, but keeps flexibility to the joint .I then added a layer of Black Gaffe tape for safety. while not pretty, but its hidden and it works.

 

Here are the two photos from my Centurion application that shows this. The angled gap at the top is because I am leaning back to expose the rivets or snap. sorry, I don't seem to have any internal photos of this.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2021

[TK-42779[501st]]

Hey All,

 

I have been looking this over and my true opinion is, that until there is an armor maker that makes a kidney plate large enough to take away the problem of having to shim, that the method or outward look that Charles (Chookaboom) shows below is perfectly acceptable. I am not going to make anyone go on a crash diet nor risk the problems of ruining or doing irreversible damage to their armor. If in the future they lose some inches from their waist, it would be easy for them to remove the shim and do the necessary detailing to maintain their artisan program level.

 

Boom! There it is, brothers.

 

I feel a lot better now about this, I have been studying posts on here and buying everything I need to go Centurion right off the bat when my RT comes in and this was one of my only concerns. Thanks Tom!

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Locitus[Admin]]

Personally I think you're all making birds out of a feather. There has been no modifications to the shimming with the new requirements. The "single" seam line was already there, and while that may be the ideal, and we have seen some bad and some good examples, I think you are all overthinking it. I commended on alternative ways to shim that I think would look better, and if I needed to shim, that's how I would do it. But that's my personal opinion, not that of me as a staff member.

[TK-42779[501st]]

I would not have approved that for centurion.

Personally I think you're all making birds out of a feather. There has been no modifications to the shimming with the new requirements. The "single" seam line was already there, and while that may be the ideal, and we have seen some bad and some good examples, I think you are all overthinking it. I commended on alternative ways to shim that I think would look better, and if I needed to shim, that's how I would do it. But that's my personal opinion, not that of me as a staff member.

 

I was taking that first statement super literal. Lol I thought that was a statement made as a staff member.

 

Regardless, I have been studying the CRL in preparation for my build and I always try and do everything as best as possible so I might have driven myself crazy about that when my kit arrived anyway so I'm glad that we covered it now.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Locitus[Admin]]

My first statement is true though. I would not approve of that. But not for reasons like the size of the shim or his decision to use one big shim but for riveting it on both sides of the ab.

[TK-42779[501st]]

My first statement is true though. I would not approve of that. But not for reasons like the size of the shim or his decision to use one big shim but for riveting it on both sides of the ab.

 

Got it. Got it. Got it. lol I do have a habit of making little details into big things.

 

By the way, "making a bird out of a feather"? I have never heard that. Haha I like it.

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Locitus[Admin]]

I thought it was a common expression. Maybe not...

[rhapsodyred99[TK]]

would it be possible since I already have holes and split rivets in my Kidney piece, to add the part like chookaboom, but with the rivets for that side still in the kidney? Or would I need to move the rivets to the shim?

 

I am not sure I could fill those holes well, I would probably have to get a new kidney from RS, which may take a Loooong time.

 

Edited October 26, 2012 by rhapsodyred99

[Locitus[Admin]]

Do what you want, just do it nicely. You can also always try practising on filling holes on scrap plastic if you want to go that route.

[rhapsodyred99[TK]]

But but but... I wanted to use Elmers wood glue and silly puddy!

 

 

The larger the grit of sandpaper the better and smoother it sands right?

 

[TK-42779[501st]]

But but but... I wanted to use Elmers wood glue and silly puddy!

 

 

The larger the grit of sandpaper the better and smoother it sands right?

 

 

Don't forget the duct tape!!

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[rhapsodyred99[TK]]

oh right! I figured that went withought saying, you know the pink type to better blend

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

What's the the swedish word for "seam"? Maybe we have some sort of language barrier

 

-Eric

[Locitus[Admin]]

What's the the swedish word for "seam"? Maybe we have some sort of language barrier

 

-Eric

"Söm" is the word you're looking for.

Sent from my GT-I9300

 

 

[Clamps[TK]]

Mathias/Tom,

 

Tack/Thank You for your valued opinions and insight to this great question.