New NE build Tampa Fl

[Pencap510]

I want so badly to work on my armor

..

But spending all day at the beach.. And drinking my fair share is not good for NOT MAKING MISTAKES..

 

LOL

[Pencap510]

So question- I'm about to fix my ab split rivet placement and am curious for the process for filling the hole with abs paste.<br /><br />1- should I glue a small piece of plastic to the backside of the he first and then fill the remaining with paste? And <br /><br />2) how do I measure how much plastic to how much acetone?<br /><br />

[Pencap510]

Taking off just a little bit from my drop boxes to get them to the desired half inch mark- also trimmed off the excess "fat" from the top and bottom of my belt - <br />

[Pencap510]

Belt complete!<br /><br /><br />

[gazmosis[501st]]

Looking great! You may want to notch out the nylon webbing so it can move around the rivet and the drop box can stay aligned with the end of the belt.

[Pencap510]

I was gonna ask- how to keep the webbing from sliding back and forth- should I consider a light stitch to hold it in place - or notching it keep it still?

[Pencap510]

Think I've got my ammo pack on correctly - kind of a pain in the butt getting the hammer aligned for a "straight shot" but think it's alright - <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

[gazmosis[501st]]

Don't worry too much about stitching your drop box strap. They very seldom slide out of place once you are suited up. As for filling the hole for abs paste, yes back the hole up then fill it.

[Pencap510]

Marking my 20mm cover strips for my shins- my boots come in on Wednesday!!!! YAY!!

[Dark PWF[Staff]]

Congratulations! Looking good!

[Pencap510]

Like a pro!!I'm gonna go head and secure the front of the shins and adjust the back when the boots come in- (along with length)<br /><br /><br />

[Pencap510]

Hooray!! A small brown box arrived today! And I'm now ready to complete my shins and fit the thighs!!

Edited June 18, 2014 by Pencap510

[Pencap510]

So it might seem like little progress, but between 2 kids (and a third on the way) and traveling with work- I'm feeling pretty good <br /><br />I got my shins cut and have e6000 secured my inner strips. Letting them hold before I put my cover strips on. It feels really weird knowing that even with them secured, they will be able to withstand spreading to wrap around my calves. <br /><br /><br />

[Pencap510]

Little by little- 24 hours to wait and I can finish up my shins- and do a test fit with them. Front cover strips applied and drying

[Pencap510]

Never mind my nobby little knees lol- how does the shin fit look?

 

I used industrial Velcro and I can walk really well in them

 

[Pencap510]

With thighs held in place I can actually walk around quite freely.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Shins look good.

 

You won't really know how the thighs are until you get a strapping system that holds them up and when you get the whole upper half on. The fit is completely different when you have the ab, kidney, belt, butt, back, and chest plates all on and attached. There will even be a different fit if you don't have your chest attached to the ab.

 

The fit around your thighs looks good, but get all suited up in order to see if you need to modify the thighs at all.

[Pencap510]

I'm looking at a few different ways to secure my thighs.. There are only about a million, snaps, Velcro, suspenders, belts.. Not sure which gives the most ability to maneuver on the fly. I'm thinking elastic with Velcro held up by loop/belt

[Locitus[Admin]]

I'm looking at a few different ways to secure my thighs.. There are only about a million, snaps, Velcro, suspenders, belts.. Not sure which gives the most ability to maneuver on the fly. I'm thinking elastic with Velcro held up by loop/belt

Don't use velcro. But you have the right idea. A wide piece of elastic attached to the thighs, which loops around a waist belt worn under the armour works very well and is also how the originals were worn.

[Pencap510]

Snaps? (The originals were glued in but that seems to not leave a lot of room if the elastic fails, or needs replaced.. )

[Locitus[Admin]]

Snaps works to attach the elastic. The original thighs had the elastic glued directly to the plastic however.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Second on Mathias' statement.  Stay far away from velcro for strapping like the thighs.  The only places I used velcro on my entire build was to close the shins (didn't want to do the clasp system), some velcro on the tops of my boots to hold my shins down on them, and the straps for the drop boxes (the velcro is inside the boxes so I can adjust or remove them if I wish).

 

For my thighs, I used a garter belt with adjustable snap plates.  I bought mine from Vaderdave -  http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/26463-tk-thigh-garters-available-for-immediate-delivery/ .  I wanted a belt system that I could individually adjust the height of each thigh, and I have zero sewing experience (or a sewing machine) to make a set of these.

 

I went one better and install a second snap above the first one he provided, so I have two snaps on each thigh for extra protection.  It was suggested to place the snaps inside the thigh about 2 - 2 1/2 inches from the top, but I found that I couldn't adjust the thighs high enough with my kit.  I ended up placing the snaps about 8 inches down inside the thigh from the top.  I can still reach to snap them in, I'm able to adjust them up high enough, and two snaps on each gives me extra peace of mind.  I have walked around a bunch with test fits and walking around the neighborhood, and haven't had a snap on them fail yet.

[Pencap510]

Great feedback - I'm going the snap method on the inner thigh - and Velcro loop around the belt (so I can adjust height if thigh on the fly)

 

Next up- does anyone have good experience on molding the sniper plate? Mine seems to wide to give me a lot if surface to glue and think either boiling or head bending will be necessary.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Great feedback - I'm going the snap method on the inner thigh - and Velcro loop around the belt (so I can adjust height if thigh on the fly)

 

Next up- does anyone have good experience on molding the sniper plate? Mine seems to wide to give me a lot if surface to glue and think either boiling or head bending will be necessary.

 

I did not heat bend my sniper at all.  I made three glue contacts - one on each corner, and one in the center where the sniper came in contact with the knee.  Then I put two magnets at each glue point, and put clamps on top of the magnets.

 

Make sure to make some straight cuts on the ends of the sniper plate similar to this:  (Thanks to Redforce for the pics - I didn't take any of my sniper plate)

 

 

 

[Pencap510]

Just ordered my garter system from vader Dave- thanks for the feedback. Will post pics when arrive of how they fit