Ricks AM Armor

[Shank_O_Potomus]

That's a good looking bucket Rick!

[Thxboy]

Paint on the ears looks great! See I knew you had a steady hand.

[Starfox2010]

Ok so I hit a snag on the forearms, I don't know what it was but I cut everything the same size.

My right side is bigger than my left, and my left is looking like the shape of a tube.  I know its fixable just would like some suggestions.

 

Here are some pix:

 

All pieces comparison

 

 

 

inner side comparrison

 

Joint Comparison

 

 

A lot of room on the right side.

 

 

 

Left Side

[maxsteele[TK]]

Let me see if I understand what you're saying - are you saying that you used the same measurements for each piece?

 

If that is the case, what you want to do is cut the pieces to fit your body.  The left and right forearms are shaped differently.  That's just the way they are.  You'll possibly need to cut more from one arm than the other arm.

 

If you haven't already done so, you trim the front pieces of each forearm to 7.5mm on the raised or straight edge that you'll lay the cover strip down on.  This makes a 15mm cover strip sit half on one piece, half on the other piece.

 

Once that's done, tape those two pieces together, then wrap the pieces around your forearm.  When you find a good fit from your wrist up to your elbow, tape it off,  and remove your forearm to make sure you can still get your hand out.  Now that you know the extra you need to cut off, use a ruler or another measuring tool to match up the cut in the front to where it will be straight across in the back.  Mark at the wrist and elbow ends on your overlapped pieces, and that's where you're cutting.  Then you lay down another 15mm cover strip, and your forearm is complete.

 

I'm not sure how AM marks where the cover strips should go, but here's what the front cover strip area on my NE kit looked like before I put down the cover strip.  I had already measured and cut so it was 7.5mm on each raised end:

 

 

 

 

Next, I wrapped it around my forearm, found a good fit, and this is how I marked where I was cutting:

 

 

See how the cut lines are directly across from the front cover strip cut?  And I mark the same spot on both pieces, as well as marking it on the wrist side in the same fashion.  Then I drew a connecting line down the length of each piece from the wrist mark to the elbow mark, and that was my cut line for each piece.

 

And finally, a finished forearm:

 

 

 

[Starfox2010]

AM doesn't have a cover strip area.  So I found that I kept cutting down uneven areas so I asked my pops for help since he's a jack of all trades.  he suggested a filer and it got me close enough for the cover strips as far as I could tell.  im gona give the o'l magnet, tape and clamps a go to see how they look, then post pics before I start gluing.

 

I see that you've been helping all the AM crew a lot, Ron.  Just want to say thanks for your help.

[Shank_O_Potomus]

AM doesn't have a cover strip area.  So I found that I kept cutting down uneven areas so I asked my pops for help since he's a jack of all trades.  he suggested a filer and it got me close enough for the cover strips as far as I could tell.  im gona give the o'l magnet, tape and clamps a go to see how they look, then post pics before I start gluing.

 

I see that you've been helping all the AM crew a lot, Ron.  Just want to say thanks for your help.

Yes, unfortunately there is no defined cover strip position

 

And thank you Ron!

Edited August 7, 2014 by Shank_O_Potomus

[maxsteele[TK]]

Not a problem guys!  I asked hundreds of questions making my build, and received a lot of assistance from the guys here.  I'm happy to relay the answers I received.  

 

I honestly don't know how to handle the measuring / cutting if there is no marked area for the front cover strips.  I hadn't really seen any tips regarding that.  I'm curious how that should be measured and cut.

[Starfox2010]

I'm getting ready to glue everything on the left forearm but before I do so I wanted to ask some questions.

 

One of the sides (although not the best cuts) doesn't give me any problems and looks to be ready.

 

my questionable cutting

 

What it would look like if I started gluing with the cover strip.

 

Ends

 

Ok so here's my problem:

 

The other side doesn't join curved, it joins at a slight angle.  I was able to join everything with some force but am worried it would come apart after I glue it.

 

Here is what it looks like when I join the bottom cover strip with the clamps and magnets 

 

Should I do it anyways and see how it turns out since I'm gluing it with E6000? or is there a way to shape the plastic into a curve?

[Manzilla]

Hey Rick,

Did you cut any off of the dimpled side of your forearms or did you just cut off from the underside? 

[Rystan]

I'm getting ready to glue everything on the left forearm but before I do so I wanted to ask some questions.

 

One of the sides (although not the best cuts) doesn't give me any problems and looks to be ready.

 

my questionable cutting

 

 

What it would look like if I started gluing with the cover strip.

 

 

Ends

 

 

Ok so here's my problem:

 

The other side doesn't join curved, it joins at a slight angle.  I was able to join everything with some force but am worried it would come apart after I glue it.

 

 

Here is what it looks like when I join the bottom cover strip with the clamps and magnets 

 

 

Should I do it anyways and see how it turns out since I'm gluing it with E6000? or is there a way to shape the plastic into a curve?

 

Questionable cuts?..that's why we have cover strips

 

For the slight angle join, maybe try softening it up with a hair dryer or heat gun just prior to gluing/clamping/magnets?

 

Question: Are you doing the inner and outer cover strips at the same time?  I just did the inners on one side..but at this rate it'll take me 4 days per armor piece. (inner, outer, inner outer)...Ugh.

 

 

Hey Rick,

Did you cut any off of the dimpled side of your forearms or did you just cut off from the underside? 

 

Hi Bryan, I know you asked Rick, but I figured I'd chime in too...I cut equal amounts from both the inner and outer pieces.  Hopefully it doesn't make the cover strips appear too close to the dimples.

[Manzilla]

Thanks Mike

[Starfox2010]

Hey Rick,

Did you cut any off of the dimpled side of your forearms or did you just cut off from the underside? 

Yea I cut from both of them.  when you overlap them, you could see what you need to cut.  unfortunately for us there's no cover strip area like the other armors have, so I suggest cut half of what you plan on trimming and do a little at a time.

 

Questionable cuts?..that's why we have cover strips

 

For the slight angle join, maybe try softening it up with a hair dryer or heat gun just prior to gluing/clamping/magnets?

 

Question: Are you doing the inner and outer cover strips at the same time?  I just did the inners on one side..but at this rate it'll take me 4 days per armor piece. (inner, outer, inner outer)...Ugh.

 

 

 

Hi Bryan, I know you asked Rick, but I figured I'd chime in too...I cut equal amounts from both the inner and outer pieces.  Hopefully it doesn't make the cover strips appear too close to the dimples.

Ill try messing with pieces I have cut already and see what it looks like bending with heat.  just a little scared being my first armor, tend to be over careful with pricey toys lol.

 

Answer: Im not sure, with this side I think I'm going to go your rout the long way, however I've seen pictures of it being done from the inner part of both sides  then the outside. If you try to do all at once, you might have pieces shift off place because of too much glue in its gel state.

[Starfox2010]

While I wait for my forarm to glue, I decided to work on the left shin.  Working on the left shin turned in to the whole limb   .

Since the shin and the thigh had too much plastic for me to see roughly where I will need to be more or less, I cut out 1 inch.

 

Here are some picks of my leg pieces taped together.

 

 

Looks like I will need to cut a good amount off the top, I can't bend my leg.

 

 

Back side

 

The knee

 

and Side view

 

 

 

 

[Shank_O_Potomus]

While I wait for my forarm to glue, I decided to work on the left shin.  Working on the left shin turned in to the whole limb   .

Since the shin and the thigh had too much plastic for me to see roughly where I will need to be more or less, I cut out 1 inch.

 

Here are some picks of my leg pieces taped together.

 

 

Looks like I will need to cut a good amount off the top, I can't bend my leg.

Yeah inorder to bend my leg, I had to cut off about 3/8" from the top

[CRISTONAMO]

Before both of you cut off the top of the leg and mess up the shape of your thighs wait until you have you AB and COD fully strapped to you so you know where you can place your legs. You have alotta room between your shin and thigh it can be lowered slightly to fix it without modding the shape of your armor.

[fuumantroop[TK]]

Almost done I think. Testing the visor and the frown screen, need to paint the screws white, clean up the vocoder and the ear paint a bit more and install the S trim.

any tips on cleaning the paint to make it look cleaner?  Also any comments/critiques?

 

Front

 

Left Side

 

Right Side

To clean it up, you can use small amounts of paint thinner. What kind of paint did you use? Whatever brand it is, I would use their paint thinner. Basically dip a fine tipped brush into the paint thinner, and brush over what you want cleaned up a little at a time, then wipe it up with a clean cloth. Thats what I had to do and it worked great. If you clean up a little too much, just have your paint handy along with the brushes for touch ups

[fuumantroop[TK]]

Btw, did you cut out a 5th hole on each side of the frown?

[Starfox2010]

Before both of you cut off the top of the leg and mess up the shape of your thighs wait until you have you AB and COD fully strapped to you so you know where you can place your legs. You have alotta room between your shin and thigh it can be lowered slightly to fix it without modding the shape of your armor.

I figured there should be something up since im 6'2.  but I cant bend my leg much  what is the lowest you could bend your legs on your armor?  if you take a look at my 4th pic "The Knee"  thats pretty much as far as it goes   .  ill wait though.  thanks for the heads up.

 

Btw, did you cut out a 5th hole on each side of the frown?

Yes but I hear thats a no-no.  There was lots of confusion (4 teeth on each side 5 holes, and 4 teeth 4 holes) from the hype of building the helmet.  I am leaving it as is until I im ready for approval.  I don't think its a difficult fix.  

[Manzilla]

I have to agree with Cristian. You have a pretty big gap between your shin armor and thigh armor. I think you will find that once everything is put together your thigh piece will not ride that high. I am 6' and had an FX armor in the past. I believe the sizing is somewhat similar, being that it is made by the same people, and I did not have to trim any off the thigh piece on the FX.

[Manzilla]

By the way, here is a pic of me in my FX to show what I am talking about.

 

[Starfox2010]

OK, the only reason I thought I had to trim was because I had trouble going up stairs with the armor on just one leg.

 

I looked like this poor girl going up stairs:

[Rystan]

OK, the only reason I thought I had to trim was because I had trouble going up stairs with the armor on just one leg.

 

I looked like this poor girl going up stairs:

 

I think that's more of a problem for you than anyone else around, especially if you looked like her

[Starfox2010]

Ha, I think i would have every single Star Wars armor hand crafted to my figure and free of charge if I were a chick and looked like her.

[Starfox2010]

And just like that, my shins are here!

 

[Manzilla]

Yeah, I received mine right away too. Great service by Mighty Tank!