My AP build

[bearings[TK]]

I did some test fitting in between trimming them off, I think they're fine for me with both removed. If I need a little more room, I can maybe do an inner strip to help support the gap. Here's a taped up test fitting of one side with both ridges removed and ends butted together:

 

[bearings[TK]]

"I have enough clamps." -Nobody ever

 

[bearings[TK]]

Also, here's a picture of my Bass Amsterdam boots.. they still need some touching up (more white on the fabric, less white on the soles), but so far so good. Hopefully they hold up over time.

 

[gazmosis[501st]]

Fashion world WATCH THE HELL OUT!!!

[bearings[TK]]

AW YEAH! They can't hang with my white boots

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

great looking boots!

[bearings[TK]]

So after 24 hours I inspected my glued armor pieces... Mostly ok except that the heavier clamps on the forearm caused a bit of drifting. Good thing E6000 comes apart easily enough... 6 out of 8 cover strips were fine, that's a win right?

 

I have things cleaned up and ready to be re-glued tomorrow, when I'll have more clamps coming in from Amazon

[DarthDadio[TK]]

I found clamps for $0.99 at Home Depot the other day and bought 10.  Wish I had picked up more.  I am running into the same thing where I am reworking strips because of gaps.

[bearings[TK]]

I saw a deal on Amazon, 10 clamps for ~$8... So I have 30 clamps arriving tomorrow! Nothing fancy, just the smaller plastic/spring clamps, but should be fine for my purposes.

[Spycee[TK]]

I also had drifting problems, it's hard to put the clamps right when that happens.  I reclamped very slowly, while maintening the stripe with the other hand, and used magnets to help a bit.

[Sly11[Admin]]

I find that once you clamp a couple of strips of the non coloured painters tape stops the drift from occurring. Also known as masking tape, or you could use cella tape just no colour incase of glue and colour bleed.

 

 

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[Sly11[Admin]]

Just run it across the cover strip and onto the two haves and it will hold the strip in place.

 

 

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[bearings[TK]]

Thanks for the advice, I'll give that a shot. I was already using masking tape on top of the strip just to protect it from the magnets, so I'll do a little more to help the strip stay put.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

Thanks for the advice, I'll give that a shot. I was already using masking tape on top of the strip just to protect it from the magnets, so I'll do a little more to help the strip stay put.

on forearms it's best to do one side at a time.

 

the tape suggestion is what I use, and I use white duck tape, novus polish takes off the glue nicely

[bearings[TK]]

Still cleaning up E6000 boogers and putting arms and biceps together, and now I have plenty of little clamps. The biceps should be all done after this round. Forearms need one more round for the other side. Taping the sides has helped, thanks for the tip Andrew and Vern!

 

 

Question about the Thermal Detonator.. it's supposed to be 7.5" long, but my end caps barely fit over the ends of the pipe which makes mine a little more than 8". The pencil line in the photo is about where the cap comes to, should I trim the pipe some or just sand the ends of the pipe down to make the cap fit more tightly?

 

[I'm Batman[501st]]

You could always did the end caps in a hot bath. That will soften them up a bit to allow them to push on more.

[Tusken RTT]

I filed down the pvc some on both sides to get the caps to fit better;  AP kit and I had the same problem.  Also took a few mm off of the overall length of the tube.  

I did the connection of the caps with elastic to allow me to store some things in the TD tube.  

[Spycee[TK]]

What do you mean with elastic ?

[Tusken RTT]

I saw it on the tutorials here;  superglue the endcaps with a single piece of elastic to hold the caps on.  You have a compartment now for a little cash and your keys! 

[Spycee[TK]]

Ohhh, good idea ! But I wouldn't use that space for something of value, it's too easy to lose or to be stolen.

[bearings[TK]]

Updates from after the Thanksgiving break:

 

Got my replacement mic tips from Keith, they're awesome:

 

 

Started on strapping, here's a quick test fit with the shoulder/bicep/arms just loosely hanging with some tape. My left side was adjusted a little better than my right.

 

 

My wife is pretty patient and helpful, but I wanted to be able to test fit things more quickly without waiting for her.. so I had her wrap me in duct tape to make a mannequin instead

 

 

Which looks like this right now, I want to add in some more support structure. It stands on it's own without armor, but not with armor:

 

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Nice duct tape mannequin! It should be very handy when it comes to strapping. I want to make one for ages now, but always keep pushing it back...

[bearings[TK]]

One more pic with some added PVC support inside:

 

 

My dog totally freaked out at it, so I guess that means it's pretty scary and real looking 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, looking good so far

[bearings[TK]]

Here's some more random progress photos.. waiting for E6000 to cure on my thighs and shins. Still haven't started on my belt or neck seal, which is going to be a limiting factor pretty soon.. so I guess I better go buy some fabric!

 

 

Edited January 2, 2015 by bearings