trooper12's RT-Mod ABS ANH Stunt Build

[trooper12]

I have been waiting a year to get my kit and received it a few days ago.  The kit is high quality and although I am excited I am cautious to start cutting.  Thankfully, I have a lot of support from the Canadian Garrison as well as the great resources from FISD.

 

One change from my kit to other RT-Mod kits that I've seen on FISD is that Rob was able to accommodate my request not to overlap the joins which are a standard part of his kit.  I am aiming for Centurion level status and I expect that not having the overlaps may make it a bit easier to meet the butt join requirement.

 

I am going to detail my build here for posterity, in hopes of getting some help and to contribute to the overall FISD community of builds.

 

Many thanks to my friend Steve (aka WideAMG; aka squeeky) for getting me hooked onto this new world of white armour.  More to follow...

 

Rod

 

[gazmosis[501st]]

And your adventure begins!!

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

Moar RT mod!

 

Squeaky's style of peer pressure is hard to resist I'm sure. It must be the way he struts around in that RS of his. You're in good hands up in Canadia for sure. 

 

Don't hesitate to post here or PM me if you need help. 

 

-Eric

[Huntzman]

Congratulations, Rod !! Welcome to the FISD and good luck with your build !!

[Izzy]

I can't wait to see some progress pictures Rod, congrats!

[Tolo[TK]]

Congrats buddy!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Awesome news, looking forward to the build

[trooper12]

For my first task, I thought I would start off with something easy by building snap plates.  In researching options, it seems webbing provided the strength needed with the flexibility to contour to the armour.  I talked to a Canadian Garrison member Mike B known on this site as 'JulioTheGeek' for about an hour and a half on various topics.  Thanks so much for your time Mike !!  It really helped a lot.  He directed me on what I needed.

 

I went to Fabricland and purchased 5 meters (probably far too much) of 1 inch polypropylene material for the webbing as well as a scribe.  It cost $1.70 / meter and the scribe was $6.  I then went to Tandy Leather (www.tandyleatherfactory.ca) and purchased a package of 100 black 'line 24' snaps which comes with sockets, caps, studs and eyelets.  I also purchased a snap setter kit which in total was ~ $50.  I will probably end up using only about 30-40 snaps so I'll have leftovers to help others who need them.

 

 

I cut the 1 inch webbing into thirty 2-inch pieces.  I saw quickly how they can easily frey at the ends, so I passed a flame across each of the ends to slightly melt them.  It only takes one or two quick passes to seal them.

 

I then took the scribe and 'eyeballed' the center and poked a hole directly into the middle.  With the webbing still on the scribe I pushed an eyelet onto the scribe and then just pushed the webbing onto the eyelet.  It was really effortless.

 

 

I then placed the stud on the eyelet and placed the whole thing on top of the anvil.  Using an ordinary hammer and the setter, it was easy to hammer the stud onto the eyelet. 

 

 

Next is cover strips and cutting front thighs in prep for cover strips

Edited November 13, 2014 by trooper12

[Darth Aloha[Admin]]

.  I will probably end up using only about 30-40 snaps so I'll have leftovers to help others who need them.

 

This got an actual laugh in an out loud manner. No one ever has left over snaps  

 

-Eric

[Tolo[TK]]

This got an actual laugh in an out loud manner. No one ever has left over snaps

 

-Eric

Ha! You speak the truth.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[trooper12]

Thanks for the welcome and support.  I really appreciate it!  Here are my first questions that I could use help answering. 

 

So I am prepping my thighs for cover strips.  I am going with 20mm covers on the thighs and calves and 15 mm on the biceps and forearms.  I measured 9mm from the raised edge on each side of the thighs.  I used an ABS strip to match the contour of the armour and marked the cut line with a pencil.  I used 9mm instead of 10mm per side as I have seen pictures where the cover strip doesn't completely cover the raised edges and wanted to avoid that.  I read this on WideAMG's build.  Thank you for the idea sir.

 

 

I then cut on the lines with scissors.  It's a bit slow going with the 0.9mm ABS thickness but I tried the dremmel on a spare piece of ABS and didn't like the outcome.  Better to be safe and slow.

 

 

So here are my questions.

 

1.  Should I worry about any gap between the thigh pieces at the front knowing that the cover strip is going to hide it anyway?  Or should I try to sand them down to match flat against each other

2.  Should I go ahead and cut the raised edge at the bottom of the thigh piece now or wait?  I mean the cover strips don't cover this section correct?  And what if there is a gap when I am done.  I have seen this on other armour and wish to avoid it.  Should I cut close to the marked line, see how it goes when fitting the back of the thighs and then trim later?

3.   I am planning on having both inner and outer cover strips.  Is it best to E6000 the inners first or the inners and outers at the same time?  What about E6000 to half the inner first (one side of the thigh) and then the other half later and then add the outer?  Is there a benefit either way?

 

Thanks for any insights you can offer.  Once again, I really appreciate it.

 

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

1.  Should I worry about any gap between the thigh pieces at the front knowing that the cover strip is going to hide it anyway?  Or should I try to sand them down to match flat against each other

2.  Should I go ahead and cut the raised edge at the bottom of the thigh piece now or wait?  I mean the cover strips don't cover this section correct?  And what if there is a gap when I am done.  I have seen this on other armour and wish to avoid it.  Should I cut close to the marked line, see how it goes when fitting the back of the thighs and then trim later?

3.   I am planning on having both inner and outer cover strips.  Is it best to E6000 the inners first or the inners and outers at the same time?  What about E6000 to half the inner first (one side of the thigh) and then the other half later and then add the outer?  Is there a benefit either way?

 

Thanks for any insights you can offer.  Once again, I really appreciate it.

 

1. It's off course better if they lay flat against each other, but if you have a small gap between them, it won't affect the strength of the bond.

2. Correct, the cover stripe doesn't extend up to the bottom ridge. However, if you don't cut this small overlap you have left before gluing the cover stripes, i'm pretty sure it will mess with the alignment and gluing step. If you have a gap, on the right thigh it doesn't matter as it will be hidden by the ammo knee belt, but it will give you the occasion to practise the trimming before doing it on the left thigh. And if ever you were to have a gap on the left thigh, you could always make some ABS paste to fill it, even if it doesn't really necessitate it.

3. No consensus on this point. I don't know if there's one way to do it better than another.

[trooper12]

Thanks Germain.  That was very helpful.  I trimmed the bottoms off the thighs and the gap isn't as bad as I thought.  Since I measured to 9mm per side instead of 10mm for a 20mm cover strip, the small gap should have no effect on the final look.

 

So my next step is to make cover strips and attach to the thighs.  I attached my sheet of ABS to a 2x4 piece of wood I had lying around.  I measured out 20mm on the ABS, clamped the metal ruler and ABS to the wood and used a heavy duty exacto blade to cut the strips.  The 0.9mm ABS takes many scores of the blade to cut through.  Once I was ~ 3/4 through the ABS I stopped and slowly bent the strip.  There was no snap but rather a bend.  I slid the exacto blade down the bend and the strip fell off the base ABS easily.

 

 

 

I decided to go with inner strips in addition to the outer cover strips.  This is primarily for extra strength and also to practice on the inner strips first.  This will hopefully facilitate an improved outer strip quality.  I started out by measuring the inner strip length and cut the length shorter than the full length required.  I expect I am going to have to trim the top of the thighs as the lengths are different (why??).  I then realized that the inner strips need to have a reduced width from the outer strips to fit inside the lowered edges inside.  I trimmed the inner strips to a 17mm width from the previous 20mm.

 

I then practiced rounding off the strip corners.  I used a metal file and manually held it at a 45 degree angle to the strip corner.  After about 20 or so swipes per corner, I was happy with the distance into the ABS.  I then used a medium course sanding block to finish off the edges.  When I do the outer cover strips, I'll follow up with a fine sanding block as well.

 

 

I then sanded the entire back side of the strip with the medium course sanding block and here is how it turned out.

 

 

Now time to attach to the thigh.  I sanded the inside thigh where the strip will attach (for extra adhesion when using the E6000).  I drew a line down the centre of my 17mm strip and checked for sizing by lining up the pencil line with the edge of the outer thigh.  I then added a generous amount of E6000 to the inside thigh, spread it with a popsicle stick and placed the strip on top.  I lined up the pencil line with the edge of the outer thigh and clamped it underneath popsicle sticks to assist in spreading the pressure along the strip.  I added some earth magnets and now, I'm in wait mode as the E6000 cures for 24 hours.  I started by gluing just one side as I am still learning/testing.  I may glue both sides concurrently next time.  There was a lot of E6000 oozing out the sides.  I trust this will be easily cleaned up once dry and then I'll attach the other side of the thigh to the inner strip.

 

This could be a slow process as I don't have many clamps... so either one piece at a time or get more clamps.

 

 

[trooper12]

Okay, so it's either time to laugh or time to cry.

 

I glued the inner strips into my armour thighs, let them cure and with great satisfaction put them side by side to admire my work only to find this ...

 

 

I would be completely embarassed except to say that I do have a rationale for why I did this.  If you look closely you'll see there are notches taken out of the left thighs (bottom middle).  The kit came this way; so after noticing that the other sides didn't have the notches, I didn't think twice about lining up the notches and gluing them (E6000).  Now when I take them apart and take a piece from each thigh and glue them together, I am going to have a notch on each side.  This doesn't seem correct either.  I am wondering if Rob (RT-Mod) made a mistake or is it supposed to be this way??

 

So then I check my shins and notice the same thing.  The notches line up (top right shin but harder to see in this pic unless you look top down) so I put them together but upon comparison the shin on the left is much more bulbous which suggests the same problem as with the thighs.

 

Edited November 19, 2014 by trooper12

[CRISTONAMO]

Thats a funny mistake! Just pry the strips off and re glue them to the correct piece, it will not damage the armor.

[gazmosis[501st]]

If you have access to a hobby heating iron, you can massage those notches out

[trooper12]

Okay so I've pried the thighs and shins apart and put the correct pieces back together.  I now have a notch on each thigh and shin that I need to deal with.  For the thighs at the bottom, I am not sure whether to trim the bottoms to match.  It would leave a larger section without a return edge.  If I tried the heating iron approach, the raised edge at the bottom would be smaller and I'd have to worry about uniformity.  I am not sure what to do.  For the notch at the top of the thighs, I will most likely let the cover strip hide the notch from the front but will still be viewable looking down and from the side.

 

 

The shin notches are less visible from the front and back; although, I expect I am going to have to deal with them too at one point.  I would appreciate people's thoughts on options and what you would do in my position.

 

[87ninefiveone]

I don't think that notch is a mistake. If the kit is meant for overlap construction rather than butt joints with cover slips those notches would have to be there in order to create the overlap for gluing.

 

Nicely done so far by the way looking forward to the rest of the build!

[Tolo[TK]]

I don't think that notch is a mistake. If the kit is meant for overlap construction rather than butt joints with cover slips those notches would have to be there in order to create the overlap for gluing.

 

Nicely done so far by the way looking forward to the rest of the build!

What he said.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[trooper12]

Thanks guys and I agree. I emailed Rob and he said the same.

 

My issue is that I won't be overlapping and so need to solution how to remove / hide / fix the gap the notch leaves. I guess I don't have exhaustive options. Either trim around, invest in heating and moulding or ignore it. Not sure which to choose I need to give it more thought.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Get yourself a hobby iron if this bothering you. They are usually around $20 and are miracle workers.

[Tolo[TK]]

Thanks guys and I agree. I emailed Rob and he said the same.

 

My issue is that I won't be overlapping and so need to solution how to remove / hide / fix the gap the notch leaves. I guess I don't have exhaustive options. Either trim around, invest in heating and moulding or ignore it. Not sure which to choose I need to give it more thought.

Ignore it. You won't see it when everything is done.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Tapatalk

[Tusken RTT]

I'd just hit that notch and the parts abutting it with a nail file, to smooth and round it off with the other curvature of the thigh.  Will look perfect from the outside.  

[trooper12]

Thanks for your responses gentlemen; I really appreciate your perspective.  It helps.  For the notches, I've decided that the only one worth considering is the thigh notch that will be above the sniper plate and that I will deal with that at a later date.

 

So i've moved on to the next step and started sizing the thighs.  I cut the rear outside raised edges to 9mm on each leg in prep for cutting and closing the thighs completely.  After that, I'll add the cover strips on the front and back.

 

 

 

[trooper12]

I've started working on the strapping to connect my back/kidney/butt pieces.  I marked off the locations for the straps in pencil on the ABS first then sanded the 2x1 inch areas with a sanding block/sponge.  I applied the E6000 to the ABS (spread with a popsicle stick) as well as the strap itself.  You need a lot of clamps/magnets for this task.  I couldn't get the job done in one go.  After waiting a day, I checked the straps and one of them was off a bit.  In taking the strip off to re-apply it, I was impressed at the strength of the bond.  No worries about it coming off accidentally.

 

 

Also, in preparation for strapping the front, I pre-filled the inner cavities in the lower ab piece that will otherwise be problematic.  I cut some extra ABS to fill the space, sanded it then glued and clamped the pieces.