russellr2d2[TK] Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Posted January 22, 2015 On to the chest & back pieces. Drawing a pencil line where I think I should cut....hope its right! I want to leave a bit of a side to the chest/back pieces so they "look real" or have some depth. More than just a return edge though. I can always trim it off later if needed. Here I have about 1/4" or so on the sides. I did the same for the back and then scored with my x-acto knife. SNAP! I don't know about you guys but pretty much ALL of my final shape and line is determined by the sanding. The score and snap deal only gets roughly there. I like to snap off the plastic outside of where I want to end up and sand down to my final line. Loads of plastic dust hits the floor here! Sides look like this. I round off the edge and corners so they are soft to the touch. Looking up under the chest piece at the bottom edge. The neck cut out. Neck line. Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted January 22, 2015 Report Posted January 22, 2015 (edited) Nice Job! Final touches for me it was either the Dremel or B&D mouse sander Edited January 22, 2015 by ukswrath Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) THIGHS: Starting on the LEFT thigh the right side follows same procedure. Marking and scoring with an Xacto knife. Then "walking" a wide pliers across the score line rocking it back and forth to split the plastic. The pencil line down the front of the thigh leaving 10mm to each side for a final 20mm cover strip. After this line is scored and split off with the pliers I like to even up the line using this method with sandpaper flat on my table and scoot the piece back and forth to sand the cut line perfectly flat. This makes a really nice seam between the two halves of plastic. This makes the seam flat and helps the cover strip lay flat. The magnets I am using are great! 1/2" x 1/4" I use CA glue to attach ONE SIDE of the inner strip to speed things up. THEN I glue the halves together using E6000. This way if I do have to pull things apart I can pull the inner strip off one side and get at things. The inside cover strip goes in with magnets all along the way. I will not put on the outer strip until I fit the thigh to my leg and close up the back with it's inside strip. When everything fits well I will glue on the outer cover strips and it will be final. Cant have too many magnets! I have a dozen of the 1/2" dia ones. Get thick magnets 1/4" ...not the 1/8". Here is the thigh with the front glues up on the inside only. I'm loving the flat seam! Here is a quick fit test. I think I will need 25mm in the back these are tight against my leg (not squeezing though). I have to hold it up a bit or it slides down but the fit is flush to my body suit. It is hiked up as high as I can get it. *Do you guys recommend cutting in the top notch shape for Centurion or is it necessary?? I can get two fingers laying flat under the plastic, Knee length. I cannot really pull them up any higher...is this OK??? The slight mismatch of the bottom edge will be ironed out later. Its fairly skin tight but not squeezing. Edited February 12, 2015 by russellr2d2 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted February 12, 2015 Report Posted February 12, 2015 Looks great. You can trim the return edges if you need to. My thighs are kinda big so I only have about 3/16" return edge, some areas less. Don't trim any more shape to the thighs then they already are. Armor shape differs between builders, this is a minor detail when it comes to EIB or Cent. I also wouldn't worry about the lower offset either at this point, your outer cover strip will help with the visual. For future reference, align return edge areas like this first. Those are some big magnets, have you been bitten yet? "We got a bleeder" hahaha Keep up the good work Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted February 12, 2015 Report Posted February 12, 2015 It's hard to judge the position of your thigh without the torso and shins in place to refer to. Looks good to me though. The notch on top of the left thigh isn't required for Centurion, but if you feel up to, i'd say go for it. Pandatrooper had done something similar back in the days and it was quite good. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11836-how-to-make-thigh-tops-anh-style/ 1 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted February 12, 2015 Report Posted February 12, 2015 It's hard to judge the position of your thigh without the torso and shins in place to refer to. Looks good to me though. The notch on top of the left thigh isn't required for Centurion, but if you feel up to, i'd say go for it. Pandatrooper had done something similar back in the days and it was quite good. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11836-how-to-make-thigh-tops-anh-style/ Good info there Germain. Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 12, 2015 Author Report Posted February 12, 2015 (edited) Thanks guys! I'll think about the top notch shape first if it is not a requirement or a popular item. These magnets are just right! Not bites yet from them but have already chipped a few because they snap together so hard. It is hard to keep them apart. Then once stuck together you have to slide them apart. Edited March 16, 2015 by russellr2d2 Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Posted February 13, 2015 Trimming the back plate: To me this looks like the "TOP" or BOTTOM ???? PHOTO #1 TOP OR BOTTOM? At each side of this piece the plastic curves up. I plan on ironing this down flat after the piece is trimmed. Should this be flat here ??? Should that flap be ironed flat down and become the return edge? Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted February 13, 2015 Report Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) Well trim it about 1/2" away from the corner edge first and see how much of a edge to have to work with. Edited February 13, 2015 by ukswrath Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Posted February 13, 2015 (edited) A test fitting of my thighs. NOTE: I do not yet have the back of the thighs glued up. There is overlapping plastic of the untrimmed edges. This makes them a little tight with the overlapped plastic in back and all the tape sticking them together. But a good first look I think. I feel that if I leave a 25MM cover strip joint on the back of the thighs they will fit well even more loose than they are now because there will be no overlap on the back. a) The plastic is snug on my thighs. Is this normal or do you guys have air space all over the front and sides of your thighs? These are skin tight on me and there is no space between the plastic and my body suit. Air flow around the front and inside of the thighs? Virtually none. I am guessing this is common and part of the suffering we TK's go through for the empire. Also I notice the thighs like to turn out to the sides and the cover strip will be offset to the side and not facing dead center forward. Common? How to prevent this with the straps? Edited February 13, 2015 by russellr2d2 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted February 13, 2015 Report Posted February 13, 2015 A) Ahhh the joys of of trooping in skin tight armor, not! If all possible give yourself some room on the back, I was in the same boat. If you look at my EIB or Cent post you'll notice the rear cover strips of my things are a bit wide. My approving officer allowed it to fly because it was symmetrical. If you're uncertain about the width or the look you can temporarily tape the rear cover strip to the thighs and take another pic for us to see. Yes a garter belt setup will help keep them centered. Great Job Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 14, 2015 Author Report Posted February 14, 2015 "A) Ahhh the joys of of trooping in skin tight armor, not! If all possible give yourself some room on the back, I was in the same boat." Thanks for the advice! I think I will end up a lot more loose after trimming the up to 2" of overlapped plastic that is there now. It is being held together with masking tape. Also, I have almost 1/4" wide return edges I can sand down and get myself some more room. I think I will trim at 30MM and test fit and then decide if 25MM is OK just to be safe. Thanks! Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 17, 2015 Author Report Posted February 17, 2015 Gluing on thigh cover strips front only still. Not ready to button up the back yet until i know the exact fit. Sanded flat the cover strip area so the glue grips well. Trimmed the cover strip to correct length. Using lots of magnets! The magnets hold the cover strip down tight on the glue and the tape holds the strip in position. The off-set bottom return edge can be ironed out easy enough. NEED HELP HERE ! WHICH END IS "UP"??? Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted February 17, 2015 Report Posted February 17, 2015 Turn it around and post a pic Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted February 17, 2015 Report Posted February 17, 2015 (edited) Gluing on thigh cover strips front only still. Not ready to button up the back yet until i know the exact fit. Sanded flat the cover strip area so the glue grips well. Trimmed the cover strip to correct length. Using lots of magnets! The magnets hold the cover strip down tight on the glue and the tape holds the strip in position. The off-set bottom return edge can be ironed out easy enough. NEED HELP HERE ! WHICH END IS "UP"??? BTW you don't need to iron the lower edge, that is the right thigh which will be covered by the ammo pack. Edited February 17, 2015 by ukswrath Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted February 17, 2015 Report Posted February 17, 2015 On your picture you have the kidney plate the right way around: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/17935-need-help-with-ata-kidney-plate/?p=214156 http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/16071-kidney-plate-direction/?p=194579 1 Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Posted February 19, 2015 Ok so THIS IS UP ...correct me if I am wrong. AND I should cut off that rolled over return edge on my pencil line???? Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Posted February 19, 2015 Cover strips on the thighs added and cut the backs to 30MM. Right & left thigh with 20MM cover strips. After I button up the back of the thighs I will iron out this extra area to the pencil line to even out the bottom. I went ahead and cut the back of the thighs so I will have a 30MM cover strip down the back of my legs. I realized after doing this that maybe I should have waited tell I fit my shins but it's done. I put the thighs on and held them up as high as I could and walked around for about 10 mins. I did this several times re-fitting them with tape and holding them up as high as I could get them. They are snug but not skin tight all over. I just might be able to cut them further to 25MM someday. But I will finish the legs with 30MM and be comfortable. Peeling and bending off the scored plastic flap on the back of the thighs. 30MM gives me a comfortable fit in my body suit. Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Cutting and gluing shins. Lets hope the 30MM back cover strips make these fit as well ! Bottom edges can be trimmed and aligned easy. I worry about the tops most because they have so much structure in them. The bottoms are so easy to fix up I just allow them to be mismatched. Easy to iron and sand out. I find the tape helps keep the two sides pulled tight together while the magnets holds the cover strips down hard on the glue. In this case only the inside strip now. The outside strip doesn't get put on until I know the fit. Just in case I have to pull the whole thing apart. Edited April 24, 2015 by russellr2d2 Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 Ok so THIS IS UP ...correct me if I am wrong. AND I should cut off that rolled over return edge on my pencil line???? *pics* Sounds right. About the shins, you don't really want any return edges at the bottom of them or they will wear out your boots really fast. And about the thighs, I would recommand you to stick with 25mm cover stripes EVEN IF the molded raised sections of the thighs are 30mm wide across once fitted to your body. Basically you are allowed to widen the cover stripes only to cover an actual gap between the two lips of the thigh halves, like on the diagram below: Going with 30mm cover stripes could hinder you Centurion application. More informations on this thread: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/25603-tk-31198-requesting-anh-stunt-centurion-status-ata108/page-3 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted February 19, 2015 Report Posted February 19, 2015 Looking awesome Russel Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Posted February 24, 2015 Buttoning up the back of the thighs and some small part cutting... Finally decided on the fit of my thighs was OK with 25mm wide cover strip on back. They fit nicely and are loose enough to rotate a bit on my legs. Cutting an inner strip to size and fitting... Inside cover strip glued in with CA glue. E6000 for the final glue up. Glue up with E6000 for the final seam closure. I must have tried on the thighs 4-5 times before deciding on the 25mm back strips. The shins fit great, even looser with this wide back seam. Lots of thick magnets needed. The two ends of this seam did not want to stay together. Cut and sanded the sniper knee cover....look OK? Quote
gazmosis[501st] Posted February 24, 2015 Report Posted February 24, 2015 Very glad you made that decision to stick with the 25 mm cover strip. Looking at your thigh, 30 would have been way too wide. This is a great build so far!!! Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Posted February 24, 2015 Woo hoo! Thanks! I was pouring over other threads looking if I made the right choice. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted February 24, 2015 Report Posted February 24, 2015 Glad you decided to use 25mm cover stripes too. And the sniper knee plate looks ok, just be sure to have the ends of the wings cut in a vertical straight line. 1 Quote
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