ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 24, 2015 Report Posted April 24, 2015 (edited) Sweet!, looks awesome Russell. Nice progress. FYI, despite your incredible crafting skills the armor was never intended to be perfect in design, don't beat yourself up too much if something doesn't align perfectly Edited April 24, 2015 by ukswrath Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 24, 2015 Author Report Posted April 24, 2015 FYI, despite your incredible crafting skills the armor was never intended to be perfect in design, don't beat yourself up too much if something doesn't align perfectly BUT IT HAS TO BE PERFECT!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 24, 2015 Report Posted April 24, 2015 BUT IT HAS TO BE PERFECT!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted April 24, 2015 Report Posted April 24, 2015 That's how I feel about my stupid ears..... my snaps should be coming in the mail today or tomorrow so that's a good thing. Your build is coming along nicely! 1 Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 25, 2015 Author Report Posted April 25, 2015 (edited) STRAPPING THE BACK PIECES: I was thinking that all of the upper back, the kidney and the butt plate fit flush up against each other (touching?????). I might as well start making straps for the back and wait for your opinions on how the three pieces fit against each other. Do they touch each other???? or should I leave a 1/4" space or???? Here are some photos of how I am setting up the back armor strapping... __________________________________________________________________________________ I am making my straps with the ends folded over and I will insert a very thin piece of plastic as reinforcement around the snap. This way the elastic is not being pulled against the shaft of the snap when I pull off snaps. I got this idea from my building buddy Daniel Stafford. He and I have been building together on occasion. These layers leave just enough snap shaft to reach through and make the snap go together correctly. All edges of the elastic and the hole are burned with a soldering iron to prevent fraying. Positions of the three straps for the Butt Plate to the Kidney plate. The center strap in position but not glued yet. SHOULD THE BUTT AND KIDNEY PLATES BE TOUCHING ? OR ABOTU 1/4" APART??? I will make all the straps ... and then position them in the armor and to glue them. This way the lengths will be exact. I lay the strap with snap plates in the armor to find the correct position of the plates... then glue them in (I think this will work ). See the gap between the butt and kidney? Too tight ???? or ????? This is my big question before I glue down all the straps. Edited April 25, 2015 by russellr2d2 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 25, 2015 Report Posted April 25, 2015 Minimal to no gap is the level three standard. Looks awesome so far. Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 25, 2015 Author Report Posted April 25, 2015 The kidney notch must line up with the end of the butt plate? I will need to trim off the ends of my butt! OUCH! well figuratively speaking of course. A couple shots of the original armor shows that the butt and kidney notch line up. Quote
Tusken RTT Posted April 25, 2015 Report Posted April 25, 2015 It seems with all of the different makers of armor, you dont often see the perfect alignment of the kidney notch, ab plate and butt plate. No need to cut the butt piece. Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 The kidney notch must line up with the end of the butt plate? I will need to trim off the ends of my butt! OUCH! well figuratively speaking of course. A couple shots of the original armor shows that the butt and kidney notch line up. Align the top edges of the kidney an ab, everything else will fall into place. Quote
The5thHorseman[501st] Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 You're right, ideally the end of the butt plate should line up with the notch. However, it won't hinder a Centurion approval if you don't do it. Quote
SteampunkSith Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 I spent my morning reading this entire build. Your work is amazing. Pure perfection. My first kit is on order, and although it is a different armor (Fem Trooper), I plan to reference your build repeatedly for your thoroughly explained and documented work, tips, and detailed explanations. Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Posted April 26, 2015 I spent my morning reading this entire build. Your work is amazing. Pure perfection. My first kit is on order, and although it is a different armor (Fem Trooper), I plan to reference your build repeatedly for your thoroughly explained and documented work, tips, and detailed explanations. OHHHHH GOSHHH ! I like posting as much as building...you get all kinds of help right away here (reminds me of the R2 Builders forums where I would be out in my garage building and run in to ask a question...have a snack and return to find an answer!) Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Posted April 26, 2015 OK back to work ! Strapping the back continued. I tape together the top back and the kidney plates. Find the right spot to add a snap plate and mark it with pencil each plate. These snap plates are positioned exactly where each strap will fit to. The distance of these snaps from the lower kidney snaps is exactly the length of the straps made for them. I believe the corners of the back should fit inside the kidney plate like this? Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 26, 2015 Report Posted April 26, 2015 I believe the corners of the back should fit inside the kidney plate like this? Yup. Time for a snack, be back in a bit to see how you're doing Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Posted April 26, 2015 (edited) Back all together: I figure that since all three pieces must be butted against each other there is no fitting to do. So juts strap em' together! The front will be another story! Don't do the split rivet in your cod piece like this. Cut it short to be down inside the rivet first then set it together. The female snap will not hold well because the center cannot fit together...the rivet blocks it. I had to grind down the tangs with a Dremmel....not fun. All ground and the snap top fits well into this one. But a PAIN! Edited April 27, 2015 by russellr2d2 1 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 27, 2015 Report Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) Back all together: Looks awesome Russell. Edited April 27, 2015 by ukswrath Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 27, 2015 Author Report Posted April 27, 2015 Did a test fit of the back armor with straps snapped over the shoulders to the chest piece. The back armor does not go down far enough by about 4". I assume the starts at the top at the shoulder straps. I have about 3" space between chest & back plates on the shoulders. I think I need to open this an additional 2"-2.5" to lower the entire back armor. Right now the butt plate is way high on my butt. Not a nice picture which is why there are no pictures here. Any advice on how to get the back armor which must all be tight together, little or no space between the three pieces to cover ah-hem..., everything. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 27, 2015 Report Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) Did a test fit of the back armor with straps snapped over the shoulders to the chest piece. The back armor does not go down far enough by about 4". I assume the starts at the top at the shoulder straps. I have about 3" space between chest & back plates on the shoulders. I think I need to open this an additional 2"-2.5" to lower the entire back armor. Right now the butt plate is way high on my butt. Not a nice picture which is why there are no pictures here. Any advice on how to get the back armor which must all be tight together, little or no space between the three pieces to cover ah-hem..., everything. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Welcome to the ATA world. Russell you and I are close to the same build and this is what my ATA looks like on me. A little high in the backside. Just ensure the posterior to cod strap is tight and it will tuck things in a bit. This will not effect EIB or Centurion Edited April 27, 2015 by ukswrath Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 27, 2015 Author Report Posted April 27, 2015 Thanks Tony, I think what you suggest plus some extra length on the shoulder straps. I am going to do some tests with tape on the shoulders until I can find a better fit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 27, 2015 Report Posted April 27, 2015 I think what you suggest plus some extra length on the shoulder straps. If you add more shoulder strapping be advised try to avoid your armor looking like this. Gap in the back plate During my approval I actually shortened the strapping by 1" because the length didn't seem to help to increase the overall length of the armor. Maybe you can come up with a better solution. Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 28, 2015 Author Report Posted April 28, 2015 IT HAS TO BE PERFECT !!!! 1 Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 28, 2015 Author Report Posted April 28, 2015 (edited) . Edited April 28, 2015 by russellr2d2 Quote
russellr2d2[TK] Posted April 28, 2015 Author Report Posted April 28, 2015 Question: Why do people attach the bell snaps way up high as seen in this photo by "Barcode" for his centurion application (hope you do not mind me referencing your photo, thank you). I have seen many photos like this where the bell snap is wayyyyyyy up into the bell. Why not down near the bottom edge? Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted April 28, 2015 Report Posted April 28, 2015 Different strokes for different folks. Who knows Quote
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