Cover strips

[MinionTK[TK]]

Oh man do I ever feel like a noob for asking but I won't know unless you ask (atleast that's what mom always said).

 

I am having a hard time finding what the measurements are for the cover strips. I thought that I had wrote it down in my notes but I guess not.

 

So some help would be nice

 

Thanks!

[hon143]

The widths will vary based on your size. Check out the trooper bay videos/ tutorial. They're very helpful.

 

In general though, they're about 5/8 inches in width. But will often be bigger for the leg pieces.

[Bone[501st]]

15 mm for the arms, 20 mm for front of legs, 25 mm for back of legs.

 

Sorry, don't know the Inch measurements ...

[MinionTK[TK]]

Metric works for me, good thing for digital calipers  

 

Thanks guys. Going to add this to my notes - and hopefully not lose it this time

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

25mm is only for the back of the shins, the back cover stripes for the thighs are 20mm like the front ones  .

Edited March 25, 2015 by The5thHorseman

[MinionTK[TK]]

25mm is only for the back of the shins, the back cover stripes for the thighs are 20mm like the front ones  .

Why?

Seems like you would want bigger on the back of the thighs to? Or is that how they made them for the movies?

Edited March 25, 2015 by cdn_fanboy

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

Why? Well, because that's how it was made on the film . In fact, i believe they widened the shins cover stripes only to help hiding the holes they made for the hooks.

And when you think about it, if 20mm is enough to close the front, why wouldn't it be enough for the back? However, just to settle things, nothing prevents you to make the back cover stripes for the thighs 25mm wide, it is very common and well accepted (i even have my own cover stripes 25mm, rookie mistake!).

[DroidHunter]

Can someone refresh my memory on the current thought process for rear thigh cover strips when you have a trooper with large thighs? I know the rule of thumb used to be, if the two halves close together then keep the cover strip at 20 mm (or 25 mm) regardless of how wide the flat section is. Doesn't matter if the flat section is wider than the cover strip. Is that still true?

 

Second, suppose there is a gap in the back of the thigh even after leaving all of the extra flat space intact. You need a cover strip wide enough to cover the gap, and thus can deviate from the 20 mm. But how wide should the strip be? Should it be just wide enough to cover the gap, or at that point do you just extend it all the way to the edge of the flat section? My assumption would be to keep it as small as possible.

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

I know the rule of thumb used to be, if the two halves close together then keep the cover strip at 20 mm (or 25 mm) regardless of how wide the flat section is. Doesn't matter if the flat section is wider than the cover strip. Is that still true?

It is still true. The case just doesn't occur often .

 

Second, suppose there is a gap in the back of the thigh even after leaving all of the extra flat space intact. You need a cover strip wide enough to cover the gap, and thus can deviate from the 20 mm. But how wide should the strip be? Should it be just wide enough to cover the gap, or at that point do you just extend it all the way to the edge of the flat section? My assumption would be to keep it as small as possible.

I'd say your assumption is right. Keep them as small as possible.

 

[DroidHunter]

Another question has come up in this area and I am trying to properly advise someone. His legs are large, and he is going to have a gap that needs to be covered. This is unavoidable. Here are the questions that have been raised:

 

1. Should the gap be confined to the back of the thigh only, or can it be split between the front and back, or even in the front only? My thought was that it should be restricted to the back based upon past research.

 

2. Assume for a moment that the gap is only in the back, requiring a larger cover strip in the back. Should the front cover strip be kept at standard 20 mm, or should it be made to match the larger back strip? I need to discuss this issue witrh our GML.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Sly11[Admin]]

For cosmetics, and of coarse accuracy, try to keep your front cover strips on the thighs to the 20mm.

As to the backs, you can certainly go larger, but try and keep the back of the shins to a similar size to your rear thigh cover strips.

For example, 40 mm thigh back cover strip and 40 mm rear shin cover strips. In most cases the wearer will have larger calves as well .

Recently I help a new cadet make a very large internal shim for the back of his thighs 100mm we then cut a filler piece, and made ABS paste to fill the small gaps. We then simply made a 40 mm cover strip and glued it on centrally.

His calves were also huge, so had to make the 40mm cover strips for the back just to get them to close. In the end it all looked great, and he is currently waiting basic approval.

He then intends to apply for EIB.

I will get hold of some images of the thigh work and post them up in the next couple of days to better explain what we had to do.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Chills[TK]]

I have large thighs and had to build some decent shims for my armor. To get Centurion you'll need to shim the gaps and use a 25mm cover strip on the rear. Like Sly said, you'll need to make ABS paste to join the shim to the armor. It takes some working, but the paste is a great solution to adding plastic to the armor. What I did is use two strips under the shim to hold each side in place. After multiple applications and sandings of the ABS paste I put on the rear cover strip. At this point it is only used for authenticity sake, and doesn't do anything to strengthen the armor. The ABS paste works as a weld, and is pretty damn strong.

 

The front should still have a 20mm cover strip.

 

Here are a few pics of my process:

 

The shim being glued into place

 

Early application of ABS paste (lots of trial and error on how to use it right)

 

 

 

One side finished. The other is partially covered by the cover strip

Edited January 8, 2021 by gmrhodes13
photo updated gmrhodes13 2021

[VadaeAmoga85[TK]]

Soooo...I'm gathering that I can have larger rear thigh and shin strips then?