Look Sir, Droids! MTK Build - W.I.P.

[LoveMonkey[501st]]

good luck!

 

fyi, i'm 6'4" and i will probably need to trim some height off my am thighs.

 

 

sent from my iphone using tapatalk

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

i have no problem trimming the height. i'm mad about how i have already shimed and have to redo it. am thighs i wouldn't need to shim. i'm already starting the process of redoing them. i'm really frustrated because this is suppose to be fun and i am not having much fun! maybe once after i'm approved in the 501st i'll go back and eventually buy new thighs though

Edited August 19, 2015 by Airborne Trooper

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Alright, so after back and forth I'm shimming my thighs again so they can be wide enough for me to pull up high to give my knees clearance. I'm doing this so I can complete the build and get my basic entry into the 501st. I will be purchasing AM thighs next month when I make my big purchases such as my pack, E-11, etc. With further ado, here's the pictures

 

Since everyone is teasing me with their thin thighs and completion of their builds, I've decided to tease everyone with some pork shoulder I have on the smoker for today. Only a 4lb... I usually do 10-12lbs but we don't have anyone coming over to help eat all this food. KCCO to any of my fellow chivers out there

 

Used my No Smoking sign to make the gap and have used ABS paste to glue it in place front and back on each edge. Couldn't go to the ends because I needed clamps to hold it in place on the one side. Very easy to go back and hit those up. I will be using scrap abs to create a flush top side and will jig saw piece it together while using ABS paste as a mortar and filler. So for those of you following along, it pays to keep all of your scrap ABS paste. Just get a couple gallon sized zip locks and collect them as you're moving along.

 

I had completed my belt last week but realized that the rivets stuck up too much and I would be unable to use the covers on them. I had to drill them out which resulted in melting the belt. Easy fix with ABS paste. Letting these dry and will sand them and re-drill them. I'm not sure if I want to pop rivet them again but do it the opposite direction I had done before or use the cap rivets that I purchased for my thigh ammo belt. I have a ton of them , they don't take up much room and are flat. Suggestions?

Edited August 22, 2015 by Airborne Trooper

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Oh joy! 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Still waiting to hear if I should redo the rivets for the belt backwards or should I use cap rivets. In the meantime, my calves are large too and this is how they fit. What would be the best route to do it?

 

Edited August 23, 2015 by Airborne Trooper

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Cricket.....cricket. Had to finish a final project yesterday so I didn't have time to really mess with my build other than start sanding the extra ABS paste off the ammo belt. Still need to know if it's ok to put cap rivets to attach the belt to the canvas and help with my calves. 

[Kredal[TK]]

So since the webserver moved, all of my FISD emails have been going to spam.  Fixed that by whitelisting the address. I wasn't ignoring you, really!

 

Anyways, the cap rivets *should* work, but I'm not sure I'd trust them.  Regular pop rivets, with the gun going in the front, and the "messy" side on the back, should fit just fine under the rivet covers.  That's how I did mine, through the plastic belt, cloth belt, and two layers of elastic for drop boxes... plus a washer for good measure.  With all that stuff on the rivet head, it doesn't come close to hitting my ab armor (which, admittedly, was a concern of mine)

 

Make sure you have the snaps on the cloth belt (to snap to the ab plate) before you attach the plastic belt.

[Kredal[TK]]

 

 

If that is where your calves close around your leg, it's looking good.  Cut right down the middle of the overlap, making sure that the two halves come together fairly straight.  Attach a cover strip to the OUTSIDE half in the back to cover the join.  I don't remember seeing if you're planning on doing the bra straps or velcro to finish the closure.  If you're doing velcro, then just put the hook part on the inside of the cover strip, right up to the edge, and the loop part on the part of the inside plate that gets covered.  I wrapped the loop part around the inside of the leg just to help it hold on tighter. Haven't had an issue with it yet!

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Yeah I did the pop rivets the wrong direction so the part that clips off was facing up. Leaving about a quarter inch or so material. Now, I could have sanded it down but I wanted to fix it proper. I'll take care of that this evening as long as Mrs. Airborne doesn't have other plans for me. As far as the calves go. My only concern is how much ridge line will be shown on each side. I kind of wish it was just round like some of the other kits such as RT-MOD. 

[Kredal[TK]]

Ooooh, I didn't see that the back of your calves have that ridgeline molded in.  Hrm.  Not sure what to tell you there... I'd have to see other MTK kits.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I've been looking but haven't come across any other MTK'ers that have big calves. Maybe I could iron the crease out? That or get the AM2 as well... 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Jason sorry for the delay brother.

 

I wouldn't worry about the rear calf return edge too much, it's the nature of the MTK beast. I would do as Josh suggested and cut down the center of the two halve sides. 25mm cover strip will cover a good portion of the area anyhow.

 

Since you're looking to EIB eventually I would encourage you to contact Gazmosis and get his opinion since he's going to be the one approving your armor. I think you'll be ok though.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I won't be going EIB or Centurion... I'm be going Police Officer and maybe SWAT!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

That's right sorry forgot. The good news is "Deployed" is equivalent to EIB and "SWAT" to Centurion. So the accuracy is still just as important. 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I'll be working some tomorrow and show progress on what I get done. I think my best bet is to try and iron out the ridge on the calves as a quick fix. Pretty sure AM thighs and calves are on my list of things to buy

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Mrs. Airborne has had other plans for me lately but yesterday I was able to get about a half hour on the build. Was able to replace the elastic hinge from the kidney to ab with nylon strapping. I also started the process of ironing out the ridge line on the back of the calves. My calves are larger but MTK leaves a lot of material. I figured I can heat it up with my iron and slowly iron out the ridge. Its coming along rather well. I don't have a heat gun and I suppose that would work as well if done carefully. I heat up one area with my hobby iron for about 5-10 seconds then flatten it with my hands. Didn't finish but I've got a good idea how it'll turn out. I figured worse case scenario if it didn't work or turned out funky, I can get the full AMv2 thighs AND shins. 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Mrs. Airborne has had other plans for me lately but yesterday I was able to get about a half hour on the build. Was able to replace the elastic hinge from the kidney to ab with nylon strapping. I also started the process of ironing out the ridge line on the back of the calves. My calves are larger but MTK leaves a lot of material. I figured I can heat it up with my iron and slowly iron out the ridge. Its coming along rather well. I don't have a heat gun and I suppose that would work as well if done carefully. I heat up one area with my hobby iron for about 5-10 seconds then flatten it with my hands. Didn't finish but I've got a good idea how it'll turn out. I figured worse case scenario if it didn't work or turned out funky, I can get the full AMv2 thighs AND shins. 

 

It's interesting you mention the Mrs. I had the same issue last night. Arrived at home started working on the TFA and she walks around the corner and gives me the "honey do list" look   DANG IT! 

[Trogdor[TK]]

Mrs. Airborne has had other plans for me lately but yesterday I was able to get about a half hour on the build. Was able to replace the elastic hinge from the kidney to ab with nylon strapping. I also started the process of ironing out the ridge line on the back of the calves. My calves are larger but MTK leaves a lot of material. I figured I can heat it up with my iron and slowly iron out the ridge. Its coming along rather well. I don't have a heat gun and I suppose that would work as well if done carefully. I heat up one area with my hobby iron for about 5-10 seconds then flatten it with my hands. Didn't finish but I've got a good idea how it'll turn out. I figured worse case scenario if it didn't work or turned out funky, I can get the full AMv2 thighs AND shins.

 

I'll be watching to see how the iron work turns out I need as much plastic on the thighs as I can get.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Forums going up and down! I did one of my calves over the weekend and finished up one of the thighs. Fitment is much better. I'll use it for basic approval but will be ordering AM. I'll take some pictures tonight.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I got AM2.0 thighs and shins and I'm about 80% done with them. Just need to size the thighs and close them up. Shins will need to be trimmed to fit my short legs. I also started my arm strapping system following ukswrath's AM build thread. I got my hyperfirm E-11 yesterday and it is a thing of beauty!

 

 

 

There are a few seems that I'd like to try to eliminate. Has anyone done that before and what's the best method? I'd also like to drill out the sides of the front iron site to look more accurate. 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

 

There are a few seems that I'd like to try to eliminate. Has anyone done that before and what's the best method? I'd also like to drill out the sides of the front iron site to look more accurate. 

 

Be careful when trimming and shaping the hyperfirm, the rubber can be a bit brittle in areas causing premature cracking and splitting. The only mods I was safely able to make were the wires to the counter and the D ring mount (mine came without).  

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Well maybe it's best to leave it as is? I can add the wires but this will be my trooping blaster. I'll still have to pick up a Bapty E-11 if I want to go SWAT. 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

What's the best place locally to buy foam? I have my thighs tapered as best as it's going to get but there's still a little bit of wiggle room by the knee. I can probably two fingers between my knee and the inside wall of my thigh.  I know I need open cell foam and I guess JoAnn's would probably be the best place. Should I put the foam in the rear of the thigh or in front above my knee? 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Fabric store

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Fabric store

 

What about the placement? If I put it in the rear, wont that push my thigh piece outwards and give more clearance for the diamond knee plate on the shin and the thigh ammo belt on the other thigh?