AM 2.0 Armor Build in Ohio

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Oh yea! oh yea! 

[Warkicker]

Doing a great job Richard! Admittedly I find myself coming to see your artwork as much as your build!

[rduda]

Thanks Warkicker & ukswrath, once I see the movie this weekend I'll double my efforts on the build! Here are the last of the countdown banners...

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the countdown!!

[rduda]

Ok time to get serious on this build, I cleaned up my work space and brought everything out:

 

 

 

[magni[TK]]

Your doing a great job Richard! Your well on your way to trooping. Keep up the good work, I'll be following your thread. Love the cartoon breaks. Talent!

[rduda]

Trying to put in my first snap, too light on the hammer, and the outer piece is wobbly and pops off when I connect the snap and try to un snap it. Too hard and it just popped off after hammering… Help, any suggestions? is this snap too small?

[Kredal[TK]]

I personally had very little luck putting snaps directly on the armor using the normal snap backs.  For the two to hold the belt on, I used 1/8 inch rivets, with tiny washers on the inside of the front snap piece to hold it in place.

 

If you want to use the regular snap back pieces, countersink the plastic there a little bit so the post sticks through more, and has more material to curl around and hold the front on.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Kredal

[Darth Havoc[TK]]

What type of snaps are you using?

[rduda]

What type of snaps are you using?

Heavy Duty Snaps from Michael's, the brand is Loops & Threads

[rduda]

I personally had very little luck putting snaps directly on the armor using the normal snap backs.  For the two to hold the belt on, I used 1/8 inch rivets, with tiny washers on the inside of the front snap piece to hold it in place.

 

If you want to use the regular snap back pieces, countersink the plastic there a little bit so the post sticks through more, and has more material to curl around and hold the front on.

Sounds like a good idea, I'll have to look for smaller washers though, the ones I have are a smugger to bug for my snaps. Maybe when I'm out I'll see if there are any thicker heavier duty snaps at Lowe's or Home Depot. 

 

At least I was able to get the snap off with out messing up my current hole… better make my small glue on snaps and get more practice before I finish my belt.

 

I'll see if any one else has any ideas this week and then I'll continue with the straps.

 

Thanks for the help Darth and Kredal!!

[rduda]

OK, went to the hardware store and got better snaps.

 

 

Belt on!! Left space for button box.

 

 

Attach and I'm starting to feel more like a trooper every day.     

 

Cats think I'm weird though…

[Darth Havoc[TK]]

Good job. A lot of guys use Tandy snaps as the posts are longer and they seem more heavy duty. In no time you'll be walking the halls of the Death Star.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Typically, the overall width of the waist belt and the power pack that goes on the lower right thigh are trimmed almost down to the raised boxes. It would be a good deal of work to change this on your waist belt considering all the careful work you have put into that but the thigh pack can still be trimmed down. Nice job so far!M

[rduda]

OK I found something that referenced the belt being cut 3-5 mm from the ammo boxes, so I measured and did some cutting today:

 

 

 

 

Not much, but better? Need to sand cuts

[rduda]

Went out and bot a Black under armor set, got the 2X, tight fit but moves great and feels like not wearing much… wife laughed pretty good too. but after loosing so much weight I wanted to see whee the Ab armor was fitting.

 

 

Still to much space, so if I still have this much space when I get the rest done how do shims come into play? Any one have photos if they added them??

 

 

After trimming the belt the boxes seem a little low.

 

The cest, where to start… OK how about the neck just cutting into my skin (Ouch!!) Where do these things trim down to??? I just know it hurts!

 

 

 

Hay! It's me!!

[rduda]

Went out to a Canton Ohio event called the "Odd Mall" found me a Voice Amplifire Clone Helmet, nice score for only $10! Never knew they made them, thought the lenses are big are these liked by the 501st in trooping?

 

OH-kay back to work, here I taped off the size for my gauntlets, don't mind Boo, he was just checking out the work too.

 

So I just pretty much just center them to my size...

 

 

Then mark the center points on each side...

 

Then I'll cut, attach cover shims and then assemble 2 parts, easy right?

[rduda]

Any one recumbent a good blaster maker, not looking for expensive, some-where middle of the road costs.

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Honestly look in the for sale section for B grade hyperfirms. Best "bang" for your buck.... see what I did there  

[rduda]

Thanks Airborne, I'll check it out!

 

 

Finally getting into the glueing again. Forearms drying one strip at a time.

 

Got them both done and fit great,

 

 

I put extra stripps on the inside too.

 

I deemed today"Imperial Cat-er-Day"

 

 

So excited about getting my armor parts done!!!

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

I'm deathly allergic to cats so their cuteness does not faze me. Glad to see you're back on the build!

[rduda]

I'm deathly allergic to cats so their cuteness does not faze me. Glad to see you're back on the build!

 

I got over the cutting a fitting fears and I'm going as fast as the E6000 can dry!!

[Chiro]

Don't use the belt with the square indents.

 Why do you say that? I got the completely opposite advice from another member in my garrison :s

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

The one with the square indents is the older style, the one without the indents is more accurate. 

[rduda]

Biceps are glued and together! But due to the  rectangle shape its a little tight, so when reading Kredal's build  I saw the boil and reshape trick, I think I'll try that and I'll let you know what happens there sometime this week.

 

In the meantime I got some nylon straps and wanted to test that on the snaps, so I E6000'd one for a test… now waiting.

 

Lastly being a little shorter in the thighs I'm going to have to do some severe cutting to get the thighs to fit:

 

Is it OK to just sand the top after cutting, or is it necessary to bend the ABS back in?? Let me know what you think. Does any one know how to bend it in? Is this the best place to cut for size on thigh? Thread link? Help!! 

 

Thanks for reading and helping every one, just in case I haven't said anything yet. 

[rduda]

Did some trimming and sanding on the inside biceps…

 

...and now they go on much easier but i just think my limbs are too short I have limited movement.

 

 

 

 

After 24 Hrs the nylon snap seems permanent, much stronger than I thought it was going to be, so I'm going that way on the snapping system.

 

 

The shoulder straps look like they defenetly need trimmed, from photos it looks like 1/8" away from the rectangle bumps… then the big bump rectangle in front.

 

...then the big bump rectangle in front.

 

 

 

Here I taped the chest and back together to see where they lay and fit raw before any trimming:

 

I ordered a sealing iron, I'll trim the edges so there parallel with each other and use the sealing iron to match the edges together along with the trimmed shoulder, got a plan while waiting for the iron to come in. Any thought so far from any one?

Edited March 6, 2016 by rduda