Bryanmc's Build Thread - Complete Newbie

[Bryanmc[501st]]

My build is coming along, need to be ready to paint by 12/1 so I took the day off from work on Monday to glue.

 

Everything went pretty well, it was my first time with Devcon so I did have a couple of freak out moments.

 

But, I ran out with my chest upgrade and gauntlet boxes left. So I ordered more, should arrive early next week.

 

I still need to rework my biceps a bit, one is really odd shaped. I figured what I'd do is go ahead and glue even though it stresses the plastic a bit, then put them in a warm water bath to relax them into shape. Hopefully it will work.

[Bryanmc[501st]]

How's this for the chest piece placement? I'm ready to glue.

 

 

 

Is it better that some of it be slightly above the rest of the chest (and filled/smoothed out) or for it to be recessed enough so no part of the resin piece is sticking up past the chest piece and fill the gaps?

Edited November 21, 2015 by Bryanmc

[Cody42[TK]]

I had it stick out a bit. When glued in place fill the gaps and sand everything flush.

 

Make sure to get this spot really perfect as the paint will make any imperfections stand out. On my armor you can tell the seam between abs plate and detail piece if looking closely from some angles.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Cody42

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Sorry for not stopping by more often Bryan. As David said let it stick out a bit but not too much. If you haven't glued it already, in the pictures above it seems to be protruding a bit too much IMHO.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

I'm planning on glueing this weekend, and pretty much scared to death.

 

I did a final test fit tonight to make sure everything is good to go and had a couple questions.

 

1. On the ab and kidney sections, on the right side (box 1) currently it doesn't sit flush. Should I sand down the marked areas so the entire side is flush or should I glue it with the box area raised like it is currently?

 

 

2. Did anyone have to heat and reform their biceps? Mine aren't quite fitting together right, it stresses the plastic a bit to make both sides meet.

 

Thanks!

 

I used the devcon to fill the gap and corners a bit but that's because I didn't want it to crack in that area. 

[Bryanmc[501st]]

Thanks for the replies guys. Haven't glued it yet so will try and only let it protrude a bit.

[Bryanmc[501st]]

Hey, hey! Got my under suit delivered today!

 

 

I got the large. I'm 6', 175 and it's tight. It's not too tight but it's close. If I was any taller I'd not have to pay for the vasectomy I have scheduled.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Bryanmc

[Bryanmc[501st]]

I've never actually wet sanded anything, and judging by YouTube videos it's not really that big of a deal but I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

 

What's the best method to wet sand the armor to prep for painting? Spray bottle and 400 grit?

 

Thanks!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

I use a bucket of warm water and yes 400 grit.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Spray bottle or just a bucket of water with a sponge, if you add some dish washing liquid it will help the sandpaper glide and also clean any grease off. Give everything a wipe down with clean water after sanding to get rid of any left over grit or dust.

 

I used 400 grit before primer, and gave the primer a dry light rub with 600 grit, gets rid of any dust or flecks of paint.

 

If you sand in circle motion you won't leave any lines .

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Hey, hey! Got my under suit delivered today!

 

 

I got the large. I'm 6', 175 and it's tight. It's not too tight but it's close. If I was any taller I'd not have to pay for the vasectomy I have scheduled.

How do you like your undersuit? I love mine

[Bryanmc[501st]]

Thanks guys.  So sponge the armor to get it wet, then go over with the sandpaper?

 

Will the water hurt the filler at all?  In my case I used PPG DFL1 spot filler.

[Bryanmc[501st]]

How do you like your undersuit? I love mine

It feels pretty good, fits very snug.  The only place it's an issue is in the crotch, I think at 6" I'm about an inch too tall for 100% comfort.  

 

But it's not that big of a deal, just have to get everything....placed correctly.  

 

I did find that because of the shiny material I'm going to have to cut my ab piece after all.  It fits perfectly without being cut and it goes on just fine, but taking it off is a challenge.  It gets caught on that material and I have to put too much stress on it to get it down.

 

So I'll be cutting my ab tonight which I didn't want to have to do, but oh well.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Thanks guys.  So sponge the armor to get it wet, then go over with the sandpaper?

 

Will the water hurt the filler at all?  In my case I used PPG DFL1 spot filler.

You can keep sponging the armor while sanding, keeps the sandpaper from clogging.

 

I've not had any issues before wet sanding the filler

[ukswrath[Staff]]

No

[JODOKAST[TK]]

It feels pretty good, fits very snug. The only place it's an issue is in the crotch, I think at 6" I'm about an inch too tall for 100% comfort.

 

But it's not that big of a deal, just have to get everything....placed correctly.

 

I did find that because of the shiny material I'm going to have to cut my ab piece after all. It fits perfectly without being cut and it goes on just fine, but taking it off is a challenge. It gets caught on that material and I have to put too much stress on it to get it down.

 

So I'll be cutting my ab tonight which I didn't want to have to do, but oh well.

Remember...the furniture goes in the middle of the room.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ukswrath[Staff]]

It feels pretty good, fits very snug. The only place it's an issue is in the crotch, I think at 6" I'm about an inch too tall for 100% comfort.

 

But it's not that big of a deal, just have to get everything....placed correctly.

 

I did find that because of the shiny material I'm going to have to cut my ab piece after all. It fits perfectly without being cut and it goes on just fine, but taking it off is a challenge. It gets caught on that material and I have to put too much stress on it to get it down.

 

So I'll be cutting my ab tonight which I didn't want to have to do, but oh well.

Note: After climbing in and out of your ab section keep an eye out for cracking at the lower sections.

[Bryanmc[501st]]

Note: After climbing in and out of your ab section keep an eye out for cracking at the lower sections.

Yes, will do.  I've reinforced mine based on your build thread, but will always be on the lookout.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Remember...the furniture goes in the middle of the room.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah hahahahahaha

[Bryanmc[501st]]

Remember...the furniture goes in the middle of the room.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bryanmc[501st]]

I did a very rough suit up tonight to start to work on the strapping system. I have a couple of questions about the fit.

 

1. How does it look under the arm? Anything need to be trimmed or repositioned?

 

 

 

2. The chest piece and the yoke should be flush, correct? I'm thinking snaps would be good here.

 

 

3. Where should the butt plate be positioned? In my suit up the bottom of the piece was maybe about at the mid point on my rear. Should it be all the way down? I wonder if I had my ab up too high.

 

Thanks!

[Cody42[TK]]

Here are my thoughts how you could improve the fit:

 

1. You are missing the detonator in the back  That should push the back plate up and forward, rotating around the arm. I'd line up the edge of the chest plate under the arm with the rear edge of the rectangle on the sides of the back plate. Then the chest should line up way better with the contour of the yoke. The neck hole should turn out square.

 

2. See above, should fit better once you lined up back/yoke and chest. Most people have a strap connecting the two yoke parts across the chest with a snap in the center, that connects to the chest.

 

3. I don't have perfect fit there yet. The butt plate should be a little higher, relative to the kidney plate. The belt sits on the "step" of the but plate and overlaps the kidney plate just a little bit (1/8" or so). Also, I'd mount the cod plate onto the extension of the ab plate, not below. I have adjustable suspenders on the ab/kidney assembly, adjustable straps on the thighs and now experiment where it looks best.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

1. Arm holes look good

2. Chest should sit flush against the yoke. I went with velcro but may switch later but for now I want to see how everything work in a real world scenario (troop) before committing to snaps.

3. The upper edge of the cod should be parallel with the top of edge two small boxes at the lowest part of the ab (I can send you a pic if needed). The cod can go on either the front or the back of the ab.

4. The posterior top return edge (Shelf I like to call it) is 2" from the lower edge of the ab. This is where your 2" belt will reside.

 

NOTE: Did a semi final test fit my self last night. I found your ab will sit higher and your things lower than a typical TK. If you have a TK don't compare the fit of that to the FO.

 

Looking good BTW

[Cody42[TK]]

NOTE: Did a semi final test fit my self last night. I found your ab will sit higher and your things lower than a typical TK. If you have a TK don't compare the fit of that to the FO.

True! That's an important note. I went with the same fit as the classic TK at first, but have to re-adjust.

[Bryanmc[501st]]

In painting (which has gone very well for the most part) I discovered some tiny holes on the chest upgrade piece. Obviously my filling skills need work.

 

 

Is there any way to repair this at this stage or is this going to require a full sand down and fill at that level?