AM 2.0 first time build

[Stormageddon[TK]]

So after receiving it, I did a lot more reading and think I'll be doing a lot of trimming. I had assumed the sizing was more to do with girth, rather than height, I'm 5'8" 180lb and dropping.... I think I'll be learning to do the dreaded return edges after all. I do have a few questions, which hopefully won't sound too dumb. Firstly, can anyone confirm whether or not the chest plate is ok for centurion? I have no idea if I'll even get close to that, but it'd be good to know. Also, I'm not 100% on which way around the shoulder bells go. The ridge has a definite angle to it, so should it be pointing forwards or backwards? It looks like there's a bulge on one side and it's flatter on the other side of the ridge, so I imagine the bulge goes to the front. Finally, for now, should I do the arms and body before doing the legs? It seems like it'd be easier to size the thighs while wearing the cod and butt pieces. 

 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

The chest and back plate was a no go on the 1.0 version.This kit has been centurion approved many times. The one that swoops to the left when looking directly at it goes on your left shoulder. 

[Airborne Trooper[501st]]

Wow, you got 2 sandtrooper diamond knee plates too. If you don't need them, there are a few guys looking for some to buy. 

[fuumantroop[TK]]

Looks like you got the updated chest and back. This kit should look exactly like my Centurion submission pics when said and done.<br><br><br>

And Jason, AM does come with a nice little goodie bag of extra parts, thats part of why i love em lol

[fuumantroop[TK]]

And yes, do the arms, body, and then the legs. <br><br>

At your height, you will need to cut lengths off the thighs at minimum.<br><br>

I also shortened my COD/Ab plate as well but trimming off my COD from the ab plate, and then taking a inch or so off the cod plate itself while keeping the same curve on top and following the curve of the ab plate.<br><br>

Check my build out, i believe i documented all the trimming of lengths.<br><br><br>

I had aready planned on cutting the COD anyways to make restroom breaks easier and give me a little more flexibility. It sounds scarier than it really is, promise!

[Stormageddon[TK]]

Wow, you got 2 sandtrooper diamond knee plates too. If you don't need them, there are a few guys looking for some to buy. 

 

I don't need them, so if anyone's interested pm me. Also, for any of the other sandtrooper pieces .

 

And yes, do the arms, body, and then the legs. <br><br>

At your height, you will need to cut lengths off the thighs at minimum.<br><br>

I also shortened my COD/Ab plate as well but trimming off my COD from the ab plate, and then taking a inch or so off the cod plate itself while keeping the same curve on top and following the curve of the ab plate.<br><br>

Check my build out, i believe i documented all the trimming of lengths.<br><br><br>

I had aready planned on cutting the COD anyways to make restroom breaks easier and give me a little more flexibility. It sounds scarier than it really is, promise!

 

I sounds pretty scary right now. My aim is to cut the absolute minimum, so that I have less chance of messing up. It looks like I may have to trim the shoulder bells too, but we'll see.  

[Artshot]

Welcome to the "AM2 Build Club".......erm, not sure if I am supposed to talk about it

[TKZombie[TK]]

Looks great be sure to check out this build thread on the 2.0 armor. <br><br>

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32531-navajo-bros-am-20-stunt-build/'>http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32531-navajo-bros-am-20-stunt-build/</a>

[Stormageddon[TK]]

So, first cuts..... Looks like I need to taper the left a lot more. Should i take it off the inside piece or the outside? I was a bit cautious as I was a bit worried about fitting the handguard through the wrist hole. 

 

Edited February 24, 2016 by Stormageddon

[Artshot]

Here's a few things I did when putting my AM 2.0 forearms together

 

1) Fit them from the elbow end, the wrist has no return edge so that end is where the adjusting of length will happen.

 

2)I trimmed the return at the elbow to about 5mm (tried to keep that size for most of my build).

 

3)I found trimming the return early in fitting really help me get a better fit.

 

4)Get the elbow end comfortable first (I have about a fingers gap).

 

5)Once the elbow is sized, gradually start removing "triangles/wedges" to taper the shape, 0 at the elbow and maybe 5mm at the wrist, the shape will gradually become more conical than tube shaped.

 

6)Double check everything, better to cut a little many times than too much once.

 

Hope that helps

 

Oh, and I have to put on the forearms then the gloves as leaving space for the handguards meant a bigger gap at the wrist than I wanted.

[Stormageddon[TK]]

I trimmed the forearms and they feel good. How do you trim them for length? I was going to cut a curve out so I can bend my wrist, a little like the cut out so you can bend your arm. Would it be better that way, or to just cut back the whole bottom of the forearm keeping the opening flat? 

I also trimmed the biceps. Having done some more reading, I think I'll bring the tops in a bit more. That part isn't visible and I read that it can push out the shoulder bells if it's too wide. 

On that subject, how did you size your shoulders? Just by trial and error and trimming incrementally? I think I'll have to shorten them and also make them a little narrower too. 

[Stormageddon[TK]]

Finally got round to glueing. I need a lot more clamps if I'm going to make any decent progress, but I think 100 magnets might suffice. This is all taking a lot longer than I'd hoped. Mainly because I'm paranoid about messing it up. I'm pretty much following Navajo Bro's build thread, with many others used as reference. I'm probably going to do the thighs and shins next, followed by the chest. I want to be able to get to the shoulder bells soon, as I think they'll need a lot of work.

[Stormageddon[TK]]

So first major hiccup. I glued the firearms one side at a time using an interior shim. I find that I can't make the last edge flush as it won't bend around the shim enough. There is a distinct ridge that even stacked magnets can't pull together. The shims don't seem that wide so I must've messed up the trim if the arms somehow. Hopefully the dremel and cover strip will cover the problem.

[Superbee[TK]]

Before gluing items on my build I soaked them in boiling water or heat gun and got all the cutlines to smoothly transition to each other , doesn't take much with the hot water or heat gun to just get them to contour correctly before you glue together . a.m. armor isn't quite round so you got a manipulated a little bit .

Edited March 9, 2016 by Superbee

[Stormageddon[TK]]

Hmmm, makes me wonder if i can use the heating iron i got that i was going to use on return edges. I think it'll be alright after some work, but not what I was expecting right at the start. I also just found out the the snaps i have have to long a post for the size of the strapping i'm using. Looks like all my coats and shirts will be getting new snaps at some point. 

[68Brick[TK]]

Practice on a scrap piece first for any heat application (iron, gun, or bath).

[Superbee[TK]]

You don't need to buy new snaps just take a pair of vise grips hold the base and take your Dremel with the drum roller sander and just nibble it down to the size you need just going to take more time , but building armor is not a race .

[Stormageddon[TK]]

Ok problem solved. I took the arms apart and glued then back but starting with the more curved, front, side. The back was straighter and fit flush. The biceps went together nicely but I think they may be a little big at the top. I'll post pics later.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Stormageddon

[Stormageddon[TK]]

After a bit of a pause due to life etc... I've gotten a bit further. I think I need to pull apart the left forearm and trim some more. The wrist opening is pretty narrow vertically, but I can live with it if I can reshape the opening to look rounder.

 

I'm also having trouble with the chest and back plate where they meet at the shoulders. I know they shouldn't touch, but the width of the front part, that'll lay under the plastic straps, looks really off compared to the back. I was following a build thread where the rear was trimmed to match the front. I think now, that they had older shaped pieces. My question is whether this is how it should look and I should stop whining, or whether I have work to do. I haven't been able to find any good pictures to compare to yet. Once I have this sorted, I'll be able to line up the shoulder bells and finish the arms. I'm waiting til my boots arrive before doing the shins.

 

[Stormageddon[TK]]

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/markl9999/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnju9zu8e.jpeg.html' class="bbc_url" title="External link"><img src="http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah47/markl9999/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsnju9zu8e.jpeg" alt="image_zpsnju9zu8e.jpeg"></a><br><br><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/markl9999/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps4g2ze5uw.jpeg.html' class="bbc_url" title="External link"><img src="http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah47/markl9999/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps4g2ze5uw.jpeg" alt="image_zps4g2ze5uw.jpeg"></a><br><br>

So I'm back on the job after a long hiatus. I now need to address the left forearm again. I would like to reshape the wrist opening to make it rounder. I had trimmed off too much from one side so I don't think I can just pull it apart and retrim it. I was about to try hot water, but thought I'd ask the resident genius pool for ideas first. <br>

I've made quite a bit of progress on other items, will post images later.

[KaiserW]

I did the boiling water pot on my forearms. Only thing I learned is to clamp your cover strip ends to help hold the shape. Otherwise the cover strip just popped off, also I only used external cover strips on my forearms, so not sure if it applies to internal cover strip construction.

 

Did you figure out the back/front chest piece locations? There should be a gap there, covered by the shoulder straps, which is why they don't line up.

 

 

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[Stormageddon[TK]]

For some reason I can't get the images to work, the site just keeps freezing.

 

I did get the back sorted. It was me just being overly anxious. Once I added the strapping and glued the shoulder covers on it looks ok.

 

My main worry about reshaping the wrist is that I'll deform the rest of the forearm in the process and it'll be a write off. As it is I can use it, so I might just leave it for now. If I try for EIB I'll have to address it.

 

I'm working on the legs right now. I just trimmed the back of the shins and found that the left one was a bit tight. I lucked out as it still fits, but I need to be a bit more careful. Free time is hard to come by, so I tend to rush.

[KaiserW]

Tried photobucket last night on my laptop, it sucks. The mobile app is a breeze.

 

The hot water bath didn't deform any of my armor, just made it pliable enough to reform, then ran it under cold water to hold the shape.

 

30-40 seconds in boiling water with the heat off is what I did

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stormageddon[TK]]

Progress so far. Have to do final fits on everything but am trying to get the big stuff done first. The only items I still need are the TD clips and a voice changer/amplifier. I have been toying with the voice changer from the Disney 1st order helmet, but I get a lot of feedback when hooking it up to an amplified speaker. The helmet itself is already done, minus communications.

 

One question I have for AM 2.0 builders is about the shoulders. They seem huge and I assume I'll have to trim them, I'm just curious about anyone else's experience with them.

 

 

 

 

[Ksunole[TK]]

Progress so far. Have to do final fits on everything but am trying to get the big stuff done first. The only items I still need are the TD clips and a voice changer/amplifier. I have been toying with the voice changer from the Disney 1st order helmet, but I get a lot of feedback when hooking it up to an amplified speaker. The helmet itself is already done, minus communications.

 

One question I have for AM 2.0 builders is about the shoulders. They seem huge and I assume I'll have to trim them, I'm just curious about anyone else's experience with them.

 

 

 

 

The shoulder bells do feel deeper. I'm 6'5, so barely did any trimming on them; however, I've contemplated going back and trimming some off of them.