Emma's First ANH Stunt [WTF] - any help is appreciated!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

3 minutes ago, Cricket said:

Whaaa?!  Do you mean that with all your free time, you haven't scoured every page of my multiple builds over the past four years?  

I may have missed one or two, lol.  

[PhilBobTheFish]

14 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

Thank you! Now I just purchased the 30mil gloves recommended above by PhilBobTheFish. I wonder if they could double as protective (if I use them before glueing the hand guards to them)...

 

Otherwise I'll have to get a second pair!

I got a larger pair of the same gloves to use with my build. I got more than one pair, and used one of them for hot water baths and they worked well. So yours should work for hot water baths as well, and as Cricket said, only a bit of heat comes through after extended exposure (but it's not hot). I've never tried them with a heat gun, so I don't know how they would work, but they do provide at least some protection to hot water. Good luck!

[Cricket[TK]]

16 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

So when you say curvy jig.... what sort of setup will I need? Because I'm using brackets so I have no choice but to make a new return edge on the kidney/posterior.

I made a wood support of sorts...  I kind of eyeballed the curve of my armor and cut out a piece of scrap wood in that shape (I made a flatter curved version later which was easier to work with). 


I also used a small piece of a wood paint stir stick to help flatten out the returns once the plastic was soft.  You kind of "polish" the plastic while it is hot with the stick. Think of rebuilding the returns as a sculpting process.   When you first build the return, it'll look kind of warpy.  This is okay.


Once it's all folded over, do another pass with the heat gun and flatten out everything again.  


Oh!  Another tip...

Be sure to mark with a pencil where you want your return to bend.  A visual guide is really helpful to keep your return on track.  And keep your heat focused only on the area where you want to bend.  I shielded the areas above the bend (as indicated with a pencil mark) with a piece of wood stir stick.  This will help prevent the rest of the kidney from warping above the return.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Cricket

[EmlanThane]

1 minute ago, Cricket said:

I made a wood support of sorts...  I kind of eyeballed the curve of my armor and cut out a piece of scrap wood in that shape (I made a flatter curved version later which was easier to work with). 


I also used a small piece of a wood paint stir stick to help flatten out the returns once the plastic was soft.  You kind of "polish" the plastic while it is hot with the stick. Think of rebuilding the returns as a sculpting process.   When you first build the return, it'll look kind of warpy.  This is okay.


Once it's all folded over, do another pass with the heat gun and flatten out everything again.  

That came out excellently! I am not sure I have wood like that so I might have to go shopping at the hardware store, or get a bit creative. Thank you thank you for your help!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Christine has given you some absolutely golden advice there, Emma.  I know it may seem like a pain to make a template like that, but I have every faith that you will do a fantastic job, and it will be well worth the effort I promise.  Just keep the heat gun a lower setting and take baby-steps.  It may help to practice on some scraps first to get the hang of how far away from the armor you should keep the tip of the gun.

 

Also, remember that the return edge does not need to be very wide... just enough to keep the bottom of the kidney from sliding over the posterior plate.

 

[Cricket[TK]]

19 minutes ago, justjoseph63 said:

 

Also, remember that the return edge does not need to be very wide... just enough to keep the bottom of the kidney from sliding over the posterior plate.

 

This is true.  But if you're using a bracket system, you'll want to leave enough space for the bracket installation.

Also keep in mind that you'll want the newly created return to be larger than the "finished" return.   Consider it a seam allowance.  The edges always heat faster than the rest, and they typically end up kind of warpy, no matter how much you smooth 'em out.  Once you've made your new crispy return edge and are happy with it, you'll trim off the extra warpy areas at the edges, which will leave you with a nice, sleek return edge.   

[EmlanThane]

Thank you for the awesome advice! My first step is to look into setting up a rig like the one pictured above. And also acquiring a heat gun

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

4 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

And also acquiring a heat gun

Just make sure you practice, there is a very minimal time between soft plastic to molten mess, definitely try on a lot of scraps before proceeding with armor pieces  

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Just make sure you practice, there is a very minimal time between soft plastic to molten mess, definitely try on a lot of scraps before proceeding with armor pieces  

Amen.  Been there, done that, and it wasn't pretty, lol.

[EmlanThane]

My undershirt got here today. As I suspected, it is very loose around my arms but very tight around my torso... I am a strange shaped person... is the slight bagginess on the arm anything to worry about, especially when the vast majority of it will be covered by armor?

[EmlanThane]

One last note on things not fitting quite right today- when I bend the rubber s trim in the direction it needs to go in order for the right side to be facing the helmet, these little bumps form (even when I don’t bend it so extremely). Am I doing it right?

 

Whereas when I flip it the other way, it fits just fine going in a circle no problem ... (also check my eye lens done being installed)

 

 

Update: I ended up overtrimming the rubber trim anyway, so I’m upset. I already ordered a new one. I’m assuming there’s no way to remedy an overtrimmed brow... glue seems like an unstable solution.

[Chemi[Staff]]

21 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

My undershirt got here today. As I suspected, it is very loose around my arms but very tight around my torso... I am a strange shaped person... is the slight bagginess on the arm anything to worry about, especially when the vast majority of it will be covered by armor?

Each one has a different body. Find your comfort ...As you say, the vast majority of the undershirt will be covered by the armor , but the best way to see it would be to do a test with some parts of the armor on...

[EmlanThane]

Put the finishing touches on the helmet- haven’t secured the padding yet because I’m not sure I’m going to keep it but MAN is it hard to see out of this thing. As you can see I overtrimmed the rubber (I had clipped it without realizing it wasn’t against the helmet all the way) so I am sad about that and impatient for the new one to arrive.

 

 

My plan for tomorrow is to get back to gluing the arms and maybe trimming the remainder of the kit. Slowish but steady progress.

 

Also continuing to find reference pictures for the rank stripe on the ear, because I’m not quite sure where on the ear it needs to go. I know that’s not a requirement for basic, but just something I gotta keep in mind.

[Chemi[Staff]]

15 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

Also continuing to find reference pictures for the rank stripe on the ear, because I’m not quite sure where on the ear it needs to go. I know that’s not a requirement for basic, but just something I gotta keep in mind.

-EIB: Ear bars have four bumps only.

-CENTURION: Ear bars shall have only one bump painted in black 

 

Maybe this thread will help you:

 

 

[EmlanThane]

Alright, made a little bit of progress.

 

First off, I glued the inner cover strip to the other side of the right forearm to close the circle/oval(?). It took a lot of persuasion and by persuasion I mean magnets, tape and clamps and several attempts to hold it all together. I am hoping this is one of those things that get easier as I do it more. I had also cut one half of the forearm a bit angled to taper at the wrist and fit the opening closer to the diameter of my arm.

 

I also trimmed the belt, leaving 5 mm above and below the main blocks and 1.5 inches excess on each side of the belt, with 1/2 inch cut outs at 45 degrees to angle the corners. This was all following this useful graphic made by another trooper here.

 

 

I tried the score and snap method but had to resort to scissors- I couldn't keep the ruler (against which I was scoring) still, and the scoring wasn't in the same place every time. Given I know this takes progress, but I felt way more comfortable going slowly with scissors. The result wasn't perfect either, and that frustrates me. I am having such a hard time making a straight edge.

 

 I am short on clamps even though my magnets came in, so gluing still might be slow. I also have a lot of nervousness and fear surrounding tackling this project and it often requires a big mental hurdle to get over it and continue working. I try my best!

[Chemi[Staff]]

8 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

I also have a lot of nervousness and fear surrounding tackling this project and it often requires a big mental hurdle to get over it and continue working. I try my best!

Very good job Emma. You said that "The result wasn't perfect"...I think you're doing a great job. There will be better days and worse days, I assure you...I felt the same...But when you see all the finished work, you will forget all the bad, and you will enjoy your great armor...You are working very hard ... When you feel nervous, rest and leave it for a while ...

 

[EmlanThane]

1 minute ago, Chemi said:

Very good job Emma. You said that "The result wasn't perfect"...I think you're doing a great job. There will be better days and worse days, I assure you...I felt the same...But when you see all the finished work, you will forget all the bad, and you will enjoy your great armor...You are working very hard ... When you feel nervous, rest and leave it for a while ...

 

Thank you for your words of comfort and encouragement- they make me feel a bit better. I am very happy with how things are progressing so far, but I think I have to be done for tonight and do a bit more research before I proceed.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Nice job so far Emma, keep up the great work 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Getting there Emma, great work 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Looks great, Emma! Any not-perfectly straight cuts on the top and bottom of the ABS portion of the belt will be virtually hidden once it’s set on the fabric belt. But if you really want to try to straighten them, you could lay a long piece of sandpaper on a flat table and rub the belt on it. This will help produce an even sanding surface over a long stretch. Keep up the awesome work!


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[EmlanThane]

Took things slow today. Just glued a cover strip, but I know there will be slow days and there will be busy days. Today happened to be a slow day but I'm learning that that's okay- if I tried to build it overnight, I'd get intensely burnt out. I'm also ordering the heat gun to make the return edges on the posterior and kidney, because the sooner I can do that the sooner I can fit the entirety of the torso. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Every bit adds up in the end  

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Slow and steady. I know you’ve had long breaks before, and I myself just came back from two months away. You’re doing great; it’s not a race! The final product will be well worth all the blood (literally), sweat, and tears!


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[illusionz_09[TK]]

nice job so far!!!

[EmlanThane]

Thank you for all of the words of encouragement. They really keep me going. 

 

I'm in a bit of a research phase right now...looking at how the bracket system is going to work, how to expand the torso and legs for wider troopers, and so on. Looking for a good heat gun with adjustable temperatures and more than just two settings ("hot" and "lava") is expensive. I also have seen some debate surrounding this diagram (Credit to Kman)-  is it accurate? I want to make sure before I follow the image to help shim my kidney piece. 

 

Excited because I've almost completed one forearm- I feel unreasonably accomplished for getting a piece of the body armor to fit me. Soon I'll be onto the second! My first piece of the body armor done! Baby steps!

 

My other question is- I have thick calves and thighs. I understand I can shim the backs of the thighs- does this mean cutting off the flat ridge of the thighs and replacing it with a heat-rounded piece of plastic and putting a cover strip down the middle to give the allusion of two halves joined together? Does that make sense? I can draw a picture if needed. But then there is a gap between the bottom ridges of the thigh... I have seen a few ways people have shimmed thighs but I'm not sure where to cut, or how to round the shim to fit the thigh. The same goes for the calves- I'd wanna keep the measurements in the front pretty standard, that's for sure. 

Edited June 8, 2020 by EmlanThane