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

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

I do believe that Centurion ab cutout diagram is accurate, but somebody correct me if I'm wrong. My understanding is that the notch is not on the shim, or you could interpret it as the entire length of the shim being "notched," or cut off at the bottom edge.

 

As for your calves, my understanding has been that you'd leave the flat area (rather than cutting it off), but perhaps try to contour it to your leg with a hot water bath. Then add a shim, or shims which will be butt-joined with a normal cover strip. Alternately, if you don't need much extra room, you could try to use a slighter wider rear cover strip.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Emma, The Diagram is the same I have to be the right one. and for the questions about shims, take a look to each of the following threads, I think they could be useful.  

 

1- Kidney-Shimming  

 

2- Thighs Shimming

 

3- Calves Shimming

 

Hope this can Help

 

Cheers  

 

[EmlanThane]

One small victory today....a completed forearm.

 

It is much more fitted to my arm than it originally was before I trimmed and glued it. I am very proud of it. It is a small accomplishment, but an accomplishment nonetheless. Today was otherwise mostly a research day, and tomorrow I have some plans. It's always good to have some plans even if I don't get all of them done. It's certainly better than going in with no plan at all.

 

My only concern is that the outer cover strip does not lie perfectly flush with part of one of the forearm halves- the half that is rounded and lacks a flattened ridge:

 

It really isn't noticeable unless I point it out, but I'm a perfectionist (that makes this project a mental strain sometimes). I couldn't get it to stay flat while gluing. Perhaps there is another way to remedy it.

 

That's it for tonight, but lots more to come soon!

[Chemi[Staff]]

I told you Emma ... As you finish parts and put them together, everything looks better...

About the outer cover strip, I use cyanoacrylate and an accelerator, but I did it before putting the cover on(I watched a lot of RS Propmasters videos) ... Now,with the cover on, it would be "dangerous" because cyanoacrylate could slip where it shouldn't...And if you stick it with the cyanoacrylate, there is no going back ...

 

Maybe someone can give you a better idea. Let's wait a little more...

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, EmlanThane said:

It is much more fitted to my arm than it originally was before I trimmed and glued it. I am very proud of it. It is a small accomplishment, but an accomplishment nonetheless. Today was otherwise mostly a research day, and tomorrow I have some plans. It's always good to have some plans even if I don't get all of them done. It's certainly better than going in with no plan at all.

 

My only concern is that the outer cover strip does not lie perfectly flush with part of one of the forearm halves- the half that is rounded and lacks a flattened ridge:

 

Yes Emma !!  That forearm looks great.  

If you don't feel good enough, you have said you're a perfectionist, and if can make a suggestion of what I did exactly in the same situation:

 

What I did was to use a couple of wood strips to affix the cover strips and place the clamps to pressure the cover and E6000 stronger. may be the photos can give you a better idea.

 

 

 

 

And finally consider to leave the glue to dry for more time. at least  48 hours .

 

Hope this can help. you're doing an excellent work 

 

cheers ,

 

 

 

[ticopowell[TK]]

I had a similar issue with my forearms, one of them had a funny angle on the flat areas under the cover strips, so I glued the funny areas first, it left a very wide forearm that had no chance of connecting without some good force. I let the E6000 dry, then I glued the other half. With both sides dry and set the forearm looked a lot better. After they had been fully set I did a hot water bath for 20-30 seconds to remove any tension on the parts, normally the bath is to mold the parts, in this case it was to just let the plastic relax a little. Not sure if that helps, but it worked for my forearm. 

[PhilBobTheFish]

44 minutes ago, ticopowell said:

I had a similar issue with my forearms, one of them had a funny angle on the flat areas under the cover strips, so I glued the funny areas first, it left a very wide forearm that had no chance of connecting without some good force. I let the E6000 dry, then I glued the other half. With both sides dry and set the forearm looked a lot better. After they had been fully set I did a hot water bath for 20-30 seconds to remove any tension on the parts, normally the bath is to mold the parts, in this case it was to just let the plastic relax a little. Not sure if that helps, but it worked for my forearm. 

This is exactly what I did!

[EmlanThane]

Thank you for the helpful tips! I will keep them in mind when using heat to reshape the arms or gluing going forward.

 

One of the things that stopped me from continuing my progress four years ago was the shins.... they scared me so much. That meant it was time to tackle them now.

 

 

Measuring a 10-11mm-wide flat ridge from 1/3 from the top and 1/3 from the bottom of the shin I used a ruler to draw a line connecting these points so that I had a straight guideline. If each shin half front is trimmed to 10-11 mm, this will allow for the needed 20mm-wide cover strip in the front.

 

As you can see, even with it cut to appropriate measurements, there's a bit of plastic sticking out that will need to be heated up and poked back inward so that the upper ridge lies flat.

 

All four of the shin halves look about the same so I didn't bother to take pictures of every single one. I think I did okay with the straight edges but I will have to go back and make some feint angled cuts to get the tops and bottoms of the halves to come together more smoothly. Right now it requires a bit of force or leaves some gaps, because the armor curves naturally. The dremel and the ruler are my friends for making these adjustments.... I also have to do that for the biceps. I just want to confirm the shin half pairs before making adjustments for them to fit each other (see below).

 

For the back of each shin half, I cut as little as possible. I think I can avoid shimming if I leave all of the excess plastic. And parts that are folded funny from being at the edge of the mold I plan on bending with heat to fold back into place, or simply cutting off the bottom of the shin (which I will 100% have to do for my height. However, I am going to wait to trim the shins height-wise and width-wise until I have my boots in about a month. It seems not smart to start trimming without the boots).

 

The red circles in the above photo show little bumps in the plastic that are a consequence of under-trimming the back. The bottom plastic spike will be cut off when I trim the bottoms once my boots arrive, and the top will be easily fixable with heat.

 

 

Matching shin halves was the tricky part. I think I finally got it.... But I cannot tell which is which leg! Send help! I've stared at countless shin photos and it is so hard to tell. Is there a specific curve to look for?

 

 

 

Moreover, one shin halve sticks out among them all. I believe the longest shin half is the left outer shin half (as once confirmed when I messaged Walt himself from Walt's Trooper Factory, and shown previously on this thread). Therefore in the photo above, where I show the four shin halves together, the shin pair on the left is the left leg, and the shin pair on the right is the right leg. Would that be correct? You can also see below how what is believed to be the left outer shin half sticks out far below the left inner (or even the right inner, which I tried fitting as well). 

 

 

 

 

[EmlanThane]

Also a forearm update....

 

Gluing the left forearm's back inner cover strip took A LOT of force to get the rounded half to lay flat. This warped the armor, making the wrist opening wonky and weird. So.... a hot water bath will be needed! I am waiting until I need a lot of things heat-molded so I can do it all in one batch. I am frustrated but know this is a natural part of the process. I applied force to get an area to lie flat- what did I /think/ was going to happen?!

 

 

Right now the wonky left armor is a snug fit because of how oval-shaped it is, but I still plan on gluing the outer coverstrip for reinforcement to take some pressure off of the joint before I start using hot water to remold it back into the right position.

 

I am looking for good instructions on hot water baths. From what I understand, I am supposed to dip the piece of armor in boiling(?) water for X amount of time based on some plastic I test with, then mold with heat-protective gloves. It sounds straightforward but I wonder if there's any extra tips to know.

 

 

Lastly, I am considering using a heat sealing iron instead of a heat gun to make return edges on the kidney and posterior and so on. It might feel a bit more controlled and safe for a newbie. Is that a bad idea?

Edited June 10, 2020 by EmlanThane

[EmlanThane]

Today I trimmed some of the last of the body armor- the THIGHS! All I have left to trim is the ab buttons, rivet covers on the belt, ammo pack on the thigh, sniper knee, shoulder straps. Just the little things. But I trimmed the thighs today, comparison pics between trimmed and untrimmed:

 

 

I removed all return edge from the top, but that was just for preliminary fitting, as I will also be cutting off the tops to trim the thighs height wise. I left some minimal return edge on the bottom (rough cut shown above) which was later refined with the dremel.

 

 

Here is where I THINK I need to cut to shorten the thighs. How's this?

 

 

This is based off some research I did. From my understanding I do not want to touch or cut the more vertical scoop portion of the thighs, and just lessen the severity of the curve on the top, and cut out from the backs. 

 

 

I plan on doing a true fitting with my black leggings that I will be wearing under the armor, but I did a preliminary fit just to guesstimate how much work I will need to do: and yes, I will have to shim the thighs. But it wasn't as bad a gap as I thought it would be!

 

 

And that's with thick sweatpants on, so when I do the proper fitting for width and height, there will probably be an even thinner shim. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Emma, great advances , looking good.

 

Looking forward to see the true fitting photos.  I would recommend  to wait after this fitting to think in trimming the thighs. remember measure twice or more, cut only once.  

 

keep on doing a great work, step by step.

 

cheers

 

 

 

 

[EmlanThane]

Thank you TkSpartan! A little bit at a time. Also remember how I overtrimmed the rubber S-trim at the bottom of the helmet? My new one from trooperbay came in and it is MUCH smaller than the one from WTF.

 

 

It's not my favorite, I think I liked it thicker, it hid the bottoms of the ears better that way, but this replacement will have to do for now.

 

 

Didn't overtrim this time! 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

16 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

Didn't overtrim this time! 

 looks great  .  

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Always best when trying on pieces for size you use your undersuit, can make a difference  

 

Coming along great

[Chemi[Staff]]

3 hours ago, EmlanThane said:

It's not my favorite, I think I liked it thicker, it hid the bottoms of the ears better that way, but this replacement will have to do for now.

I had the opposite problem ...My S-trim was very thick and I couldn't fit my head inside the helmet...Or maybe the problem is the size of my head

 

[EmlanThane]

For hobby heat sealing irons, can it be one of the less expensive two-temperature ones, or should it be one with a completely adjustable temperature (the more expensive kind)? I have no clue and I can’t seem to find this info here yet, as in if return edges can be made using heat sealing irons that only have limited temperature settings and not a temperature scale.

 

 

Also my gloves came in! They fit, but immediately ripped at the wrists. They were cheap so I ordered two more pairs and plan on reinforcing the bottoms of them with duct tape before putting them on next time they arrive.

Edited June 13, 2020 by EmlanThane

[EmlanThane]

I almost didn't do this tonight because I was so nervous, but I think I did okay (I am of course open to suggestions)! originally I was going to buy a pair of shorty thighs from WTF, but apparently there was the risk of them being a different shade of white, so I decided just to dive in and trim the ones I have. Be brave!

 

First of all, a pic of the better-fitting gloves. Even though they ripped at the bottom , a new pair is on it's way! They will get here soon and then I'll install the hand guards. Even though the rip isn't visible I'd rather start with a fresh unripped pair of gloves.

 

 

 

Time to assess the need for shimming the thighs again, wearing the proper under clothes! Yep, looks like a small shim will be needed for the thighs to slide on in a comfier way.

 

As you can see, the thigh dips wayyyyy below my knee (and in the front they were jabbing up really high). I cannot walk! It was time to trim the thighs height-wise. Following the guide lines I drew above earlier, I marked on the thigh where I needed to cut it in order to have the bottom of the thigh sit just above my knee (and be able to bend it slightly- I knew I could cut out part of the back later once everything is glued, I believe these are called "mobility cuts"). I then drew the curves with a pencil along which I cut with my plastic cutting scissors.

 

 

Here's a trimmed thigh versus an untrimmed thigh (height-wise). I measured the new height in the front and back of the shorter thigh and applied that to the untrimmed thigh to make sure the height on both was relatively equal. It will be impossible to tell for certain how things line up until I can get both on my body, but pure measurement of both says they're relatively equal.

 

You can see height-wise they fit much better now. A little room in the knee. It's still hard to walk but that's where the mobility cuts will come in, and at least this time I can bend my leg at all to begin with!

 

 

The way I'm holding it might make the thigh look a little too high up but I'm pretty confident I didn't overtrim- it still feels pretty long but I don't want to make any more cuts until I know how it will meet up with the cod and posterior. For now, I am pleased, and surprised that I could do it!

[Chemi[Staff]]

Very good Emma, very good ... Most of the hard work is done ...keep it up!!!

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Great job, Emma! That would have been scary for me too!


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[Yacorp[TK]]

Hi,

Congrats on the building progress! The TK-helmet looks lovely.

I sure hope I'll be able to achieve something like this, in like months

Since this is an quite active thread about WTF armor, does anyone here know how thick WTF armor is? (in inches/millimeters)

I'm still in the process of deciding for an armor maker and WTF's kit is looking really good, but I would like to get something that is at least a bit flexible, so of the thinner kind. I couldn't find this info on WTF anywhere on his website or the vetted makers list.

 

 

Greeting, Jakob

[PhilBobTheFish]

1 hour ago, Yacorp said:

Hi,

Congrats on the building progress! The TK-helmet looks lovely.

I sure hope I'll be able to achieve something like this, in like months

Since this is an quite active thread about WTF armor, does anyone here know how thick WTF armor is? (in inches/millimeters)

I'm still in the process of deciding for an armor maker and WTF's kit is looking really good, but I would like to get something that is at least a bit flexible, so of the thinner kind. I couldn't find this info on WTF anywhere on his website or the vetted makers list.

 

 

Greeting, Jakob

You can contact them through their site, and they'll email you what you need to know.

[EmlanThane]

Before I move forward on the thighs, I want to confirm that this shape at the bottom of the thigh is normal- some people seem to have a straighter bottom ridge and I’m not sure if mine is V shaped because of the mold/maker or because of something I’m doing wrong?

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

1 minute ago, EmlanThane said:

Before I move forward on the thighs, I want to confirm that this shape at the bottom of the thigh is normal- some people seem to have a straighter bottom ridge and I’m not sure if mine is V shaped because of the mold/maker or because of something I’m doing wrong? 

Can you take a photo from an elevation level with that portion of your armor, or from a more natural viewing angle? I know they may be variations in that raised lip, but suspect that your near-ground camera angle is exaggerating the lines.

[PhilBobTheFish]

I'm sure it's just V shaped because of the maker. I'm not really show you you could've changed the actual shape of the ridge, so just assume that's how it is.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

53 minutes ago, EmlanThane said:

Before I move forward on the thighs, I want to confirm that this shape at the bottom of the thigh is normal- some people seem to have a straighter bottom ridge and I’m not sure if mine is V shaped because of the mold/maker or because of something I’m doing wrong?

Hi Emma, the following reference photo may help you to compare, but it seems like a view perspective issue. A closer photo would help.

 

 

 

Cheers