Cricket's RS Stunt Build (for the Vertically Challenged)

[zv288bot[TK]]

[zv288bot[TK]]

: (

 

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[Kacrut[501st]]

Oooh...

[Cricket[TK]]

Ab/kidney have been conquered!

 

Drilled the holes for the split rivets.  Cut three 1 inch x 60mm sections of black elastic.  Made two holes in each section at 10mm from center using my snap setter (love that thing).  I used a lighter to melt the ends of the straps as well as the little holes in order to prevent fraying.

 

Inserted split rivets, straps, and washers on the armor and smashed them all together.  I used a phillips head screwdriver to open the split rivets, then hammered them down flat once they opened up a little.  Easy to do.

 

I repeated the process for the other side, and it was done.  Here's me trying it on to see how the rivets line up.

 

 

I think I understand why some smaller troopers add foam into the kidney now.  It should help to keep the butt plate from popping out like that as well as keeping the kidney from shifting forward at the top.  Still, I'm happy with things so far!

The other side view.  My shoulder straps aren't installed yet, and that will help line things up on this side.  My armor was just being held up by the belt alone, and the belt is just attached with the velcro (ab snaps not yet installed).

 

And this is my Kardashian Trooper selfie.

 

Can't see my duck lips in this, though.  

Edited January 25, 2017 by Cricket

[illusionz_09[TK]]

I'm not sure if it is due to the mirror reflection side confusing me, but the rivets are meant to be only on the left side of the armor.

The right side is secure through the inside. All you are suppose to see is the floating Han Snap.

 

Just for a sanity check can you make sure you did it correctly lol...

[Cricket[TK]]

I'm not sure if it is due to the mirror reflection side confusing me, but the rivets are meant to be only on the left side of the armor.

The right side is secure through the inside. All you are suppose to see is the floating Han Snap.

 

Just for a sanity check can you make sure you did it correctly lol...

Ah, yes, sanity check, stat!

 

And it's good.    Rivets are indeed on the left side.  The zoomed in pic is from the mirror, so it looks like the rivets are on the right, but they're not.  

 

Here's a less confusing pic...

 

 

Thanks for verifying!  

Edited November 29, 2016 by Cricket

[illusionz_09[TK]]

thats what i thought! nice job!

[TKZombie[TK]]

Painting them ahead of installing is easier. But you're a pro so you should have no issue painting them in place...

[Cricket[TK]]

A.B.B.  Always.  Be.  Building.  That's what my GML mentioned recently, and it's a term that I think about every day now.  When something's drying, there's always something else to work on.  There's lots of little things that I'm tweaking on my kit in a somewhat OCD manner.  

Like what Christina said:
 

Painting them ahead of installing is easier. But you're a pro so you should have no issue painting them in place...

Truth, sister.   This was the little push I needed to remove all six split rivets and paint new ones.  And yes, I know that I could have easily painted them while installed, but... 

 

Here's some more truth:  this was actually the second time I had removed all six rivets.  The first time was from a major screw up: I installed the rivets using webbing to attach the kidney and ab.  This was a very bad idea because there would be no flex in the joint, and over time, I'd end up with some serious breakage either in the kidney and/or ab.  So using two tiny flathead screwdrivers and a pair of needlenose pliers, I was able to get all six split rivets off without any issues.  

Then I installed the second round of rivets using elastic.  "Yay, me!", I thought.  But then as I tried on the armor (even as it was on me in the pics), I didn't like how the elastics were.  I figured out that I had made the holes in the elastic just two millimeters too far apart from each other.  So there was a tiny bit of a gap when the elastics were not flexed.  I wanted the ab/kidney joint to be tight, but without overlapping.  It was bugging me.  But not enough to remove all the split rivets again.  Then Christina made her comment.... aaaaand that was all I needed.  

The first time I removed the split rivets, the learning curve was steep, and took me almost 30 minutes to do.  The second time, they were all out in less than 5 minutes.  Woo!

 

So I made some new elastics with the holes closer together.  Here are the old ones and new ones for comparison.  

 

And I painted some fresh split rivets.  Installing today.

 

 

Installed some snaps on the ab.

 

 

I worked on my belt.  Made my 12mm measurements at the corners of my belt, and made my 45 degree cuts.

 

 

Another trooper in my garrison (shout out to David!) gave me a fab tip about attaching the belt using industrial strength velcro.  So that's what I did.  

 

 

This isn't going anywhere unless I tear it off with some serious brute force.  I also got around to attaching the button plates to the ab.  Looking a bit more trooper-esque now.

 

 

The nice thing about using velcro to attach the ammo belt is that I can adjust it up or down as needed.  I think I may raise it up just a little bit.   Or do you think that it's good where it is in this pic?  Opinions would be great on this.  

 

Oh, and I took care of one other thing that really, really, really makes me crazy about armor.  I know it doesn't matter for approval, but it drives me nuts when I see screws for brackets that don't sit flush on the outside of the return.  Visually, it looks sloppy to me, even though I know that screen used armor had them like that.  Also, the screw heads can kind of 'lock' on each other- at least this is what was happening on my armor.  I kept having to fuss to get them to stop fighting with each other.  

 

Here's my example:

 

 

A little blurry, but the screw on the left has been counter sunk.  The screw on the right has been drilled in without being counter sunk.  Which one looks better to you?  

I easily achieved this by using a step bit and turning it by hand very gently into the existing hole.  

 

 

This opened up the top layer of the plastic enough for the screw head to sit into.  Keep in mind that I've reinforced the area below the screw with some extra ABS, so it's thicker below for support.   And here's what it looks like after:

 

I proceeded to do this to all the brackets except for the ones on the ab (because those can't be seen).  Just another little detail that maybe no one but me will notice, but it was something that had to be done for my own sanity.  

I'm off to get more TK done.  

A.B.B.!!!

 

[Cricket[TK]]

Oh, hey, does anyone remember when I was building the magnetic closures for my shins?  I made a short video so you can see how they function.  Any feedback appreciated!  

Edited December 3, 2016 by Cricket

[fragarock[TK]]

Oh, hey, does anyone remember when I was building the magnetic closures for my shins? I made a short video so you can see how they function. Any feedback appreciated!

 

https://youtu.be/4Dad6x7_TkE

Nice, they look good and pretty sturdy.

Also, top notch job on that metallic iridescent filing cabinet in the background.

 

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[Cricket[TK]]

Also, top notch job on that metallic iridescent filing cabinet in the background.

 

 

Thanks, Frank!    Yes, I love my holographic Helmer.  I think it cost me less than $20 in materials and about 2 hours to complete.  Totally worth it!

 

Lots of little bits o' progress happening lately.  Like attaching the inner right hand snap plate into the chest.  And making the snap part of the shoulder elastic.  Not much, but necessary.

 

 

Oh, hey, it's a belt!  Outer drop boxes are aligned with the plastic ends of the belt, but this pic makes 'em look a little off due to the curve of the belt.  I temporarily removed the holster while I installed the drop boxes.

 

 

I added industrial velcro in the middle of the belt to add extra support.  And a little bit of velcro was attached to the insides of the drop boxes in case I decide to use them for some small storage or something.

 

 

Also working furiously on getting the thighs to fit just right.  They're glued together with inner cover strips for the moment.  I'm waiting to add the outer cover strips until I've sized everything correctly to fit.

 

In this pic, the larger thigh hasn't yet been trimmed to fit.  The smaller one fits width-wise.  I still need to remove more of the extra length at the top.  Lots to trim on these!

 

 

It's all coming together, little by little!

[Addertime[TK]]

Go Go Go!

[Cricket[TK]]

Did some sniper knee gluing.  Does this look like it's in the correct position?  I've been staring at Centurion pics to compare it.   I'm just needing some other eyeballs on it to verify if I need to change the position or not.  



Feedback would be very helpful!  Thanks, troopers.  

 

[Addertime[TK]]

Did some sniper knee gluing.  Does this look like it's in the correct position?  I've been staring at Centurion pics to compare it.   I'm just needing some other eyeballs on it to verify if I need to change the position or not.  

 

 

Feedback would be very helpful!  Thanks, troopers.  

 

 

 

Yep. Looks good!

[Cricket[TK]]

Thanks, Michael!  I've also reviewed your Sniper Knee Attachment Question thread, and that was quite helpful.  I will get to the other side of that door soon!  

[Cricket[TK]]

Progress.  Hahaha!

 

 

 Happy holidays y'all!  

[Addertime[TK]]

Woohoo!  

[Cricket[TK]]

Would anyone have suggestions about connecting the shoulders to wear in a way that doesn't keep them snapped to the white elastic on the shoulder straps? 

 

I've seen diagrams about how to connect it all together with a suspender/garter system, but I'm confused about where the elastics from the shoulder bells attach.  Do they snap directly on the suspenders?  Are the elastics on the shoulder bells attached to each other and run along the top and back of the shoulders?    
 

Edited December 14, 2016 by Cricket

[Addertime[TK]]

The shoulder bell elastic snaps to the white 2" should elastic. I'll take a photo for you right now.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Addertime

[Addertime[TK]]

Disregard the stretched out elastic and thread. It happens amazingly fast. Keep a needle and thread in your repair kit as well as extra snaps.
The snap is sewn to the end of the shoulder bell elastic. 
 

 

[Cricket[TK]]

Thanks for those pics, Michael.    I understood how to attach the shoulder bell straps to the white elastics.  I was looking for a suspender solution, though.

I was able to dig up a pic that I downloaded from somewhere...  this might help to describe what I'm trying to achieve...

 

Based on the pic, where do the shoulder elastics attach?  Across the front?  Across the back?  Is it just one long length of elastic?  I am hoping to reduce the extra stress on the shoulders entirely by using this kind of setup.

[Addertime[TK]]

I would expect it to be exactly the same, right along the front edge of the trapezius. 

Put the body on and have someone hold and mark the location for you. I suppose you could run a single piece across the back but it will likely be hard to put on. Don't reinvent the wheel. Separate arms work really well and are easy to put on and take off, even when alone.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Addertime

[zv288bot[TK]]

I know Dustin does not have his shoulder bells attached to his straps. He has an elastic strap that goes across his upper back and snaps them in place. From what I can tell it would be like the diagram.

 

 

Dustin is in the middle.

 

sent from my phone

[Cricket[TK]]

 Don't reinvent the wheel. Separate arms work really well and are easy to put on and take off, even when alone.

 

I know Dustin does not have his shoulder bells attached to his straps. He has an elastic strap that goes across his upper back and snaps them in place. From what I can tell it would be like the diagram.

 

Thanks, Michael and Jorge for the input.  I think I'm going to digest this one for a bit to figure out which method will work best for my frame size.  To be continued for sure.

 

I'm now at the point where I feel like I'm assembling nothing but straps and snaps.  For me, this is the most boring part of the whole build.  Lots of little work, very little to show for it.  It's not like when you assemble an entire arm- now THAT feels like progress!  But inside strapping?  Meh.

 

As I've been trying on my kit, I'm suddenly realizing that I think I need to remove even more from back of my armor.  Why?  It still seems too long overall on me in the back.

 

I have removed about an inch off the bottom of the back plate already.  I don't want to take off any more there because it'll start to look 'off'.  

 

I have not taken anything off of the butt plate, aside from trimming around the edges.  However, I don't want to mess with rebuilding returns with this piece- so I don't think I will take any off of there.

 

Which leaves my kidney.  I've removed about 1.25 inches from the bottom of the kidney so far.  I think I could easily remove another inch from the bottom.  Remember that I'm just 5'4", and the kidney should accommodate someone at least 5'10".  Cutting down the kidney even more should bring everything into better alignment with the front.  It'll also look proportionally better as well.

 

 

If I remove an extra inch or so from the bottom, my kidney will line up with my ab as shown in example A above.  Currently, the kidney is much longer, and the kidney notch is lower.  See?

 

 

 If you can imagine the kidney having one inch less at the bottom (in the pic above), you can see how the butt plate will fit better.  I have Jorge to thank for planting the seed for this idea into my brain.    Now that my kit is coming together, I see it's something that needs to be done.  Gah... more trimming and new returns!  Fun!  

Edited January 25, 2017 by Cricket