Blooper's AM 2.0 ANH Build

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 1:

 

Tonight my dad and I added snaps to the right half of the lower torso, and completed the codpiece rivet / double snap connection. We also worked on the thighs, adding the rear cover strips and snap plates to the front insides in preparation for attaching them to a belt underneath the torso. The plan for tomorrow, if all goes well, is to add this connection, trim the shin pieces height-wise, and then connect them from four pieces into two. If this happens, we can go for a near full test fit on Friday night. The belt itself may take a few days. While we know how much we need to trim, it hasn't been done yet.

 

Side note: Any people here big into fish / aquariums? My dad has used a few of the spare rocks / pebbles he has from fish tanks that he owns to help save magnets. It's worked quite well!

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith a small highlight below:

 

 

Inside view of the right thigh. Both thighs had the same work done to them this evening to be safe.

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 2:

 

Today we worked on getting a rough fit for the thighs and gluing up the shins. The thigh pieces themselves are a tiny bit large in terms of width, but seem to be within reasonable bounds. We glued up both the pieces of the left shin and its outer cover strip, as it all lined up quite well. It needs height adjustment and the sniper plate, but works well otherwise. The right shin was glued together, not counting the cover strip. The back cover strip on it will need to be altered a bit to sit completely flush to the inner right shin piece. Tomorrow is the last major work day for awhile. Beyond that it'll be about two weeks or so before major work can be resumed. 

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxf with a small highlight below:

 

 

Left shin piece. I know that the return edge on the bottom needs to be removed, just haven't gotten to it yet, time was short this evening. It will be fixed before approval. The velcro hooks will be added to this piece tomorrow. If there is time, it will be trimmed for height, and then have the sniper knee plate glued on.

 

 

Showing the back of the right shin. The cover strip will go on tomorrow on the front. Like I said, the back needs adjustment to sit flush with the middle and bottom of the inner shin piece, so as to not jut out. If ready tomorrow, we will trim for height and add the velcro hooks to complete the right shin.

[Troopacoola[TK]]

Update on progress February 2:

 

Today we worked on getting a rough fit for the thighs and gluing up the shins. The thigh pieces themselves are a tiny bit large in terms of width, but seem to be within reasonable bounds. We glued up both the pieces of the left shin and its outer cover strip, as it all lined up quite well. It needs height adjustment and the sniper plate, but works well otherwise. The right shin was glued together, not counting the cover strip. The back cover strip on it will need to be altered a bit to sit completely flush to the inner right shin piece. Tomorrow is the last major work day for awhile. Beyond that it'll be about two weeks or so before major work can be resumed.

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxf with a small highlight below:

 

 

Left shin piece. I know that the return edge on the bottom needs to be removed, just haven't gotten to it yet, time was short this evening. It will be fixed before approval. The velcro hooks will be added to this piece tomorrow. If there is time, it will be trimmed for height, and then have the sniper knee plate glued on.

 

 

Showing the back of the right shin. The cover strip will go on tomorrow on the front. Like I said, the back needs adjustment to sit flush with the middle and bottom of the inner shin piece, so as to not jut out. If ready tomorrow, we will trim for height and add the velcro hooks to complete the right shin.

Making great progress trooper, you'll be done in no time!

 

Marc

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 3:

 

Today was... interesting. The shins were trimmed moderately well for height, but not perfectly. Problem is, we realized after putting them together (and the left shin splitting into two pieces again) that we had the pieces mixed up, with the outers on one leg and the inners on another. The thighs were sized, but are awaiting final testing before we rivet the webbing and add a snap to connect it to the thighs. In regards to the shins, do people really just go nuts with E6000, or is CA glue used in that instance? 

 

No photos to add today Previous images are still at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxf Here's to hoping for better results in a week or two when the project should resume at full speed. Will still be plenty active here in the meantime!

[RynoHawk[501st]]

I'm not there yet, but maybe a couple of extra inner small cover strips going crosswise and some extra time to cure.

[Navajo Bro[TK]]

I'm not there yet, but maybe a couple of extra inner small cover strips going crosswise and some extra time to cure.

 

This is a good idea, along with some tape to even hold it down some (that's what I've been doing).  Another big factor in keeping them from splitting is taking them on and off carefully.  Slide them on like a sock, slow and careful so there is very minimal push out, and take them off by separating the top first, then sort of puling them up and out as opposed to pulling them completely apart to remove your leg.  If that makes sense

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

This is a good idea, along with some tape to even hold it down some (that's what I've been doing). Another big factor in keeping them from splitting is taking them on and off carefully. Slide them on like a sock, slow and careful so there is very minimal push out, and take them off by separating the top first, then sort of puling them up and out as opposed to pulling them completely apart to remove your leg. If that makes sense

Perfect sense, thanks!

[Jaltrooper]

Looks great Blooper! 

 

As a fellow AM 2.0 builder...great to see the progress! moving right along! 

 

Here is what I did with the E-6000 in my shins...

 

 

 

Made sure I sanded all contact points with 150 grit sandpaper, applied it to both pieces / sides, and used plenty. Not going to clean the inside...wan to keep all of the adhesive in there. Have put on / taken off several times to fit...and they are solid as a rock.

 

Good luck! Looks great!

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Looks great Blooper! 

 

As a fellow AM 2.0 builder...great to see the progress! moving right along! 

 

Here is what I did with the E-6000 in my shins...

 

 

 

Made sure I sanded all contact points with 150 grit sandpaper, applied it to both pieces / sides, and used plenty. Not going to clean the inside...wan to keep all of the adhesive in there. Have put on / taken off several times to fit...and they are solid as a rock.

 

Good luck! Looks great!

 

For at least a little bit I need to focus on cleaning up all the armor. While it all works, it's got excess glue everywhere. When I tackle the shins again, I'm going to go absolutely off the wall with glue to be safe, with the cover strip being added on at a later point, following the original idea of adding them on as asthetic effects. Great to see other AM 2.0 people

[Jaltrooper]

You bet! Been following along with your build since day one. Really think the AM Family is growing every Month. Also great to see someone aiming for high approval levels. Time to have a few full AM Centurion out here.<br><br>

Jon

[Jaltrooper]

P.S. as "Ryno Hawk" said...may be worth putting a couple of "brackets" in too...I am considering that as well...

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 6:

 

Today, I spent the majority of my short time cleaning up the E6000 off of the various strips of plastic and the shin pieces. I also did rough tape-ups of the shins, and glued the right shin inner front strip.  Once it dries I plan on adding a few cross support strips before adding the outer strip. Going to hold off on the left shin for now and explore the possibility of holding the front bit together with magnets as well. The velcro I've been using has been quite great, but I'm not sure if it would work on the front end to the same degree. I never fully realized how difficult it would be to line up two curved pieces and hold them in place on my own before today. I have a newfound respect for all you solo builders out there. Huge props!

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith a small highlight below:

 

 

Right shin. Matches up a LOT better than in the previous trial.

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Happy to say the build has resumed!

 

Update on progress February 18:

 

Tonight, my dad and I took the newly sized canvas belt and worked heavily on it, glued the ab buttons to the ab torso piece, and worked on the right shin more. For the right shin, we added the outer cover strip. We were condering using webbing to make the inside seam more secure. For the ab buttons, we used a dremel to trim down the last bits of excess, E6000, and some fish rocks in place of magnets. Lastly, we worked our butts off on the belt, and got it just about finished. We added rivets to the three dimple spots on the plastic ammo belt and canvas belt, completed the drop boxes (with very minimal gap), added the holster, and two snaps on the inside of the canvas belt to attach to two snaps on the outside of the ab torso piece.

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith highlights below:

 

 

Belt part one: The drop box on the right had its elastic bunched up, and still is the proper length, despite the photo.

 

 

Holster, Stunt style. Was sightly smaller in width than what I had seen on FISD diagrams, but still worked just fine (About a centimeter or two less than what I had seen on the diagrams). Fits my Hyperfirm E-11 quite well! Mini-hershey bar in the background for scale.

 

It's good to be back in action. The plan is to submit by March 1 so I can be approved in time for the Cleveland Comic Con in mid-March. In terms of remaining tasks: Add straps to hold up the thighs, add two snaps to the outer ab torso piece to hold up the belt, and complete both shin pieces.

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 18:

 

Didn't make much progress today, but did a lot of prep / cleanup work. We got the left shin inner strip glued in and the drop boxes glued to the canvas belt in the proper positions to prevent them from floating around while being worn.

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith a small highlight below:

 

 

Left shin.

 

 

Ammo belt. We used a few weights to make the process simple.

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 19:

 

Tonight my dad and I glued the left shin outer cover strip and did a test fit of the torso with the belt. The torso itself works just fine, but the belt rides rather low. The snaps we set on the belt didn't align well to the ab torso piece. As a result, we added two more snaps about an inch close to the outer ends of the plastic ammo belt. We are going to clean it up and close it up with more rivets tomorrow. Hopefully this will hold it up better. Looking for input on where exactly the belt should hang. In the test photos I have, it was angled slightly downward, but in the back covered the kidney / butt plate connection. 

 

Also, looking into adjusting the size of the thighs by removing from both sides of the rear seam to result in skinnier thigh pieces, as right now there is about an inch of room. Mainly a post-basic approval detail.

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith highlights below:

 

 

Left shin outer piece.

 

 

Test fit of the torso itself. Looking to reposition the ab buttons slightly.

 

 

Belt test. Needs to hang much higher I'm sure, but if I adjust it too much it'll expose the kidney / butt plate connection. Wasn't too sure if that would be right. Any tips are appreciated.

[Troopacoola[TK]]

Hello. Yeah, the belt needs raising. See below.

 

There's also a diagram to help you make sure your measurements are good

 

 

 

 

 

Marc

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Hello. Yeah, the belt needs raising. See below.

 

There's also a diagram to help you make sure your measurements are good

 

 

 

 

 

Marc

 

Thankfully I got the holster set like that already. The belt itself, we're working on getting more appropriate sized rivets to close off the sides. The drop box is within a few millimeters (Give or take 2-3) of that, so I'll look into it to be sure. Should my belt itself cover the kidney and butt plate seam / split? If I angle it just right, I can achieve the angle shown in yours and get it. I'm looking into adding the two snaps to hold the belt up very soon. As is, it doesn't quite hold the E-11, but works moderately well on its own. Aside from the belt snaps, the torso is thankfully finished! Much appreciated on the photo!

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 20:

 

Tonight, my dad and I test fit the torso and thigh pieces together. We discovered that they work moderately well, but the thighs could use some work to be skinnier overall, likely a post-approval change. The belt is still awaiting the properly sized rivets. The shins both received their rear velcro pieces. If anyone has any suggestions on how to reinforce this seam, please share. My dad had an idea on taking a piece of wide webbing and covering the inner cover strip down the front seam of the shins. My idea was to make several cross sections inside the shin over the inner cover strip to act as reinforcements instead. 

 

If anyone has any additional input, please let me know! I love all the tips / advice!

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith highlights below:

 

 

Test fit. We set the thighs webbing length and added rivets to ensure their proper height after we took this photo.

 

 

Rear torso. Don't know if it's more evident, but the thighs are about an inch or two wide, but work moderately well height wise.

 

 

I can manage stairs as it stands in these just fine, but I'd like to double check with the shins in a few days. 

[Troopacoola[TK]]

Here's another shot of my Centurion clearence pics buddy. You can use this for refference when fitting the belt.

 

 

Marc

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Here's another shot of my Centurion clearence pics buddy. You can use this for refference when fitting the belt.

 

 

Marc

 

Much appreciated! Any tips on the thigh ammo belt and the sniper knee plate? I'm not quite sure if my knees should extend above the shin pieces, or if they should lie right behind the tops of the shins. From what I can see, it looks like just above, with the sniper knee plate covering the left shin.

 

Thanks!

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Update on progress February 21:

 

Tonight we added elastic to the front inside seam of the shins as reinforcement, adjusted the belt to sit higher on the torso, added snap plates to the torso to connect to the belt, glued silicone handgaurds to rubber gloves, and lastly added a D-Ring to the E-11 Hyperfirm I have. For the belt, the final result is about 2-3 mm away from the ab buttons. If need be, this can be adjusted higher, as we just set the snap plates in with webbing. The rivets were replaced on the belt, and had their cover squares replaced as well. The process by which the D-Ring was added is what my dad is officially referring to as "Pimp the killstick." Looking into possibly adding some sort of actual scope and / or glass or some clear material to simulate a scope instead of using just stickers.

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith highlights below:

 

 

Belt adjusted. After this photo, we evened out the belt and set the snap plates. As said, it sits about 2-3 mm off of the ab buttons. 

 

 

Reinforced the shin pieces with elastic on the inside. Hopefully the sniper knee plate will be added in the coming days.

 

 

D-Ring added!

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Also if anyone has any tips on the thigh ammo belt that's my next task!

 

Also also, does anyone have an recommended amazon helmet pads? I was told to look up ACH helmet padding, but there is a multitude of options. Looking to mostly lock in the sides of my head, as height wise it works with no padding at all.

 

Thanks!

Edited February 22, 2017 by TheBlooperTrooper

[Stratcat96[501st]]

https://www.amazon.com/NEW-ORIGINAL-US-ARMY-ISSUE/dp/B004RCLM8Q

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stratcat96[501st]]

Update on progress February 20:

 

Tonight, my dad and I test fit the torso and thigh pieces together. We discovered that they work moderately well, but the thighs could use some work to be skinnier overall, likely a post-approval change. The belt is still awaiting the properly sized rivets. The shins both received their rear velcro pieces. If anyone has any suggestions on how to reinforce this seam, please share. My dad had an idea on taking a piece of wide webbing and covering the inner cover strip down the front seam of the shins. My idea was to make several cross sections inside the shin over the inner cover strip to act as reinforcements instead.

 

If anyone has any additional input, please let me know! I love all the tips / advice!

 

Pics updated at http://imgur.com/a/vnNxfwith highlights below:

 

 

Test fit. We set the thighs webbing length and added rivets to ensure their proper height after we took this photo.

 

 

Rear torso. Don't know if it's more evident, but the thighs are about an inch or two wide, but work moderately well height wise.

 

 

I can manage stairs as it stands in these just fine, but I'd like to double check with the shins in a few days.

Might be the shadow or the angle, but your thigh pieces sort of look a little short. You mention that they are wide, which I can see too. Do you have any better pics of your thighs on, possibly with the shins too? For width, they should follow the natural taper of your legs, with about a finger's width left btw your leg. You have to be careful bc too wide they'll look like board shorts, not pieces of armor.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 22, 2017 by Stratcat96

[TheBlooperTrooper[TK]]

Might be the shadow or the angle, but your thigh pieces sort of look a little short. You mention that they are wide, which I can see too. Do you have any better pics of your thighs on, possibly with the shins too? For width, they should follow the natural taper of your legs, with about a finger's width left btw your leg. You have to be careful bc too wide they'll look like board shorts, not pieces of armor.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

I'd like to think they are not short height-wise, as they reach from just below my torso piece down to just above my knee. This angle was more meant to show the freedom-of-movement aspect. I don't have a photo of both the thighs and shins on simultaneously, but the fact that the thighs were wide was a concern of mine. If all goes well, I'll be able to submit for basic certification with them as-is. After I submit, I'l be removing equal portions from the rear seams of both halves of each thigh piece to allow them to be made to be much more form fitting. I'll try and get a thigh and shin picture ASAP. Appreciate the input!