2x2 Posted November 18, 2016 Author Report Posted November 18, 2016 SO, I'm getting to the point where I need to cut the butt from the kidney plate... and I read somewhere (though now I kind find where of course) that I shouldn't cut on the line, that that is too high... so I'm looking for advice on where exactly I should be cutting it? What I was thinking was that I should line up the edges of the ab plate to the kidney plate and making sure they are even, and then cutting at that point... sound right? Quote
Troopacoola[TK] Posted November 18, 2016 Report Posted November 18, 2016 SO, I'm getting to the point where I need to cut the butt from the kidney plate... and I read somewhere (though now I kind find where of course) that I shouldn't cut on the line, that that is too high... so I'm looking for advice on where exactly I should be cutting it? What I was thinking was that I should line up the edges of the ab plate to the kidney plate and making sure they are even, and then cutting at that point... sound right?Could you pop a photo up with the ab and kidney/ butt plates lined up?I trimmed mine on the line, but had to trim the kidney plate anyway so I could avoid the back plate overlapping the kidney. This did however mean I had to trim and reshape the top of the ab in order for it to line up with the top of the kidney. If that makes sense? Marc Quote
2x2 Posted November 18, 2016 Author Report Posted November 18, 2016 Could you pop a photo up with the ab and kidney/ butt plates lined up? I trimmed mine on the line, but had to trim the kidney plate anyway so I could avoid the back plate overlapping the kidney. This did however mean I had to trim and reshape the top of the ab in order for it to line up with the top of the kidney. If that makes sense? Marc Sure, here's a couple. I have made a tick line in pencil (it's faint) on the kidney/butt plate where the bottom of the ab plate lines up. Right now it is about 1 and a half inches below the pre-existing line: 1 Quote
Troopacoola[TK] Posted November 18, 2016 Report Posted November 18, 2016 (edited) Cool. I see your point. The front and back plates on the FX kit is a fair bit longer than others out there. If you look at my FX kit you can see that once I reduced the kidney plate I trimmed the ab to line up at the top. When I assembled my FX, I did trim along the seam. Now that you've pointed it out when you look at the comparison my FX butt is larger than my other kit. Which, also means that I could've gotten rid of the inch or so from the butt rather than what was trimmed from the kidney. I mean, who wants a big butt, right? Anyways you could always trim where you've marked and then reduce the top of the ab ( which will be covered by the chest plate and lower kidney to fit. If not then your belt will hide that seam anyway. Hope this helps. Marc Opps forgot to put reference pic up! Edited November 18, 2016 by CTID 1 Quote
2x2 Posted November 18, 2016 Author Report Posted November 18, 2016 Cool. I see your point. The front and back plates on the FX kit is a fair bit longer than others out there. If you look at my FX kit you can see that once I reduced the kidney plate I trimmed the ab to line up at the top. When I assembled my FX, I did trim along the seam. Now that you've pointed it out when you look at the comparison my FX butt is larger than my other kit. Which, also means that I could've gotten rid of the inch or so from the butt rather than what was trimmed from the kidney. I mean, who wants a big butt, right? Anyways you could always trim where you've marked and then reduce the top of the ab ( which will be covered by the chest plate and lower kidney to fit. If not then your belt will hide that seam anyway. Hope this helps. Marc Opps forgot to put reference pic up! Ooh, that's a great reference pic! Thanks for that! 1 Quote
Troopacoola[TK] Posted November 18, 2016 Report Posted November 18, 2016 No probs, if you need anymore side by side let me know Marc 1 Quote
2x2 Posted November 19, 2016 Author Report Posted November 19, 2016 Thought I'd post some pics of my overall progress Going okay so far, it certainly can be tricky at times! Everything laid out so far: Got the thighs and the calves together, trimmed the thighs, attached the ammo belt and sniper knee plate. Cut the cod and attached with elastic and tabs to keep it from pulling backwards. Still need to tidy up the sides of the abs coming off the cod. Cut the butt plate from the kidney plate and trimmed down the kidney plate. Attached snaps and straps. There may yet be more trimming to the kidney's required. I decided that I will cut the notches out of the shim plates, since the butt and kidney plate lines up right now (and we need the full width) so we'll see how that turns out. Still may add a slight return edge - will make that decision after I experiment on some scraps to see how it goes Trimmed the neckline of the chest piece slightly and in progress of adding the shoulder ridges. Have added snaps inside for the shoulder straps. Trimmed the bottom edge on each side, but have not yet added a return edge (see caveat above). I have some snap buttons that are very nearly the perfect size for the ab plate - they might be closer to 8/16 rather than 7/16, but they're still better than the ones that came with the kit so I will likely use them. Gettin' there! 2 Quote
Udermeister Posted November 19, 2016 Report Posted November 19, 2016 Lookin good, Mel! Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk 2 Quote
2x2 Posted November 28, 2016 Author Report Posted November 28, 2016 Arg. So, discovered I have made a mistake with the thighs - a good lesson for next time (should there be a next time)... Having fit the thighs and glued them together, we realized they needed to be trimmed because they were too long, so I trimmed off the top into a lovely shape, but neglected to take into account that the diameter of the thigh pieces at the tops would now be too narrow for the top of my husband's thighs, and I now have had to split them apart again and add shims to make them wide enough to fit properly Some damage occurred taking them apart, but it will be covered by the piece I add to widen the tops, so that's not too serious, and I realize that, to make the thighs the proper length, I would have had to shim them anyways, so no harm no foul there I guess... but it's a bit frustrating when you think you've already got something done and discover you've made a mistake and have to redo it. In the same vein, decided we also needed to trim the forearms, but that was a much simpler fix. Did get a lot done on the strapping this weekend though, front and back are together and ab plate to chest piece. Kidney is temporarily strapped to back plate, but still needs some trimming because the butt is too low, strap is in place from the cod to the butt... Still need to attache the shoulder bells and then the biceps to the bells, decide how we're hanging the legs, and make the belt and a neck seal, but getting closer!! 2 Quote
2x2 Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Posted April 6, 2017 Had to take a long break and work on some other projects, but now I'm back at it and nearing completion - we've got a Star Wars themed birthday party coming up in just over a week, so I've got a hard deadline now! What's done: Chest, ab, cod, shoulder bells, biceps, forearms, back, kidney and butt plate, all fitted and strapped together, with the exception of the two shims I need to add to bridge the front and the back sides. Shins completed. Right thigh is mostly completed. After shimming the pack I have a bit of cosmetic surgery to do to make it look better, but that's on the low end of the list for now. Left thigh is in progress - this one's shape was pretty wonky and has needed some application of the heat gun to try and get it to line up better. Currently in the first stages of gluing together. Hand plates - for now we're just using elastic straps to hold them on the gloves, as I am planning to cast my own silicone ones in the future. Crappy temporary boots found and painted (crappily) - they are temporary until we find better, but they only cost me $7 Canadian bucks so they'll do for the party Still to do: Finish left thigh. Add the side shims.Sew and assemble the belt and drop boxes - Iv'e vac formed some back sides for the boxes, but not sure if I'm happy with them as they're a bit small, so may redo that. Also have to vac form the snap covers. Assemble the thermal detonator and make belt clips Sew a neck seal SO CLOSE!! He will be using his MR bucket, but I am not modifying it at this time - we're going for costume here, and that's something I really don't want to mess up!! He put on everything we have done so far last night, including the MR helmet, and my god, once that helmet went on it was so damn amazing!!! Even with all the little things I know are wrong with this kit, it still gave me chills seeing it almost complete! I'll try to get some pics up soon Mel 1 Quote
Troopacoola[TK] Posted May 15, 2017 Report Posted May 15, 2017 Had to take a long break and work on some other projects, but now I'm back at it and nearing completion - we've got a Star Wars themed birthday party coming up in just over a week, so I've got a hard deadline now! What's done: Chest, ab, cod, shoulder bells, biceps, forearms, back, kidney and butt plate, all fitted and strapped together, with the exception of the two shims I need to add to bridge the front and the back sides. Shins completed. Right thigh is mostly completed. After shimming the pack I have a bit of cosmetic surgery to do to make it look better, but that's on the low end of the list for now. Left thigh is in progress - this one's shape was pretty wonky and has needed some application of the heat gun to try and get it to line up better. Currently in the first stages of gluing together. Hand plates - for now we're just using elastic straps to hold them on the gloves, as I am planning to cast my own silicone ones in the future. Crappy temporary boots found and painted (crappily) - they are temporary until we find better, but they only cost me $7 Canadian bucks so they'll do for the party Still to do: Finish left thigh. Add the side shims. Sew and assemble the belt and drop boxes - Iv'e vac formed some back sides for the boxes, but not sure if I'm happy with them as they're a bit small, so may redo that. Also have to vac form the snap covers. Assemble the thermal detonator and make belt clips Sew a neck seal SO CLOSE!! He will be using his MR bucket, but I am not modifying it at this time - we're going for costume here, and that's something I really don't want to mess up!! He put on everything we have done so far last night, including the MR helmet, and my god, once that helmet went on it was so damn amazing!!! Even with all the little things I know are wrong with this kit, it still gave me chills seeing it almost complete! I'll try to get some pics up soon Mel Any more updates? Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk Quote
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