magni[TK] Posted August 2, 2017 Report Posted August 2, 2017 Your cruising right along! Looking good! Quote
Sentry71[TK] Posted August 3, 2017 Report Posted August 3, 2017 Great work! The Plastidip looks like it worked out wonderfully. Quote
DEVOLVER[501st] Posted August 3, 2017 Report Posted August 3, 2017 Looking good! Everything is very neat and precise. I don't think you'd have any trouble at all reaching Centurion. Quote
kittyvangogh Posted August 11, 2017 Author Report Posted August 11, 2017 (edited) I spent the week finishing up all of the small details on the armor. I used leftover material from the inner coverstrips to make reinforcing strips for the shoulder straps. Attached the sniper plate to the left shin. I glued the center first, clamped it in place, and then glued the sides. Helmet is finally finished. I installed the new lens from TrooperBay (much clearer and darker than the Anovos supplied one), trimmed reinstalled the frown mesh, installed padding, and mounted the fans (from Henry's Helmet Fans), battery, and wireless mic. The wiring is hidden with some plastic wire wrap I picked up at Harbor Freight. Glued elastic into the shoulder bells. For the thermal detonator I started by installing the end caps (lightly sanded the edges of the tube and heated the caps with a hair dryer). I then centered the panel and glued. I then mounted the metal clips, replacing the Anovos screws with #6 slotted pan-head machine screws (taken from an electrical outlet cover from Home Depot and painted black)--the first photo shows a comparison of the screws (Anovos on the right, replacements on the left). The Anovos drop boxes came unassembled. I started by mounting the elastic loop to attach the drop boxes to the belt (used E-6000 and clamped), and then glued the front and back pieces together (taped instead of clamped). I stared the week feeling like I was only 50% finished, but I'm probably closer to 90% ! I began installing snap "plates" using the BillHag charts. I installed as many plates as I could, but eventually ran out of magnets and clamps. I already had the snap plates prepared (this was done while I was waiting on the armor to be delivered). The double plates are mounted in 2" strips of nylon, with 1" spacing between centers of the snaps, and the single plates are 1" pieces of nylon with the snap centered (I bought a cheap soldering iron to make the holes in the nylon). Edges of the cut nylon were sealed with a lighter to prevent fraying. Snaps are from Tandy (Line 24), and were installed with rubber washers for a better fit with the nylon "plates" (I tested plates with and without the rubber washers, and the washers added a noticeable amount of strength to the setting--no worry of the snaps pulling out of the nylon). Washers can be found on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L1IZF28/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I've gotten a lot of comments on how organized everything is, and figured I should share my methods. I am not an organized person, and I knew with how much is involved with this build, I needed to do something to stay on track. The solution -- TRELLO! I've included some screenshots, but basically you can create visual lists and organize everything (To-Do, In Progress, Completed, etc) and move items around as you work on them. Even better, you can create checklists within the individual items. I used the checklists to copy and paste the CRL requirements for each item. I could then check stuff off as I completed it, look through the checklists when I wasn't sure what to do next, and I would have the list up anytime I was working on a piece. The software can take a little getting used to, but it's free and useful for other things as well (I've used it for both work and personal projects). This weekend I hope to finish installing the last of the snap plates, and begin sewing the elastic for the actual strapping (and setting more snaps). I have already marked the locations of the Centurion-level hardware required on the Ab, Cod, and kidneys, so I hope to install all of those hardware pieces as well. Edited August 11, 2017 by kittyvangogh 1 Quote
tarok[TK] Posted August 11, 2017 Report Posted August 11, 2017 lol! Trello! I thought I was the only one planning their build this way although my board isn't nearly as well organised as yours (or my build advanced). Great job and will certainly be improving my board! So inspired after seeing this!!Part of my board below (as much as can be seen on an iPhone screen )Sent from my DH77 using Tapatalk Quote
kittyvangogh Posted August 24, 2017 Author Report Posted August 24, 2017 On 8/11/2017 at 5:15 PM, tarok said: lol! Trello! I thought I was the only one planning their build this way although my board isn't nearly as well organised as yours (or my build advanced). Great job and will certainly be improving my board! So inspired after seeing this!! Sent from my DH77 using Tapatalk There are dozens of us! It's been super helpful for staying organized, and gave me something to do while playing the waiting game with Anovos. 1 Quote
kittyvangogh Posted August 24, 2017 Author Report Posted August 24, 2017 All of the Level 3 hardware has been set, the belt assembled, and the elastic strapping is installed -- meaning that the armor assembly is DONE! I'll be spending the rest of today sanding sharp edges, cleaning off excess glue, and polishing. Every surface of my work room is coated in ABS dust, so just a friendly reminder to stay safe when building. Hoping to get photos tonight and submit! 2 Quote
magni[TK] Posted August 24, 2017 Report Posted August 24, 2017 Your cruising right along! Looking good! Nice Fett Tat!! Quote
Shanester[TK] Posted August 24, 2017 Report Posted August 24, 2017 The build is going great. You will be glad you reinforced those shoulder straps. Keep up the good work! Quote
Pyrates[TK] Posted August 25, 2017 Report Posted August 25, 2017 This...build...is EPIC!!! The attention to detail is rocking Brittany - and just an absolutely awesome build thread moving along here - totally subscribed!!! Quote
kittyvangogh Posted August 29, 2017 Author Report Posted August 29, 2017 TK-63088 reporting for duty! 2 Quote
tarok[TK] Posted August 29, 2017 Report Posted August 29, 2017 Congrats!!! Sent from my DH77 using Tapatalk Quote
Big Deal Posted September 13, 2017 Report Posted September 13, 2017 You sure made this build look easy. I hope when mine shows up I can do as nice a job as this. They tried to get me to use Trello for work but I didn't follow up. But for this, you know, something important, I just might have to give it a try. Quote
kittyvangogh Posted September 27, 2017 Author Report Posted September 27, 2017 EIB Approved! Link to approval thread 1 Quote
68Brick[TK] Posted September 27, 2017 Report Posted September 27, 2017 Well Done Brittany! You should be proud! 1 Quote
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