It begins

[SgtGarand[TK]]

My armor finally came and I managed to suit up for the first time despite general disapproval with the current strapping system. I used temporary velcro fixes for the sides/kidney plate but once my new rivets and web strapping arrives I will be sure to close in the gap further. I noticed that the knee ammo pack can be brought further back on the left side, matching the right side and thus bringing it closer against the thigh armor. I will need to figure out a better method to secure the thighs and keep them pulled up as far as possible to prevent the overlap at the knee. The belt and suspenders that was provided allowed the front side of the belt to slide low, back slid high and the thighs dropped once again. Another concern of mine as far as fitting are the biceps, they seem too big to me when I put them on. Also, I'm unsure if I need to remove the knee plate and reposition.  Hoping for some good feed back from some better trained eyes than my own. These are the pictures I submitted for my 501st application, but when I can get that approved I will soon hope to start tackling the ranks of EI and Centurion.

 

 

Don't mind the snap. Just part of the old strapping that will be replaced. Just didn't realize it had fallen until after the fact lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2017 by SgtGarand

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You have a few issues there, Asa, but nothing that can't be fixed.  The sniper (left) knee should definitely be brought in as in photo 1.  The way to do this is to remove all the return edge from the bottom of the knee plate itself.  If you could post a close-up photo showing the underside connection that would be helpful.

You are correct about the biceps.  Again, a fairly easy fix.  You will need to disassemble them (hopefully you used E-6000) and reduce the circumference.

It may be me, but the thighs look a bit wide at the bottom.  Not a super easy fix, but doable with an hour or so of work.  This may be what is causing the sniper knee plate to get stuck behind it, as in your last photo.

GREAT to hear that you are aiming for EI and Centurion!  Here are a few things that will help:

1.  Raise the belt to where the top overlaps the ab-button panel a bit, (photo 2).

2.  Bring the shoulder bells in to where the tops touch the shoulder bridges.  (Easy).

 

A really nice job on your overall build, brother.  Just a few tweaks here and there and we should see your EI application soon after!  If you need any assistance with any of these fixes, just ask... we are here to help!

 

Photo 1                                           Photo 2 

                                   

 

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Thanks for some input. I purchased the armor already assembled from a fellow 501st member. It's a NE series set with an ATA helmet. It's built for a slightly larger trooper since I doubt I could fit in the size used in the movies. There are things that I noticed right away, thanks to reading up on the forums before it arrived. The knee plate is attached with screws. I will remove them when I take my vacation from work and fit it to be more correct and glued on instead of using hardware. The biceps, like you said, should be an easy fix. And I'm waiting on all the new snaps to arrive in the mail, along with a new belt, that isn't stained, so I can measure and place everything where it needs to be in order to comply with the EI and Centurion levels. Not sure what I can do about the thighs if they are too wide but will give them a second look and compare with references.

Edited October 4, 2017 by SgtGarand

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Just some of what I've been working on so far with this armor. I've been able to disassemble parts without much trouble. The sight of the excess glue at the seams are driving me crazy.

 

Removed button plates to clean all glue and reassemble for a cleaner look. Also working on repainting the buttons for a cleaner job as well

 

Helmet was in rough shape. Lots of glue around the bottom edge under the rubber "S" seal, as well as inside the dome. Removed old padding and temp installed padding I used in my motorcycle helmet. Cleaned and cleaned and cleaned to remove the old glue.  Two cracks were also very present. I removed the glue from them and super glued backing material, old white tshirt, then gave a light sanding and covered with ABS paste. Will do something better for the inside.

 

 

AB/Kidney rivets removed and old holes filled with paste. All 3 rivets were visible above the belt and based off other builds and reference photos, they need to be spaced out more.

 

 

As for the thigh fitting and knee plate.  

I removed the knee plate and will clean it up as well. In the meantime will try to figure out how to securely attach it to the shin since it doesn't seem to want to sit where it makes a lot of contact for glue.

 

I also removed the rear cover strip from the thigh and fit it pretty tightly to my leg an taped in place. Marked a center on each overlapping end, where i'm assuming I should cut a straight line down so I can use the cover stip and glue back together.  Question is, does the shape look correct now vs. my previous photos?

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by SgtGarand

[Shanester[TK]]

Nice work!  Really looks quite a bit better already. 

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Thanks! I may cut off the excess when I get home from work, even though that may be between 3-5am here. lol  I bought a rotary tool and a set of scissors that should work. Not sure if I can have everything done before the comic con next sunday but we'll see. As long as the shape looks more correct then I'm fine with it. I fit it pretty tight because there's quite a bit of return edge at the upper end that I can trim down and should make it more comfortable. On the right knee ammo pack, the new shape has tightened up its fit as well. It sits firmly on the lower edge and no longer droops on its own. Not sure if the rivet type matters for the knee pack. It's not a split and not a pop rivet either, but it feels secure so I'm not worried about it unless the rivet type was a Centurion level detail. Can take pics when I get home

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Carefully and while holding my breath I made the cuts. 

 

Also, here are the rivets in the knee ammo pack

 

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Anyone know where I could get a replacement AB plate. Tried cleaning mine us as much as I could but it's no longer a smooth shiny surface. Will try to sand and then polish but I'm afraid the detail of the buttons will look too soft afterwards.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

First, the adjustments in the thighs look MUCH better!  I didn't notice the screws on the top of the left calf, (not even sure why they are there, but I would get rid of them) but at least the sniper plate doesn't have holes you will have to fill.

You can try ATA for the AB plate.  I had to order a new back/chest plate from them to replace my AM ones, and the color is REALLY close!  Their customer service is great as well.

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Thanks! I will definitely shoot them an email. My helmet is ATA so I can be pretty confident on the color matching my ab piece.

 

And the screws were glued inside the sniper knee with a piece of plastic. Still trying to figure out how to glue on the knee. I get little to no contact on the sides that wrap around an only the front cover strip seems to touch the inside of the plate just enough for glue.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I applied some glue behind the front pate to cover strip, you can use clamps or apply a little heat on the sides , which will help them come in closer, E6000 does hold quite well even without a lot of area making contact

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Ok awesome. Was starting to fear it had been trimmed wrong. I haven't been able to find E6000 locally yet, so I'm hoping my order will be here by Mon or Tues.

Will be working almost non stop to get the armor into wearable condition since Okinawa Comic Con is next Sunday; will probably do what I can on the ab plate and temp install. I helped during a troop event at a parade yesterday as photographer, since I wasn't able to suit up, but had a lot of fun either way. Comic Con should be pretty big this year since Masako Nozawa is going to be there. Can't wait! 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2017 by SgtGarand

[SgtGarand[TK]]

So I decided to drill new holes for the side rivets. I measured 10mm from the edge and 20mm from the top for the top rivets, then I split the remaining distance from the top rivet to the bottom and then divided that into three equal sections to find the two locations for the remaining rivets. My question is if this is correct for centurion or does the bottom rivet need to be moved lower and then move the middle rivet to the new center? I already had to fill the old placement holes to get a better spacing, I just want to be sure this works for the higher levels. I've seen other armors with larger gaps and the bottom rivet much lower, so that's what had me second guessing myself.

 

Edited October 9, 2017 by SgtGarand

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

On 10/8/2017 at 6:53 AM, SgtGarand said:

 I haven't been able to find E6000 locally yet, so I'm hoping my order will be here by Mon or Tues.

 

Hopefully you ordered the E-6000 from a reliable source, Asa.  

There are certain online sellers (including Europe) that are selling FAKE E-6000.  The genuine product is clearly marked Made in the USA, and has a batch number on each tube.  They do not sell to distributors in China or Hong Kong, so if you try to save a few bucks by ordering from a seller there it is probably not the real stuff. If you have any doubts, you can contact the manufacturer at www.eclecticproducts.com, and they will let you know where to get it.  The fake stuff is really garbage, so be careful!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

This is a a shot of some screen used armor which may help.

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Yea, the E6000 I purchased is from the US and is marked on the label as such

And I actually had saved that image and used it when marking my drill points. The spacing between the lower two rivets came out to be 52-53mm.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, SgtGarand said:

 

And I actually had saved that image and used it when marking my drill points. The spacing between the lower two rivets came out to be 52-53mm.

Are you sure that the center of the rivets on the kidney are 10 mm from the edge?  The photo makes them look a bit closer, but maybe there is an overlap.

 

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Yea it's overlap.  Was mainly trying to align the top and bottom edges to show the vertical spacing and didn't worry as much about the center edge being overlapped, since it was temporary to take the photo. lol

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I kinda' figured that based on your precision so far!  Looking GREAT, and keep up the good work!  

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Thanks! 

I may re-do the ABS paste for the old rivet holes. I've already filled them twice and when I sand them down there are small air pockets. I also feel like I'll have to paint over those areas despite me not wanting to have paint on an otherwise smooth bare plastic surface.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Because of the size of the holes (GREAT fill job, btw) you should be able to get away with a few carefully placed dabs of paint.  I would try that on one to see how it turns out before doing the ABS paste route, as it may save you some time.

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Got several much needed packages today, including the E6000 and my order from trooperbay with armor white, novus 2, and a new lens.

While waiting for the glue to set for the inner strips on the thighs, I started working on the helmet. I've put a lot of work into cleaning out the old gunk of residual glue and foam that was still stuck to the plastic, as well as random dirt and general filth. Pretty straightforward install and now sits tighter than the old lens, removing the gap it use to have.

 

 

 

 

 

[SgtGarand[TK]]

 

Installed beef up plates for my Mr.Nostripes bracket set. Had an incident yesterday where the middle chest return edge cracked and a section broke off completely under the elastic tension alone 

After freaking out, I cut a new piece n the same shape. Installed a backing plate then superglued the new piece. Let it dry then spread some ABS paste over the area and sanded it all down. So that's why I decided to install them on every mounting point. Will give the glue a day to cure completely before even thinking of installing them together.

 

 

This process took the entire original trilogy before I was done. I also cleaned out the old glue from the sniper knee, as well as a piece of foam that had been glued behind the plate.

I was going to wait until tomorrow to work on the new belt that I had ordered, but decided to go ahead and begin the process.  It's really hard to find a stopping point sometimes. lol

 

I managed to get it centered and after the snaps were installed, its a pretty tight fit, with no sagging in the front. Same can't be said for the previous belt. The snaps are in the middle of the belt and when holding the ammo boxes across, it seems to line up much better for that centurion requirement. 

 

 

Locally sourcing some supplies. 

Drop boxes installed and fitted to belt with new elastic. Belt: Done

Was able to buy new button plate from ATA, in the meantime I re-painted the old plate. May or may not keep this one for a while despite the many scratches, only seen up close and in the right light. Also found that a toothpick works great for painting these.

Split rivets installed and connected

Edited October 12, 2017 by SgtGarand

[SgtGarand[TK]]

Finally able to wear it again, and just in time for Comic Con!

I may move the shoulder bells up higher after the con if they are still considered too low as well as any other fixes or corrections you all can see. Still waiting for my approval to go through so I still have time yet before I try to tackle EI and Centurion

 

[SgtGarand[TK]]

I'd say my first troop was pretty successful, if not one of the toughest to start with. 80-90 degree weather and stuck in a building with no AC. The call was made after about two hours to switch to out of costume and man the table to talk to people about the 501st. R2-D2 didn't mind the heat, same for our Sandtrooper..go figure.