The Snake's Terrifying & Totally Amateur AM ANH Stunt Build

[The Snake[TK]]

Your off to a great start and like others have said no worries on how long its taken the only deadline you have is the one you've place on it. Keep doing exactly what your doing measuring 3 to 4 times then make sure your safe to cut then measure once more then take a deep breath & cut!! As far as them being a bit annoying to put together try gluing the inner cover strip to one half to create a shelf for the opposite half to rest on. 

Yeah! Taking it slow is working out pretty well.

So today, I went ahead and did the left forearm. I used my "screw it, just do it" approach, and I think it turned out okay-- again, once the cover strips are on and the entire suit is put together, I think it will look perfect. This kit doesn't have flat parts on the arm pieces, so I'm really kind of free to set the cover strips up the way I want.

Next I'm moving onto the biceps, but I wanted to run the photos by you all first: is there too much outer and too little inner? Should they be about even? Does it even matter as long as it's comfortable?





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[The Snake[TK]]

Well, let's leave the biceps for now and move onto the shins. These were really easy: the normal shin cover strip width is 20-25mm, so I planned on cutting 24, just in case I need to remove some later. The way I see it, better to cut too little than too much!

 

I forgot to take pictures, but I basically just measured 12mm from the return edges on the front (easily identified and flat). Correction: I measured about 5 times. Then I cut them using the same method as the forearms. Done!

 

As for the return edges (as well as gluing), I plan to tackle these after fitting every leg part.

 

 

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[shashachu[TK]]

You're off to a great start! For the biceps, what about if you split the difference between the outer and inner pieces? ie mark the center line and trimmed some from the outer and some from the inner so that they end up around the same size. A little asymmetry is totally normal but it's nice to have the cover strips roughly in the middle.

[The Snake[TK]]

1 hour ago, shashachu said:

You're off to a great start! For the biceps, what about if you split the difference between the outer and inner pieces? ie mark the center line and trimmed some from the outer and some from the inner so that they end up around the same size. A little asymmetry is totally normal but it's nice to have the cover strips roughly in the middle.

Yeah, even into last night I was kind of still trying to figure out the biceps--the placement, the sizing, etc. I don't know why, but I'm struggling the most with those. Too high? Too low? Dunno

[Poseidon[501st]]

You don't want them riding in the crook of your elbow, or it will impede movement and give you armour bites. I would size it so the bottom of the bicep is ~1 inch or so away from crook of your elbow, or whatever won't terrible impeded your movement. Look at a bunch of pictures to get a feel for it. Keep in mind before you chop anything that stormtrooper armour isn't meant to be built for mobility.

[The Snake[TK]]

Okay....a little scared to share this, but here goes:

 

 

Had my girlfriend assist me here. I think my issue was that  I was trying to get them too high up.

[TheSwede[TK]]

From what i can see it looks fine....It`s a good thing to be able to put on/remove the helmet on your own so if you can tap yourself on the head then you`re good to go I have my biceps pretty low but that just how I like it, in the movie they were also low, showing minimal black and that`s the look I went for...and still able to handle the helmet on my own.

[The Snake[TK]]

EDIT: False alarm! The thighs fit around just fine. It pays to have someone there to help!

[The Snake[TK]]

I'm still alive! And still working on this guy.

I got the cover strips on the forearms and biceps, an easy step (simply measuring and cutting 15mm strips). This did wonders for covering up the uneven-ness of the top of the left forearm. I'll work on removing a bit of the cover strip ends once I'm done with everything else.



Next I began sizing the thighs and shins, something my girlfriend graciously helped me with. Unfortunately I don't think she knew exactly where to place them, so I decided to put these off until the torso is done: that way, I can size them in relation to distance from the hips. I'm glad I waited because sizing the various torso pieces was fairly stressful, especially the back piece. But I'm fairly confident so got it right and I'll post some taped up pics once I feel I'm ready to move onto strapping. I did however strap the abdomen and chest, since those are pretty self-explanatory fitting wise.



They're probably a bit uneven, but once it's on the body this won't be an issue. That's definitely a benefit of using elastic: the piece kind of "melds" right onto my frame.

I went with double snaps not only for strength but because my snap setter (the poundy hammer kind) makes some wildly inaccurate snaps.



I got my helmet fans from Henry's and taped those in; I'll use a more permanent solution once I know I'm comfortable with their placement. I even found a cool battery charger to power it.



Next I will be doing the shoulder straps and lining up the front and back of the torso armor. Then, figuring out and cutting the thighs.

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[DEVOLVER[501st]]

You're doing a great job man! I'm still building my MTK kit at the moment and running into some similar issues that you've had. The asymmetrical-Ness (?) of the armor has driven me nuts at some points lol. Keep measuring until you are positive before you make a cut, I have definitely learned this myself. I'm enjoying watching this thread, keep up the good work man! 

[shashachu[TK]]

Nice progress! And I'm a little late on feedback, but your biceps look like they're riding a tad low in that pic from the end of Nov. Most importantly you should be able to remove and put on your helmet by yourself, and it looks like that might be tough with the way they're sitting right now.

 

And for torso fitting, the way I did it is to fit the ab and kidney together as a clamshell, then do the chest/back. The top of the ab/kidney should be aligned, so you'll want to be sure those are sized correctly before strapping everything together. When everything's fitting correctly, the entire torso comes together as kind of a big puzzle piece.

[The Snake[TK]]

A quick update-- I'm not dead! But the extremely cold MI weather makes building in the garage a pain, so I've slowed down considerably.

But in other good news, I've lost nearly 30 lbs since I last posted, so it's actually a good thing that I didn't work in the torso for these past few months Just tried it on and I no longer need the shims

Will be back soon!

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[Frank75139[501st]]

A quick update-- I'm not dead! But the extremely cold MI weather makes building in the garage a pain, so I've slowed down considerably.

But in other good news, I've lost nearly 30 lbs since I last posted, so it's actually a good thing that I didn't work in the torso for these past few months Just tried it on and I no longer need the shims

Will be back soon!

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Nice job! (On the weight, not the lack of build)


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[TheSwede[TK]]

Awesome

[The Snake[TK]]

Back at it after losing 60lbs and attending an armor party. Didn't get much done, but I did get some guidance and made some friends.

Tonight I would like to make the crotch and butt snaps, but I see my butt plate doesn't stick out as some build threads I've seen. I believe I did cut a small portion at one point as I do remember it digging into my sensitive area (and tearing my undersuit to boot).

Can anybody guide me as to where to put the two snaps?

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Edited October 14, 2018 by The Snake

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Glad to see you are back at it, Jake, and congrats on the weight loss!  The snaps should go where the green dots are, and I would definitely trim off all those return edges as marked.  You can trim even trim them down more if you like and still be fine: 

                                                                                                                              Reference image

      

 

NOTE:  When cutting any sharp angled areas/corners, (like on the posterior plate above) be absolutely sure not to make the angle perfect,  By that I mean give it a very slight curve to the corner by using a round needle file.  If you make the curve too sharp it can (and will) crack in that area.

 

[The Snake[TK]]

On 10/14/2018 at 7:22 AM, justjoseph63 said:

Glad to see you are back at it, Jake, and congrats on the weight loss!  The snaps should go where the green dots are, and I would definitely trim off all those return edges as marked.  You can trim even trim them down more if you like and still be fine: 

                                                                                                                              Reference image

     

 

NOTE:  When cutting any sharp angled areas/corners, (like on the posterior plate above) be absolutely sure not to make the angle perfect,  By that I mean give it a very slight curve to the corner by using a round needle file.  If you make the curve too sharp it can (and will) crack in that area.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for this! I was really worried I had taken too much.

 

So, since the forums were down, I got some stuff done. First, AM is pretty well-known for their extra plastic, as you can see below:

I removed 1" from Front and Back, per recommendation. I also removed 1" from the  edge of the shoulder bells.

 

I apologize that I didn't take progress pics of the rest! I was kind of in the zone.

 

I made bicep hooks by cutting 4" x 0.75" strips of cover strip plastic, and bending them with the heat from a lighter. I glued in elastic for the bicep straps (which may need to be removed and relocated higher, not sure yet).

 

Here are some pics of everything snapped together. Some things to note:

- I have stupidly wide shoulders; can't be helped.

- The shoulder straps are temporarily connected with White velcro; I believe this isn't acceptable, so I'll be gluing them on later.

- I need to add more snaps/elastic near the front of the butt plate connecting to the kidney plate (I have it taped here).

- I notice my right bicep tends to slip down, but I'm also just learning how the bicep straps sit with the hooks.

I'm sure I'm committing heresy here, but here goes...

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely, try not to have any overhang on your cover strips or they will catch when moving.

 

 

 

 

 

[Frank75139[501st]]

Looking good and congrats on the weight loss, I need to go down a few myself.


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[The Snake[TK]]

14 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Coming along nicely, try not to have any overhang on your cover strips or they will catch when moving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, I'll trim them down tomorrow night.

12 minutes ago, Frank75139 said:

Looking good and congrats on the weight loss, I need to go down a few myself.


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Thanks! Let me know if you need any tips or support.

Edited October 16, 2018 by The Snake

[LTM[TK]]

Looking good! Maybe remove the bottom return on the shoulder bells so they sit a little closer to the biceps.

[The Snake[TK]]

Quick question! Which belt should I use? Obviously the bottom belt would be easier as the covers would not need to be cut, and a local garrison member said that belt was acceptable-- but I thought I should ask here first.

 

Also: Should I remove some (or all) of the material from the top and bottom? I notice there's not a lot of material there in most builds and reference pics.

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I would suggest using the top belt and larger cover squares for better accuracy. Don’t forget to cut the corners on a 45deg, Ideally they should meet up with the fabric belt so the measurements below are a guide. You only need a little material on top and bottom of the belt.

 

 

 

Some great visual guides can be found here https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/41016-billgrams-the-one-stop-shop/?tab=comments#comment-554173

 

[LTM[TK]]

Top belt if you want to go to higher levels.

[The Snake[TK]]

11 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I would suggest using the top belt and larger cover squares for better accuracy. Don’t forget to cut the corners on a 45deg, Ideally they should meet up with the fabric belt so the measurements below are a guide. You only need a little material on top and bottom of the belt.

 

 

 

Some great visual guides can be found here https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/41016-billgrams-the-one-stop-shop/?tab=comments#comment-554173

 

 

Thanks for posting the diagram! I know I could have hunted that down so I apologize for the inconvenience.

 

Measuring the top and bottom of the belt gives me 4mm, so it looks like we're good to go. I'm following along with both ukswrath's and navajobro's builds, which are earlier AM models, and it looks like they've made quite an effort to make many parts more accurate/ready to go (mine is the newest version of AM's design)..

 

My S Snaps should be arriving tonight, so I'll snap the abdomen and work on the belt. Been messing with my doopydoo E-11 in the meantime

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by The Snake