Chris's RS PropMasters ANH Stunt - 1st Build

[ChrisC85]

Hi All,

 

I recently acquired an RS propmasters kit build and getting the general sizing going on. It's feeling a little large on the mid-section with the ab & kidney plates, but wondered what everyone's thoughts were?

Height wise it feels ok (I'm 5'9), though maybe a little off the chest neck area to bring the chest up a few centimetres? Also, the butt plate, I'm guessing that needs hot water treatment to curve it inwards, as it's looking ridiculously large.

 

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, and apologies in advance for the skinny running legs

 

45" angles on cover strips due to be cut in, bifurcated rivets inbound too.

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by ChrisC85
Removed images

[Cricket[TK]]

Hey Chris, 

 

I had to cut away at the neck area on the chest to bring it up.  Just follow the original curve lines and cut conservatively (cut a little, try it on, cut a tiny bit more, try it on...).  

The kidney/ab/butt/chest can handle a nice hot water bath to shape them up a bit.  I dumped between two and three 8-quart pots of boiling water in the  kitchen sink to make the Armor Spa.  Also when you get your strapping in, that'll bring things in a bit as well.  

[ChrisC85]

Thanks Cricket, I'll get the Spa going soon and get the strapping in. Thanks for the advice

 

Is there meant to be a return edge around neck line on the chest plate?

 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

Having return edges isn`t mandatory and that goes for the entire armor, however they contribute of giving the armor a sence of thickness and if one plan on using screen accurate strapping they are almost a must in the torso, for higher levels of accuracy - Centurion - there can't be any on the wrist-ends of forearms...so it's about personal preference. My advise if you cut the neck line is to not make a new return unless you really want to, no one will see it anyways...and as Christine said, a bath and strapping will aid the butt-issue and adding on the thighs would make it less apparent...and one final note: check Christine aka Crickets thread on how she did her RS-kit - it's a great read

Edited January 1, 2018 by TheSwede

[ChrisC85]

On 12/30/2017 at 8:49 PM, Cricket said:

Hey Chris, 

 

I had to cut away at the neck area on the chest to bring it up.  Just follow the original curve lines and cut conservatively (cut a little, try it on, cut a tiny bit more, try it on...).  

The kidney/ab/butt/chest can handle a nice hot water bath to shape them up a bit.  I dumped between two and three 8-quart pots of boiling water in the  kitchen sink to make the Armor Spa.  Also when you get your strapping in, that'll bring things in a bit as well.  

Thanks Christine and TheSwede! Christine's build WIP is amazing. I've been reading it back to back and looking forward to implementing some of the modifications.
I'll have some more photos soon, but massive thanks to you both at this early stage.

[ChrisC85]

Slowly working on the build and getting very much acquainted with E6000 and painters masking tape. 

 

Currently moving onto full body strapping and looking at getting the split rivets in, though with the Ab to Kidney plates being flush, the RS seems to have a slight lip of around 25mm on the Ab plate edge.

 

Is this meant to be removed, or left depending on the size of the individual? 

 

I've marked the split rivet placement, though noticed lots of builds removing the lip/overhang where I've marked my rivet placements.

Both Cricket's build and Peter's ANH RS Build have removed the slight lip, so I'm leaning towards removing it, just unsure if it's a required change on the RS?

 

• Cricket's RS Stunt Build
• Peters RS ANH Stunt

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by ChrisC85
Removed images

[TheSwede[TK]]

2 hours ago, ChrisC85 said:

Is this meant to be removed, or left depending on the size of the individual? 

Yes, preference is to keep but since the persons you referred to both are on the thinner side, removing is the best choice to avoid overlap (doesn`t look good) and to keep the armor comforming to your body so you don`t look like a box 

And on a sidenote: your pics don`t show for me.

[ChrisC85]

So, I've been working slowly on the build. Though got a little stuck on a few bits and wondered if anyone else has encountered similar issues or any comments?

 

So, I've got a few things left. Sniper knee, drop boxes, shoulder straps, calf closure to name a few... Though I'm worried about the abdomen and butt situation. Though this is the current front view.

 

 

The belt I have feels slightly too tight, which seems to be causing the ab shell to squeeze together and the butt to flare out. Is this the only reason, or do you think the sides could be trimmed? Also, the alignment of the top and bottom of the panel looks abit off?

 

 

Last picture is showing the general size of the armour, and chest plate on top, with the belt hanging off slightly.

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by ChrisC85

[CableGuy[TK]]

Hi Chris,

Looking really good from the front! Great job! :-)

Regarding the side view, you’re right that the alignment could be a little better. This is likely based on your internal strapping.

As below, the ab plate and kidney should line up top and bottom;



The butt should sit up against the lower part of the kidney, although they are prone to ride up if the strapping is not quite right.

Do you have any pictures of your internal strapping, please?

Best wishes
Dan

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely

[ChrisC85]

Thanks guys! Really appreciate the feedback

 

This is the internal strapping view.

I've got the split rivets on the left side, though have a few more snap closures on the right as I'd struggled a few times with the alignment of the front and back plates.

I also have 2 additional ones from the butt to kidney plate (5 in total) to try and reduce the flaring.

 

 

Butt to Kidney Plate

 

Split Rivets view

(I went with the lower abdomen cut on the front to allow for better accessibility, Held in place at present with velcro)

[CableGuy[TK]]

Hi Chris,

Hmmm. It might be that the furthest out strapping from butt to kidney are not tight enough, however they seem to look okay.

If the trooper butt remains an issue, you could consider shaping some ABS to glue to the butt plate, just below the return edge. If shaped and positioned correctly, this could prevent the butt from riding over the kidney. Here’s a rough idea of what I mean.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I came up with these some time ago and they work great keeping the butt in place

 

[ChrisC85]

I came up with these some time ago and they work great keeping the butt in place
 

Ah fantastic, I'll definitely be making a pair of those. Thanks for sharing the diagram

Sent from my H8216 using Tapatalk

[ChrisC85]

After a period of time off, I'm getting back to the build. Babies aye...

 

I feel like with the sniper knee, there's quite a gap between the sniper knee plate and the shin?

The sniper plate needs to be trimmed and sanded before attachment too.

 

In terms of calf closure, I've tried going for the magnetic strip method. It works excellent for the first few connections, though at the ankle end, the rigidity of the metal and abs strip wont allow the calf to close. I'm tempted to remove the whole magnetic idea and go for industrial velcro.

 

Going to be working on @gmrhodes13 V-tab method this weekend. The end is in sight I think!

 

 

[Cricket[TK]]

Hey Chris!  Good to see you back at things!  

Wondering why you've chosen to use a metal strip on your shins instead of magnet-to-magnet closures.  The RS shin doesn't give you much to work with at the ankle at all, and unless you've got some sort of physical lock in that area, it can be prone to opening.  Nice thing about the magnet-to-magnet closure is that there is a degree of "physical locking" when the magnet attached to the cover strip inserts into the corresponding hole in the shin.  So the magnet gets pulled and secured into the hole via the other magnet, which keeps it locked from coming apart- and the 'hole strip' keeps the shin from shifting laterally.  I hope that makes some sense!  I've also never found a magnetic strip that could even come close to the holding strength of a pair of n52 magnets.   

Those V tabs are awesome- you're gonna love how they make your kit look and fit!

 

The gap at the sniper knee is typical.

[ChrisC85]

Thanks [mention=26586]Cricket[/mention], I saw the metal strip on someones build. I'll reference who it is when I find it. (Cardinal sin not referencing a build  )

That sounds like a good idea with the "magnet-to-magnet closure" as it'll utilize what I've already done. I'll have a look at builds and get cracking on that too.

The magnets on the outside do go into respective holes which pull to the strip to stop the movement, but I'll definitely be switching to magnet to magnet. Thanks for your thoughts and input, that's really useful.

 

Edit: I found your build and will be following the shin closure to the letter! Thanks

 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/46148-howto-crickets-magnetic-shin-closures

 

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Glad to see you back at work  

[ChrisC85]

Thanks @Cricket for the tutorials, making progress on the shin closure and it's having great results so far.

I may use a heat gun at a later stage to get the last of the gaps closed, but for now, I want to get the build generally complete. The buttons aren't stuck but offered up they're closing very well. (Two of the magnets broke from from the E6000, I've re-scored the middle of the buttons for more grip. Hope it works?!)

 

Top of the cover strip needs re-application of E6000, but it's looking good for just magnets so far. Heat gun in the near future to close the gap.

 

Obtained some 5mm chicago screws and working on the drop boxes. 116mm drop when closed and 25mm from the the top to the screw. Closure system to be researched and added. Again, thinking magnets, but a little more searching on here before I go for it.

 

 

 

 

[CableGuy[TK]]

Thanks [mention=26586]Cricket[/mention] for the tutorials, making progress on the shin closure and it's having great results so far.
I may use a heat gun at a later stage to get the last of the gaps closed, but for now, I want to get the build generally complete. The buttons aren't stuck but offered up they're closing very well. (Two of the magnets broke from from the E6000, I've re-scored the middle of the buttons for more grip. Hope it works?!)

 
Top of the cover strip needs re-application of E6000, but it's looking good for just magnets so far. Heat gun in the near future to close the gap.

 
Obtained some 5mm chicago screws and working on the drop boxes. 116mm drop when closed and 25mm from the the top to the screw. Closure system to be researched and added. Again, thinking magnets, but a little more searching on here before I go for it.

 
 
 
 

Hey Chris,

Good work so far. :-)

Just regarding the drop boxes, unless I’ve missed a special plan, the strapping (white elastic) should (usually) be on the back of the inner part - looks like you’ve attached it to the inside which will stop the outer part sitting over it.

Here’s what I mean;



Easy fix as you’ve used screws rather than rivets. :-)

Best wishes
Dan

[ChrisC85]

Thanks @CableGuyDan,

 

That's great info, and no special plans 

I started with the method you mentioned, but noted a thread with the straps inside so switched over. I did think it was a little odd!

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg556/bigironvault/DSC02643.jpg

 

I've quickly reverted back to the outside from your comments  Cheers for pointing it out though. (I'll singe the ends to stop any fraying shortly)

 

 

[ChrisC85]

Looking at the RS Sniper Knee and I'm not 100% sure where to start. It seems like such a small thing, but getting where the cut should be and degree angles seems a little hard to figure out.
I've been looking for references via the RS suit, though trying to figure out how far from each of the last bumps I should cut?

Looking at the left side, I'm trying to figure from which CM marker would be the best point...

 

...Then meeting up to the top of the knee creating a degree cut, (I moved the ruler down to attempt to show the top part  ) and figure out where it should roughly go.

 

Is there a set standard I've completely missed?

 

[CableGuy[TK]]

Hey Chris,

I’m not aware of any ‘standard’ for the sniper knee. Depending on the make of kit, it appears to vary maker to maker.

Here’s some nice examples. As you’ve marked with pencil, nice vertical lines are the way I’d go. Some really try to curve or contour them, however, the originals appeared to be cut straight up and down.

I’d start with your outer mark to start - always better to cut too little and trim down if you need to. As RS don’t exactly have the correct shin parts, best to have a little more meat, just in case you need it. :-).

[ChrisC85]

Only a few bits go;

- Sniper knee

- Second shin and closure

- shoulder straps

- armour V clips as mentioned above.

 

However, I've got a question about the shoulder connecting straps. Mine seem way too long. Is this a common problem? I'm 5'8 and not thin or anything, they just seem to go way too far down the back. Should I be extending the distance between the front chest and back plates?

 

I've used velcro for now just to get an idea of the end result, rather then gluing and realising I've totally destroyed things

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2020 by ChrisC85

[CableGuy[TK]]

They don’t look too bad. Some of these are a little longer, too.




Have you fitted the chest and back to your frame? It might be that the chest and back plate are too close as you have them there. How does it look when worn?