hollowbodies' first build : ANH Stunt TK (AP)

[lucnak[TK]]

Take a look here: 

 

You'll see Tony used a screwdriver to create a pressure point and then just pushed against the aluminum.

[hollowbodies[501st]]

Been working [mainly] on the thighs (for the few hours I could manage to get today) and it's going great. I have cut them to a size that leave enough space to make some modifications if there is anything and/or add some padding to the inside if needed later. I measured like mad before cutting and I did my best to get it as close to what you guys suggested me. I also tried them with the cod and I can get them pretty much up all the way I want with such free space in them. I will almost be ready to glue the cover strips on them, but before that I have one more question for you...

 

It's about return edges that are located at the bottom of the back of the thighs. Does the return edge from the inner and the outer part of the thigh need to be even on each side? Does the cover strip need to be located absolutely in the "middle" of this return edge? I did remove the same amount from each of the parts (outer and inner parts of the thigh), but I have a little bit more return edge on one side than the other. It's close, but it's not perfectly even on each side.

 

Here are a few pictures to try to show/explain what I mean :

 

 

Edited February 25, 2018 by hollowbodies

[wook1138[TK]]

10 minutes ago, hollowbodies said:

Been working [mainly] on the thighs (for the few hours I could manage to get today) and it's going great. I have cut them to a size that leave enough space to make some modifications if there is anything and/or add some padding to the inside if needed later. I measured like mad before cutting and I did my best to get it as close to what you guys suggested me. I also tried them with the cod and I can get them pretty much up all the way I want with such free space in them. I will almost be ready to glue the cover strips on them, but before that I have one more question for you...

 

It's about return edges that are located at the bottom of the back of the thigh. Does the return edge from the inner and the outer part of the thigh need to be even on each side? Does the cover strip needs to be located absolutely in the "middle" of this return edge. I did remove the same amount from each of the parts (outer and inner parts of the thigh), but I have a little bit more return edge on one side than the other. It's close, but it's not perfectly even on each side.

 

Here are a few pictures to try to show/explain what I mean :

 

 

Mine look similar to this. I’d say you are ok as is. 

[Neb Sgird[TK]]

The cover strips themselves will help hide the imperfections you have going there, id say you're good to go as is. Assuming you're using E6000, you can always tear it off and redo it if you end up hating the end result.

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[TheSwede[TK]]

8 hours ago, hollowbodies said:

It's close, but it's not perfectly even on each side.

Center the cover strip over the seem and you are good to go And so there`s no confusion, the cover strip ends above the raised edges (see RS suit for reference) so the gaps at the bottom thighs will still be visible and my advice is to glue some scrap abs on the inside and abs-paste from the outside and sand it smooth in order to make your suit look its best  

[wook1138[TK]]

To further what Daniel mentions: before fixing the seam, make sure you’re happy with the fit. Some people trim away the backs of the thighs and shins behind the knee for mobility. You can see this in the CRL pictures. This trimming will remove some of the gap so, less fixing.

 

 

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[TheSwede[TK]]

2 hours ago, wook1138 said:

This trimming will remove some of the gap so, less fixing.

But....it doesn`t look as good so I would avoid that unless absolutely necessary 

[hollowbodies[501st]]

Thanks all! I finally started gluing cover strips on those thighs; starting slowly one side at a time to make sure everything is fine. I did use a lot of clamps and magnets to make sure it's glued for real... 8-)

 

 

While it's drying, I'm trying to make sone nylon straps/bases for the body parts strapping. Man, those line 24 snaps are giving me a hard time getting properly set (I'm a total noob in that) !

Edited February 26, 2018 by hollowbodies

[wook1138[TK]]

1 hour ago, hollowbodies said:

Thanks all! I finally started gluing cover strips on those thighs; starting slowly one side at a time to make sure everything is fine. I did use a lot of clamps and magnets to make sure it's glued for real... 8-)

 

 

While it's drying, I'm trying to make sone nylon straps/bases for the body parts strapping. Man, those line 24 snaps are giving me a hard time getting properly set (I'm a total noob in that) !

I think I see a spot where another magnet might fit.    Keep up the good work!

[joby619[TK]]

On 2/25/2018 at 6:28 PM, hollowbodies said:

Thanks all! I finally started gluing cover strips on those thighs; starting slowly one side at a time to make sure everything is fine. I did use a lot of clamps and magnets to make sure it's glued for real... 8-)

 

 

While it's drying, I'm trying to make sone nylon straps/bases for the body parts strapping. Man, those line 24 snaps are giving me a hard time getting properly set (I'm a total noob in that) !

I ended up buying a snap press to make my line 24 snaps.  I could not get a single one to work without the press.

Edited February 27, 2018 by joby619
typo

[hollowbodies[501st]]

Had a very busy week - spent a lot of time out of home. However, the very few hours I could invest into my build were used to cut and pierce nylon for strapping AND to try to make snaps work. I do not know what I'm missing, but there is something I surely don't undestrand. I tried so many times to set snaps - I wasted so many snaps already - but I never got any positive results. Seriously, I need help for that haha... I don't know what to think anymore. I can't seem to hammer the posts down enough. Maybe they are too long (I don't know as I've never used that before)!? Here are some pictures of the Tandy Line 24 snaps I'm trying to use. Pleeeeeeease let me know if you see something that seems wrong or that could help me, or if you have any tips that could be useful to me!

 

Here are the pieces I try to put together :

 

 

That's how it looks when they are not hammered yet. They seem very long to me (but I don't have any knowledge of that) :

 

 

Here is how it looks after I try to hammer them. I tried to hit hard and a lot and while doing little cricles with the setting tool like explained in some tutorial videos I watched. I think that there is always still a lot of the post that isn't hammered enough so the snap keeps moving :

 

 

 

The snap keeps moving and isn't very well held in place :

 

 

 

Sorry for that long useless and perhaps uninteresting post about snaps, but I thought I'd ask because I feel like I've tried so many times without success... I don't know what to think anymore.  Hopefully some of you will spot something that could help me. Anyways, thanks for any help! ^^

 

 

[Cricket[TK]]

Snaps!  Ugh, I hated them when I first learned how to assemble them.  I destroyed countless amounts of snaps before I finally got things right.  You're definitely not alone!

I tried the same things as you, doing the whole rotating thing with the long metal thing, and had the same results.  I don't know how the guy in that video gets it right.  I finally bought a cheapo snap kit from Home Depot (look under Line Snap Kit), and for me, the setting tool gave me amazing results!  I don't use any of the other parts in the kit (I like Tandy's anvil).  It has a collar on it that helps keep the snap in place while you're hammering it together.  You simply place it on the snap, and hammer straight down (no rotation needed), and use a lot of force (not that Force, but the brute strength kind).  

 

I've spent many credits on the more expensive Tandy snap setting tools, and they just don't work for me.  This cheap one does the trick!  

Edited March 2, 2018 by Cricket

[lucnak[TK]]

I generally just give it three good whacks with the mallet and that's good. Hold the setting tool right in the middle, and as Christine said, make sure you strike straight down, otherwise the two pieces can slip out of alignment.

[wook1138[TK]]

Snaps!  Ugh, I hated them when I first learned how to assemble them.  I destroyed countless amounts of snaps before I finally got things right.  You're definitely not alone!

I tried the same things as you, doing the whole rotating thing with the long metal thing, and had the same results.  I don't know how the guy in that video gets it right.  I finally bought a cheapo snap kit from Home Depot (look under Line Snap Kit), and for me, the setting tool gave me amazing results!  I don't use any of the other parts in the kit (I like Tandy's anvil).  It has a collar on it that helps keep the snap in place while you're hammering it together.  You simply place it on the snap, and hammer straight down (no rotation needed), and use a lot of force (not that Force, but the brute strength kind).  


 
I've spent many credits on the more expensive Tandy snap setting tools, and they just don't work for me.  This cheap one does the trick!  

I’ve seen these setting tools in other people’s build thread and never knew where they came from. Thanks. I found the Tandy setting tool difficult at best.


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[wook1138[TK]]

double post

Edited March 2, 2018 by wook1138

[hollowbodies[501st]]

Oh well, nice to see I'm not alone. I started feeling pretty dumb really, haha!

 

I'm trying to set them using the Tandy tools, but maybe it does not go that wwll really... I'll try to go to Home Depot today to fins the kit you're talking about. Thanks a lot for the support, I will keep trying and let you know how it turns out haha !

 

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[hollowbodies[501st]]

1 hour ago, Cricket said:

Snaps!  Ugh, I hated them when I first learned how to assemble them.  I destroyed countless amounts of snaps before I finally got things right.  You're definitely not alone!

I tried the same things as you, doing the whole rotating thing with the long metal thing, and had the same results.  I don't know how the guy in that video gets it right.  I finally bought a cheapo snap kit from Home Depot (look under Line Snap Kit), and for me, the setting tool gave me amazing results!  I don't use any of the other parts in the kit (I like Tandy's anvil).  It has a collar on it that helps keep the snap in place while you're hammering it together.  You simply place it on the snap, and hammer straight down (no rotation needed), and use a lot of force (not that Force, but the brute strength kind).  

 

I've spent many credits on the more expensive Tandy snap setting tools, and they just don't work for me.  This cheap one does the trick!  

Is this the kit you're talking about from Home Depot? https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.papc-universal-snap-tool.1000161930.html

[Cricket[TK]]

56 minutes ago, hollowbodies said:

Is this the kit you're talking about from Home Depot? https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.papc-universal-snap-tool.1000161930.html

 

Looks like the one to me!  My setting tool looks just like that one.

Although the kit over on Amazon is a bit cheaper.  At least on my end it is just $6.97 shipped Prime.

http://a.co/99tJ8kU

Edited March 2, 2018 by Cricket

[hollowbodies[501st]]

My apologies, it's been long since I've updated my build topic. However, I have not been completely idle about my build, so here are a few updates. First, it seems like it took me some time to master tha art of "snaps setting" - haha - but I think I got it pretty much now! I am so happy and would like to thank everybody who sent me some tips - it's all been really useful. So once I got how to do it, I made a lot of snap bases. Here is some detail about what/how I did...

 

I'm using the "double snap" method, so I used 2" wide black nylon strapping, and I cut some 1.5" long pieces to make my snap bases 2" x 1.5" approximately :

 

 

Then I measured to center both snaps on my bases, and precisely marked where I'd need to punch a hole...

 

 

 

I used a soldering iron to burn the edges and finish the holes clean. Ready for snaps eyelets.

 

 

 

After that, I hammered the snaps eyelets into place in the nylon bases and everything went really nice and smooth. I used the tool that Christine mentioned and it went way better than simply using the Tandy tools. Perhaps the Tandy Tools are not that good even if they are the "pros" in terms of snaps.

 

 

So I had no problems hammering these snaps on the bases, and I tested them all and they worked really well. I'm happy to have finally got how to do that right; I wasted so many snaps trying to get it haha! Anyways, I've done many bases - about as many as I need to glue on the major body parts (chest, ab, back, kidney, ...) to make them hold together properly so that I can measure the length needed for the connecting straps that will have the snap studs attached to them... Will be way better than the fit tests I made already using just tape.

 

I've also worked on some other parts of the armour as well - espacially the thighs, for which I'll post some progress pictures right after this post.

Edited March 6, 2018 by hollowbodies

[hollowbodies[501st]]

A little while ago, I started posting about the fitting of the thighs pieces, so here is how it's progressing. I now have started to glue them together, and I found it way harder than the upper body limb parts!

 

 

So here is how the left one looks (just glued, not cleaned yet). I think I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It fits really well (with some desired calculated gaps) on me. The bottom return edge of the back does not close completely, but it was like almost impossible to make both the back and the front close completely, so I decied I'd make the front close as well as possible and I will put some more ABS on the Inside of the back to hide the small gap. I plan on putting inner cover strips on those parts, so it should help too!

 

 

 

And here is the right thigh (picture down there). I had a lot of trouble holding both parts together to make the glue dry (way worse than the left thigh, I don't know why)! There is a gap on the bottom return edge of the front, so I'm not sure yet what I'll do with it. I might remove the cover strip and try to glue it all over again - hoping it'll be more easy next time. However, before gluing, I tried making it fit perfectly by holding the parts together with my hands and tape, and it was never perfect. So maybe I'll try to hide the gap with an inner cover strip and put the thigh ammo pack over it to hide it even more, as it's on the right thigh. Anyways, here is how it looks for now :

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by hollowbodies

[lucnak[TK]]

Du bon progres!

 

Yes, your ammo pack will cover that gap on the right thigh. For the left at the back, if you need to make mobility cuts, you might not even need to close that little gap! If you do need to close it, a piece of scrap and some ABS paste will make it disappear!

 

Good to hear you got your snap setting situation sorted.

[hollowbodies[501st]]

I've been gluing some inner cover strips on my thigh pieces and I also started gluing some nylon snap bases on my chest and back plates. However, I'm running out of magnets right now (thighs are big and take a lot of magnets!) so I gotta do something else than gluing while all that E-6000 dries. So I've been doing some fit tests for my ab and kidney plates for a few days now and I started cutting some parts yesterday to make them a bit more close to my size (those AP pieces have a lot of extra material on them to accomodate all sizes).

 

As I'm slim, I must remove a good part of the sides, but I don't want to remove too much from the ab piece because still I want everything to line up well and look good on the sides. Here is what I'm thinking about removing from the ab piece. If it sounds ok, I would like to cut where the red line is on the following picture. However, do you think that would be fine, or should I cut less and go for something more like the orange line instead?

 

 

Here is how the side would look if I'd cut about where the red line is :

 

 

And that is how it would fit on me (I still have some free space on the inside - I'm not filling all the armor even adjusted to this size) :

 

    

 

 

I know it's not all perfectly lined up because it's just held together with some tape, but you get the idea. If that seems good, I'll be able to cut and pierce holes for the rivets - something to do while the other parts glue dies!

Edited March 9, 2018 by hollowbodies

[lucnak[TK]]

You're good to cut at the red line. Here's some reference photos. You'll see that the original suit had the ab plate ending there.

 

[wook1138[TK]]

Yep, like Luc said - red line on the ab.  If you wanted to remove more on the kidney, you probably could, but it looks good in the pics.  I have seen builds where that notch is pretty short (horizontally along the top, but I think it is always ~22mm tall).  But yeah, leaving a little room won't hurt either.  You can always add some foam later. 

 

The issue I had with the ab and kidney being a little large was that the belt pulled the two pieces together and they started to overlap.  I had to add some internal strapping to keep this from happening, but it was a pretty easy fix - and now I don't have to worry about gaining a few pounds. 

 

The belt will make a difference with how these pieces end up fitting - or at least how they fit together.

 

Things are looking nice.  Keep up the great work David!

[hollowbodies[501st]]

I'll definitely go cut on that red line right away, then! And I think that for now I prefer keeping the notch as square as possible. If needed I might change that later, but right now I guess it'll stay like this. I'll post more pics of how it evolves later, thanks guys!

Edited March 9, 2018 by hollowbodies