LTM's AM TK ANH build

[Commander Gree[501st]]

Looks perfect, to me

 

[CableGuy[TK]]

Thigh ammo pack looks super. :-)

[DBGrip]

Have you trimmed your shoulder bells at all? Trying to figure out a guide for them. These AM bells are huge.

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[LTM[TK]]

1 hour ago, DBGrip said:

Have you trimmed your shoulder bells at all? Trying to figure out a guide for them. These AM bells are huge.

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They actually fit my shoulders very well. I did not trim, and took pictures from the front and back to make sure I covered up as much of the under-suit as possible.

Make sure you don't cut until you suit up, and make sure you have your biceps on your arms. 

Edited August 8, 2018 by LTM

[Commander Gree[501st]]

1 hour ago, DBGrip said:

Have you trimmed your shoulder bells at all? Trying to figure out a guide for them. These AM bells are huge.

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Will probably just need to take the return off them. that's what I did to mine and they are perfect!

[LTM[TK]]

Taking pictures of the back before adding the cover strips to the shins and I have a problem. I think when I cut the thighs I did not account for lining up the back strips with the center of the shins, so the left shin has a wicked leaning cut. The right is not as bad, but it could be better as well.

Maybe I need to reposition the cut from the top of the thighs to more outside my thighs at the bottom?

Look at the coverstrip

My line where I think it should go

Close up, and now you can see I am slightly bow-legged which does not help

 

The shins are in line with the thighs, but that left shin is just too much of an angle

 

 

Edited August 14, 2018 by LTM

[LTM[TK]]

I did get a small brown box to help

[Frank75139[501st]]

Maybe try to angle the cover strip a bit straighter? You might be able to make it look a bit closer. Other then that I’d say just make sure it’s in line when you take your final pics. Everything shifts when you move so even if you straighten it out there is a good chance it’ll all misalign when you wear it anyway.


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[TheSwede[TK]]

3 hours ago, LTM said:

I did get a small brown box to help

New shins?

[LTM[TK]]

9 hours ago, TheSwede said:

New shins?

New thighs (this is also the thicker version - cause why not) and shins. My goal is to better align the backs of the thighs and get a straight cut on the shins. 

[TheSwede[TK]]

40 minutes ago, LTM said:

New thighs (this is also the thicker version - cause why not) and shins. My goal is to better align the backs of the thighs and get a straight cut on the shins. 

That`s commitment

[StrmTRPR85[TK]]

3 hours ago, LTM said:

New thighs (this is also the thicker version - cause why not) and shins. My goal is to better align the backs of the thighs and get a straight cut on the shins. 

Best trick I can did was used a ruler after I got my thighs assembled, slid them on and put the shins on.  Taped the shins down tight (helps if you have another person though) and line the ruler up with the thigh part and draw your line.

[trixim[TK]]

New thighs (this is also the thicker version - cause why not) and shins. My goal is to better align the backs of the thighs and get a straight cut on the shins. 

Dude you are loyal to your fitted armor. Love it.


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[LTM[TK]]

43 minutes ago, StrmTRPR85 said:

Best trick I can did was used a ruler after I got my thighs assembled, slid them on and put the shins on.  Taped the shins down tight (helps if you have another person though) and line the ruler up with the thigh part and draw your line.

That is exactly my plan. Attach the fronts of thighs and shins, then line up and tape up and down to get close as possible. The fronts of my existing legs look good, just the back is the issue. 

[LTM[TK]]

Went to an armor party and got lots of help from Cricket on the legs. Steve jumped in with a critical eye and we finally got the cuts to line up.

Here is a shot of current state with another "aren't you short for a trooper"

Just taped at this point

 

Calves need a hot water bath to get as close as possible to reduce the strain on the closure

Had to buy a 16qt pot

And now the finished results. Could not have done it without cricket showing how to hot water bath as she shaped another members armor.

 

Now I will try my hand at doing the "cricket closure" on the shins. Starting with the buttons.

Edited August 27, 2018 by LTM

[TheSwede[TK]]

Great work

[Cricket[TK]]

You did an amazing job on getting those shins to line up.  Great work!!!

You also did well with those magnet buttons, too.   Something I noticed (and I don't know how much it'll matter or not when assembled) is that you've made most of your buttons square.  You will want a fair amount of surface for the glue to adhere onto the shins.  With a rectangle shape, you'll have lots of area for the glue to adhere on the long part of the shin.  With a square shape, you'll have less.  Again, I don't know if it will make much of a difference with regards to the strength of your closures, but I thought I'd point it out.

Here's what mine looked like before assembly into the shin:

[LTM[TK]]

Inside shin strips cut and drilled

 

Now to let the E6000 cure for a few days

[Frank75139[501st]]

Just caught up on this. Great job. Even taped it looks perfect.


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[Cricket[TK]]

9 hours ago, LTM said:

Now to let the E6000 cure for a few days

 

I think you need bigger magnets.

Kidding!!!!  haha... Seriously, those look great.  Nice work!

[LTM[TK]]

Holes cut with dremel small sander drum

 

Used the tape to prevent sticking and cover strip is on (and more waiting...)

 

This may be a very slow process due to the E6000, but should be worth it.

[Cricket[TK]]

Bravo!!!  Really good work so far.  Those shins are coming along flawlessly.  

[LTM[TK]]

The magnets and tape come off.

 

Houston, we have a problem!

 

Break out the pot and shape some more (thanks again to Cricket for confirming this is the way to correct). In the past the hot water method was a little scary, now not so much...

 

Minimal pressure at the bottom

 

Again minimal pressure

 

[LTM[TK]]

Magnets glued to buttons with E6000

 

[Cricket[TK]]

So close now!!!!  Can't wait to see them finished.     They look great.