Linus' ANH Stunt Build (TM)

[troopermaster]

10 hours ago, Linus said:

There's a slight oval shape to both of these Thighs. I decided not to attempt any reshaping........

This is something I need to address as it comes up in almost all the build threads. The original armour limbs are OVAL!  Everyone seems to think the parts should be rounded but they are in fact oval shaped, just as your limbs are if you care to check. The problem with most other kits are they are oval shaped the wrong way, so if the wrist opening is wider from joint to joint on ANH armour, they are wider top to bottom making them look odd. Maybe that's why people think they need to reshape but whatever the reason the rounded myth started, it's just a myth

 

Apologies for the slight diversion but I feel this myth needs to nipped in the bud.

[Linus]

On 12/2/2018 at 1:43 AM, troopermaster said:

When matching up the front of the thighs, you really want to have the lower ridges meet to an apex and not offset. I took the liberty of flipping your photo and correcting using the red lines and your blue line.

 

That makes a lot of sense. Since I had aligned the right Thigh from the top, this resulted in the lower ridge offset causing the ammo pack to be ever so slightly lower on one end in the back as well. I thought about this at the time, thinking if I lowered it slightly, the ridges would be even with each other but this was overshadowed by the need to align at the top based on reading it somewhere. If I had aligned them via the lower ridge, I wouldn't have created that artificial wonkiness. Thanks for the clarification and the correction picture! Sometimes I follow things a bit too literally and don't follow my instincts. Down the rabbit hole I go...

Edited December 3, 2018 by Linus

[Linus]

On 12/2/2018 at 3:18 AM, troopermaster said:

This is something I need to address as it comes up in almost all the build threads. The original armour limbs are OVAL!  Everyone seems to think the parts should be rounded but they are in fact oval shaped, just as your limbs are if you care to check. The problem with most other kits are they are oval shaped the wrong way, so if the wrist opening is wider from joint to joint on ANH armour, they are wider top to bottom making them look odd. Maybe that's why people think they need to reshape but whatever the reason the rounded myth started, it's just a myth

 

Apologies for the slight diversion but I feel this myth needs to nipped in the bud.

 

No diversion at all. Rather, a much appreciated reality check and "Myth" is the perfect word for for describing where many of us (newbies?) seem to think we need to go with this compulsion for achieving roundness (really speaking for myself more than others here). Somewhere along the line I presumed roundness even though I had concluded that it actually fit my thigh pretty well, as is.  Here's the full quote:

 "Final thoughts:
There's a slight oval shape to both of these Thighs. I decided not to attempt any reshaping at this stage because it fairly closely resembles the natural profile of my thighs (wider from a side view and narrower from a front view) but I will re-assess when I start final fitment and strapping".

 

Thanks for the course correction and keeping me honest Paul! Amazing how I followed that train off the rails...

Edited February 16, 2019 by Linus

[troopermaster]

13 hours ago, Linus said:

align at the top based on reading it somewhere. 

There's the problem. Whilst there is a huge amount of invaluable information on this forum, there is also a lot of misinformation based on peoples preferences. What might work for one set of armour may not always work for another, so by going with your instinct and aligning the lower ridge would have been the right choice for this armour. It's not a huge problem by any means, but it's the right way to build ANH armour.

12 hours ago, Linus said:

I had concluded that it actually fit my thigh pretty well, as is.

Yes, and I'm pleased you resisted temptation to alter the shape. I only wanted to highlight the fact that ANH armour limbs are oval shaped after reading so many treads on here about trying to round their armour parts.

 

Keep up the good work

[Linus]

On 12/2/2018 at 1:43 AM, troopermaster said:

When matching up the front of the thighs, you really want to have the lower ridges meet to an apex and not offset. I took the liberty of flipping your photo and correcting using the red lines and your blue line.

 

That makes a lot of sense. Since I had aligned them from the top, this resulted in the lower ridge offset causing the ammo pack to be ever so slightly lower on one end in the back as well. I thought about this at the time, thinking if I lowered it slightly, the ridges would be even with each other but this was overshadowed by the need to align at the top based on reading it somewhere. If I had aligned them via the lower ridge, I wouldn't have created that artificial wonkiness. Thanks for the clarification and the correction picture! Sometimes I follow things a bit too literally and don't follow my instincts. Down the rabbit hole I go...

[Linus]

Had a bit of a hiatus due to family loss but it's time to bounce back and get back on this horse! Broke out all the torso pieces then fine trimmed and now I'm sanding each piece to smooth out the scissor lines. Getting pretty good with the Lexan scissors and holding a line (versus stops and re-starts) such that there's minimal finish sanding to be done!
Pictures to follow 

[Frank75139[501st]]

Sorry to hear that, hope everyone is healing well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Linus]

Yes, we're doing ok. I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you Frank!

I spent the last week or so, trimming the torso pieces down to the return edges and sanded out any cut marks, uneven lines left by the Lexan scissors and overall - to ensure the returns are fairly consistent size-wise. My intent here is to start with a larger return (about 5/8 or 10 mm) and trim down as needed after a initial fitment in the under suit using tape to approximate positioning and hold pieces together. I had hoped there wouldn't be much need for any significant alterations but it appears I have a few areas that will need some work.

 

Here are the pics and some notes and concerns that I'll try and turn into questions for feedback.

 

A little detail on my dimensions to reinforce some of my concerns. I'm 6'2 and right about 199 lbs right now. I lost a good 24 lbs last November and plan to keep my weigh in around 195-200 from now on. My mid section, while certainly not fat-ish, is um, a bit lounge-e/slightly pudgy of late. I'm going for Centurion so the Ab plates must be pretty much flush to one another "minimal or no gap".

1. The posterior or butt plate is a bit wider then my backside so I'll likely need to give it a hot water bath to narrow it at the *ahem* cheeks and hips since they flare out about an inch on either side. The good news there is, the kidney plate is just a bit wide as well which means there's a bit of room to pull them inward on either side and close the ab plate gap some. My suspicion is, pulling them in to where the two plates are flush, will be pretty stressful on the plastic long-term. I'd hate to relax and see my sides bust outward in some sort of armor explosion that wounds a innocent bystander.
   As you can see from the pics, I have significant return remaining on the bottom of the posterior plate and when I push the outer edge inward to simulate the shape needed, the return edge, where it curves most and is weakest, kind of binds up a bit.
   My question here is, should I retain as much return edge on the lower surfaces of the butt plate to resemble thickness of armor or reduce/remove it such that the re-shaping won't be a concern as far as stress to the area where it flexes inward?
   If I remove most or all of the return, will that look pretty goofy?
    
2. It looks like I'll need to shore up the gap between the Ab plates. As they're taped, the gap on either side is roughly 1/2-3/4 inch between the front and back pieces where the rivets will go. I can think of few possible solutions or improvements (short of shims).
   1. Remove some more return edge on the front cod/abdomen piece (both the lower areas between thighs and upper return that hides under chest piece) which should theoretically pull them a bit closer to my body (albeit not likely enough). I say this because those return edges actually push the front cod outward and forward some and I can feel the front cod-abdomen - upper return - pushing into my ribs.
   2. Remove the slight return edge that remains between the two Ab plates which might allow the to pull together a bit more flush. From what I can see, most have removed these returns anyway so that these two can meet more flush/evenly. 
   3. Work on my core to reduce a bit of that excess baggage 
      Any feedback on the feasibility of these thoughts or additional ideas on this challenging area is appreciated.
       
3. I'm also concerned about the overall height of the front abdomen piece being enough to tuck sufficiently under the chest piece. As a result, I think I have the cod and posterior portions as high as they can go without raising my voice a few octaves.  As you can see, I have it as high as it will go up front which actually feels like its pulling the posterior plate up a bit too high on them there cheeks...
   Any thoughts or feedback on this is appreciated.

 

Edited February 17, 2019 by Linus

[lucnak[TK]]

1. You can remove the return edge on the butt plate if need be. Doesn't look too bad to me.

2. I don't have any additional feedback for you for this unfortunately!

3. We'd have to see where the chest plate sits on you to really give any advice on this. You're wearing the ab at the right place - as high as you can get it! Chest plate just needs to stay overlapping.

[Sly11[Admin]]

Hey Dave, some great progress here and looking good.

As to the return edge, it really depends on how much you want to try and reshape that but plate. The less return the easier it will form fit. generally anywhere from 3 - 5 mm return edge is plenty, and in some cases we have troopers that remove it completely to better shape various parts.

The screen used armour had virtually all return edge removed, most probably so the various plates could flex a little more when worn by the actors, but that choice is up to the individual.

Keep up the good work

[Linus]

On 2/16/2019 at 7:54 PM, lucnak said:

1. You can remove the return edge on the butt plate if need be. Doesn't look too bad to me.

2. I don't have any additional feedback for you for this unfortunately!

3. We'd have to see where the chest plate sits on you to really give any advice on this. You're wearing the ab at the right place - as high as you can get it! Chest plate just needs to stay overlapping.

Roger that Luc, gonna reduce the posterior - return edges a bit. Found a few pics (both builds and movie) where the return is about half what I have and I think it looks nice and clean plus, it should help with hot bath shaping/narrowing of outer edge-flare later, as Sly mentioned. I'm also going to make a mental note on posterior to kidney outer straps being positioned as far out on either side as possible which should help to pull in the outer flare as well (or at the very least keep the posterior aligned with the back plate). 

On 2/17/2019 at 2:42 AM, Sly11 said:

Hey Dave, some great progress here and looking good.

As to the return edge, it really depends on how much you want to try and reshape that but plate. The less return the easier it will form fit. generally anywhere from 3 - 5 mm return edge is plenty, and in some cases we have troopers that remove it completely to better shape various parts.

The screen used armour had virtually all return edge removed, most probably so the various plates could flex a little more when worn by the actors, but that choice is up to the individual.

Keep up the good work

 Thanks Andrew!

Agreed on the return. I'll reduce it to roughly half what it is now (3-5 mm) on both front and back. That will actually bring it closer to the back plate's L-shaped indent on the outer sides as well. I started with the most so I could see what it looked like fitted to me and body suit but the maximum return is way too much and doesn't look as clean as a number of pics I've seen where they're the specs you mentioned.

 

On the gap between the Ab plates I've decided on a few incremental stages: 

• I'll likely remove the return edge completely (going to re-read various TM build threads to assess first) between the two pieces where the rivets will align. As is, they're not straight edges and this will allow me to ensure these two edges meet nice n flush (I'm totally obsessed with this aspect of the armor and Centurion CRL). I'm still attempting to avoid Shims at this stage (calling it the denial stage). 
• I have embarked on "Operation Slimfast". This is not the drink but my attempt to reduce my mid-section by a few inches or so (36 to 34) and see if I can't fit into the armor as opposed to making the armor fit me. The risk here, as I look at the long-term/big picture, is that I have to stick to that for as long as I hope to wear my armor and Shims (or re-growth) will mean another belt fitment 
• I'm also going to reduce the return edge (or ledge) between the lower and upper back pieces just a tad more which should bring it in closer to my body (every millimeter counts at this point right!).

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by Linus

[Linus]

The good news:

A few months and Operation Slimfast was a success. I've lost 30 lbs and went from a 36 to about a 33 inch waist.

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

The bad news:

While it fits better (and I feel better) I don't think it's enough. Nor is any further weight loss sustainable with my current, somewhat sedimentary, lifestyle. The truth is, it wasn't really that hard to lose the weight that I did but if I slouch off, I'd be hard pressed to fit into my suit. Additionally, the fit is currently pretty snug as in nearly skin tight and I'm pretty sure I should have some wiggle/movement room within as well as the ability to slip some fingers in there to snap in on one side as I'm suiting up.

 

These are all assumptions on my part since this is my first armor but please 'weigh' in (ahem) and correct me if you think I'm off.

 

Conclusion: I've conceded that I think I need to add shims (approx 1/2-3/4 inch) on either side between the kidney and cod joints. I'm fine with doing that and have read up on numerous build threads for how to accomplish this but I do have some questions that I need guidance on.

 

Should I add a shims to the cod or to the kidney? Or does it matter?
I'm guessing Kidney but that will extend the bottom notch (the little right angle notch) horizontally about 1/2 inch on either side and is that acceptable or will that make it look strange or out of spec so to speak?

[TheSwede[TK]]

14 hours ago, Linus said:

Additionally, the fit is currently pretty snug as in nearly skin tight and I'm pretty sure I should have some wiggle/movement room within as well as the ability to slip some fingers in there to snap in on one side as I'm suiting up.

Great job in downsizing If it were me I wouldn´t shim, as long as you can breathe and it´s not popping loose you´re good, don´t need much room to snap in the right hand side snap, the left is easier keeping closed as you suit up

[Digz Graavz[TK]]

You'll sweat off 2lbs on your first troop

 

[Linus]

To be continued ;-)