Lorelei's 5'4" ATA ANH-S Centurion-Hopeful Build

[ukswrath[Staff]]

[darthkenny[TK]]

How I picture opening a box without a sharp object

 

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Edited May 9, 2022 by gmrhodes13
link removed no longer working

[Frank75139[501st]]

That’s exactly how you do it!


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[Cricket[TK]]

On 6/11/2018 at 2:09 PM, TheLorelei said:

Glam gloves! That's what they were called! I thought you said it in your thread but hadn't dug back through it yet to check. Silk liners seem like the way to go, too. Hey do you wear silk socks in your boots? I saw that recommended.

 

I wear thick wool hiking socks in my boots.  They keep my feet really dry, and the extra padding helps my feet fill out the boots.  Along with that, thick socks are super comfy.    FYI, my boots are about one size larger than my normal shoes to allow me to put lifts in them.  

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Thanks, Frank!

 

And hey, cool beans, Detachment staff in my very own Garrison! Thanks, Preston. I hope to attend some Garrison Carida events over the summer. Watch away - I hear Ronnie is a stickler for details so I'll need all the critiques I can get! 

 

I'm a wool hiking sock person in general, so that doesn't sound like a bad idea, Cricket. I've been thinking of lifts, too, but already bought my boots... if the lifts fit, they fit, if they don't, I'll survive!

 

@darthkenny - Definitely the best option! but my lovely double bladed saber was at home at the time.

 

In other news, I'm wondering if it's far too early to get the enamel paints for my helmet and buttons. I found a hobby shop in the area that has both Testors and Humbrol. Think I'll stop by in the morning. How bad is it to use Humbrol French blue, but Testors for the other two? I'd like to use Testors for all three, but can't find a local source for Testors French blue (and would much prefer to purchase locally).

[Frank75139[501st]]

It’s never too early. Best to have everything do when you need it, it’s there. I don’t think you’ll have an issue with using the two paints.


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[TheLorelei[TK]]

Alright. Prep work trundles slowly along. One thing I need people to weigh in on first though, please.

 

BLASTER

I have discovered that I have zero interest in building an E-11 from scratch/kit. Frank (thanks!) suggested a Hyperfirm B-grade as a combination of reasonable price and low work needed for approvability. Just confirming, though, that you really don't need to do much beyond attaching a D ring to prep a Hyperfirm. No painting? Is a B-grade likely to make it to Centurion?

 

MAGNETS

Neodymium magnets arrived from AliExpress. $16.52 for 50 20mmx3mm N52 magnets is my cup of tea. I got two sets.  (Link here, but if it's down, browse around if you have a month or so to spare for shipping time. Prices can't be beat! http://s.aliexpress.com/NFn2AvYv)

I covered the magnets for ease of use, using (fun fact) scrap fabric from the lining of my Seventh Sister jacket.

I found a pretty nifty method for securing the magnets in their pouches...

Start with a pile of fabric squares in two colors. Different colors for opposing pairs make it easy to grab one of each magnet that will stick together. I eyeballed the size, was horrifically inconsistent, convinced myself it didn't matter, and ended up with 4"x4"ish squares.

I used tiny 4" zip ties because there was a bag of 1,000 around. They worked fine. I highly recommend securing them all into loose loops (just a few clicks) before you begin. It's much easier to not have to wrangle zip tie ends into their slots while bunching fabric together.

So here's the fun part. My bestie's coffee table is an old ship's hatch, which has large metal bands around either end. After a couple frustratingly inefficient tries at wrapping the magnets resting on wood, I realized the magnets wanted to be on the metal bands anyway, so why not make use of it?

After determining polarity (the really tricky "does this want to stick to one of the opposite color that I've already wrapped?" test), I *carefully* laid each magnet in the middle of the appropriate colored square on the metal surface. I picked up each corner and pulled them through a zip tie circle.

With the magnet happily held down, it was super easy to pull up on the fabric as I tightened the zip tie and got nice tight pouches every time. I'm betting you could achieve the same ease of wrapping with any metal surface - the top of your filing cabinet, a piece of steel clamped to a tabletop, hey, you could even use your fridge if you got really desperate. 

Tadaa!

I wrapped some magnets in pairs (bottom of picture) due to concerns about holding strength. Those will be my "big guns" for any real warped cover strips. They also make for nice medium holding strengths when I use one of those doubles with a single on the other side. I tripled the zip ties on the doubles to differentiate them easier. 10 pairs of doubles, 30 pairs of singles.

I am now really sick of zip ties.

 

UNDERSUIT

After trying half a dozen options, I found that a dance unitard was the best fit for me. For price, fabric thickness, and comfort, the Capezio tb114 won hands down. It's a 90nylon/10spandex blend so it'll hold its shape well. The unitard has a wide scoop neck, so I'll be doing something ingenious to connect my neck seal to the edge so I don't have any accidental skin showing by my shoulders. Stay tuned. Also it was way long on short me, so I put it on, measured the extra length on wrists and ankles, took it off, rolled the cuffs in on themselves by that length, and ran a zig-zag stitch around the middle of the rolled bit. The cuffs are now a bit loose so I'll sew them tighter to keep them from creeping up and call it a day.

 

NECK SEAL

Muahahahaha... after many excellent discoveries of bad ways to achieve deep, rubbery neck seal ridges, I have found a good one. And boy, is it good. Still a work in progress but if it turns out as well as I expect, I'll make a separate tutorial thread. Sneak peek:

 

AND I'm going to my first armor (or lack thereof) party in a few weeks. Totally stoked.

That's all for now, folks!

[CableGuy[TK]]

Wow - great progress! I’m specifically loving the magnets, btw

[TheSwede[TK]]

6 hours ago, TheLorelei said:

I have discovered that I have zero interest in building an E-11 from scratch/kit

A rubber one from imperial warfighters is Centurion-ready straight from the box and at a very good price

 

[Pretzel]

Great Job on those magnets!  Going to help you when you are officially ready to use them.

[TheLorelei[TK]]

16 hours ago, CableGuy said:

Wow - great progress!

Thanks, Dan! Now I just have to put them to use... but yes, everyone should have happy little Sith magnets.

 

13 hours ago, TheSwede said:

A rubber one from imperial warfighters is Centurion-ready straight from the box and at a very good price

Ooh, that's quite a good option. I've now been in contact with them and will likely be going that route. Much obliged, Daniel!

 

@Pretzel , that is *very* good to hear. I'll need all the help I can get, so thank you in advance. 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

*grabs mic*

It's time again, folks, for -- Concerns of the Overthinker! (lights flash)

Thank you for joining us. Tonight's topic is Snap Plates, Your Armor, and You. Have any of you folks had any run-ins with the definitely-not-urban-legend warping that can happen with ABS snap plates, as seen in this [recent] nightmare thread? 

With ATA being among the thicker ABS kits out there I imagine I'll be fine, but I was planning on making most of my snap plates ahead of time and it's positively terrifying to think they could warp my armor like that and I'd have to scrap them all. Despite the words of its proponents, nylon webbing just doesn't seem as secure to me. If it offered a warp-free guarantee I'd set my snaps in it anyway but it just doesn't. SO. Nylon? ABS? Worry more? Thoughts welcome, and thank you all in advance.

 

On a happier note, I've been customizing my armor storage tote. Cart before the horse, my eye. WIP pic below. Those are tiny Imperial cogs, yes.

 

My first neck seal attempt has proven to be an excellent learning experience. The biggest lesson is that you need to build in much more width than you thought you'd need because you're essentially accounting for the outer circumference, not the inner, and when it's this thick it can get pretty tight. However it looks incredible, if I do say so myself, and I will now be pursuing a similar rib style with entirely different and hopefully less nightmarish construction and closure techniques.

Let's leave it at that.

Edited July 16, 2018 by TheLorelei
wonky font mid-paragraph

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Not all snaps are created equal. The warping of the armor is directly related to the E6000 to snap metal reactivity. If you use a better quality snap, something with anti corrosive coating you shouldn't have this issue. I know Tandy gets pushed around the FISD and on the FB pages quite often but to be honest higher grade snaps like Fasnap and DOT have no reactivity to E6000 and are virtually the same cost as Tandy.  Also, thinner armors like RS and Anovos are more susceptible to these warping issues than with ATA. 

 

Hope this helps 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Thanks, @ukswrath ! I assumed Tandy was in the "immune" category due to how much it gets pushed on here, like you said, but I had seen enough unsatisfactory things about them that I turned to Dot. They ended up being even cheaper than Tandy, purchased online through a sailmaking company. Anyway that sets my mind at rest. You're a peach.  

[StrmTRPR85[TK]]

loving the work your doing on lining your tote.  I just started working on lining mine as well!

[Shanester[TK]]

You are definitely doing it right.  That is a very nice neck seal.  I wish I has your sewing skills.  Keep up the good work! 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Thanks Jeff! It's all about the details that make you smile, in my opinion. Let me know if you post pics of yours when it's done!

 

Why thank you, Shane. So it doesn't look like pulling teeth, eh? Cause it was. It can only go up from here, I'm convinced. 

[Frank75139[501st]]

I think you’ll be fine if you go with the quality snaps, get them all ready and when you put them on you could always glue them to a piece of scrap plastic then glue that to the armor. My thinking was it’ll mess up the scrap piece and not the armor. It’s a bit more time consuming cause you glue the snap to the scrap, let it dry, then glue that to the armor, and let it dry.

 

Oh and it’s never too early to decorate a tote! That armor has to go somewhere when each piece gets completed.

Nice job on the neck seal as well.

 

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[TheLorelei[TK]]

That's an idea, thanks Frank.

And good call, I will need somewhere to put them!

[shashachu[TK]]

I used nylon snap plates with Tandy Line 24 snaps and haven't noticed any deformation. I have a WTF kit which is also on the thicker side as well.

[Pretzel]

That neck seal looks very comfy! I envy anyone that has the patience to sew! Great Work! 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Thanks, ShaSha and Pretzel! My latest exploits have centered around a (largely) not sewn neck seal actually, but that has been eclipsed by the news that MY KIT SHOULD BE ARRIVING IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS! I just received word that mine is the next to be done, maybe this weekend, and I have no clue how long shipping will take but it can't take THAT long, RIGHT?? so I'm small scale panicking, making sure I have everything I need for its arrival, updating my reference notebook, chilling the celebratory champagne (more likely beer), and being generally thrilled and terrified at the same time.

 

*takes deep breaths*

 

Real update to follow once I get some needed pics.

[TheSwede[TK]]

Great news

[gatetrooper[TK]]

Another garrison-mate watching with anticipation. Love this thread so far!

 

You may be way beyond snap plates at this point, but jic it makes a difference, I used nylon, Tandy 24, and my kit is RS. No issues 2 years into my trooping career.

 

Keep on rocking, Lorelei!

[TheLorelei[TK]]

On 8/23/2018 at 10:11 PM, gatetrooper said:

Another garrison-mate watching with anticipation.

Oh hey, Andrew (or do you go by a different name?)! It's fun finding out who's on the detachment boards. Thanks! Just received my snap press today so am not quite beyond plates yet but am thinking ABS so far. Haven't ordered my nylon for strapping... probably tonight...