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

[ukswrath[Staff]]

I believe this what you're asking to see. Here's an ATA, note the lower edge of the knee.

 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Thanks Tony. Trimmed away it shall be.

Did some things tonight - cleaned up ab button edges

though of course the paint got dented up during gluing so I'll either retouch or wipe the darn things and paint them for the fourth time. Circles, y'all. I've NEVER been good at circles. Best I did on these was when I realized I could dab the paint on with the flat side of a makeup sponge wedge thing - that way it was only touching the flat surface which was circular so it made (roughly) a circle.

Anyway, with those finally in place I prepared to put my belt snaps on the ab and then realized I'd prefer to glue single snap plates onto the front to drill fewer holes in my armor so I just set the female edge snaps in my belt instead.

They sit behind the outermost ammo boxes(?) and I'm confident I'll be able to squeeze a finger in between the belts to snap them to the ab before velcroing the back closed. Hey, I guess I can finally install the other two belt-to-belt rivets now!

 

I removed too many snap plates over the past couple days preparing for my new butt-kidney connections. Dozens.

Ok, six, I removed six.

But it FELT like dozens. Also I reshaped the butt plate and look how happily it lines up on the edges now! Sublime. Must finish trimming the lower edges of the butt plate too. There's much return edge yet.

 

After sanding the kidney splice down for the nth time this evening and still running into those dark lines (I must have left pencil in there for real) I decided to file the whole deal out and start fresh-ish. Used my needle files to form a nice little trench at the seam. Not too deep, but deep enough to remove both sides (with pencil markings...) and a little depth.

Then I acetoned down my ABS paste until it was super runny and drip-smear-poured it along the trench with a toothpick. I've had problems with bubbles forming in ABS paste in the past and I'm hoping this helps keep them from forming as I'm not globbing on layers of thicker paste, despite how globby it may look below.

Oh yeah, gotta reshape the 22mm notch again too. What's that saying - Vader may work from sun to sun to sun (haha, look, a Tatooine joke), but a TK's work is never done? Yeah, that was it.

 

Then I closed the evening by making a huge mess Dremeling out the insides of my hovi mic tips and drilling out little itty bitty holes for the little itty bitty speaker wires.

But more on that in my electronics thread. Some time. 

[Cricket[TK]]

I haven't had my coffee yet, but your large ab button plate looks like it's upside down to me.  :/

[PhilBobTheFish]

I concur with the two above comments.

 

BTW good job on the butt plate.

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Hahaha. Look at that. Not having the ab attached to the cod, it's stupid easy to flip it upside down without noticing and since I glued that one on and covered it before orienting for the smaller side plate... Priceless. Thanks, guys. #wherewouldibewithoute6000

So when I finish my build I get to go back and delete all the stupid mistakes so they're not left floating about the internet, right?  On the bright side, I think I'm developing a sense of humor about my fallibility. Probably about time I did that. *grinds teeth*

Edited January 10, 2019 by TheLorelei

[Cricket[TK]]

48 minutes ago, TheLorelei said:

So when I finish my build I get to go back and delete all the stupid mistakes so they're not left floating about the internet, right?  

 

hahaha!!!

 

The best part of so many builds are the mistakes we all share!  I cringe when I remember what I did to the returns on my very first kidney,  but have left everything up to see how ugly mistakes can become... and how to recover from them without leaping from the rooftop.    (Thanks to all here at the FISD for that, of course!!!)   So keep your mistakes out there!  

And you're doing an amazing job on this build.  Go, go, go!   

[TheLorelei[TK]]

21 minutes ago, Bud Spaklur said:

As you know, NOTHING is deleted from the internet once something’s out there....best accept the fact that nobody’s perfect (here’s where Frank would chime in to be funny and say, “Speak for yourself, Matt.”).

So I've heard! (Haha)

6 minutes ago, Cricket said:

hahaha!!!

 

The best part of so many builds are the mistakes we all share!  I cringe when I remember what I did to the returns on my very first kidney,  but have left everything up to see how ugly mistakes can become... and how to recover from them without leaping from the rooftop.    (Thanks to all here at the FISD for that, of course!!!)   So keep your mistakes out there!  

And you're doing an amazing job on this build.  Go, go, go!   

Thank you, Christine!! So much.

[PhilBobTheFish]

3 hours ago, TheLorelei said:

So when I finish my build I get to go back and delete all the stupid mistakes so they're not left floating about the internet, right? 

I notice that this post is edited.

Hmmm...

 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

6 minutes ago, PhilBobTheFish said:

I notice that this post is edited.

Hmmm...

 

Shhhhh. You saw nothing.

[Frank75139[501st]]

As you know, NOTHING is deleted from the internet once something’s out there....best accept the fact that nobody’s perfect (here’s where Frank would chime in to be funny and say, “Speak for yourself, Matt.”).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry for the delay, being on nights causes me to sleep most of the day but....

Speak for yourself, Matt!


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[Frank75139[501st]]

Shhhhh. You saw nothing.

You:
This is not the build thread your looking for

New FISD members:
Your right it’s not your ab buttons are upside down. Come on guys let’s check out that Bud Spakler guy he seems to know everything, but I hear he’s a low brow TK stunt that uses binders, a com mic, and chatter when he troops.


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[TheLorelei[TK]]

20 hours ago, Frank75139 said:

 

You:
This is not the build thread your looking for

New FISD members:
Your right it’s not your ab buttons are upside down. Come on guys let’s check out that Bud Spakler guy he seems to know everything, but I hear he’s a low brow TK stunt that uses binders, a com mic, and chatter when he troops.

 

Haha!! THERE he is! Your gif game is much stronger than mine. And wow, I never thought about "low brow" being a double insult around here for Stunts... them's fightin' words, Matt!

 

Last night I worked on my lens mounts. Figured out a way to hold the shop-vac tube near the Dremel so it sucked away all the dust before it got everywhere so it ended up being much cleaner work than expected. A bit of putty filling to do along the edges before a final sanding and painting (of the edges only) but I held a lens in there and it looks great so I'm excited!! The one thing is there won't be any ventilation around the eyes which is something I've seen mentioned with great importance placed on it. I could potentially cut little notches so only parts of the mount are flush with the lens, but I've also heard people with as many fans as I'm planning on having don't really have lens fogging issues. Plus, baby shampoo on lens solutions etc. Basically I'm not worried. But maybe I should be.

Lens mount trimming process was - place mount on eye, scribble with sharpie on high points, sand down with flat front edge of Dremel sanding bit, repeat.

( @TheSwede I may have missed my chance to draw eyes on my untrimmed bucket, but I did get to give it eyelashes, so there! )

Here's a before and after with the other mount:

I'd say they're coming along well.

 

I also made my thigh garter belt last night - a stripped down part of the belt I bought from work to use as strapping.

Speaking of which, I am loving this material! Making strapping for the kidney-butt connection with it and it's soo rigid.

 

Today is Cousins' Day Out so no work will be done but I may sneak some in tonight. 'Til then, y'all!

[Frank75139[501st]]

Looks good but I’m confused why you made an ankle bracket instead of a belt? Oh wait never mind, that thing might fit my thigh. Damn you high metabolism people!


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[TheSwede[TK]]

14 minutes ago, TheLorelei said:

eyelashes

That’s some wierdly placed eyelashes

[TheLorelei[TK]]

9 minutes ago, Frank75139 said:

Looks good but I’m confused why you made an ankle bracket instead of a belt? Oh wait never mind, that thing might fit my thigh. Damn you high metabolism people!

We exist solely to infuriate you. *bows*

 

1 minute ago, TheSwede said:

That’s some wierdly placed eyelashes

What can I say - I wasn't willing to sacrifice the entire mount by drawing in false sanding lines in more artistic places. Alternate (also true) excuse: I'm really really bad at applying makeup. 

[TheLorelei[TK]]

Lens mounts! Those silly, dust-involving pieces that kept my whole bucket waiting for them! I chose this design because a) it looks awesome and b) I needed something with many points of attachment for the lens (more than the 2-3 Chicago screw concept) because my lenses were so thick and not thermoplastic.

Y'all saw bits and pieces of making the mounts - I finished sanding them down to size, filled the edges, sanded again, and prepared to drill screw holes (an important step as you don't want the epoxy to crack as the screw forces it apart). I had cut out lenses earlier, otherwise I would have cut them based on the mounts. I held the lens on the mount and picked eight points at which to secure it, placing more Sharpie dots on the higher tension/curve area at the lower left. (I imagine these tension points vary from helmet to helmet depending on how you trimmed your eyes.) Since I had #2 screws, I used a 1/16" drill bit to make holes in the lens.

I wanted these done before I drilled pilot holes in the actual mount for alignment's sake. Then I held the lens in place super tight and made my first pilot hole

right in the middle of the high tension zone.

This way, everything else takes its alignment from this spot. PSA: keep your drill bit at a 90° angle to your lens! Especially important when you want the screw heads to lie flat for aesthetics. You know, for all the people that will see the inside of your helmet.

A look at how high the lens wants to float after the first screw is in:

This is a stubborn, stubborn material. I'm glad I'll have as many screws in it as I will. (Also, this is clearly before I filled the edges and re-sanded.)

Repeat the push-down-hard-and-drill thing just across from the first screw, get that screw in, and everything should cooperate much better from there on out. No need to put screws in every hole as you go any more.

 

Next I took all the screws out, sanded the mount edges to match the lens edges where practical, washed the mounts thoroughly to get rid of that pesky epoxy dust, and let them dry while I tested my 3-part Novus polish on the lenses. It's pretty neat stuff. Still some hairline scratches, but I can't see snuff through the lenses anyway so potatoe, tomahto. Once the mounts dried I painted them black (no pics) and that's where they stand. Woo!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You could always apply a little heat to the lenses so they conform to the shape and not under stress  

[TheLorelei[TK]]

20 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

You could always apply a little heat to the lenses so they conform to the shape and not under stress  

Trust me, I tried. Whatever they're made of just isn't a thermoplastic. Heat (from seriously extended periods of time in boiling water, at least) has no effect whatsoever. They spring delightfully back into flatness when cooled!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 minutes ago, TheLorelei said:

Trust me, I tried. Whatever they're made of just isn't a thermoplastic. Heat (from seriously extended periods of time in boiling water, at least) has no effect whatsoever. They spring delightfully back into flatness when cooled!

I normally use a heat gun so was unsure if a water bath would work, but I have while being on site at a recruits home resorted to heating his lenses on a metal tray and in an oven, worked a treat  

[TheLorelei[TK]]

5 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I normally use a heat gun so was unsure if a water bath would work, but I have while being on site at a recruits home resorted to heating his lenses on a metal tray and in an oven, worked a treat  

Oven is an idea! I'm quite wary of using a heat gun. Fortunately they're lying peacefully now, at least:

but if they rebel at some point (or I swap lenses) I'll give the oven a shot  Thanks for the options!

 

So yep, I assembled my eyes tonight.

And I CA-glued some fiberglass screening (and a bit of glove) into my frown outline:

and trimmed that down.

 

Sliding the completed eyes onto the face was a happy squeal moment, to be sure. It looks like a real bucket!! I had to polish up some bucket scratches before moving further, though, so I spent a while sanding to 2,000 grit and then Novus-ing it up.

The results are satisfactory. Smudge's smudge remains on his nose despite it all. (Insert nose/spite/face pun that I'm too tired to riddle out.)

 

Tomorrow I'll use my heated workspace to E6000 in the eyes, frown, ab button plate, and new kidney-butt attachment points. Moving along!

[68Brick[TK]]

Nice work Lorelei. As for your lenses and fogging ... it all depends on how your fans are set up and how much fresh air your bucket can intake. Some troopers have gaps around the lenses, and some don't. Some fog, and some don't. You'll figure it out once you wear your bucket and see what happens.

 

Nice Progress!

[TheLorelei[TK]]

3 minutes ago, 68Brick said:

Nice work Lorelei. As for your lenses and fogging ... it all depends on how your fans are set up and how much fresh air your bucket can intake. Some troopers have gaps around the lenses, and some don't. Some fog, and some don't. You'll figure it out once you wear your bucket and see what happens.

 

Nice Progress!

Thanks Brad! Yeah, I'll wait and see. Or not see, if the fog is that bad.

Fan placement is going to be interesting. But that's a matter for my electronics thread.

[A.J. Hamler[TK]]

12 hours ago, TheLorelei said:

 

 

Geez, you guys, get a room.

[TheLorelei[TK]]

1 hour ago, Bud Spaklur said:

Lorelei- I used Sugru completely for my lenses and just mounted them on and pressed firmly on them to hold them in place. The Sugru confirmed nicely to the lenses. What if you just took a little Sugru and filled in any gaps between your lenses and mounts? I’m not sure baking your lenses would be a good route. Just use your finger and work some Sugru into the cracks/gaps and call it a day.

Thanks, Matt! With thinner lenses I would have used your Sugru method (but with epoxy putty, what I made the mounts from, instead). Since the lens material that came with my kit is so rigid, I made the mounts the proper shape so the lenses would be forced to conform, instead - they sit so nicely once all screwed in, so I won't be baking any lenses any time soon, don't worry!

[PhilBobTheFish]

2 hours ago, A.J. Hamler said:

 

Geez, you guys, get a room.

There's probably three rooms, a garage, and an entire floor for this build. 

 

Glad to see it's coming to fruition though.

Edited January 16, 2019 by PhilBobTheFish