AP Armour - Trimmed - ANH Centurion - First Build Thread

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

Hey all, quick question

 

What diameter are the snaps you have all used? 5/16" (about 8mm) right? I ordered a bunch that turn out to be 5/8" (about 16mm). I was just wondering if that's going to cause any problems for the internal strapping?

 

I have the snaps Mark sent with my AP kit, so I'll use those for all viewable snaps, but will these larger snaps on the inside cause any problems? The only thing I think that may be an issue is that snapping it to the 1" nylon webbing or elastic will get closer to the edges. Should still fit inside it though with about 4mm on each side.

 

Thoughts? 

 

Here are the snaps I bought in case you're curious.  I just realized they also have 12.5mm snaps I could get with free same day shipping... hmmm...

[wook1138[TK]]

2 minutes ago, Mr_Fahrenheit said:

Hey all, quick question

 

What diameter are the snaps you have all used? 5/16" (about 8mm) right? I ordered a bunch that turn out to be 5/8" (about 16mm). I was just wondering if that's going to cause any problems for the internal strapping?

 

I have the snaps Mark sent with my AP kit, so I'll use those for all viewable snaps, but will these larger snaps on the inside cause any problems? The only thing I think that may be an issue is that snapping it to the 1" nylon webbing or elastic will get closer to the edges. Should still fit inside it though with about 4mm on each side.

 

Thoughts? 

 

Here are the snaps I bought in case you're curious.  I just realized they also have 12.5mm snaps I could get with free same day shipping... hmmm...

The 5/16" is the post size.  Sounds like you have the right snaps.  No problems.

[wook1138[TK]]

The split rivets are about 8mm if I remember correctly - that is a diameter measurement.  Those are visible along the left ab to kidney connection (and the ammo pack that goes around your right knee - if you do use them for that).

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

1 hour ago, wook1138 said:

The 5/16" is the post size.  Sounds like you have the right snaps.  No problems.

Ohhh okay thanks!

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

22 hours ago, wook1138 said:

The 5/16" is the post size.  Sounds like you have the right snaps.  No problems.

Hey, after you mentioned that, I checked the post size of the snaps I ordered and their post size is 3/16", which is about 4.8mm.  That's about 3mm shorter than the Tandy snaps at 5/16" post size. 

 

I checked the Nylon webbing, and that's about 2mm thickness, and the elastics, when folded over are about 2mm as well. Does anyone know if 4.8mm post size will work on those? (I can still cancel them if they won't work)

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

Thanks again for all the help and feedback. I've figured out how to set snaps, and made a lot of them as I'm going for the double snap system.  My snaps are cheaper, but are still really tough to pull apart, so I think it will be okay. I've also added a few extra snaps in there, so this thing is never going to come off.  I'm still actually 4 snaps short, but I have some smaller ones that I think will do the trick. Here's some update on where I'm at:

 

CHEST

  

I gave the shoulder straps a hot water bath then formed them around a mixing bowl I had. I then reinforced the shoulder straps with bits of ABS I've saved, just up to the fifth indent, as that's what's going to be glued to the chest piece. I glued and clamped them, and taped it to the back piece in case that would influence how it would set.

 

BELT

I've actually finished the belt too. The drop boxes line up with the outside of the plastic part of the belt, and I used Chicago screws to fasten the plastic to the cloth, and the holster to the cloth.  I need to replace one of the Chicago screws that's fastening the belt because it's too long, and the actual front facing part of it doesn't match the other screw, but that will be a quick fix.

 

STRAPPING

  

As I mentioned above, I'm going for the double snap setup. It seems each person does this a little differently, so I just tried to find some threads that were doing the same double snap setup and I kind of did a hybrid of them. I mainly used Scimitar's and Suspend's photos as reference. I've only done the bases right now, as I need to go out and get some 2" wide black elastic. For the Cod, I used a split rivet to meet the requirements, then added two snaps on the other end to attach to both snaps on the butt piece.

 

Here you can see I still need two more base snaps for the back piece to attach to the kidney piece, but I ran out. I'll be sure to fix that next.

 

And here you can see the Ab after it was attached to the Kidney piece with split rivets/washers/nylon.

 

QUESTIONS

I read in Uswrath's thread that the shoulder/bicep/forearm straps are actually white in the movie, not black. I have a lot of 2" wide white elastic as I only really bought it for the shoulders. Should I be using white elastic instead of black, wherever I can? (keeping in mind that I'm using 2" wide elastics everywhere with my double snap system)

 

 

 

I think that's it. When I have more time, I'll actually post my step by step process for all of this stuff.  Thanks for any feedback!

Edited December 27, 2018 by Mr_Fahrenheit

[wook1138[TK]]

The only white elastic will be your 2” shoulder straps (chest to back connection). The rest of the arm straps are black to match the undersuit. I think the original straps got painted white on the inside but I can’t say why. 

 

Nice progress!

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

2 hours ago, wook1138 said:

The only white elastic will be your 2” shoulder straps (chest to back connection). The rest of the arm straps are black to match the undersuit. I think the original straps got painted white on the inside but I can’t say why. 

 

Nice progress!

Thanks! 

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

Hey all, another update.

 

Other than the system to keep my thigh pieces up, I've basically done a first pass on everything. There's still a few minor tweaks that need to be made for sure.

 

My current struggle is with the shoulders. I have a pretty wide body, and this kit was pre-trimmed, so I've been experimenting with how to get them closest to the chest/back pieces.

 

Here was my first attempt, but this was with the shoulders almost sitting on top of the biceps, which gave me a rounded and most-derpy look, but it got them the closest in all the places:

 

 

This second attempt was after giving the shoulders a hot water bath and opening them up around the biceps so they would fit around it better. This allowed me to keep it overlapping the bicep, but it pulled it away from the chest/back pieces.

 

 

Then this last attempt was after giving the tops of the shoulders a hot water bath and opening them up a bit more. This allowed me to get it closer to the chest-to-back straps.

 

 

I think that last attempt has them good near the chest-to-back straps, and overlaps the biceps well, but they are still far away from my chest and back plates. I've heard that some people rotate them a little to the front, and expose more of the back. So I guess I'll try that, but does anyone know any good threads that show how they did this?

 

Thanks for any and all feedback!

Edited January 4, 2019 by Mr_Fahrenheit

[TheSwede[TK]]

6 hours ago, Mr_Fahrenheit said:

does anyone know any good threads that show how they did this?

Hey

You move the snap on the shoulder-strap closer to the front and instead of removing the snap just place another snap in front of the old one...to test this you can use tape to see were it would work best. Before you do that though I have a question, how big are your bicep? From a few angels they look a bit big and if you have room to make them smaller that will help in getting the bells closer to the chest and back piece

 

Sidenote

As you say you seem to be wide over the shoulders/back and as a result the pre-trimmed bells might not work for you in closing that gap to your liking but try some of the things mentioned and if that don’t help then maybe see about getting a pair of untrimmed ones. As Mark has great customer service there will be no issue in getting spare parts but first ask if the untrimmed ones will be able to get bigger, mold-lines and that 

[wook1138[TK]]

Daniel has already given you some good pointers, so try moving the bells forward a bit and, if you can, size down your biceps.

 

I've worked with both trimmed and untrimmed shoulder bells from AP - Mark trims them pretty close to the trim line - I don't think you could trim them any larger if you ordered untrimmed bells.  I don't think Mark  @ABS80 sells larger bells, but you could always ask. 

 

There are other kits that sell oversized bells - but then you are dealing with the possibility of the plastic not matching.  That said, I seem to remember someone with AP (?) armour getting shoulder bells from someone else and finishing their build with no obvious issues - I would have to look around at a few builds to see if I can find it.  Personally, I think you have done a really good job of getting those bells to fit as close as you can - just moving them forward will help a lot.  I wouldn't be concerned about finding new bells yet by any means.

 

 

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

 

5 hours ago, TheSwede said:

You move the snap on the shoulder-strap closer to the front and instead of removing the snap just place another snap in front of the old one...to test this you can use tape to see were it would work best. Before you do that though I have a question, how big are your bicep? From a few angels they look a bit big and if you have room to make them smaller that will help in getting the bells closer to the chest and back piece

Thanks for the help. I'll try that out tonight. As for my bicep, it's quite tight in the middle, but looser near the top (near the shoulder pads). I don't think I can make it tighter unless I warped them to curve in, but that doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

5 hours ago, wook1138 said:

I've worked with both trimmed and untrimmed shoulder bells from AP - Mark trims them pretty close to the trim line - I don't think you could trim them any larger if you ordered untrimmed bells.  I don't think Mark  @ABS80 sells larger bells, but you could always ask. 

 

There are other kits that sell oversized bells - but then you are dealing with the possibility of the plastic not matching.  That said, I seem to remember someone with AP (?) armour getting shoulder bells from someone else and finishing their build with no obvious issues - I would have to look around at a few builds to see if I can find it.  Personally, I think you have done a really good job of getting those bells to fit as close as you can - just moving them forward will help a lot.  I wouldn't be concerned about finding new bells yet by any means.

 

Thanks for the detailed response. I think the person you're thinking of is @Suspend. I remember he bought longer shoulder pads as he is super tall. I've been following his thread throughout this process, and have been nagging him with a lot of questions. I haven't chatted about his shoulders, but yeah, I guess that's also an option. I'll try to rotate them forward first.

 

4 hours ago, Bud Spaklur said:

You may want to double-check your right shoulder strap and how it is attached (though from the pics, it appears to be the same as your left), and/or consider an alternative. I had an issue where my chest was too high, so to pull it down onto the ab more, I installed some extra snaps in addition to the brackets to keep it down. Maybe you can do this on your right side alone to make it more even? Here is a pic of the inside of my chest so you can see what I mean

Yes, great catch. I'll try evening that out for sure. I just ran out of e-6000, so I'll have to go pick up my third tube. (FYI, if you need to squeeze more e-6000 out of a tube, use pliers and give it hell. You'll get a lot more out!)

 

 

ANOTHER QUESTION

Once I get more e-6000, I'll be able to set the thigh strapping on and take a full body photo. Does everyone use the Uswrath method of strapping the thigh to a hidden belt? Or is there some other way to keep the thighs from slipping?

 

Also, do the shins require strapping? or do they just rest on the boot? I feel like they rest on the boot, but just want to ask in case I've missed something.

 

Thanks all! I really appreciate it!

Edited January 4, 2019 by Mr_Fahrenheit

[Suspend]

8 minutes ago, Mr_Fahrenheit said:

Thanks for the detailed response. I think the person you're thinking of is @Suspend. I remember he bought longer shoulder pads as he is super tall. I've been following his thread throughout this process, and have been nagging him with a lot of questions. I haven't chatted about his shoulders, but yeah, I guess that's also an option. I'll try to rotate them forward first.

Hey, I think there's a bit of confusion here.  I think Wook meant that Mark at AP may sell larger shoulder bells.  I'm just using the regular AP bells.

 

Pandatrooper had a nice shot showing different bells.  Apparently the AM bells are quite a bit larger.  Maybe something to consider if nothing else works out?

 

 

Mark (Suspend)

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

5 minutes ago, Suspend said:

Hey, I think there's a bit of confusion here.  I think Wook meant that Mark at AP may sell larger shoulder bells.  I'm just using the regular AP bells.

 

Pandatrooper had a nice shot showing different bells.  Apparently the AM bells are quite a bit larger.  Maybe something to consider if nothing else works out?

Oh man. Yeah I'm crossing streams then. I have no idea who I've been following anymore. I remember one super tall guy who got shoulder bells that were longer. But thanks for the tip!

[wook1138[TK]]

31 minutes ago, Mr_Fahrenheit said:

ANOTHER QUESTION

Once I get more e-6000, I'll be able to set the thigh strapping on and take a full body photo. Does everyone use the Uswrath method of strapping the thigh to a hidden belt? Or is there some other way to keep the thighs from slipping?

 

Also, do the shins require strapping? or do they just rest on the boot? I feel like they rest on the boot, but just want to ask in case I've missed something.

 

Thanks all! I really appreciate it!

For the thigh strapping, I use a belt and nylon straps that are snapped into the thighs.  The nylon straps are just folded over the belt and sewn.  Pretty basic but it works.

 

No strapping for the shins required.  They stay in place - for the most part.  A lot of people have issues with the shins rotating a bit.  This is easily remedied by adding a bit of industrial strength velcro to the inside of the shin along the front seam and the loop-side Velcro to the front top of the boot.  Keeps things nice and aligned. 

 

I haven't found the build thread with the bells yet - but I would not worry too much about that yet.

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

2 minutes ago, wook1138 said:

For the thigh strapping, I use a belt and nylon straps that are snapped into the thighs.  The nylon straps are just folded over the belt and sewn.  Pretty basic but it works.

 

No strapping for the shins required.  They stay in place - for the most part.  A lot of people have issues with the shins rotating a bit.  This is easily remedied by adding a bit of industrial strength velcro to the inside of the shin along the front seam and the loop-side Velcro to the front top of the boot.  Keeps things nice and aligned. 

 

I haven't found the build thread with the bells yet - but I would not worry too much about that yet.

Amazing, thank you!

[CableGuy[TK]]

Oh man. Yeah I'm crossing streams then. I have no idea who I've been following anymore. I remember one super tall guy who got shoulder bells that were longer. But thanks for the tip!

Didn’t the ghostbusters teach you anything?? “Don’t cross the streams!!”

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

10 hours ago, Bud Spaklur said:

There is a member on this site who sells a garter system, “Pencap” is his name. I bought mine from him and it works well.

That's great, thank you. I'll check it out!

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

Me again! I've made a few tweaks and would love some feedback. 

 

Since my last post, I angled the shoulders inwards, and tried to level out the lopsided chest piece over the abdomen. I also made the thigh strapping. So here is my first post with a full suit! For the back, I just noticed that my left bicep strap ran up and over the top of the bicep. I'll see about making sure that stays in place somehow. I also see that my forearms aren't very symmetrical when on my arms. I'll see why next time I put it on. I have the white elastic for the shoulder straps, just haven't put that on yet.

 

 

 

The sides. Though this isn't a submission, I thought I would just do the main submission photos to help anyone point out stuff.

 

 

The cool pose.

 

 

And the sexy pose.

 

 

Thanks for any feedback!

Edited January 10, 2019 by Mr_Fahrenheit

[Frank75139[501st]]

My garrison doesn’t have a sexy pose, that’s disappointing. If it were me I’d try and get the biceps up a bit but that’s me I’m not a GML. Other then that I think you did a great job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wook1138[TK]]

Looks great!  Nice work. 

 

The only thing I will add about fitting is - can you bring your thighs up a bit?  Ideally you want to have as little black showing at the top as possible - plus it would give the tops of your shins a bit more clearance from bumping into your thighs. 

 

 

[TheSwede[TK]]

4 hours ago, Mr_Fahrenheit said:

Though this isn't a submission

Send it in!

 

 

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

9 hours ago, Frank75139 said:

My garrison doesn’t have a sexy pose, that’s disappointing. If it were me I’d try and get the biceps up a bit but that’s me I’m not a GML. Other then that I think you did a great job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Thanks for the feedback, I’ll try that out next time I put it on.  Also... get a sexy pose. It should be mandatory.

5 hours ago, wook1138 said:

Looks great!  Nice work. 

 

The only thing I will add about fitting is - can you bring your thighs up a bit?  Ideally you want to have as little black showing at the top as possible - plus it would give the tops of your shins a bit more clearance from bumping into your thighs. 

 

 

Yeah I noticed that a lot of troopers have their thighs angled a little outwards. I tried that a bit by readjusting the garter, and the thighs came up a bit. I can angle them out a bit more and they should come up easily. It also makes the sniper knee position look a little more natural. But if that doesn’t work, i’ll see about resizing them completely. 

5 hours ago, Bud Spaklur said:

One thing I noticed was the snaps under the posterior are visible from the rear and should be more hidden underneath:
 

Yeah, I got a lot of junk in the trunk, but I can always use the snap the furthest away from the cod as the anchor. That may help. If not, I’ll see about tightening the elastic.

 

5 hours ago, TheSwede said:

Send it in!

 

 

Thanks so much! I still have those few tweaks to take care of, the internals of the helmet, and then the blaster to build. But hopefully soon!

[TheSwede[TK]]

Just now, Mr_Fahrenheit said:

the internals of the helmet, and then the blaster to build.

Not needed for basic approval so just send the photos and your good then build the blaster and helmet internals

[Mr_Fahrenheit[501st]]

22 minutes ago, TheSwede said:

Not needed for basic approval so just send the photos and your good then build the blaster and helmet internals

Hmmmmm I’ll consider that, thanks!