My first build!! ANOVOS ANH stunt TK

[phil]

any tips on cutting tops of thighs if too long ?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

There are lots of great build threads for those of a shorter stature, have a look at this one from Cricket

 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/41502-crickets-wtf-hero-build-even-more-tk-for-the-vertically-challenged/

 

 

[TKModder421[TK]]

OK!! So I finally have enough of my soft goods (undersuit and gloves) to do fitment adjustments on the arms

 

I previously had done some initial trimming to cut down the circumference of the biceps and forearms. But because of the amount I took off the forearms, the openings became very oval, which is going to pose problems when trying to attach the cover strips, since I wouldn't have a flat surface where the two sides of the forearms meet

 

So per advice from Joseph I gave the forearms a hot water bath. They're much rounder, more comfortable and provide a much flatter surface to attach the cover strips.

 

 

 

I've done some duct tape rigging to get an idea of how the shoulder, bicep and forearm will fit. Currently I'm using the plastic hand plates from the ANOVOS kit, but I've ordered some soft hand plates from Joseph.

 

So here's my right arm...

 

 

 

 

I like the length of the forearm when my arm is straight, but when my elbow is bent the wrist opening cuts into my wrist and handplate which either slides under the opening...

 

 

or outside the opening

 

 

So I'm still trying to decide on my best plan of action here. Do I trim only the dip in the inside opening of the top of the forearm (maybe 1/2")? Or do I take a combination of a little off the wrist (maybe a 1/4"+) and the dip (1/4")?

 

 

[TKModder421[TK]]

3 hours ago, Bud Spaklur said:

In my opinion, you don’t really want to take from the bottom of the wrist as you’ll get close to a notch in the forearm. You’ll really only want to take the return edges out completely from the wrist side and leave it at that. But, you have more room to work with at the top of the forearms, so you should trim from there and just move your wrist side of the forearm up.


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Yeah, I agree. I'm leaning towards just taking some off the top inside of the forearms

[TKModder421[TK]]

Ok, I'm also looking for feedback about my best option for applying the cover strips to the forearms. Since I've trimmed them down, the opening at the top of the forearm (nearest the bicep) no longer lines up. What do you all recommend I do?

Should I trim off some of the larger side at the same angle as the dip (red line) and make the cover strip (green rectangle) come up to the new butt point (this is the direction I'm leaning)

 

 

Or do just make the cover strip go all the way to the top of the larger piece?

[Frank75139[501st]]

Option A trim the red line add the strip and make the strip angled like the angle


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[TKModder421[TK]]

Alright, back to the build! So I did the necessary trimming and have started gluing the coverstrips on the forearms.

Started with the front side of the right arm

This is my first go at trying this and I got a little messy with the glue LOL. Thank goodness E6000 peels right off!!

Gonna let that dry and give you an update when I move on to the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15, 2019 by TKModder421

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Coming along nicely (well not the glue ) For those hard to get at areas of glue you can just cut small sections of left over cover strip, they will get in nicely in grooves.

 

Not sure if you where going to but a lot of us add inside cover strips, does give a little more strength, especially on pieces like the shins which are open and closed constantly, I use strips from off cuts from trimming.

 

Always best to glue the front facing pieces first and get them nice and flat, you can tackle the backs once they are fully dry, you'll also find you can compress the shape quite a lot by using tape.

 

With your narrow forearm a heated water bath or if you are dare a heat gun, will allow you to make it a little rounder, less of the oval shape. If ever using a heat gun I do advise people to try on other pieces of plastic first, ABS can be a little unforgiving with too much heat.

 

Looking forward to the progress.

[TKModder421[TK]]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Coming along nicely (well not the glue ) For those hard to get at areas of glue you can just cut small sections of left over cover strip, they will get in nicely in grooves.

 

Not sure if you where going to but a lot of us add inside cover strips, does give a little more strength, especially on pieces like the shins which are open and closed constantly, I use strips from off cuts from trimming.

 

Always best to glue the front facing pieces first and get them nice and flat, you can tackle the backs once they are fully dry, you'll also find you can compress the shape quite a lot by using tape.

 

With your narrow forearm a heated water bath or if you are dare a heat gun, will allow you to make it a little rounder, less of the oval shape. If ever using a heat gun I do advise people to try on other pieces of plastic first, ABS can be a little unforgiving with too much heat.

 

Looking forward to the progress.

Haha I know, I know!

 

Yeah I was definitely wanting to add inner cover strips but I wasn't sure exactly what scraps I could use. The way I trimmed all my pieces I'm not sure I actually have any scraps that are long and wide enough to be usable as cover strips. I may have to just buy some sheets of white ABS that I can cut into inner cover strips.

 

I did give the forearms a hot water bath, they were far too oval prior.

 

before                                                       after

  

 

I was considering a heat gun if I've got spots that aren't flat enough to get good contact with the cover strip, but so far it looks like I should be fine

[TKModder421[TK]]

Ok, so after letting the glue dry and cleaning up my giant glue mess it looks pretty good. But I have a concern...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So my concern is there's a little gap running up along the front side of the cover strip. It's kind of hard to get a good pic of it, but here's a few...

 

up in there real close!

 

 

You don't really see it unless you get up in there. But is this normal? Something I shouldn't worry about? Or should I tear it apart and try and get better contact on the edges?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Can be normal on pieces that don't lay completely flat, many surfaces have a curve to them, I have a couple of pieces which look the same, I do try however to tape down as much as possible to reduce the gap while assembling but even that doesn't always work.

 

It would be very hard to see while wearing and in photos so personally I'd leave it.

[TKModder421[TK]]

Alright, time to update this thread

 

I finished up the cover strips on the forearms and biceps as well as added some to the inside to further reinforce the joins

 

 

     

 

   

 

Biceps

   

 

   

 

 

Inner cover strips

   

 

   

 

 

Arms all done!!

 

[TKModder421[TK]]

My next moves are gonna be on the thighs. My concern is that the thighs are awfully large... well, tbh I've got really skinny chicken legs

How much should I be trimming them down? Any good threads on fitting for thin legs?

[Sly11[Admin]]

1 hour ago, TKModder421 said:

My next moves are gonna be on the thighs. My concern is that the thighs are awfully large... well, tbh I've got really skinny chicken legs

How much should I be trimming them down? Any good threads on fitting for thin legs?

I feel your pain here Greg, as a fellow skinny chicken leg trooper lol.

I trimmed the front haves first so the cover strip covered the front ridge on the two halves. My cover strips are 20mm wide so left 10mm of the ridge on each half at the front. I then tape them together and while wearing my under suit put my leg through each thigh and slid it all the way up as high as it would go. The next step is easy if you have a second person helping. Overlap the two halves at the back and  mark a center point of the overlapping halves, both at the top and bottom of the thigh. Tape them with those pencil marks aligned and have a look from the front to see if you have a nice taper in the thigh shape. What you want is a taper in the shape (wider at the top and narrower at the knee end. Take the thighs off and have a look, if you are happy with the shape draw a line from the top pencil mark to the bottom on each half and that is your trim line.

What I did from there was add an extra 10mm plus per side out towards the edge and create a new trim line and cut the excess material away. I did this so if something went wrong the cut the thighs were slightly larger and I could re adjust and re trim if needed.

Hope that makes sense, usually I have a set of armour here I am building for someone and I would quickly mock it up and take some example photos, but currently I dont sorry.

[TKModder421[TK]]

11 hours ago, Sly11 said:

I feel your pain here Greg, as a fellow skinny chicken leg trooper lol.

I trimmed the front haves first so the cover strip covered the front ridge on the two halves. My cover strips are 20mm wide so left 10mm of the ridge on each half at the front. I then tape them together and while wearing my under suit put my leg through each thigh and slid it all the way up as high as it would go. The next step is easy if you have a second person helping. Overlap the two halves at the back and  mark a center point of the overlapping halves, both at the top and bottom of the thigh. Tape them with those pencil marks aligned and have a look from the front to see if you have a nice taper in the thigh shape. What you want is a taper in the shape (wider at the top and narrower at the knee end. Take the thighs off and have a look, if you are happy with the shape draw a line from the top pencil mark to the bottom on each half and that is your trim line.

What I did from there was add an extra 10mm plus per side out towards the edge and create a new trim line and cut the excess material away. I did this so if something went wrong the cut the thighs were slightly larger and I could re adjust and re trim if needed.

Hope that makes sense, usually I have a set of armour here I am building for someone and I would quickly mock it up and take some example photos, but currently I dont sorry.

Haha Andrew, I laugh when I put on the under suit because of how much more skinny they make my legs look!

 

Ok! so I did what you suggested. How much play should I have in the top of the thigh? I'm not sure how much more I should trim down. I don't want to risk cutting them down too much and making them uncomfortable or even disproportionate to the rest of the armor, but of course I don't want them flopping around looking funny either.

 

Comments? Suggestions?

   

 

Here they are on...

 

 

 

As you can see here at the top front of the thigh I still have a good gap

 

It's still wide front to back

 

 

 

but, side to side isn't bad

 

 

 

 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Excellent, I have a very similar gap. You don't want them too tight so you can move freely. Stairs are a challenge in a TK and that little bit of room may well allow you enough movement to negotiate them.


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[TK-42775[TK]]

see below

 

Edited March 11, 2019 by James Whitley

[TK-42775[TK]]

On 3/10/2019 at 1:28 AM, Sly11 said:

What I did from there was add an extra 10mm plus per side out towards the edge and create a new trim line and cut the excess material away. I did this so if something went wrong the cut the thighs were slightly larger and I could re adjust and re trim if needed.

I used a 1 in thick 3x3in size piece of hard foam when I did my sizing down and they came out great, Used 1 piece at the bottom and 1 at the top.

yes, I removed them after I sized down. I have some soft foam in there now so they dont bounce or move when I'm walking

 

Advice: Better to under trim it and have them slightly large than too tight and have to shim. (A painful lesson I learned on my calves) 

[TKModder421[TK]]

OK! thank you Andrew and James!

 

So just for clarification, about a 3 inch gap front to back should be ok?

[TKModder421[TK]]

So, I trimmed a tiny bit more out of the top,  but they still feel about the same walking around in them, there's just a little less flapping around at the top, so that's good.

One thing I am concerned about though is now that the thighs are trimmed down they are fairly narrow, so the butt joins aren't going to be flat for the cover strips. I ran into this problem when trimming down my forearms but I was able to give them a hot water bath and got them to be round, which provided a much flatter surface to glue the cover strips to.

Should I do the same for the thighs? The hot water bath I did before was in a pot on the stove, so obviously these aren't going to fit in the pot. Any suggestions? I mean is this even the correct route or should I just apply the strips and force it flat? Or would that make for weak joins?

PS. I also have a heat gun that I could use, I'm worried that I risk messing up more with a heat gun though

[TK 71627[TK]]

Just be EXTREMELY CAREFUL with the heat gun....
i would NOT use it...


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[TKModder421[TK]]

1 minute ago, TK 71627 said:

Just be EXTREMELY CAREFUL with the heat gun....
i would NOT use it...


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Yeah,  thank you,  that's what I was thinking.  I really risk warping them badly or causing damage. I only mentioned I had one in case someone had some advice on using it and getting the results I want

[TK 71627[TK]]

Yeah,  thank you,  that's what I was thinking.  I really risk warping them badly or causing damage. I only mentioned I had one in case someone had some advice on using it and getting the results I want

Do you have access to a deep kettle, from your mom or aunt ? One you could borrow for the hot bath ?


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[TKModder421[TK]]

7 minutes ago, TK 71627 said:

Do you have access to a deep kettle, from your mom or aunt ? One you could borrow for the hot bath ?

Like a deep stock pot like this?

 

No, unfortunately I don't. Is that the best option for big pieces like legs?

 

[TK 71627[TK]]

Like a deep stock pot like this?

 
No, unfortunately I don't. Is that the best option for big pieces like legs?
 

That would be PERFECT if you had access to one !!!


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