Fives-Niner’s ANH Stunt

[TheSwede[TK]]

1 hour ago, Fives-Niner said:

So I had a question about the thermal detonator. There’s plenty of talk about the clips for it, but what is the cylinder actually made of and where do I get it?

It’s a plastic plumming tube 50-68mm in diameter. The larger size is considered more accurate and you find it in hardware stores

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

2 hours ago, TheSwede said:

It’s a plastic plumming tube 50-68mm in diameter. The larger size is considered more accurate and you find it in hardware stores

Thank you very much! That’s exactly what I needed to know!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

8 hours ago, Fives-Niner said:

So I had a question about the thermal detonator. There’s plenty of talk about the clips for it, but what is the cylinder actually made of and where do I get it?

What's the interior size of your TD end caps? This will give you an idea of what to start looking for,

 

Secondly, at least here in the US you have to search for thinner walled pipe, it's not very common. Check Ace Hardware 

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

On 6/19/2019 at 8:39 PM, ukswrath said:

What's the interior size of your TD end caps? This will give you an idea of what to start looking for,

 

Secondly, at least here in the US you have to search for thinner walled pipe, it's not very common. Check Ace Hardware 

My diameter of the caps is 68 mm

[ukswrath[Staff]]

27 minutes ago, Fives-Niner said:

My diameter of the caps is 68 mm

Then look for a "thin" walled plumbing tube roughly with the same outer diameter specs as Daniel mentioned. 

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

34 minutes ago, ukswrath said:

Then look for a "thin" walled plumbing tube roughly with the same outer diameter specs as Daniel mentioned. 

Will do that tomorrow! Thanks!

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

What color does the TD need to be painted? Same gray as the helmet traps?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 hours ago, Fives-Niner said:

What color does the TD need to be painted? Same gray as the helmet traps?

Correct, or any light grey, I used light grey primer and clear coated, worked well and it's what I had on hand.

[Sly11[Admin]]

Testers semi gloss grey primer is a very similar colour to the traps and Abbas button colour, and it comes in a small spray can. Local hobby stores generally carry it, but as Glen has mentioned a grey primer with gloss clear coat will do the job.


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[Fives-Niner[TK]]

Is there some sort of requirement that the strapping be done using snaps? Most of my armor is snaps but I find industrial strength Velcro works just as well. Can I use that for attaching the arms and such?

[ukswrath[Staff]]

3 hours ago, Fives-Niner said:

Is there some sort of requirement that the strapping be done using snaps? Most of my armor is snaps but I find industrial strength Velcro works just as well. Can I use that for attaching the arms and such?

No there's no requirement of what type connections that are used, though Velcro is not a very reliable solution. That said this is your armor if you want to use Velcro you most certainty can. 

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

17 hours ago, ukswrath said:

No there's no requirement of what type connections that are used, though Velcro is not a very reliable solution. That said this is your armor if you want to use Velcro you most certainty can. 

The only reason I’d go with Velcro is because my snap attachments are so hard to get apart that the female side glued to the armor comes off. Plus with Velcro I can adjust the gap if need be much quicker than with snaps.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

2 hours ago, Fives-Niner said:

The only reason I’d go with Velcro is because my snap attachments are so hard to get apart that the female side glued to the armor comes off. Plus with Velcro I can adjust the gap if need be much quicker than with snaps.

No worries Michael, if that's what you want to use have at it 

[Cricket[TK]]

19 hours ago, Fives-Niner said:

The only reason I’d go with Velcro is because my snap attachments are so hard to get apart that the female side glued to the armor comes off. Plus with Velcro I can adjust the gap if need be much quicker than with snaps.

Like Ukswrath said, your armor, your choices.     Strap things how you want, trooper!  

That said, what issues are you having with your snap attachments?  How are you attaching the snaps to the armor?  Snap plates or webbing?  What type of glue are you using?

Typically snaps can be difficult to remove from each other if you don't have the snap reinforced inside the elastic/webbing.  I like to make a "sandwich" of sorts for my snap attachments that makes removing them super easy.  I mean, so easy that you can flick the snap off with just one gloved finger.  They literally "pop" off quickly when I need them to.

Using a piece of scrap ABS, cut the plastic to fit just inside the width of your elastic and snap.   Make a hole in the plastic where the snap will go through.  Wrap your elastic around the plastic and set your snap!  Don't use super thin plastic on this, or else it won't work well.  I like the plastic bits to be about the same thickness as the cover strips, so any scrap material from that is awesome to use.




This method makes it really easy to quickly remove your snaps without any struggle.  It also extends the longevity of your elastic/webbing attachments because there is no strain on the material at all.  It takes a little more time to set snaps with reinforcement like this, but I never have to replace them due to them wearing out on me.   

FYI, I've glued all of my "armor side" snaps into the armor using 1" nylon webbing and e6000.  They conform well to the shape of the armor, and I've never had an issue with them coming off.  

In my opinion, velcro can be troublesome for various reasons while out trooping.  It can be difficult to dress yourself when at a troop when using velcro; the adjustments might seem easy to do at home with a full-length mirror, but often in the real world, we don't have a mirror of any kind to check how the suit looks before going out.  Velcro can hold well for shorter periods of time, but could come apart and need mid-troop adjustment during longer troops (I've helped some troopers with this myself!). 

 

With my first kit, I seriously considered velcro for all of my strapping, but I didn't like how I had to readjust my kit every single time I put it on.  And a true story: I helped a fellow trooper tailor his kit to fit last year, and it was all velcro inside.  He was here for almost 6 hours, and there was a lot of try-on-take-off to do.  And guess what... we spent a good part of our time making adjustments the velcro strapping (when he put on the kit) instead of spending that time shaping the armor.    

 

I ended up using velcro during most of my fittings to achieve my perfect fit, then I installed snaps/elastics adjacent to the velcro, and then I removed the velcro.  Velcro was kind of like training wheels for my armor, and making the leap to snaps was like taking those training wheels off.   Just a suggestion, of course.  

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

On 6/30/2019 at 12:29 PM, Cricket said:

Like Ukswrath said, your armor, your choices.     Strap things how you want, trooper!  

That said, what issues are you having with your snap attachments?  How are you attaching the snaps to the armor?  Snap plates or webbing?  What type of glue are you using?

Typically snaps can be difficult to remove from each other if you don't have the snap reinforced inside the elastic/webbing.  I like to make a "sandwich" of sorts for my snap attachments that makes removing them super easy.  I mean, so easy that you can flick the snap off with just one gloved finger.  They literally "pop" off quickly when I need them to.

Using a piece of scrap ABS, cut the plastic to fit just inside the width of your elastic and snap.   Make a hole in the plastic where the snap will go through.  Wrap your elastic around the plastic and set your snap!  Don't use super thin plastic on this, or else it won't work well.  I like the plastic bits to be about the same thickness as the cover strips, so any scrap material from that is awesome to use.




This method makes it really easy to quickly remove your snaps without any struggle.  It also extends the longevity of your elastic/webbing attachments because there is no strain on the material at all.  It takes a little more time to set snaps with reinforcement like this, but I never have to replace them due to them wearing out on me.   

FYI, I've glued all of my "armor side" snaps into the armor using 1" nylon webbing and e6000.  They conform well to the shape of the armor, and I've never had an issue with them coming off.  

In my opinion, velcro can be troublesome for various reasons while out trooping.  It can be difficult to dress yourself when at a troop when using velcro; the adjustments might seem easy to do at home with a full-length mirror, but often in the real world, we don't have a mirror of any kind to check how the suit looks before going out.  Velcro can hold well for shorter periods of time, but could come apart and need mid-troop adjustment during longer troops (I've helped some troopers with this myself!). 

 

With my first kit, I seriously considered velcro for all of my strapping, but I didn't like how I had to readjust my kit every single time I put it on.  And a true story: I helped a fellow trooper tailor his kit to fit last year, and it was all velcro inside.  He was here for almost 6 hours, and there was a lot of try-on-take-off to do.  And guess what... we spent a good part of our time making adjustments the velcro strapping (when he put on the kit) instead of spending that time shaping the armor.    

 

I ended up using velcro during most of my fittings to achieve my perfect fit, then I installed snaps/elastics adjacent to the velcro, and then I removed the velcro.  Velcro was kind of like training wheels for my armor, and making the leap to snaps was like taking those training wheels off.   Just a suggestion, of course.  

You make some good points... my straps may be falling off because I had some elastic between the two female parts and that was it. The snap was the only thing glued to the armor. I also use E-6000, I think using ABS like you suggested will fix it.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I find using a soldering iron to make the holes for the snaps very helpful, stops them pulling through, or you could add some E6000 to the hole area before adding the snap, this will also reinforce the elastic .

 

 

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

Another update on my armor! Don’t mind the tape or belt, that’s already going to be addressed. I also plan to tighten up my right thigh and add some extra straps to my kidney-ab attachment to push it in farther. 

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

Could I get some advice on this? Thanks!

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Hey Michael nice job. 

 

Quick observation from the top down.

1. Shoulder bells are on the wrong side

2. Right arm armor shorter than the left (drop the bicep more)

3. Arms cover strip, make sure it doesn't extend past the armor.

4. Waist belt overlap connection needs to be under the Thermal Detonator

5. Legs cover strip - Thighs, needs to stop at the lower return edge (front and rear). Calves, starts below the upper return edge (rear).

6. Thighs could be scaled down, they're a little too big (not too bad though)

 

Hope this helps

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

14 hours ago, ukswrath said:

Hey Michael nice job. 

 

Quick observation from the top down.

1. Shoulder bells are on the wrong side

2. Right arm armor shorter than the left (drop the bicep more)

3. Arms cover strip, make sure it doesn't extend past the armor.

4. Waist belt overlap connection needs to be under the Thermal Detonator

5. Legs cover strip - Thighs, needs to stop at the lower return edge (front and rear). Calves, starts below the upper return edge (rear).

6. Thighs could be scaled down, they're a little too big (not too bad though)

 

Hope this helps

That’s very useful, thank you! The thighs have been the biggest pain in the neck since the start. One more downsize should hopefully set them right.

[Fives-Niner[TK]]

Update: I was just approved for basic membership! Waiting on my TKID now! Thank you all for your tips, pointers, and overall help, I owe you one!

[68Brick[TK]]

Congratulations Michael! 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Congratulations Michael welcome to the legion

[TheSwede[TK]]

Congratulations and welcome to the Legion Trooper