JZYL Fem7 build

[JZYL]

I got the email from Imperial Supplies yesterday with my tracking number. EEEEEE!!!

Since we're both in California it's going to come very fast *_*

Still a little annoyed with myself about not realizing the possible cashback on PayPal purchases, but that would have pushed out the timing too much. Oh well, use for future upgrades.

 

So gotta get moving on making sure I have all the stuff ready, and plan out how I'm going to execute.

Anyone who's seen me in other parts of the forum know that I extensively research.

What I'm bad at, is making decisions and executing XD

 

Anyhow so here's my current plan of attack, in order of priority. First 3 are definite shoot to complete before Halloween, and would prefer IV before as well.

Also, if I can get the armor and helmet done early enough, I'd like to tackle the TK explaining breast exam project I proposed before.

 

ALSO, A REMINDER ABOUT SAFETY

 

I. Get Supplies

II. Receive BBB

III. Assemble armor

IV. Assemble Helmet

V. Helmet upgrades

VI. Weaponry

VII. Look upgrades

 

Unlike my helmet research thread, I'm going to try to avoid multiple edits to first post, other than Direct Linking different posts.

Edited September 27, 2019 by JZYL
inputting direct links to each section

[JZYL]

I. Get Supplies

First off, want to give a shoutout to @justjoseph63 for their great post on Supply List for TK Builds. Obviously the majority of us have read it, but still pretty awesome, and credit where credit is due. I took that base, and spoke to @shashachu and @Navajo Bro to tweak tweak tweak. Since the Fem7 is not going to be 501st approved and is a bit of a speed build, I am opting to skip certain parts that are not necessary, such as the rivets and paints.

 

A. ABS manipulation

     1. E-6000 glue > got at local Ace Hardware

     2. Rotary tool > received from Amazon

     3. Scissors > I have regular scissors, will see if I need sheers later, but I know my local Ace has them

     4. clamps > received from Amazon

     5. magnets > have some, left over from name ID's from a party. I think I might be able to get away with it, we'll see

     6. hammer > I own, but I'm actually considering getting a small hammer because I worry it's a little too heavy

     7. Exacto knife and blades > received knife from Ace, got extra blades from the packaging team at work

     8. Metal ruler > took one from work, packaging team was dumping scuffy ones in preparation for a VIP visit

B. Attachings

     1. Tandy Line 24 snaps > received from Amazon

     2. Snap setting tool > received from Amazon

     3. Industrial strength low profile velcro > got a roll in White from Amazon

C. Safety first, and extra useful things

     1. safety glasses > Amazon

     2. cut resistant gloves > Amazon

     3. respirator mask > I own... I lived in China during SARS. I don't think I'll ever not have N95's on hand.

     1. Painter's tape > I won and picked up extra

     2. pencil > own

     3. hand files > received from Amazon

     4. Sandpaper > got a sandblock, but can grab from Ace if needed

     5. sandblock > Ace hardware

 

Still need to acquire [edit: done!]

1. Nylon or Elastic > there's so much chatter between the two...

2. foam padding

 

part 2 and part 3 after getting some advice from @justjoseph63

Edited September 26, 2019 by JZYL
adding part 2 and part 3

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looks like you will be well prepared, Jessy!  I always recommend that new builders get all supplies in place well before starting a build.  Nothing worse than needing something and having to pause your build to go out and get it or worse yet have to order it!

 

As for nylon or elastic, I would suggest getting both in various sizes, and here is why:

Nylon:  Good for areas that don't need to flex a lot.  Very strong, and will basically last a LONG time.

Elastic:  Perfect for areas that need to flex, like the bicep/forearm connection.  However, depending on how often you wear your costume it can get permanently stretched out over time with use.  Hint:  If using it, be SURE to fold over the ends at least once and glue them together before attaching a snap, as they can pull out over time with a lot of use.

 

Another thing I always recommend is to use the "double snap" method on all attachments.  Yeah, it costs a bit more to do because of the extra supplies, but you will be assured that none of your connections will ever come undone while wearing your costume (wardrobe malfunction).  I used single snap connections on my first build, and on my very first troop the shoulder bell snap came loose from the shoulder bridge.  Very embarrassing, lol.

 

You can purchase elastic and nylon on eBay in rolls pretty inexpensively, and as mentioned in my snap setting thread https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44617-snap-setting-101/

a cheap ($10-12.00) soldering/woodburning iron will save you a TON of time making the holes.  It is also great for sealing the ends of the nylon.

 

[JZYL]

Hi @justjoseph63 thanks for the clarification and advice!

I spent yesterday getting lost at Michael's (serious... why are stores in the USA so damn big?! It seems so unnecessary!!), and it turns out they only had 2in wide white elastic.

Going to try and run to a fabric store instead to check.

Going to swing by ACE or Blick today or tomorrow for the soldering tool

 

Thank you again!

[JZYL]

Thanks to previous direction, went and got 

 

1" nylon webbing - 2 yards. I intend to use this in pieces that are supposed to stay put.

3" elastic - half yard. I intend to use this on holding the corset closed. Most likely will have a lot left over, the fabric only sells by half a yard

1" elastic - 2 yards. This is super soft, which is good, since I intend to use for knees and elbows.

 

USPS didn't make the delivery today so apparently it'll arrive tomorrow. So far only one coworker knows about it, since he's a SW fan (runner up at our company's SW costume contest last year). We've been joking about possibly having him come to work in his rebel costume and running around the office with me trying to arrest him. Tomorrow's gonna be real fun when I get the boxes and have to dodge inquiring ppl, and me wanting to sneak a peak.

 

Yeah we're a little crazy at my workplace.

[JZYL]

I just got my 2 BBB today!

 

Problem: I got it this morning at work, and now they're sitting on an empty desk next to me (colleague is out on PTO).

It's taunting me.

I'm not going to get any work done today.........

[JZYL]

I got both of my BBB home on the freakin' BART. 

Asian ingenuity... I made a handle for the smaller box using tape. My arms are so sore 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Love seeing BBB's, looking forward to the unboxing and build progression, when your arms aren't so sore 

[JZYL]

Also, wow people are mean online. I hadn't realized that had posted in the public gallery and all the hate messages started coming.... o0;;;;

[Dielotski]

1 hour ago, JZYL said:

Also, wow people are mean online. I hadn't realized that had posted in the public gallery and all the hate messages started coming.... o0;;;;

On FISD?  Say it ain't so!  These are the friendliest forums I've ever seen.

[JZYL]

Was really excited to get my BBB

And then had to haul it on the BART

 

soon as I got home I took an accounting of all the pieces, relying heavily on the images on Imperial Surplus's page

I'm... a little concerned about how much trimming is going to need to be done. Landroomie thinks I should have ordered kid's size XD

Armor and bucket from the wonderful @kwdesigns of Imperial Surplus

 

II. Receive BBB

     A. Armor

          1. body

               a. chest plate (omg the chest is so big, no wonder the Ladies Legion talks about hiding food and water bottles in there!)

               b. back plate

               c. abdomen plate (Ladies Legion calls the groin "the violater" and not to be afraid to trim the heck out of it)

               d. kidney plate

               h. 2 shoulder straps

          2. Body additional

               a. back panel

               b. thermal detonator (pipe, 2 end caps, greeblie)

               c. belt (front, back, box greeblie)

               d. 2 ammo pouch covers

          3. Arms (everything in pairs)

               a. shoulder

               b. bicep

               c. back forearm

               d. inner forearm

               e. forearm cover

               f. glove plate (I know there's a better word for it, I just can't think of it)

          3. Legs (everything in pairs)

               a. outer thigh

               b. inner thigh

               c. knee

               d. shin

               e. calf          

     B. Strapping System (in a zip, look at later)

     C. Helmet

          1. top

          2. face

          3. back

          4. faceshield

          5. browpiece

          6. rim piece

          7. decals and attachment system

     D. Extras: shoes + pauldron

 

Here's everything laid out!

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by JZYL
added initial reaction, added image

[JZYL]

4 minutes ago, Dielotski said:

On FISD?  Say it ain't so!  These are the friendliest forums I've ever seen.

not FISD! Just public gallery on imgur (and just online in general)

comments comparing me to Marilyn Manson, not understanding the point of the picture, demanding boobies, and female slurs... just the usual. I took it off of public gallery already. sheesh, this is why we can't have nice things, and women stick to safe spaces.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

That's the internet for you, people can say what they want and get away with it and that's why detachment forums work, there is much that can't be said here which protects those who share their builds.

 

Brush it off and think how awesome it is to open your boxes of crispy nice white  

 

 

[JZYL]

Just now, gmrhodes13 said:

That's the internet for you, people can say what they want and get away with it and that's why detachment forums work, there is much that can't be said here which protects those who share their builds.

 

Brush it off and think how awesome it is to open your boxes of crispy nice white  

 

 

psh. I went to university in Indiana as a petite Asian female of some attractiveness. This is nothing. Not ok, but more amusing and sad than anything.

But not gonna lie, part of the reason why I'm doing this is the solid-looking armor and helmet anonymity. I attended my first con in the USA at 13. My last con in the USA was at 14. There were reasons. Maybe with the armor and bucket, I might consider going to a con again.

[JZYL]

When I spoke to @shashachu on Facebook, she had mentioned that she had only used score + snap to cut the pieces. I was a little skeptical that with this time crunch I wouldn't be able to do it, and since I like tools I went and got a rotary tool. I've been looking into getting the scissors, but today I tried the score snap and it looks like it's actually pretty fine. Looks like I owe ShaSha an apology u_u||| 

But the rotary tool I think I can use to smooth out parts, and I'm concerned about the visor for the bucket.

So first doing some rough trim of the pieces and saving the scraps. Started putting all the pieces in a big jar, and poured acetone. Then realized that I should have poured the acetone into a little jar, and had that be the primary, and the big jar just for holding scraps. Whoops.

Everyone in the Legacy groups seem to feel that it's best to fit the corset and torso plates first, but I'm concerned that since I'm usually by myself at home it's going to be a bit difficult, so maybe waiting on my friend who's coming to visit for a week?

 

[original thought process]

III. Assemble Armor

     A. order of attack

          1. corset

          2. torso

          3. legs

          4. arms

     B. Trim armor

     C. Fit pieces

     D. glue/attachments

 

III. Assemble Armor

     A. Rough trim pieces

     B. Corset [torso has to fit over this, so this is core of build]

     C. Torso [possible put off until after legs?]

     D. Legs [so if I goof up while learning, it's not front and center]

     E. Arms [need to figure out attachment]

 

UPDATE: mulled over everything, changed plan of attack

Edited September 27, 2019 by JZYL
change of plan of attack, adding in Direct Links

[JZYL]

Thoughts had while trimming:

 

Geeze, this was designed for a big boobed lady. *holds against chest* no wonder the Ladies of the Legion claim they can put water bottles here. ooooh I can put food. I think I have enough room for two pringles cans....

Omg the body is so huge, I'm going to be working my butt off slimming this down. Yay for being skinny, boo for more work.

I think the corset is trying to impregnate me. *cuts off The Violater*

Oh it looks the booty piece doesn't need to slimmed down...dammit. Does that mean I have a huge butt?

Is this right or left? I think its left. No, it's right. No wait, I don't think there is a difference. Or is there?

This bucket looks really big. *puts on bucket* oh dammit this is really small.

[TheSwede[TK]]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts 

[jethroskull[501st]]

This is certainly the most entertaining build yet! Lovin' the commentary, Jessy.

[Sly11[Admin]]

Keep up the great commentary Jessy, also looking forward to some photos of your build progress.

[shashachu[TK]]

Loving this thread! Sorry about the crappy comments on imgur...

 

And re elastic etc, Joanne's usually has a pretty good selection of sizes and colors.

 

[JZYL]

So after some planning yesterday, started trimming, and some snarky mental commentary while doing so.

Today I finished rough trimming everything today (woot!),

take a look and tell me what you think

I wasn't very clean on the joins of the legs and arms, because I think it'll probably all get cut off anyway

And I'm going to need to sand either on the weekend or a day I come home relatively early.

 

[original thought process]

III. Assemble Armor

     A. order of attack

          1. corset

          2. torso

          3. legs

          4. arms

     B. Trim armor

     C. Fit pieces

     D. glue/attachments

 

[New plan of attack]

III. Assemble Armor

     A. Rough trim pieces

     B. Corset [torso has to fit over this, so this is core of build]

     C. Torso [possible put off until after legs?]

     D. Legs [so if I goof up while learning, it's not front and center]

     E. Arms [need to figure out attachment]

 

Images:

1. Corset

2. Torso

3. Legs

4. Arms

5. Others

 

but I have 2 new problems!

1 is a lady body problem, the other is a 

2 is a living somewhat alone problem

 

So to squick all the boys in the room, my period just started! Why does this matter? Like many ladies, I bloat/swell on my cycle... that means places that have lots of fatty tissue (tummy, chest, butt), and places where there are lots of capillaries but very few lymphatic veins (hands, feet, face) are bigger than usual. That means I'm veeeery loath to try to fit the corset pieces, since it might not fit right later.

I'm also going to use that as the excuse for why it looks like the butt piece doesn't need trimming. Not because I have a big butt. Nope nope blame the menstrual cycle.

 

Also, when I tried to fit the corset piece on, I couldn't figure out how to tape it so I could mark and see it. Living alone problems.... 

 

So anyhow, my landroomie will be back on the weekend, and hopefully by then the bloating will have gone down enough that I will be able to ask her to help me fit the corset pieces.

In the meantime, I think I'll tackle none swelled areas, such as shoulders, biceps, and the backplate with detonater.

 

YES! I made a post about periods in this forum!

 

Edited September 27, 2019 by JZYL
put in links to yesterday's plotting and snarking

[JZYL]

Also, added initial laying out of the inventory in a previous post

[ukswrath[Staff]]

This is awesome, looking forward to your progress. 

[JZYL]

After some thinking, I decided I really don't want to lose days simply because I'm bloating. So plan of attack during the day was to use Mama JZYL's tried and true anti-swelling techniques, which worked out great. I always go on this regimen whenever I finish one of those USA-Asia plane rides, since I swell like crazy after those 14 hour plane rides. This post is skipable since it's only semi-build related.

If anyone's curious, there's food you eat, food you cut out, and lots and lots of ginger tea. Basically encourages your body to lose water. Foods that reduce bloat are typically of"cold chi" or Yin energy, and the easiest ones I think to grab are ginger, tomatoes, carrots, and leafy veggies. Don't eat or severely reduce carbs, salt, sugar, or preservatives (so no rice... that's really rough for us NE Asians). I blanch my veggies with no salt, which is fine because yuchoi and bok choi have great flavor without any seasoning. I'll also do a stir fry (with very, very, very little oil) of sliced cherry/grape tomatoes or Japanese radish, ginger, and a little bit of garlic to taste (go sparing on the garlic since it's "hot chi" or Yang energy, which is the opposite of what you want).

To drink, I make a boiled lemon tea that I let cool. Wash the lemon really well with dish soap (and if you're in the USA, scrub the hell out of it because citrus fruits are allowed to be coated with morpholine). Then, cut it into slices, and add to a pot of cold water. Bring it to a boil for a few minutes, and then turn off the heat and let it sit with the lid on. The water will be brown and somewhat bitter as it draws not only the juice, but the actual oils out of the peal. Drink that, and if it's way too bitter you can dilute with more water, or add a little bit of honey. If it seems too extreme to you, drink regular cucumber or lemon water.

For my dinner, I pealed and diced carrots, and threw that into a boiling pot, with some leafy greens. For flavor I threw in seaweed. Another great root to substitute would be Japanese radish. Note though, Japanese radish smells terrible while cooking, and the smell the next day is terrible too.

Warning though, you will urinate A LOT as your body rids itself of the excess water. That's why it's also so important to replace the water as well. If you're menstruating, be sparing with some of this, because increased yin energy may cause cramping.

 

Ok back to your normal programming, while I give myself another pat on the back for talking about menstrual cramping and Chinese medicine in another episode of random JZYL thoughts.

[JZYL]

So Mama JZYL's anti-swelling technique worked quite well, so decided to head back to building!

I took some time to mull over my plan of attack, and rethought it out. I edited previous entries to reflect this.

 

III. Assemble Armor

     A. Rough trim pieces

     B. Corset [torso has to fit over this, so this is core of build]

     C. Torso [possible put off until after legs?]

     D. Legs [so if I goof up while learning, it's not front and center]

     E. Arms [need to figure out attachment]

 

Overview:

B. Corset

     1. Fitting

     2. trimming

     3. attach fixed joining

     4. attach opening joining

 

But I was still concerned with the whole "how am I going to fit this by myself?"

Then I had an Aha Eureka moment...

I covered my floor length mirror with tape, and also attached it to the abdomen plate. When I put it on, I would smooth down the tape on the plate, and then use the other tape pieces to put it together.

 

 

 

 

The first time I did this, I realized the tape was coming up, because I didn't trim the sides of the abdomen and kidney plates, which were slightly turned up. Quick fix, and tried again.  Then it turns out I had huge overlap on my right (dominant), but very little on my left (non-dominant). So I tried again, but this time I put tape on the kidney plate first, and then put it centerized on my back.

 

Yes I'm wearing house slippers. I am Asian.

 

 

Then I put the abdomen plate on, and it was much better. These pictures were from my first attempt, which turned out to be slightly lopsided.

 

Also, I realized that I might have a little overzealous in castrating the Violater, I don't think it quite comes down far enough. But I don't want to reattach it lol.

 

 

Then I lightly penciled where they overlapped, and then took the blunt end of my knife and carefully cut the tape right on the line. This way I could put it back together where it was.

After I reassembled the pieces, I took my ruler and marked roughly the center of the crossover. I think the theory is that the non-dominant side is fixed, usually with wide elastic. The dominant side usually has snaps. But you have to cut between the overlap to do so. 

 

 

AND NOW I'M SKURRED.  HALP.