Bishop's 850 Armor Works FOTK Build

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Definitely a wise move waiting to check size with gaskets  

 

Reference of the rail 

 

 

[JAFO[TK]]

The print looks good! Here’s an interesting fact for you, the TLJ forearms had hidden zippers! The zip was stitched to some fabric which was glued either side of a slit in the armour.

The CommPad and Picatinny rail were cast as one piece. After the forearm was zipped-up the CommPad was affixed using Velcro and the Picatinny Rail was bolted down.

The mod was an upgrade to the TFA design and not only provided a sleek design but assisted performers with large hands.



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[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Here’s an interesting fact for you

VERY interesting! Thank you for that insight. Love to hear these little details.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

I am sending out my forearm STL file to have someone print on SLA. From that I’ll make a mold and casts. Cleaning up that PLA looked like more effort than I wanted to invest.

 

While I wait for that to come back, time to address the elephant in the room... the Thermal Detonator. Honestly, this thing is a just mess. 850 Armor Works does provide a 3D file for skipping this part of the build and printing a TD. I’m not a huge fan of PLA parts so I’m taking the difficult path. The assembly isn’t intuitive and there may (probably) have been a better way to approach this. But I gave it my all.

Thermal Detonator:

I laid out the parts as best as I could determine. The left side obviously fits into the tube but I’m not sure how the right side is supposed to work. I have no idea why the tube has those odd cutouts.
 

After cutting the edges straight, I assembled the tube using internal cover strips and CA glue. Couple of magnet pairs help hold thing together.

 

Now that the tube is assembled, the dilemma for the right side cap is better illustrated.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thermal Detonator (con’t):

My solution is to extend the length of the right side cap so it can fit inside the tube. I will patch the voids with body filler. I also took care to extend the cap shim material beyond the end so I can create an indentation for accuracy.

 

Once assembled and a preliminary filler is applied, I can see I have SO MUCH MORE WORK LEFT TO DO on this piece.

[JAFO[TK]]

You’ve done a great job


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[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thermal Detonator (con’t):

The shape gets some refinement with another application of body filler. But the ends are just awful. They need a more circular shape and the inner and outer cylinders need to be better aligned. This will be accomplished with much filling and sanding. I created a few “tools” on the 3D printer to help with this. Basically a couple of rings to use as guidelines for the left side and a “plug” for sanding the depression on the right side.

 

 

 

[husky68[TK]]

28 minutes ago, bishopdonmiguel said:

Cleaning up that PLA looked like more effort than I wanted to invest.

  You can try Methylene Chloride ( dichloro methane ),  it works like Acetone on ABS and will melt and smooth the PLA.  I used it on my blaster to both weld pieces together and to smooth out print lines.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

  You can try Methylene Chloride ( dichloro methane ),  it works like Acetone on ABS and will melt and smooth the PLA.  I used it on my blaster to both weld pieces together and to smooth out print lines.

Hmmmm. I like the idea of anything that helps clean up PLA. Not heard of MC. Any safety issues with this stuff?

[husky68[TK]]

2 minutes ago, bishopdonmiguel said:

Hmmmm. I like the idea of anything that helps clean up PLA. Not heard of MC. Any safety issues with this stuff?

Usual warning on label but reasonably safe to use.  I tried to limit how much I used it indoors and skin contact but when caught few drops on me or smelled it didn't effeerrct mmemee me atts alls.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thermal Detonator (con’t):

I’ll spare you all the small iterative changes over several hours of work. After getting the shape of the tube nearly finished, I mounted the tube to the back plate using CA glue and (6) pull rivets with washers. A hole was cut in the back to facilitate installation and then filled with expanding foam to fill the void and help keep the tube as rigid as possible. If anyone wants pictures of that, shout.

 

More filling, more sanding and I’m reasonably happy with the result. BUT I noticed the piece shown in the CRL has detail on the bottom this one doesn’t have. Basically, the ridge lines of the back plate continue down behind and below the TD. Solved this by affixing a couple pieces of scrap glued together, shaped like the ridge line and affixed to the bottom.

 

The major work on this is now done but I will need to add a groove on the top and eventually finalize the thickness of the back plate. I will do that later when I get the armor ready to wear for fitting.

 

Glad to have this part behind me. I think the assembly of the TD could be simplified greatly by a redesign. But if many builders simply jump to using the 3D print, might not be any incentive for 850 Armor Works to make a change here.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thermal Detonator (con’t):

Once again, I turn to my vinyl cutter for a stencil. This time to create the indentation on the TD. A shallow grinding with the Dremel followed by some sanding to clean up. If only the rest of the TD build was this easy.

 

 

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thermal Detonator (con’t):

Applied some primer so I could see where I needed to follow up with spot filler. Given how this started out, I’m happy with the result.

 

Question:

Did I overlook any details that would hold up approval?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, looks good, there should be a secondary edge inside the inner end

 

 

 

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

There should be a secondary edge inside the inner end

Missed that. Thanks for the intel. Will fix.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Forearms:

I’m not satisfied with the soft corners in the forearm boxes. I tried sharpening the edges but the material is getting too thin so I’m building covers. They are a bit too wide I think but I can’t do much about that without a complete restoration and that seems a bit overkill even for me. As part of the modification, I’m creating bigger recesses.

 

Question:

Another thread recommends 7/8” x 7/8” decals to fill these boxes. Is that the correct size?

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Question:

Anyone know the dimensions of the small abdomen boxes? I’m guessing 1.5” x 2.75” (38mm x 70mm).

 

[JAFO[TK]]

Question:
Anyone know the dimensions of the small abdomen boxes? I’m guessing 1.5” x 2.75” (38mm x 70mm).
 

Your link says belt close-up but goes to another thread.

Are you referring to the boxes on the lower abdomen?


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[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Your link says belt close-up but goes to another thread.

 

Are you referring to the boxes on the lower abdomen?

Yes. The link is supposed to take you to an abdomen photo. Maybe I screwed that up. Sorry.

 

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Your link says belt close-up but goes to another thread.

Okay, this is weird. On a browser, link properly displays photo. On Tapatalk, link resolves to some random thread. Seems like a bug on the Tapatalk side.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Small update. My FOTK Boots from Imperial Boots arrived. Nice.

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Thermal Detonator (con't):

@gmrhodes13 pointed out that there should be a indentation on the right side of the TD. Time to fix that.

 

I decided on a 2-1/8" inner circle and measured the outer circle to match that of the TD. Used a vinyl stencil to cut a ring from scrap ABS. You might notice that the scrap was just a tad undersized on 2 edges but this will get filled with putty.

 

Using the inner vinyl circle as a mask, I removed the primer to expose the raw ABS on the TD. This will allow for a good bond with CA glue.

 

Fill, sand, prime and done.

 

Hope this passes muster.

Edited December 20, 2019 by bishopdonmiguel
formatting

[Krisko720]

Nice work on the TD. I have to do the same to mine. I like the thickness of the ring you made. Definitely a good look.


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Outstanding

[bishopdonmiguel[TK]]

Finally recovering from the Holidays and getting back to this build. Hoping to receive my gaskets this month so I can start fitting parts. In the meantime, I continue with some visual modifications. Unsure of “accurate” measurements here but as I have to fit to the existing armor, I employed some artistic liberties.
 

Forearms Modification:

The forearm box edges are quite soft. This is typical with vacuforming so not a complaint against the kit, but I’d like sharper edges. Also, the recess seems too small.

 

I built (2) boxes from ABS sheet. To create the recess, I cut out a square hole in the top layer and backed with another sheet. I also created a smaller recess on the front side.
 

The scribe lines were also quite soft vs. the reference pics so I cut these out using a vinyl stencil. These will get backed by ABS sheet after I get the new rail molded and cast.

 

Question:

The thin scribes are white but some reference pics show the thick scribe black while on one arm while the other is white. Is that accurate or a variance from normal?