Highlander’s AP ANH Stunt Build

[ABS80]

yes trim more at the elbow so the arch is wider

 

Mark (AP)

[rwmead10]

I tested the fit on the bicep for 20mm cover strips and it seems about right to bend my arm comfortably. I got the left forearm and bicep marked to 10mm per side for the first cut. For these sides, is it better to use lexan scissors and even out with sandpaper or score and snap with clamps and a straight edge? Based on my initial trimming the score and snap requires less sanding but scissors would follow the line better with the curve of the armor.
 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

If I may offer a couple of tips, they would be these, Ryan..

 

First, know that your arms will be bent most of the time while trooping, and that point (red arrow) will poke into your arm, so I would suggest cutting it off.  There are quite a few examples of this particular point being left on in the OT armor, but let's face it, sometimes we do extended troops and having that jab into your arm for several hours is no picnic. 

 

 

As long as the cover strips cover the seam you are golden

 

[rwmead10]

22 minutes ago, justjoseph63 said:

If I may offer a couple of tips, they would be these, Ryan..

 

First, know that your arms will be bent most of the time while trooping, and that point (red arrow) will poke into your arm, so I would suggest cutting it off.  There are quite a few examples of this particular point being left on in the OT armor, but let's face it, sometimes we do extended troops and having that jab into your arm for several hours is no picnic. 

 

 

As long as the cover strips cover the seam you are golden

 

Thanks for the tips! The dashes are my cut line to get to 20mm for my next test fit. I will make sure to trim the edges on the forearm and bicep to follow the curve and reduce any pinch points.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

My pleasure, sir.  Keep posting photos and asking questions, Ryan, it's what we are here for!

[rwmead10]

After measuring, checking and remeasuring, I wasn’t happy with the lines I had originally marked. I saw on Ukswrath’s build that he marks the return edge first. So I clamped a steel ruler and marked the return edge right where the flat part ends and marked 10mm from those marks for my cut line. This gave me a better reference and I got a very straight line. I then clamped the steel ruler and scored the line with a razor blade and snapped it off. Now I have it sized for a 20mm cover strip and the fit is pretty good. I have a bit of room but I am worried if I size down at all my hand won’t fit. Also it fits pretty snug on the right arm. Does the fit look ok? Has anyone else had the AP arms fit different between right and left?
 

[Edit: I sized them down by overlapping and 15mm cover strips should work. I am going to cut down the biceps to 20mm first and overlap to 15mm to double check it works for them too]

Edited May 28, 2020 by rwmead10

[wook1138[TK]]

13 hours ago, rwmead10 said:

Has anyone else had the AP arms fit different between right and left?

Yes.  I found I had to give the right forearm a hot water bath to change the shape of the elbow opening.  It is oblong in the wrong direction... if that makes any sense.

 

Without the bath, it will still fit but because it is tight it may want to rotate and sit funny while you are trooping.

 

Looking good so far.  Keep it up!

Edited May 28, 2020 by wook1138

[rwmead10]

One forearm and bicep trimmed! It looks like I will need to keep my cover strips at 20mm for the biceps to be comfortable while bending my arm. I don’t want to go any tighter and chance them not fitting. How does the fit look?

[wook1138[TK]]

Looks good to me. If you can stick a finger between your armour and your arm (when straight out slightly bent) you should have enough room. 

[rwmead10]

I will try and get a better sizing picture tonight. Assuming I stick with the current sizing, should I go with 20mm cover strips to cover the entire ridge or 15mm with some ridge showing? I prefer no ridge showing but also want to be approved. 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

22 minutes ago, rwmead10 said:

I will try and get a better sizing picture tonight. Assuming I stick with the current sizing, should I go with 20mm cover strips to cover the entire ridge or 15mm with some ridge showing? I prefer no ridge showing but also want to be approved. 

 

Hi Ryan, personally , I prefer no ridge showing too, and it's more accuracy and it looks like you have still enough room in your forearms .  look at the following reference photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep on doing a great work !!  

 

[wook1138[TK]]

1 hour ago, rwmead10 said:

I will try and get a better sizing picture tonight. Assuming I stick with the current sizing, should I go with 20mm cover strips to cover the entire ridge or 15mm with some ridge showing? I prefer no ridge showing but also want to be approved. 

I agree that little to no ridge is the way to go. You’ll have a bit of ridge showing because of the soft return edge of the ridge, and that’s perfectly fine. You don’t want the coverstrip to overhang the edge of the ridge, so they might end up being 18 or 19 mm anyways. Depends how you measured it when you trimmed. 

[rwmead10]

10 hours ago, TKSpartan said:

 

Hi Ryan, personally , I prefer no ridge showing too, and it's more accuracy and it looks like you have still enough room in your forearms .  look at the following reference photos. 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep on doing a great work !!  

 

That is another question. If my biceps need to be 20mm but I have room in my forearm, can that be smaller? I thought the firearms and bicep cover strips have to be the same?

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Ideally the cover strips should be the same on the biceps and forearms.  If you are having an issue and need more room, there is an alternative.  You can add an extra wide interior cover strip for the strength, and have a minimal overlap of the outside one on the edges.  You will need to add some extra E-6000 (shown in blue) at the join to help hold the outside one on.  

 

 

                                                                                                         

 

[wook1138[TK]]

3 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

Ideally the cover strips should be the same on the biceps and forearms.  If you are having an issue and need more room, there is an alternative.  You can add an extra wide interior cover strip for the strength, and have a minimal overlap of the outside one on the edges.  You will need to add some extra E-6000 (shown in blue) at the join to help hold the outside one on.  

 

 

                                                                                                         

 

Hey Joseph, I think he has enough room with the trimming from what I understand. He has wide ridges so he has to apply wide coverstrips to match.

 

And yes Ryan, try to keep the forearm and biceps coverstrips as similar as possible with regards to width. I’m sure a mm hear or there won’t matter if need be. 

Edited May 30, 2020 by wook1138

[rwmead10]

Well I tried overlapping for 15mm front and 20mm back and I don’t have any wiggle room In the right bicep. Looks like my best fit is 20mm cover strips. I will move forward with the other side and work on sanding and shaping. 

[rwmead10]

Got a little side tracked with helmet electronics. I used the Ukswrath integrated helmet speakers and 4 fan system with 2 anker powercore mini batteries. I made some elastic battery cradles to get them flush with the helmet and cut out sections of the bracket for them to attach to the helmet directly for more strength. I also added 6mm EVA foam to the lens for a goggle-like fit. Getting it on is a chore but it fits fine once on. May need to round off the front right fan so it is not as pointy which can catch my forehead.

[husky68[TK]]

Looks great,  wish my bucket could look like that but then my head would never fit inside.

[rwmead10]

7 hours ago, husky68 said:

Looks great,  wish my bucket could look like that but then my head would never fit inside.

Honestly I may be going down to 2 fans which removes a battery. It is very hard to get on and off...

[wook1138[TK]]

4 minutes ago, rwmead10 said:

Honestly I may be going down to 2 fans which removes a battery. It is very hard to get on and off...

Holy cow!  Yeah, I would never get my head in that, LOL.

 

I find two fans is more than enough.  Looks pretty sweet, though. 

[Chemi[Staff]]

That helmet looks great!!!.........I will use some of these things with my bucket 

[rwmead10]

Fixed the helmet setup. I cut out the back section of the fan mounting bracket and used some 5/16” braided cord protector to gather the wires. Then I moved the batteries to the back so I had room on the sides to twist the helmet on. Still a squeeze but much more comfortable. A little back heavy but it works well. Now back to the armor!

[rwmead10]

On 5/24/2020 at 11:49 PM, ABS80 said:

yes trim more at the elbow so the arch is wider

 

Mark (AP)

Is this what you mean Mark? I marked widening the scoop with pencil lines.

[rwmead10]

Since the AP arms are the same, I noticed on the right side that it digs into my armpit since that side is higher. Did anyone trim the inside part of the right bicep similar to this? 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Perhaps try all the arm pieces on together first to make sure you have the right gaps before doing any trimming, easy to cut off but harder to replace