Closing the Gap "Requirements for Armor Shims"

[TK22020[TK]]

Good Morning Troopers,

 

I'm currently trying to get my armor EIB approved and the only step giving me any trouble is closing up that kidney plate to abdomen plate gap on my right side. From what I can gather the requirement is that it be of the same plastic as your armor, that it be correctly lined up to your abdomen and kidney plates, and that it close the gap between your armor plates to less than 1/2 an inch (Less than 1/4 inch for Centurion.). This guidance seems vague and maybe it's meant to be. So would it be accurate that an approvable shim could be anything from a cut out piece of ABS Velcro-ed or hot glued into place on one side and long enough to slide under the armor plate on the other side, to a piece glued in with E-6000, pasted, sanded, and made to appear seamless? would either of these options hypothetically be acceptable, or is there more strict guidelines that I'm missing somewhere? Ideally I'd like to shed a few inches off my waist and just fit in the armor as is, but I don't have time to wait around for that, I need to be one of the first 1000! Lol. In any case, thanks in advance for any advice, guidance, or redirection to something I missed.

 

Very Respectfully,

 

Cam Blair

TK-22020

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi Cameron, you may like to check the following thread out, It could be useful.

 

 

hope this can help. 

Cheers  

[Chemi[Staff]]

I followed the video of the link and had no problem... Just one thing... I didn't use the abs paste to cover the joint. I used a two-component putty(apoxi sculpture, but another brand can work the same) which is much better for sanding and modeling. Then I painted it and it looks great ...You can see the final appearance in my centurion application... 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

From the CRL: Any shims used to achieve this effect are of a similar material and color as the abdomen and kidney armor. Shims fit flush and seams are allowed.

 

So would it be accurate that an approvable shim could be anything from a cut out piece of ABS Velcro-ed or hot glued into place on one side and long enough to slide under the armor plate on the other side, to a piece glued in with E-6000, pasted, sanded, and made to appear seamless? would either of these options hypothetically be acceptable, or is there more strict guidelines that I'm missing somewhere?

 

Per the CRl, any shim must appear similar material and color, shim should sit flush, so yes you may have a seam. Some add a piece behind then butt another piece on top so it is in the same alignment as the kidney plate.

 

 

For Centurion L3 there can not be a seam so most will use ABS paste to fill the gap.

[TK22020[TK]]

Excellent, thank you all for your responses. It seems based on the CRL and what others have done that extending the kidney plate with an additional strip of ABS on the inside is the way to go. Also, since Centurion approval requires that there be no seam, adding ABS paste to the exterior and then sanding and painting will set me up for success in the future. As always thanks again for the quick responses, I have some work to do.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Keep us in the loop, Cameron.  Looking forward to seeing some photos of your progress!  One thing I would mention about ABS paste, though... don't go overboard when filling/covering the seams.  Put on just enough to cover them, which will save you a lot of time when sanding them down smooth.