Raindrop’s 4.5 AM ANH Stunt Build

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

I think this looks much better

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Correct, you will find many of the templates are an approximate size, always best to go with the visual references, nice work 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Measured twice, snap once. Should have measured three times snd looks like I will now need to snap twice. The belt appears to be way too loose.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

We don't always get everything right the first time, I did the same on my first build.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Belt is back on track and I have decided to use chicago style screws and a glued an approx 1” strip of nylon for more rigidity to where the screw will go. My host recommended I fill the female screw with E6000 so that it will jot come undone during troops but still removable if need be.
Gonna probably want to figure out how to give my snap some proper support to make it easier to snap onto the abdomen.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

41 minutes ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

Belt is back on track and I have decided to use chicago style screws and a glued an approx 1” strip of nylon for more rigidity to where the screw will go. My host recommended I fill the female screw with E6000 so that it will jot come undone during troops but still removable if need be.
Gonna probably want to figure out how to give my snap some proper support to make it easier to snap onto the abdomen.

Just watch the crimping the posts of the snaps, looks like the one in the image above isn't quite central. A good tip is to first hit the post with a philips head screwdriver, it will splay open the post a little so when you use the snap tool it will crush better. 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Just watch the crimping the posts of the snaps, looks like the one in the image above isn't quite central. A good tip is to first hit the post with a philips head screwdriver, it will splay open the post a little so when you use the snap tool it will crush better. 

Will do for future snaps! I’ll admit I am not the most experienced with setting snaps.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Also, got a bit of work done on my helmet. Got the brow at the height I like tried fitting the ears and I believe in order to align the ear screws with the traps, I’ll be needing to trim off the back half of the bucket a little bit.


I’ll also be probably trimming a but of the right side’s brow gasket to make it line up more with the trap. When I get back to my armor, I’ll be sure to snag some better pictures with the ears in place to give you guys a better idea before I cut.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Thinking of trimming it to this point. Any thoughts?

[Firedog[TK]]

2 hours ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

Will do for future snaps! I’ll admit I am not the most experienced with setting snaps.

I also recommend lightly tapping them with the weight of the hammer. When I started, I was using too much force, which caused a few to offset.

[Firedog[TK]]

36 minutes ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

Thinking of trimming it to this point. Any thoughts?

This is exactly what I did to achieve the appropriate angle. 
 

Eric Dyke has a great AM helmet tutorial.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by Firedog

[LTM[TK]]

Instead of rivets for the face to back of helmet connection I used a bolt and nut (easy to undo and reposition).  Once you have it completely built, then go back and rivet if you want. 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

I haven’t been able to work on my armor as much as I’d like to but I am a decent way through painting the armor. I have the DT built and screws painted.

I’ll be getting a spare TD built with more accurate panel and brackets for the future.

Next up is progress on my helmet.


I’m pretty happy with the frown and chin, tears are a wip and I’ll need to completely redo the tube stripes for a third time. First time I used the wrong blue and used the button panel dark blue, so I cleaned that up. Second attempt I didn’t apply the paint correctly and still turned out wayyy too dark. Here is a pic before I clean this up.
As for progress on the belt... I messed up big time trying to heat form it. I have a spare ABS belt that comes with the kit but I need one extra button. Everything else is fine though, and I should be getting the parts I need soon.

Next up is the button panels. They are all painted and ready to be glued.

Not sure if you can really tell from the picture but I was trying to ensure the paint doesn’t extend beyond the bottom as per the CRL. Gonna glue them on probably tomorrow. Oh, also got the ears painted.

All that’s left for me to do is finish painting the helmet, finish assembling the helmet, fix the ABS Belt, and do the strapping for the arms. Hopefully I can get pictures of the final fitting once the belt is fixed.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

If you paint white first in the tube stripes stencil it will fill any bleed areas, then once dry go over with blue 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Ugh... life has been a bit rough these past two months and progress has slowed to a crawl. I am not very experienced with painting, so I’ve ended up doing and redoing the paint on the helmet a few dozen times trying to get it right, namely the tube stripes. I’ve went through two different sets of stencils I’ve struggled with the traps and tears as well. After off and on work, I think I am at the point where it could possibly pass for basic approval (hopefully), but my end goal is still making it Centurion. If I ever work on another ANH stunt helmet, I think I’ll just do stickers and maybe paint over them for higher levels. Anyways, here are some pics of some of the progress I’ve made.

One thing that I tried doing that isn’t helmet related was redoing the shoulder bridges. I’ll probably add velcro to ensure that the white elastic holding the arms doesn’t slide out from under bridges due to the arm weight.

My next step tomorrow will be painting the inside of the helmet with flex seal, I believe I’ve seen other troopers doing this but it has been a while since I really looked into it.

A question I would have is if I should use Flex Seal Spray, or use a can that I have sitting around. I also plan on installing a dual fan set up and if possible, installing an icomm setup all in the helmet. That is the current plan at least, and I’m completely open to feedback and concerns!

[Hesikaya[TK]]

Glad you're finally conquering the tube paint.

Curious about the velcro you want to add on the shoulder elastic. How do your shoulder bells attach currently? I have snaps on mine.

Or are you worried about stretching the elastic? I keep the arms detached from the body when not being worn. I found that the elastic I used on the shoulder bells stretches out if I leave them on the bicep when stored so those are disconnected when not in use too.

Sent from my sorrosuub C1 comm link device using Tapatalk

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Glad you're finally conquering the tube paint.

Curious about the velcro you want to add on the shoulder elastic. How do your shoulder bells attach currently? I have snaps on mine.

Or are you worried about stretching the elastic? I keep the arms detached from the body when not being worn. I found that the elastic I used on the shoulder bells stretches out if I leave them on the bicep when stored so those are disconnected when not in use too.

Sent from my sorrosuub C1 comm link device using Tapatalk

The issue is when I am wearing the armor, the elastic is pulled outwards from under the bridges due to the way the snaps are set that connect the bells to the shoulder elastic.
So it’s kinda pulled out like this. To remedy this, I think using a high strength industrial velcro to help keep it in place while trooping.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Using double elastic can help, there are also thicker elastics available which are also a lot stronger. 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Whelp. I keep wanting to make updates and post pictures but then something breaks, something then gets redone, that thing I’ve redone then breaks, and it became an endless cycle of trial and error. Been going through tutorials and and other build threads to get a better idea of how to do things, but I feel that I need to do my own take on everything.

Regardless, I felt confident enough tonight to start taking some pictures of the armor fully kitted up. The internals are a mess and I will try redoing them tomorrow. Once they are in a state that I like them, I’ll probably take a pictures.

As always, any commentary is welcomed. I know my left arm wasn’t properly aligned, and the shoulder bell tops need to be closer to the shoulder bridges, but I did fix the dropping white elastic problem. I’m thinking I may need to trim the top off the thighs so that the sniper knee has proper clearance.

[Hesikaya[TK]]

Raindrop that's coming together nicely. Keep up the good work. It seems there's always something that could use a revision or a minor tweaking. I just got approved for Centurion and am still making adjustments so don't let that bother you.

You're almost there trooper!

Sent from my sorrosuub C1 comm link device using Tapatalk

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking SHARP, JR!  A few tweaks and then after Basic approval you will be ready for EI and then Centurion.  GREAT job on this armor!

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Looking SHARP, JR!  A few tweaks and then after Basic approval you will be ready for EI and then Centurion.  GREAT job on this armor!

Just curious to see what some of the things you guys may have spotted that need to be addressed. I know for sure I need to raise the thighs and make the cover strips on the arms and legs match up, anything else I’ve missed?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, a few tweaks you could make:

Watch the rotation of the forearms to biceps, cover strips should align

Butt plate is being pushed backwards a touch, I came up with some V taps to help keep it in alignment. Also right drop box is not aligned with the end of the plastic belt section.

You just glue the bottom tab and leave the top free to move on the kidney

 

 

 

You have a lot of overlap on the backplate to kidney, you may be able to adjust the strapping to solve this. You could also trim a little of your TD clips, they are showing under the belt

 

You shins are sitting high on the boots, you may be able to bring these down a little to allow more room at the knees. Also shoulder bells could be rotated a little more to be closer to the chestplate 

 

 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Whelp! I made it! I just got approved for my ANH stunt TK! Thank you everyone for the input and feedback!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Congratulations trooper and welcome to the ranks