Raindrop’s 4.5 AM ANH Stunt Build

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

With my thin arms I had to add some foam inside just to help stop rotating when moving arms around 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

With my thin arms I had to add some foam inside just to help stop rotating when moving arms around 

My current plan is to have any foam padding be attached via velcro so I can replace them if they get too smelly.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Alright, so I was able to get pictures of my arms. Do they need to be trimmed down further?

 

I’d also like advice regarding the return edges and how much I should take off from them for the sake of mobility/looks.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

One last question for the time being, did I do the left leg correctly in terms of correct halves and knee placement? I believe the inner side is the one where the calf protrudes more, and I know the knee needs to line up with the top ridges, but do I need to trim the knee return edges? I see reference photos of it done so, but I’d like to be sure.

[LTM[TK]]

You can lose some of the top return on the biceps, that will be covered by the bell. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

Alright, so I was able to get pictures of my arms. Do they need to be trimmed down further?

 

I’d also like advice regarding the return edges and how much I should take off from them for the sake of mobility/looks.

A few references. 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

2 hours ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

One last question for the time being, did I do the left leg correctly in terms of correct halves and knee placement? I believe the inner side is the one where the calf protrudes more, and I know the knee needs to line up with the top ridges, but do I need to trim the knee return edges? I see reference photos of it done so, but I’d like to be sure.

 

Hi JR , The shin halves are ok and  as you said the sniper knee lines up with the top ridges and ideally aligns vertically too. You can trim the return edge almost complete to align better, use tons of clamps and let it dry for more than 24 hours.

 

 

 

      

 

Keep on doing a great job.  

 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

10 hours ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

I’d also like advice regarding the return edges and how much I should take off from them for the sake of mobility/looks.

If it were me, I would trim off some more of the top of the biceps.  Any edges you can remove that may cut into you will help, and they are covered by the shoulder bells and not seen anyway,  This thread may help: link

 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

2 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

If it were me, I would trim off some more of the top of the biceps.  Any edges you can remove that may cut into you will help, and they are covered by the shoulder bells and not seen anyway,  This thread may help: link

 

I guess the best thing for me to do is to get rid of most of the return edges then, except for the bottom of the chest piece though.  Pretty sure I need that thickness there lol.

10 hours ago, TKSpartan said:

 

Hi JR , The shin halves are ok and  as you said the sniper knee lines up with the top ridges and ideally aligns vertically too. You can trim the return edge almost complete to align better, use tons of clamps and let it dry for more than 24 hours.

 

 

 

      

 

Keep on doing a great job.  

 

 

Sounds good! And apparently according to Joseph’s link, I have the option to trim the knee for a better fit should I need to.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I would definitely keep all the return edges on the bottom of the chest, top and bottom of the kidney, top of the posterior (butt) plate and top of the ab plate.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Definitely! Sorry, I’m not entirely here right now. Spent the entire night doing research on the forums and checking pre-approvals and going over centurion submissions. I need sleep lol.

 

I’ll be sure to make another progress update before I do anything too drastic. Slow and steady wins the approval.

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

On 8/20/2020 at 6:59 PM, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

So for resources, I have him and this binder I put together with some various guides as well as the CRL handy for quick reference. I’ve also been reviewing TK 1636’s videos as well.

I love seeing PRINTED reference folders, as I have four or five of my own! I may be obsessed, as it is an ever-growing collection. Below you'll find some images of my folders from my ANH Stunt and HWT builds. In case you'd like additional print resources, I've been compiling helpful (to me) threads into PDF format, and I have links to them on my All-In-One reference compilation thread. Links to PDF filess are marked in yellow. Keep up the great work with your build!

 

 

 

 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I've always been a huge fan of things in actual printed form, but just seeing this handsome devil alone is worth the ink it takes to print it.   

 

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

I've always been a huge fan of things in actual printed form, but just seeing this handsome devil alone is worth the ink it takes to print it.
 

America’s next top model right there. Haha. Sorry to sidetrack the thread. I’ll step away now ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Not a problem guys!

I am now really happy with how the arms now fit with out the return edges. I think I am ready to start gluing! I have my 501st host with me to make sure I don’t balls it up too badly.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Ok! Got the cover strips glued in on my arms. So far so good I think!





Now onto a dilemma I have, I noticed that I got two of the same legs, is this typical for AM kits? I reached out to Dave yesterday and still haven’t gotten a response.

[Firedog[TK]]

9 minutes ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

Ok! Got the cover strips glued in on my arms. So far so good I think!





Now onto a dilemma I have, I noticed that I got two of the same legs, is this typical for AM kits? I reached out to Dave yesterday and still haven’t gotten a response.

Yes, I was wondering about this myself on my build, but I compared mine to the ones in my son’s kit and realized that they were the same as his. The angles at the top are the same on each side of each leg if that makes sense. The inner right is the same top angle as the outer left. The curvature of the thigh is different though.

Edited August 27, 2020 by Firedog

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Thighs and shins trimmed/glued, gonna probably use velcro for the back if the shins.

Now for my next conundrum, the sniper knee. I am having a hard time trying to figure out how best to place it. I’ve glued a scrap piece of plastic to the knee itself as others have done, and even trimmed a bit of the botyom to help make it flush with the shin. My host believes I may need to add another piece of plastic to the knee to let it sit right.

Here are some pics with a two piece spacer.




The last pic shows just how high off the knee is from the shin. Here are the pics of 1 plastic spacer.



Any and all feedback welcomed! I haven’t fully committed to the knee yet, and I’ll be taking a break from the legs for a day or two and get started on chest trimmings/strappings.

[Firedog[TK]]

The knee angle looks good to me. Once you glue and clamp, the alignment should be pretty spot on. What I did was glue the center and one side first, allowing them to set for nearly 48 hours. Then I glued and clamped the other side. If you add another shim to the front, it may bring the sniper knee away from the shin too much. Just my 2 cents.

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

An update is long overdue. Current progress is that I got the sniper knee glued and attached, much of the armor trimming is done as well as snaps



I’d be willing to bet you guys can figure out what I am gonna do for my helmet




A bit nervous because I plan on working on the belt soon, so I guess according to the reference I need to completely get rid if the top up until the boxes, so closer to the second line I started.


Also going to attach the ammo thigh belt to the right thigh soon. I got the rivet pos marked in pencil, and trimmed the top and bottom to a 3mm height




Progress on the sides. I thankfully will not need to do shims, and the length is just right to where I don’t need to trim.

As per the level 3 specifications I have the three rivets on the abdominal armor’s left side, equally spaced and 1cm away from the edges. These ones are not functional and will probably re-do them to be able to fasten velcro that will help ensure the abdomen and kidney are always lined up.

(As a reminder I am shooting for, so do not hesitate to suggest changes that may or may not be listed on the CRL!)


The kidney is not quite done yet so I will be sure to add velcro to make sure everything is fastened. The velcro I’m using is the real heavy duty stuff.

You can also see the notch cut out from the kidney, I trimmed the return edges from the abdomen to line up with the notch.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Great work Trooper!!   I highly recommend you to check out the gallery section for ANH and to check the EIB and Centurion approved to have and idea of the most common issues. 

 

This duty can help you to have a sharp and smooth approval from basic to Centurión. 

 

Keep on doing a great job mate. 

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

1 minute ago, TKSpartan said:

Great work Trooper!!   I highly recommend you to check out the gallery section for ANH and to check the EIB and Centurion approved to have and idea of the most common issues. 

 

This duty can help you to have a sharp and smooth approval from basic to Centurión. 

 

Keep on doing a great job mate. 

Already on that good sir! I’ve read about 40 approval threads for both Centurion and EIB and looked over dozens of build threads. Reading about it is one thing, but actually putting it into practice is another. Always hesitant to fully commit.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, a couple of references for you

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, TheDecisiveRaindrop said:

Already on that good sir! I’ve read about 40 approval threads for both Centurion and EIB and looked over dozens of build threads. Reading about it is one thing, but actually putting it into practice is another. Always hesitant to fully commit.

Lord Vader will be pleased Trooper !    

[TheDecisiveRaindrop[TK]]

Decided to trim the big ab button following the Billgram, and it looks like for the AM 4.5 kit I will need to trim it further down than the prescribed measurements





Gonna trim it so it matches the button on this reference photo