ANH Stunt - AP Trimmed - First TK Build

[MightyAtom[TK]]

TKs! I have a query about forearms. I have glued both forearms together with internal strips and am now preparing the cover strips. I've been over a few galleries here and would like opinions about trimming the elbow end of the cover strip. Here's what I intend to do (see image): angle the cover strip (blue) then trim the outside forearm to an angle (green). Thoughts?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You can do as you have marked, or even angle up the cover strip to the corner or even leave them with the step, it's some pieces had the cover strip stopping below the step. Here's a few references 

[MightyAtom[TK]]

You can do as you have marked, or even angle up the cover strip to the corner or even leave them with the step, it's some pieces had the cover strip stopping below the step. Here's a few references 

Ah great, thanks. I've seen so many clean angle builds, but I'm aiming for a screen accurate look (like these shots) and wasn't sure if the corners would be uncomfortable.

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[Sly11[Admin]]

You can also cut the cover strip on an angle across the two halves for comfort so you have no exposed sharp points. that's how I built my AP kit.

 

 

 

[MightyAtom[TK]]

You can also cut the cover strip on an angle across the two halves for comfort so you have no exposed sharp points. that's how I built my AP kit.
 
 
 

Oh cool, I hadn't considered that. Thx!

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[MightyAtom[TK]]

I'm working on shoulder bells and biceps next. How does this placement look?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looks good 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Great progress thus far, Mark! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed lurking and following your build, and can relate to the cyclist leg-fitting challenges. Haha. My thigh pieces were a bit tight when I test fit them.


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[MightyAtom[TK]]

11 hours ago, MaskedVengeance said:

Great progress thus far, Mark! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed lurking and following your build, and can relate to the cyclist leg-fitting challenges. Haha. My thigh pieces were a bit tight when I test fit them.

Thanks, this is great to hear. Surely the Death Star had Peloton classes!

[CableGuy[TK]]

I'm working on shoulder bells and biceps next. How does this placement look?
 

Hi Mark,

Shoulder bell looks ace. Great fit.

The biceps: personally, I’d drop them down by at least one inch. At the moment, the bicep to forearm gap is pretty large, and, your forearm to the hand guard on the glove will be quite large too.

The below pictures are excellent for showing the bicep to forearm gap (at the elbow). :-)






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[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

The gap between biceps and forearms should be roughly 5-7mm, but everyone height is different.  That's just what I have read I hope it helps.

[MightyAtom[TK]]

4 hours ago, CableGuy said:

Hi Mark,

Shoulder bell looks ace. Great fit.

The biceps: personally, I’d drop them down by at least one inch. At the moment, the bicep to forearm gap is pretty large, and, your forearm to the hand guard on the glove will be quite large too.

The below pictures are excellent for showing the bicep to forearm gap (at the elbow). :-)






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Oh, yes, that gap is quite minimal. I'll put the elastics on the shoulder bells and do another fitting that should be more accurate. Thanks!

[MightyAtom[TK]]

4 hours ago, Shinyarmour1 said:

The gap between biceps and forearms should be roughly 5-7mm, but everyone height is different.  That's just what I have read I hope it helps.

Great, thank you. I'll do a fit shortly with bells and gloves to see how it looks.

[tarok[TK]]

The gap between biceps and forearms should be roughly 5-7mm, but everyone height is different.  That's just what I have read I hope it helps.

That’s not something that’s enforced. The gap between the bicep and forearm should be the same as the forearm and hand armour.

[MightyAtom[TK]]

That’s not something that’s enforced. The gap between the bicep and forearm should be the same as the forearm and hand armour.

Ok, thank you. Sounds like I should do a few fittings to get the gaps right before making the arm strapping. Stand by for an update!

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[tarok[TK]]

Ok, thank you. Sounds like I should do a few fittings to get the gaps right before making the arm strapping. Stand by for an update!

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Defo. I created straps from painters tape and adjusted countless times before settling on a good length and gaps.

[Shinyarmour1[TK]]

15 hours ago, tarok said:

That’s not something that’s enforced. The gap between the bicep and forearm should be the same as the forearm and hand armour.

5-7mm is what I read on Ukswrath build and he has specific measurements and screen references which I have been reading for my build.  Although its not a requirement for L2 or L3., that measurement helped with my strapping placement. 

[MightyAtom[TK]]

NEXT! I'm waiting for glue to dry on my shins, which means this weekend I look at... *ominous tuba* ... the sniper knee plate. First question: how does this look for trimming?

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

It appears that you’ve cut close enough there on the bottom, and that your side edges are vertical, which is most screen-accurate. You may want to post a profile angle photo so we can see your trimming on the top.


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[MightyAtom[TK]]

22 minutes ago, MaskedVengeance said:

It appears that you’ve cut close enough there on the bottom, and that your side edges are vertical, which is most screen-accurate. You may want to post a profile angle photo so we can see your trimming on the top.


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Ok, no sweat. Here are some more angles. How do the sides look? I've seen a few other builds that reduce the return on the sides to get it to fit the angle at the top of the shins.

 

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

That trimming looks excellent, and will definitely be approvable through L3! The only thing to note is that@CableGuy would encourage trimming the side edges all the way vertical, as shown in the marked photo below. It’s one of those small details that some builders address, and others don’t. You’re definitely on track with matching the plate return profile with the shin.




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[MightyAtom[TK]]

That trimming looks excellent, and will definitely be approvable through L3! The only thing to note is that[mention=31976]CableGuy[/mention] would encourage trimming the side edges all the way vertical, as shown in the marked photo below. It’s one of those small details that some builders address, and others don’t. You’re definitely on track with matching the plate return profile with the shin.




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Great advice, thank you! I'll make those trims on the sides as you suggest.

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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looks good, plenty of clamps help 

 

[MightyAtom[TK]]

Because you all know "Redundancy" is my middle name, I've poured over other build threads for direction on designing shoulder elastics and shoulder bell straps that will be functional as well as sturdy. My high school physics education tells me that the greatest force placed upon the shoulder bells, exerted by the weight of the bicep and forearm, will be placed on the inside edge; near the armpit, closer to the centre of gravity. However, being shoulders (ie, a multiaxial ball-and-socket synovial joint), there needs to be a compromise between design and movement.

 

With that in mind, I've opted for the following: elastic inside the shoulder bell to allow flex with snaps to allow swivel; double snaps attaching the shoulder bell with nylon to the shoulder elastic (weight bearing and constant distance to shoulder elastic); double sew-on snaps on the shoulder bell nylon to attach to the shoulder elastic to spread the tension from the weight of the arm across a larger area of elastic than a single snap. I'll then use Han hooks to attach the biceps to each shoulder bell, again, keeping the tension on the inside.

 

 

 

 

The next consideration is where to attach the bicep to the forearm. Nylon will be needed in order to ensure a constant distance between the two pieces, but the placement inside each piece will affect movement. I may be overthinking this, but at the moment I'm gonna go with the inside edge closest to the body, which should allow for natural bending of the elbow without putting strain on the strap. Thoughts?

Edited October 9, 2020 by markgambino

[CableGuy[TK]]

Because you all know "Redundancy" is my middle name, I've poured over other build threads for direction on designing shoulder elastics and shoulder bell straps that will be functional as well as sturdy. My high school physics education tells me that the greatest force placed upon the shoulder bells, exerted by the weight of the bicep and forearm, will be placed on the inside edge; near the armpit, closer to the centre of gravity. However, being shoulders (ie, a multiaxial ball-and-socket synovial joint), there needs to be a compromise between design and movement.
 
With that in mind, I've opted for the following: elastic inside the shoulder bell to allow flex with snaps to allow swivel; double snaps attaching the shoulder bell with nylon to the shoulder elastic (weight bearing and constant distance to shoulder elastic); double sew-on snaps on the shoulder bell nylon to attach to the shoulder elastic to spread the tension from the weight of the arm across a larger area of elastic than a single snap. I'll then use Han hooks to attach the biceps to each shoulder bell, again, keeping the tension on the inside.
 

 

 

 
The next consideration is where to attach the bicep to the forearm. Nylon will be needed in order to ensure a constant distance between the two pieces, but the placement inside each piece will affect movement. I may be overthinking this, but at the moment I'm gonna go with the inside edge closest to the body, which should allow for natural bending of the elbow without putting strain on the strap. Thoughts?

Hi Mark,

A very well thought out build - kudos. :-)

Regarding the strain on the shoulder bells - I wouldn’t worry too much. With well fitted parts, there’s not as much stress as you’d think. Especially as your arms are likely to be bent for a large proportion of your time as you’re likely to be holding a blaster. With your arms bent, the weight is reduced from the shoulders.

Also, the arm parts are quite light so it’s really not that bad. I had nylon straps joining my chest to back on my old suit and it was fine. For my latest suit, I’m using white elastics like the originals and it’s also holding up perfectly.

You’ll see the strapping here:

Regarding the bicep to forearm, I like to follow the method used for the original suits - this allows the arms to align naturally, just like the original suits did. I wouldn’t recommend nylon as this will add MORE strain to the arms as nylon has no “give”. With elastic, all of the parts have a little wiggle room.
Here a video I did on the subject of arm connections;

There’s quite a few other handy TK videos on there so feel free to check them out. :-)