Saltyr1's First ATA ANH Build thread

[saltyr1[TK]]

Thanks for the feedback!  I was trying to overlap the sides as you mentioned and I have room to do that.  I will need to wait until someone else is home to try to tape it up again.  In the meantime I've noticed two things with the ab piece.

 

First - On the sides I followed the ATA lines.  I noticed they kick out the lower cod piece quite a bit.  I think this maybe contributing to it.  Any thoughts on if I should trim these to even it out more?

 

Secondly - I noticed that the amount of material on the sides is different.  The right side has about 1/2 inch more material than the left, which I feel makes it slightly off center.  Is it supposed to be like that (I know its all wonky)?  Or should I trim down the right to match?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You will find that a lot of armor kits are not the same on both sides, just the way they are made. I must admit I've never noticed the slight angle on the ab/cod, but that wouldn't really make a lot of difference to the gap, it's not only at the cod you appear to have a gap, it also looks like at the top of the ab as it's pushing the chest out quite a lot. I have build an ATA for someone and did cut the sides down a little so it fitted better on the front.

 

Try to overlap the ab and kidney when you have someone to assist then take another look.

[saltyr1[TK]]

Hello everyone!  Unfortunately I needed to step away from the project for a bit due to some other commitments.  But I am ready to get this awesome build completed!

 

So I was able to overlap the sides and I think it a big difference.  Please let me know your thoughts.  

 

Question - Would you trim the front ab panel or the back piece? I would assume the front as not to mess up the butt to kidney alignment.

 

As always, your input is greatly appreciated!

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Welcome back, Chris! I too, took about a year off until the past month or so, but even now am have still not completed my helmet. If, somewhere down the road, you find that you have no need for your second set of ATA ears, I'd certainly take them off your hands. =)

 

As for your question about the ab or kidney piece, I'll defer to the thoughts of experienced troopers, but I can't help but wonder if your need to trim might give you an opportunity to implement the kidney notch. Off the top of my head I can't recall if the ATA posterior and kidney pieces already come identically sized with alignment at both ends.

 

Looking forward to your continued progress on your build! It's been a pleasure to follow along, and even just today I reread the back half of your postings thus far. 

[saltyr1[TK]]

Thanks and it's good to be back!  I also need to go back and 'ground' myself on next steps.  As far as the alignment on the ATA kidney and posterior, the posterior is about 1/2 in shorter on the sides than the kidney.  

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I had to trim a small amount from my butt plate so the side is aligned with the kidney, but also cut out a notch in the kidney 

Couple of examples of mine

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

What I would do is to mark with a pencil the cut lines to see how it looks first.

 

According to the CRL  for L3

 

-Cut-out notches at the bottom of right and left sides of the Kidney Armor are optional.
- If present, each notch is approximately 22 mm tall and the back of the notch ideally is aligned with the front edges of the Posterior Armor plate..

 

 

[saltyr1[TK]]

Thank you both.  I still think I need to trim the side about a 1/2 inch to get the better fit as in the re-taped above.  If so, am I better off taking it from the ab plate to allow the notch?  Or am I better off taking from the back and forgetting the notch?  Or even a little of both?

[saltyr1[TK]]

After looking at tons of pictures I think I should trim the sides by removing material from the kidney plate.  Since I think I need to lose like 1/2 inch from both sides, this would actually bring the posterior plate flush with the kidney (and would not pursue cutting out the notch).  Here are the pics before and after overlapping the sides.

Before:

 

After:

 

Does anyone think this is a bad idea before I make this move?  Or other suggestions?

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

41 minutes ago, saltyr1 said:

Does anyone think this is a bad idea before I make this move?  Or other suggestions?

 

In my case, I have trimmed the Kidney and even the butt plate in a couple of builds I have helped some fellow recruits with no issues. Just try to be sure you're measuring correctly . 

 

 

 

 

[saltyr1[TK]]

I have marked out the split rivet location while I wait for the white paint to dry on them.  For some reason putting holes in the armor is a little unnerving.

 

The split rivets were pretty detailed in their location.  But the Han's snap is a little more vague.   Here is where I have chosen, let me know if any concerns.

Edited April 22, 2022 by saltyr1

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Doing great, always best to check before diving into adding holes

 

Some references for you to check against

     

 

 

       

 

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

2 hours ago, saltyr1 said:

I have marked out the split rivet location while I wait for the white paint to dry on them.  For some reason putting holes in the armor is a little unnerving.

As Glen pointed, double checking before making the rivets holes  is better.

 

Strongly recommend to place the ab section rivets first and then align the kidney's ones

 

 

 

Close reference 

 

 

[saltyr1[TK]]

Thanks, those are the measurements I used.  Here are the two together:

[saltyr1[TK]]

Hello everyone!  Split rivets are in place along with the Han snap.  I also have been working on the strapping for the torso pieces (no pics yet).  

 

Along with the strapping, I'm going to add the split rivet to the cod piece.  I'm going to hold off on the two male snaps on the posterior piece as I think I'm going to need to trim in that area to be comfortable (I'll wait till the strapping is done to get the correct fit).

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

looking great ! 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work, came out great

[saltyr1[TK]]

I have made progress on the torso strapping!  Unfortunately I didn't have anyone around to get a pic when I had it on, but I'll get one soon!   The kidney plate wanted to really push out on the side compared to the ab.  For the right side, instead of using pieces of scrap ABS to make the slip joint (not sure what to call it), I designed and 3d printed two pieces in white ABS that slip together nicely (not an exact color match, but not too bad).  This worked really well.  The left side isn't too bad as I tried to keep the strapping close to the edges.  Putting the belt on helps tighten it up, but I'll deal with that later.

 

I'm working on the posterior now.  I have some trooper butt, so I'm making some v tabs to take care of that.  The posterior is still uncomfortable as it digs in, so I need to address that too.  Once that is all taken care of, I'll add the snaps and split rivet to the cod.  Then onto the belt!

[saltyr1[TK]]

Much happier with the posterior now.  Added the v tabs, trimmed and added the snaps.  I still have to add the split rivet to the cod area and make the strap.  

 

I was able to get the wife to take some quick pics with it on.  I should have taken them with the under suit on instead of a t shirt and shorts, but I grab her when I can...

 

Let me  know if anything seems off or could be better.  I know I said the belt is next, but I forgot I need to do the shoulder bridges next.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, can make a difference when wearing an undersuit so make sure you do final check wearing that  

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

looking good. keep it up 

[saltyr1[TK]]

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

 

Shoulder bridges are trimmed.

 

But I'm torn on removing the large tab on the back.  I know it's more accurate, but I don't like how the low parts of the bumps do not go flush with the sides.  Meaning, it won't have a nice smooth edge if I cut if off.  Any thoughts?  Here is a pic of what I'm trying to describe.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I normally cut my large tab down on the back to the same size as the other tabs, you don't really notice any difference in appearance of the tabs. A couple of references

 

 

Some references from Josph

 

 

NOTE:  As seen in the photos below, there are no large tabs on the rear of the shoulder bridges.  This is not specifically mentioned in the CRL, but removing them is highly recommended if possible.

 

     

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Hi, as glen pointed, you can trim it  the same size

 

 

 

 

[saltyr1[TK]]

Thank you Glen and Mario.  They came out better than I expected.