Saltyr1's First ATA ANH Build thread

[saltyr1[TK]]

As for the biceps, there isn't much difference.  Both fit nicely.  But yes that right forearm is larger than the left, and the issue is with ATA that flat area is already defined for the cover strips and you can't reduce it beyond that (or at least without having <5/8" cover strips which would look odd).  My plan is to leave as much return edge at the top and use foam to keep it from moving around.  I would love to hear if anyone else has any suggestion.

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Yeah I was comparing my ATA right forearm to that of AP, and the difference isn't so much that ATA has the defined flat area (because that's standard on forearms)... it's that there's a longer arc of the curved portion between the ridged detail/feature in the middle of the piece and the start of the flat portion. So as you point out, even if you trim each side of the flat surface down to 7/8mm for the 15mm cover strip, the total circumference isn't small enough for some people. I'm toying with the idea of completely trimming off the flat portions on both pieces on the side that will face the rear, and bending the plastic to either reform a flat surface for the coverstrip, or just bend it enough to accept a coverstrip, even if it isn't flat.

[saltyr1[TK]]

Your a braver man than me Caleb!  I might be more apt to something that extreme if the ATA kits were still available.  But since the passing of Terrel, I wouldn't risk messing it up.  But that's just me.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:46 AM, saltyr1 said:

After trying it again, I think the left side could benefit from a little foam as it is a little looser when I straighten my arm.

You will find one forearm is more rounded and the other oval, foam will definitely help. For a very small member I ended up using a heat gun, warming on both sides then applied some pressure to make the round forearm a little more oval, using a heat gun though takes a lot of practice perhaps the same could be achieved with a hot water bath.

 

I still have two small pieces of foam in my forearms too, just to help stop any rotation, having the correct strapping in the right place can also help, which is mounted on the top of the forearms, many add it to the bottom

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

On 7/8/2022 at 12:52 PM, saltyr1 said:

Your a braver man than me Caleb!  I might be more apt to something that extreme if the ATA kits were still available.  But since the passing of Terrel, I wouldn't risk messing it up.  But that's just me.

 

Well, I haven't decided if I'm actually going to do such a trim and reforming, but I'm considering it! I do wish I had a spare forearm as a contingency plan.

 

On 7/8/2022 at 6:59 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

 [...] having the correct strapping in the right place can also help, which is mounted on the top of the forearms, many add it to the bottom

 

Glen - Are you saying that you mount your bicep-to-forearm strapping on the outside piece with the ridged details? Does that end up landing halfway between your elbow and the bend in your arm? I had been planning on running mind right in the bend where it might be less visible.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

5 hours ago, MaskedVengeance said:

Glen - Are you saying that you mount your bicep-to-forearm strapping on the outside piece with the ridged details? Does that end up landing halfway between your elbow and the bend in your arm? I had been planning on running mind right in the bend where it might be less visible.

Starts at the top just next to the raised section and ends on the inner arm, I have found this gives you the best return after you have moved your arms, many add elastic on the bottom of the arms and it makes the arm rotate unevenly.

 

This would be the right arm

 

[saltyr1[TK]]

Another week of little progress.  But I did add the finishing strips to the right forearm.

 

 

Now back to the shoulder bells.  I need to remove the bottom return edges and clean up the sides.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good

[saltyr1[TK]]

I cleaned and shaped up the shoulder bells.   Time to figure out where to attach the snaps.  Using tape I mocked up where I think they should go.

 

Now it really gets exciting seeing it start to really come together.  Sorry for the blurry pics.  Let me know if anything needs attention.

 

[CableGuy[TK]]

Very nice - that’s coming together well!

[saltyr1[TK]]

I have been working on the attachments of the arm pieces.  Progress is still slow in the midst of summer, but I do try to work on it a little every day.  So here is the progress over the past couple weeks.

 

Here is why the wife is not happy as I've taken over the dining room table.  I like working by windows instead of the basement on things like this!

 

Bell to bicep strapping

 

A little bit of everything getting glued

 

And where I am today - the other shoulder bell strapping

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Very nice! Good work! Love that tape across the shoulder bells to maintain a constant form. I'm in the same boat as you, working a little very day, generally for me that's sometime after midnight. My wife would kill me if I took over our dining table. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Just don't get any of that E6000 on the table or you'll never hear the end of it 

 

I

[Chemi[Staff]]

Looks great Chris...Keep up the good work!!! 

[saltyr1[TK]]

Today I finished up the strapping on the arms.  The last thing I had to do was to sew the snaps on the shoulder elastic.

 

I still have to add some foam to the forearms, but wanted to see my progress.  This time I got some pics that weren't blurry.  I not happy with the gap at the top of the left bell.  That's something I want to look into.  As always, let me know any concerns.

Edited August 6, 2022 by saltyr1
posted wrong type of links

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good.

 

Just one thing your left side kidney plate is sticking out, you could glue a piece of ABS plastic behind so it will hold it in behind the ab plate

 

 

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Wow that’s some very impressive undersuit coverage for ATA shoulder bells! Well done. And it sounds like you’re already on top of the shoulder gap uniformity.

[saltyr1[TK]]

On 8/5/2022 at 10:01 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

Looking good.

 

Just one thing your left side kidney plate is sticking out, you could glue a piece of ABS plastic behind so it will hold it in behind the ab plate

 

 

 

This is my next step!

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Also I’m curious how you handled the ATA kidney-to-ab height difference, particularly on the left side. Did you cut a notch? I couldn’t tell in your photos since your arms were lowered.

[saltyr1[TK]]

I needed to trim the kidney plate sides to fit better, which actually aligned the posterior.  So, I decided not to add the notch at this time.

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by saltyr1
Horrible grammar

[saltyr1[TK]]

I did add a piece to stop the left kidney side from popping out.  The pic I took was unusably blurry.  I also corrected the shoulder bell gap by making a new strap.  I'll get pics of both soon.  

 

But in the meantime, I did the rough trimming on the thighs.

 

Left side

 

Right side

 

When I try to access the link below to PandaTrooper's thigh assembly from the All-In-One index, I get 'You do not have permission to view this topic'.   Not sure why.

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11563-howto-assemble-thighs-butt-join-with-cover-strips/ 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 hour ago, saltyr1 said:

I did add a piece to stop the left kidney side from popping out.  The pic I took was unusably blurry.  I also corrected the shoulder bell gap by making a new strap.  I'll get pics of both soon.  

 

But in the meantime, I did the rough trimming on the thighs.

 

Left side

 

Right side

 

When I try to access the link below to PandaTrooper's thigh assembly from the All-In-One index, I get 'You do not have permission to view this topic'.   Not sure why.

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11563-howto-assemble-thighs-butt-join-with-cover-strips/ 

Unfortunately that thread was moved and archived as the images are no longer active.

 

 

[saltyr1[TK]]

I taped the thighs together to get a rough fit and it fits well.  I still need to trim down the sides for the 7/8 inch cover strips (per Terrel) and finish up the top and bottom edges.  But I noticed that the back of the right thigh doesn't meet correctly.  I'm assuming this is how all ATA's are and assume I just leave it like that (keep in mind each side needs trimmed down about half).  Any suggestions?

 

 

Since it might be hard to see, I tried to put a red line where the 'lip' goes flat.

 

This is what I would assume it would look like finished.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I added a piece of ABS plastic behind the lower ridges to help keep them better aligned. Make sure you rough both surfaces with course sandpaper first for better grip, also use strong claps. Once dry I trim the bottom edges so they match

 

 

[saltyr1[TK]]

For the thigh cover strips, it seems most things I've read or watched are using 20mm vs. ATA's 7/8th's of an inch.  From what I figure 7/8th's is about 2.5mm wider.  Should I use 20mm cover strips instead?