What have I gotten myself into?

[Short4ATrooper]

Hi there,

Hopefully you don’t mind me jumping in on your thread but I’m only speaking up because I also had trouble with the thighs and shins similar to you.

On my build, I actually cut the thighs wrong and had to order a whole new pair I neglected to make sure that there was an equal distance from the cut at the back to the edge of the knee ridge. Hopefully some pictures will explain. So this was incorrect:


You can see where my cuts were and the red line where the cut should’ve been. There was so much of your experience with thighs and shins that were the same as mine, I thought best to make sure you didn’t make the same mistake. Also, making sure you get that cut at the back in the centre of that bottom ridge will help massively with getting the rear cut in line with the front one.


I also had the same problem as you when cutting the shins. I found that as much as I tried to get a straight line, clamping straight edges and rulers e.t.c, as soon as I cut - the edges weren’t straight. I thought I was going crazy, I’d always have a kind of bowed effect where there seemed to be loads more excess to trim in the centre.

My method was to cut 5-10mm less than I needed to (if your cut line is red, go to green)



And then slowly sand from the centre on both sides with lots of stopping to offer the edges up in between. Don’t forget, you have 12mm or so grace so they don’t have to be perfect but this method got me pretty good results. Same with the thighs.


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[Short4ATrooper]

Also, for getting a gap-less join where the ridges are, Here’s what worked for me:

 

Let’s say your cut line is the green one. Rather than following that straight from the bottom, I’d cut slightly further out where the red line is and then angle back after the ridge and follow green the rest of the way:

 

 

So once that’s cut, the part where the ridge is will be sticking out. You can now slowly file this back - use the biggest file you have, not sandpaper, and focus on keeping the file on the same angle as the rest of the cut line. This is what allowed me to get my bottom ridges looking like this on both thighs:

 

 

 

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[Zinfer[TK]]

7 minutes ago, Short4ATrooper said:

Also, for getting a gap-less join where the ridges are, Here’s what worked for me:

 

Let’s say your cut line is the green one. Rather than following that straight from the bottom, I’d cut slightly further out where the red line is and then angle back after the ridge and follow green the rest of the way:

 

 

 

So once that’s cut, the part where the ridge is will be sticking out. You can now slowly file this back - use the biggest file you have, not sandpaper, and focus on keeping the file on the same angle as the rest of the cut line. This is what allowed me to get my bottom ridges looking like this on both thighs:

 

 

 

 

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God this looks so impossible to me.

[Short4ATrooper]

God this looks so impossible to me.

I feel your pain, believe me! I agree with what you said earlier that this side of things doesn’t seem to get much coverage in tutorial videos or other WIPs, I just couldn’t fathom how seemingly NO ONE else had struggled with this. If you take it super slow, and keep stopping to check and re-check you will get there eventually.

 

I had your same lack of confidence plus the fear that I’d already screwed one set of thighs up but I got there in the end and so will you. You’ve done a fantastic job so far.

 

I still have one of the screwed up thighs. If you like, I can do a quick video which will hopefully explain it better and PM it to you?

 

 

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[StrmTRPR85[TK]]

52 minutes ago, Zinfer said:

God this looks so impossible to me.

You got this! Your already doing the right thing.  Take lots of pictures and reach out for answers.  Everyone on there first build had some type of issue.  Heck I had forearms that didn't look like two even halves, messed my shins up trying to use a heat gun to form them and let alone shin gate and a bell gate lol 

 

Measure 3 times cut once.  Cut less than you need, try it on and if you need to do a small amount more than let's do some more

[Zinfer[TK]]

40 minutes ago, Short4ATrooper said:

I feel your pain, believe me! I agree with what you said earlier that this side of things doesn’t seem to get much coverage in tutorial videos or other WIPs, I just couldn’t fathom how seemingly NO ONE else had struggled with this. If you take it super slow, and keep stopping to check and re-check you will get there eventually.

 

I had your same lack of confidence plus the fear that I’d already screwed one set of thighs up but I got there in the end and so will you. You’ve done a fantastic job so far.

 

I still have one of the screwed up thighs. If you like, I can do a quick video which will hopefully explain it better and PM it to you?

 

 

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Thanks my friend.  I've checked with multiple people, sources and conversed with them.  Some got back with me, while others didn't.  Some gave vague responses.  I get the feeling alot have simply muddled though this part of the build.   It's terrifying and muddling and confusing and annoying.  I am not going to cut a thing until I am completely confident and KNOW how it should come out first.

[Zinfer[TK]]

Test Fit #2 Expletive's forthcoming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well it seems my thigh fronts tend to want to (my legs) face outward, leading the butt joint at the rear to be inward.  Left thigh a bit lower because I'm getting poked more in the left cheek methinks.

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Zinfer

[Zinfer[TK]]

Test Fit #3 using the Split Difference method.

 

 

 

 

 

Am I going to be off by overlapping the same direction with both thighs?  Opinions, Critique?  Feedback?

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Zinfer

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

It's not rocket science  

 

Just watch the angle of the coverstrips.

 

 

Here's my RS TFU thighs for comparison (note left rear is twisted)

 

 

[Zinfer[TK]]

Feedback: So two alterations, apparently my upper right thigh may need loosened up a bit and a correction of my left thigh front CS. Things to tackle tomorrow. Probably a bad mold pull, but I've got to compensate for it by mounting the front CS crooked. May take a bit to pull all the glue back off those 3 pieces. 

 

 

[Zinfer[TK]]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

It's not rocket science  

 

Just watch the angle of the coverstrips.

 

 

Here's my RS TFU thighs for comparison (note left rear is twisted)

 

 

I think the overlap is what is throwing these images off  with the outer and inner Glen.  I'm also thinking I'm not exactly lined up on the camera, like it's off to the right a little bit or I'm standing to the right just a tad looking at the hands.  Camera Timer 10 seconds. I mean I'm in no hurry to slice and dice a bad cut.  But man.  I'm going to loosen up the right upper.  YES this IS Rocket Science.     I will probably use wide cuts to give me more to shave down as I go.  Man this is, this IS Rocket Science.  Yea 1 days work perhaps with a build party, but I am completely alone in this Covid laden Madness.  This is HARD for someone that's never done this.  I'm either dumb as a box of rocks or this is HARD.  To get it right, THE FIRST TIME around.  lol.  Remote learning has it's caveats.  Ask any kid in school (or rather out of school) during this time.  We're all just running with the ball and throwing hail Mary's.    I'm so hoping I can get this right but given this isolation, maybe best to just sit on it for a while?  Probably the smartest move.

 

Edited January 30, 2021 by Zinfer

[Zinfer[TK]]

Regardless, Thanks, Kudos, Love, Thoughts, Prayers and Best Wishes to all of you that have gotten me this far.  Without you, I'd look like a Minecraft StormTrooper.

[CableGuy[TK]]

Hi Rodney,

 

Firstly, HANG IN THERE, TROOPER!! I know it can be tough, and rather daunting. Especially when you are trying to measure the fitment around the back of your own legs.

 

But, you are doing the right thing by taking your time and asking great questions.

 

Can I ask, have you trimmed out the lower part of the thighs? In this photo, is this un-trimmed?

 

 

If that is un-trimmed, I’d suggest starting here. Unless you have trimmed that area, you won’t be able to get a good fit around your knee.

 

 

As below, a few millimetres is usually enough.

 

 

Once you have that trimmed, you can wrap is around your leg again and start measuring up.

 

 

As below, a big part of fitting the thighs is working out the sizes of the “lower ridge”. (Shown in green).

 

 

As you’ll see, the ridge on the inner and outer is not ‘exactly’ the same, however, it’s pretty close. Many builders aim for approximately the same width of ridge on the inner and outer, and the same on both thighs. (If you’ve watched the RS video for this part, they share the exact sizes of their specific screen used suit. However, I looked at using those sizes but they were too small for my thighs).

 

 

So, if it were me, I’d test fit the parts, as you did below, and measure the total width of the lower ridge (across both inner and outer parts, shown with horizontal green line).

 

 

Once you have that total width, you can halve that measurement and apply evenly to inner and outer pieces.

 

Now, to be safe, if (for example) you measure up and you think you need a 60mm ridge on the inner and 60mm ridge on the outer, maybe do your initial trim to 70mm and 70mm. Then tape the pieces to yourself and see how it fits.

 

If it’s too baggy, you then have up to a further 10mm on both pieces to trim.

 

 

I hope that all makes sense. Just take your time, keep sharing your updates here and we’ll do our best to help you though it.

 

#troopershelpingtroopers

[Short4ATrooper]

God this looks so impossible to me.

Hopefully this will help explain it better.

So you can see the line where I want to cut here. But instead of following that line along the ridge, I’m going to cut a few mm out from there, then come back and follow the rest of the line.




Afterwards, it should look like this:



Now you can file that excess material back until you get a straight fit with the other side. One of these big flat ones:



The bigger the better as it’s easier to see if you’re filing at a straight angle, in line with the cut.



I’m sure plenty of people would consider this overkill but I struggled with the legs as much as you and really wanted them to come out good. This worked for me and allowed me to go nice and slow until I had the join I was happy with.


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[Zinfer[TK]]

12 hours ago, CableGuy said:

Hi Rodney,

 

Firstly, HANG IN THERE, TROOPER!! I know it can be tough, and rather daunting. Especially when you are trying to measure the fitment around the back of your own legs.

 

But, you are doing the right thing by taking your time and asking great questions.

 

Can I ask, have you trimmed out the lower part of the thighs? In this photo, is this un-trimmed?

 

 

If that is un-trimmed, I’d suggest starting here. Unless you have trimmed that area, you won’t be able to get a good fit around your knee.

 

 

As below, a few millimetres is usually enough.

 

 

Once you have that trimmed, you can wrap is around your leg again and start measuring up.

 

 

As below, a big part of fitting the thighs is working out the sizes of the “lower ridge”. (Shown in green).

 

 

As you’ll see, the ridge on the inner and outer is not ‘exactly’ the same, however, it’s pretty close. Many builders aim for approximately the same width of ridge on the inner and outer, and the same on both thighs. (If you’ve watched the RS video for this part, they share the exact sizes of their specific screen used suit. However, I looked at using those sizes but they were too small for my thighs).

 

 

So, if it were me, I’d test fit the parts, as you did below, and measure the total width of the lower ridge (across both inner and outer parts, shown with horizontal green line).

 

 

Once you have that total width, you can halve that measurement and apply evenly to inner and outer pieces.

 

Now, to be safe, if (for example) you measure up and you think you need a 60mm ridge on the inner and 60mm ridge on the outer, maybe do your initial trim to 70mm and 70mm. Then tape the pieces to yourself and see how it fits.

 

If it’s too baggy, you then have up to a further 10mm on both pieces to trim.

 

 

I hope that all makes sense. Just take your time, keep sharing your updates here and we’ll do our best to help you though it.

 

#troopershelpingtroopers

I need to find and mark where that ridge is, I've not considered it nor measured it.  Maybe I need to find the two sides that ammo belt secures to.  It's the back edge of that, that is the back of the knee joing right?  Just one straight edge along the back.   I threw out all of Robs measurements because I'm trying to fit ME.  So I disregarded that segment.  I can try what you say.  All I did was wrap the pieces to my legs, taped and eyeballed it.  Split the difference in overlap and then I marked my lines on the inner and outer top and bottom.

[Zinfer[TK]]

2 hours ago, Short4ATrooper said:

Hopefully this will help explain it better.

So you can see the line where I want to cut here. But instead of following that line along the ridge, I’m going to cut a few mm out from there, then come back and follow the rest of the line.




Afterwards, it should look like this:



Now you can file that excess material back until you get a straight fit with the other side. One of these big flat ones:



The bigger the better as it’s easier to see if you’re filing at a straight angle, in line with the cut.



I’m sure plenty of people would consider this overkill but I struggled with the legs as much as you and really wanted them to come out good. This worked for me and allowed me to go nice and slow until I had the join I was happy with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I gotta get near the ballpark yet, but yea cut more than you need and be careful of the ridge join.

[Zinfer[TK]]

So, today the plan is to finish off the last cover strip on the left forearm.  It'll take a day/night for that to cure.  I've removed the cover strip from my left thigh entirely.  Removed the glue boogers on both the thigh sections and CS.  Tomorrow I'll glue the thigh section again (Not enough magnets to do both tonight.  I'll have to let it cure then overnight.  Soonest I could begin this thigh thing again looks like Monday.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

It's worth the extra work and wait, look a lot better in the end 

[Zinfer[TK]]

5 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

It's worth the extra work and wait, look a lot better in the end 

I'd sure like to know why the left thigh inner pull looks so different from the right.  Apparently copying a flaw of the original costume, continues the flaw....  Kinda like the left helmet bump.   I'm wondering if in this instance I should put a second CS inside just that one left front thigh joint just to make sure that joint IS solid.  I mean I don't think the thighs flex that much, as is the case with the calves needing an internal CS (doubling up).  I don't think my CS on the exterior front of the left thighs is going to provide as solid  a joint on those halves as only the edge of it barely overlaps the outer from the inner side.  Going to be much more cover strip on the inner than on the outer at the top. (hard to describe).  Pretty sure someone once said I should do internal CS on the shins AND thighs, but up until now I didn't see the reason for the thighs. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Having a coverstrip inside and out is normally enough, when you think about it the thigh does not get any pressure on the joints, the only one that does is the shins as they are opened and closed. A second coverstip inside is a little overkill, a lot of people don't even use internal coverstrips and don't have any issues  

[Zinfer[TK]]

Alright, wrapping up the forearms. Last 15mm cover strip applied to the bottom of the Left Forearm. Clamps and Magnets. Removing the internal tape for it tomorrow, did a brief rubdown of the one cover strip with a popsicle stick and got all the goobers off.

[Zinfer[TK]]

50 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Having a coverstrip inside and out is normally enough, when you think about it the thigh does not get any pressure on the joints, the only one that does is the shins as they are opened and closed. A second coverstip inside is a little overkill, a lot of people don't even use internal coverstrips and don't have any issues  

The odd thing is, and maybe this is because my thigh pieces as I hold them (no strappings yet) are too high up, I get an effect where, yes I can walk, but if my stride exceeds a walk (run) the thigh pieces at the very tops tend to limit my mobility.  I think this is an effect of being higher than the hip joint.  Only then would there be pressure on the thigh piece and it would mainly be at the very top.  But yea.  I don't know.  I don't have to build it like a tank, but I'll just have to eyeball it to see if there is going to be a split joint in that area.

[Zinfer[TK]]

Now for complete fitting of the thighs. This could take a bit because it's VERY tricky and challenging plus = there's two of them to get right without spending hundreds of dollars to buy another set and you can imagine the wait times for a replacement set to reach me from Merry old England. So = slow, careful, methodical. And I STILL could screw it up. For starters and kicking this off, I need to correct this issue with the existing mold (mould?) pull. Essentially I needed to pull the 20mm cover strip back off and get all the goobers off. Thank goodness I didn't use Super Glue or CA glue. This time I need to apply it off center at an angle. The problem with this is that, while it may appear symmetrically correct, only the very edge of the top of the cover strip will be making contact with the inner piece. So not a good butt joint. I am thinking I may apply a second cover strip on the inside just to insure a Good Bond and a stable joint that is hidden from view. This is a 20mm strip so can't hide a whole lot. I'll be applying this tomorrow as I simply don't have enough magnets to go around and on this piece about double the amount I've got would have come in handy. But anyways, that's tomorrow's work. Then I can get back to thigh fitting.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

6 minutes ago, Zinfer said:

Now for complete fitting of the thighs. This could take a bit because it's VERY tricky and challenging plus = there's two of them to get right without spending hundreds of dollars to buy another set and you can imagine the wait times for a replacement set to reach me from Merry old England. So = slow, careful, methodical. And I STILL could screw it up. For starters and kicking this off, I need to correct this issue with the existing mold (mould?) pull. Essentially I needed to pull the 20mm cover strip back off and get all the goobers off. Thank goodness I didn't use Super Glue or CA glue. This time I need to apply it off center at an angle. The problem with this is that, while it may appear symmetrically correct, only the very edge of the top of the cover strip will be making contact with the inner piece. So not a good butt joint. I am thinking I may apply a second cover strip on the inside just to insure a Good Bond and a stable joint that is hidden from view. This is a 20mm strip so can't hide a whole lot. I'll be applying this tomorrow as I simply don't have enough magnets to go around and on this piece about double the amount I've got would have come in handy. But anyways, that's tomorrow's work. Then I can get back to thigh fitting.

 

 

To me it looks like you could have trimmed a little more of the left side (comparing with archive images), but that now depends on how tight they are on your legs. 

 

 

I would check with your boots and shins on as well as your thighs, you may be able to bring the thighs down a little, you do get some restrictions while walking, thighs and around the knees.

[Zinfer[TK]]

20 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

To me it looks like you could have trimmed a little more of the left side (comparing with archive images), but that now depends on how tight they are on your legs. 

 

 

I would check with your boots and shins on as well as your thighs, you may be able to bring the thighs down a little, you do get some restrictions while walking, thighs and around the knees.

I mean I could and just today when I posted that image, it did look like I could recut that line on the inside but then on the other hand I considered the above photo you showed me before and apparently someone else had this very specific and exact issue as well.  Leads me to believe the original mould was this way. So maybe it's right and the way it's supposed to be??  I mean by looking at the photo YOU KNOW that's going to slim the fit down at the upper Leg.  I could ask Rob about it, and I think it's even covered in one of his tuts.  I'd probably have to watch it again.  Building the Left Thigh.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Zinfer