Alikh's ANH Stunt TK Build

[Morgi[Staff]]

vor 45 Minuten schrieb Alikh:

Began assembling the right forearm.  Had to cut each piece a bit to make them line up cleanly.  Also first time ever using e6000, maybe went a little heavy handed.  Any advice on removing the excess?

 

 

You can simply rub the excess glue off with your thumb. Or if you can manage to pry it loose at one point, just pull it all off. Usually you can get it off without any trouble or residue. 

 

Just had to reglue a snap and couldn't resist sharing a picture of me pulling the E6000 residue off 

 

Looking forward to seeing this build! 

Edited October 26, 2021 by Morgi
Added picture

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 hours ago, Alikh said:

Began assembling the right forearm.  Had to cut each piece a bit to make them line up cleanly.  Also first time ever using e6000, maybe went a little heavy handed.  Any advice on removing the excess?

In corner areas I use cut strips of plastic, run in the corner and normally helps dislodge the glue then you can pull off, some is harder than other areas. The strips will dull after a few uses so I just cut the end to make them sharp again.

[Alikh[TK]]

Working on some other parts while I wait for glue to dry.

 

Thermal Detonator I think is done, minus some excess glue removal.  Anything missing here?

 

Also working on painting the large button plate.  Am I right in thinking the paint should not come completely down the sides of the bumps?  I feel like I saw that somewhere where but have since forgotten.

 

[Chemi[Staff]]

hace 23 minutos, Alikh dijo:

... the paint should not come completely down the sides of the bumps?  I feel like I saw that somewhere where but have since forgotten.

 

You're right

L3- Ab button paint shall not extend beyond the bottom of the actual raised button.

 

If you have any doubts, you can look at the CRL and the reference images (CRL - Reference Image Depository).

 

Something that strikes me (may be the angle of the pic)....It looks like the clips are sitting above the control panel.

 

  

 

 

You can round the corners of the clips a little(pic 1), otherwise they will scratch the armor when you put the TD on the belt. Also, you can put some velcro, (the soft side), on the outside of the clips, and this will protect that part of the armor as well (pic 2).

 

 

1.                                                                      Reference image                                           2.

                                     

 

 

Great job Alex!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alikh[TK]]

19 minutes ago, Chemi said:

You're right

L3- Ab button paint shall not extend beyond the bottom of the actual raised button.

 

If you have any doubts, you can look at the CRL and the reference images (CRL - Reference Image Depository).

 

Something that strikes me (may be the angle of the pic)....It looks like the clips are sitting above the control panel.

 

  

 

 

You can round the corners of the clips a little(pic 1), otherwise they will scratch the armor when you put the TD on the belt. Also, you can put some velcro, (the soft side), on the outside of the clips, and this will protect that part of the armor as well (pic 2).

 

 

1.                                                                      Reference image                                           2.

                                     

 

 

Great job Alex!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks!  I'll look into what I have to round the corners and add some velcro. 

 

Better angle of the clips here.  They aren't on top of the control panel, but they do stick out a bit.  Do these need pressed down more flush to the pvc?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

6 minutes ago, Alikh said:

Better angle of the clips here.  They aren't on top of the control panel, but they do stick out a bit.  Do these need pressed down more flush to the pvc?

Yes they should lay flat

[Alikh[TK]]

Two part question-

 

What glue do you use to adhere the handplate to the glove?  the e6000 wouldnt stick to the flexible plate, and the other craft glue I had at home not only failed to adhere as well, it discolored and ruined the glove.

 

Which leads me to my second question.  What is a good model/vendor for gloves?  The pair I had came with the AP kit, so I didn't have to hunt them down.

[fishgoh0nk[TK]]

9 hours ago, Alikh said:

Two part question-

 

What glue do you use to adhere the handplate to the glove?  the e6000 wouldnt stick to the flexible plate, and the other craft glue I had at home not only failed to adhere as well, it discolored and ruined the glove.

 

Which leads me to my second question.  What is a good model/vendor for gloves?  The pair I had came with the AP kit, so I didn't have to hunt them down.

 

I think Q1 depends on Answer to Q2, @justjoseph63sells a pretty nice set of silicone handguards that come with fabric embedded on the underside that allows E6000 to soak and bond to the glove. Make sure you rough up the glove with some sand paper and clean with IPA to ensure the bond. You can purchase a set of new black gloves from TrooperBay.

 

I used some rags to stuff the gloves to fill them, applied glue and attached the plates, then with blue painters tape, I secured the plates to the glove bundles by wrapping then tightly. Waited 48 hours for dry, washed the rags to remove the E6000 smell. Hope this helps 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

10 hours ago, Alikh said:

 

What glue do you use to adhere the handplate to the glove?  the e6000 wouldnt stick to the flexible plate, and the other craft glue I had at home not only failed to adhere as well, it discolored and ruined the glove.

 

Which leads me to my second question.  What is a good model/vendor for gloves?  The pair I had came with the AP kit, so I didn't have to hunt them down.

 

That's the first time I have heard about E-6000 not adhering to rubber hand guards.  If you could post up a photo of the backs that may help solve the mystery or give us an idea of what you could use.  I really don't recommend CA (super) glue or epoxy, as the adhesive can (and will) get brittle over time causing the bond to fail, especially on the edges.

As James mentioned, I do sell flexible hand guards, but let's see if we can get the AP ones to work first. 

 

I sell the rubber gloves as well, and normally I only offer them with the guards but if you can't find any I can send you some at my cost (plus postage) for $8.00.  Just PM me if needed.

 

  

               Flock-lined latex-free neoprene

 

I have a tutorial here that may help.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Depends on the silicone and gloves, I've had success with E6000 on some, super glue on others and even black silicon on others.

[Alikh[TK]]

Pics of gloves/guards.  The guard is a very rubbery, almost gel-like material. Hard to capture via photos, but I've tried.  Maybe I need to rough it up a bit on the back?  When I put the e6000 on the guard and tried to spread it around, it just stripped right off.  I suppose I could try putting the glue on the glove itself vs the guard and then see if it cures and adheres to the guard?

 

[Alikh[TK]]

Finished with the assembly of the forearms, biceps, and shoulder bells.  Still need to go back over them all and remove glue residue, but I want to take pics since it feels like I've actually accomplished something!  Any thoughts on the initial fit or any trimming that needs done?  Obviously the pieces are mostly free floating right now so the gaps and whatnot may not be accurate enough to judge.  I know for a fact that I need to take a few inches off the calf and thigh armor, but I'm not sure much if anything needs trimmed from the arms.

 

[Alikh[TK]]

Lastly for today, taking a look at the calf and thigh armor.  Going to need to take a lot off to fit my height.  In the pics below I've marked where I think I cut to remove length.   At the hip and ankle, correct?  Not going to cut off as much as I've marked in paint, just a quick drawing to see if I have the right idea.

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Always best to size the legs while you have boots and the rest of the armor on, you can make initial cuts but for fine tuning it's a must.

 

Shin trimming from the bottom is correct and the top for thighs.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

4 hours ago, Alikh said:

Pics of gloves/guards.  The guard is a very rubbery, almost gel-like material. Hard to capture via photos, but I've tried.  Maybe I need to rough it up a bit on the back?  When I put the e6000 on the guard and tried to spread it around, it just stripped right off.  I suppose I could try putting the glue on the glove itself vs the guard and then see if it cures and adheres to the guard?

 

Make sure you rough up the glove and hand guards with some rough sandpaper to give the glue something to grip too. As I mentioned in the post above yours it depends on the make of glove and hand guards, I've had to use all different glues at times.

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

18 hours ago, Alikh said:

Pics of gloves/guards.  The guard is a very rubbery, almost gel-like material. Hard to capture via photos, but I've tried.  Maybe I need to rough it up a bit on the back?  When I put the e6000 on the guard and tried to spread it around, it just stripped right off.  I suppose I could try putting the glue on the glove itself vs the guard and then see if it cures and adheres to the guard?

 

Those look like they are made from silicone to me, Alikh... but I may be mistaken.  If they are, no type of normal adhesive will stick to them. You may want to contact AP to be sure, and hopefully they have a suggestion.

 

Regular clear silicone sealant (like you would use for a tub or shower) will adhere to the guards, but not to the rubber gloves.

 

The ones that I sell have heavy duty "duck cloth" attached to the backs to give E-6000 something to firmly adhere to.  BUT, the product I use to attach the cloth backing isn't cheap.  I pay about $36.00 for a 3 oz. tube, which does about 4 pairs of guards.  If you try to use clear silicone to attach a cloth backing, it will soak through the cloth and the E-6000 will not bond.  Trust me, I've tried.

 

They offer a .05 oz. tube for around $12.50, but that's not really enough to work for 2 guards.  Here is a link for some more info.

 

Your armor is looking great so far... and AWESOME to see that you removed so many of the return edges on the arm pieces!  

 

As Glen said, it's always best to be wearing your boots before trimming/fitting the calves, even if you have to wait until you get them this will ensure a correct fit.

 

I know you haven't got to that point yet, but when attaching the shoulder bells try to make sure that the tops/bottoms sit evenly (and a bit lower).  This will also allow the black elastic 1" strap to have a better position to hold the bells tighter to the bicep.

 

  

 

Keep up the fantastic work, and keep those questions and photos coming!

[Alikh[TK]]

Thanks for the help on my last set of questions!  Playing with the fit of the chest and back plates while I let some glue and paint dry.   How does this look for an initial fit?  (ignore how excited I look in the first pic, im tired lol)

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking good, sir!  One small thing to think about is the height of the tab ends.  In an ideal world they should be the same level to make sure that the shoulder bridges conform to the arches.  If the back tabs sit higher you may have issues getting the bridges to lie flat against them.

 

            

 

The back plate looks to be positioned well, but if you do end up needing to raise the chest plate you can trim off some of the opening so that it doesn't cut into your neck.  Do this in small increments until you get a comfortable fit.

 

[Alikh[TK]]

2 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

Looking good, sir!  One small thing to think about is the height of the tab ends.  In an ideal world they should be the same level to make sure that the shoulder bridges conform to the arches.  If the back tabs sit higher you may have issues getting the bridges to lie flat against them.

 

            

 

The back plate looks to be positioned well, but if you do end up needing to raise the chest plate you can trim off some of the opening so that it doesn't cut into your neck.  Do this in small increments until you get a comfortable fit.

 

 

 

Thanks for the diagrams!  I heated and bent the right backplate shoulder joint a bit because it did stick up versus the left.  Also put a light curve to the arches.

 

[Alikh[TK]]

A solid day of drying ahead of me now.  Gives me time to get more snaps and some washers tomorrow.  I somehow way underestimated the number of snaps I'd need.

 

[Alikh[TK]]

Torso to back strapping done.  Both strap covers stick up a bit (left much more so than right).  I'm going to heat and bend them both to contour to the curve of the back more.  Should they stick back as far as they go?  Or should I trim a bit off the ends?

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 minute ago, Alikh said:

Torso to back strapping done.  Both strap covers stick up a bit (left much more so than right).  I'm going to heat and bend them both to contour to the curve of the back more.  Should they stick back as far as they go?  Or should I trim a bit off the ends?

You can use a little heat to help them lower

 

Some references of length

  

 

[Alikh[TK]]

Currently waiting on glue to dry for shoulder/bell strapping, and bicep/forearm strapping.

 

In the mean time, I went back and cleaned up the clips on the thermal detonator.  Curved the metal a bit so it sits flush on the tube, and bent out the belt tips the way I've seen in other builds.  I dont have anything to round the tips, so I added some thinner velcro the protect things.

 

[Alikh[TK]]

Starting to put some things together.  From the pics below, I dont have the bicep and forearm attached with elastic yet, so the bicep (especially my left) is lower on my wrist than it should be.  Should the shoulder bells be closer to the shoulder straps or are they ok as is?  I could bring them in a bit, but not a whole lot more.  On the back side, I do have the elastic loops, just forgot them for the pic.  Had taken them off to boil and shape the strap covers more- I think they've turned out well.

 

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking nice, sir!  

I noticed that your bucket is riding a bit high, and I'm thinking that you have padding in the top.  Removing that would bring the helmet down and significantly increase your field of vision.  Trust me.

 

   

 

If you can raise the bells it would give you a better overall look.  As for the forearms, I would split the difference on the length- (raise the left one a tad and lower the right a bit.

 

      

 

SUPER job on adjusting the TD clips.  If I could offer one suggestion, it would be to change the direction of the bend on the bottoms.  If they face outward they can scratch your armor where the metal meets the plastic.  Facing the bend the other way as shown would prevent this.  The Velcro on the back like you have it is always a great idea to prevent scratches as well.

 

                                                           Note how bottom bends face away from the wearer.