TK Monkus' RS Prop Masters ANH-S Build Thread (first build)

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I trimmed down the left thigh to almost where I think it needs to be. I measured my right and got about 49 1/2 cm around the bottom knee area. I then measured to 49 1/2cm on the left and marked that on each side and made my cuts. I think it could be taken in a little bit more, but will see what you guys here think. The front is ready for it's cover strip, at least I think so. The back is where I will trim down a bit. I will trim it in a little on each side, but know I need to keep that small "step" on the inner piece so will come as close to that as I can and take any more from the outer piece. See pics below. I am basing my idea that I need to take it in on how my right one fits and it seems to have a bit more room than the right. Any thoughts are welcome and appreciated.

 

 

Back markings

 

Front-cover strip ready?

 

Back

 

Fitting pics with undersuit

 

With both thighs on

 

Thank you,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Glued on the inner cover strip to the front of my left thigh. I still need to size it down but will do that once I have the front cover strip on. I will also round out the top and bottom points after this inner strip dries and before I put on the outer strip.

 

 

Thanks,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Glued on the front cover strip and trimmed a bit more off the back and think it as around the same fit as the right now. I will do a test fit with both once this dries.

 

Left front thigh

 

Thanks,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Shins

 

Next up is the shins. I have done one so far, but know that both sides are identical.  

 

I marked up the front to have about 12mm on each side as it seems the middle of the shin is a lot thinner so that gave the cover strip enough space to be right on the edge in the middle. I cut the back to the sizes that RS mention in their build videos, which is 50mm on the top and then about 15cm around the ankle side. I think I may need to take it in a little more, but I know on the back of the shin the cover strip is only glued to one side so maybe the extra space is ok.  I have also removed all return edges on the bottom ankle side and trimmed in the return edges at the top knee side.

See pics and a couple questions below.

 

Questions:

• The top of the back doesn't really line up as you can see in one of the pictures below. Is this normal? I can kind of pull the one side up to match, but it pulls the front as well and makes it lose it's shape a little bit.
• Should I leave it a little bigger than I need so that when I actually put them on the side without the cover strip can overlap or should they be butt joined when strapped up?

 

Front marked up

 

Back marked up

 

Front after cuts

 

Back after cuts-you can see the top doesn't align.

 

Top knee side

 

Bottom ankle side

 

Thanks,

M

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

After looking at the RS suit, it looks like there is an overlap. I know the cover strip is only attached to one side so technically overlaps, but it also looks like there is part of the armor that also overlaps? It also looks like the top of the shin is pretty hacked up similar to the thigh, but looks like it was not aligned perfectly before that? 

 

 

Thanks,

M

[Hesikaya[TK]]

Hey Matt, as far as the top not lining up, after you get the front cover strips on you could give it another look.  If it isn't lining up in the back when you wear it then maybe a hot water bath to reshape it a little might help.  The backs will be concealed by your cover strip. The cover strip should be the only piece that overlaps anything.  The ones pictured may be closing up on themselves but once you stick a leg in there will probably butt together.

 

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by Hesikaya

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

One thing I would suggest is that you use a rear cover strip on the insides of the fronts, Matt.  The reason being is because that seam gets a lot of wear and tear from being bent repeatedly when opening up the rear seam to put them on.  It doesn't have to look good (no one sees it anyway) and it will reinforce the front cover strips.

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

18 hours ago, Hesikaya said:

Hey Matt, as far as the top not lining up, after you get the front cover strips on you could give it another look.  If it isn't lining up in the back when you wear it then maybe a hot water bath to reshape it a little might help.  The backs will be concealed by your cover strip. The cover strip should be the only piece that overlaps anything.  The ones pictured may be closing up on themselves but once you stick a leg in there will probably butt together.

 

 

Thank you Scott that is helpful. Can I put those in a bath with the front cover strips on or would those need to be off?

[TK Monkus[TK]]

15 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

One thing I would suggest is that you use a rear cover strip on the insides of the fronts, Matt.  The reason being is because that seam gets a lot of wear and tear from being bent repeatedly when opening up the rear seam to put them on.  It doesn't have to look good (no one sees it anyway) and it will reinforce the front cover strips.

 

Thanks Joseph. I will definitely add a rear cover strip.

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I cut up the other shin and think I may need to take a little bit more off, but it works overall! I did a test fit with my boots and undersuit and the one I just trimmed does move a little bit, again may size it down a little more. I also put on my thighs and taped everything up and the thighs seem to move a lot when I walk. I didn't try putting any padding inside so maybe that will help, which I plan on doing, but the other thing was I couldn't really walk up steps. Is that normal? I may end up adding mobility cuts to both the thighs and shins. See pics below for a reference. I think looks wise everything seems to be symmetrical which was one of the things I was waiting for to do final back cover strips on thighs and shins. I added my ab/cod piece also just for reference which has had nothing done to it yet. See pics below. ( the pic of the back of the shins may have my thighs looking odd, but that is because I am looking over my shoulder to get the picture in the mirror.)

 

Question: Do the shins just sit on the top of the boots? There is no strapping on them correct?

 

Shins

 

Shins and thighs

 

Shins Thighs and ab/cod

 

Thanks,

M

Edited June 3, 2021 by TK Monkus

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

To answer your question, yes, the calves just sit on the tops of the boots.. no strapping involved.

 

What you have now is looking GREAT.  The only thing left to do is even out/contour the fronts so that there are no points and you are golden.  Nice work, Matt!  

 

                                Perfect!

        

 

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

8 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

To answer your question, yes, the calves just sit on the tops of the boots.. no strapping involved.

 

What you have now is looking GREAT.  The only thing left to do is even out/contour the fronts so that there are no points and you are golden.  Nice work, Matt!  

 

                                Perfect!

        

 

 

 

Thank you very much! That is much needed validation haha.

 

I will be cleaning up the points of the shins as well as the backs of the thighs which also need some evening out.

 

Thanks,

M

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You can add either some velcro or elastic and snaps behind the boots/shins to keep them straight and stop them pulling up when bending.

 

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

On 6/3/2021 at 2:00 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

You can add either some velcro or elastic and snaps behind the boots/shins to keep them straight and stop them pulling up when bending.

 

 

Thanks Glen. May try the elastic w/velcro method. Will see how it all goes when finished.

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I added the interior covers strips to my shins. I also evened out the front ankle side so there are no points on both. I will need to do the same to the back but will do that after I put on the front cover strips.

I decided which shin will be left and right. I removed a little more from the left one and think it fits better. 

I also removed a bit more from my left thigh and will do another tape up test fit after the front cover strips are on the shins.

 

Question: If it all fits well, should I add the rear cover strips to everything or is it worth leaving those off until the whole kit is complete if anything needs to be adjusted? Only reason I would like to do them now is to save time. Since it takes 24hours to dry I could have those drying while starting to work on the torso pieces.

 

Pics:

Both shins interior covers strips drying

 

Left Shin

 

Right Shin

 

Thanks,

M

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

The front cover strips are on the shins! Legs are almost complete. The shins seem to fit very nicely so I think I will add the back cover strip and call them done, minus the strapping and sniper plate. After adding the front cover strips the alignment of the top came a lot closer. Once the strapping is in place they should be able to sit even. I also think I will be adding mobility cuts to both the shins and thighs, but will probably do that once they are totally complete.

 

I did another test fit and have a few questions.

 

Questions:

• I sized my left thigh to be more of a tight fit and eliminate some gaps and would like some opinions on if it looks to "skinny"? I feel like the right has to much of a gap in the back and sides...(I marked with an "L" which is the one I sized down in the pics since they were taken in a mirror so look opposite) maybe it needs to be somewhere in between the two?
• From the side view, do the "v's" need to line up? (marked with a red line in the pics) Looking at screen grabs from the movies it looks like sometimes they do, and others they don't. If they did need to, my fix would probably be to add foam to the back of the thigh right above where my knee bends.
• Lastly, this may be a question for later, but do my thighs need to be sitting higher? Should there be a bigger gap at the knee between the shin and thigh?

Any other insights welcome!

 

Front cover strips on shins

 

Shin fitting

 

Test fit with thighs and cod

 

Thanks as always,

M

 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

I may be jumping the gun, but before adding the rear cover strips to the thighs, it looks as if the amount of space is a bit uneven.  As seen in the first pic, you have a LOT of room on the top of the left thigh top (the bottom looks perfect), but as seen in the second photo it looks kinda' tight.  Ideally you should have the same gap on both, and it should fit not too tight or too loose.

 

Also, the rear seam should run down the center of the rear of your leg.

 

     

 

Before doing any final fitting/gluing it's always best to post up some more pics.  Keep up the GREAT work, Matt... you are moving along in fine fashion!

[TK Monkus[TK]]

On 6/11/2021 at 3:31 AM, justjoseph63 said:

I may be jumping the gun, but before adding the rear cover strips to the thighs, it looks as if the amount of space is a bit uneven.  As seen in the first pic, you have a LOT of room on the top of the left thigh top (the bottom looks perfect), but as seen in the second photo it looks kinda' tight.  Ideally you should have the same gap on both, and it should fit not too tight or too loose.

 

Also, the rear seam should run down the center of the rear of your leg.

 

     

 

Before doing any final fitting/gluing it's always best to post up some more pics.  Keep up the GREAT work, Matt... you are moving along in fine fashion!

 

Thanks Jospeh. 

 

Yes, in those pictures one side was bigger as I hadn't adjusted it yet. I think I am going to adjust and trim both sides a little more to make them fit better and will probably land somewhere in the middle of what the two sides look like in those pics. They will both be the same when done. I will post up some pics.

 

Thanks,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I have a couple questions before doing the, hopefully, last sizing cuts on the backs of the thighs.

 

I have three different color markings on the pics. Red is where the cut would be based on how I sized it on my leg. Yellow is where I would actually like to cut, it is the opposite side of where I marked so assume the distance would be equal, I just drew rough lines. The green circle at the top is where I am wondering if anything needs to stay. For instance on the left thigh top right side, does that little notch/ridge need to stay or can I cut that as seen by the yellow line? If I cut on the yellow lines as I would like, it would also help center the rear seam which is why I have not marked equal cuts on both sides.

 

Really the main question is does anything in those green circles need to stay there which would make me alter where the cut lines go. Assume the yellow line is the cut line. Left thigh there is that ridge on the top right side. Right thigh there is that "bump" on the top right side that would be sized down because I would even out that top "scoop". 

 

Left Thigh

 

Right Thigh

 

Thank you,

M

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

The rear seam should be centered on the back of your leg, and be sure that you have an equal distance on both sides of the raised ridge at the bottom.

 

 

As for the tops, I would advise against any points.  The reason being is that they can/will poke into the rear of your leg while walking.  Ouch.  It's perfectly acceptable to trim them down as needed for comfort and mobility.  

 

       

 

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

7 hours ago, justjoseph63 said:

The rear seam should be centered on the back of your leg, and be sure that you have an equal distance on both sides of the raised ridge at the bottom.

 

 

As for the tops, I would advise against any points.  The reason being is that they can/will poke into the rear of your leg while walking.  Ouch.  It's perfectly acceptable to trim them down as needed for comfort and mobility.  

 

       

 

 

 

Thank you Joseph!

 

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I trimmed my thighs down again and they fit a lot better!

 

I will trim the top edges off the back where the red lines are in the pics below and then I think my thighs will be done, minus the ammo belt on the right side. Please let me know if you see anything else that should be done to them, otherwise back cover strips will go on. I will also be adding interior cover strips.

Nothing was done to the shins, I just have them on for reference.

 

Front

 

back

 

Left

 

Right

 

Thanks,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Hey Guys,

 

It has been a little while since I was able to make any progress, but I finally got the thighs all glued up and drying and I have a question about the shins before I put the back cover strip on.

 

Question: Do I need to trim the bottom and "round" it out because of that overlap on the ankle side? See pics for better understanding, red mark is where I would cut. This is just the Left shin pictured but it is the same issue in the right. If you need more or different pics let me know and I can take them.

 

Drying Thighs

 

Ankle end of L shin

 

 

Thanks,

M

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Trim round as you have marked will be fine.

 

Some times you need to trim a little more of the insides than outsides so they sit on the boot better but see how you go once you trial fit with boots on.

[TK Monkus[TK]]

2 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Trim round as you have marked will be fine.

 

Some times you need to trim a little more of the insides than outsides so they sit on the boot better but see how you go once you trial fit with boots on.

 

Thanks Glen! Will do.