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

[TK Monkus[TK]]

1 hour ago, TKSpartan said:

 

Great !! That's exactly.

 

What I would do is to trim the lower section return edge a little more as below. 

 

 

 

Littel return edge References

 

 

 

 

 

Check the distance and mark with pencil before to check again,

 

 

 

 

Awesome thank you Mario!

 

I have marked where the new Ab side holes will be with the tops aligned and plan to trim along the red line. If I want to keep some of the extra return edge on the cod area is that ok, or does it need to be trimmed way down? Once holes are drilled I will clean up the area a bit more as the pencil smudged a bit and is harder to remove where it has been sanded.

 

 

Thanks,

M

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

1 hour ago, TK Monkus said:

I have marked where the new Ab side holes will be with the tops aligned and plan to trim along the red line. If I want to keep some of the extra return edge on the cod area is that ok, or does it need to be trimmed way down? Once holes are drilled I will clean up the area a bit more as the pencil smudged a bit and is harder to remove where it has been sanded.

the red line is ok, you can trim later when you try on the armor and walk around. Keep it up  

[TK Monkus[TK]]

36 minutes ago, TKSpartan said:

the red line is ok, you can trim later when you try on the armor and walk around. Keep it up  

 

Thanks Mario!

 

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

With the patching complete, I drilled and placed the rivets in the new positions. I have not added any of the elastic yet as I am finishing up the rest of the torso strapping, then will complete the strapping that goes with this. Once I attach the Ab side elastics, I will trim out the bottom corner to match with the kidney as @TKSpartan suggested and then complete the connection to the kidney.

 

Here is how it looks now.

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

M 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

looks great!  Well done 

[Hesikaya[TK]]

Awesome job!  Can't even see the repairs.  Keep it up!

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I have added all the strapping to the front and back of my torso. I think I need to bring my backplate down a little bit as there is a bit of a gap between the back and kidney, but I am pretty happy with the rest of it.

 

I did a test fit of the torso and see a few things that definitely need to be addressed, sooo many questions.

• First I think I need to shorten the strap between the cod and butt plate so it pulls the butt plate in a bit more.
• Second the butt plate really flares out. I was reading some other build threads and think I may need to do a hot water bath? I don't know if the "V" tabs will be enough?
• Third is that everything feels like it is just a little "big".  It almost feels like everything needs to be tailored in a little. Maybe I need to put on the legs and arms as well, or maybe when the butt plate comes in it will feel and look better. As you can see I am pretty skinny which also probably plays a part since I am not wearing the legs and arms. I will also most likely need some padding around (already planing on thighs and arms).
• Lastly is the position of the back plate. Where it is in the picture feels right, but looking at pictures from the movies I think it may need to sit a little bit lower on my back? There is also that really big gap you can see when looking from the side (you can almost see all the way through to the other side)
• Should I wait to attach the kidney/ab rivets? Are some of these pieces going to need more work? Or is it really just the butt plate which I can detach from the kidney?

If a full suit up of what I currently have would be helpful I can do that and post some pics. I could pretty much put everything on except my shoulder bells and bucket.

 

Pictures of the Strapping

 

 

 

 

 

Test Fit Pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

M

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I did a full(ish) suit up and found that I definitely need to do something to the butt plate (already knew that) but I think I need to try and contour the sides of the ab and probably kidney and bottom area of the chest as well. For those reasons I am holding off on securing the rivets as much as I realllly want to. I will admit that once suited up it looked better and more symmetrical, I still think the ab, kidney and chest need to be contoured, but please give me any thoughts as well.

 

I really am not sure the best way to do this given the size of the ab piece. Hot water? Heat gun? Or maybe once the side strapping is installed that would pull the sides in?

 

See pictures below to show what I am kind of talking about. 

 

First picture is "normal", second is pushing the sides in where I think they need to come for a better look.

 

 

 

Full suited of what I currently have without any "contour". I know butt plate is going to need lots of work.

 

 

 

 

Any input would be very helpful.

 

Thanks,

M

 

Edited October 30, 2021 by TK Monkus

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Made a post about fixing holes on ammo belt and asking if I needed to fill them in or if I could leave them and make cuts that were not perfectly centered, but decided to fill them in and center the belt properly and stop being lazy.  

Thanks,

M

Edited October 30, 2021 by TK Monkus
Made fixes

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Filled in the holes on the ammo belt, repositioned it so it is centered and drilled the new holes. 

 

Here are the lines to be cut at 45 degrees meeting the edge of the belt.

 

Question: Should the corners of the cut be rounded out a little bit or left pointed?

 

 

 

Thanks,

M

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 hours ago, TK Monkus said:

Question: Should the corners of the cut be rounded out a little bit or left pointed?

Left pointed 

References

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

13 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Left pointed 

References

 

 

Thanks Glen.

 

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I have the belt together now and so on to the drop boxes.

 

 

Thanks,

M

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 minutes ago, TK Monkus said:

I have the belt together now and so on to the drop boxes.

 

 

Thanks,

M

Your button covers look a little to be positioned too far to the inside, they should be more central or closer to the outside of the belt.

 

 

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

8 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Your button covers look a little to be positioned too far to the inside, they should be more central or closer to the outside of the belt.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Glen.

 

I was actually considering trimming some off the edge as when I wear the belt it isn't completely flush. See below pics of what I mean and where I would cut. If I did those cuts the covers would be closer to the edge. If the "hang" is ok I can just move the buttons out.

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

M

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

May need a DO to jump in on this question @justjoseph63 @Chemi @TKSpartan, personally I'd see if I could move the button cover over a touch, it is a little close to the inner side and then you could trim the end.

 

If you look at this image notice there is quite a bit of room between the button cover and inner side, a little more than you have. Better to check with the DO's just in case  

[TK Monkus[TK]]

5 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

May need a DO to jump in on this question @justjoseph63 @Chemi @TKSpartan, personally I'd see if I could move the button cover over a touch, it is a little close to the inner side and then you could trim the end.

 

If you look at this image notice there is quite a bit of room between the button cover and inner side, a little more than you have. Better to check with the DO's just in case  

 

Yep. It's on with E-6000 so shouldn't be to much trouble to move it. I will wait to see what they say, but can do as you say. Move it over a little and trim a little.

 

Thanks,

M

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

17 hours ago, TK Monkus said:

 

Yep. It's on with E-6000 so shouldn't be to much trouble to move it. I will wait to see what they say, but can do as you say. Move it over a little and trim a little.

 

Thanks,

M

 

 

Hi Matt,

 

As  @gmrhodes13  Glen recommended, in order to keep the great look you're getting with your armor, I think you can do both steps.

1-  Move the button cover a bit and  2- trim the belt to get it centered.

 

The right side is not visible at all but you can do the same if needed.

 

 

 

Reference

 

       

 

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

2 hours ago, TKSpartan said:

 

 

Hi Matt,

 

As  @gmrhodes13  Glen recommended, in order to keep the great look you're getting with your armor, I think you can do both steps.

1-  Move the button cover a bit and  2- trim the belt to get it centered.

 

The right side is not visible at all but you can do the same if needed.

 

 

 

Reference

 

       

 

 

 

Thanks Mario.

 

Hows this look? I moved the buttons over a bit and the line is where I would cut. I would then cut a new notch as well. The button isn't exactly centered, but it is further away from the box. This would be the only way to also cut off the edge so there isn't as much of an "overhang" while I am wearing it.

 

Right side

 

Left Side

 

Thanks,

M

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

It looks OK Matt. Keep it up. 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

While waiting for my belt pieces to dry, I took a shot at giving my butt plate a hot water bath. There is definitely improvement, but there are also some other issues now.

I used the biggest pot I had and basically did each side individually. I would dunk for 30sec then hold to shape while I washed under cold water. I did each side about 4 times. There are now "ripples" in the top of the but plate return edge from the bending. The butt plate definitely sits closer now, but when attached to the kidney it pulls it back out a little bit. It definitely looks better than before, but don't know if it is quite right yet. I also still think the ab and chest need to come in a bit tighter, but if I bathe the kidney, maybe when attaching them that will pull it in enough? See questions and pics below.

 

Questions:

• Should I trim the top return edge down to deal with the "ripples" or should I just leave them? Or is there a better way to deal with this?
• Should I do a hot water bath on the kidney to bring those sides in a little bit?
• Should I bathe the butt plate a few more times to bring it in even more?
• Do I need to give the ab and chest a hot water bath to make it a bit more form fitting?

 

It feels like I am so close to completing the main body of the armor.

 

 

 

Butt Plate "Ripples"

 

You can see the difference as the edges used to meet up.

 

Test Fit

 

Test fit with side snaps un done to show how close the butt plate sits without being snapped

 

 

Thanks,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

On 11/6/2021 at 9:32 PM, TKSpartan said:

It looks OK Matt. Keep it up. 

 

Thanks Mario!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

For getting rid of any ripples I use two blocks of wood, heat a small area at a time and use a piece of wood either side, you can run them back and forth too for larger heated areas.

 

Some have made wooded plugs so the piece can rest against it and use a small block of wood on the other side, same principle but on a larger scale.

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Hey Guys,

 

It has been a little bit. I tried to straighten out the top of my butt plate but still haven't gotten it. I am going to go to the store and try and get two pieces of wood as Glen suggested, but the hot water baths have not really helped on that. 

 

In the meantime, I think I am going to alter the way I attach the kidney and ab piece and would like to know if what I am thinking would be acceptable. I think it should be, but would rather get confirmation before.

Instead of attaching the 3 pieces of elastic to the rivets, I am going to add a snap to each end (about where the red circle is in the pic) and secure with snaps. This way I can continue on in my build. I feel I have been stuck in a mental block trying to "size" the ab, kidney, butt, and chest to fit a bit tighter and so have just not been making any headway. If I add these as snaps, I can finish the build, and then if needed can detach it and contour it more with a hot water both or what not. The rivets would end up being purely for show as I know they need to be there. Thoughts?

 

Question:

• I have tried the hot water bath to straighten out the top of the butt plate but seems I may need something more. I will get an area where I like it, then dunk in another area to straighten and it seems the previous one goes back to where it was. Has anyone else found that hot water is not enough for this type of situation?
• I would like to use snaps for the ab, kidney attachment instead of securing with the rivets. Has anyone had any issues doing this?

 

 

Thanks,

M

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

25 minutes ago, TK Monkus said:

 

Question:

• I have tried the hot water bath to straighten out the top of the butt plate but seems I may need something more. I will get an area where I like it, then dunk in another area to straighten and it seems the previous one goes back to where it was. Has anyone else found that hot water is not enough for this type of situation?
• I would like to use snaps for the ab, kidney attachment instead of securing with the rivets. Has anyone had any issues doing this?

 

 

Hi Matt,  

 

1- For the to butt section, I would suggest to use a heat gun (carefully) you can make a test with some ABS scrap piece first.

 

2- I do use snaps for the AB/Kidney Connection with no issues.

 

 

This is how I did it.