Odds ‘n Ends WIP pics from Omaha

[Omaha Joe[TK]]

Thank you @TKSpartan..!  …got the bridges trimmed and glued; gonna give ‘em a solid 24 hours for the E-6000 to cure and hoping for a preliminary full suit-up very soon 

 

[Omaha Joe[TK]]

…had the first preliminary suit up, wasn’t aiming for any sort of submission-style photos at all, just wanted to get in it and see how it fit.  Overall I’m happy with the direction it’s headed, but still a few minor tweaks…  wasn’t wearing the detonator, and the elastics that hold down the backs of the plastic shoulder bridges are not yet installed…  I was able to see the dressing issue with my right shoulder that was causing the shoulder bell to come away from the bridge and chest armor; basically the right bicep was not properly aligned, causing the interior elastic connecting the bicep to the shoulder to pull the bell outward…  gotta add some velcro to the belt and ab plate to hold that directly at the bottom of the ab buttons, and still need to add support to keep the butt plate from pushing outward…  Like I said, the first of many suit-ups, but glad I was able to identify a handful of issues that I’ll be able to work on between now and the next time..!

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Almost there.

 

You may want to look at the butt plate, it is overlapping your kidney, using V tabs helps keep them spaced and in alignment, may be an option:

 

With a heat gun (hot water bath, oven) you bend strips of ABS plastic into the shape of a V, only glue one side and the other remains free to allow movement when you bend. Just helps stop the butt plate from pushing back from the back plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aradun[TK]]

Looking good Joe! I had the same issue with my butt and kidney plates. I replaced the outer most snaps with the hook and loop. I glued white hook to the ab and kidney plates and then ran two vertical 2” strips of loop from the kidney to the butt plate and that locked everything up real tight.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Man, what a great build thread.   You do some excellent work here.

[Sly11[Admin]]

I also agree, very nice and clean build, well done Joe.

[Omaha Joe[TK]]

Thank you very much, Gentlemen..!!  I very much appreciate your feedback and suggestions!  And to both @gmrhodes13 and @AradunFF, thank you for the tips on the butt plate issue, both great techniques to remedy that problem…  I’m hoping to be able to get back to it this weekend, make these minor adjustments and with any luck, suit up and submit for 501st approval in the coming week!!  

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

You are knocking this right out of the park, Joe... SUPER nice job!  After Basic approval, I certainly hope to see you submit this armor for Expert Infantry, and then on to Centurion, sir.

 

If I could make a few suggestions for those levels :

 

1.  The paint job on your ab buttons is brilliant (many people have issues with this, but you nailed it).  If you want to go the extra mile (and I get the feeling you do) it would be a good idea to reduce the size of the small plate.  As seen in the reference photos, it was not quite as large as you have it at present but

this is actually easier than you think!  If you used E-6000 to attach it, just (caaarefully) use a razor knife to cut through the glue, pop it off, trim it, glue it back and you are golden!  This should take all of 10-15 minutes at most (not including time for the glue to dry).

 

                                                     Reference images

             

 

Once you get your 501st approval and official TK#, you should submit for Legion access here in the FISD (link here).  This will be required before applying for the higher levels, but it will also give you access to many other areas of our site that are not currently viewable.

[Omaha Joe[TK]]

Thank you very much for the kind words @justjoseph63!!  And thank you for the suggestion with the ab button plate..!  I will definitely give that a try to make it as close to the originals as I can…  only issue I know is that I used CA glue for the ab button plates, but if there’s a way to replicate the screen used version with what I have, I will absolutely make that happen

 

Again, thank you (and everyone else who has provided input) with this build, I appreciate every bit of feedback, and I love the attention to detail from everyone in the FISD..!!

 

Once I get the 501st approval and FISD TK access, I will most definitely be submitting for Expert Infantry, and later down the road, Centurion..!!!