SublimeBW's Armor Master's (AM) ANH Stunt Kit - Build Thread

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Any BBB photo is a good day  

[SublimeBW[TK]]

Worked on my ears and patching the old holes. I think the patching is good but feel that my ears are a bit sloppy. Amazing that I am struggling so much given that I have painted countless miniatures for D&D and Shatterpoint.

 

 

Edited March 17 by SublimeBW
Corrected image sizing

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

Nice job on the patching - I don't think it will be noticeable from a few feet away.  The fine line on the paint is tricky,  you can clean it up slightly with a toothpick dipped in mineral spirits (just DO NOT USE acetone)

 

[SublimeBW[TK]]

3 hours ago, Doggydoc said:

Nice job on the patching - I don't think it will be noticeable from a few feet away.  The fine line on the paint is tricky,  you can clean it up slightly with a toothpick dipped in mineral spirits (just DO NOT USE acetone)

 

Awesome tip. I will check out the mineral spirits approach. 

 

As for the patching, that is kind of how I felt about it as well. I picked up the Novus plastic polish and will be working on restoring the luster with that. 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

5 minutes ago, SublimeBW said:

Awesome tip. I will check out the mineral spirits approach. 

You can also cheat, use a permanent marker, easier to control, you can also add masking tape which makes the lines extra crisp

[SublimeBW[TK]]

Alright, I think I have my ears looking good and am pretty happy with my vocoder (I still have to touch up the screws). I have mixed feelings about my "teeth" though (don't judge the teeth in the vocoder pictures, that was before I finished painting them). From certain angles, I think it looks good, while other angles make me want to paint higher.

 

Right ear


Left ear

 

Vocoder series

 

 

 

 

Teeth series

 

 

Edited March 27 by SublimeBW
Corrected image sizing

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking much better, just make sure there is no paint on the gums, I can see a few places  

[SublimeBW[TK]]

18 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Looking much better, just make sure there is no paint on the gums, I can see a few places  

Cool. I figured I would have some more to clean up but figured I would wait to do the final clean up until I knew I had a good "shape" (if that makes sense) as the first time I attempted to paint, I went a little high.

[SublimeBW[TK]]

Cleaned up the teeth/gums a bit, put the mesh in behind the teeth and added the tube stripes. I measured a pencil and traced a line against the helmet with a compass. I believe the positioning is correct.

 

Front facing

 

Right cheek

 

 

Left cheek

 

Edited April 2 by SublimeBW
Corrected image sizing

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

If the tube stripes are stickers you could carefully lift and pull off the front ones and lean forward (from the top) a little more. I have used tape in the past to help pull the stickers off to move. You do have big gaps to the ear so I would add a few more stipes, note the first reference below has 16 stripes.

DO reference guide:

Ideally at Level 2 tube stripes are approximately 1 cm (5/16ths) away from the cheek, and should also lean toward the front. 

 

 

 

[SublimeBW[TK]]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

If the tube stripes are stickers you could carefully lift and pull off the front ones and lean forward (from the top) a little more. I have used tape in the past to help pull the stickers off to move. You do have big gaps to the ear so I would add a few more stipes, note the first reference below has 16 stripes.

DO reference guide:

Ideally at Level 2 tube stripes are approximately 1 cm (5/16ths) away from the cheek, and should also lean toward the front. 

Got it. I misunderstood the leaning forward piece. I moved the front 4ish bars to have a bit of a forward lean then added onto the back.

 

Right cheek

 

 

Left cheek

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 minute ago, SublimeBW said:

Got it. I misunderstood the leaning forward piece. I moved the front 4ish bars to have a bit of a forward lean then added onto the back.

 

Right cheek

 

 

Left cheek

[SublimeBW[TK]]

I started putting attempting to figure out putting the electronics in as well as a test fit and was curious what people do able bobble head. I inserted some padding and I like the fit (where my eyes sit in relation to the lenses) but I definitely suffer from bobble head syndrome.

 

1. Should I add more padding around the sides or maybe find a hard hat bracket for the interior?

2. I have a power source and the IComm, is it better to store that in the back of the helmet (maybe even out the weight) or on the interior of the chest piece?

3. I noticed it is pretty hard to hear in the helmet. Is a hearing assist module worth the cost? If so, what type of headphones do people use with theirs?

 

Interior view

 

Test fit

Edited April 3 by SublimeBW
Correcting image sizing

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I find that padding to be very firm and can give me a headache after a while. I went with yellow foam, 10 mm piece on the top and 2 x 2" pieces on the sides, once on it keeps the helmet from moving, but what ever works for you, there is no right way (unless you want to go screen accurate)  

 

 

1. Should I add more padding around the sides or maybe find a hard hat bracket for the interior? I find a block of foam on the sides stops the helmet from moving and you can bend without it tilling.

2. I have a power source and the IComm, is it better to store that in the back of the helmet (maybe even out the weight) or on the interior of the chest piece? Depends what room you have in the helmet. I have my aker and icomm behind my chest because I have neck issues and can't have the extra weight in the helmet 

3. I noticed it is pretty hard to hear in the helmet. Is a hearing assist module worth the cost? If so, what type of headphones do people use with theirs? I tried it for a convention then ripped it out, it picked up so much background noise I found it was better without hearing assist but some swear by it, comes down to personal choice. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/525724448/9v-hearing-assist-system-sha?click_key=5f58302ac0aa60a1c48f034aed75f6b451343f39%3A525724448&click_sum=fc01c65c&ref=shop_home_feat_1&sts=1

[SublimeBW[TK]]

2 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I find that padding to be very firm and can give me a headache after a while. I went with yellow foam, 10 mm piece on the top and 2 x 2" pieces on the sides, once on it keeps the helmet from moving, but what ever works for you, there is no right way (unless you want to go screen accurate)  

 

 

1. Should I add more padding around the sides or maybe find a hard hat bracket for the interior? I find a block of foam on the sides stops the helmet from moving and you can bend without it tilling.

2. I have a power source and the IComm, is it better to store that in the back of the helmet (maybe even out the weight) or on the interior of the chest piece? Depends what room you have in the helmet. I have my aker and icomm behind my chest because I have neck issues and can't have the extra weight in the helmet 

3. I noticed it is pretty hard to hear in the helmet. Is a hearing assist module worth the cost? If so, what type of headphones do people use with theirs? I tried it for a convention then ripped it out, it picked up so much background noise I found it was better without hearing assist but some swear by it, comes down to personal choice. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/525724448/9v-hearing-assist-system-sha?click_key=5f58302ac0aa60a1c48f034aed75f6b451343f39%3A525724448&click_sum=fc01c65c&ref=shop_home_feat_1&sts=1

Cool. I will add some foam (I have some hanging around the house, I think) and give that a go before messing with finding a bracket insert.

 

Thanks for the feedback about the background noise, I didn't consider that. Maybe it is better to get the armor done (pretty much just waiting on my neck seal and belt from Soulart (excludingmy blaster)) before adding more toys to the helmet. Maybe get a troop in and make a decision.

[Tilheyra[IPM]]

Sometimes one never knows the issues and ideas that will pop up until one gets out there and troops. In my few troops so far, I have found people to be very understanding when I ask them to repeat something because I couldn't hear. After all, they can easily imagine not being able to hear if they were wearing the same helmet!

 

For me, I have found the bigger problem is that I do not have a voice amp, which is something I am working to add before too long. My helmet fans are near my mouth, so the microphones I have tried mostly pick up the fan noise. I'll find a solution at some point.

[SublimeBW[TK]]

1 hour ago, Tilheyra said:

Sometimes one never knows the issues and ideas that will pop up until one gets out there and troops. In my few troops so far, I have found people to be very understanding when I ask them to repeat something because I couldn't hear. After all, they can easily imagine not being able to hear if they were wearing the same helmet!

 

For me, I have found the bigger problem is that I do not have a voice amp, which is something I am working to add before too long. My helmet fans are near my mouth, so the microphones I have tried mostly pick up the fan noise. I'll find a solution at some point.

In my test runs of the helmet, I found that if I have my microphone close to the center tooth, it picks me up pretty clearly without grabbing noise from the fan.

[SublimeBW[TK]]

We completed most of the rigging today (I am waiting on a belt from Amazon for the thigh rigging) and it felt really cool (and tricky) to give everything a test fit at once. Sadly, I grabbed the wrong set of under clothes (with white seems, the set came with both white and black) so have that little annoyance in the picture. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13 by SublimeBW
Corrected image sizing

[dblcross[TK]]

On 4/4/2024 at 8:31 AM, SublimeBW said:

In my test runs of the helmet, I found that if I have my microphone close to the center tooth, it picks me up pretty clearly without grabbing noise from the fan.

A tip that I learned that helped I originally used the hovi tip speakers from @ukswrath and was having major feed back when I turned the volume up. Tony suggested lining the helmet around the mic with Frost King foam pipe insulation tape. It worked wonders. But since then, I moved my speakers to the inside of my chest plate. Like Brian said, When you start trooping and spending more time in the armor you'll find what works best for you.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

15 hours ago, SublimeBW said:

We completed most of the rigging today (I am waiting on a belt from Amazon for the thigh rigging) and it felt really cool (and tricky) to give everything a test fit at once. Sadly, I grabbed the wrong set of under clothes (with white seems, the set came with both white and black) so have that little annoyance in the picture. 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost there!

[SublimeBW[TK]]

My belt has arrived (I ended up switching vendors due to delays with my original vendor). Time to wrap this thing up (pun partially intended).

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 hours ago, SublimeBW said:

My belt has arrived (I ended up switching vendors due to delays with my original vendor). Time to wrap this thing up (pun partially intended).

Awesome, some belt info

Bending the ABS Belt by gazmosis, Boba_Skywalker3

Attaching Belt to Abs by GnrlGrievous

Holster Placement on Belt by CableGuy

Current (2021) Holster Placement by gmrhodes13 (follow-up to previous thread above)

Belt Assembly by ukswrath

Removable Holster with Snaps by Harbinger

Belt, Holster, & Drop Boxes video tutorial by RWA (youtube)

 

[SublimeBW[TK]]

I have my belt mostly assembled, just have to figure out the best placement for snaps. I originally went with a diagram that I saw that listed placing a snap 28mm on the right (up 15mm) and 59mm on the left (up 15mm) but that placement doesn't seem right; the belt would set midway up the front buttons, just under the 3rd button.  Looking at the CRL, I am seeing the positioning below the button "box" while I see topics directing me to just under or partway up the first button. Is there an official ruling on proper placement?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

8 hours ago, SublimeBW said:

I have my belt mostly assembled, just have to figure out the best placement for snaps. I originally went with a diagram that I saw that listed placing a snap 28mm on the right (up 15mm) and 59mm on the left (up 15mm) but that placement doesn't seem right; the belt would set midway up the front buttons, just under the 3rd button.  Looking at the CRL, I am seeing the positioning below the button "box" while I see topics directing me to just under or partway up the first button. Is there an official ruling on proper placement?

Measurements are just a guide as with some many different makers these days there is no one measurement that fits all.

 

For higher level approval:

The top of the ABS belt shall sit at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical ab button panels.  A slight overlap is suggested, but not required. 

 

    

 

Note the belt can angle upwards on the sides when worn, this is due to the curve in the back plate, makes the belt ride upwards which can affect the height of the front of the belt, so check positioning once worn. 

 

Also align your drop boxes with the ends of the plastic belt, not the corners as some do:

Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.

 

Holser placement here

 

[SublimeBW[TK]]

5 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Measurements are just a guide as with some many different makers these days there is no one measurement that fits all.

 

For higher level approval:

The top of the ABS belt shall sit at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical ab button panels.  A slight overlap is suggested, but not required. 

 

    

 

Note the belt can angle upwards on the sides when worn, this is due to the curve in the back plate, makes the belt ride upwards which can affect the height of the front of the belt, so check positioning once worn. 

 

Also align your drop boxes with the ends of the plastic belt, not the corners as some do:

Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.

 

Holser placement here

 

This is fantastic feedback and will get me over the last hump. Greatly appreciated.