TK Monkus from EIB to Centurion

[TK Monkus[TK]]

After making EIB and seeing the work I need to do for Centurion, I figured I would make a new thread for the help I am sure I will need in the final push. See below the notes about what needs to be done. 

 

 

Other-Armor Fit/Assembly;

In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team.  Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor.  Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions.

 

Let's start from top .

Your right ear bump shape looks pretty good , while the  left one is a bit rounded at one side. It's just matter of a  painting session to improve this detail

 

                                                                                                                                                               Reference Images

                        

 

Your Vocoder paint looks pretty ragged and we suggest to add this item to the painting session too.

 

                                                                                                                                                     Reference Images

                           

 

Looking closely at you Ab buttons panel it appears to have a little return edge in the top right corner (red line) that could be trimmed to get it flat and you could give a more accurate shape to the little one by trimming a little more.

 

                                                                                                                               Reference Images

        

 

 

As seen on screen , you could move the Ab belt down a bit to the top of the Butt plate . 

 

                                                                                                                                                   Reference Images

 

            

 

 

 

 

Even thought it is not mentioned in the CRL, the Thermal detonator's metal clips should be squared (not rounded), on the control panel side.   

 

 

                                                                                                                                                           Reference Image

 

         

 

 

               

This is a very small detail, but the rivet holding your knee ammo pack is a bit close to the edge compared to the on-screen armor. If you're up for it, we're suggesting you move it in. This would require filling the old hole with ABS paste.

 

                                                                                                                                                            Reference Images

                 

 

 

 

                                                                                   ***************************************************

Centurion Requirements;

In this section we prepare you for Centurion.  Because Centurion photos show more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here and additional photos may be required. We try to point out all that we can from what we see, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper.

 

CRL L3: There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates.

 

This looks like a simple strapping issue.  shortening  the shoulder strap and  a bit could reduce the gap. Another trick here is to remove the Shoulder Bell's  return edge to allow them to sit close the chest armor.

 

                                                                                                                                           Reference Images

 

       

 

 

Next, your forearms, The biceps and forearms armor seems very large compared to your arm size. We absolutely welcome troopers of all different body types, but we do expect that for our highest level of approval, the armor is sized appropriately to the wearer's body.  In order to size down the biceps and forearms, you'd need to carefully remove the cover strips, trim back the pieces some, and re-glue them. A hot water bath may also be helpful in re-shaping the curve.

As per the CRL, all costumes are "...proportional to the wearer in scale, fit and size".

   

  

 

 

                                                                                                  Reference Images

 

    

 

CRL L3: No return edge on the inside of the front of the forearm is allowed.

 

Looking at your wrists, there is a remaining little return edge. Just a little sanding job.

 

                                                                                                                                      Reference Images

 

                                 

 

 

CRL L3: Back plate shall have no, or minimal overlap of the kidney plate.

 

Continuing on, your back plate is a little overlapping the kidney. You might consider shortening the elastic connecting the chest and back just a tad, another option would be to bend bend the corners with a hot water bath or  heat gun (with care) or even placing very thin foam at your shoulders so the back piece sits a touch higher.

 

                                                                                                                                                   Reference Image

 

                

 

 

CRL L3: Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Abdominal and Kidney Plate align horizontally at top

There is a pretty good sized gap at the tops of the ab/kidney connection on both sides, even with the arms down (pic 2).  we think that some double straps would take care of that for a much better "ideal" look.

 

                                                                                                                                                              Reference Images

 

                                     

 

 

                                                                   

 

Please take a look to  This tutorial . It can help as well.

 

CRL L3: Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.

 

This is a common issue and an easy one to fix.  Moving them outward and then applying a dab of E-6000 on the rear of the strap will take care of this and keep it from wandering.

 

 

                       

 

 

 

Moving on,  we have your thermal detonator belt clips. there is a noticeable gaps between the clips and the end caps and they will need to be relocated.  Since the caps  and control panel appear to have a little return edge, you can trim them down and move the clips sideways so they the gap get closed.  If it was me, I would use  a fine sharp knife or cutter to make the "surgery" . 

 

 

   

 

 

 

                 

 

 

CRL L3: The blaster may have minor weathering or base metal exposure 

 

Finally Matt, we havo your blaster scope.  A little weathering is fine and dandy (and expected) but that is WAY too much "brass" color showing.  Time to break out the spray paint!  

 

               

 

 

                                                                                                            

 

 

 

That's all Matt.  We are sure you're going to take the next step with those fixes and continue to the next level.

 

In addition to what the DOs have mentioned, I’d also note that your neck trim appears to be applied the wrong way around. Currently, you have the thick side out, whereas the thin side should be on display.

Hopefully, just removing it and flipping it should still fit okay.

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Here are my initial questions.

• I need to shorten my shoulder bell strapping, if I remove the current straps can I re use those same straps or will the elastic be ruined from trying to remove it? They are attached via E6000.
• Arms and biceps-I know they are a bit roomy and I added some foam to the inside of the forearms to stop them from sliding around, but it then gives that look that they are to big (which I guess they are). My concern with trimming them back and making them smaller, is that they will look to small proportional to the rest of the armor. Am I looking to far into it? Ideally I would like to not have to have foam. The other issue is I am not sure if I will be able to fit my hand through the front if I make them smaller. What I may do is play around with some foam placement and see if that will be sufficient.
• Back piece- This is another tricky area. I don't think I have much room to shorten the back/chest elastic as it is already almost touching at the shoulders. I may need to look into bending the corners. Can I shorten my back piece by cutting some off the bottom? 
• Ab/Kidney- Hopefully the double strap will take care of this.

 

My biggest areas of concern are the ab/kidney (again hopefully double straps there will help that), and the back overlap. I will get to work on the other items in the meantime. 

 

Slowly but surely we will start to whittle this down!

 

Thanks,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

I have made a few adjustments already.

 

I painted a better shape on the left ear.

 

I tried to clean up the vocoder as well.

 

I trimmed the ab button plates for a better shape

 

I cut the clips of the TD so there was no rounded edge and moved them over. I also trimmed down the end caps so they sat flush with the clips and had the right size gap in between the control panel. I also trimmed the control panel edge to get rid of any return edge.

 

I tried to clean up the return edge on the wrists as well. (don't mind the foam inside)

 

 

Lastly I flipped the helmet trim around so the thin side faces out.

 

That is it for now. I think I have a solution for both the mis alignment of my sides and the overlap of the back and kidney. I think my back to kidney straps are to short and so are pulling the sides up while also not allowing it to sit high enough above the kidney. I am going to try making longer straps and hopefully that will fix both issues. 

 

Thanks,

M

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Finished up the last bit of requirements and got some paint on the scope of my blaster. Now off to submit my Centurion application.

 

 

 

Thanks,

M

[Lord_Potato[TK]]

Hello! You have a great looking kit, and I think it's awesome you are trying to take your armor to the highest level.

 

Regarding your forearms and biceps.....yes they are a little big and I understand the idea of putting some padding. The thing is that even with padding, the gaps where your arms are exposed will still give away that those armor pieces are a little big. You could try and just trim small amounts first. Size them a little smaller and then add some padding and see if that works. I also dont think sizing down your arms will make it look disproportionate and sizing down little by little will help you not get to that point.  Maybe trim them down by a 1/4 inch, tape them together with masking tape, take pics, get opinions and then trim again. 

 

 

[Lord_Potato[TK]]

Another thing,

 

I browsed through some of my old photos and found photos of my commissioned RS propmasters (no longer using it....retired it last year). RS did not modify the torso in any way (I thought they were....the website implies they make it built to your size). But they did size my biceps and forearms to my tiny arms. The reason I am sharing this is to help show you how a smaller-sized bicep and forearm will look compared to the rest of the armor to address your concern about proportions

 

 

I ended up modifying the kit since I did not like how I was swimming inside the torso. Anyways, hopefully, this gives you an idea on how the arms might look. 

 

 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

17 hours ago, Lord_Potato said:

Another thing,

 

I browsed through some of my old photos and found photos of my commissioned RS propmasters (no longer using it....retired it last year). RS did not modify the torso in any way (I thought they were....the website implies they make it built to your size). But they did size my biceps and forearms to my tiny arms. The reason I am sharing this is to help show you how a smaller-sized bicep and forearm will look compared to the rest of the armor to address your concern about proportions

 

 

I ended up modifying the kit since I did not like how I was swimming inside the torso. Anyways, hopefully, this gives you an idea on how the arms might look. 

 

 

 

Hey Jonathan,

 

Much appreciated on the advice and pics. Could you post the front pic again? For some reason it cuts off right under your helmet. I submitted my Centurion app so let's see what they say.

 

While mine was not commissioned, I also feel like my torso is too wide. What did you do to modify? I would love to get it "tapered" in so it does not flare out so much.

 

Thanks,

M

[Lord_Potato[TK]]

3 hours ago, TK Monkus said:

 

Hey Jonathan,

 

Much appreciated on the advice and pics. Could you post the front pic again? For some reason it cuts off right under your helmet. I submitted my Centurion app so let's see what they say.

 

While mine was not commissioned, I also feel like my torso is too wide. What did you do to modify? I would love to get it "tapered" in so it does not flare out so much.

 

Thanks,

M

 

I re uploaded the front pic. Let me know if it still cuts off and ill just dig out my armor and take pics of the biceps and show you how small they are LOL. Anways here again is the unmodified pic:

 

and here is after tapering it:

 

Well, your kit looks very nice, and you are already EIB. If you decide that that is something you would like to do, I can absolutely share with you what I did. I know how much time goes into making a kit. So if you can get to centurion with just the recommendations given by the admins, then that would be the path of least resistance. 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

Thank you Jonathan! The pic came through this time and I can see that it really does not look odd. (not sure why I thought it would). I can also say that I just had my Centurion app approved! 

I would be curious at your process on tapering as I think I would like to look into it just for an overall better look for me personally. It could also help with a couple notes they gave in my approval.

 

Thanks,

M

[Lord_Potato[TK]]

Matt! That is wonderful! Welcome to Centurion. I am so happy you got approved! If you would like, I can make a small post documenting what I did to tailor my torso and let you know or tag you in it to satisfy your curiosity  I took some photos when I did this can have it up in a few days. 

 

Again, congrats! 

[TK Monkus[TK]]

22 minutes ago, Lord_Potato said:

Matt! That is wonderful! Welcome to Centurion. I am so happy you got approved! If you would like, I can make a small post documenting what I did to tailor my torso and let you know or tag you in it to satisfy your curiosity  I took some photos when I did this can have it up in a few days. 

 

Again, congrats! 

 

Thank you! Yes, I would be very curious to see your process and it may be helpful for other troopers as well.

 

M