ANH Stunt "fitting/adjustment" thread (AP)

[Morgi[Staff]]

vor 34 Minuten schrieb AstrumVolucris:

Hello There! 

First of all , I want to thank you Bart for starting this thread and I want to thank everyone for their feedback and advice on Bart's journey. I recently acquired a secondhand set of ANH Stunt armor made by WTF and this thread in particular has been very informative in helping me understand what I need to do to get the armor to fit me properly. I do still have a lot of questions though and I am wondering if this thread would be a good place to ask them since most of them are related to fitting and adjusting, or of I should start my own new thread as to not hijack Bart's thread?

Thanks again to all  

 

Well, in the end, that's up to Bart, but it's definitely best for you to start your own thread. You can start your own build thread over here, share some pictures of your armor and current fitting and get some personal feedback. That would make it easier to keep track of both Bart's and your progress and give both of you individual feedback. 

 

That being said, welcome to the FISD -- if you want, you can introduce yourself in the New Member Introductions. Additionally, I can only recommend this thread by MaskedVengeance:

 

There you can find an overview of everything relevant to your TK build/adjustments.

 

Keep asking questions and you'll have a nice set of approved white armor in no time at all, Gregory! 

 

[AstrumVolucris[TK]]

4 hours ago, Morgi said:

 

Well, in the end, that's up to Bart, but it's definitely best for you to start your own thread. You can start your own build thread over here, share some pictures of your armor and current fitting and get some personal feedback. That would make it easier to keep track of both Bart's and your progress and give both of you individual feedback. 

 

That being said, welcome to the FISD -- if you want, you can introduce yourself in the New Member Introductions. Additionally, I can only recommend this thread by MaskedVengeance:

 

There you can find an overview of everything relevant to your TK build/adjustments.

 

Keep asking questions and you'll have a nice set of approved white armor in no time at all, Gregory! 

 

This is all fantastic. Thank you so much! 

[BAZINGA[TK]]

7 hours ago, AstrumVolucris said:

Hello There! 

First of all , I want to thank you Bart for starting this thread and I want to thank everyone for their feedback and advice on Bart's journey. I recently acquired a secondhand set of ANH Stunt armor made by WTF and this thread in particular has been very informative in helping me understand what I need to do to get the armor to fit me properly. I do still have a lot of questions though and I am wondering if this thread would be a good place to ask them since most of them are related to fitting and adjusting, or of I should start my own new thread as to not hijack Bart's thread?

Thanks again to all  

 

Hello and welcome!

 

I certainly don't mind if you post in here however it is less confusion, as mentioned, to do your own thread to keep the information correct to you.  And, I tend to get a bit anxious about things so you don't want to be part of that melt down!

 

The fitting part has not been as difficult as my head was making it so if I can get through it anyone can.  I found that some of it is trial and error though and if you have someone to help hold things and take pictures it is way better and easier to tell if something is really not right or just not right because you are twisting around trying to get photos.

 

Bart

[BAZINGA[TK]]

I took the top foam out of the helmet tonight.  It was about .75 to 1 inch thick so that is going to drop the helmet quite a bit.  Obviously that will be the limit to how much I can drop it.

 

I found after removing the foam I was looking out of the top of the lenses so that is still good for vision.  If I moved the helmet forward to approximate where some foam would hold it it was much more comfortable on my neck and nose.  So right now these ideas are promising for sure.  I am going to see how the hardhat suspension might fit in there.  I am just going to use velcro so I have vertical tweaking available and can easily tear it out if need be to try again.

 

Bart

[BAZINGA[TK]]

Here is the hardhat suspension just set in.  The top pad would sit just at the top of the helmet so my head wouldn't be on bare plastic, it would get a bit of padding.  It looks like the gear would give me the front spacing that the padding would do for those that had the padding above the eyes.

 

The trick will be if I can get my head into the suspension then turn it while still having it tight enough to be effective.  Only installing it in the helmet will answer that question.

 

The padding on each side probably needs to be replaced or removed too.  With my glasses it's just in the way screwing the lid down onto my head with the quarter turn.  Again, nothing really difficult here to achieve to drop it down and maximize the comfort.

 

Bart

 

[AstrumVolucris[TK]]

1 hour ago, Bartman said:

 

Hello and welcome!

 

I certainly don't mind if you post in here however it is less confusion, as mentioned, to do your own thread to keep the information correct to you.  And, I tend to get a bit anxious about things so you don't want to be part of that melt down!

 

The fitting part has not been as difficult as my head was making it so if I can get through it anyone can.  I found that some of it is trial and error though and if you have someone to help hold things and take pictures it is way better and easier to tell if something is really not right or just not right because you are twisting around trying to get photos.

 

Bart

Absolutely! Thank you for your time and advice 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

15 hours ago, AstrumVolucris said:

I recently acquired a secondhand set of ANH Stunt armor made by WTF and this thread in particular has been very informative in helping me understand what I need to do to get the armor to fit me properly. I do still have a lot of questions though and I am wondering if this thread would be a good place to ask them since most of them are related to fitting and adjusting, or of I should start my own new thread...

 

Hi Gregory!  What I would suggest is that even though your armor is already built, you can/should start your own "build" thread (link here).  That way, you can ask all the questions you like in one place.  Be sure to add all the photos you can.. the more the better!  I have a link here which will help.

 

Looking forward to seeing your progress!  

 

 

[revlimiter[Staff]]

16 hours ago, Bartman said:

Here is the hardhat suspension just set in.  The top pad would sit just at the top of the helmet so my head wouldn't be on bare plastic, it would get a bit of padding.  It looks like the gear would give me the front spacing that the padding would do for those that had the padding above the eyes.

 

 

 

 

That looks pretty good! Don't be afraid of having the top of your head on bare plastic. Rarely if ever will you experience impact. It's not uncomfortable to have the bucket touching your scalp. 

 

I sliced up a cheap 3M hardhat for my wife's TIE bucket and got it in there. It works great! But that bucket has soooooo much more room than the TK. You could fit everything in there and still have room for a party.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I use 10mm foam in the top of the helmet, just feels a little nicer than just on bare plasic.

 

Really it's what ever works for your, a thin piece on top and a thick block either side of the head I find enough, the blocks lock on your head and prevents wobbling.

 

I tried using a hard hat liner when I first started and found it dug in places and was a little uncomfortable on long troops.

 

 

[BAZINGA[TK]]

5 hours ago, revlimiter said:

 

That looks pretty good! Don't be afraid of having the top of your head on bare plastic. Rarely if ever will you experience impact. It's not uncomfortable to have the bucket touching your scalp. 

 

I sliced up a cheap 3M hardhat for my wife's TIE bucket and got it in there. It works great! But that bucket has soooooo much more room than the TK. You could fit everything in there and still have room for a party.

 

I wouldn't say I'm worried about the bare plastic.  I'll have a small amount of padding.  It is disappointing that I won't have room for a party though...   This weekend I'm going to remove the padding on the sides and see about adding the headgear.  I expect it will take a few tweaks to really get it feeling right on my head.  I'm used to a hardhat not an enclosed helmet.  I have lots of good ideas here to find what works for me.

 

2 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I use 10mm foam in the top of the helmet, just feels a little nicer than just on bare plasic.

 

Really it's what ever works for your, a thin piece on top and a thick block either side of the head I find enough, the blocks lock on your head and prevents wobbling.

 

I tried using a hard hat liner when I first started and found it dug in places and was a little uncomfortable on long troops.

 

 

 

I wear a hardhat for work for a good portion of the day so I think I already have the grooves in my head for that fit!  I am trying really hard to not overthink this part, but even not trying to overthink it is like over thinking it so sort of damned either way!

 

Bart

[BAZINGA[TK]]

On 12/23/2022 at 9:40 PM, revlimiter said:

On the topic of thighs wanting to spin - it took me a long time trooping to figure out the culprit, but it's the way you have your thigh garters.

 

When I started trooping, I weighed about 10 lbs more than I do now and about 20 lbs more than when I figured out my thigh spinning problem. I use a belt exactly like you've got rigged up. My midsection had decreased, and so I had my belt tighter. That put the garters running between the belt and thighs at an odd angle and the thighs very very gradually spun to equal that angle out over about a quarter mile of walking. It wasn't all at once so it was really hard to figure out.

 

The fix was to make sure the thigh garters were straight up and down and not trying to spin the armor one way or the other.  I hammered a few snaps into my belt so that I could adjust (and FIX) where the garter sat depending on my size at the time and that totally sorted it out. No more spinning.

 

I mention this because it'll bother you whether you're using suspenders or a belt. The thighs will want to spin if the garter pulls them in one way. Just something to look out for.

 

The elastic on the front of the shin is a great idea. I use velco there to keep the top of the boot attached to the bottom of the shin. There's not much force, so just about anything will work to keep the shins fixed. The important thing is that you have something there.

 

This looks great, BTW. You're getting so close!

 

This is the weekend for velcro and padding.  I have the 3M velcro that was in the list for what to have in the emergency kit.  This should be the heavy duty stuff.   When I'm doing the velcro on the front of the boots and inside the front shin should I be adding additional glue to help hold the velcro or just use the peel and stick?  My gut is saying don't add extra glue.

 

Also, how big of a patch is about right for the boot?

 

Bart

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

6 hours ago, Bartman said:

 

When I'm doing the velcro on the front of the boots and inside the front shin should I be adding additional glue to help hold the velcro or just use the peel and stick?  My gut is saying don't add extra glue.

 

Also, how big of a patch is about right for the boot?

 

I would hold off on gluing the Velcro onto either your boot(s) or armor.  The industrial type would probably stay adhered to your armor, but not sure about the boots.  Over time (and depending how much you troop) it can lose it's connective properties, so if it's glued on it would be much harder to replace.

 

As far as the size piece you should use, I'll let someone who uses that method give you a more precise answer.  Once you find the right size, I would keep a couple of extra pieces the same size in your armor bin as a backup.  You can't be too prepared!

[dblcross[TK]]

9 hours ago, Bartman said:

 

This is the weekend for velcro and padding.  I have the 3M velcro that was in the list for what to have in the emergency kit.  This should be the heavy duty stuff.   When I'm doing the velcro on the front of the boots and inside the front shin should I be adding additional glue to help hold the velcro or just use the peel and stick?  My gut is saying don't add extra glue.

 

Also, how big of a patch is about right for the boot?

 

Bart

Cable Guy Dan has a suit up video where he stops to explain the Velcro and a popper (snap) on his boots to hold his shins in place that might help with your decision. 

 

[BAZINGA[TK]]

I put some velcro in the helmet today and started to see about fitting the headgear.  Many four letter words later, regarding why my head would no longer go into the helmet properly, I realized I was wearing my reading glasses and not the normally smaller glasses I'd be using with it...

 

So once that was sorted I think the headgear will work.  I will never be able to just easily slide the helmet on and off with the glasses but that shouldn't be much of a problem.  The hard part is still getting the helmet turned into position around my glasses.  The glasses catch the edges of the lens material.  Once I gently nudge things around it sits nice.   Too bad there just wasn't another half inch in there to take care of the glasses.  I will need to trim a bit of lens material that digs into the bridge of my nose which I think is common for a lot of people.  The headgear has stopped most of the helmet wobble and dropped the helmet a good inch so I think it will look closer to original low riders.  If it is too low a piece of padding on the top can even out the difference.

 

I also added some padding to my forearms as planned.  I'm liking that.  The forearms lost all their wobbly look when I move my arms.  I'm going to take another crack at adding the bicep hooks just to ensure as much stray movement as possible is out of the equation.  If the arm padding is any indication I'll be adding some to the shins and possibly thighs as well and tighten myself up nicely.

 

Bart

[revlimiter[Staff]]

My boot velcro has survived 42 troops so far. No problems with it coming loose. I did have to replace the velcro on the back of my shins after about 36 troops, but that was much thinner.  I've just used the standard 3M velcro sticky side. No extra glue.

 

I use a square about the width of the cover strip.

 

For the bucket and glasses... do you have an old set laying around that you could harvest the lenses out of? If you had your glasses lenses integrated/taped/attached right behind the green lenses, life might be easier.

[BAZINGA[TK]]

32 minutes ago, revlimiter said:

My boot velcro has survived 42 troops so far. No problems with it coming loose. I did have to replace the velcro on the back of my shins after about 36 troops, but that was much thinner.  I've just used the standard 3M velcro sticky side. No extra glue.

 

I use a square about the width of the cover strip.

 

For the bucket and glasses... do you have an old set laying around that you could harvest the lenses out of? If you had your glasses lenses integrated/taped/attached right behind the green lenses, life might be easier.

 

Tomorrow's project is the shins so this is perfect.

 

That's an idea on the lenses.  I'd have to do some thinking on how it could be done.  For now I'm figuring out how to work around it.  I have taken the helmet on and off a few times to see how it goes.  Once I trimmed for the bridge of my nose it improved again.  The thicker lens material might work better as it won't try to flex as much.  I am not going to do anything about the lenses just yet.  I'm going to work with the lens film a bit.

 

What I am finding is that the front hardhat liner tabs aren't holding on by much.  I will have to thicken up the velcro area to get more surface area or glue in ABS spacers first then put in the velcro.  That is a bit more than I want to experiment with at this time.  I had to let the OCD go on the velcro in the helmet as I had to put in bigger patches to allow for adjustments so the liner is not perfectly centres on each tab.  Ugh.  I can handle it.

 

All the foam is now out and the ongoing fitting process.  Helmet dropped about an inch.

 

 

I guess you can't really tell but when I turn my head the helmet is not lagging behind or moving after I stop turning.  It's clamped on pretty well and comfort is not horrible.  It could be a bit better yet.  Overall a successful day of fitting adjustments.

 

 

 

Bart

[revlimiter[Staff]]

That looks really good! Not flopping around is like 80% of the battle.

[BAZINGA[TK]]

54 minutes ago, revlimiter said:

That looks really good! Not flopping around is like 80% of the battle.

 

Yes, the bobble head is gone.  Just need to tweak for the best possible comfort now and ensure the liner stays attached and doesn't unexpectedly come off on one of the tabs.   Bart

[BAZINGA[TK]]

Results from some of yesterday's work.

 

Tried on the right arm for a change of pace.  I still managed to get the helmet screwed on.  There is about 1/16 of an inch padding for the top of my head so hopefully this looks low enough to match originals.  I had an idea for wedges to give the liner more area to grip the velcro in the helmet so been designing and printing some samples for testing later on (after approval when I can start doing additional tweaks).  I think it looks good.  If I had a neck seal you wouldn't even see it in the front.

 

Also have been looking at the shoulder gaps again and while I will still get the modified shoulder elastics made at least the front and back are fairly consistent for gap.

 

I am wondering if this drop box fix passes the test?  It was my glue idea and it can be undone.  Further non-invasive probing suggests the elastic isn't glued onto the belt it just can't slide far enough over before it gets to the rivet.  This still seems like the easiest solution.

 

I am also going to see if there are any other eye glasses I can buy that have the bare minimum of frames in the way.  Anything like that adds up to more comfort.  I don't need them to be reading glasses or progressives just some average mid-range deals and I can probably get around just fine.  I really don't want to go without glasses and contacts aren't an option for my eyes.

 

The rest of the long weekend is going to get the boots and shins set up with velcro and padding and possibly thigh padding.

 

I actually think I am within striking distance of getting photos done.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Bart

 

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

All appears to be looking good, nice work.

 

Just for reference here is what the original helmets used 

 

[BAZINGA[TK]]

4 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

All appears to be looking good, nice work.

 

Just for reference here is what the original helmets used 

 

 

And it may still end up this way if the liner turns out to not be the best solution!

 

Bart

[revlimiter[Staff]]

Looking good!!! Looking real good. And the drop box looks centurion perfect.

[Coach_MattLewis[TK]]

This is very good post thank you.  I was interested to see what strapping or adjusting you did to your thighs.  I am new to this, learning as I go.

 

what are some ways to strap my thighs so they are snug?

 

so far, 

I created a 2 inch belt for my waster

i glued in two snaps into my leg armour

i created a “garder” style clip from straps on my belt to internal straps inside the thighs, I was hoping to have a pull to snug.

 

it gets close, but still 1-3 inches from being snug.

 

anyone who has suggestions.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, Coach_MattLewis said:

what are some ways to strap my thighs so they are snug?

You can only bring them up so far and I found even at the highest point they still weren't snug so I added some blocks of foam inside my thighs as I have thin legs, having a piece either side of the leg also keeps them central.

 

 

 

 

[BAZINGA[TK]]

1 hour ago, revlimiter said:

Looking good!!! Looking real good. And the drop box looks centurion perfect.

 

Thanks.  My current method of madness is to do higher level changes if I can easily do them.  The logic is if it is level 3 good then basic has to be good.  That helps to offset the OCD!  I'm gluing the second drop box now which is a bit harder than the other one was so hopefully it moved enough.

 

But, I don't think it can get higher than basic.  I can't remove the belt unless I want to begin drilling out the rivet and redoing the belt and I know I don't have the skills or tools for that one and I see all the EIB photos have pictures of the backside of the belt which I cannot supply.  I also would need to buy a "S" seal for the helmet and this one appears to be the basic "U" seal (but I haven't actually pulled it off the rim to be certain it just looks like the basic one).  That is not a deal breaker though to get that seal.

 

I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm hitting all the high points for the basic approval once I have a second set of eyes on me to align me!

 

Bart