Jonathan's ANH TK Build

[JSchmit[TK]]

Since I'm assembling an AM Master from Dave's Darkside Depot, I referenced a video on his YouTube page on best practices in establishing the final cut lines. I included the link to the video below. Commentary on the bicep measurement starts at approximately the 7:50 mark.

 

 

 

Using this method, these are the cut lines I got:

 

Left Bicep

 

Right Bicep:

 

Any feedback at this point would be greatly appreciated! 

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Looking good, sir!  You can use the excess from the sides for interior cover strips, but glue those in before the outside ones.   Nice to see that you removed most of the return edge..  looks perfect!

[JSchmit[TK]]

Awesome, thanks! So I guess the next step will be to work up the confidence to make the final cuts! Before I do that, I was just hoping to get some advice. Is it recommended to follow those lines exactly, or to leave a little bit more plastic to allow a margin of error?

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

You're doing great, Jonathan! +1 on Gerald's advice on the forearm rotation. Basically the cover strips (though out your entire body) should be in alignment. Biceps with forearms, thighs with shins. When you do make your cuts, you can either use lexan scissors or the score-and-snap method with a hobby knife. I'm a perfectionist, so I scored-and-snapped, but in reality the straightness of the trim lines isn't important since they will be hidden by the exterior cover strip.

 

Joseph makes a good point about the order of gluing cover strips, and there are actually two schools of thought on the matter.

 

Gluing inner strips first

• PRO: Slightly easier clamping access if gluing the strip to only once side of armor first
• PRO: Provides a good base of already-attached armor pieces for placement of the outer coverstrip. Essentially the inner cover strip provides the functional structure, and the outer coverstrip can be installed solely as cosmetic piece and with aesthetic in mind.
• CON: Related to the point above, this also somewhat sets to plane/curvature of the armor to the flatness of the inner coverstrip, which in reality you want the armor to bend to seat properly to the outer coverstrip.

Gluing outer strips first

• PRO: (see CON above). A perfect (as much as can reasonably be achieved) mating of the armor pieces and the coverstrip can be achieved since the form of the armor isn't influenced by already being glued to the inner cover strip.
• CON: Can be more difficult to achieve perfect placement of the outer coverstrip since it needs to serve as both the functional attachment piece, but you're also wanting to get it positioned properly for aesthetic purposes. I personally combatted this by taping my limb pieces together on the inside while gluing the outer coverstrips first. Thus the tape held the armor together and I achieved optimal outer coverstrip placement and an excellent seal between it and the armor.

 

To answer your question about where to trim, I suppose that depends on how confident you feel about your lines. If you want to play it safe, don't quite trim to the lines, and then do another test fit to ensure you're happy. You can always trim again, but adding plastic back can be quite difficult. Note that if you do find you've trimmed to much, you can sometimes hide it with a gap between the butt-joint pieces under your coverstrip. This is easiest on your leg pieces that have 20-25mm coverstrips, whereas your arms have less coverage at 15mm. That being said, you can also use wider cover strips on the backward-facing armor pieces (back of biceps, back of thighs, calves) to gain extra extra circumference.

[JSchmit[TK]]

Hey, everyone! I finally worked up the confidence to make the first cuts on my biceps. I trimmed down one side of each piece and glued in the inner cover strip each. I let those settle for about 2 days. I've got my lines drawn on the other side of each piece, posted below:

 

Right Bicep:

 

 

Left Bicep:

 

Let me know what you guys think, and I'll get the inner cover strip glued in and the outer cover strips applied in the coming days. Thanks!

[JSchmit[TK]]

On 3/10/2023 at 6:36 PM, JSchmit said:

Hey, everyone! I finally worked up the confidence to make the first cuts on my biceps. I trimmed down one side of each piece and glued in the inner cover strip each. I let those settle for about 2 days. I've got my lines drawn on the other side of each piece, posted below:

 

Right Bicep:

 

 

Left Bicep:

 

Let me know what you guys think, and I'll get the inner cover strip glued in and the outer cover strips applied in the coming days. Thanks!

Does anyone have any feedback on the proposed cuts for the bicep pieces?

[revlimiter[Staff]]

The only one who can say for sure if this is right is YOU. Do they fit your arms with the current sizing? Can you bend and flex without popping the bicep armor free or do they have way too much space? They need to be sized to the trooper. Looking at a piece of armor without someone in it isn't enough.

 

Don't take that harshly. The lines look okay to me. But if the bicep doesn't fit you, it's not lined up right.

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

On 3/10/2023 at 6:36 PM, JSchmit said:

Hey, everyone! I finally worked up the confidence to make the first cuts on my biceps. I trimmed down one side of each piece and glued in the inner cover strip each. I let those settle for about 2 days. I've got my lines drawn on the other side of each piece, posted below:

 

Right Bicep:

 

 

Left Bicep:

 

Let me know what you guys think, and I'll get the inner cover strip glued in and the outer cover strips applied in the coming days. Thanks!

 

They look good to me.  

 

Reference Image

 

    

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

One tip is to make sure you test fit with your undersuit on, it can make a different, also remember some areas will also have elastic connecting them so that can make the fit a little tighter  

[JSchmit[TK]]

The bicep pieces still felt comfortable after I trimmed and glued the inner cover strips on the first sides of the piece, so I went ahead and trimmed and glued the other sides. I currently have the inner cover strips glued in, and I'll apply the outer cover strips to each bicep piece in a few days when the glue dries. I'll be sure to post a picture of the finished product!

 

I followed Dave's advice in the video I posted and followed a similar method to the bicep pieces in measuring the initial cuts for the forearm pieces. Based on this method, the lines I measured are in the pictures below:

 

Left Bicep:

 

Right Bicep:

 

I tried to take better pictures for these pieces so show my arms in relation to the lines measured. As always, any feedback would be appreciated before I make final cuts. Thanks!

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Man I love seeing blue tape and Lexan scissors! I don’t see anything alarming with your lines. My only suggestion would be to related to photographing for feedback. It’d be easier for observers to have a full body (or upper torso) shot of both arms featuring the biceps and forearms to look at. This would give a true context to each piece, and help with proportional estimations. =)

[JSchmit[TK]]

Hey, everyone! It's been a few days since I posted last. I've been working on putting the finishing touches on the bicep pieces. The final results are below. Overall, I'm happy with how they turned out!

 

As MaskedVengeance recommended, I got a few pictures of the biceps and untrimmed forearms on in order to gauge each piece's proportions. The forearms are fitted in accordance with the trim lines posted on my previous post. 

 

As always, any feedback would be appreciated as I start the process of trimming these down. Thank you!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Nice work, Jonathan... looks like you are moving along quite nicely!!

 

Excellent job on the tops of the forearms.  Just enough (but not too much) of the return edges, which will give them that thicker appearance but not cut into your arms.

 

 

I noticed that the edges of the cover strips are a little ragged, but it's not that big of a deal since the shoulder bells will cover a lot of it.  

 

Your left one has a smooth edge which is spot-on.

 

For the remaining cover strips, I would suggest using a sanding block*** with some 180 grit paper using long strokes to give them a clean straight edge,

 

Smart move by wearing gloves during fitting!  A few things to keep in mind:

 

1.  The wrist opening should be just wide enough to get your hand through and leave a little extra room for the glove.

 

2.  Remember that since the hand guards are glued to the glove you will have to put the gloves on after you suit up and tuck them in.  It looks like you have the Nomex gloves, and hopefully they are the ones with the longer wrists, which keeps them from popping out during a troop. 

 

3.  The forearm should be tapered as much as possible but still allow for comfort/mobility at both ends.  My personal rule of thumb is if I can fit 2 or 3 fingers in between the armor and my wrist/upper arm I am good to go.

 

4.  The openings on all your pieces should be sanded super smooth (220 grit or higher) to prevent snags.  Trust me, lol.

 

***  A small piece of scrap FLAT wood will do nicely.. just wrap the paper around it.  The foam type sanding blocks are great for curved areas, but not really so good for flat ones.  

 

Looking forward to seeing your next steps!!  

[JSchmit[TK]]

Thanks for the feedback! I'll get to work on making final adjustments to the forearms and trimming yet this weekend. And that's definitely my mistake on the cover strips. I attempted to bevel the edges like AJ referenced on his thread. It wasn't until I got them in a different light that I realized that it didn't have the intended effect. I'll sand the edges to at least smooth the ragged edges to some degree. I probably won't try to bevel the remaining cover strips.

Edited March 19, 2023 by JSchmit

[FN1313[TK]]

Another thing you can do with the cover strip rough edges is bezel them with a blade.

Basically just use the sharp end to scrape along the edge to bezel it.

You don’t want to have the blade in a cutting position but a perpendicular position




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[JSchmit[TK]]

I went ahead and refitted the forearm pieces per Joseph's recommendations. I think both pieces are still comfortable, and I think they taper more toward the wrist than before. I'm able to fit three fingers in both openings for the wrist and elbows. I have pictures of both forearms and biceps below:

 

With the new fitting, I was able to draw these lines down the middle for the final cuts:

 

Left Forearm:

 

 

Right Forearm:

 

Any advice or feedback on the fitting or lines drawn would be greatly appreciated. As always, I appreciate your guys' help!

[FN1313[TK]]

I went ahead and refitted the forearm pieces per Joseph's recommendations. I think both pieces are still comfortable, and I think they taper more toward the wrist than before. I'm able to fit three fingers in both openings for the wrist and elbows. I have pictures of both forearms and biceps below:
 
With the new fitting, I was able to draw these lines down the middle for the final cuts:
 
Left Forearm:
 

 
Right Forearm:

 
Any advice or feedback on the fitting or lines drawn would be greatly appreciated. As always, I appreciate your guys' help!

One thing I’d recommend if you are hesitant about the sizing or the cuts in the lines, do one side at a time. I trimmed one side of one half then I’d line that up with the other side and feel the sizing again on my arm, then I’d trim the other side and set them side by side like they would be and tried on my arm again. I’d do this for each side unless I found that I needed to trim something differently then I’d mark the new line where it would need trimming. And I’d trim that.

Another thing I noticed is even though they fit odd due to the more oval shape on them initially, after I put the cover strips on (internal ones) That actually made them more circular for me and they fit even better.


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[JSchmit[TK]]

That's how I did the biceps, so I'll do the same for the forearms. Did the fitting and initial lines on the forearms look ok?

Edited March 19, 2023 by JSchmit

[FN1313[TK]]

They overall look good from what I can see. I know mine weren’t the same on each because of the shape of the molds, so long as the cuts are sizing right and line up the cover strips to be in the midway point you should be good.

[JSchmit[TK]]

Hey, everyone! I know I've been quiet the last few weeks. I was in the process of applying inner and outer cover strips to the forearm pieces. They've finally been assembled after a few days letting glue settle. I've included some pictures of the finished forearm pieces as well as the forearm pieces in relation to the biceps:

 

I placed an order for Line 24 snaps to strap the biceps and forearms together (I thought those would be easier to find locally than the ended up being), so in the meantime I'll start the preliminary research for trimming and sizing the shin and thigh pieces. As always, if anyone has any feedback I always appreciate it!

[JSchmit[TK]]

Hey, everyone! I know I've been quiet the last few weeks. I was in the process of applying inner and outer cover strips to the forearm pieces. They've finally been assembled after a few days letting glue settle. I've included some pictures of the finished forearm pieces as well as the forearm pieces in relation to the biceps:

 

I placed an order for Line 24 snaps to strap the biceps and forearms together (I thought those would be easier to find locally than the ended up being), so in the meantime I'll start the preliminary research for trimming and sizing the shin and thigh pieces. As always, if anyone has any feedback I always appreciate it!

[dblcross[TK]]

Hey, everyone! I know I've been quiet the last few weeks. I was in the process of applying inner and outer cover strips to the forearm pieces. They've finally been assembled after a few days letting glue settle. I've included some pictures of the finished forearm pieces as well as the forearm pieces in relation to the biceps:

 
I placed an order for Line 24 snaps to strap the biceps and forearms together (I thought those would be easier to find locally than the ended up being), so in the meantime I'll start the preliminary research for trimming and sizing the shin and thigh pieces. As always, if anyone has any feedback I always appreciate it!

I'm no expert, but it looks like your biceps need to rotate inwards 90 degrees

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[JSchmit[TK]]

That's my my mistake, I was second guessing their placement. I'll try them on again when I get home.

[JSchmit[TK]]

I went ahead and tried on my biceps and forearms with my bicep pieces positioned in the correct direction. This both looked better and felt more comfortable. My order of Line 24 snaps was sent today, so I'll continue forward with the thighs and shins before I go ahead and assemble the strapping for the biceps and forearms. After reading on the forum and watching a few videos, it seems that the consensus is to leave 10 mm on each part of the inner and outer thighs, as the cover strip is 20 mm in width. I have lines drawn on each of the pieces for the left thigh; however, with the shape of each piece, I'm having difficulty effectively sizing the thigh piece with the 20 mm in the front. I had it taped up, but I don't know how accurate this was because I'm guessing the pieces shifted. When I was trying the piece on, the back didn't quite close. Is there an allowance on the back given the 25 mm cover strip, or is it recommended that they close completely? If they do need to close, what is the recommended width to trim the front pieces if they need to expand beyond the 10 mm? Lastly, is it recommended to trim the return edges prior to fitting? As far as return edges go, I know that it is recommended that the top of the thighs is completely removed, but how much is recommended for the bottom of the thighs? I apologize for all the questions, but I'd appreciate any information!

[FN1313[TK]]

I went ahead and tried on my biceps and forearms with my bicep pieces positioned in the correct direction. This both looked better and felt more comfortable. My order of Line 24 snaps was sent today, so I'll continue forward with the thighs and shins before I go ahead and assemble the strapping for the biceps and forearms. After reading on the forum and watching a few videos, it seems that the consensus is to leave 10 mm on each part of the inner and outer thighs, as the cover strip is 20 mm in width. I have lines drawn on each of the pieces for the left thigh; however, with the shape of each piece, I'm having difficulty effectively sizing the thigh piece with the 20 mm in the front. I had it taped up, but I don't know how accurate this was because I'm guessing the pieces shifted. When I was trying the piece on, the back didn't quite close. Is there an allowance on the back given the 25 mm cover strip, or is it recommended that they close completely? If they do need to close, what is the recommended width to trim the front pieces if they need to expand beyond the 10 mm? Lastly, is it recommended to trim the return edges prior to fitting? As far as return edges go, I know that it is recommended that the top of the thighs is completely removed, but how much is recommended for the bottom of the thighs? I apologize for all the questions, but I'd appreciate any information!

Questions are good, always worth asking and understanding before trimming and fixing.

So with the Thighs and Shins being as both require a 20mm cover strip in the front you will want to measure 10mm on each half’s front from the return edge inward and trim off the excess. I would do that and apply inner cover strips for holding and maintaining that while you then size the rear of the thighs and shins to your body. You should hopefully have enough excess size in the back to to that without shimming anything.








(This is an earlier picture I used to emphasize the 10mm cuts ideally you’ll want to not have it look like barrel thighs, but have things wider at top and narrower near knee, more triangular so to say. An adjustment I did later as I sized the rear of the thighs.)

Also be sure to note that the two halves of thighs and shins are different. The thighs has one curve that goes lower and more scooped (that’s the inner thigh) and the outer thigh seems to be less scooped and more curved straight up to a higher peak.

The shins will have one side that is angled inward a bit more near the bottom (inner) and one that is less (outer)

As you can see below this is my left shin



Regarding the cover strip on the rear of the thigh, if you are going for higher levels of approval then it needs to be 20mm just like the front strip. Only the shins have a 25mm rear cover strip and that’s to cover for the fact that they are not glued down and cover up the enclosure method.

If you have much larger thighs then there are methods to make them even larger and still get a proper cover strip of 20mm in the rear for higher levels of approval. You’ll need to shim them though.

You can see this question I posted previously with a good response detailing information on how to shim. How large the rear strips can be to be accepted really comes down to your GML, however I’m sure you’ll also feel much more comfortable with the appearance of your armor if you can manage to achieve the 20mm rear strip appearance.

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/53132-thigh-back-cover-strips/#comment-758624

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