thecreatormatt Posted October 10, 2023 Report Posted October 10, 2023 Hello everyone! This is my first TK build and I'm excited to share it with everyone and take in advice! I've been working on it for a little over a month and I'm in the final stretch. The armor and helmet are both Anovos, the belt is made by Kittel, and I'm waiting on my Trooper Bay hand guards. The boots in my initial photos are just stand-ins as I have a custom pair I made that should meet level 3. I'm nearly finished with my build but have had a few chronic problems with fitting. I also still have some painting left along with making ABS paste to hide the shims. Current state: I'm aware some things are slightly out of place. I'll be adding maybe a bit of glue under the thigh ammo belt to keep it up, the friction doesn't work the greatest. The kidney to ab plate on the right side could use maybe another strap or a stiffer one as it rides down, only overlapping slightly. I've also been frequently adjusting the posterior plate as the sides seem to love to ride up past the kidney plate. I'm very concerned with the left shin, as it keeps sliding to the left and comes undone. The shim is a bit angled so let me know what you think of the cover strip's placement and the look pre-paste. Other random fitment questions: Does anyone else experience the thighs pointing inward? I've thought about putting a bit of foam into the knee section so it still fits well, but points the knee more towards the center. Maybe a silly question, but does everyone else experience the bottom of your bucket ramming into your chest plate? I can't really look down well and I think the mobility can be helped by cutting the lenses to allow more room for my nose and adding a chin strap. Thanks everyone! Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted October 10, 2023 Report Posted October 10, 2023 Hello and welcome, you are just about there. Can't quite make out a few details as the images are quite small and won't enlarge well. You may want to try bring your cod upwards a little, that would help close the gap between your backplate and kidney and also make the sides meet a little better Your right thigh is a little low, note it's contacting with the shin Don't forget white paint on the thigh ammo strip rivets, also abdomin side rivets if they haven't been painted (hard to see) Note your posterior plate is riding up on the left, V tabs can help but see if you can adjust some of your strapping first. V Tabs With a heat gun or 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. Looking forward to seeing the progress 1 Quote
thecreatormatt Posted October 10, 2023 Author Report Posted October 10, 2023 2 hours ago, gmrhodes13 said: Hello and welcome, you are just about there. Can't quite make out a few details as the images are quite small and won't enlarge well. You may want to try bring your cod upwards a little, that would help close the gap between your backplate and kidney and also make the sides meet a little better Your right thigh is a little low, note it's contacting with the shin Don't forget white paint on the thigh ammo strip rivets, also abdomin side rivets if they haven't been painted (hard to see) Note your posterior plate is riding up on the left, V tabs can help but see if you can adjust some of your strapping first. V Tabs With a heat gun or 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. Looking forward to seeing the progress Thank you! Sorry about the image quality I couldn't figure out how to upload the larger versions. Tells me I have a limit. Should I host them somewhere else and link them from URL? - Yes, still need to paint all of my rivets yet! - The thigh hanging low is my bad. My strap popped when taking these pictures. Should be fixed in my next update. - My codpiece is about as high up as I can get it without it being really uncomfortable. I might try and add more tension to the back-to-kidney elastic to try and bring it up. I'll also look into those V tabs, sound like a good idea! 1 Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted October 10, 2023 Report Posted October 10, 2023 2 hours ago, thecreatormatt said: Thank you! Sorry about the image quality I couldn't figure out how to upload the larger versions. Tells me I have a limit. Should I host them somewhere else and link them from URL? Forum has a limit on attachments unfortunately, you could imagine the amount of images this forum could contain. Many of us use a free image host, upload images there then copy and past the "direct link" into your post, I use Imgur To come this far you have done very well and only a short distance to go until we see you join the ranks. If you get to a ready to submit to GML (garrison membership liaison) you can post in the pre approval area for feedback if you so desire 1 Quote
thecreatormatt Posted October 12, 2023 Author Report Posted October 12, 2023 Does anyone think this hook and loop (dual lock) is too thick for the shins? I was originally doing the accurate hook method but wanted to make it easier to get on. I also tried a zipper which worked very well but looking to break it down to something easier. The supplied hook and loop in my Anovos kit wasn't strong enough. Quote
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted October 12, 2023 Report Posted October 12, 2023 8 hours ago, thecreatormatt said: Does anyone think this hook and loop (dual lock) is too thick for the shins? Hi Matt, at first sight , yes, it looks a bit thick, Perhaps the photo is too close. ? Quote
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted October 12, 2023 Report Posted October 12, 2023 It is important to have your shins close as flat as possible before adding the velcro, yours appears it may be on an angle leaving a bigger gap on the side. The good thing is having the velcro on the inside it's not as noticeable from the outsides, here's a comparison with one of my kits, L3 approved There is also an option to bring the velcro further in by adding an inner strip and gluing the verlco to that, note the step on the left and how much lower the velcro sits. Quote
MaskedVengeance[Staff] Posted October 30, 2023 Report Posted October 30, 2023 Hi Matt! I hope your build continues to progress well! Let us know how we can continue to assist you along the way! Quote
Alikh[TK] Posted October 30, 2023 Report Posted October 30, 2023 Great work on the build so far! I had a little issue myself figuring out the velcro calf closure- mine were initially a little thick as well. I went to the hardware store and was able to find some very thin but high strength velcro so it was able to hold firmly the spots on the calf where it wants to pull away. It took a few suit ups and a troop or two but it also did adopt the form of the armor curve and also became more compressed. 1 Quote
thecreatormatt Posted October 31, 2023 Author Report Posted October 31, 2023 On 10/30/2023 at 2:10 PM, Alikh said: Great work on the build so far! I had a little issue myself figuring out the velcro calf closure- mine were initially a little thick as well. I went to the hardware store and was able to find some very thin but high strength velcro so it was able to hold firmly the spots on the calf where it wants to pull away. It took a few suit ups and a troop or two but it also did adopt the form of the armor curve and also became more compressed. Thank you! Yeah I ended up going the same route. I also took my heat gun and tried shaping it better. So it sits more like it does with the hook method but not completely flat. The last thing I want to adjust somehow is the length of the thighs. They fit me all the way up to my hip but they are pretty much on my knees but I'm not sure how to go about the resizing. Otherwise everything else is fitting great! I pasted and polished all of my shims. Quote
Alikh[TK] Posted November 1, 2023 Report Posted November 1, 2023 I had to resize my thighs (among many parts). If you do end up needing to, I found that it was more intimidating than difficult! I got some good advice in my build thread, linked below. Quote
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