silverBoyd

How do most of you go about attaching the elastic band to the inside bottom of the shoulder bell? Velcro on the ends? E6000 the elastic to the inside of the bell? Snaps? I'm thinking of trying out E6000

Starting to connect arm armor together. Here's a test fit. I really need to open up the biceps and make them a but more round rather than oval. When they are turned the proper way they really kill my arms. Must fix that. What do you think of the placement of my shoulder bells and the biceps? Once I make the bicep opening more rounded...I think I may be able to push them up just a pinch. Apparently my biceps are bigger than I think Also...I"m in the process of attaching the female snaps to the elastic straps for the arms. Should I fold over the ends of the elastic before I put the snaps though or should I be fine just installing the snap through the single layer of elastic?

I'm able to bend my knees and can walk more comfortably now that my lower rear thighs have been trimmed out similarly to the way the upper backs of my shins are trimmed out. So much more comfortable. Also helps to eliminate "armor bite" in the back of your knees. I'm debating doing some trimming on the top of the front and backs of my thigh pieces. I know that TK's and/or TD's (in my case) can't really sit down in the armor....but i can hardly bend over to put on my boots or put on my shins. I'm wondering if the front are just a bit too tall and that's what's preventing me front bending over slightly. I'll post a picture later (once I get back home) to get some opinions. Otheriwise I'm about 75% done with my armor assembly. Last night I glued on the male snaps on the chest and back so that I could attach my canvas shoulder straps. No pic of that...nothing too exciting to see. The only things I have left to do to my kit are the following: -finish assembling chest / back armor -attach latex handguards to gloves -attach ammo belt to canvas belt and assemble to the torso armor -assemble the female snaps to elastic and connect all arm armor -finish assembling thigh garter belt (50% completed - need to buy rivet washers) -possibly trim the tops of the thighs and add cover strips to thigh armor -make neck seal -weather my armor to become a TD I'm so glad I have assembled my MTK helmet and built a TD Backpack from scratch already

Isaac is right. The AM thighs need lots of trimming and test fitting. I've been working on my thighs for 2 weeks now and that's the reason I left them to do last. I had a feeling they would be a pain

Looks good sp far. I'm finishing up my AM build. Measure and fit 2-3 times and cut once. Or do small trimmings and fit it as you trim. In my experience, make sure you get the top return edges of the thighs taken off as much as possible to make them fit better and also to make them come up as high on your leg as possible. Pick up some curved Lexan scissors....they were a blessing when trimming return edges. I have assembled my armor with the butt-joint method. It's pretty easy and fits and looks better in my opinion. E-6000 is your friend. I've used about 1 1/2 tubes to assemble the armor and snap plates. Also....research, research, research and doesn't hurt to check out the BluRay Screen captures for reference. Also, with the AM kits....the shins should be paired up a certain way to get the best look and fit. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=16608

Trimming up the back of my left thigh before attaching inside strip and cover strips. These thighs were a pain to get to fit properly. The only way I was able to get the best fit was to trim away just about all of the return edge around the top of thighs. I also trimmed it on the bottom but not completely gone like the tops

Got some white canvas at the local fabric store. ---- Since I'm going Sandy, I don't want the shoulder straps to look clean. I decided to take some of the material and soak it in a tea bath for 1 1/2 hours. The result was pretty cool. I'll iron the canvas, sew the edges, add heavy duty snaps & attach them to my chest and back armor. I think it will look nice once I get the rest of my armor dirty. May also add some good 'ole dirt onto it and once it dries...rub it off

I recently picked up a 45 gallon Rugged Tote brand storage container @ Lowe's for around $35 after tax. It seems to fit everything nicely. I really like that it has wheels on it as well as the nice locking lid. I didn't have my thigh armor or helmet in it when I took the pictures but I have since placed them inside and it all fits nicely with some creative armor packing. ------------

Threw on my boot & shin with sniper plate to see if the length of the thigh worked for me. I went through 15 or so fittings. Finally got a fitting that allowed me to pull up the thigh high enough as well as tapered the bottom of the thigh as much as I could so that I could still fit my foot through it. What you think? Sorry about the poor lighting. I was taking the pics myself with my iPhone and it was nighttime. Also, I have seen these mock-ups for a thigh garter belt on these forums and from what everyone says about it...it looks like it really works nicely. I re-sketched it so that I could get a better sense of it. I'll show you pics of the final product soon. I'm going to assemble a pair for myself this weekend

Got the left thigh armor fitted to my leg nicely it seems. I measured and will assemble the fronts the same as I did for my shins. The back is where I made the adjustments to fit my thighs with a better fit at the bottoms. I trimmed the backs the way I had sketched out (check back a few thread posts) until I was able to "bring in" the bottoms closer to my body. Gives the armor a slight tapered look. I'll post some updated pics of the thigh while wearing it. But for now, here is a shot of the thigh so that you can get an idea of it's shape. The AM armor thighs are HUGE...but I'm glad I tried fitting it to a "tapered" look rather than have the swinging bell syndrome. The AM armor is a fan sculpt I believe but I'm trying my best to give it somewhat of a "screen accurate" look as possible (Here is what the AM armor looks like when placed together out of the box....) (Here is what it looks like once fitted to your thighs)

It's a little off topic from an AM armor build...but I wanted to show these off. Today I received my German WWII MP40 Canvas Pouch set from Numrich Gun Parts. They were around $35 for the set after shipping. I believe the color of the set you receive is chosen at random. I received the dark green canvas pouches. They are great quality. I just need to unstitch the tool pouch and re-sew it back on having moved it over an inch or two. I'll weather them, fix the loops on the back of the pouches and either dye them or cover them in a few coats of Plasti-Dip (which I've seen done by another trooper and it looks great). If you're making a Sandtrooper costume like myself and you want to order a pair, I have posted the link below. The set includes a pair of quality reproduction canvas pouches. Features leather strap closures, 2" belt loops, D-rings and a side loading tool pouch. http://www.gunpartsc...pouches&catid=0

Thinking of how to best approach my thighs. I tried them on and found out that I don't want the "bell" look on the bottom. I'd like the bottom of the thighs to be pulled in as tight as possible while still allowing for proper movement and comfort. My theory was to assemble the fronts like normal...butt-joints and all. For the rear of the thighs, I'll use a butt-joint assembly but was thinking this is where I will control the slight taper to the bottom of the thighs. Here's a sketch I did. Any thoughts? I plan on making the cuts straight (in case you thought they were drawn at an angle).

Finally picked up a nice 45 Gallon "Rugged Tote brand" from Lowe's for $35. I don't have my thighs in it yet but I can tell they will fit. Very pleased with it.

Looking good though. Good luck on a T21 build. It's fun but once again...lots of work. I feel the same way though. I'm having fun building the armor but I just want to be done already and start trooping

I think you need to cut 45 degree angled cuts off of the (4) corners of the ammo belt on your waist I think to be more accurate too. Looks good. I've been looking at BluRay screenshots lately and it seems like sometimes the backplate overlaps the kidney and sometimes the backplate looks to butt up to the top of the kidney. I guess either way looks right to me if it's done both ways in the films. Mine goes over the kidney just a bit but I'll also be covered up by a Sandtrooper backpack. Plus my thought is....with all the walking around and movement we'll be doing...I would think that somethings going to overlap at times.

Took off 2 1/2" from the molded shoulder pieces. After test fitting...it feels like the back is ok but i still need to take off lots more from my chest shoulder areas. It still sits up way too high and isn't laying down on my ab armor enough. I'm hoping to get the bottom of the chest piece to fall right above the "center box"on the abs. Since I'm going to be a Sandy...I will attach the canvas straps between the chest & back. Pics of that coming soon...but here are some pics of my test fitting along with some pics of my wearing my backpack and T21 blaster (that I also built from scratch in the past 6 months). Please ignore the "alligator snaps" that can still be seen on my suspenders. Those will be coming off soon. Enjoy... Looks like the backpack helps to push the butt plate in-line with the kidney plate better, rather than having it stick out a bit. One advantage of being a Sandy I guess. ;-) (Still working on thigh armor) For the next picture...my AM kit came with the machine screws (for building a TK) and also has the covers for the ammo belt that attaches to the canvas belt. My question is...the ammo belt only requires (3) of these covers. I know I need 3-4 plain white buttons on my abs for the Sandtrooper but my question is do I paint 3-4 of the TK screws white and use those or do I cut out the larger center circle for the "belt covers" and use those as the Sandtrooper buttons? I'm not sure which to do. I got distracted by my new BluRay player, my Star Wars complete saga on BluRay & some Shock Top. More progress pics to come tomorrow. Just for the record...working on my thighs and I'm about to throw them against the wall. Any tips on thigh assembly? I've read multiple threads and still can't figure out the best approach.

After looking at some BluRay screen captures I decided to trim off 4" or so from the sides of the back piece. Looks much better. About to trim the sides down on the chest piece. Can you see where I have the pencil marks drawn? It looks like I have them marked similarly to the screen shots. I can't tell if it's a diagonal cut or straight cut. I'm thinking straight cuts on the side, right?

Thanks Isaac. I'm going to trim a lot off of the molded shoulder pieces. I know that will definitely help along with trimming the sides a bit and adding snaps to hold them down better. Question about adding the crotch elastic. How tight is it? Or is it mostly a piece long enough to connect the front to the back?

ok.....time for updated pics. I finally got my torso about 85% finished. Still working on the suspenders. You can still see the "alligator clips" on the suspenders. Those will be cut off and snaps will attach to the top-inside of the torso. Enjoy. The side showing the rivets was taken in the mirror....so don't think I put them on the wrong side. Butt plate seems to be sticking out a bit but maybe that'll change once I get the belt finished. Any tips to fix that problem? I have the butt plate separate from the kidney plate and there is only really a 1/4" or so between the 2 pieces. Also, maybe the butt plate will push back in once I have my backpack. With the backpack on, you won't really see my butt plate anyhow. Here's a little pre-trimmed pic of the chest and back piece. They need lots of work. The chest is really high on me. You can tell by looking at the ab plate. Since I'm turning this whole kit into a Sandtrooper, the shoulders will be resting on me via canvas straps. Hopefully that will pull it down some. As well as putting snap plates inside the front to connect the chest to the abs.

Thanks Isaac...unfortunately I've been burning the midnight oil working late nights at my office and I'm here working on a Saturday as well. Tonight I hope to finish up the upper body armor as well as the chest & back and then I'll post a picture. I've been slack in the picture taking department lately. Before I went to bed last night I was finishing up making some more snaps for the right side closure of my Abs and Kidney plates. I still can't decide if I should fasten it all closed using 2 sets of straps on either side ONLY - or - 2 sets of snaps on one side of the opening and velcro on the other side. My thought about the velcro is...it'll make that one side of the armor sit up just a bit and won't be flush with the shim material. Any thoughts?

I'm wondering....for the snaps that you see on the crotch areas...are they just regular sized snaps like the ones used on the inside for strapping? And are they just pierced through the ABS plastic of the armor?

Got my left side torso shim almost completed. I used a little trick when painting the 6 rivets that I used when painting the heads of my helmet ear screws. I used my wife's white nail polish. I like the nail polish because when it dries...it dries with a hard "shell". I read on the CRL that the rivets can be left brass or painted white. I like the rivets painted white personally.

How's the build coming along? Any more progress?

I trimmed that extra piece off of my AM kit as well.

Finally got my left side shim between the ab / kidney plates started. While wearing it I had my wife mark the FOR SALE sign material that I have decided to use. I figured I'd use this material for it's flexibility. I measured out the locations of the (6) side rivets roughly 10mm from the edges. Turned out ok I think. Now to just fasten it all together, paint the rivet heads white and trim a small piece on the bottom of the shim to match the kidney plate bottom. I gave myself 2" or so of extra FOR SALE sign material on the inside. (2" overlapping the inside of the abs and 2" overlapping the inside of the kidney plate). Since the left side is suppose to be "permanently closed", would it be ok if the inside overlaps were held closed via Industrial Velcro? On the right side I plan on using snaps but I may also use Industrial Velcro there too.