gazmosis

Derek is right. With these pieces, the forearms were made really big. With the overlap you have, you must find a common center line on both pieces at the overlap. If you take material off just one half, your completed connection will be way off center. Just make sure your parts are lined up at the elbow and deal with evening up that return edge when you are done with construction..

I just threw up a little in my mouth

Nice Work!!! I would dry brush a little more black onto the counter to knock that brass look down. Maybe the flash just accentuates it Nice weathering overall!!!

AH!!!!!!! Lot's of RS builds to follow here. Enjoy this build!!

If you borrow or buy a hobby iron, you might be able to massage those outer teeth flat.

I would hold onto them. After your armor is finished, there may be another Garrison mate you could help out with them.

Of the THOUSANDS of two piece helmets that are owned by troopers here on the FISD, there has yet to be a thread titled, "MY STUPID HELMET HAS A THIN SPOT..HOW DO I MAKE THIS NOT THIN???" Of all the helmets I have built, the thickness of the one piece cap-n-backs have been uniform.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/80-anh-build-threads/ There is no way in one thread to explain the different directions you will need to go in. Knowledge is power and the link above is the source. Look up and read any/all AP builds and you will become familiar with the different methods people have used to accomplish the same goal. You will then see what approach fits you best

Nick is right! There should be a pencil width between the cheek and the stripes

Most guys would pay money to get bit on their upper thigh .Armor bites are just invitations to stories. They are medals to be worn proudly!!!! "You got that doing what?" "Well let me tell you!!!"

I sent a tutorial to your facebook page

IT HAS been done before that snap systems have been used and just put dummy nuts and screws in the locations that the brackets would be in.

YEAH! What Glen said!!! With ATA's helmet, the side to watch is the right side (as you are wearing it). Take off the rough stuff on the face like you have marked. Just watch not to take too much off the cap on that side. It comes REALLY close, especially at the bottom, to NOT allowing you any overlap to rivet or attach the bottom screw of the ear.

I love RS armor!!! These little fixes will take your to the next level. The brow line on your helmet is way too wide. The brow trim should fit tight against the face. Anything you could do about that??

THANK YOU!

So I will throw this out there.........who, besides no one, has had testors (or any other mineral sprits based thinner) affect their armor in ANY way???? Testors is made with mineral spirits. If Testors melted plastic, they would not recommend it to dilute your paint with it and apply it to your plastic. Last night, I took a bottle of thinner and immersed a strip of ABS and let it there for an hour. It never even took the finish off the plastic. I did that with acetone, and it IMMEDIATELY turned the ABS into a paste, WHICH IS WHY WE DON:T USE ACETONE FOR ANYTHING AROUND THE ARMOR!!!! I have built a few helmets in my day. I have used thinner to wipe down helmets, remove adhesive residue, remove mold release on the inside, and have never had an issue. Has anyone else????????

You are one blaster away from Centurion! I LOVE it when ATA is done right!!! YOU have done it right!!

Should be an easy pass. Looks great to me!! You might want to look into trying to get your thighs an inch higher. It might give the concentration around your knees a little relief.

Leave a slight return edge by the "horseshoe" on the bicep. Leave a hint of one on the forearm.

Thanks Arturo! That means a lot coming from you.

A little more progress was made. I decided it was time to start marking and/or installing some hardware. Since we are going for Centurion right off the bat, I started with the two male snaps on the lower butt plate.Next it was time to mark and drill out the side split rivet placements. RS Props was nice enough to actually mold the locations into the ab plate. The middle one is a little off center...no big deal. I re-measured, marked and drilled it. The Kidney, however, does not come pre-marked. No big deal, just line it up with the ab.I marked the horizontals............Then measured 10 MM in to mark the vertical. I then drilled. Connecting strapping and split rivets will be applied later I then flipped the ab plate over and installed the male snap in the upper right corner. RS does mark this one as well!!! I decided to switch gears a bit and cut out the rivet covers for the ammo belt. This inspired me. A little while ago, I created a "How to" thread for making replacement ammo belt rivet covers by heating a dime and slowly pressing it into scrap ABS. After doing this, I realized what good snap plates these would make. The snap fits perfect and it sits in the recess so there will be no metal/glue contact when glued into place. So I decided to make some snap plates.After my head cleared from all the fumes......I switched gears again to focus on the Thermal Detonator. I already cut out the control panel and end caps earlier. I needed to make the clips. A fellow trooper, Officer Javier Esqueda, donated the 1 X 1/16 aluminum he had left. (Thanx, Butch!!!) I began by clamping the strip in place on the detonator tube supplied by RS. The pipe they supply you with is roughly 67 MM O.D. Pipes this size in gray are just not available here in the states. They do make a comparable size in acrylic tubing if anyone is ever in need and doesn't want to go broke ordering the right pipe from overseas. ANYHOO!!!!!! I positioned the control panel so I could bend the clip to its proper place. I didn't see this coming because on my last RS build the clips were pre-purchased. When bending the clip around, the tube was very weak and began to bend making the curve of the clip inaccurate. I decided to bend it around a smaller, more rigid pipe.Once I had the proper bend established, I needed to create the bend that goes over the belt. You cannot just bend it down or else there will be no room for the two halves of the belt to fit in. I clamped a small piece of wood and bent it over that.I got to a point that I could not bend it further by hand so into the bench vise it went.After a little tweek on the bend, I was happy with the way it sat on the pipe. I then cut it to the length I wanted and put the tiny bend on the bottom to keep it away from the armor. On to the other one to make a pair and wouldn't you know it..........I messed the top bend up and when I tried to straighten it...SNAP!!!!!!!! UGH! Luckily, Lowes has this available. I calmed down and made another one and nailed it!!!I sanded them a bit to give then an even look. I can now begin to assemble the TD. First I needed the proper screws. I found 4 flat slot bolts. I needed to grind down the heads to give them the proper look.I then hit them with a sharpie to blacken them up.After consulting some reference photos, I marked/drilled the screw locations. Why didI wait till now to do this? I have had bad experiences with the clips creasing at the hole locations during bending. The holes create a weak spot in the metal. Anyway, I transferred the hole locations to the pipe and drilled making sure the clips ended up right against the outer caps. I used nuts and lock washers to ensure nothing comes loose in the future,Once the clips were installed, I was able to glue the outer caps on. These caps fit REALLY well. Because of this, If you don't drill an air relief hole, the air pressure inside will blow the first cap off while pressing the second one on. Once those were on, I glued on the control panel and applied a couple rubber bands to squeeze it down. I taped it so it doesn't move and we have a finished Thermal Detonator!!!!Major build day coming in a couple days!! the armor's owner is coming by the Gazmosis school of TK armor building. More pics after that!!!

Like Danny said; ASSEMBLE IT YOURSELF!!! The satisfaction of looking in the mirror and saying "I ROCKED this F***ing build!!!!" There is nothing like it. The threads are here.....the information is here.....the tuitorials are here......the help is here........Do the research, look at the build threads, build the armor. The experience is priceless. Then you can pass on what you have learned to other Garrison mates.

Wait....you said you riveted your belt to your ab. That might be the first place to start. The plastic ammo belt should first be attached to your canvas belt. then the canvas belt should be held to the ab plate with snaps. This link may help http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/tutorials/article/34-howto-attach-your-belt-to-the-ab-plate-and-drop-boxes/

Ideally (we all hate that word) the TD should finish in at roughly 7 1/4- 7 1/2 inches total length. With the end caps being 3/4 -7/8" wide. So your control panel will be coming an at about 4 1/2 - 4 3/4 inches wide. Make sure you have at least 1/2 between your control panel and the end caps.

Not on ALL pieces. Some don't have return edges at all. The wrist end of the forearms should have NO return edge. The elbow side has been seen with no edge or a hint of an edge. Biceps can have a slight return edge but for comfort's sake, don't go too nuts there. The shoulders ONLY have return edge on the underside that fits around the bicep. I would go 1/4'' there. As for the remainder of the armor parts, there is no "standard" for the amount. 3/8" is just a comfortable measurement. Some leave more, some take more. Take a look at this collection of TK screen grabs. You will see a wide variety of return edges. Pick what you like and copy that to yourarmor -------- I do agree with Ingrid that there are places where less is definitely more. The leg backs and bottom of the shins is a great place to trim back ,like she said. Thanks Ingrid