Spectre

Here's how I've done the strapping between my cod piece and butt plate, very basic stuff really.. I will eventually put a split rivet into the crotch tab (won't be functional) for the Centurion requirements, but for now I have simply double snapped the butt plate and used velcro on the cod piece. I have used one of the elastic and loop velcro straps supplied with the AM kit for this, it was the perfect length.

What do you think of this? Does it look right? The kidney plate and butt plate are curing at the moment, so I can't show them, but you get the idea. There looks to be too much of a gap between the chest plate and the back plate, yeah?

Alright, will do. That might be a while, because my forearms still need to be done (and I have to use clamps because the pieces need to be forced together :/) so I only have a few clamps to use on snap plates for now. It's getting there slowly. Bahaha that made me laugh. I'll be prepared for it haha Thanks mate.

Sure can. Here ya go I can't really remember how much I trimmed off of the biceps, but I don't think it was much. *shrugs* lol Haha yeah I think they do. I might just put foam in them..or if the size interferes with how the shoulder bell sits and stuff I might trim them more. Also glued one of the snap plates into the shoulder bells (photo was taken before I did the top ones) and I attached female snaps to some of the elastic that comes with the AM kit (for use between shoulder bells and forearms).

Does this look like too much of a gap between the bicep and my arm? It feels a bit loose, should I take it apart and trim it or just add some foam? Feedback appreciated.

Ok, a little bit more done. I've added the two male snaps to the butt plate, glued in three snap plates on the kidney and butt plates, and hopefully fixed the forearms. I'm glueing the forearms one cover strip at a time, and I am hoping this will fix my problems with them. I also trimmed down the ab button plate, using my Dremel with a thin cut cutting wheel. It's not an entirely even cut but I think it works well enough...hopefully. Button box thing Male snaps in the butt plate The pot I use for reshaping, it fits a forearm sideways comfortably. Forearm cover strip curing and snap plates setting

Nope, I cannot make these stupid forearms work. >.< I tried reshaping them for about the fourth time, and still they won't work. I should just buy a new set.

Thanks Lucas.

Also yes some of the snaps are off-centre.

Glued the shoulder straps onto the chest piece. I am trimming the cover strips for the forearms and backs of the shins to have rounded edges (really should have done that for all of the strips before glueing them but oh well, Dremel time! ). I'll be glueing the cover strips onto the back of the shins one at a time probably, I haven't got enough magnets to do both at once. >.< Ah well, anyway then I'll add on the velcro and they'll be done! Yay! Also!! I managed to make my snaps work. I am using the male part of the Zenith (Bunnings) snaps with the flat backing from the Birch (Spotlight) snaps to make the plates. The reason I am mixing and matching them like that is because the Birch snaps have a really bad lip on the male component, basically they have a weak grip. The Zenith snaps have a good male piece, but they are backed by the silver button part, and that'll stop them from having a flat surface to attach to the armour, so I am using the backing from the male part of the Birch ones. I know that I could have just switched the Zenith backings around...but I only just realised that now hahaha so it's a bit late. Anyway, I made mine by drilling the hole in the plate with my dremel and then making it bigger using my scalpel. I insert the blade into the hole and twist it, which makes the hole bigger evenly. Like so: You can never have enough clamps. Magnets wouldn't have been as effective I reckon, clamps were the way to go.

Glad you got it sorted mate.

If the thread has been locked there's usually a reason for it, and it means replies cannot be added/edited. Can you put up a link to the thread?

Hi all. I am nearing completion of my AM armour kit, but I still need to complete the forearms. A bit ironic seeing as it's usually one of the first pieces done. The reason I have left them this long is that I stuffed up the way I trimmed them. I am going for a butt-join and cover strip method, so I trimmed off the whole overlap from the outer piece (with the rectangles). As such I am left with the pieces like this: The black lines are the outer and inner pieces of the forearm, and the gray line is the cover strip. -------- As you can see, the cover strip cannot get a decent surface area on both pieces to glue to. I have decided I am going to reshape the pieces to remedy this, but I have a problem. The return edge on the outer piece of the forearm will not allow that piece to change shape at all, and it will cause major warping problems if I try to force it. -------- So here's my question: can I trim off that return edge and still be approvable? Has anyone else done something similar? EDIT: can a mod change the tag from 'Can I remove it?' to something like 'forearm, return edge, etc.' ? Thanks

Good work Eric. I'll bet a lot of people get confused by all the advanced options for searches..I know I was for a while (but I was just too lazy to do it. ) so this is a good way to help people out and get what they need easier and faster. I take my helmet off to you, sir!

I have another question: can I trim the whole return edge off at the top of the forearm? It's just that I botched up the cut by taking off the whole overlap from the outer piece (as I've lamented about heaps before this. ) and I need to reshape the forearm pieces to line up so the cover strip can attach with a good amount of flat surface on each piece to attach to. As it stands, I can't reshape the outer piece because of the return edge, it wouldn't let it bend properly. I can make these pieces line up BUT I cannot get enough surface area on each piece for the cover strip to attach to. This edge will stop the piece from bending into a new shape, can I remove that?

Yeah what Terry said. That never would have occurred to me haha good work Terry.

Hmmm...just looking over the CRLs, and I think I could go for Centurion. I haven't done anything that would stop me from applying for it, and it would be a very small amount of extra work to do the things required. I'm totally gonna work towards that.

It comes down to personal preference I think. The cover strips are ANH screen accurate, but it really is whatever works for you. I also don't think you have to have cover strips to get Expert Infantry or Centurion...although I could be wrong.

I don't even know what dritz snaps are. A certain brand, I'm assuming? I've got two different types of snaps, one from Bunnings (hardware store) and one from Spotlight (sewing/craft store). The brands are Zenith and Birch. The Zenith male ones seem to have more of a grip on them, and the Birch male ones don't really have a lip on them at all. I tried using the setting tool thingy and the anvil thingy that came with the snaps, but I can't get it to flatten the inside part anywhere near enough. Also PM sent Eric.

Hmm...I've tried to make some snap plates...and failed. >.> This is a lot harder than people make it look. The bit of metal that is supplied with the snaps doesn't actually flatten the inside part enough, so they can't engage properly. I'm going to buy a pair of vario pliers off of the internet right now, because this is sh**ting me to tears lol I'll post an update when I have one.

One thigh is 24 hours from completion! Back cover strip on, magneted and clamped. Tomorrow night I'll do the other one.

Ok, so I've almost done the thighs! Both have front cover strips now. One thigh is about to have the back cover strip glued on, and the other is about to have the back trimmed and the back inner strips put in. My snap plates that I've done, probably gonna need more. (Also Heart of an Empire at the top of the shot. So good.) I find it both ironic and amusing that the only pieces that I really have left to glue are the forearms, which are what everyone starts with because they are easy and all that. Sorta ironic that I will probably be finishing with them.

D'oh double post! Edited to remove lol

Read other people's build threads too, it will help you decide what kind of armour you want, and it will give you a massive insight into the construction side of things. From the name 'snap kit' I would imagine their strapping system connects using snaps and snap plates, but that's pretty standard. Some people use velcro but a lot of people prefer snaps. As I said, check out people's builds, and you will see how their strapping works, what they do, how they do it, etc. It'll help you eventually decide what you want to do for yours. As always, research is the key! Don't do whatI did and start your build without even knowing how the bicep goes on! For example. ------------ Sort of an embarassing start, but the great people here set me straight. So I'd recommend researching ANH Hero and even Stunt build threads to get the gist of how the parts go together...and which direction they face. Good luck with it all mate, you'll have heaps of fun.

Bump...? Bloody awesome work mate, absolutely sensational.