TK1491

lol good eyes guys. As for the position of the holster: I don't have the ammo pack attached to the front of the belt yet but if I did, you'd see that the holster is RIGHT at the end of it. I have a 32" waist, which makes for a short belt Kind of like the dude at the far right here...my holster makes it almost all the way to the thermal detonator: this is me with my current ABS belt:

almost...I gotta attach the ammo belt to the canvas. I'm exploring some options before I disassemble my current belt (I'm a chicken)

for what it's worth, i decided to take this approach with my holster...no rivets or snaps. http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=2766&hl=

I thought I'd post this method...I'm sure it's been done this way before but I couldn't find a thread like this, sooooo I decided to use threaded-post screws for 2 reasons. 1) it gave me the look I was after on the front of the belt, and 2)the straps for my holster were really thick! turned out pretty good i think

Great display!! interesting...as an SDS owner myself, it's good to see they make the right thigh on all their armor a weee bit bigger than the left, and not just my set. I had to take an inch out to help even it up. either that or I'd have to bulk up my right thigh, and well, no.

absolutely, positively priceless!!! love the little details like the tape on the ammo belt...nice

I've been trying. I even called sds this week and spoke to them. AA hasn't got back to me. I'll pm you... anyways I'm happy with my AP and I am VEEEERRRRYYY thankful for you all here for your comments and coaching. As I said at the outset of the thread, this was going to be a "what I learned from everyone else," and it's true.

thanks...and yessssirrreee I got my canvas belt in the mail from Gundamzeppelin a week or so ago. Also got a new holster coming in the mail with tan single straps (I just like the tan) as an alternate to my current holster. I have both snaps and rivets. Not sure which way I wanna go. The biggest challenge I have right now is separating my current SDS belt from its ABS backer belt. It's riveted, and the caps are glued on to the front. I fear I may have to drill off the rivet heads if I can't fit a hacksaw blade between...fun fun. If anyone has done this before with an SDS belt plz PM me and show me the way...

and a few comp pics. SDS Battle Spec: AP: SDS: AP: SDS: AP: And...the AP: overall I really dig the AP! It's one SMALLLLLL bucket though. Barely enough room to change your mind it that thing. I seriously wonder if I can fit fans and batteries in it...

made meself the liner... thank God for Velcro.

outstanding collection!!!!!

a darn nice gesture!

my wife has come to tolerate my hobby =) It has taken a LOOOOONG time, but she tolerates it LOL!

thanks guys...and good luck with your build, Terry! a few more tweaks before I install the hard hat liner. One thing I wanted to do was knock down the gloss level on the teeth, so I picked up some clear Semigloss enamel. Trick to it is to apply it quickly and with very few strokes, as it begins to emulsify the paint very quickly. "put the paint down and PLAY!" Time for a little car wax polishing: Frown mesh:

flipped! good point! FBJ- thanks man I already PM'd Ketih at the MEPD I'll create a separate post for comp pics of my AP and SDS battle spec...stay tuned.

Beautiful bucket. Can't wait to see it get built! Get to it!

thanks T! Well all I have left are getting the mesh in, the neck trim on, and the correct aerators (plus all the internal stuff). But here's the latest. next to my SDS. Notice the acrylic capped ABS is mirror gloss, plus a much warmer white: Smile! I sure wish the AP's came in acrylic capped ABS...my armor makes it look dull! I'm spent!

moving along... I can now say that I have actually used a dental "gum stimulator"...to rub down pinstriping! making a template for the lenses out of white sheet foam. I'll be using a welding visor.: finally...a painted vocoder:

outstanding...you should be proud of that one. suggestion: go buy a nice glass case with a lock!

Thanks man....what a labor of love. For someone who purchased an assembled set of armor and bucket, I must say I can now appreciate the satisfaction of building the stuff yourself! A couple of other things I've done along the way: 1- I trimmed the bottom 1/8" off the back trapezoids so they don't overlap all the edges like they did (still not perfect, but much better). 2- The anal side of me really wanted a bit of white space between the brow and the eyes. So I positioned it that way and drilled the ear holes. Problem was it slowly slid down till it was right on the eye line; I realized the rubber trim was holding slightly up. So, not to be defeated, I placed a small piece of ind strength velcro up near the forehead to tack it in place. Voila. I have my whitespace. That teeny weeny little detail is one of my favorite things about the stunt look, and I wasn't gonna give up! Truth be told, I'd like more of it--like a height equal to the height of the brow material--but I wasn't gonna push it. The AP doesn't seem to be made for that.

LOL more like drive over here and hold the thing down while I drill the screw holes!!! Update: The decals begin... One of my reference pics...LOL Getting that god-awful white powder off of the Weber's trim. ugh. First coats of paint on the newly-trimmed earcaps and the frown...

Any fabric store carries them They look like a big pair of pliers. Probably should cost $15-20 I'm guessing. I use a Dritz #24P I bought at Joann Fabrics.

awesome, thanks. I'll give it a whirl.

thanks guys! that looks pretty darn good I suppose! The testors I bought looks like it has a bit more blue in it than the decals, but maybe it's just me...

Guys- As I work on my AP, I have another paint question: In the perfect world, should all the grays on the helmet match? If I am using the decals for the trapezoids, let's say, should the frown and ear caps be a gray that matches them, or the testors 1138? It seems they all should match. The 1138 looks to be the "official" color, but the trap decals are much darker, warmer gray. On my SDS battle spec, the ear cap is the only thing that is the 1138 color (although this shot isn't lit well) and it always seemed odd. Or does it matter that they are slightly different? thanks... my sds battle spec for reference: