LadyInWhite

Agree with Vern except the separation of cod. Well, mostly. If you don't HAVE to separate it, perhaps don't. I find it helps give me a little more flexibility in the groin area. I believe cover strips are optional but i highly strongly pointedly decidedly recommend them. They look way better/cleaner. <wave hand> You will do cover strips. You may have to cut flashing off to fit you in places, but you can (with effort and patience) put a return edge back on. However, return edges aren't required, they just look nice. <wave hand> You will do snaps. The only place I don't have snaps is connecting my kidney and ab plates on the sides, because I wanted easier on/off. Snaps are strong! So strong I often accidentally rip off the snap plates rather than detach the snaps themselves. And I am only using mini Anorak snaps, not real heavy duty snaps.

Dan, you can be my minion any day!

Yeah it's called Jam It The F On There. No seriously, I don't know if it's AP in particular, but it gets crooked if you try to line it up with the top bulgy part of the shin, right? I carefully measured where I wanted, looked to see what was interfering, and trimmed to get it as flat-straight-flush as possible, glued and clamped the hell out of it, and crossed my fingers. It was a lot of work and ultimately I gave up and riveted it (guaranteeing it wouldn't slip or anything). However, now I have to figure that out for centurion status. I might have some before and after pics somewhere, certainly a "oops my rivet gun sucks" picture...er, never mind, that was my thigh/ammo.

I tend to get a foot cramp if I try to put it in from the top. Somehow, miraculously, my clamshell process works fine and the cover strips and ABS hold fine. Do you have a cover strip inside as well?

That is quite a transformation and you are amazing to help so much!

It's really about your comfort level. I would start bigger and troop a couple times. It's way easier to fix to smaller. However, if you're doing butt joint, you can use strips to open up a little bit, too.

The tutorials on this board are pretty helpful for the snap system and all the details for EI and what-not. When I was starting out, I had the same question - everyone recommended snaps, so I have snaps everywhere except the ab-kidney closures, those I did velcro. I use dual snaps on the shoulders back & front for "failure" but with a white elastic not black webbing, and my snaps are up-down not side-side. Personal preference I guess! I have a lot of repairing and upgrading my insides going on all the time. Ultimately, what you do INSIDE your armor is up to you. It's what's on the outside that counts for the most part - despite what our moms told us - so just spend countless hours on the CRL and tuts looking for the outside details and any building requirements like belt attachment and the white shoulder straps. Your harness/strapping/whatever system is your own. If I'm wrong, someone slap me - I don't want to be giving bad advice!

Yep that looks right to me, and you put the cover strip over it and voila!

Ah, I will get braver and try this! Because yeah, I moved back and forth for like 30 minutes and nothing.

Fixed brow looks good. If you're going for EI be sure to lightly trim that return edge off the bottom/hand part of the forearms. If not, no biggy. It might be the angle of the photo but it looks like you have 'em, but maybe you're past that too!

Deep enough to make a trooper cry... but I suppose I would call them scratches not gouges. They are just quite numerous. I am trying to get a photo to upload but it won't go. Looks like I have a lot of options to try, though! -----------

So it IS possible to fine+wet sand and somehow get the shine back? Is Naptha/Zippo polish or just cleaner? Good point about the car buffer heating up. (I'm lazy) Will give T-cut a try...

Ah I see. Nice.

In an effort to make my TK even shinier, I have been hand-polishing with Novus 2. And my arms are falling off. And it's still not as shiny as I'd like. Has anyone used and can recommend (or recommend against) polishing using particular tools? My husband suggested a hand buffer - the kind used to polish cars. I think it's the kind that spins. Seems overkill. Is there a tool for my dremmel? Also, I have a lot of micro scratches. The Novus 1 does not seem to work. I am afraid to sand it and then not be able to polish it. Anywhere I tried to wet or dry sand (mostly edges, ultra fine modeling sandpaper) it's dull and I can't seem to fix it with any amount of buffing. Lastly, when I fell on the PIR set, I apparently scraped the heck out of my left shin. (I can only imagine what my flesh would have looked like without the armor!) These are much deeper scratches - horizontal, from ankle to sniper plate. These, however, will require sanding. So what is the best way to sand out such dings, or is it even possible? I'm just really bad at this polishing thing! On the plus side, my arm muscles are getting big...

Automotive gloss... Why are you doing that ?

WOW You wasted NO time! Just flew right through that! Hmm I thought Mark was shipping with the EI hovis now. Oh well, they're not hard to find - there's even a blowout sale on the For Sale boards. The helmet, if you follow the AP markings for screws, will put your brow where it is. I was a little annoyed but I'm used to it now and did a small tweak. Someone recommended you can put some flashing or "for sale" sign abs on the back of the ear pieces inside the helmet, adjust the brow, and drill new holes. I haven't tried this yet but I'm considering. I think you should paint into the holes in the teeth, just not above or below on the lips

Butt join. Gives you so much more room to maneuver and make cut errors... and still be able to cover it up. And looks better, IMHO. I had more than enough extra ABS strips for inner and outer shims (although I did not put inner in the biceps), but yes a lot of guys use the for sale sign method on the inside. The key is to have something to hold it together, if you need it, but nobody sees the inside, right? Look at the second page of my build thread about your anxiety (link is in my signature)... lol... very normal! I recommend starting with practice cuts on a sheet like the one your hand plates or O2 end caps come on, then cut those pieces (because you can replace them fairly easily), and by then you'll have the method down.

Woo, exciting, and perfectly normal to be nervous to start!

Wow. I'm thinking about what to do when I retire my kit and this looks inspiring!

Wow. I'm honored and, well, my husband says this makes me "Worst Wife of the Month." Meh, who needs him. I have a new family. Thank you so much! Awesome pic, Eric, I'm going to post that in my office. Great newsletter - love to see what's going on around the planet. I am not going to miss out on any St Patricks fun next year! This year I blame WonderCon. I think I need to order another patch, because those displays all gave me new ideas! One is simply not enough. I need to frame one next to my framed EI certificate. (I don't even have my two college diplomas framed, how ironic is that!?)

OMG I am so jealous of your return edges. I could never seem to get them to work. Yours are beautiful. That bicep might be a little long for you - be sure to fit it under your shoulder bell high enough to be able to bend your elbow. Personally I would do all cutting and fitting first, then go back and do the return edges. That way if you have to trim anything again (esp. if you decide it needs to be even smaller! - I did my thighs 3 times ) you won't be sad about having to cut off your gorgeous return edges.

Dang it, my attempt to post last night was thwarted by the server jawas! Starting to get discouraged on this build. Did you vets of building feel that way when you started? I feel like I've hit a wall and I dont really know where to go next. I want to go EIB so there is the pressure to not make a wrong trim or anything. I just wanted to say the following: 1. YES it is perfectly normal to have ups and downs - a roller coaster of excitement and frustration, feeling discouraged and stuck now and then, etc. May I suggest moving on to other pieces and coming back to your biceps? You've spent a long time on them and some fresh part of the project might get you going again. 2. It's great that you're planning EI from the start. It will help you know what to do and not to do with your details. However, I suggest, for what it's worth: don't overthink it, and don't stress out too much about doing anything wrong. Pretty much anything can be fixed, as long as you're not, you know, splitting your chest armor down the middle or something blatantly nuts like that. I have dremmel gouges and all kinds of dings on my armor. I redid my thighs 3 times and I still hate them. I know my shoulder straps, glued on, are not perfect. But you have to let go at some point. 3. Since in your case it's more about fit, start big and adjust downward. I am guessing you'll want to minimize your return edges (the flashing on the ends of the armor is just that: flashing - you don't need it all) in places where your super muscles might get bite, but that's perfectly fine. You are already doing the cover strip trick for enlarging your armor, so I think you're on your way. The more you do, the better and more confident you'll get at it. It's also great that you have local help to get you through this. You're in good hands. Now go hug those gorgeous clones of yours and jump for joy! EDIT: And I meant to say the frown looks good - paint your ab buttons so you can keep your mind off cutting for a bit longer!

Nice! Looking good! Can't wait to see it ON you!

Just joining in... looking good... I hadn't thought or heard of the boiling water, but that's smart. I have a heat gun, but my hair dryer would have worked. See, you never stop learning new things!

Wow, 3000... *shaking my head* Someone has a lot of time on their -- naahh, you're truly dedicated!