batninja

TK-2648 requesting 501st access, please! http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=760 Thanks!

I had taken a stab at these things, but wasn't happy with the Velcro closure. I bought a couple custom 4" zippers from www.zippersource.com and here is the result! ------------

Update! I completed all the components at a frantic pace before All-Con back in March, and was re-activated back into the Legion! TK-2648 is BACK ONLINE! We took a few pics at the convention, but I wasn't happy with the overall look and fit, since I'm a bigger guy. So I made several adjustments and I think the fit came out much better. A special thanks to my local garrison mate fuumantroop for all the assistance and advice!

As I understand it, the 'fan of the day' is no longer the PC fan, but squirrel cage fans. What brand/size does the majority use? I have soldering and electronic skills, I just need to know what fan to look for.

I wore my armor for the first time this weekend. I won't post pics yet, as I need to clean up a few areas first (some minor wardrobe malfunctions). However, it was mentioned at All-Con that I could trim some of the existing AM return edge on the major pieces (chest, abdomen, kidney, butt, back) for a better fit as I'm a larger guy. AM has a generous 1/4"-3-8" return edge on all these pieces. If I decided to trim this, what's the minimum edge I should keep, if any at all?

I haven't posted much in the past weeks, as I've been busy between this and my other hobbies. But now it's crunch time! Here's what I have left: Glue the shoulder straps to the chest armor Paint new helmet screws white (had to get longer ones to hold in the visor plate) Sand & glue the abdomen plates Paint buttons Add thigh snaps to garter belt Sew Velcro to the back of the canvas belt Add thin elastic to back of shoulder straps/back armor Make straps from biceps (snaps) to forearms (Velcro) Add the thigh ammo pack, paint rivets Glue sniper plate Add padding to greaves/forearms Sew Velcro to back of neckseal Add Velcro and padding to helmet Configure electronics to helmet and chest armor (wireless headset/transmitter, receiver, amp, MP3 player, iComm, PTT cable to hand) And I have to get all this done before Friday morning! Headed to All-Con in Dallas/Addison!

I'm in the home stretch of my AM kit, and getting ready to attach the ammo/battery to the right thigh bottom. Assuming that the middle box should be centered along the butt cover in the front, I see that one end of the belt curves perfectly along the 'flat' of the side of the thigh armor: However, the other end extends past the flat of the outside of the thigh armor, by about 1.5": Should I trim this end down to make it easier to rivet to the thigh? I wasn't sure if there was a specified length that this piece needs to be for 501st/EIB acceptance.

Yup, I figured there would be some inter-dimensional time/space shift of the belt snaps due to the circumference factor. I'll be extra careful on that one.

After attending my first armor party in over a decade, I came home with more questions than I left with. The first one concerned my belt. I'd like to be able to detach my canvas belt solely for the purpose of washing it every now and then. Would this diagram work? Do I need three snaps to attach the canvas belt to the ab plate, or is two enough (pictured)? Any other recommendations?

Looks like the trooper's contemplating something...

After scoring and snapping the larger cutouts, I use a Dremel and large sanding drum (I'm a Dremel Jedi). I probably made about about 20 or 30 adjustments to each ear before I got it where I wanted. Then I went over it with three grits of sandpaper (60/150/220).

Ah, yes, you mentioned that.

I've decided to redo the vocoder paint job on my AP helmet. I only painted it a few days ago, but I'm not sure if that constitutes a full 'curing' timeframe or not. What's the best way to remove Testors' semi-gloss paint from ABS?

Three day weekend for me, so I'm working on the legs! Is it a good or bad idea to have a shim on the inside front of the shins? Since that piece has to flex in order to open...

Elastic instead of webbing. Got it. And yes, I'm making that fateful ab/crotch cut tonight!