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batninja

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Everything posted by batninja

  1. TK-2648 requesting 501st access, please! http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=760 Thanks!
  2. 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! ------------
  3. 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!
  4. 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.
  5. 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?
  6. 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!
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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?
  10. Looks like the trooper's contemplating something...
  11. 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).
  12. 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?
  13. 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...
  14. Elastic instead of webbing. Got it. And yes, I'm making that fateful ab/crotch cut tonight!
  15. The gap between these plates, when using snaps...do the plates need to be touching, or is there an acceptable gap width, so that the plates can 'flex' a bit? You guys know how much I love diagrams, so here:
  16. Yup, that's what I was looking for! I shoulda used 'harness' instead of 'suspenders' as a search word. I guess I AM old school...
  17. I did a quick search, and didn't find much... Years ago, I remember seeing troopers who had their upper body armor set up so that the ab/kidney armor was help up with suspenders, and the chest/back/arms were a separate assembly added afterwards. Does anyone still do it like this? Pics? ...am I being too old-fashioned?
  18. Well, guys, I split the difference: I added a rivet on the right side, but the left didn't seem to need it, and... SUCCESS!! More to follow!
  19. I'm at the stage where I'm ready to secure the helmet sides prior to final ear piece trimming on my AP. I was wondering, in addition to the upper screw (at the dimple, behind the circular dome), is it advisable to close the lower gap with another screw, along the top of the 'tube'? Here's what I mean: Would it be beneficial to add another screw or rivet here? Would it make the ear pieces easier to fit?
  20. I'm at the stage where I'm read to start connecting the completed pieces to each other, but I wanted to get some verification of whether to use elastic or webbing, and if there are standard widths associated with these straps. What are the common or acceptable widths for these pieces?
  21. I hope this is what you're looking for, a couple more pics: Here's a shot of the tops of the pieces. I read in another thread that you can identify the four separate pieces by the the different angles on the top, and I am able to verify that I four separate pieces: And another shot of the weird angling of the top of the pieces: If this is correct, and they're meant to be this asymmetrical, then so be it. I just wanted to make sure before I commit the glue.
  22. First of all, let me state the facts: 1) I've read and understood the threads concerning the shin curvature and identifying the different AM pieces. 2) I can identify four distinct armor pieces, so I know I do not have duplicates (2 rights or 2 lefts, for instance). 3) I am moderately skillful with a Dremel and building other forms of armor (but this is my first TK). Having said that, I'm somewhat concerned about the shape of the calves in general, and wanted to see if others see the same thing. I've trimmed away the return edge on the bottoms and the fronts of the shins to the 10/20mm specs, and taped them together. What I'm noticing is that they're not symmetrical. The left inside is considerably higher than the right (about an inch): I know the left calf in the pic appears to lean a bit but the height difference is still quite noticeable. Also, although I'm not quite as concerned, the bottom front do not match up either. I can always Dremel the edges to match: And finally, going back to the tops of the calves, both finished tops appear to 'slant' the same direction. What I mean is, the inside right and the outside left seem to lower than their counterparts: I understand that the original TK armor is not symmetrical by a long shot, but I wanted to get verification on the AM pieces. Is this normal? Has anyone else seen this? Am I still okay to continue with the build?
  23. I took a break from gluing arms and biceps to start on my AP "B+" kit. By the time I stopped to take pictures, I'd already got to the brow trim! This is a great kit, and you have to really look close to see why it'd be considered a B+. From a foot away, it's an A!
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