Vader Rocks

Helping a fellow trooper (my dad) assemble an AM kit today and we somewhat stuck at the thigh assembly. We are using the existing overlap assembly merhod and couldn't decide if the inner panel of the thigh overlaps the front of the outside panel or fits inside of the overlap of the outer panel.

Got some good news to share. As of yesterday, i'm now a member of the 501st. TK-32380 REPORTING FOR DUTY!!!!! Thanks you to everyone for all the help and advise. Next up, submit for EI.

TK-32380 requesting 501st please. http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=14984

Unfortunately, this week didn't exactly go as planned, had some family concerns that required attention. But I was able to make some more progress last night and today. Have to redo ab to kidney shim (again) correctly and redo plastic shoulder straps. Which leads me todays question, sorry, but on this kit the plastic shoulder pieces just don't seem that they'll fit correclty. The straps don't want to lay flush on the armor with the way the armor is contoured on the front where it starts to angle toward the armpit area. I attached it last night figuring i'd see how it would do and it's so misaligned with the back plate that it's not funny, so i'm gonna have to take them back off and figure out a different mounting location. Anyone know how to line them up correctly and still not have that huge gap showing in the front??

Awesome video. Very talented trooper there.

Thanks a lot Tim, gonna have to make a stop after work tomorrow.

Thanks Isaac, I sure will. Can the Chicago screws be picked up at a place like lowes or more of a craft place like Michael's???

Little bit of a build progress update. Using TrooperTim's snap suggestion, I have the plastic belt attached to the canvas belt, inner drop boxes are attached, sniper plate is installed on left shin, ab plate buttons are attached (thanks GnrlGrievous), thigh pack reshaped with heat just waiting to be riveted on, thermal detonator assembled and painted (got a good deal on some money clips today to hold it) and I received my holster and neckseal from Darman last Fri. (thanks for suggestion Isaac) Things are starting to shape up and hope to have my 501st submission in by this weekend. With all of this I do have a question. I want to install the holster but i'm unsure of what fasteners I need to use. Is it snap, rivet or something else?? If it's rivets, what size diameter is required and how do you prevent the rivet from scratching the armor??

Thanks Frank. So the plate doesn't need to fit down in cavity on ab plate?? I've used only E-6000 on my build, just didn't know how well it would hold the plate just sitting on top of the ab. I'll give it a try though, thanks again.

Ok, I've got my ab buttons painted and going to install them on the ab plate, but i'm confused as to how they attach to the ab. I don't like the way it sits up on the ridges of the ab cause I don't think it'll hold very well. I've seen some posts about cutting/sanding down approx 1/8" but i'm not sure what and where the trim is taking place. Anyone done this trim or have any other suggestions on how to correctly install the ab plate???

Ok, so i've got the canvas belt made, now i'm wondering what the best choice is to secure the plastic part of the belt to the canvas. Do I rivet or can I use snaps to hold them together?? If I can use snaps, what precautions need to be taken to prevent cracking the plastic belt when assembling the snap?? I've used the soldering iron method to make holes in webbing and elastic so far, didn't know if this works for the canvas too or if I need to make the holes with something else??

Getting closer. Got a few more little things done this weekend. With Isaac's suggestion and encouragment, I decided to go ahead and get the materials and build my own canvas belt (well, kinda. I was able to enlist mom's help with the sewing and assembly. This build has officially become a family affair). Hear are a few pics of the custom belt and the first armor pics out of the house and in public. It gets quite a few looks that's for sure. Even got my first real armor bites today. Rite of passage??

Cool. I've got a PM sent to Darman last night. No response yet do well see what he says.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Isaac. Was considering getting the belt and neck seal from trooperbay, I've read some pretty good things about his stuff, but not sure on where to get holster yet. I'll have to look into and send some PM's on those you suggeted. Figured i'll use some abs sheets to fill in side gap, but unfortunately only had enough to add to one side this evening. I'll have to make trip to hobby store tomorrow and snag some more. I was thinking side rivets were only required for Centurioun, is this incorrect?? My boots showed up the other day so hopefully I can get the accurate sizing for my shins now. I don't want to add cover strips, sniper plate and ammo belt without fitting them right first. Other forearm has cover strips drying and handplate experiment drying as well. Kidney and ab not attached yet to that's why it's sitting a little low (didn't know it was sitting low when pic was taken) Other than that, I think it's coming along quite well.

Thanks Isaac. Ill wait to cut the shins, but have a little issue with using the abs strips for the side gap, I used them for the cover strips on my limbs. I picked up some abs pieces from a local hobby store and was going to try using those. Not so sure how close the colors will be but I don't think i'll have to use too much of it so i'll probably try it out and see. After I finished the legs and had strapping done to hold thighs up. Yesterday after I got the bells and biceps situated. And these just arrived this afternoon Still need to round up my neck seal, belt and holster, but i'm getting closer

Hey Isaac. I did get back to my build tonight, no real new pictures to post though. I've been working on the webbing and getting everything attached. Pretty happy with the progress tonight and this past Sunday. I have to thank Brian for his suggestion, I had problems with the plastic snap plates not sitting flat on the armor, like the pic above so i used the webbing as my snap plates and it's worked awesome so far. All my limbs are done except for cover strips (which two biceps and a forearm are setup to dry this evening), kidney and butt plate are attached. I feel like i'm getting pretty close but I know there's gonna be those little things here and there that still need done. I need to make up shims for my ab to kidney plate caue i'm a little on the bigger side and i've got to figure out if i'm gonna trim the shins or not. After wearing them i'm wondering if they're too tall for me. I had to cut the top off of my thighs because they were too long for me so i'm thinking i've got the same thing going on with the shins. Anyone else have to do this???

Looks good. Congrats on the EIB certification. Glad to see you made it. Been following your build and taking pointers for my AM. Hope to join the club with you soon.

Thanks Brian. Didn't know if the webbing would be the correct way to go or not. I thought I had read that the webbing wasn't as durable as the plastic, like the webbing stretching out to much and causing fit issues. Do you think the snap melting armor thing is a concern with the materials i'm using for my build?

Made some pretty good progress this weekend I think. Arms and legs should be done aside from adding cover strips (though they did get measured out and cut today). Having a bit of what I'd consider an issue with the snap plates. I made the plates approx. 1" by 1 1/2", my issue seems to be that the thickness of the snaps are not allowing plate to make contact with the armor (i've added pics to hopefully help explain my situation). I've added the small piece of tape to the backside of the snaps as i've seen mentioned in another thread to keep from damaging the armor. Not sure if that is necessary or not. I'm using Line 24 Snaps from Tandy Leather, ABS armor and E6000 for my adhesive. Would this combination cause the armor melting issue??

Hey all, got back to my build today. Working on thighs and shins, I went with the overlap method of assembly. I cut a 23mm cover strip to add to the front of the thigh, but not sure that it looks right. When the cover stip is added, the overlap is wider than the cover strip is (not sure if that make sense to anyone). Should the cover strip be made the width of the overlap??

Thanks for the tips everyone. I picked up some abs strips from the local hobby store. Was going to use them for cover strips, had them installed on one side bicep and forearm, and after meeting with local garrison member he thought better off to not use them due to color difference. Not sure if extra abs with the kit will take up enough of the gap. Do armor makers usually sell spare parts like Mark suggested or more likely to find something like that on the forum?

Hey everyone, still working on my AM build. I'm a little on the bigger side and have more than the required 1/2" gap between the ab and kidney plates. Anyone else had this issue? What can I use to shim it up to make it accurate?

The measurements above are the width, not the length

Not much progress made recently on my build, but thought i'd share some of my new goodies with you all. Blaster, not sure of the maker, but I got the thumbs up from a local garrison member before making the purchase. New bucket arrived today. CAP purchased from FISD member, thanks again Joey.

I've got my shins taped up, i'm pretty sure on the correct sides after going through the AM shin thread. I havent trimmed any of the the pieces and they seem like they'll fit perfect after I add velcro to secure the back. Is this normal or do they have to be trimmed to add front cover strip. I've already done butt-connections on biceps and forearms so i'm assuming the whole armor has to be done the same way. Also, do all of the return edges on the shims get trimmed off or just trim for comfort??