gmrhodes13

Congratulations trooper and welcome to the ranks

Really sad when prop makers don't deliver, but then again perhaps that's why he didn't post on FISD. Glad to hear you are moving forward with another maker, god luck.

You will find you will need both to get it to sit properly

Good luck, any questions don't hesitate to ask

Normally there is an option in imgur to use other links, direct link works the best. With ATA I find the ridge on the chest stops the shoulder strap from coming very far down the chest, normally I position with the large tab and 2 1/2 to 3 of the smaller tabs. You can also take a little more of the sides of the straps, only need a couple of mm.

Welcome to the ranks trooper

Looking good, nice work.

Definitely try with strapping added as this will change the positioning. You can also see on the side your kidney plate is angling backwards so once you attached elastic between that and the ab section it should come up a little more

Looking good

I use snaps on the arms in case I need to swap the elastic out as it can stretch over time. Common setup below:

I have two squirrel (blower) fans, connected to separate battery packs and switches, they are aimed to blow air across the lens, you do feel a little on your face too. There are kits out there ukswrath has a nice one here. I made my own system as I'm cheap

Almost there

Congratulations trooper

Congratulations trooper

Nice work, a few adjustments, just watch the spacing between pieces, you'll notice your left leg shin is higher on the boot that the right, left bicep and forearm are higher than the right. It's all about adjusting and tweaking and you'll find even after a few troops you may have to adjust again as the elastic can stretch. Keep up the great work.

I borrowed a friends hole punches and used some contact plastic (it's for covering school books) and that seems to work. Paint white first so any bleed areas are filled with white then paint the grey and blue. I have also used a small piece of rubber hose, cut into thin pieces, hold down tight and then paint inside, did get a couple of little bleeds but easy to remove with a toothpick.

You will find if you add a hook to the bicep and the lower elastic to the shoulder bell they will stay up nicely

You will find the elastic is glued closer to the ends and almost at the bottom edge of the bells

Or at least one of them, but for consistency and base appproval I would suggest modifying it.

I know of a few people who have Jim’s kits and they are happy with them, they are not as accurate as they would like though, forearms are quite large and some do down size these, also the shape of the top of the thighs could be improved. It is fibreglass but flexible, so it is heavier than abs. But as I say these guys are happy with them because they have them in hand. KB has moved twice, there had been some issues with partnering up with others which fell through which means there have been delays. I dont know of anyone locally with one of his kits so can't comment on it further. There are a couole of other names that come up, Backstage Props and 850 Armor Works, I havent heard any feedback on them so wont comment further. Mimic is another maker but sounds like he’s making promises and not delivering. It's really hard waiting for Anovos but being someone that does have one of their earlier kits I am still happy with it, the probelms with getting it are no different to now, communication was bad, promises were made and some recieved theirs who ordered after I did, didnt make sense. I really wish these guys could get t their act together, deliver or be truthful when you will. If you want it in hand and reasonably quickly on others feedback I'd contact Jim, I’d gather he would take PayPal too. Good luck with what you decided and hope to see you share a build thread on the forums soon.

Looks like the tops of you shins on your right leg aren't matching at the top, you may need to take them apart and glue again, doesn't matter if the bottoms don't as you can sand these to match

Ouch, you will need to hand sand for the final bits, the abs paste tends to melt with mechanical sanders. You can also use wet and dry sandpaper and sand wet (add a little dish washing liquid), the paper will last longer and not get as clogged. After getting the rough areas sanded with a 120 dry, I then continue with 240 grit, then 400, 600 and 1200 or ultrafine 2000, then it's a case of using cutting compound to bring back the shine. You can find though that the colouring may be off, the paste can change colour with the addition of acetone. Really it's a hit and miss trial to get the right paint color, having a small airbrush helps as you can tint the paint different shades depending on the armor color. Good luck, there's a lot of work in front of you

Looking forward to seeing the photos

Just so you don’t get held up you may also want to post a photo of the slotted section of the screws