jmm7375

Sorry about the blurry pics, but the originals I took are no different. I'll get to work on the return edges since I do want to go for Centurion eventually when I am done. I will certainly post the correction once I make the correction. It is my first build, so forgive me all, I hope I didn't mislead anyone. I love the feedback! Thanks guys!

I think I can get rid of the slight lip you're talking about Tony. Wouldn't mind others making comments here. Regardless an easy fix, but here is an example of mine below just so others can compare what you got and what I have. Interior forearm: Exterior forearm:

Thanks for the feedback Tony and Sean. I was under the impression that I didn't have any return edge on my forearms and Rob had said he would take care of that upon trimming my kit. It is always easier to trim back then add, but before I start breaking out the sanding block (I'm sure I can slowly sandy it down even though it is complete) I'll post a picture of both forearms to get more opinions. Strangely I only scrape my left hand getting it out of the forearm.

Well, unfortunately some of the paint did bleed through, but nothing a little paint thinner and some q-tips can't fix. While I had the paint and brushes out I figured I would start painting the TD pipe as well. Paint has to dry so I got the other shoulder bridge attached. From looking at other kits it appears to me that it is a bit easier to get these on other types of armor. There was very little if no wiggle room for the bridges to be attached onto the chest plate and lined up looking good. I found myself checking periodically to make sure they didn't slip out of there intended position.

I'm Baaack! Well, my tank finally arrived and I got it set up. Now that school is done and camp is about to begin, I can take some time to get back to my build. I had to fight with my shoulder straps to get an idea of how they should be placed. Tried using some boiling water to soften them up, but I'm going to attach one at a time. Nothing a bunch of clamps, tape, magnets and E6000 can't solve. Love this little painting trick/tip that was posted here on the boards. I know Craig "Bids" gave me the idea of using CD labels for masking the AB buttons, then I went over them with my white paint marker. Next, I'll add some color and avoid the color paint bleeding through (I hope!)

Nice job on the bicep hooks Sean. It is difficult to get a "perfect" pair. I liked the first one I made better than the second. One of them caught on fire I got so close with the lighter, but as you point out, a good sanding takes care of that. Nice work!

Thanks for the tip Glen. I have never trooped before, but I've tried to mimic what has worked best for most here on FISD. I figure I'll be making adjustments once I start wearing the armor more regularly, and I do plan on using double snaps to attach the shoulder bell and as you can see below the forearms. I also just received my order of paints. I saw a couple of Testors paint markers that I wanted to try since my confidence with a brush is on the low side right now. My first attempt seems pretty good on the thigh pack rivets. I might try to do a little bit more today, but I have to change gears since my fish tank is being delivered tomorrow and I know my priorities will shift temporarily.

A few little steps that I've taken in the meantime. Is it good or bad that I already started thinking about making some sandtrooper armor before I finished my first build? I think this may be the beginning of an addiction, I need to stay away from MEPD for now. I'm sure I'll snap out of it once my fish tank is up and running. That is another expensive hobby unto itself, but I love it.

Nobody's perfect...especially not me In my haste to get things done I screwed up a little bit. Nothing catastrophic, but I had to do some fixin' to get things right. Those lower snaps on the shoulder bells above...not the best location once the biceps are in place, so correction number 1. I also started to get the straps read for attachment to the shoulder bells, since I am in multitask mode. I would try and be a bit more linear with my build, but with three kids and a busy end of the school year I am doing my best to make progress. I was so satisfied with the placement and attachment of my ab section to the belt with the chicago screws (sometimes they are called binding screws) and the holster I completely forgot about the drop boxes! So, here is correction number 2 I bought a sewing machine, a decent one on the cheap side (black Friday sale), so I could make my own belt to hold up the thighs. I thought I might get more use out of it, but I could have done it by hand. I think initially I thought I might try to make my own canvas belt and holster, but those plans were quickly abandoned. I am much better at sewing by hand, I am able to get the machine to work, but it looks like a birds nest of thread. No one will ever see it, so no biggie.

So, due to a lot of rain and flooding my tank was unable to be shipped from Florida until this past Friday... I had some time to work on a few things and I will continue until my tank arrives. I really don't want to take a long break from this build. I am having a lot of fun and I feel like I'm so close to the end. I want to apply and get my TK# so badly and go for EIB and then Centurion standards Got the chicago screws attached to the belt through the ab... Attached the holster. I got a Darman original holster, but he was advised of some more accurate measurements, so I was proudly able to make the adjustments myself to get closer to screen accuracy. This is how high I could get my belt and still be able to cover the split between the cod and ab. I've seen a lot of builds where the belt was too low, and I think I did the best I could with my RT kit. Started to attach some snap plates to the shoulder bells. I have to find the time to suit up and size the shoulder straps and cod/butt strap.

I didn't use velcro in the backs but I did use a coverstrip. I think you'll like the consistency of coverstrips if you use them for your entire build rather than use it some places and not others. The overlap won't be seen if you are placing the velcro over it, so that shouldn't be an issue. Coverstrip on the outside will look better and you can maintain the sizing you need. I made the mistake of cutting my outside overlap then applying the coverstrip. It was a pain in the neck to get the coverstrip to line up correctly on half the plastic. So, if you decide to trim, don't trim a lot. Whatever you decide I don't think it will impact EIB or Centurion applications.

So, my tank shipment has been delayed so more time to work on my armor. Things are really starting to come together, and I feel like I've accomplished a lot, but there is still plenty to do. After shortening the length of my RT belt, I used the buttons to cover up the rivets that hold the canvas belt to the ammo belt. I tried to form a third "correct" button to replace the center, but I had no luck with this. I know some troopers have extra buttons from other kits, but it wouldn't match. So, right now I'm going to look past this and continue the build. I may come back to this at some point down the road, but I didn't want to risk destroying the belt (heat bending can be a little nerve racking). Next, I wanted to use chicago screws to hold the belt to the ab. I know from most builds I've seen people use snaps/poppers, but I was concerned that with the weight of the blaster the belt might not be secure enough. To ensure I drill the holes in the proper place and the belt is in the proper position I placed some black double sided foam tape? on the screws, then placed it on the ab section. Oh, the white duct tape is there just to prevent the rivets from scratching the plastic unnecessarily. I will probably work on attaching the holster to the belt next. I'm kinda glad my tank is a bit delayed since I'm really enjoying the build. I had to wait a while for my armor to arrive (it was late too, a few weeks). I'm just glad I have another hobby to keep me busy while I wait the extra two months it has taken to get my new fish tank

Thanks Craig. I was going for the quick and easy solution. You were certainly dedicated to your snap system, which is far superior to mine. I figure I'll reinforce areas once I get trooping, but I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to make progress. I've got a custom saltwater reef tank coming soon (my original tank was destroyed due to Hurricane Sandy) and I have to get that going once it arrives this week or early next week. So, when the tank arrives, my armor building will have to take a short break. Here is the latest...not much but a few things all at once. Drop boxes are appropriately named because when I went to pick them up the bottoms dropped out...can't believe I never glued them. Oh well, easy fix. Working on the belt and some snap plates on the cod.

So, snaps aren't fun, but I'm getting excited about suiting up and I like to think I had a simple solution to a snap issue that may help others down the road. Trimmed the styrene to fit the square... Cut a thin section of 1/2" PVC pipe to lay over and around the snap to apply equal pressure upon the plate Clamp it down with enough E6000 to set it in place

Cut off less than you think and I'd suggest cutting half of the overlap on the outside piece and the rest needed off the inner section. I made many test fit lines that I ignored, and trimmed only a small amount first before making a final cut. it is a different fit once the pieces are butted up against each other compared to the overlap being present. Cut a little then use some tape to butt them up, test fit then repeat. It takes a bit more time, but it is a heck of a lot better to cut twice than cut once and regret it. I would have looked like a 7 pound sausage in a 5 pound casing if I cut along my test fit lines for the ab/kidney sections. Keep up the good work!

Ohhhh Snap! Since I made most of my snap plates prior to getting my armor I've been cruising right along, but I needed to make some more and realized I never documented the fun! (Please sense my sarcasm here). After cutting and drilling holes in 1mm white styrene I basically recess press the styrene onto the base of the snap after heating it with the heat gun for about 3-4 seconds. Here I hope you can see the recess on the bottom of the plate which allows for good contact after the E6000 is applied. My original snap plates have a rivet that secures the snap together... These recent ones I've made I decided to omit the rivet... Ok, so why the change. Before I learned on my own how much the vario pliers sucked that is what I used to make the snap plates and the rivet was definitely necessary. Now I use a punch and anvil and I feel that it is much more even and secure setting of the snap in comparison to the pliers. Don't get me wrong, the pliers really helped me get the split rivets started and I found them invaluable for that job. I prefer now to set all my remaining snaps with the anvil and punch. Plus I knew there were going to be certain areas where I couldn't use the pliers. So there you have it, my sad snap story.

Thank you Eric and Sean for the tips, feedback is always appreciated. If I have no luck finding what I need locally I'll either paint/sharpie the screw heads or order them and offer the extras up to other troopers I am trying to get as close as I can to "screen accurate" with the RT-Mod. There are some areas that can be improved for accuracy, but the benefits of this kit far outweigh the negatives in my opinion. I am really enjoying my first build, and I wouldn't have had the courage to try without the support of this forum.

Random TD build As I continue to attach snap plates and size up elastic (boring!) I decided to work on the Thermal Detonator canister. There are a lot of neat tools that I don't have at home at my school, plus the custodians gave me some tips to accomplish my goals I first used a belt sander to try and angle the 2" black pipe so I could fit the end caps on...that was an epic fail. I purposely left the pipe long in case I screwed up, which I did. Then one of the custodians suggested using a grinder which worked awesome. Cut the excess plastic so the TD would be a perfect 7.5" with the end caps on and ta-da! I used post-its and tape to give myself some idea of a straight line and a point of no return. I teach science, but I can be creative I guess. I followed TKLeper's tutorial on the TD clips which is awesome. I started trying this before my armor arrived and consequently had my first fail right before Hurricane Sandy hit. A few more trials and I thought I had it, but I noticed that in the screen cap pics my curved metal was too long and far from the hole. This caused my bend to be off and it was back to the vice. After a total of 6 tries, I got a set I am happy with and will use once I'm ready to paint and complete the TD. I test fit it on my belt that I just got from Rob(TKittel) and the "hooks" are a perfect 3" in lenght. Now I just have to try and find those pesky black anodized pan head screws

Glad I can inspire others as I have been inspired and encouraged since joining this forum. My goal is to be ready by October, but I'm hopeful I can do my first troop before hand. I like to think I'm going at a good pace, but I have other hobbies (non star wars related) that may distract me, so I hoped by creating a build thread it would keep me on track. Fortunately, I made a bunch of snap plates in advance of receiving my armor and I have been merrily rolling along getting them in place so I can create the strapping system and get the sizing right.

AB/KIDNEY So I actually had to trim the ab/kidney a bit so I was happy I didn't have to create any shims. I got to drilling some holes and setting my split rivets. I used the dreaded, cursed vario pliers to get the split rivet started. I also used a washer under the popper on the inside of the armor. This allows the rivet head to set flush and I could care less if the popper was seated perfectly (they can get a little bent and work just fine. This also meant less time fighting to get the legs of the split rivet down below the popper rim completely or having to file the legs down. Sometimes I needed help getting those legs spread, so I used the popper setting tool A piece of granite was an unfortunate casualty... Ab side done (I'll paint them white later) Kidney side done Side by side showing poppers with split rivets inside I'm sure I'll work on the right side next...to be continued.

Torso I am going with torso as a general label since I'm a little all over the place lately. I haven't had time to size the ab and kidney, which I think I'll have to trim and is totally fine. I went with the RT-MOD kit so I wouldn't have to shim, and based on Craig's feedback it is not the most fun. I am tall, so I was fearful that the other kits based on the info provided might be problematic for me, so there ya have it. On to my pics and progress... Here are some obligatory crotch and butt shots...does this ever get old...I don't think so! I used the split rivet popper method which I love since it is so efficient and it was easy. I used a small washer under the male snap (I'll have to detail this when I get to the ab/kidney section) so I wouldn't have to fight bending the split rivet inside the snap so much. Instead of a screwdriver, I used my vario pliers to split the rivet fully. Yay! I almost screwed up this part big time. I created the holes first with a 1/8" bit, but I wanted the male snaps to seat better and not be so raised. I tried to countersink the hole with a larger bit and it tore up the abs. After my heart began to beat again, I used my heat gun to gently warm up the chewed up plastic and push the snap in place forming it and seating it nicely. Out came the anvil and hammer, and viola! Before I got my armor I decided on snap plates with 1mm styrene I ordered on the b@y rather than the black webbing. It gave me something to experience and master while I was waiting, so I decided to put some in place where I know they'll be needed. Next I hope to getting around to sizing up my ab/kidney along with the cod and butt plate. I'm not sure how easy or difficult it will be so I plan on taking my time so I get things right.

Well, it is raining today and doesn't look like little league is going to happen so, some more pics as promised. Thigh ammo pack attached. I'll paint the caps white when I get to that stage of the build. Here is a shot of me with boots, shins and thighs (held up by me. I am debating a garter system or just snapping them back to the ab plate. I know a garter system is more screen accurate, but I don't know if I'll tire of adjusting the height of a garter system each time I troop) Any input or comments (good or bad) are always welcome

So I finally got around to posting some progress this week. Cover strips on the front of the thighs are done... After some heavy contemplating I got around to drilling some holes in the shiny white plastic for the thigh battery/ammo pack. I decided to drill holes in the thigh pack first. I used a 1/8" bit which is a little smaller than the 3.5mm hole needed for the screen accurate cap rivets I got from seantrooper. So I drilled, then wiggled the bit until the hole was big enough. I forgot to take a pic of it, but after I orientated the thigh pack where I thought it would look best, I marked and drilled holes with the 1/8" bit, then used a slightly larger bit, to create a countersunk hole so the cap seated properly. Then I smacked away on the interior side to set the cap, then marked and repeated on the process on the other side. I'll post a pic of the finished thigh pack and maybe some pics of a test fitting for the legs. B-day weekend for me and mother's day so not going to get much accomplished this weekend.

Just be careful when you start using them on your build. I've gotten a few pinches and it is not fun at all. Still have some spots on my fingers that remind me what happened several weeks ago. Looking forward to some pics.

Spent some time the past few days sizing up, test fitting the thighs. Not sure if this applies to other kits, but the left thigh is definitely smaller than the right. At first I thought it was me, but the difference was very noticeable in the amount I had to trim. I decided to cut off the entire overlap on both thighs, and the long dotted lines represent how much they overlapped when I test fit the thighs. I tried to trim small amounts at a time, test fit, and repeat until I found a happy medium between sizing and appearance. After I was happy with the sizing I glued the inner shims in place. I had some time to kill, so I got the thigh ammo pack ready with some heat bending. Since I had enough clamps and magnets I glued both cover strips for the back thighs in place. I have a strong feeling I'll have to do the front cover strips one day at a time. No biggie, I like to look at other threads and tutorials for the upcoming steps