8BitBry

Curious if I'm doing something wrong when pressing the PTT button. Here's my issue: when I press and hold the PTT button, intermittently yet most of the time, it only toggles the static burst sound. It doesn't "open the line" for me to talk. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I get another PTT cable? If a video will help demonstrate the problem, I can record one and post here.

I also got my AP pre-trimmed (well, pre-built but had to take everything apart). For #1, the butt-kidney plates, I did snap plates with the 1" elastic joining the snaps on both far edges and center. It doesn't effect the look and is most likely more comfortable than a return edge right there because of the belt. I also have the same bracket system connecting the chest to ab and back to kidney and that has been solid.

10427 4 - 1 of 4 siblings, 4 members of my own family (daughter + 1 on the way in May) 27 - has been, always will be my favorite number for many significant reasons 10 - primarily due to the 5 digit number I had to choose, which is also the number I remember wearing for soccer as a kid when we won this big So Cal AYSO tournament thingy.

Wow to this photo Nice job, Midwest!

Nice job. I have Vader Dave's snap garter but found that the fabric belt kept getting pulled down by my thighs when I would walk - so after an hour it was pretty tweaked. I swapped out the fabric for a 1" leather belt and it rocks. I hope this will work awesome for you!

Good job Chris. I had to do the same cuts around the snaps on my drop box loops too lol

Thanks A.C.!

Maybe I should've requested 501st Stormtrooper status? http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=15369

Seriously!

Looking good Joe. How are you connecting the chest to torso? It looks like it pulls slightly towards your right arm. I tend to think it looks better with the middle indentation aligned with the ab buttons. I've noticed that AP is a little weird on the curvature of the top torso so don't let that fool you in alignment.

whaaa when did this happen?

Thanks! How do I move from group Member to 501st Stormtrooper?

Bryan - TK 10427 requesting full access. http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=15369 Thx!

Thanks all! I'm going with what Karin suggested and have the E6K curing now. I placed a small stack of rare earth magnets on the trim at the brow and inside of lid and squeezed a bunch of E6K inside where the cap and face meet up. It was the quickest fix and less invasive method I wanted to perform. I'll see how that works after a few fittings!

Yep, didn't know he was gonna cut them off! Lol

Sorry, it's AP - I have 1 screw that holds the cap in place on each side before the ears go in. Maybe that needs to be adjusted slightly?

Currently my brow on my AP helmet sits right at the top of the eyes. I can pull the cap back to get it slightly elevated where I would like it to sit but it falls down eventually. Do you guys have any tricks or tips on how to make sure the brow stays put?

So, I'm an idiot and had the snap plate on the bottom left kidney lower than the button plate on the ab. That was the main catalyst for the kidney to pop up like it is in the above photos. So that's fixed now. Also I trimmed 1" off the shim as well so the torso/kidney fit is a lot better. I also made new shoulder straps at the advice of Chris (above) and extended the snap length by about 2" and moved the shoulder bell snaps forward slightly for less black separation between bell/chest at the front view of the armor. This length modification also adds to the improvement of the kidney/ab alignment and reduces the drastic pulling of the chest and separation of the back/kidney. I also (no photo yet) zap-a-gap'd some velcro hook to the underside of the fabric straps so they would be flush to the loop applied ABS shoulder strap. Another issue I ran into with these longer straps is the ABS shoulder straps I received were cut too short by AP so they physically end right at the back plate with the longer fabric strap now. I sent an email to Mark but he doesn't have any extra untrimmed straps to send and didn't offer to make them. I have no idea how that works and why he can't blast a shoulder strap mold after all the money I shelled out. Anyways, I'm currently in contact with another resource to see how the color will match.

looks good bro!

Oh good, I thought I was the only one who started sweating when I got to the arms

I aligned the middle one to match up with the cover strip. Adds a nice touch to define the line a bit more imo. ---------

If you want to get rid of the gap, fill that sucker slightly higher than the ABS, sand the paste (after drying for 1 day-ish) and blend the sanding effort into the thigh a little so it's seamless. Then use Novus polish, follow polishing steps 1-3-2-1 with some 5-minute elbow grease for each step (15-20 min total) and it'll be severely unnoticable to the untrained eye. Without close detail, no one will ever know the difference. I got rid of a 5mm gap on my left thigh this way. ----------

Did my first couple of full test fits on my own this week and found that it took about 10 or 15 minutes without any "problems". I didn't really time it but it felt never ending. How long it takes you guys to put on the armor?

Thanks Chris! Yah, I'll try repositioning the snaps on the shoulders and bring it all down a little. I did notice that when raising my arms it would catch with those chest/torso brackets.

Well I've been so busy and focused I couldn't find the time to update my progress with photos... BUT! I did do some test fits over the weekend and this is what I've got so far. With Centurion in mind, comments and feedback to my questions are totally encouraged. I have a laundry list of what needs to be improved, so a few of my notes below will most likely be the same as yours. This is my 2nd full test fit. I think the first shot came out pretty well. I have an issue with the right shin turning on me when I walk. Going to examine the issue a bit more and figure out if it's sizing or if I need to perform this mod by Peter: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/22628-how-to-make-shins-not-shift-or-move-to-the-side/ The brow looks a bit low to me but I like it. Is this acceptable? It does slip down a little with handling and I'd like it not to. Any ideas on how to get the brow to stay put? Will try some strapping adjustments to close the black a little more on the shoulder bells. I had to heat bend the hell out of the top of the shell to get it to fit over my wide and beefy delts. My right drop box hangs a bit lower. It's looped around the belt so it's an easy adjustment with velcro/adhesive. Sides pop out a little but I'm considering shaving a little off my Han snap side shim to get a tighter fit around the waist - so I'll revisit that issue after I trim the shim. Kidney tops raise up when belt is strapped tight. Again, I'll shave the right shim and play with the length of the straps. That's the right shim that overlaps a bit. I need to cut about 1" off of it and add a little bit of padding on the lower back of the kidney. A bit of separation between the back plate and kidney I want to tighten up - I think this will align my kidney with torso a little better as well. I'm using the screen accurate brackets by Mr. No Stripes for this connection. Right forearm is twisted a little. I'm revisiting how the fabric is connected to the indus. strength Velcro with rubber adhesive vs zap-a-gap for a stronger connection. Going to add a little padding to the outside of the lower thighs to align them slightly better. Overall I was pretty happy with the initial fits. I did have to make some serious adjustments and overhauls to the molds. What do you guys think? Are my thoughts heading in the right direction? Thanks in advance and thanks to everyone who has helped me with supplies and knowledge to make this work!