welshchris77

Disassembled my belt yesterday, put wet rags behind the buttons and alternated drilling each one to help distribute the heat.

Or paint the back of the snap

I would be very weary of cutting a cylindrical plastic shape on a chop saw Chris. If you do decide to cut it measure back and put pencil lines at intervals around the pipe, then wrap a piece of masking tape around the pipe lined up with the marks and cut it with a dremel cutting disc but test the speed to make sure it doesn't melt it. Chop saws can be ok if the piece is well clamped, difficult with a round slippery object, also if the tooth size is too big on the saw it could shatter the plastic. I have cut pvc plumbing pipes with my dremel in the past and it was very accurate and didn't take that long either

Try it with thick and thin offcuts and you will notice how much hotter you will need to get the thicker ones before bending them

I will check out how ukwrath did it but I think 'angled' is possibly more screen accurate. I realize I would need to drill new holes for the TD if I cut it down but they would be hidden by the bracket so thats not a problem, only I would know they are there Yes I rounded off a hexagonal bolt by the way, its actually quite easy if you have a drill and a bench grinder (or could possible use a belt sander), you start off with a longer bolt than what you need, chuck it up into the drill, hold it against the side of the bench grinding disk but start up the drill and let the bolt head spin before you start pushing it against the grinder, needs to be held quite steady though, if you don't it will 'bounce' not grind it round evenly, the bolt head can be tilted to round off the edges and any lettering and then hold it against some sand paper and start up the drill again to polish it smooth with different grits. Finish by marking the slot with a pencil and carefully use a thin dremel cutting disk to make the slot and use the disk to also trim the bolt down to the required size, this also cuts away any possible damaged thread caused by the drill. A pressure sensitive trigger is also useful on your drill for this job so you can control the speed the bolt head spins at. I can post some pics tomorrow if anyone is interested, its actually easier then it sounds and only took maybe 10 mins or less, Hex bolts are very cheap so if you mess one up just make another, I used a similar technique when I made brass capacitors for my 'all brass' power cylinders on my sterling E11 as I don't have a lathe.

From a distance 'straight' looks better I think, but angled looks better closeup when its touching the cover strip, I want to put a small dap of E6000 under it to stop it slipping down when trooping but will leave it for now as I'm undecided. Be careful with the hot water bath you don't split the return edge, I think mine didn't split because I got the plastic very hot before trying to bend it and also because I could 'feel' it better without gloves and didn't push it against any hard surfaces but be warned it will be 'hot'!, I didn't burn myself though, just use caution or do as ukwrath has mentioned and trim/tapper the return edge before you begin

Thermal detonator completed also, didn't have any of the correct shape screws and couldn't be bothered to mail away for them so got some 'hex' head bolts, ground and sanded them down and added a 'slot' with a dremel cutting wheel. Bolted them from the inside with flat waters, sprung washers and nuts. I know some have shortened the length of their TD's and I didn't but could always pop of the caps at a latter date and sand the ends down a bit if needed

Got the Snipper knee plate and ammo pack done over the last few days also, does anyone know if the ammo pack on the thigh is meant to be angled slightly up? it looks like this on some armor, not sure what the verdict is on this And here is the ammo pack position I mentioned Straight:- Or angled up ?:- Straight:- Or up?:-

Be careful with the butt plate if using hot water as it is a lot thinner than other pieces!

Thanks, as the plastic is reasonably thick in this area it can take quite a lot of heat to re-form it, I had the pan on the smallest ring on my hob so the heat wouldn't rise up the sides to damage the piece, I kept the water permanently boiling and left it in for 2-3 minutes or as long as is needed to get the plastic really hot, I did it twice to get the shape I wanted, the plastic was hot to touch when bending but not so hot that I couldn't tolerate it for a few seconds, you can use gloves but I prefer not to as I can 'feel' the piece better, it cools quick, I also had the cold tap running in the sink and one I got the shape quickly held it under the cold water but still applying pressure so it wouldn't 'spring' back to its original shape, once its cold it will stay put!

reinforce your return edges with some small strips of abs but don't use E6000, use abs paste as glue and hold it for a few minutes or clamp for more permanence and also if you need to re-heat it again.

Took two 'hot water baths' by the way to achieve the shape I needed! oh yeah and the socks and sandals are not imperial issue either by the way

Test fitting the Torso Ab and chest plate are fitting well, not much of an overlap but enough to get by, also looks like I won't have shim either, giving up cakes, sweets and beer has really paid off!. Being 6'1 I seem to be having the same trouble as other 'tall' troopers with a huge gap between my kidney plate and back plate. To remedy this I have given the upper sections of the back a good old 'hot water bath' to take away that sharp bend and gain me a few inches which seems to have sorted the problem And the before and after pics! Made a huge difference!

Or use masking tape

Toothpicks are your friend for applying abs paste

Just an idea here but if you cut some circles the same diameter at the rivet covers and glued them together with abs paste until you have the right thickness, then sand the edge smooth and glue(abs paste them to a square off cut, when fully dry (a few days to fully cure) countersink a hole in the back with a bench drill or carefully dremel a recess out for the new rivet. or better still make some of the circles the same shape as a 'washer' before glueing them except the very top one and also pre drill a hole in the square off cut before gluing it all together which will create your recess. If that makes sense?

Looking good Chris

Just a tip here for anyone trimming the parts to fit, I was using a metal ruler clamped to the pieces as in ukwraths build but found the ruler wouldn't always conform to the shape of the pieces very well. The way I found worked better for me was to measure in at the top and bottom where the cover strip would be going, then use one of the cover strips themselves as a ruler as it will bend to the shape of the armor much easier than a steel ruler, clamp that, mark with a pencil, remove the cover strip and carefully cut it freehand with a knife.

Pretty much finished the left forearm today, tidied up the edges by cutting a small strip of abs, glueing it inside with home made abs paste and dabbing it onto the outside with a toothpick then sanding when dried for strength, got some novus 1-2-3 polish on order for any scratches and areas that need to be polished too.

Thanks Mark, yes I have done this and actually gained an extra 10mm, disaster averted

Maybe tape the outside and abs paste the inside, toothpicks are great for applying the stuff, as I discovered earlier today

Do you mean at the top front edge of the left thigh where the two pieces join? Its looks very different from the right thigh, not sure if its just my kit or they are all like this. Maybe the cover strip will make it look different when its on.

Really?, I thought 6'.1 was about average, maybe my legs are just long

True!, do you think mine look 'off'? Think I may have gone too tight at the ankle too , my boots fit but are quite tight against the armor

Also the bottom of my Shins are barely covering the top of my boots!