DroidHunter

Getting very close. Mostly just strapping and checking fit right now. Here's a quick shot after strapping on my shoulders. The chest looks askew, but its just the way I was standing. It actually sits quite straight. I have a two position strap for the shoulders, so I can pull them up about an inch if necessary. At this point, I have to do the thigh strapping (still debating on thigh garter versus snap to ab plate), add padding to the ridiculous ATA forearms, and put a fan in the bucket. Hopefully I'll be ready for some submission photos next week. Celebrating 10 years of married life this weekend so I have to put it away for a few days...

First, follow what Germain posted above. As far as what is required (for Centurion) by way of rivets and snaps, that covers it. 3 split rivets on the left side of the abdomen; 3 matching split rivets on the left side of the kidney plate. Use this thread for reference: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/26886-split-rivet-placement/ One split rivet in the crotch with two male snaps on the butt plate as pictured above. One male snap in the upper right corner of the abdomen. Visually, that is all that is required. The split rivets don't even need to anchor anything -- they can be ornamental if you wish. And don't forget the cap rivets on the edges of the right thigh ammo pack. As for strapping, that is a matter of choice unless you want true screen accurate strapping. In my experience, most troopers strap for fit and function, not screen accuracy, but if you want acreen accurate, there are guys here who can steer you. Look at the picture submissions on the Centurion build pages, even if you only are going EIB. You will see examples of how guys are strapping their kits. See if your local garrison has any armor parties scheduled too. As a genereal rule you will see: -ab plate and kidney strapped together with the split rivets on the left side of the torso creating the "clamshell" -butt plate strapped to kidney plate -kidney plate strapped to back -back strapped to the chest over the shoulders (white elastic) -chest strapped to the abdomen -strap under the crotch from butt plate to ab plate -shoulder strapped to chest/back strap -strap on lower shoulder around arm -strap from shoulder to bicep -strap from bicep to forearm -strap from thigh to ab plate or to a belt (i.e. a garter system) I probably missed one or two. Check out the pics in those Centurion applications here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/72-request-centurion-status/ And use this as a GUIDELINE when deciding what kind of elastic to buy: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/26477-what-we-know-about-strapping-snaps-rivets-etc/?hl=%2Bbelt+%2Brivet Does that help? If your question is how to strap, that's another story. I recommend making snap plates, but other people can chime in on that.

Chrome and Firefox work fine. When I use IE it hangs up and I have to close out of the internet. Dumb old IE.

I may have to try this sometime with may spare set of ATA ears. Very cool. I wonder if you could use an old fashioned compass that is utilized for drawing circles for this, as long as you put some tape over the needle point to avoid scratching the helmet.

will do.

Thanks Steve, I really appreciate your comments. I wasn't sure on both of those points. The knee should be an easy fix. That's partially why I dropped the rivet a little more forward rather than equi-distant from the top and side. I can trim the back edge down a little cloder to the bend point on the thigh. I looked at a lot of build threads and it looked like many people had thigh ammo packs entending beyond the anchor points. I trimmed mine back but there is still some overlap -- though less than it would appear in the pics. The ab button plate is a little trickier. Should I Dremel it down? It is mounted with E6000, so I can probably get it off, though I have never done this. Any suggestions? And not that I'm looking for an easy way out, but would either/both of these issues affect eventual EIB status? Just curious.

Falling behind on posting up here. This has to be the world's slowest build. 8 months and counting -- although the end is only a couple of weeks away. I went to an armor party a week ago and picked up some good pointers on stuff. I manged to start putting snap plates inside the body, but ran into an issue when the female snap wasn't fitting over the riveted male snap plates. I have solved the issue now, but it slowed my progress. So here are a few pics of my progress over the last week or two: Right thigh ammo pack done with cap rivets. Plastic hand guards attached to rubber gloves. I will eventually upgrade to rubber, but this will suffice for now for EIB. BTW, Loctite 2-part plastic bonding glue works great for attaching velcro to rubber! Ammo belt done. I still need to add snaps to attach the whole thing to the ab, but the rest is done. The holster is attached with chicago screws (as permitted by the CRL). Rivet covers and drop boxes also done. My snap plate solution: A little strip od styrene between overlapping elastic makes it fit great over the riveted male snaps. Makes taking them on and off easier too. More to come.....

This is the article link as posted on comicbookmovie.com: -------------

Probably not a shock, but according to CBM:

I personally think the low brow is the way to go. But that is a personal preference. Looks good.

A good point, although the post on my split rivets is long as well.

I would, but I already have the 7mm cap rivets for the ammo knee belt, and I decided to use snaps to attach the ammo belt to the canvas belt so I can wash the darned thing. The canvas already got filthy at an armor party this weekend, and I'd go nuts if I couldnt wash it! Practicality over accuracy.

Obviously, in order to be "movie accurate", split rivets should be used on the left side of the kidney and ab plates. The CRL states as follows (ANH): I know that split rivets can be difficult to set. My question is this: Would it be permissible, under the CRL for both EIB and Centurion, to use Double cap rivets instead -- so long as they are "rounded or domed, solid, and approximately 5/16" (8mm) in diameter? For example, would these be acceptable? The head on these double cap rivets is 8mm and rounded. They look very similar to the split rivets I have. I know this would not be accurate to the original suits, but then again, neither is my strapping method. Just curious, as these are easier to install, wont snag the undersuit, and are available close to my home.

I've had good luck with Loctite brand in the past, so I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Vern.

Thanks Mathias. If a snap does pop off I can always reset it with E6000 in the future.

If there is such a thing. I am closing in on the end of my build, which I have done entirely with E6000. I preferred the slower cure time and inherent flexibility. However, I am going to an armor party this weekend and I need to mount my snap plates so that the vets can help me strap up. I'll never get that done with E6000. So, I am considering using CA glue to mount the snap plates (that still need to be put together...) so that I can potentially mount the plates, and then start strapping all on Saturday. So my questions are (1) does anybody else use CA glue for mounting snap plates or is there a concern about heat generation as was once suggested would happen with E6000 and metal?; (2) Are there any recommended CA glues to use for this? I saw this posted elsewhere: --------- I am open to any suggestions. If CA glue is not recommended for this, I'll just finish up at another time.

I guess I did! Oh well, I can live with the result. Finished painting and I'm content with the final result.

Take a look at some of the Centurion submission threads and you will see how the stuff from the link above can be put together. You probably want some 1 inch, 2 inch and 3 inch black, plus 1 inch white and something for the shoulders. Closest I found was 1 1/2 inch white.

I hope Bill D was an oversight in the article. Max HAS to be an evil character....

Working on my ab buttons. I used a pen cap to draw a circle in pencil, then painted free-hand. How do these look so far? Also, the smaller button plate migrated a little to the right as you look at it, while the glue set up. Does it look ok?

You and me both. Glad it helped somebody out! Still trucking along on my build, just haven't snapped many pics lately. Everything is done as far as gluing pieces together other than the backs of my thighs as I try to decide whether to cut more. However, shins, forearms, biceps are done. I cleaned up the chest, back, kidney plate, butt plate and shoulders this weekend, and marked off where the split rivets will go on the left side. I also made a run and grabbed some elastic from Joann's (1 inch, 2 inch and 3 inch black, 1 inch white and 1 1/2 for the shoulders -- until I can grab some 1 3/4 instead). Then, after finding out I have a Tandy Leather shop nearby, I picked up 2 sets of line 24 snaps. I still have to do my belt and add the ammo pack to my thigh, but I should be able to start strapping up soon. There's a local armor party on the 10th so I am hopeful to be just about finished after that.

Go to the Costuming and Builds section and post under the ANH build thread, or ESB build thread depending on your choice. Good Luck! http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/31-costuming-and-builds-501st/

Great advice from everyone here. The quote above is exactly what I have been using, with 1 exception: I only bought the curved Lexan scissors from Amazon. I personally am not a big fan of the score and snap except for the cover strips, so I used the scissors A LOT!. Straight scissors would be good for trimming the long edges of the arm and leg pieces while the curved scissors are good for the opening edges of the arm/leg pieces and parts of the body. But I made out fine using the curved ones for everything.

I decided to go straight to Terrell (Mr. ATA himself) with this question. He told me that the edge with the raised ridge in the mold area that gets cut off is the bottom. You can see that ridge in my picture from above: Just above the blue line in this pic is the raised ridge line in the mold. That edge should sit against the butt plate, and so the kidney plate is upside down in this picture. The opposite edge has two "bumps" in it that look a bit like love handles. That edge is the upper edge, so the kidney should sit like this: I only share this since I got the information from the seller himself, and it might save others from the same confusion in the future.