mercury26

Quick update, I was assembled enough for my daughter's birthday party. Thanks for everyones input and help! Here are some pics of me in the costume, also one with with my wife and other wife my oldest daughter (her party). I actually was close to overall completion but the following for submission of entry. Ammo Pack on Right Thigh Minor Painting on Helmet Tighten left shin, too loose and moves around Fix drop boxes (they popped off the rivets) Trim forearm return edge (near elbow), left a bruise on my arm Bicep straps to keep them tighter to my arm Strap on top of the shoulders After that, I have some additional work to do.

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I have some replacement mesh coming from my armory. I will keep this all in mind, when I do my next helmet build.

One last question, did you remove the return edge on the thighs? I am looking to remove some for a bit tighter fit.

Yes, I lined up the elbow side on each arm and cut at the wrist side. Sounds like that is correct. I cut off the top part to accommodate the cover strip. I have not cut off the other side (back) yet. I was going to glue the strips and then cut on the back to accommodate my arm.

OK, I fixed the shins and have a much tighter fit. Thanks for the help there! I am getting ready to trim the arms and believe I have everything in alignment. From my understanding (and looking at things), it looks like I need to remove an inch or so from the front of the right arm. See pics below, I have a pencil line where I plan to the cut. I also have some pics of the left arm taped together to show alignment. It looks like I need to take a smidge off the left front. I am going to remove both return edges on the front of both arms. I appreciate some input to make sure I cut this correctly. Thanks in advance.

I will fiddle with the ab/cod tonight and look at tightening up the back plate. I also posted on the local garrison forum to gather some opinions. We will get there, little by little.

Thanks for the suggestion on the shins, I will trim them down quite a bit. Much more enjoyable now that I have the dremel sander going. As for the torso, I cannot bring the cod piece up any more and the chest plate is snug against my neck. I am on the taller side, so I was thinking the back piece is result of my long torso on my 6'3" frame. The other area is that shins seem awfully low. I was thinking of raising them a bit with some elastic from the thigh to the shin, not sure if that is acceptable or now. Completely agree on the Ab plate extra material, I was going to do that when I fix the left side rivets. Thanks for the feedback much appreciated.

I have been working every day on the build and made some goos progress. First thing, I really love my dremel sander! I have had it for a long time, but it has been a considerable help on trimming and (of course) sanding. I should have introduced into my life sooner. Anyways, I made a number of adjustments and completed the torso strapping. Everything seems be sitting and aligned correctly. I have been doing cover strips on the legs and getting them sized. The shins are almost done, just need some velcro on the back. The thighs need trimmed and then glued down. I am using VaderDave's garter, I cinched things up a bit more after I took the pics. I am working on the arms this week. I am working on getting the costume into wearable condition for my daughters birthday party next Sunday, a week from today. On also, I lost my screen for the Hovi Mic Tips. I am trying to track them down at the house, or come up with an alternative. Please provide comments and let me know if I missing anything.

I am finishing putting my NE bucket together. I installed the mic tips today and now cannot find the mesh screen insert. What can I do for replacements? What is an acceptable material? Thanks, Chuck

I measured the TD, was 7 1/2" on the nose with the end caps (OK, well I had a 1/16" over the required measurement). I can take a pic with the tape measure tomorrow. I think the control panel is a bit small throwing off the visual dimensions. Made progress on the helmet tonight and continuing to clue cover strips. I am hoping to test fit legs in the next day or so.

OK, finished the right ear. Looks OK, would like to get it tighter fit against the helmet. I am hoping to work on the left ear tonight.

OK, I made progress on the helmet (right) ear (see below). Looks OK, would like to get it tighter fit against the helmet. I finished the TD canister (some pics below) and started gluing cover strips on the legs. I also started on the arms and hoping to start putting cover strips on them tonight. Last thing I am working on is the elastic straps on the torso, need to shorten the shoulder straps (back to chest) and lengthen chest-to-ab straps. I think that will center everything nicely, will take some pics tonight (if I can).

I need some ear help. I have to agree that ears suck! I am trimming, but I cannot get them to lay flat. I am wondering if I should trim a bit of the bottom outlined in blue. Any thoughts? I hate to keep Dremel sanding to the point of no return.

OK, making progress. I have all the straps in the torso part of the armor, seems to be fitting and sitting much better. I will upload some pics tomorrow. I started working on the thighs and legs, right now the thighs have cover strips gluing over night. I finished the Thermal Detonator, happy to finish something small. With that being said, I am working on the helmet. I have to agree that ears suck! I am trimming, but I cannot get them to lay flat. I am wondering if I should trim a bit of the bottom outlined in blue. Any thoughts? I hate to keep Dremel sanding to the point of no return.

Sounds good, I will glue some snap plates on the back plate and kidney plate tonight. I can do another test fit tomorrow. Thanks for the critique, always helpful. I am getting excited to actually be wearing some armor.

OK, I did some test fitting tonight and had the wife take some pics. Here is my assessment: Ab/Cod/Butt Plate need to be pulled up a bit more Back plate needs to come down more, thinking longer shoulder straps Add straps: Butt Plate-to-Back Plate, Chest Plate-to-Ab Plate Trim cod (possibly) a bit more, help fit in area. Coming along, but need to step it up to complete in two weeks. I am hoping to get started on the limbs and finish the helmet over the next coming days (into the weekend).

Here is the DVH thread on the NE helmet build. similar to the AM. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/26301-ne-helmet-build/

Thanks, I trimmed the butt plate and chest plate. I was hoping to test fit tonight, but some of the snap plates need some more time to cure. Might move on to trimming cover strips or working on ears on the helmet.

Lots and lots of snap plates, though I have a good system going. I make the snap plate and then bore out a backing plate to the plate can glue down flat (I believe some others use the same technique). I am going to do this a torso test fit tonight and take some pics. If this goes well, then I will move on the limbs.

OK, here are some quick weekend progress pics. I am going to do a test fit tonight and have my wife snap some pics. I will post the pics. Helment assembled pre-ears (thanks to DVH for the build guide, very helpful):

Thanks for the instructions, wish you could assemble mine but I will brave it alone. One quick question, do you glue the front mask part to the helmet top? Or do the side screws just keep it in place?

I see what you are saying on the rivet. I will move it later, as I am on a time crunch to get the costume done for my daughter's b-day party. I will make a list of things to modify after completion. Another item is the cutting the kidney plate, I would like to do the same with cod to make everything flow together.

I am also working on the helmet in parallel, I noted some areas that I was looking to trim before I start gluing.

Now with the additional pics:

I started work again after a long hiatus. I am about to start gluing the helmet pieces (3 piece NE helmet). I am assuming on the bottom that I cut out some of the bottom around the neck opening. I also illustrated how I plan to cut the side. Please tell me if I should make some changes to lines before I cut.