maxsteele

Here are the boots after removing the black polish and masking them off with blue painter's tape. TIme for painting! Note: I did not wipe or rinse them off after I was done with the acetone. They have sat for 24 hours since I've used the acetone and they don't smell like acetone. They just smell like leather. I wiped the elastic a bit with a wet cloth to get some of the fibers from scrubbing the polish off, but that's it. I'm going to apply paint directly to this surface.

Thanks Dave. I'd love to see this installed in your bucket if you're ordering it.

Do I take off the return edge on the elbow-end of the forearms also? Or just the wrist-end?

When I line up the two pieces of my forearm at the elbow side, it is the piece without the notches that is longer. EDIT: here's what my alignment looks like from the elbow end. Note it's the piece without the notches that is longer: Left forearm: Right Forearm:

Also Dave, I believe you have the wrong pieces matched up in your photo. On each forearm piece, there is a molded raised ridge. Those ridges go together. You measure 7mm from where the molded ridge starts and then cut off the extra on each piece. Next, take off the return edges of the wrists. Then you fit the two pieces on your arm and wrap around the piece without the 11 / 12 indentions on it, find a good fit, then mark and cut at that point. Now you have your two pieces of forearm ready for a 15mm finishing strip. EDIT: Check this thread for how to do the forearms: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24737-rs-props-build-in-progress/

Hm, I have read to line up the pieces at the elbow side and then cut the extra off at the wrists. This also plays into removing the return edge at the wrist ends. I hadn't read to line up at the wrists and cut at the elbow side before....

Hey Dave, could you link to the one you found? Thanks!

Thank you Phil!

Well, in my enthusiasm to clean off the second shoe, I forgot to take a photo in the middle of the process. I can say, however, that 2 minutes is nowhere enough time to take off that polish on the Bass Amsterdam boots. I knew what I was doing this time, used copius amounts of acetone, and it took me 45 minutes. There are still a couple of small areas where I can see the polish, but I ran out of time for the moment. I may be able to finish it up tonight.

I'm going to take a pic in the middle of the removal process. It should show the removed vs. unremoved areas.

I believe these are the forums for Georgia Garrison: https://ga501st.com/forums/ As for getting a kit trimmed vs. untrimmed - yes, having a trimmed kit certainly lowers the time you take in assembling your armor. However, I have a trimmed kit and I'm still feeling overwhelmed with what I have to do. I need to cut away return edges on my wrists, I need to figure out how to fit the armor pieces to my body and trim away the extra, I need to learn how to make the snap / strap system and install it properly so I can wear the armor.... It's a big project. I'm starting to get a grasp on how to cut the armor to fit. Cutting the finishing strips gave me practice in how to cut clean lines on ABS, which will come in very handy when I start trimming my armor. Posting on the forums here, posting on your local garrison's forum, and meeting up with people are all resources to use.

I started stripping one of my shoes around 6:45pm last night outside. The first 10 minutes or so I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, until I started rubbing hard enough that the black came up. when I looked at the boot under the shine of the sun, I saw a distinct "polish" and "no polish" area. That's when I started to really scrub on the boot until I didn't see any parts of that polish area. I got all of the seams and in the nooks where the leather meets the sole. I ended up using about half the quart container of acetone when I was done with the first boot. It's entirely possible your boots weren't as shined up as mine were, or you were more efficient in removing the polish than I was. I didn't jam my tape way under, but I did make sure it was firmly in place. I'm just going to go for it once I get the other boot stripped. I'm also definitely going to go around one time with a razor before removing the tape after painting.

The frog tape was having a really hard time. The normal 3M blue painter's tape is much more sticky, but was still having an issue with sticking on that tiny ridge. I think it might be ok though. I really went over it with my fingernails and jammed it down on the boot sole lip. I'm going to go forward with that. I didn't want to start painting until I had both boots stripped. I only had time last night to strip one boot. If I have time tonight, I'll get the second one stripped and masked, then I can start the painting.

Yeah, I think it'll be fine with the current blue tape I have on there now. It was really cool watching the black polish flake off of the boot with the use of the acetone.

I bought Frogtape to mask off the soles of my boots, and the adhesion is very poor. After running over the tiny ridge over and over with my finger, it still ends up popping back up. This damn tape wasn't cheap either! I think I'm going to take it back and just use regular blue painter's tape. It has much better adhesion and I think it'll work well for this. EDIT: Ugh, even the much more sticky blue painter's tape I'm using is having difficulty sticking to the little ridge where the sole meets the leather. I'll leave it on there overnight and see what it does.

In the spirit of cataloging builds, I wanted to keep track of my own boot conversion. Like Sheik Yerbouti, I'm converting a pair of Bass Amsterdam boots to a white TK pair of boots. I have received base 501st approval on the design of these boots by my (soon to be) local garrison's GML. EIB and Centurion approvals are unknown at this time. My shoe size is a 9 1/2 . I ordered the size 9 1/2 and when I tried them on after receiving them, they were 1/2 size too big. I would suggest to buy 1/2 smaller than your shoe size. The size 9s fit nicely, with the personal exception of the right boot fitting looser than the left. That's because my right foot is shorter than my left (yay genetics!). When I received the boots, this is what one looked like: Note that lovely shine! I took a lint-free cloth (dried baby wipes also work great!), kept it wet with acetone, and scrubbed away. If you are doing this under a light souce, you will be able to visibly see the polish coming off, leaving the dull texture of the leather underneath. After about 45 minutes to an hour of scrubbing every nook and cranny, this is the result: A nice, dull black leather boot, ready for painting! I purchased a 4oz bottle of white Angelus paint, and my next step is to lay down the first coat. From my research, it takes about 6 coats to get the boot exactly where you want it. You can use the paint on the elastic parts as well. I have also seen the suggestion of using fabric paint. I'm going to use the Angelus paint on the elastic.

I had cancelled the order, but I am going to re-order them. I was ordering 30 of them because I can get them for $20 shipped on Amazon, but I wonder if I need that many.... Couldn't hurt to have extra, I guess. It seems difficult to find reasonably-priced magnets greater than 1/2 inch, and those that are seem to be 1/16" thickness, which I want to stay with at least 1/8" thickness.

I did receive confirmation that my GML will approve the Bass Amsterdam boots for base 501st approval. I would love if these boots passed EIB, but if they don't, then I'll have to wait for that until I get boots that do pass for EIB. Just like an armor build thread, I'm going to start my own Bass Amsterdam conversion thread. I've started on the process and it's pretty cool.

Hm - 1/2 inch aren't big enough? That's what most threads seemed to suggest. Should I cancel this order and order bigger ones? What size are you suggesting? 3/4 inch? 1 inch? Yes, the first thing I'm going to do is wrap them in painter's tape, and put a tab on one side so I can hold onto the magnet to minimize finger pinching.

I'm buying 30 of these magnets: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0084UASJQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2AN80OGADPFB5 That should work for gluing my armor and holding my helmet together for adjustments.

Gotcha. If I'm held back from EIB on just my shoes, I'm alright with that for my first build. I believe these shoes will pass EIB, and may not pass for Centurion. If my GML's approval is all that is required, then I'll start painting my boots tonight!

After rough cutting the ears and looking at several more ATA helmet build threads, I got brave and broke out the xacto knife. Here's my current teeth as of 5 minutes ago: I've determined that in this pic, the left-most big tooth is just smaller than the right one. It's how the mold is. I've noticed this in other photos as well. Hmmm, the other teeth on this side look more "square" than the biggest one. I'm not sure how to correct that, or if I even need to. Kind of the same thing goes for this side also. Did I take too much out of the two biggest teeth, or did I not take enough out of the rest of the teeth? EDIT: You know what? I'm done with my teeth. Everyone's teeth look different. These are how my teeth will look. I'm moving on to the ears next. I got a sanding drum bit for my Dremel and practice on some extra ABS making rounded cuts. Once I get the two pieces of my helmet connected together, it's ear shaping time!

Thanks Leo! I'm just trying to sort it all out before my armor "goes under the knife". Your build is looking great!

I posed the question to my (soon to be) local garrison GML, and he said he would approve them for 501st entry. Is that all I need?

Awesome gaz. That's exactly the info I've been looking for. I've been going blind with all the build threads I've been reading, but I can never seem to get some exact information like this. I checked out your thread and that's where I got the first info about how to cut the finish ridge spot. I had not seen that mentioned in other build threads I read. With the underside, does it matter which piece I have go to the inside of the other piece when marking and cutting? I'd hate to cut a chunk off of one piece when I should have cut it off of the other one. EDIT: I think I'm starting to get it. I was just looking at my forearm pieces, and on the left piece without the 11 indentions, the backside of it has more extra ABS than the other piece which joins together to it. That means I would cut the extra off of the underside of the non-indented piece.