PhoenixTrooper

Thanks! So excited!

Finally I have been able to replace the rear cover strips that had caused the problem. How do these look? And in this pic you can see the adjusted det, the new thighs and the new arms all together: *crossing fingers*

Redid the det with new clips to adjust the position, and also changed to slotted screws while at it.

So the problem is the 1.5 inch back strip? Just making sure I understand what to fix. Though like I said, they're tight already.

All the cover strips on the legs are 1", front and back. Biceps are 1" in the front and 1.5" in the back, and are tight on me already. There's also not much extra plastic on them for "play". Forearms are 5/8" front and back. They do have more room on the platform I could move them up to 1" strips too I suppose, if that would work. Though they were the first parts I made and are superglued, so it might destroy them. Thoughts? Forearm: Bicep (front):

Definitely no return edge now. Had to flatten the edge a touch because they had gotten sharp enough to cut.

The belt's attached with a pair of snaps, with velcro backing it up because the snaps fail a lot. When the snaps stay it sits like it's supposed to, but looks like they were popped in the pictures and I didn't notice. May need to add more velcro or something. As to the cover strips, the one on the calf hasn't changed, it's exactly the same size as the other calf, but the photo has a bit of an optical illusion going on there. Will measure the others when I get home so I can see what's what. I know the biceps are tight and the forearms are loose currently, fit-wise. Should be able to update the return edge today. Det will take longer due to not having the tools on hand.

Name = Chris Sanders TK ID = 80806 FISD Forum Name = PhoenixTrooper Garrison = Georgia Garrison My EIB Thread: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/27379-tk-80806-requesting-anh-stunt-eib-status-ata382/ Armor= ATA Helmet= ATA Blaster= Hyperfirm Height = 5'10" Weight = 250 lbs Boots = TK Boots Canvas Belt = TKittell Hand Plates/Gloves = Sonnenschein Electronics = Evilboy Fans Neck Seal = Darman Holster = Darman Inside Brackets = Mr. No Stripes Inner Drop Boxes = kwdesigns Full Body Arms Raised: Armor Details Ab Buttons Butt/Kidney - 2 pieces Hand Plates - rubber Shoulders - glued in the front, free floating in back with elastic Thigh pack Knee plate attachment Drop box backs Cod/butt plate attachment (took the paint off the rivet) General inside strap bonus picture Closeup on the shims on the thighs No return edges (almost forgot!) Helmet Details (Repainted with thinner lines) Hovi Mic Tips Green Lens S-trim Blaster Details D-ring Accessories Details Neck Seal Back of thermal Det (metal clips) Holster attachment And the action shot

Careful using a heat gun directly on abs paste. it will bubble up all foamy looking and you'll have to sand it down again. Better to shape and then paste if you can.

Posting an update and a quick rundown of what I've done so far. Bought a new set of thighs for the Centurion upgrade, so I could troop with the other set while working on this. I cut the back of the armor off before the ridge begins, and used some For Rent sign and painters tape to figure out what size the ABS shim would need to be to still fit. This is the right thigh, which previously had been said to be a bit wide at the knee, so I tightened it up quite a bit. Once I had the correct size I used the sign material to make supports for the shim, and I cut out the shim and bent it into a curve with a heat gun. Once it was glued I took ABS paste and started putting it together. This picture shows (left to right) my old thigh armor, the new one with fresh ABS paste and a scrap piece of cover strip laid on for appearance, and the back of a stormtrooper figure for comparison. About 10-12 repetitive layers of ABS, sanding, ABS, sanding, ABS, sanding... I eventually decided it was probably the best it was going to get, and finally glued a real strip on it. Here it is as of right now, magnets still on as the E-6000 is fresh. Oh, I also built a bottom ridge on to make it look right. One more leg to go....

Thanks all!

Would there be a point to splitting the shim in half? Just do the blue as one piece at that point. Also, the armor itself will still have a molded ridge on either side of the blue. Is that ok ? Sent from my 831C using Tapatalk

Do you mean to cut the current cover down to fit inside flush like two butt joints without cover strips, then have a fake cover strip in the middle? Not sure what you mean when you say to inject it.

bumping for advice

It's time to start working towards Centurion, and I want to get my ducks in a row so I have a direct path to follow. The first part I am looking at is my thighs. After years of fencing, ice hockey, and martial arts, even being out of shape I still have fairly large thigh muscles. When building my armor, the thighs didn't come close to fitting without shims. Further, due to the shape of my legs, the shimmed area had to have a V shape. There wasn't much extra material to work with, so I placed a piece of a For Rent sign inside the thighs shaped to make them fit, then put a cover strip over the outside. What I have now is this: As you can see, it's a fairly large area that's been shimmed. Further, there's a natural lip built into the armor for the tiny legged actors that didn't need shims: You can see it best here at the upper right, where the cover strip is meeting it. So the question now is - how do I get to Centurion from here? Do I need to put a "fake" extra cover strip on the back for looks? I used a piece of scrap I had laying around to somewhat simulate what that'd look like: Obviously that's not cut to fit or shaped, but it gives the idea. Is that look even desirable? I had to rebuild the legs twice already to get this far, so I want a solid plan going forward so when I'm done this time - I'm done. Thoughts?

Some hopefully better pictures: And... action! Let me know if those are better.

Chris Sanders 80806 EIB Letter

Name = Chris Sanders TK ID = 80806 FISD Forum Name = PhoenixTrooper Garrison = Georgia Garrison Armor Maker = ATA Helmet Maker = ATA Blaster = Hyperfirm Height = 5'10" Weight = 250 lbs Boots = TK Boots Canvas Belt = TKittell Hand Plates/Gloves = Sonnenschein Electronics = Evilboy Fans Neck Seal = Darman Holster = Darman Inside Brackets = Mr. No Stripes Inner Drop Boxes = kwdesigns Full Body Pictures: Front Back Left Right Right Detail Left Detail Armor Details Abdomen Details Action Shot Cod and Butt Plate Attachment Interior Strapping Helmet Details Front Side Back Hovi Tip Detail Lens Color (Did the best I could here, the inside of my bucket is black so couldn't take the pic from outside) Blaster Details Left Right D-Ring Accessory Details Neck Seal Thermal Detonator Back Holster Attachment (front) (back)

Here it is so far: Does the single snap on the other side get painted?

This more like it? Future holes are drawn on with dry erase marker.

One last prep question: On the other side, with the snap, I've seen some people stop their shim to be flush with the ab so the snap isn't actually doing anything (or if it is, there's an extra strap inside to close it). Is that better, or should I instead make the shim a bit longer on that side so the whole thing tucks in and snaps closed? Is there a secret, hidden, second snap under the belt to stabilize it all?

Looking at that link with the split rivet placement, I notice there's a squared off notch in the armor that doesn't exist in my armor, instead of the smooth curve like I cut in my shim. Is this a preferred style, or is that a suit to suit thing, or does it matter at all since the belt'd be over it anyway?

I'm working on upgrading from Basic to Centurion (with EIB along the way), which means it's now time to add the side shims so I can close up the front and back. The shims are about 3 inches wide, so I have heated the plastic as best I could to put some curve in it, and I have attached them to the kidney plate with a piece of For Rent sign as an inner cover strip for the butt join. I have also drilled holes for the eventual split rivets. Before I go and ABS paste it into one piece, I'd like some input as to if it looks ok thus far while I can still change it if absolutely needed.

So, I've not updated here, but I've already completed my outfit and have been approved. (Yay!) Now I'm beginning the push to EIB and eventually Centurion, so I'm working on the shims for the sides. Looks like I'm going to need about 3 inches each side. So far I've got this: I've cut a piece of plastic and shaped it so the top would be flat and the bottom curves: This I've attached to the armor using a piece of For Rent sign as a butt joint on the inside. I plan on ABS pasting it when I'm sure it's good, but wanted to get opinions *before* I make it permanent. I've only drilled the rivet holes in the shim side for now. Unsure about the ab yet.

Yeah, mine's an ATA abs set. Started cleaning it up for a troop when part broke off in my hand. Then I started paying attention and saw all the little blue cracks.