Coastertk

I had the same problem. After gluing all my cover strips I found I couldn't pull up my thighs high enough. The only thing I could do was to open up the back and go with a larger cover strip. This photo is of one of my Garrison mates and it was sent to me as a reference on how to deal with my rear cover strips. Hope it helps. I wish mine turned out as nice as Andy's here. My rear coverstrips ended up being 2" at the top tapered down to 1 1/4" at the bottom. Rather than shim and paste and sand, your other option would be to contact your armor maker and order new thighs. Only don't cut off all the flat edge. You will have a wider flat edge but you can then use proper cover strip sizing. Just a thought.

From your first photo it seems that your wrist edge is all even around, but your elbow end is offset. One half sits higher than the other. My suggestion was to remove your initial cover strip, align the "elbow edge" and cut off any overlap at the wrist edge. This would remove the return edge at the wrist side which you definitely want to do. Also for clamping I would recommend using two pieces of wood (rulers/paint stirrers) and clamping them on either side of your seam. Even if only doing an inner or an outer cover strip. Might give you more contact, and E6000 is a contact glue, not a gap filler. Shoutout to Pandatrooper for teaching me that!!

If I could make a suggestion, it would be to align the upper part of the forearm (flush) and trim the overlap on the wrist edge. You also seem to have a bit of a return edge at the wrist, so this might kill 2 birds.... Just my 2cents

You have ordered through a reputable vendor here on FISD. Great start. Most of these are just normal guys with family and work obligations. Perhaps a vacation thrown in there too. I would be a bit more patient. You should hear back soon?

ATA has a wonky left Bicep for certain. I actually contacted Terrell and ordered another right Bicep off of him to use in place of the original left Bicep. It was quite reasonable at around $30usd. You could try and reshape yours with a boiling water bath or a heat gun, but I am quite happy with two right biceps.

Drill out the center of the head until it pops off. Then pull the rest (compressed part of the rivet) out the back.

I just installed my EAS today. To be honest I wasn't sure it was going to fit in there with Echo's fan system. But it all worked out ok. Receiver behind the Vocoder, battery pack nestled under my crown padding. Not to steal the thread for an EAS high five, but that thing is even cooler than the fans. I can't wait to get my first troop in.

You say you can't raise your thighs any further? Too tight? Or are they too high into the hip? A photo would go a long way to diagnosing your situation.

As far as your comfort goes, a lot of the screen captures show that many of the troopers had cut out or arched the back bottom of the thigh and the back top of the shins. Cut away until you can get up and down stairs. Keep it clean looking though.

Since the bottom (wrist) has absolutely no return edge I would align the top, tape your two halves together and follow the line of the shorter piece.

I am. People for Eating Tasty Animals!!

Sorry. Didn't mean to kill the thread. For those of you new to the forums, Walt enjoys making kids.........armor.

I think anybody that's been reading the forums for a while knows exactly what you get up to in your spare time. Too funny!

Are you using a template for the tube stripes? If so I would recommend painting the first coat in a gloss white. After that dries then paint the blue. Remove the template immediately after painting the blue. Any bleed through that might have occurred will be white and easier to deal with. Hope it helps.

Doesn't mean I dont like Fishing and Boating too.

I don't know how to add a link but I can copy and paste. Thank you TI-3844 for originally posting this Contents [hide] 1 HOWTO: Make Your Own ABS Paste 1.1 Step 1: Cut ABS Strips 1.2 Step 2: Mix with Acetone 1.3 Step 3: Wait 1.4 Step 4: Apply Paste 1.5 Step 5: Let Dry HOWTO: Make Your Own ABS Paste Author: TI-3844 This HOWTO describes how to mix up a batch of ABS paste to fill in gaps and repair your armor. Step 1: Cut ABS Strips Cut thin, short strips of matching ABS into a (clean) cup or similar. A glass vessel is preferred! Don't go pouring acetone into a plastic cup. Step 2: Mix with Acetone Carefully pour acetone so the fluid covers the ABS shards. Go easy on the acetone - add a little at a lime instead of drowning the ABS shards. We're talking really small amounts of the stuff here - a couple of thimbles worth of shards and acetone. Step 3: Wait Depending on the thickness of the ABS pieces, acetone dissolvation time might vary. Check progress every now and then, stir a little with a (clean) rod or stick. Apply more acetone if plastic won't dissolve in a satisfactory way. Go easy on the acetone though - you want a runny, but not watery substance Step 4: Apply Paste When the acetone/ABS concoction is a bit on the runny side, begin applying to damaged area on armour or helmet. Easy does it - make sure you fill the gouge properly. Step 5: Let Dry When happy with the results, leave alone and let the acetone dissolve fully. ABS hardens and fuses with your armor/helmet. Regarding drying time, it depends on amount of ABS goo used and size of damaged area. YMMW. If your ABS milk is runny enough, it will just fill the damaged area - no need to sand. Still, if you get a bump, sand it down with fine-grit sandpaper, buff out the rest with Novus, and you're done! NOTES: This stuff is really flammable and generally unhealthy. Be careful! Remember that acetone starts dissolving right away, so one must keep an eye on the process all the time, and when the mixture is done, use it right away to repair the armour/helmet.

I've spent the last 15 years as the Chief Mechanic of a now 57 year old Wooden Roller Coaster in Vancouver. I used to be Coasterguy but thought that Coastertk was more fitting. Great thread btw

My ATA kit only came with outer drop boxes. I purchased a set of inner drop boxes fro KWDesigns here on FISD, ongoing sales threads. They fit like a glove. I would trip up your 4 pieces. Check to see if they are all identical, or if 2 of them are actually smaller, so as to fit inside the larger 2.

By "shims" do you mean"Cover Strips"? Shims are used to fill in gaps where your armor doesn't quite fit right because your belly gets in the way. Cover Strips are used to cover the Butt Joints or Seams of your arms and legs. Be sure to do the inside strips first. This way you can watch your pieces as they cure. Sometimes they shift on you. Either way... Measure, mark, score and snap.

Great tip!! I will be sure to follow. Thanks

Shorter in height not width. Yes!!! Then the notch will line up with the butt plate. Why was this so hard for me to grasp. Ugh!! Thanks man.

From the CRL: For level three certification (if applicable): Squared cut-out sections at the lower left and right corners of the Kidney Armor. The cut out is roughly 22 mm tall from the bottom and 22 mm in from the side. No mention of shims. The shim is just an extension of the kidney. That's why the seam must not be visible. To make it look like one piece. So then the 22mm notch should come out of the shim, after extending the whole kidney. Right?

It just came to me.. I need to notch the shim. Because if I notch the kidney, then shim it, it will be a 22mm x more than 22mm and not the 22mm x 22mm I'm looking for. Correct? Someone please advise.

Sorry if this is a repeat question, but I need to shim my kidneys. Do I 22mm notch the original kidney and then shim the rest of the kidney to the ab, or do I shim the whole kidney to the ab and then notch on the shim? I'm sure it will make sense to me when I hear the answer, but I think I may have hit research overload right now.