Zarlon

Hello all...Just popping in to say t hat I'm still here and working on the build. I should have more photos up tomorrow. In the meantime Here is a link to some photo's I took this past weekend down in Disney World.

Congratulations!!! That is so awesome!!!

Got some more work done tonight. I attached the ammo pack to the right thigh. You'll notice that i didn't use split rivets for the attachments points because I couldn't find any more locally. I ended up using cap rivets from Tandy that are the same diameter as the split rivets. The CRL states: For level two certification (if applicable): Thigh ammo belt is attached to thigh with a solid head rivet or fastener in the upper corner and fastened to the lower thigh ridge.The solid head rivet attachment is painted white. Standard pop rivets are not allowed The bottom corners of the thigh ammo belt are rounded off. Hopefully these cap rivets will work because if they don't I'm not sure what I'll do.

I got some more work done on the kidney shims this morning. I think it's time to kick this build into gear and get it finished. It seems like I've been working on it forever! The first step for today was to work on the return edges. I used the thread HERE to help with this. I'm still not very good at it but by the end I was getting better. Once I got the edges where I wanted them I give the seams another coat of Bondo. I'm still not sure about the bottom return edge. It's not really fitting nicely to the front chest plate when I mate them so I'm thinking about cutting off the bottom return edge. Any thoughts on this ?

This was brilliant! I tried this out last night as well and it worked perfectly!

Ok..looks like another trip to the store. Thanks!

While I'm thinking about it, I have another question. what type of glue should I use to attach the flexible rubber hand plates to the rubber gloves?

I got some more work done on the kidney shims tonight. I used a wood burning kit to do the actual plastic welding. The trick for me is to push and pull the plastic almost making a little wave. Once that was done I used the wood burner to smooth out the waves a bit. After that I sanded them down... and then filled everything in with Bondo. Right now the Bondo is drying. Once that's completely dry I'll send everything down again. and go over any spots that I have missed.

Great job guys! thanks for the fun read!

Hello all! It's time for another update. Today I started working on the shims for the kidney. I taped everything up this morning and my wife helped me measure the width I'll need for the shim. To give myself some room, I ended up cutting a 2 3/4 in strip. It's a little more than I need but I'll trim it down once I get both sides welded together. I've been practicing the plastic weld technique that Randy Explained in the tutorial that you can find HERE. After practicing a bit, I've decided that I'm going to do mine a little different. I'm adding the support plate in the back before I put the plastic weld on the front. The first step was to sand down the kidney plate to make sure it was was even and could make a good seem: Up next I had to cut the ABS strips to the width I needed. After that it was time to glue the support strip on the back of the joint I'm going to weld. I spread the E6000 across the sides so I'd have a nice unglued strip down the middle to place the weld. Next I placed the glued strip on the back side of the two pieces I'll weld together. And then clamped everything in place to dry overnight. You'll notice that I didn't have enough length to make it all the way up the side of the kidney so I had to add another piece to cover it. That's were everything stands now. I'm going to do the other side when I wake up in the morning and hopefully I'll be able to start welding tomorrow night when I get home from work. Wish me luck...I have no idea how this is going to turn out so I just hope I don't screw it up too bad

What he said

Thanks that's what I thought. The first one is just a bit too long so I shortened it.

Well I think I have them fixed now but I have another question. Look at the pictures below and let me know if you think I have too much space between the bicep and the forearms. Its comfortable the way it is but I don't know if the gap is too big. Ouch... i also just noticed that I need to sand down that trim piece. Also, any idea what to use to get the excess E-6000 off of the side of that trim piece? it doesn't seem to want to scrap off without a fight.

Perfect! Thanks so much Tony!

OK I've looked at these so many times it's giving me a headache. Lets try this the easy way. Which is left and which is right?

Was the strap supposed to be on the inside or do I have the wrong bell on the left side?

This morning I woke up and got most of the arm straps completed. I started but measuring the length of 1" strapping and using ta lighter to seal the ends where i had made the cuts. Next I measured the distance showing me where to punch the strapping and punched the two required holes. After that it was time to add the snaps. Once that was done it was rinse and repeat for the rest of the arm straps.

Well my weekend of head banging down in Columbus Ohio for Rock on the Range has finished so this morning it was time to get back to work. First off I thought I'd share a couple of pics form the weekend. Daddy daughter selfie with some random stranger in the back ground. Papa Roach on the main stage My daughter getting autographs from the guys of Like a Storm. Breaking Benjamin on the main stage. We had a blast but we're both exhausted!

It's 9 inches

Unfortunately I'm not going to make it. My daughter and I are heading to Rock on the Range in Columbus tomorrow morning.

Well it looks like im getting to the part where I start strapping and fitting the armor. I've learned the ins and outs of snaps and finally found a solution that works for me. I started out trying to use the pliers but when I found out that they didn't work very well, I gave in and bought the anvil / punch from the local Tandy leather store. The first step in making the male part of the snap is to punch a hole in the strapping that I use as a base. After that I assembled the snaps and use the punch and anvil combo to secure the snap to the strap base. After that, I glued the snaps onto the armor pieces. I also glued the 1" strap to the inside of the shoulder bell. This will wrap around the bicep.

Thank you!

Thanks Tony...Like an idiot I looked everywhere but the official CRL. Do you know what size snaps are used for the bottom of the chest plate and butt plate?

I have a few more questions: 1. Is there a guide to the dimensions and placement of the thermal detonator? Am I supposed you use a grey PVC pipe or a white pipe that is painted? Whet length is it? 2. What type of snaps do I use to attache the bottom of the chest piece to the butt plate? Where do I find them? Thanks

Thanks Tony!