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Gotta shorten my chest and back straps for sure. Gotta make a shorter strap for my ab to kidney strap. At least the bottom one. May bring in the sides with a heat gun as well

Thsts what i got last night, still some work to do

Thanks again guys! Well I did take more pics of a tiny bit of progress, and then my iphone decided to shut off......now its charging, but won't come on past the apple screen, shuts back off, then repeats. It looks like I will have to take a tiny bit off of the top of the thighs, trim some of the back of my sniper knee plate down, and definitely shorten my ab to chest straps. I may even have to make a shorter chest to back strap as well, but we will see after I shorten my chest straps. It really irks me that I can't upload the photos I had taken, my back plate sits almost perfectly on top of my kidney plate now! Looks like I will need more trimming on my butt plate as well, along with possibly adding more snaps to the far sides of it. These are much easier to see with pictures I know, but I thought I would at least update on my progress so far. ALSO I am gluing my bicep strap inside my shoulder bells.

Sir yes sir. I really gotta start working on my belt too. The armors looking a little naked without it

Here are a few pics of tonights progress, i forgot to snap a pic of my chest plate trimming, ill try to get that taken before bed if I can manage go sneak off for a sec. Gluing snap plates for my newly split COD ALSO gluing the others on the cod(its like a TK man thong!)...might go ahead and trim those sides off it as well LOL. And in the background is my trimmed butt plate with snap plates being reglued into position And here is my approximation of how much i need to trim the tops of my thighs

Thanks Steve! I did end up trimming that exact neckline and it worked out perfectly in my opinion. I will try to get pictures uploaded tomorrow. I trimmed a little under 5/8" off my butt plate, and some off the sides as well. I then sanded down my newly separated COD and took off about 1/2". Just got done making some extra snap plates, and now i am pooped lol. Hopefully tomorrow i will have the chest and the back strapped to the rest of my armor, and see how its looking from there. I will also glue my snap plates on my cod and lower abdomen to get that ball rolling as well. Everything is now coming together even better than I had expected! Still have yet to cut the sides of the chest any more, but I want to see how everything comes together after my adjustments are in place. I did also mark about 1/2" off the highest parts of the thighs, but have not made and trimming yet. I would like to now thank Terry, aka Pandatrooper, for his efforts in making AM armor slightly more accurate. I found myself following his build almost to the T, but minus the return edges. Maybe one day I will venture down that road, but not until after everything is fitted exactly how I want it to.

Got a couple things done during lunch as i had the house to myself Split the cod from the ab plate, havent trimmed beyond that as i want to see how far up it needs to be and how far down my ab plate needs to be Also drew where i think i may need to trim on my neck. Tim how does that look?

Hey Ted did you ever decide to split your ab and cod?

I am trying to lol. But at the same time i don't want to rush it, and push my luck with my wife trying to work on it every night lol.

Thats exactly why i havent installed the rivets yet lol.

I am considering that, now lol. It actually did not cross my mind, thanks Tim! I may get brave after basic approval and alter that big curve on the bottom of the chest plate as well. The way my legs are right now, it is a struggle to bend them. Mainly because of the thigh. I did have to venture up the stairs fully armored up, let me tell you, THAT was an adventure in itself! The journey is almost completed, just a couple of things here and there and I should be ready for basic approval at least. I am still debating whether or not to split my ab from the cod and trim about an inch off. If i do, I will likey have to adjust my kidney, but it would also lessen the overlap of the back plate and kidney in itself. Im trying my best to do one thing at a time, but that finish line is so close my mind has been restless LOL

I am also considering to separate the ab from COD and taking off maybe an inch so it fits a little better. I am just a little scared to do so

Ok picture time. Looks like i deffinitely need some trimming The top of my thighs hit the COD when I try to get enough separation from my shins. I can trim the bottoms of the shins a little, maybe the tops of the thighs a tad as well(already have the return edge off of them anyways). I can even trim the COD if needed. I still get a small overlap of the back and the kidney plate, have not made straps for that connection just yet as i was pressed for time. Also will need to glue the chest plate/ab plate snaps on tonight. Had issues with the shoulder bells rotating a bit, but that may be due to me not having the elastic strapped to go around the biceps. My butt plate most definitely needs a trim, a couple of inches lol. Also thinking of narrowing the chest just a bit, looks like i need more trimming on the sides too. Thoughts, comments, and help please!

Thanks Ron! Your build has definitely proved helpful for my build as well! Hopefully will have those connections made tonight. The only snaps i didn't glue yet were the ones for my right side of the ab and kidney plate(i plan on using rivets to either connect the two sides or hide snaps behind them). Just have to figure out what the best way to install them is. Also, and not pictured, I got my Vader Dave thigh garters on and man they fit comfortably. Also need to get my snap glued on the crotch/butt comnector. Again, awaiting the install of my rivets and 2 snaps

Well, using TK300s method for an armor "t-shirt" I got some assembly done tonight. This is just a rough assembly, and I did not have time to connect my forearms just yet(baby duty). So, please go easy on me but I do ask that if there are any improvements that can be made, to please chime in. Looking like I will most definitely have to cut the sides of my chest, maybe an inch or two, and I have some other areas I can think of, but would much rather hear it from you vets out there, please. Here it goes! Sorry for the quality on some of them, was a little rushed to take pics lol

Again, thank you for that Germain. It is GREATLY appreciated!

Is the pop rivet okay for the waist belt btw?

Thanks Germain. Wasn't too sure on it, when I practiced with the rivet gun it didn't seem like it matched the EIB/centurion request pics i was looking at. Just could not find the info i needed so i decided to wait. I bought 2 sets of rivets from Echo, will take at them tonight

Yeah me neither. Wish we could just use split rivets! That would be ideal

The last of my snap plates are being glued. Still need to install my rivets on my kidney and ab, rivet my belt together, install my holster, rivet my thigh ammo pack, and finish up installing my cover strips on my biceps, forearms, and the backs of my thighs. I am terrified of using a rivet gun LOL, and I saved coverstrips for last JUST in case I need more trimming.

Congrats Tim! Although I do question your choice of Hero over Stunt for this build part of me thinks your really working for the "other guys" lol. In all seriousness though, great looking armor!

Those are clips for the supplied hardhat liner

Just a hair lol. I had my ab plate right in front of me yesterday, almost split it from the COD. But got scared lol

Your about my size aren't you Ted? Those trim lines do look pretty spot on. I would probably assemble the armor with snaps and snap plates first, or maybe even velcro(temporarily), then see where you need to trim further. Basically, get all of your armor on your body first, then go from there. Its a lot easier than trying to mentally visualize things in relation to each other

You will find yourself kind of noisy with velcro as well. Plus, when your out there trooping, the last thing you want is to be the one always adjusting your armor. Its usually a guessing game when coming to velcro and having it in the proper position, with snaps, your armor will almost always be in the proper placement. Just ny .02 cents on the matter.