fuumantroop

Nice! Your way ahead of my build trying to cut my kidney plate tonight hopefully and attach my sniper plate and my thigh belt

Nice! Your way ahead of my build trying to cut my kidney plate tonight hopefully and attach my sniper plate and my thigh belt

Yeah i pretty much just gave up. I dont own a hot enough glue gun apparently and am sort of watching my build budget right now. So i velcroed in the MICH pads, i got plenty of velcro for my other helmet so i should be able to just swap them out between helmets. Pictures to come later today, after work :/

Moving along, got the cover strips on my shins done, now have the cover strips on my thighs curing. I know I said I wanted to hold off on cover strips until the build is basically completed, but I am going to attempt to attach the sniper plate and the thigh belt tomorrow, so they had to be done. Still have not made any cuts to my kidney plate just yet. Still kind of hesitant on that, and it has been a long weekend, so, hopefully tomorrow, if my wife is so kind to help me out

Btw, is anyone using the hardhat liner supplied with their kit? Im at the point where im about to give up installing it and just using the MICH pads i got for my other helmet

You could always just slightly weather it, then spray a bit of clear satin protectant so it doesn't weather beyond that point. Its all personal preference though of course!

I would at least have the undersuit on, then take your measurements with it on. When you put the armor on, you will have to have the undersuit on anyways. It will help the builder trim the armor more accurately. Trimming and fitting the armor is a long, but very fun and very rewarding process. I highly recommend doing it yourself

Also, should i leave my butt plate as it is, or trim a bit off that as well?

Okay, so I attempted to test fit to find my trim lines by myself. Id like to go ahead and throw it out there before someone else does, i put my shirt on backwards! I realized it only after i got my ab plate/cod taped around my abdomen, what a noob! Haha, okay now thats out of the way... Looks like I got some trimming to do! The kidney plate almost wraps around dead even with my stomach. No big deal though, just more extra ABS to add to my ever growing pile Here you can clearly see my shirts backwards LOL Defintely looks like I will be needing to trim my kidney plate. I would imagine it be best to trim it from the top, correct? I could not get any pics with my back plate semi attached, but there is quite a bit of overlap, maybe around 2-3 inches. THAT being said, should i trim JUST the kidney plate, or ALSO trim some of the back? Obviously it would be much easier to say with pictures, but everyone is fast asleep so I am on my own until tomorrow for that.

Did you put the hook velcro on the cover strip side ot armor side? Its hard for me to see

Thanks for that tip Rick! I was contemplating how to get rid of that

Here is my result of velcroing my right shin. Wanted to get some opinions on it before continuing to the left side. It measures roughly 7 MM, and seems to hold extremely well(i bought the white industrial velcro). Is it common to have a slight gap near the middle of the shin? It doesn't sit completely perfect, but like I said, it holds.

Im hoping to get the sniper plate on as well, possibly a BUNCH of tape, magnets, AND clamps lol. Could always use some very small dabs if zap a gap but i am reluctant to do so

I only did 20 mm for the backs. Wondering if that will be enough for velcro. Will hopefully test it tonight to see how it holds

Quick question, what size cover strips is everyone using for the back of the shins with velcro?

What a lot of troopers do is cut a U shape behind the top of the shin and also behind the bottoms of the thighs to allow for movement and flexibility. Take a look at some of the threads and you will start noticing it more. Again, wait until everything is basically all done before doing it though

I got a thug from here on FISD. There are also schematics to make one, they aren't super hard to make yourself if ya already have strapping

I wouldn't expect to sit down in the armor. From everyone i have talked to theres a very minimal chance your able to sit down with out taking your butt plate off. If u do sit and take the plate off, your thighs should move up to allow you to sit. I would leave them as they are for now until ya get the body components taken care of. Easier to trim off than add on

Dang i wish i saw that post earlier lol. My kit didn't come with washers, just nuts. I have them drying right now, just no pictures yet. I probably will wait to install them anyways until i get my body components fitted. If i have to, i was even considering waiting until i get my snaps installed as well. Thanks for the tip though! Im sure it will help those that follow this build with the same armor! I was just in and out of the house working on my wifes car and then my armor when time permitted.

I personally didn't trim my thighs.. If I do end up doing so, it will be after i get the ab/cod plate, chest, back, kidney, and butt plate done. That way i can get a better feel of areas where i need to size down. How will you be attaching your thighs btw?

I say my yes ma'ams daily lol

Thanks Andrea and Steve! Probably the only time in life i can dress in drag and it be okay lol. Probably be busting it out in the next year or so all over again

Thighs and shins, 16 mm for forearms and biceps

Also, prepping my ab buttons for paint! Instead of spending more money, i used the paint and primer combo that i used as the base coat for my E-11, since I will probably not need use it anymore after I paint my sons clone blaster.

I do have a small question regarding my thighs, is it best to trim a bit off the COD to raise them a bit? Or would trimming the top of the thighs be a better solution? Or is the placement fine as it is?