ukswrath

Man I've been slacking, congrats my fellow garrison trooper. Welcome to the ranks

Very nice. Don't forget to trim the excess. Great job

Gaskets In this section I'll be assembling the internal gaskets. NOTE: Assembly compounds and what to use. The original kit calls for a two part glue (provided). After experimenting with it and CA glue I decided to go with the CA for a couple reason. 1st, I've seen where the seems have came apart for unknown reasons using the factory glue. My thoughts are either the material wasn't prepared (cleaned) well enough or the glue mix process is not fool proof. 2nd, is time. Given the setup times with the factory glue (hours) and the CA (minutes) CA seemed like a more logical choice. I've used CA on many rubber types of compounds and it's worked flawless for me almost every time. I encourage you to MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION. Trial both glues on scrap material and determine for yourself what course to take. If you elect to use the provided two part epoxy please follow the manufacturers instruction in regards to application and precautions. Regardless of which glue you choose to use please wear you PPE, listed below. Gasket to armor connections: Velcro or snaps. I've seen people use either or. I'll be using Velcro Gasket to Body Harness connection: This will be discussed in detail in the Body Harness section later on. The assembly itself will not change depending on which glue you decide to go with. Tools: Scissors Exacto knife Old shirt or towel Stick of wood Sewing machine or needle and thread (black, canvas strength) Dish soap Denatured Alcohol (to remove any oil remaining after the initial washing) Material: ANOVOS two part glue, or CA glue Velcro (hook side) NOTE: You can either use Velcro or snaps. (if using snaps I'd suggest using the female on the rubber side and male on the armor side) PPE: Latex gloves Safety glasses NOTE: In the "1. Identify components" After picture, beneath each shoulder gasket is a longer, single piece of connecting material . I'm assuming it can be, or is supposed to be used to cover the two smaller connection materials giving the area added strength. I couldn't find a reason to use them and so decided to keep them around as extra material in the event something should need repair. On with it then, first order of business.... 1. Identify components. Before trimming. Gaaaaaaa! more trimming, lol After. Components are labeled by: Body location Assembly Material Assembly Locations Connection (armor attachment) locations Bath time... 2. Wash material Wash with soap and warm water, especially on the back near the edges to be connected. Regarding the connection material, clean both sides yet concentrating on the shiny surface. 3. Installing velcro (hook side) Cut the velcro in the following sizes: Average width is 25mm, length is 55mm. Shoulders - 2 per shoulder (4 pieces total) Elbows & Knees - 4 per section (8 pieces total) Using a sewing machine or other sew velcro to gasket tabs After... To be cont...

In deed! I'm about at the point where I'll be posting about the filler portion. This will be mentioned in detail. At this moment I've been a bit sidetracked with to the new accuracy information.

One thing I've notice now in a couple screen shots is how the TD is shaped to the curvature of the kidney. Also, Brian did we ever get more info regarding the belt box rubber back section and how it's mounted to the belt? I'm wondering if we could use some type of motor mount rubber, or similar, something very tough. You can counter sink holes into it for Chicago screws then cover it was a black glossy paint? Just a thought. Edit: Do the belt boxes in question cover the rubber edge (return edge overlaps the rubber), or cap the rubber edge (the return edge is flush with the rubber)?

Kirk give us some inside pics. Are you afraid the bolts won't go through the inner section as well? Just curious. As Josh said just line up the ears where you want. Drill the holes into the helmet despite the location of the factory divots, those are just a guideline anyways. Fashion washers and nuts and you should be good to go.

The first layer of fill I'm actually using the Devcon mark 5 glue because it bonds to the plastic, is just as tough, flexible and make for a great filler. The final layer will be with the Poly-flex listed under the paint section on page 1.

It took Carlos almost 2 weeks to get his

Standard Hovi tips (purchased here on whitearmor) should come with a base and a mounting post or you can glue them directly to the helmet and discard the post. Hope I answered your question.

Thanks Peter

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31920-ukswraths-am-10-ata-bucket-build/page-2 #31

Wisconsin, be right there

Spats Cont... Now that the greeblies are shaped let's cont with the spats. In this section I will glue the buckle female and male snaps. Starting with the female snaps. We first need to make a pocket for the snap and glue to sit in. Something that will also sit relatively flush. I started with some scrap, using a heat gun and a 3/8" round object (Exacto handle end, not the best choice) I softened up a small section then using the handle indented the area. After the plastic has cooled cute the section out, approximately 1" square. Now heat the surrounding edges of your new pocket section, place it over the female snap hole to shape it. It should look like this afterwards. Notice how close the pocket is to the snap. You'll want this relatively snug. Remove the pocket and secure snap. Ready to glue. Using Devcon Plastic welder Fill in pocket and outer edges. Place over snap and clamp. You want a bit of the glue to protrude through snap mounting hole. This will assist the glue in keeping the snap secure. After its dried you can dremel or cut some of the excess back. Remove clamps Now glue the male snaps to the resin buckles. After drying (45min-1hr) check buckle operation, Final note. FYI the greeblies are NOT glued to the rear spat section and yet they are holding the two sections together with ease with the snap tension alone. The greeblies will be glued to the rear section after painting to give the area the look the buckle is separate form the painted spat. Similar to that of a door handle on a car.

So before we can move forward we need to deal with the flat greeblie issue. Greeblie By now you've discovered the greeblies (resin buckles) are flat yet the armor they are mounted to is curved. To solve this issue you'll need to CAREFULLY soften the greeblie so that it can be formed to the contour of the armor. To heat it you can give it a hot water bath previously discussed, or with a heat gun. In this section I will discuss use the heat gun technique. I'm going to start with the spats because that's where we left off. As mentioned before my spats are being converted to incorporate snaps instead velcro. Either mounting option you choose to use you will still need to heat and shape the buckle. So here we have a nice flat buckle and the curved spat it will need to be mounted to. Do you see the problem here? lol Spat Greeblie In this tutorial I will use mixing bowls to shape the buckles. For the spat buckle I'll be using a 5-1/4" mixing bowl. 1) Start by putting on some gloves. Heat resistant is better but leather would be best, I'll be using my cut resistant gloves because they work perfect for me. 2) Place the resin buckle on heat resistant material smooth side up. 3) Evenly heat with gun for 20-30 seconds or until you start the plastic slightly discolor. 4) Place heater buckle onto bowl for 15-20 seconds. I rotated it around the bold finding a cooler spot as to cool the resin quicker. 5) Check fit Shin Greeblie For the Shins I used a 7-3/4" bowl. Before After Thigh Greeblies I used a 9-1/2" bowl. After Finished

HAHA SWEET!

I know you probably mentioned that on your accuracy thread but thanks again for the clarification Brian

and the fun continues...

Very nice! Great job. Have you attempted to glue the shoulder plate down around the corner? I know it's not easy but it would make it look much cleaner.

I guess I should post some of my progress. I'll see if I can get some stuff up tonight.

The helmet arrived last week (undamaged) and has graced its TK & TD brothers with its presence.

That's right, I was hoping that was a typo

Brian, what tool did you use to square the edges in the chest plate and biceps creases?

It's been circulating around for a while. I posted it on the TFA facebook page a month or so ago. I found it in some online magazine article

Just let me know when your ready Dan

Yea good luck with that. The ab & kidney section will have to be redesigned from the ground up. That upgrade I will NOT be doing lol