TK Monkus

I adjusted the arm straps and they are currently drying. I will post a pic tomorrow. I am about ready to glue the sniper plate on to the shin. Want to make sure placement looks good before I do though. Anyone see any issues? Is the small gap under the front ok? I can place big magnets to make that a bit smaller if so. Thanks, M

Thanks Glen. See where the elastics are in red in the pic below. I will try and adjust the right side so it is more straight and sits along those cover strips and just adjust that forearm as needed for it to sit properly. Thanks, M

Thank you!

Thanks James. I see you are in the socal garrison, where about in socal are you?

Hey Guys, I have had a little bit of time and am getting my arm strapping set up. I think I have things almost where they need to go but want to make sure before I glue the straps in place. My right arm could probably use a forearm rotation a bit more forward? See pics below. Questions: I would like to align the dimpled ridge of the forearm with the raised edge of the bicep as much as I can. In order to do that I need to glue the elastic strip at a bit of an angle though. Is that ok? How perfectly aligned do they need to be, or is it more personal preference? I don't really see anything in the checklist pertaining to that. R arm L arm Thanks, M

There wasn't really much additional bend. It felt like the normal amount. I did think of the overcorrection and tried that, but still no difference. Maybe I will boil water and just try pouring it over the pieces? Thanks, M

I tried the hot water bath for the shins but either didn't leave them in long enough or maybe the water wasn't hot enough? Due to the size of the shins I couldn't boil water so I turned the bath as hot as it would go, which is hot enough you can't leave your hand in the water for more than a fraction of a second, and let them sit in there for about 15 min, then tried holding them in position. They didn't take. I am really just trying to bring the top so it is even. Right now one side sits slightly above the other on both the left and right. Maybe it is such a small distance that a hot water bath isn't enough? Or should they sit in longer? Any tips would be helpful. I did add the cover strips on to my forearms. I think one of them wasn't trimmed properly and so sits a bit oddly on my arm, but can maybe be fixed with foam inside. They were one of the first pieces I started trimming and so was still pretty new to the whole process. See pics below (not on my arm). Thanks, M

Thanks Glen! I will try the hot water bath and keep that in mind when adding the cover strip. M

Thanks Glen.

Hey Guys, It has been a while as work has been kicking my butt. I have the cover strips on my forearms, but realize one side isn't long enough so am going to amend that before I post. Question about my shins: The backside tops don't align perfectly, but will the strapping be enough to pull those even or will that be to much strain? Want to make any adjustments before adding the back cover strips. I am going to be using the 3 small hook method by the way. Thanks, M

I trimmed out the return edges of my shoulder bells as well as added my thigh ammo pack which means the thighs are ready for strapping! I do still need to paint the rivets white, but am thinking of just doing that all at once when I have the torso completed as well. Shoulder Bells Thigh Ammo Pack Thanks, M

I also trimmed down my shoulder bells. I am going to trim out the rest of that return edge in red. Thanks, M

Cut the thigh ammo belt to size and it is ready to be mounted. I made small ABS chips for the fronts of the thighs for a little extra strength. Once those dry I will mount the thigh ammo belt. Thanks, M

It has been a bit since I made any progress, but I recently taped everything up after making some cuts to my butt plate to see how the sizing all looks and did a test fit. @gmrhodes13 suggested early on that I wait to glue the cover strips on my forearms until I had the rest of everything ready so I could see how it all looks together. Well everything isn't necessarily ready, but I think this gives a pretty good idea of what it will look like. I think the forearms sizing looks good so I am going to start gluing the inner cover strips, then the outer. I don't think they look to skinny or fat. I realize the placement may be slightly off, but fine tuning can come later. I still need to size and cut my shoulder bells, but also wanted to wait until I had most of this done so I could size and make sure there was no gap between the chest and the bell. Below is a pic with everything I have so far taped on. Any pointers about anything are greatly appreciated. Everything does not meet up perfectly and there is major overlap in some sections, i.e. kidney and front ab. Questions: Do the forearms look ok compared to the rest of the armor (sizing)? The edges of the butt fan out as you can see in the pic, will that be fixed with strapping or is that a sizing issue? I will try and add the thigh ammo belt and size my shoulder bells next. Thanks, M

Darn! The width is just the angle in the picture but you are correct on the strip, it is not central I will remove and re position them. Thanks for the heads up. As for the butt plate I will only clean up that top area and leave a good amount. It may also be worth noting I plan to use the double snap method which not sure if that well help protect from cracking a little more than the brackets. Thanks, M