TK_LEPER

Pick up some white vinyl (pleather) from a fabric store. Either use industrial strength velcro, or make snap tabs to attach it to the inside.

For me, the 1st cut is always the hardest to make!

Fresh!!

Thanks guys! Just waiting on my belt now... other than that I think it's finished. J

trooperbay.com has belts

I haven't heard that term used for armor... curious? The key is to take your time... get your hands on as much reference as you can before cutting anything. Always mark your trim lines with a pencil before you cut. You'll also want to stock up on painter's tape, clamps, E-6000, and tons of rare earth magnets. You can always ask for assistance. Jesse

Added a little weathering to the suit last night ... pretty happy with it.

excellent job!

ATA is the most accurate of the bunch. AP armor is pretty nice, but small. AP sells fully assembles suit (I think). Not sure about ATA.

Torso is completely finished... as is the rest ... all except for my belt. Still waiting on that from RS Prop gang.

Just FYI... The pipe that comes with the AP kit is a 2" dia pipe. The screen used pipes were just over 2 1/2" in dia. You won't find anything closer than a 2" or 3" pipe at most hardware stores. Which is how I got into making my own detonator kits. I order my pipe from TAP Plastics... it's spot on as far as the diameter goes. However, it's a clear extruded acrylic tube which obviously requires paint. My RS Props kit came with an extruded (grey) ABS pipe... I have yet to find anything like it in the States though.

I realized today that my shoulder straps were not the proper 2" wide elastic... Also, since I had already glued them in ... I was finding it nearly impossible to stitch the female side of the shoulder snaps. :B So I ran to the store (for some 2" elastic) today, and hand stitched the snaps before gluing those in again. I also added the front right shoulder snap to make it easier to get in and out of the torso.

did you hook them together and then heat them, or just bent them into shape by hand?

Doods! Made some more progress on the suit today... Hand sticked snaps on the bells ... Pain in the butt ... Finished glueing all the bell straps as well... Hand stitched belt loops and glued straps to thighs Hand stitched all my shin straps ... Then glued my shin straps in place ... Installed all my brackets, snaps, and straps on the torso ... these brackets are also a pain ... but look pretty darn genuine ... I think I added one too many snaps to the crotch strap ... But it holds it pretty good...

Good reference There's a lot of extra work with this kit, aligning parts properly. I had one, I know. ----------- This was my AP suit (below), I also used velcro. ---------

What about the lengths of everything, any ideas?

Thanks Andy! Actually the hardware store up the street has them, but thank you anyways. .

Thanks guys. I thought the drop boxes looked thinner, more like 3/4"?

I couldn't find this anywhere, but ... Is there a thread that lists all the correct sizes for strapping a suit? Is everything pretty much 1" other than the thighs, shoulders, and forearms? Any help would be much appreciated! ----------

Did you use a split rivets for the knee belt or cap rivets?

Ah crap... Already installed split rivets there.

Geez!

I'm assuming that they used split rivets to hold this part on?

Two left biceps! Good catch!

End caps should be at least at least 3/4" deep (after trimming). I would say about at least 3/8" or just under 1/2" deep on the drop boxes (after trimming).