Scimitar

Tonight I got ambitious and glued both sides of the bicep together at the same time, fortunately it worked out well. I was about to move on to gluing the forearm closed and realized I'm out of taped up magnets, but I can't find my second roll of magnets anywhere to make more. I've been keeping all my supplies together, boxed, and pretty well organized, but those have mysteriously disappeared (and they're not randomly stuck to anything, lol). So I'll be ordering more, then the others will probably show up somewhere... So I moved on to taping & priming the Thermal Detonator: I still had some time left to work tonight, so I did some fine trimming on the torso armor pieces. I left excess where needed for sizing, like on the sides of the kidney and ab, but they're all basically ready to go now. So next I'll work on assembling the left arm pieces and then move on to the legs. Or I may start strapping the torso together before the legs and then do the legs after that to ensure a good fit/trim at the top of the thighs. Haven't decided which way to go yet, input is obviously welcome.

I feel like I made some decent progress with the time that I got today. First I peeled off the excess glue from the forearm inner strip and then glued on the next cover strip, the cover strip wanted to shift a bit when clamped so I used some tape to anchor/pull it back into its proper position. I also cut out and glued on both bicep cover strips and have some inner strips lined up & ready to go when it's time for them. Then I did some fine trimming to the first shoulder bell: I went ahead and cleaned up the sniper plate too: And then I trimmed up the pieces & pipe for the thermal detonator and mocked it up (need to go buy some gray spray paint now to finish it off): Clocks in at exactly 7 1/4" (184mm) long, which matches the reference picture I was using (borrowed from Wook's build thread): I thought I'd share my method of trimming the end caps but I forgot to take a picture while I was doing this. Basically the rough trimmed edges were not even, so I clamped a pencil so the tip was 3/4" (19mm) off my work surface and laid the cap on its finished end and spun it, while applying light pressure against the pencil to make the mark all the way around. A good, strong clamp will ensure that the pencil doesn't move as you work. Like so: I finished off the evening by beginning to fine trim the back plate, got about half of it done before I finally decided to call it and get some rest before work tomorrow.

So the first half of the forearm cover strip dried great, the excess peeled away pretty easily (beginner's luck I'm sure), so I joined the two arm pieces together on Thursday night. That went fine as well so last night I went ahead and glued in an inner strip for reinforcement, so that's clamped with magnets and curing. Next will obviously be gluing on the second cover strip. Today I cut out and trimmed the shoulder straps, removing the rear large tab and one small tab. I'll be cutting up some scrap to fill in the first handful of recesses as others have done for gluing purposes. I also trimmed and rounded off the lower corners of the thigh ammo belt. And then I attacked the first bicep, it's trimmed for 15mm cover strips just like the forearm and it's snug when I bend my arm, so all is well there. I've got to make the cover strips for it and then I'll be gluing it up too. Starting to feel like I'm making good progress this week as pieces disappear from the laid out pile on the floor that I posted last Sunday. That's it for today, I'm hoping tomorrow that I'll be able to get a decent amount of work done as I'll have the day to myself.

You make a good point. Thanks!

Thanks! I didn't realize you have an AP kit as well (missed that detail somehow), so I read your build thread earlier today. Got some good notes out of it! ------------------------- Didn't quite have as much time as I had hoped this evening, so I only got to play with one cover strip. But that's ok, got the gist of cutting them straight (went ahead and cut all four for the forearms), figuring out which side is "up", and finding that I probably used too much glue. But it's clamped and curing, so we'll see how it turns out and go from there! Like others before me, I see a lot of glue scraping in my future. lol Top: Bottom, scuffed and center marked: Glued and clamped (maybe overkill on the clamps?):

Thank you! ---------------------------- Tonight I started on the first forearm. Trimming for 15mm cover strips ended up being just right, just enough space to get my hand through and get the glove tucked back into the armor. I removed the return edge from the front as needed for Centurion approval but based on pictures from other AP build threads (mostly pre-trimmed kits) I also removed the return edge from the rear. I did try leaving a little bit at first to add some depth but it dug into my arm some, so away it went. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get to make some inner and outer cover strips and start gluing.

Thanks for the advice! That's what I had in mind, so it's good to know I'm on the right path.

Thank you so much!! Thanks! ------------------------ Today I finished the rough pre-trimming of the armor bits, it was nice to get that out of the way! At the beginning I sort of wished I had asked about buying a pre-trimmed kit, but my confidence level with this project has improved a LOT after just doing what I've done so far with the armor and helmet. Next I plan on starting with fitting the arms like most people do and then do the fine trimming & finishing as I work on each bit.

So things are still a bit hectic but I'm sneaking in work whenever I can, trimming the armor pieces and working on outfitting my helmet with all of the electronics. I was getting some whine in the Hearing Assist that I got from Ukswrath that I could not get to go away and I narrowed it down to the USB battery packs I was using, but Tony and I got to talking and I ended up upgrading my electronics to his newest version. So now the Hearing Assist is powered by the speaker amp (yay for one less battery pack in the helmet!) and there's no more whining (me or the hearing assist). I wrapped up the helmet tonight and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Everything is contained in the helmet, so I won't have to run any wires outside of it and my big ol' noggin still fits inside too. That's dual fans & battery pack, hovi-tip speakers, I-comm, amp, and the hearing assist. Plus padding. I obviously don't have to state how quickly room runs out but it was fun working out how to get everything in there. The helmet now only goes on one way, but once it's on it is comfortable and somehow nothing is rubbing on me. I only used 4 helmet pads: one at my forehead, one on each side at about a 45 degree angle, and one at the rear at the base of my skull. The placement worked out very well, the helmet moves with my head and I can look up, down, and side to side without it moving away on its own. The soft side Velcro at the very top is just to provide a little extra friction against the top of my head, it helps keep the helmet still. Helmet outside: Inside: I glued each component on some scrap ABS as a mounting bracket/surface and used the ear screws as main mounting points. For the brackets that go up, I backed them with industrial Velcro to support the weight and to keep them from flopping down. And for the front, I installed the frown mesh with glue and then hot glued some fine fabric over the mesh to keep people from seeing inside, I'm not sure if I'll use a balaclava or not yet. I painted the dried glue flat back to clean it up some and then I used Velcro to mount my microphone in place. And obviously the accurate S-trim is already in place, that actually went on a lot easier than I expected based on what others have posted. lol And that's about it for where I am now. Now it's on to finishing the trimming of the rest of the armor pieces (one shoulder, biceps, forearms, and a couple leg pieces) and then it will be time for fitting and gluing and all that other fun stuff. Parts list from this post: Ukswrath Cooling Fan Kit Ukswrath TK Hovi Audio System Ukswrath SHA (Hearing Assist) US Army ACH/MICH Helmet Pad Set ( Link ) - From this I only used the 3/4" Oblong Pads

Well, it's been a while... Some family stuff took away most of my time to mess with my kit, but I still was fiddling with some things when I had any spare moments. I did get to go out with the Georgia Garrison to the May 4th Braves game, while I had originally hoped to troop that event I obviously was not done with my armor. So I volunteered as a photographer instead. A handful shots below and the rest HERE if anyone wants to look through them. It was a great time and it really got me itching to work on my own armor again!

Wow! I can't wait to see how this turns out!

Thanks! Going to try to keep that feature going on the posts that need it. My OCD will be why this build takes longer than it should. lol

Congrats Dave!!

So moving on to the lenses, I ordered the TrooperBay lenses and installed per the instructions. Between the asymmetry of the helmet and my trimming the eyes (probably more to blame here, lol), there were some pretty noticeable gaps that I didn't like, mostly along the tops of the eyes. I did want some gap to prevent fogging but not like what I got. So I sat down with some T-Nuts (I can't remember which build thread I got the idea from, sorry in advance!), cut away some Plastidip circles, and glued them in place. I may add a third T-Nut to the bottoms of the eyes for retention's sake, but I haven't decided yet. Then I cut the lens in half to get two pieces and trimmed those to the eye shapes I wanted. Then I drilled the holes one at a time (drilled one hole, installed, and then marked for the second hole) to ensure a more precise fit and attached the lens to the helmet with socket cap screws and neoprene washers. The washers do a great job from keeping the screws from backing out. So I effectively closed the gaps at the top of the eye like I wanted but also allowed some gap in the bottom "corner" to allow hot air to vent up and out: The left lens isn't done yet. I had to Dremel some height off of one of the T-Nuts and it got too hot and popped off the helmet. Oops! So I peeled the E6000 off and now it's reglued and curing again. Once I get done with that lens, I'll clean the inside of the faceplate portion from all of the new dust, polish the lenses, cover the T-Nuts and surrounding area with some Plastidip, and glue the frown mesh in. Then it will be time for reassembly, and padding & electronics installation. Parts list from this post: TrooperBay Lenses T-Nuts - M4-.7 Socket Cap Screws (Black) - M4-.7 x 6mm Neoprene Washers - 5/32"

Day 2 (for me): 15

20

Thanks!! I tried a couple methods with the stencils knowing in advance I'd get some bleed where they wouldn't lay flat, and as much as I hate to admit it, all with varying degrees of failure. It was a bit more than a toothpick, q-tip, and patience could handle, because I tried. lol But I will revisit them in time as I want those to be painted just like everything else on the helmet, just may not use the stencil route next time.

Long time, no update, been a busy past couple of weeks. Basically with the spare time I've had I finished filling in the tears and traps, and then I used the Trooper Bay stencils to add the lines. And then came the tube stripes... I had the Trooper Bay stencils for those. I made honest attempts to make those work, even tried the gloss white base layer to prevent the blue paint from bleeding, but nothing worked out well for me. So realizing that I was spending too much time stuck on one part of the project I decided to move on, so I used the supplied decals. I plan to revisit the tube stripes later, likely by taping the outer edges and penciling in some lines to paint to, I seem to do better with that. For now, these will do, applied with soap/water to smooth everything out. And a test fit. Now onto the lenses. Thanks!! Thank you on both accounts!!

My understanding is the gaskets come with the Standard Kit and the soft goods are kitted as a separately available item.

Woohoo!! Congrats!!

Thanks!! lol That's too cute, kids are great! Thank you again. I'll share a couple shots if anyone cares to see, mostly ArtFX+ statues with a few other things mixed in. Thank you! Although I feel like I've slightly cheated with my process for the traps and tears. I've been penciling in the outlines, then painting in the black portions, then filling in with gray. My freehand skills are not that good at all. lol

Based on the idea I saw in Ruthar's FOTK build thread I purchased a motorcycle half helmet liner for mine, it fits inside the helmet very well, it's comfortable, allows for some ventilation since it's not a solid liner, puts my eyes at the proper level, and prevents the helmet from moving around on my head. This one is a Scorpion EXO-C110 KwickWick liner in Large for reference (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JDQ3P18/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1).

I'm going to have to get creative with the placement of everything inside the helmet, my head isn't exactly small either. lol I've done a test run with the speakers and they're awesome, I'm looking forward to getting everything in there though. FWIW, the speakers aren't much heavier than the AP Hovi Mics, I think mainly because the attachment hardware is all nylon/plastic vs. the metal on the originals. Speaking of which, I solved the spacer issue with the Hovi Speakers (in this case) to my satisfaction, I tried a few different ideas and this is the one that was the simplest and worked the best in my opinion. I bought 9/16" x 1/4" rubber grommets and 1/4" nylon washers from Lowes (there were no washers included with the Hovi Speakers, so I was going to add them anyway). Note that the sizes used would be different for the AP Hovi Mics: I put the grommet directly on the back of the Hovi Speaker: And then I attached it to the helmet using a nylon washer under the nut. On one side the grommet bottomed out before the Hovi Speaker did, which is what I wanted so it could compress against the helmet. On the other side the speaker bottomed out first, so I added two nylon washers between the speaker and grommet and then the grommet bottomed out first. Everything is then firmly finger tightened: There will still be a gap on one side of the speaker and this is normal/unavoidable due to the shape of the helmet recess. But the speakers are firmly in place, oriented well, and the pressure is evenly distributed against the grommet on one side and the washer on the other: After doing that I painted the first trap (helmet came back apart so I could paint under the brow trim and so I could touch up the plasti-dip on the inside): Parts list from this post: 9/16"OD x 1/4"ID Rubber Grommets - x2 (Specific sizing for Ukswrath Hovi Tip Speakers) 1/4" Nylon Washers - x2 Minimum - Extra may be needed as spacers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And right before I had taken it apart, my 21 month old daughter put the helmet on herself and ran around the room yelling "HELLO" because that's what I was saying to her when I was testing the speakers out. This is why I get nothing done quickly. Haha!

Thanks! I did, I wanted to do something to make it a bit different but I was also trying to get the holes for the hearing assist as far forward as possible. Probably makes very little difference overall but that's the thought that made the decision. And I totally get it about the OCD. You may be on to something with the foam, I was considering using rubber washers but the foam would probably form to the contours of the helmet recess much better. You're using the Hovi tips that came with the armor, correct? I think these may have a slightly wider base due to the speaker but I haven't done a side by side comparison to know for sure. That's the plan! Thanks for the vote of confidence! Thanks! They are indeed the next mission and the stencils are on the way from TrooperBay to fill in the lines (and tube stripes). Thanks Mark! I'll definitely post something about it when I figure out a solution.

Thanks! Good luck when you get there! It's a daunting task to be sure, I was going to use the decals at first but I think I can make it look passable with paint. We'll see! ------------------------ Last night I did a test fit on the Hovi Tip Speakers, I'll need to add some sort of spacer material under them as they don't seat flush against the plastic, there's actually a decent gap. And since the plastic is thinner in that area I don't want it to crack or break from the pressure of tightening the nut down. And I completed the ear painting: