Pretzel

This is helping me... http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/snaps.html

Update. I feel the home stretch. So, here we go. This is what I have done so far. We tackled the thighs with shimming. These are not done yet! But I am pleased with the results so far. Shimming of the Thighs. BEFORE AFTER Shoulder Bells, Forearms & Biceps Calves

So this update is a little boring. Gluing. Clamping. Magnets. Test fitting in between all of that, so here is my fiiine self trying on my abs at a local armor party. Ok, back to business.. STOP STARING AT MY BUTT! Ok seriously. Here are my pieces being glued, and some are still curing. If you have been following my thread, I just started gluing parts over again because of my cover strip issue, after some tweaking and heat gun motivation, I was able to make these pieces fit well, and get the cover strips pretty close to the recommended sizes. I began the outer cover strips in the back of the calves, and will be placing velcro soon. I also started the shimming process for my thighs. I cut spare ABS and used a heat gun to form it around my thigh. It fits well, and will glue in this shim soon. I will then be following this thread religiously to make it as close as I can. That is it for now.

Got 2 Days! I wish I could do 4, but 2 is just as good. Friday and Saturday!

Thanks Sentry. Would you recommend both be trimmed or just a certain one? Which ab button set is a little worrisome?

Hey guys. So I am back at it. Started to dip my toes into fixing my legs to get the front cover strips to about 20mm. I glued the inner front cover strips first, and will shim once that I know exactly how much I need. So here are some pictures of my progress. That went okay, just have to wait for them to dry. So, I decided to glue the shoulder straps! I then got even more adventurous and decided to begin drilling holes into my ab and kidney plates. I decided to strengthen the inside of the ends for the rivets on the left side. NO GAP! (I heard that is a good thing) Oh and re-painted the ab buttons to the french blue. That is it for now. I also created a helmet stand from a paper towel holder from target. It works Thoughts? Criticism? Thanks for stopping by!

I envy this. Well done sir.

Good Luck! I am currently constructing my AP armor, and learning a lot. Good & Bad. Reference my thread and learn... Do not make my mistakes.

WOW! I finally found what I needed to reference for a similar problem I am currently dealing with on my thighs and well, quite frankly for my arms as too. First time builder myself, and when trimming, I trimmed both front and back to get the armor to fit me. I succeeded for sure! But, then came the butt joints and realizing my error. The strips for my arms are ~30mm. The strips for my legs are ~45mm So YES! Way too much lol. I never worked with that putty before, and some recommend creating ABS paste. Now that I understand the process of shimming 100% ( A HUGE THANK YOU TO THIS THREAD!!! AND HANS! <3 ) After the gluing, sanding etc.. I noticed you used a paint. Would you apply that before the "Polish" process, and what did you use for polishing? Thanks.

Problem already fixed. A learning experience indeed. pending my Facebook post in that ANOVOS group. Thank you sir! Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk

This should be removed. I just referenced this and used midnight blue for my ab buttons. My GML says to use French blue. And midnight blue is too dark and will not be accepted.

Oh yeah, I have those. lol Just need to glue em on yet.

Small Update. Was busy this weekend, but decided to finish up the canvas belt and do some painting. Thoughts ?

Awesome. I will check him out. Thanks Chris

Hi troopers and trooper hopefuls. I was wondering if there were any recommendations for throat mics? I have the Voicebooster system by TK Products. Love the system and works just fine with the microphone provided, but would like something more comfortable. So.. I ask, thoughts ?

No wrong way to do this. But for me. Easier to work with and more accessible for me. Nylon will wear over time. (a long time) That is why a lot of guys go with ABS. But for me.. Just easier to work with and will be less stressful on the armor imo. Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk

I have many "nicknames" from my real name... none really stick, and they bounce, my real name "Preston" my friends love to call me "Precious" which is a long story... lol but when it comes to online groups or gaming groups I have used a few. Only because I just can't decide. My current one "Razgriz" pronounced "RAWZZ-GREES" is from a childhood game. I love fighter planes, of all kinds, and Razgriz was the name of the main squadron in the game. Game was called Ace Combat 5 "The Unsung War." In short, it is a demon that later becomes the hero. A mythical story. If interested.. check out the wiki about it. http://www.acecombat.wikia.com/wiki/Razgriz "Admidst the eternal waves of time From a ripple of change shall the storm rise Out of the abyss peer the eyes of a demon Behold the Razgriz, its wings of black sheath The demon soars through dark skies Fear and death trail its shadow beneath Until men united wield a hallowed sabre In final reckoning, the beast is slain As the demon sleeps, man turn on man His own blood of madness soon cover the earth From the depths of despair awaken the Razgriz Its raven wings ablaze in majestic light"

Alright! Negative vibes are gone. Put my armor aside, started to peel off my inner cover strips already applied to my biceps and forearms, and will be ready to return and shim as needed. (Thank God for E6000) In the meantime, I worked on some other stuff to get the ball rolling in the right direction again. Re-did my TD. It was actually a half an inch too large, this is now exactly 7.50 inches now. My belt is constructed, I just need to add the drop boxes. Helmet is 100% done. I can now troop in this bucket. Pads installed and fans. These fans feel like little AC units. It is amazing. Time to get this done! Thanks for the support and help as always everyone.

Hello everyone, I took a breath, and well I got other stuff done, and will post pics of my progress. In the meantime, I punched some words into google and found this. Is this a good step by step process for shimming? http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/shims.html

Breathe. Ok. Ok. So. There is two responses here. Not sure the right one. But it seems like adding shims are the way to go. So... Question is... How do I go about doing and adding these shims? Is there a good tutorial out there? Thanks for the support. This is going to set me back ... It still sucks. Probably the only part for the build I regret... Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk

Well. IDK guys, but I may have screwed up on this one.... When I trimmed my pieces, I guess in my research I did not see trimming the front is the 1st thing you do. When i trimmed my pieces, I trimmed them both front and back, to keep things even. I guess this may have been the wrong way to go about doing things. I am 5'11 215lbs. I am bigger trooper. the raised edges for the thighs meet at about 45mm. Same as the shins. My forearms and biceps are about 30mm. I am losing hope on level 2 or 3.. which is actually very disheartening. Almost, heartbreaking. I now just want to be approved basic because I invested so much money in my armor, I pray I did not screw this up...Am I doom to fail? I just want to get out there and troop! Will these raised edges be enough to turn me away. Do I need to go back and shim pieces? Start over? New parts... ? ugh NOTE: I already did a test fit. These all fit nice and snug.

Thanks gents. Had a lot of help. Looking forward to this weekend!

Been a little bit since I updated. Did some bucket work and.. Well More clamping and gluing is being done. More patience required lol This weekend I will be crafting soft snap plates and trimming of small parts with more painting. Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk

my god...

This is very impressive. I don't even have words. Just going to continue to watch the epicness unfold.