Cricket

I love how we all have different versions of a tabbed system! Whatever works, right? https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/41502-crickets-wtf-hero-build-even-more-tk-for-the-vertically-challenged/?do=findComment&comment=601645

Yep, the belt totally covers the rivet. As long as things are in proportion, don't sweat the few mm here or there. Note the red lines in the photos below. You don't want rivets in that range. So, you don't want this: If you're building to Centurion, you'll want to make sure that your rivet placement looks something like this based on your armor size: Post pics of your rivet placement and how things line up on the ab and kidney. I'm sure you're fine, but it would be good to double check!

I might be a little late to the party, but check out this post regarding ab rivet placement. I seem to recall that the rivets should be somewhere between 15-20mm from top and bottom edges, the middle rivet placed evenly between them. And you're correct with the rivets being 10mm in from the long edge. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28469-rs-props-ab-plate-issue/?do=findComment&comment=361476

GREAT job on that return, Jeff! Really nice work. You can't even tell it's a DIY return there. Outstanding!!!

I'm a little late to the party on this, but thought I'd share my take on it. Snaps are much easier and faster to install. You also don't run the risk of having your armor crack at the returns, and you don't have to bother with reinforcing the returns before installation. The downside I've seen with the snaps is that the armor doesn't move as nicely together as when assembled with brackets. Again, this is my own opinion- and I am a bracket-wearer, so I may be biased on this. When assembled with snaps/straps, the torso parts of the armor can shift under/over each other when moving around. For me, it just doesn't look as good. With brackets (and yes, they are a huge PITA to prepare and install), the elastics hold the torso parts snugly together at the return edges. As a result, the parts don't float over/under each other. There is some stress put on the returns, and for that reason, I highly recommend reinforcing the returns with an extra layer of ABS all along the return edge. The effort is worth it though, because bracketed armor (to me) moves so much better together. I do wish that Walt would just create a two-piece butt/kidney instead of leaving it all-in-one. Creating the new returns on the WTF armor isn't all that difficult, though. I was able to accomplish it with some patience and persistence (ignore the black velcro on there... it was temporary for fitting purposes):

My RS kit does not have the huge tab at the back. My WTF kit has the big tabs on both ends.

That weird flaring on the top right side of the kidney was bugging me, so I dealt with it today just so I could be done with it. I taped the side together and decided that I could get away with just dunking the top corner of the kidney into boiling water. I made sure to tape off a "submerge point" as a guide so I would know how deep to submerge the piece. I just needed that top corner to soften a bit so I could flatten it out. Here's what it looked like in the beginning. Well, hello there! After a few dips into the boiling water and shaping, I brought that kidney in line. It was better. But I still had some weird lumping going on at the end of the kidney's return edge. Can you see it? Looks so sloppy. To smooth out those extra lumps in the returns, I used a heat sealing iron. For super small areas like this, the heat sealing iron works well because it only heats up the areas that it is in contact with. I don't use a sock or anything on it, but just put the iron on the plastic. I don't use much pressure at all, but rather, wait patiently for the heat to soften the ABS just a little. I use my paint stick piece to smooth and cool things. Here's a before and after. The before shot is before the hot water bath and heat sealing iron. The after is, well... after it all. Before and after: Better, isn't it?

I removed my brackets so I could countersink the screws, so I figured it would be a good time to attach the ab section to the kidney since everything was already taken apart. There's only one thing I dislike more than removing and reattaching bracket screws and nuts. Wanna know what it is? Attaching the kidney/ab split rivets! Just a reminder for you Vertically Challenged Troopers: if you're going for Centurion, be sure to line up the tops of the kidney and ab when you get to this phase of the build. How things are lined up at the bottoms of the kidney/ab won't matter because they're hidden by the belt. Now, with that out of the way, here's how I've lined my ab and kidney up! There's a little flaring going on at the top of the kidney in that photo, and I may still reshape it with some hot water. But everything else is fitting together as it should. Want to see how I've got this so nicely lined up securely like that? Well, first thing is that the split rivets were installed on the opposite side. Duh. I've got the areas around the holes reinforced with an extra strip of ABS for strength on the AB and kidney. Each strip is about 30mm wide and cut to fit the kidney and ab. This area takes a lot of stress and can be prone to cracking, so I want it to be strong from the start. Some people like to use nylon webbing for this connection, but I use elastic. The armor wants to stretch and move around when you wear it. If I use nylon strapping, then the holes take most of the stress and can result in cracks where the split rivets are installed. With elastic, the armor has a little 'give' to it, thus reducing the strain on the holes. I use 1" elastic, and it's doubled up- that is, I use two layers of elastic at these connections. I have never had a connection like this fail on my other set of armor. It's strong and flexible and has worked for me, so that's what I use. Now to the other side... Split rivets installed. I covered the rivets with tape on the outside when I hammered the legs down to prevent excess scratching to the rivet heads. Taping them down also helps keep the rivets in place when setting them. And you want to see how I keep the ab/kidney all nice and stable without a belt? Taaa-daaa! A tab! I can't remember who suggested this to me on my first build (I think it was Jorge?), but it helps keep the armor from shifting around on the right side connection and kind of 'locks' the ab/kidney together. Now I know we all have the Han snap and can use that, but why use that puny connection all by itself? I use both. I made two 1"x1" ABS squares and glued them to the ab: one was glued just below the Han snap, and the other was glued to the ridge above where the cod begins on the ab. Then I made a measurement of the length between the outer ends of both the squares, cut a 1" piece of ABS in that length, and glued it to the squares. That creates a slot for the tab. For the tab itself, I cut a piece of thin black styrene (black because I want it to blend in with my undersuit!) in a rectangle shape. I used .04 thick black styrene for this. I measured the width of the space within the slot and cut it to that size. You want enough length on it for it to have lots of surface to glue it to the kidney, and a few inches extra to go into the slot on the ab. Important! Use e6000 when gluing the tab to the kidney! I can't tell you how many times I've need to make adjustments once things were glued in there- which required removal and reattachment of that tab. You've been warned! And that's it for now. Next, time to channel my inner Thor, get out the hammer, and make some snap plates!

The left leg halves should have a better fit with each other. Disregard the overtrimmed outer half on the left thigh unless that's the look you're going for. The tops of the left shin are wonky as well. Which is why it is believed that the sniper knee was put there: to cover the wonkiness.

Hey Jeff, The tops of the right thigh halves should be lined up. The bottom halves of the right thigh should be uneven. This is why there is the ammo pack installed at the knee- to cover it up! Another pic so you can see how my thighs lined up before adding the ammo pack:

Love the PVC pipe trooper! I need to make myself one of those now! Good luck with the build. You're definitely on the right track- stay on target!

I bought them on eBay because none of my local hardware stores carry them. Look for "K&S Strip 0.028" X 3/4"W X 12" L Stainless Steel". You may only need to buy one if your shoulder straps are shorter (like mine) because I divide the length into two 6" pieces. I also reinforced the kidney/ab connections where the rivets go with an extra strip of ABS (about 30mm wide) glued to the inside. This area gets a lot of stress, and reinforcing it makes the connections less likely to crack. And I also add extra ABS reinforcement all along the inner returns where I installed brackets. Sorry for hijacking your thread, David!

Hm, that's a good question! I honestly don't know about using ABS cover strips in there. I used metal strips simply because I had them laying around. They allow for making a nice bend in the shoulder strap that stays put. Structurally, I am pretty sure that the metal strips would make the shoulder straps stronger than ABS strips. That said, I'm sure any amount of reinforcement to the shoulder straps (using whatever you've got) would be beneficial. That is, as long as it's thin enough to maintain the profile of the shoulder strap.

I can't take credit for the whole "reinforce the shoulder staps" idea. I saw it somewhere around here, but I can't remember where! I don't ever mind manhandling my shoulder straps now. It's been about a year and a dozen troops later, and I've never had any problems with them. They are solid!

Just a suggestion, but you may want to consider reinforcing the shoulder straps before installing them. The shoulder straps are subjected to a lot of stress and can be prone to breakage on their own. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/38416-crickets-rs-stunt-build-for-the-vertically-challenged/?do=findComment&comment=530228 Not a requirement, but may save you repairs down the road!

ah! hah! hahhaha... ha ... ha ... ha. Not even close!

Nice recovery! For future repairs, I don't believe that you need to bite into the ABS as hard as with 60 grit sandpaper. You might be creating more work for yourself in the long run. For something this small, you might want to consider even using some acetone on a finger to smooth things out. It sounds scary, but it's not that bad. Dip a finger in acetone, then lightly smooth it over the repaired surface. Repeat as the acetone evaporates (and it will, very quickly!). The surface ends up super smooth and glossy. Try it on a piece of scrap ABS with a lump of dried ABS paste on it. You'll see what I mean!

Hey Jenny, Congrats on your kit and for making progress with the build! Slow and steady is the way to go, and it sounds like you're on the right track. As a fellow shortie, I had some of the same questions about the legs. I assembled the shins first, and sized them width-wise while wearing the boots. You must wear your boots when sizing the shins, because you will be wearing the boots when out in the world- and they will fit very differently width-wise and length-wise with the boots on. You run the risk of overtrimming the shins if you don't size with boots on (the boots shift the shins up!). Bottom line: don't trim shins without boots. Okay, enough warning about that. Here are the steps I follow to size my legs: With boots on (did I mention that already?), size those shins to fit for width only. Don't worry about length yet. While wearing boots and shins, size the thighs to fit for width only. Don't worry about length yet. Size your torso to fit. It is critical that your torso fits you length wise at this stage. There should be about an inch or so of space between your girly bits and the underside of the cod piece. You may also need to trim along the edges to make the cod more narrow on the sides. No one likes inner thigh chafing. Once your torso fits you well, then put on the thighs, torso, boots, and shins (yep, in that order). Walk around (or waddle if you can't walk). You will now see (and feel!) clearly where you need to trim. Now is the time to trim those thighs to fit length-wise. I took a pencil, stood in front of a mirror, and marked along the tops of the thighs where the plastic was overlapping in the front. I trimmed those areas extremely conservatively, then tried them on again. Mark where they are still overlapping (if necessary) and repeat. The goal is to have as little black showing as possible between the thigh tops and the bottom of the torso, but still have enough room for comfortable movement. I'm the 3rd trooper from the left holding the bucket in my left hand. You can see that I tried to make as little space as possible with my thighs. If you have more of a gap, you will have better movement- but TKs have never been known for their flexibility. Also, note that my cod is narrower than the other troopers'. I ended up trimming a lot from the inside thigh areas, but not as much around the sides. I tried to keep as much material along the tops and outsides of the thighs as possible. Use this screen shot for your reference. Your goal should be to end up with something like the short trooper in the middle (and still be able to move around without armor bites). The back of your thighs and butt plate shouldn't overlap while you are standing. They will probably overlap a bit while walking. That's okay. 5. Once your thighs are trimmed so they don't overlap the cod/torso (they'll fit kind of like a puzzle piece) and you can move around, then trim your shins to fit for length. Trim the shins from the bottom only! As you trim them, they will shift down, allowing for better movement at the knee. You don't want much too black space showing at the knee (use above image for reference). You can also cut out a bit from the back of the top of the shin and bottom of the thigh to allow for your legs to bend without getting bitten by that armor. ***Note*** Depending on how much you need to trim from your shins to fit, you may end up needing to resize them width wise. Just something to be aware of! I have never been bitten by my armor and don't have issues with movement for the most part. I have to wobble a bit going up stairs, but it's not a big deal. Hope this helps!

I lined the insides with white gaffers tape. Looks great, stays put, and keeps things snag - free.

Brackets on the butt plate return and bottom kidney today! Here's what the top of the butt plate looks like before I cleaned up the returns. I wanted to install the brackets first before reducing the return widths, just to make sure that the brackets would fit. Everything turned out well, so I slimmed down the returns on the butt plate and the kidney, and finished assembling the brackets together. Looks good to me! I decided to quickly install the twin snaps at the bottom of the butt plate to finish up (not much time to work on this today!). I'll get to removing all that velcro soon. I'll be installing the kidney split rivets next.

Looks like the one to me! My setting tool looks just like that one. Although the kit over on Amazon is a bit cheaper. At least on my end it is just $6.97 shipped Prime. http://a.co/99tJ8kU

Snaps! Ugh, I hated them when I first learned how to assemble them. I destroyed countless amounts of snaps before I finally got things right. You're definitely not alone! I tried the same things as you, doing the whole rotating thing with the long metal thing, and had the same results. I don't know how the guy in that video gets it right. I finally bought a cheapo snap kit from Home Depot (look under Line Snap Kit), and for me, the setting tool gave me amazing results! I don't use any of the other parts in the kit (I like Tandy's anvil). It has a collar on it that helps keep the snap in place while you're hammering it together. You simply place it on the snap, and hammer straight down (no rotation needed), and use a lot of force (not that Force, but the brute strength kind). I've spent many credits on the more expensive Tandy snap setting tools, and they just don't work for me. This cheap one does the trick!

Thanks, Frank! Yep, feeling good and moving along now. I definitely feel more comfortable on this build than the first one. I don't have that nagging "Is this right?" question always in my mind like before. This allows me to work at a faster pace, actually! That said, I'm working on several other costume builds at the same time, so that slows down my TK progress for sure. I was selected as a team lead sewer on a really big costume build project for my garrison, so that has taken a bit of time away from the Hero, too. And kids. They kept me super busy during their Winter Break last week! So glad they're back in school now so I can resume Star Warsing. Honestly though, I think I'd be done with this kit by now if I didn't have the attention span of a squirrel.

Ah, I suppose you could, but it's not really necessary. If the wrist part of the forearms was snug, I believe that it might become an area that could prove suseptible to armor bites! Besides, the guys on screen didn't have tiny wrists- so, screen accurate, right?

Magnetic shins continued. (Almost there!) Now that the e6000 has had lots and lots of time to cure, it's time to attach the other halves of the magnets. Make sure that the halves are super clean and free of extra dried glue. It will prevent the shins from closing well. You can do this by touch. Rub all of it off where you feel it. Once everything is cleaned off, close the "hole" half over the "magnet" half. Your shin should be closing correctly at this point. The "holes" should lock around the magnets and prevent the shin from opening at all, even without the additional magnets at this point. If the "hole" strip is not fully engaged over the magnets, you won't have a very strong bond between the magnets to keep the shin locked. Easy part next! Apply e6000 around the prepared ABS button. No need to go crazy with the stuff. You don't want it oozing all around in there. And stick it on! This part goes really quickly. For additional strength, I add some extra magnets on top. Check those clean closures! Left shin. Right shin. I will open these up in a few hours just to make sure that there isn't any extra e6000 that has spilled out and might lock those shins closed where I don't want them locked. Now to allow several days to dry, and these shins will be good to go!