kman

Looking good, Brian! I've been making steps towards Centurion as well, I suppose I should update my thread soon. That mess of wires looks WAY too familiar, LOL! Tell me about these helmet screws... are they brass?

Fantastic work!

Sounds workable. Mineral Spirits is one common paint thinner that won't harm armor, btw.

^^ I concur, as I actually did this, this weekend. Acetone will remove the painted white "UA" logo but the black disc remains underneath. (somewhat grey, even after lots of rubbing acetone into it) From there, the sharpie method works well to blacken it further, and at least you can't see the really obvious pattern of the UA logo anymore. While I'd love to get rid of the black oval entirely, this is definitely good enough, in my book.

I've never used those, but I'll note two things: 1) Tandy has sales a couple of times per year where their snaps are half price or less. Doesn't really help you need them NOW, but there you go. 2) I was recommended these snaps by a fellow FISD member: https://www.stecksstore.com/line-24-nickel-snaps-100-pack-1263-12/ I ordered and received them, and they LOOK good, but I have yet to actually install them into anything, so I can't personally vouch for how well they work. (I'm still finishing up the last of my Tandy snaps, and just bought these to have more on hand.) Seems likely they are good, though. May be the same as the other store you found is selling, hard to say. Hope this helps.

Agree with letting it dry. One thing that can help when using your finger to rub the glue off is to use a rag (ideally white fabric so no danger of rubbing dye into the white armor!) over your fingertip. I use old cut up undershirts for this, and it works well. Adds some extra friction, but still no danger of scratching, plus less wear and tear on your fingertip!

Interesting. I'll have to look into whether my printer can handle ninjaflex or not... I haven't really done anything beyond PLA so far.

I feel your pain, brother. <br><br> Your armor looks great, though! Best wishes for your next step!

Yes, and that's a key consideration. You don't want the ABS too runny. Too runny means you have a lot of extra acetone in there, looking for something to do. What it'll do is attack the armor... more than just bonding, depending on where you apply it. The thinner the plastic, the more problematic this can be. Too thick, on the other hand, and you often end up with lot of air pockets that require additional applications. Too thin, and you start putting the armor at risk. You gotta find the Goldilocks zone, which I personally have found lies in a consistency somewhere between mayo and ketchup. I like to err on the side of a little thick, and then loosen it up a bit (a dash more acetone) for the second application. For relatively sturdy plastic (think shins, main body panels and shims) you have a little flexibility. For very thin plastic like shoulder straps, be EXTREMELY cautious (go thick... or explore other options!), because it is highly susceptible to warping from the acetone in the paste.

Welcome!

Pleasure trooping with you this weekend! I see what you were saying about those handguards. Keep at it! Look forward to trooping with you again sometime, either TK or ID.

Looks good, Tom! I look forward to seeing the favorable verdict.

Not bringing your armor to Palm Springs, though, eh?

No blaster is needed at all for basic approval. Many troop with Rubies blasters totally unmodified, just a coat of black paint. I don't know if it has been tested for higher level approvals... definitely not stock, but sufficiently modified it might pass EIB? Almost certain it wouldn't fly for Centurion without truly extensive modifications. The power cylinders are easy to add, and add a nice touch. The magazine is look long as it is, and looks excessively bare without them. The counter is only for ANH. (stunt or hero) I 3D printed power cylinders and stuck them onto my Rubies. (otherwise unmodified except for black paint) I like it! This is just a spare blaster for my (Hyperfirm is my main one) so I don't know that I'll be putting more work into it, but who knows?

Looking good, Brian! Did you get approved yet?

Do you really feel primer is needed for PlastiDip? PlastiDip is a lot more flexible than regular paint, which can flake, and which is one reason why I went that route instead of paint. I feel PlastiDip bonded quite well with the plastic... which isn't to say it can't be peeled up, but not under normal circumstances. All of my Velcro is on there nice and firm. I 100% concur that the surface should be lightly sanded (high grit! no need to score the plastic with rough stuff!) and carefully cleaned (simply wiping down with rubbing alcohol does this well) before starting the paint/dip application.

I painted mine intact. Just removed the lens and the S tube, and masked the heck out of everything. Pics in my build thread: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35552-kmans-anovos-tk-adventure-build/?p=480425 Seemed pretty simple and straightforward. It was a little tricky getting good coverage in the very front (by the Hovi tips), but it all worked out.

Great work! Very interesting job on the hovi tip fans.

KB is ABS. But no, I don't believe it matches Anovos plastic. Not exactly, at least.

Congrats, Tom!

I'm a Dive Master. I'm well aware of the gas exchanges involved. I would agree that it's not really better than a fan, but for the SHORT "snorkel" outlined, I don't see any issue. And it's not like he can't spit it out and suck regular ambient air if needed. In short, I don't see this as being a particularly effective option, but I don't see it causing any worrisome problems, either.

You know, the more I read this, the more I think I disagree with it. For one thing, your NOSE is often less than 1" diameter (combined). Further, scuba divers use regulators with the same size opening as a snorkel every day. It's really not a problem. The only time that would be an exception would be for extreme sports where you may be seriously gasping for air as you overexert yourself. But for regular tasks, where you're not doing more than moderately heavy breathing, there is zero issue with the restriction. As to the increased co2 retention, there is some truth to that, but considering the small size snorkel under discussion (much shorter than your average 12-16" snorkel used for the ocean), the small amount of extra co2 would be negligible. There might be other reasons why this doesn't work out, but the size of the breathing tube and added co2 are not among them. Not on dry land with large amounts of ambient oxygen readily available.

I'd see if you can shorten the shoulder straps a bit so the backplate is not overlapping the kidney plate quite as much. See if you can bring the forearms up a little, and lower the biceps a little, so there is not as much black showing at the elbow joint. And finally, I'm not sure what thigh rigging you're using, but they appear to be rotated out a bit. If you can, rotate them more forward so the cover strip is directly forward, and the back cover strip is more centered.

Honestly, I often only run one of my two fans here in SoCal. Only on the warmest days do I fire up fan #2. (makes it harder to hear, so 1 is usually adequate)

Outstanding Tom! Looks like an easy pass to me, with hardly anything needed for Centurion.