gazzadavis8

Yeah it can be good and quick, but don't go too quick, I had to redo a few because I put them the wrong way round, doh! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi there, For the snaps you should get the prym snap tool, you can get the attachments to make the holes then change them for the either the male or female snap attachments. Took me about ten minutes to do all of my snaps and only managed to break one. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ok so the big thing, first of all a big thank you to ukswrath and welshchris77 for their advice on the back plate, I don't think I would have dared without the instructions, pictures and all. I tried on some off cuts and after some success I attacked the backplate, Before Right side after water bath Gap after both sides water bathed As you see practically no gap now ))) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I redid the straps for the thighs and sanded down the rough edges at the top, taking off a mm or two. Not had time to test them, will put photos with the the results. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

For the helmet I tried a hard hat system I had laying around but in the end I found that using the anovos inner with added padding at the top and over the nose, plus putting chin strap really works great. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ok so I've got a lot of annoying bits done, firstly I've sewn two strips of white elastic to my shoulder mounts ( yes I know I'm not going for centurion but It does look better) Secondly following Tk zombies advice I've added some foam to the inside front of the left calf and the sniper knee is much more comfortable. Whilst doing this I became increasingly annoyed with the Velcro and got rid of it and replaced it with the hook system, glue drying at the moment picture to follow. I've cut and glued material over the two extra snaps on the belt. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yes know the groin is a little wonky in the photo, as I said I have to replace the stud on my groin strap, without it the whole groin seems to slant. And yes this should be fixed even better when my diet finishes and I put on some absolutely pukka side shims rivet etc, only 35 or so pounds to go Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Thanks Tkzombie, that seems like a good idea for the sniper knee, pm sent. For the Velcro and such I only used it on the biceps to upper arm which seems fine, plus the back of the calfs but I really don't like it here, I'm going to look at the hook methods it seems a better option. I haven't got double snaps everywhere but it seems like a good idea, I used tk300's snap system plus some of my own ideas. I reinforced the groin and kidney area by converting a pair of braces into straps so the groin,kidney has the braces plus they are connected the chest/back area. After trying it on again today I definitely want to do the following, Change the elastic on the belt to webbing ( with a double snap, thanks Tkzombie ) Change the calf Velcro, either industrial Velcro or the hook method Add padding to helmet, a chinstrap and maybe redo the entire inside if this doesn't work- it keeps slipping and I cannot see a thing. Redo groin snap, I must of broken it when fixing it on and when that elastic pings back at your privates it brings tears to your eyes. Oh and finally tested my boots after three coats of paint, not as pleased As I thought I would be, the paint ran and bubbled in places, plus had to pick off some bugs that got stuck in the paint, but over all they seem acceptable, may go for another coat of paint ( or knowing my ocd, scrap off the paint and start again. Picture s to follow Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Side shims With belt Back plate Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ok so after my test run I have the following observations and questions, observations, Helmet needs padding at the top, sniper knee is a little uncomfortable, does anyone else have this problem, if so how did you deal with it? the hand guards are a little odd, may change to latex ones later on. need to finish my boots! I've used elastic to keep up my thighs they feel a bit low, I'm thinking of maybe changing them to webbing, has anyone else done this? if so, is comfy, does it have enough give? Questions, As I stated in this thread earlier for the kidney/abdomen join I really only want to do a super shim/rivet join once I finish losing the weight this year, I've made a temporary shim/join using a stud system (had to add almost 3 inches on each side), will this be acceptable for basic approval or even EIB as there wont a gap? (photo to follow) To make the belt acceptable for approval do we really need to drill off the extra snaps, I've read a lot of threads where people have drilled them out then used fabric to cover the holes, will it be acceptable if i simply covered the extra two studs with fabric so as we dont see the? My last question concerns the backplate, it seems very small, I have a large gap between it and the kidney plate, is that normal? I'll add a picture and to be fair the attach between the back plate and the kidney wasn't connected. Is this gap ok for basic or EIB approval, or do i need to add vertical shims?

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So this week has been really good I ploughed on finishing all my trimming, fitting etc, got lots of things glued, then the fittings and so on. really started making headway and then booooomm found out the calfs on anovos were mislabelled (thanks to ukwraths thread). Ok so they have already been glued and such, one long part of the evening ungluing and regaling, anyway. after all that some pictures of the bits I've done this week

Hi Guys, I know for centurion the straps need to be white, as its a snap systems I can easily replace that in the future. One of the great advantages of the snap system, I agree that going straight for centurion status is a good idea but at the moment Im carrying a little extra weight, I already lost 33 pounds last year and hope to do the same again this year. For this reason I'd rather put temporary shims around the waist for now and later on correct them with the correct rivets and such, hence theres no way for me to do centurion straight away.

Ok so this is more a follow and history and is certainly not a guide, there are some fantastic guides on here. Anyway my wife and children are away skiing this week while I'm at work, but that means I can take over the living room and really kick on with my build. Again apologies for the photos as I'm more concerned with pressing on as much as possible. So what have I managed Chest plate cut and snaps put in place, Back piece cut and snaps put in place, Ab plate. cut and most of the snaps put in place ( no rivets yet, haven't decided if I'm going to put them or not) Kidney cut and snaps put in place Butt plate cut and snaps put in place Calfs cut and strips glued at the front, back to do, thinking of doing the Velcro method, but I have everything to do the hook- bra style. Photos I'm looking at the distance between the ab and kidney plate and it's a lot about two inches on both sides, now I'm dieting at the moment and have a good 30 pounds to lose so maybe this will be less of a problem, is there a way to do a temporary shim that's acceptable for level 2 ( yeah I may not go for centurion for my first build but I might push myself to get to level 2 standards ) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk