merkava74
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Posts posted by merkava74
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Thanks guys! Bits and pieces coming along slowly, but I'm getting happier seeing each component closer to looking like an FOTK!
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BELT POUCHES PART 2
Stuck a piece of velcro behind the ABS cover of the belt pouch, and they're done.
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BELT BOXES PART 2
The supporting pieces of the 2 horizontal belt boxes have been sprayed matte black.
Here, they are glued to the belt boxes, ready to be fixed onto the belt.
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POSTERIOR PIECE PART 2
2 inward facing snaps are attached which will snap to 2 hanging webbing from under the back of the abdomen. The center snap is outward facing to be attache to the belt later.
Here it is attached to the back, and you can see the 2 hanging webbing holding the posterior piece up.
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COD PIECE PART 2
The 2 snaps are attached to the cod piece, facing outwards.
Next, I glued a strip of webbing on the inside of the abdomen, and fixed 2 inward facing snaps. Here you see the cod piece attached. When the belt is worn, the webbing and snaps will all be hidden. The center snap on the abdomen will be attached to the belt later.
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If you're shooting for accuracy here's some info. The TFA cap was draped in what was thought to be gaffer's tape. Here's a movie armor reference photo. Note the difference in material between the center decal and end cap.
That’s a neat nugget of info! Thanks Tony! Although I stick to what I’ve done. Not sure I wanna risk peeling any paint off if I remove my vinyl. But thanks!-
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THERMAL DETONATOR PART 4
So some of my armour came back from the painter's, and I got back to work on those that I can.
Completing the TD, I stuck on the 4 vinyl stickers: 2 end caps, 1 to wrap around the left tube, and 1 rectangle piece in the middle. The TD is complete!
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So I was told that my armour will be ready for collection this Saturday! Can’t wait!
In the meantime, resin hand plates arrived from Dan. They are beautiful!
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On 3/31/2020 at 5:29 AM, ukswrath said:Hey Jasper what's the latest. Any progress?
The only thing I got was some of my parts being painted at the car workshop. Should be a week or 2 to go...
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This is an awesome thread. Thank you for the time you’re putting in and the detail you are including. I’m learning while I continue waiting for Anoshow...
One question about the bolts for the belt boxes and shins, etc. how do you get the placement of the bolts right when glueing them? Am I right in assuming that you temporarily hold or affix the boxes in place, with the bolts sticking through their holes? I know this might seem obvious - but it’s somethng I’ve been pondering in the virtual build inside my head.... thanks
Thanks! And yes. First, you drill the holes, and then you put the bolt through, and have a dab of glue on the head, then you place the box in the right position, and now, from the bottom, press the bolt up against the box and hold it for a while till it dries. Then remove the box with the bolt, and reinforce with more glue, and then epoxy putty for a secure hold. Hope that’s clear!-
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So at this point, I am done with the hard armour parts, and have sent them to the painters. Will probably take 2 to 3 weeks. In the meantime, I will be trying to do the other stuff as much as I can. Unfortunately, I screwed up a bit of my timeline, and while I have my 3D printed blasters, I had ordered BlastFX kits, and they are not here yet. I am intending to do a SE44C, F11D and F11D Heavy Rifle. I could probably work on a few parts that do not require the electronics for now.
I am also going to do a bit of the rubber gaskets from Imperial Gaskets. Test gluing, etc.
Stay tuned, but progress will be slower for now.
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ANKLE SPATS
So, I've been wrapping my head around how to do this, as I have seen a few methods using snaps on the greeblies, or velcro. I've finally decided I will do it a little differently, and clasp the ankle using the seam instead.
Let me explain. The seam has a higher surface area compared to the greeblie, and that allows me to use magnets to ensure that when closed, the ankle is "straight" and not at an angle. MY first step is to shave off the top and bottom of the inner seam so that the outer one will sit nicely flush over it.
This is how it looks after.
Next, I cut away the notch where the greeblie will be sitting, so that the greeblie can also sit flush between the 2 pieces.
Glueing the 3 pieces together (Ankle, Flap and Greeblie), this is how it looks. The excess top and bottom will be shaved off later. This creates a higher surface area bond compared to just a snap on the greeblie.
On the other end, this is how the seam will look like after I install 2 magnets (1 on top, 1 on the bottom) to make sure the alignment is always flush when worn.
And this is the completed ankle spat with the flap glued, edges trimmed.
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BELT POUCHES
So I decided to make my pouches functional, while keeping them in shape.
I made 2 boxes out of acrylic, reinforced the insides with triangular angle supports. Here's the long one:
And here's how it fits inside.
With the flap closed.
And with the armour piece test fitted on it.
The other smaller box.
Inside the pouch.
And with the flap closed.
Both pouches done.
Now I can give out stickers while trooping (If my gloves can reach in to grab them....)
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BELT BOXES
I got the Empire3D belt boxes as it had the curved resin backing for the 2 horizontal boxes. However, I will not be using their bigger rectangle boxes as they are heavy, and I would prefer to use the ABS ones from the kit.
For these 2 boxes, I drilled 2 holes into each of them, and joined up the boxes. an elastic cord will be threaded through the 2 holes and attached through the belt. I am using elastic cord for these 2 boxes and not chicago screws as I wanted them to have some play since they are hanging below the belt and might have some pressure being placed on them when I am walking or trying to sit.
Here they are completed:
For the 2 horizontal ones, first, I created 2 recesses in the resin block, to sit 2 bolts. I glued them into the recesses, and let dry.
Then I epoxy puttied around them, filling the recess, and again making sure that the bolts will be very secure.
And this is how it looks finished. I have not glued the box and the backing together yet. This will be done after painting as the backing is black while the box will be white. But essentially, these are done.
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SHINS
I tackled the left shin first as it had the 2 vertical long boxes with, you guessed it, no seams.
First thing I did was to mark out 3 holes for each box, and drill them through BOTH halves of the shin. That way, the outer seam of the shin will be securely held together later by 6 bolts and nuts, holding the 2 boxes in place and will not be accidentally knocked off when hit.
The 2 boxes were cut to shape and test fitted onto the shin.
While they were test fitted, I glued 6 bolts to them from the inside.
Here you see the inside of the shins with both halves test fitted. The bolts will be cut down to be flush with the nuts later.
I then embedded epoxy putty into both boxes, so the bolts would be very secure.
Starting with the outer box, I glued it in place, and epoxy puttied around it, sanded it down till it was seamless.
Then I went on to the inner box. The area between them was going to be tough to sand down.
Once that was done, I glued the seam together.
Here you can also see the pillbox at the bottom that I cut out. This will be backed later with black material.
I intend to close the other seam using magnets. Here, I cut 5 holes that I will place magnets in. This part will be done after the armour returns from the paint shop.
Added the greeblies, and after priming, sanding and wet sanding with 1500 grit, the shins are both done.
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SHOULDER TABS
I am using @ukswrath's metal tabs. They are really nice to work with. I marked out where the top of the shoulder bell would be, and cut a slot for the tab to go through, and bent the tab to conform to the inside of the shoulders. Then I fixed 2 snaps onto the should tabs. Measuring a straight line from the snaps, I cut another 2 slots for where the webbing will go later.
Here are the 3 holes:
It is ok that there are gaps in the slot where the tab goes through, as I will be filling it up later. But the 2 side slots need to be clean as they will be exposed against the white armour later against the black webbing, so do take care.
Here is how the inside looks. I shortened the tabs. You might want to leave it long. I just didn't want too much weight or material but I think if you left it, it would strengthen the shoulders more. I also rounded the corners so it wouldn't tear my gaskets or inner suit as I am wearing it.
The other side done too.
Then I proceeded to glue the 2 tabs and let dry overnight.
After dry, I filled up the center gap with epoxy putty.
And after priming. Will probably have another layer of putty to smoothen it out more, but essentially, this is done.
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Updated my chest piece with 2 bolts at the sharp end. See the update for details.
I realised that my head is small enough to go through the neck hole with the yoke AND chest attached. As such, I will be fixing the chest piece onto the yoke permanently. I will also be joining one side of the underarm to connect the yoke and the chest piece, leaving the other side functional for magnets later.
So to wear, I would put my hand into the fixed arm hole, put my head through the neck hole, and then slot my other arm through the functional arm hole, and close it with magnets.
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6 hours ago, ukswrath said:
Fantastic job Jasper, wow you're really knocking this out
Thanks, Tony. Weekends are the best!
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Updated my Abdomen with slots to house my webbing later.
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ABDOMEN
First thing I had to do was to cut the back into 2 pieces, directly in the middle, and then glue the 2 sides to the front piece. Lots of putty, priming and sanding to create that seamless sides.
Next, i drilled 2 holes on each box placement for the boxes. I drilled 4 hole for the bigger box (box 5 in Anovos' case).
After cutting out the 7 Ab boxes (carefully as I needed to be aligned to the ab shape as closely as possible), I glued nylon bolts on their inside, and reinforced with epoxy putty all around the bolts so they will be very secure and would not twist or fall off.
This is how they look like roughly installed.
The inside, showing where the bolts are secure with a nut each, and the excess bolt snipped off (hence why I use nylon bolts).
I then test fitted the ab, noting the width of my torso, and drawing out where I will need to cut at the back. I intend to join this using velcro, as I believe this joints takes a lot of stress, and would need a good omni-directional securing which velcro does best.
I also cut a slot at the top where the TD will be hooking on to. This way, it is not going to slide left or right, and has a lesser chance of popping off upwards too.
This is how the TD looks like sitting in the slot.
The bottom view of the TD, showing it is almost flush with the base of the back piece.
I also cut a curve on both sides to give the area below my armpits a little more comfort. Trust me, this helped a lot.
In the front, I drilled a hole in the center, which I will install an outward facing snap later to attach to the belt.
Finally, primered, sanded and finished.
UPDATE:
I decided to cut 4 slots on the top part of the ab to thread some webbing through later. This will be my harness to hold the ab up. It will cross at the back, and come straight down the front to buckle clips.
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SHOULDER BELLS
Glued the 2 tabs to the bells. I thought it would be simple. Realised it kept having gaps, so I had to use lots of clips and magnets.
And here they are finished.
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POSTERIOR
I drilled 3 holes on this piece. The 2 outermost ones will have snaps that face inwards and be attached to straps from the back of the abdomen. The center hole will face outwards, and is meant to be attached to the belt.
And here it is finished.
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COD PIECE
I drilled 2 holes for the cod, meant to install snaps later. The snaps will face inwards towards the body, and be attached to straps from the abdomen.
And here it is finished.
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Looks great, will can simply back the slots with some black HIPS or other material. If anything you could make the slot just a fraction wider but its pretty darn good.
Thanks Andrew! Will do. Actually, I am waiting for a set of resin ones from Dan. I believe those are screen accurate. I’ll probably be using those when they arrive.
But thanks again for the pointer!
Merkava74's TFA FOTK Build Thread (Anovos)
in TFA Build Threads
Posted · Edited by merkava74
BELT ASSEMBLY
So after preparing the boxes and pouches, it is time to put everything together. Darren's (JAFO) Belts of the First Order kit is what I used, and it is an awesome high quality kit. No doubt about that!
First, I test fitted the belt with my Abdomen, Cod and Posterior pieces on to determine the length of belt that I need. Do not just use your waist size as the ABS add a significant amount of length. I also took the fitting to determine the 2 snaps positions. Then, I sewed the female clip and attached the 2 snaps.
Next, I measured the lengths and glued the middle foam and outer rubber layers together. I glued them in an oval shape to conform to the shape of my torso. You will also notice that by doing that, you will need more material for the foam layer, and even more for the rubber layer as they "travel" a longer distance around the oval. If you glued them flat, you will later realise that you cannot bend them around your waist without stressing and possibly creasing the foam and webbing layer.
Finally, all 3 layers are glued together.
Next, I proceeded to determine the front centre of the belt and punched holes through all 3 layers so I can fix the 2 horizontal boxes. This is where Empire3D's resin boxes and especially their curved backing really comes into play and rests on the belt perfectly. I also secured the end of the belt with 2 chicago screws through all 3 layers.
This is how it looks from the inside.
Next, I measured where the 2 drop boxes will be, threaded the rubber cord through their holes and corresponding to the belt, and knotted it up. I used the cords method for these 2 boxes as it will allow more play if I raise my thighs or bend my body, so the boxes will flex and not stress against the belt. Remember that the top of the 2 drop boxes sit lower than the 2 horizontal boxes.
Finally, the belt is complete, and everything sits perfectly, even though this photo doesn't seem it. You'll see it later on when I take photos suited up.