Gwithian

I realise it's been a while since I posted on here, I've been busy with, well, all those things that go on in life. We have been away for a few days in Wiltshire , seen stone he he and Salisbury cathedral as well as Winchester cathedral, corfe castle plus loads more, I've wanted to see these things since I was a small boys so it's an ambition come true ..... just like building my armour, but I'm not to sure it's going to plan ..... You will recall I sort of messed things up with the heat gun..,, Well I've tried to put it right I did as Frank said and use a piece of wood as a template Today I did a bit more with the heat gun Admit ended up like this And the bit that was most damaged.... I'm thinking it's not too bad.... What do you think? Oh. And for our friends across the pond.... Winchester cathedral Corfe castle Salisbury cathedral Stone henge My grandson Nathan And getting the award for the most improved player in the under 7 team 2017 It's been a good day [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's a great idea Frank, thanks [emoji122][emoji122][emoji122][emoji3] It's certainly worth a try and if I mess it up more, well what have I got to loose. I did try to reshape them in boiling water, I only had the sink and a kettle, we don't have any pans big enough to put the whole greave into Once again, thanks [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well over the past few days I've been trimming the thighs, tried all the armour on and treated the greaves to a hot water bath, I got the heat gun out and yes messed up again, I think I may need to buy a new left greave .... oh humm... anyway some pics First trimming the thigh... tried it on trimmed at the front, not at the back Did a rough pencil line Cut and trimmed From the front Trimmed and un trimmed side by side, I think you can see which is which Tried the armour on I seem to stand a bit lob sided Now the greave ... the bit i messed up These are them trimmed, they fit perfectly though I'm not sure the rear cover strip is vertical I still think it's two steps forward and one back, which means I'm making some progress [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You won't be disappointed with the RS kit, just read the excellent posts on here like matts, fragarock and crickets also look at the centurion request section that gives an excellent idea on what standard can be achieved. Also pandatroopers tutorials are worth their weight in gold.... enjoy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok I've been doing some bits n bobs over the past few days..... I've trimmed the shoulder bells, cut the return edge at the bottom to 4mm I will reduce it to 3mm as I adjust the fit. I also did a rough trim of the width of the bells, I've left about 2 inches spare to allow for adjustment The tape mark is where I think I need to cut on the inside of that, I cut on the outside just in case I tried on the greaves and tried to shape them with a heat gun.... it's still not right, but getting there They don't line up at the back, hopefully I will get them to look like ... From the front I did ask about the width of the return edge on the greaves, Clive one of the armourers from the UKG advised me of this in a reply to a previous post Today I started to work on the thighs , return edges initially roughly cut , will end up at 5mm at the bottom i.e. At the knee, but is 5mm correct at the groin? Trimmed the front of the thighs in the same way as I did the greaves I think I need to get a closer fit, at the moment I can get my hand inside the thigh armour, is that too much of a gap? Also today we visited the local deer park... just thought you may like these pics Anyway.... back to the armour, I will do the right thigh tomorrow [emoji3] am hoping to get a rough fit next week when hopefully you can tell me what is ok (fingers crossed something will be right) and where I need to trim / shorten .... thanks in anticipation [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's perfect Frank, thanks [emoji122][emoji122][emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Frank, thanks for the advice and encouragement , will look at the cover strip on the right forearm, I haven't noticed it digging in, but then I've only tried them in for a short while. I'm not looking forward to sorting the misalignment of the greaves out, I'm not too sure where to start, get the length right first or the width or get them realigned first? Also I guess installing the front cover strip inside and out is the last thing to do before I tackle how to fasten them at the rear ... bra hooks, Velcro or magnets like you and Christine [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, I will check with Ross and Clive [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hay Matt, I'm enjoying your build thread, it's a small world, I worked in Sydney for a while 21years ago, had an apartment in circular quay , you live in a beautiful city [emoji3] Regarding the inner cover strips on the right forearm, I fitted the inner front strip first, I did this in two stages, stuck it to one side first then the other This is the bit I messed up with the heat gun... doh Like yours mine wasn't very flat on the inside I taped it together and applied a bit of heat from the heat gun, in retrospect a hot water bath may have been easier, anyway I fitted the rear cover strip a side at a time And held it together with brute force Left it fir a couple of days and it's fine [emoji3] The good thing about using E6000 glue is you can always undo what you have done, clean it up and put it back together, I glued that forearm twice before I got it right Good luck Stephen [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Matt, I've been told that the return edge should be 5 to 10 mm ( got that from the UKG) one part of mine is at 8mm so I will do it 8 mm all around, Regarding the right forearm , yes my inner join was very pointy , as you say like a roof , I taped it with duct tape and applied a gentle heat, looking back I think it would have been easier if I had given it a hot water bath, it's very easy for it to go horribly wrong with the heat gun, in fact mine did go wrong at one point but thankfully it was hidden by the outer cover strip. Thanks for the tip on the bottom of the greaves one side does have a longer curve on it than the other , but because the right and left greave on the RS suit are the same, the longer curve is on the outside right leg and inside left leg .... I know I should have worn my body suit rather than jeans but I was just wanting to see what they looked like rather than size them Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What size return edge do indeed to leave on the top of the greaves? Also what size top and bottom of the thighs? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Christine.... I lowered the temperature on the iron, as you suggested, and it softened the ABS without melting it [emoji1303][emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Frank [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Today I've started to trim the greaves, but before that, this is what the biceps look like now the cover strips are in place, the excess glue needs to be removed Made the 20mm and 25mm cover strips I needed plus a 10mm one... I will come to why later [emoji3] So the greaves, the left and right are exactly the same so I did the following fir both legs First of all I marked a line to cut the excess abs away from the return edge, both top and bottom Roughly trimmed the tops and bottoms Now remember that 10mm cover strip? Well I used it as a marker fir the outer front cover strips, so I could trim each side 10mm so it can take a 20mm cover strip First I marked a pencil line And then clamped the 10mm cover strip in place and used it as a guide to cut the greave Scored it six times with the stanly knife Cut the return edge with the scissors Then broke the excess off This is what it now looks like I repeated this on all four pieces, this is what it looks like taped together Unfortunately the back doesn't line up, but reading Christine's post and franks post, that is to be expected, they will be treated to a hot water bath to get them into shape I'm well chuffed with today's progress [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your costume is looking great Frank and I like what you have done in your bucket, oh and thanks fir the tip re the ab buttons [emoji3][emoji122][emoji122][emoji122] One question if I may, are the right and left greaves on the RS armour the same? Or have they given me two sane greaves by mistake? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok I've been quiet lately, we had a few days in Cornwall , anyway before we went I glued the cover strip on the right forearm Today I've trimmed and fitted the outer cover strips to the biceps And cleaned the excess glue from the outer cover strips on the forearms and gave them a polish [emoji3] They fit really well and I'm quite chuffed with the result, especially given my, well, slight mistake earlier [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Will try it on a lower setting [emoji3]thanks [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well today has been better [emoji3] I glued the inner rear cover strip to the right forearm Made the outer cover strips Did the return edge on the right biceps, top, front and back, used the heat gun again, tried the iron on spare ABS and whilst it softened it some of the plastic actually melted onto the iron, don't know if I had it on too hot Drew a rough line where I wanted the return edge Heated the ABS for ten seconds at a time Bent it bit by bit Then trimmed and used the dremel to shape the edge All it needs now is it's outer cover strip. I know what I've done will be hidden under the shoulder bell but I thought I had best do the return edge rather than just cut the excess off .... so a tiny progress today from a little trooper [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the encouragement Frank and Christine , we all live and learn, I don't have a heat sealing iron but I do have an old iron we used for clothes , would that be ok? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As Oliver Hardy would say "Hum..... that's another fine mess you have got me into" Well actually that's me talking to myself, I've messed the right forearm up, I was focused on getting the fit right, trimming a bit here and there .... Glued the inner cover strip and the following day I suddenly realised it looked like this I have done all the trimming from the back piece.... doh So I need to cut it down and do a new return edge, Out comes the heat gun The glue on the rear cover strip melted in places or it just wasn't stuck that well so I removed it Tried to get it to fit a bit better with the heat gun and discovered abs is more brittle after it's been heated, I only cracked the front of the forearm, thankfully bits only a 5mm crack and will be hidden by the cover strip, so I glued a new inner strip to the damaged side, and applied abs paste to the crack This is the worst bit of it Anyway this is what it will look like when stuck back together I know I've messed this up, it actually fits really well now but I'm not sure given what I've done if it would pass clearance.... worst case scenario I buy a new right forearm [emoji52]. Anyway on a brighter note I fitted the rear outer cover strip to the left forearm, My fluffy blue and yellow magnets stuck to the glue... doh Still it will clean off ..... So I've had quite an interesting couple of days .... it's amazing what you learn from your mistakes ... who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow , that's amazing Christine [emoji122][emoji122][emoji122][emoji122][emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Today I've tweaked the return edge on the left forearm where the rear cover strip fits, it wasn't quite aligned Used the heat gun and a pair of pliers , I copied cranks trick and covered them in tape so as to stop them marking the ABS Looks ok now Tidy up with the dremel and bobs your uncle Fitted an inner cover strip on the right bicep Removed the rear inner cover strip on the right forearm, re-sized it a bit and glued a new one in, the E6000 glue is very forgiving for us novices [emoji3] Tidied up the rear joint on the left forearm Cut an outer cover strip, I held it in place with a small clamp so as to get the right length Length sorted I cut the corners at 45 degrees Just placed it on the forearm with clamps, not too sure it looks right, I think I messed up cutting the rear of this as it doesn't look square to me, what do you think? [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Today I've trimmed the right bicep and fitted one of the inner cover strips Ive also tweaked the scoop on the forearms , only took pics of the left one Thought I had best complete these before I move onto the shoulder bells [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, will do Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ok I've done a bit more work on the right forearm, glued an inner cover strip on Sanded the cover strip And the inside to help the glue stick Put the glue on the cover stick and then spread it out with abut if spare abs Fitted the cover strip Added some magnets and clamps to hold it in place Now onto the shoulder bells, looking at Franks thread I have measured 12 inches up and 5 inches from the side of the raised piece, I have taped the line, does this look ok Also got left and right from franks thread, again is this correct I'm thinking it is from this screen shot I got from Frank Thanks , your thread and Christine's thread are proving very helpful [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk