StrmTRPR85

also i thought the brackets were canon....what is the canon method for the strapping system?

Gonna through this stupid question out there....do you mean the instructions from Mr. No Stripes? Also not sure where the ad is....

That is reassuring Tony. I felt pretty nervous about it at first but I really like that seamless look it gives. What the heck its only plastic right? Might as well dive in

I eventually found Crickets build thread that documented how to make a return edge. Still trying to think how brave I am to tackle that endeavor

Thank Cricket! Trying to think how brave I am in using your heat gun method

Hey Cricket did you find a solution for this? I am in the same boat

Hi All, I am attempting to figure out how to use the bracket system to attach my ab/kidney/butt plate all together on my WTF TK. The issue I see is that the butt plate and kidney plate are pulled in one piece so there is no return edge on those two for the brackets to mount to. Do I need to make a return edge? and if so how? Would love to see if anyone else has done something similiar.

Walts kits come with the correct brass screw necessary to attach the ears to the bucket. My issue was I lost one of them and was unable to find it. Lucky me, Ace Hardware carries the exact brass screws necessary for the job. I picked up and an extra one just in case I lost another.

Thats exactly what I ended up doing when I moved the left ear back a bit. That is the real secret to those trapezoids. Of course I did not snap a pic of the new placement after I did it. I was so happy to be done with those ear

Trimming Ears, we all know it is a struggle and I may have only messed up on the left one time and the right two times, but I was lucky enough that in my WTF kit I was supplied with three ear pieces. I decided I would try for the really close fit but if I didn't get it no big deal as gaps are screen accurate. I will skip the messed up ear documentation and follow what worked for me With my left ear I trimmed it out, and lined it up on the bucket. Than I took my dremel with the sanding drum and sanded/carved out where the tube vent is to get a general shape Getting closer Sanding the ears down really is a task of what you do in the front can change how it sits in the back. I would hold the ear in place where the top two screws would go and see where I had my large gap and needed to come down. Sometimes I needed to sand more in the back to bring the front down and other times I needed to take more off the bottom and top to bring the middle closer to the bucket. Left Ear Right Ear Straight on My left ear I ended up moving back as I felt it was a bit too far forward (pic to be updated soon) I think I am going to sand a bit more of the front of the left ear to match the gap of the right ear a bit. I think the gaps will give it a bit more uniquness to the build as not everyone will have the same gap. "This is my gap, there are many like it but this one is mine. My gap is my best friend. It is my life"

Happy Shin-dependence Day!

Thank you Tony! A few of the centurion request you provided I have had a chance to review before getting more involved with my build and as I have gotten more involved in the building. I have gotten a lot of great feedback from everyone on the build process and truthfully I'm surprised at how much the shins is a heated debate and like you said some have it assembled how I have it and others like Paul suggested, so in the end it only matters how it fits you and how it looks. Now as I look closely and try the shins on each leg it feels to me that my long sides go on the outside and short on the inside. The trick I understand from Walt is to go with the curve on his shins. I came to this conclusion based on the curve on the short piece following the calf curve just as Walt suggested to me. It even looks similar to the ROTJ pics you provided as well.

It's one of those things can't please everyone. Also gotta go by the maker. I asked Walt about his kit that he has the molds for. I'll take the makers opinion any days.

Just got off the messenger app with Walt. Shins are assembled correctly and confirmed with the same picture above. He states do not go off of length but go off of the curve in the calf. So in my instance my "long" will be on the inside due to the calf bend

I'm really confused by the statement "See this photo of the original leg armour and you can clearly see they are two outer halves and the left is shorter than the right - just as you have the right shin assembled in your photo" From that it sounds like my right shin is assembled correctly based on the photo. All in all, I already trimmed the back of the calves and have also received confirmation from other WTK builds that is how they assembled it. I do not believe this will prevent me in getting approved. I'm not saying your wrong Troopermaster, and I do appreciate the feedback but I'm not able to go back at this point to reglue them

Are you saying I have the right shin assembled correctly based on the hard evidence?

Well everyone seems back and forth which is which. I already trimmed the back for the closures how I have them glued no going back now. Thanks for the reply though troopermaster

Yes send some pics please

So I'm trying to trim TK ears..... anybody care to share there secrets?

From what it sounds like the Council of WTF TKs demands it goes on the outside

LOL from what I can tell Shingate will never ever settle down

Thank you LTM! I thought that if there were any return edge it would tear up the boot. I have seen many back and forth as to which side goes on the inside or the outside. I slide mine on last night and it felt right with the long on the outside. I am going to try it again after I remove the return edge and trim the arch to be more uniform on the front.

Thank you for the feedback Coastertk! How much return edge should remain on the ankles? I am thinking none

Started on the shins. From what I was able to research and ask questions there is still much debate as to if it is short:short long:long or short:long short:long for the shin assembly. I opted to go for the short long assembly. I began with trimming the shins and leaving a good portion of a return edge on the top by the knee. I left some return edge by the ankles but I will probably be removing all of this for comfort. For cutting the front of the shins the 20 mm cover strips works great for my sizing in the front so I went with that and trimmed them the return edge 10 mm on each side. Two shins glued in together with the front cover strip! The shin on the right picture I have trimmed in the back, hence why it does not bow out as much as the shin on the left. I am still determining if it should be long on the inside or long on the outside. I am leaning towards the long on the inside as that appears to have the calf curve. I still need to trim the ankles so that the arch is more uniform but the tops are lined up so this is normal I am told.

When mounting your lenses do you mount them so they are flush with the return edge of the eyes or do you leave a slight gap? Getting ready to assemble mine and was not sure