wook1138

For snap bases I used nylon bases and a few abs bases. Nylon Abs I haven’t seen both used together. Anyway, I prefer the nylon bases. They fit to curved Armor better. I used too much pressure with the abs bases and got some deformation on the outside of the Armor. You can see it above the seam, there is an abs snap base on the other side of the armour. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

More audio testing today. Everything seemed fine until I put my armour on. There is a fair amount of static coming through the speaker as the electronics gets close to my body. In particular, my phone. Weird. My IS people always told me that my crappy computer performance was my fault - like I had a magnetic field around me that messed up electronics. I assumed they were either crazy or lazy. Anyway, it took some tweaking but I have the static reduced. The next thing was the fan noise coming through the mic. Turns out the arm of the mic picks up sound better than the mic itself. So I had to wrap foam around the entire mic. The whole set up (before I wrapped the mic in foam). I need to figure out the wiring so I can actually get dressed and have everything plugged in. Oh, here comes my one-year-old daughter. Time to pack this mess up. She has a x-wing and not afraid to use it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I thought I would add a few pictures of me trying to decide on what to do with the electronics. First I removed the mic from the headset that came with the Aker 1505 amp. Then mounted that right in the helmet. It was hard to squeeze my head into the helmet with extra things attached to it. Then i wanted to reduce the noise from the fans. I added foam to the backs and to the edges. Remove old Velcro Cut out foam backing. Bought at Michaels. My 5 year old son proclaimed Michaels to be a “girl” store and questioned our presence there. I glued the backings on with this. I’m sure E6000 would work but I wasn’t sure about gluing the foam. Foam backing on Added foam weather stripping to the edges and covered the back in Velcro. Next was mounting the amp and USB power source. 2” nylon and 3/4” elastic glued to the inside of the chest. Add Velcro Aker amp in place USB power source on other side and iPhone will get attached to inside of ab behind small button plate (nice flat spot the right size). Amp will be facing out. I can reach the volume for the amp for TrooperTalk and the power for the USB power (if I need to turn off the fans for some reason). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very nicely done!

These were my go to brushes. The one on the left is awesome for lines ( it is longer and will hold more paint). The #6 round was recommended for the vocoder but I didn’t use it much myself. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Ian and welcome. To answer your questions - for the chest piece, I think you are looking at the screws used for the "bracket" strapping system. This is the screen accurate method of strapping. For the belt - those plastic covers are usually included with the kit (I don't have a RS props kit, but I think that is pretty standard).

Thanks Dan! Yeah, I was sort of thinking of putting my new USB power source somewhere in that general area. I was hoping to put in along the back - I don't think that will happen - I'll see when it arrives. I put my fans just below my frown, so I'll have to see what room is left. I tried putting a piece of that padding at the back of my helmet like yours - my nose was mashed against the front and my eye lashes were brushing against the lens. For running wires down towards the torso - do most just drop them down below the chin outside of the undersuit and neck seal (I tuck my neck seal in, but if I didn't I guess I could hide the wires behind the neck seal)? They would be visible if I looked up - but I can't imagine that happening very often.

Well, while I wait for my ID# to show up (10 days so far - just sayin'), I am picking away at a few things on the build - mainly the electronics. I have a couple of fans and some tactical pads (from TK421propstop) as well as an Aker 1505 amp and an old iphone 5 with Troopertalk. I wore my armor around the house the other day and realized that the fans need to go in pronto. Until now, I had only wore the suit in our basement - where it is cool - the rest of the house is not as cool and I was a sweaty mess in no time at all. I also need to find a lighter weight undersuit. Anyway, I rigged my helmet up with padding, fans, powersource for fans, and mic for talk assist system. The only thing that didn't fit in the helmet was my head. So everything except the fans came out. I've ordered a new USB power source, but I'm thinking everything will need to be located elsewhere. Yeah, I have a big melon. Pending adjustments will include: adding foam to fans so they are not so loud. They are attached with Velcro and the edges are bumping up against the interior of the helmet. I need to isolate them from the helmet with some thin foam (weather stripping or even poster putty). Hearing will still be an issue but time will tell if I need to do something about that. Cut custom pieces of soft foam for the padding. The tactical foam pieces were just too thick for my melon. I was wearing the mic when I tested everything - I will need to remove the mic from the supplied headset and mount in the helmet trim back the screws that hold the helmet together and add caps of some sort to the ends. I wear a UnderArmor skull cap to catch sweat but it also does an awesome job at catching the screws as I try to cram my head into my bucket. USB power source, iphone, and aker amp will either be installed within the torso someplace or I will come up with some manner of belt/harness to wear under the amour. The 1505 amp is pretty heavy - I would rather attach it to a belt than have it stuck to the inside of the armor. To be honest, as I look at what other troopers have done with their helmets, I am shocked that they can get their heads in there. By the way, if you are new to this and debating on whether or not you should bother with a voice system - debate no more. Get one. It really adds to the trooper persona. Anyway, gotta go check my email to see if my ID# has showed up yet.

I believe the hand painted templates are based (not exact as the right and left are just mirror images of each other) on an actual helmet (the "Dave M" helmet). So they would emulate a real example of painted tube stripes. I believe the standard stencils are more idealized and therefore more uniform looking. I assume I got the hand painted version (I honestly don't remember there being a choice at the time - but my memory is junk). Fire Mike at Trooperbay a question if in doubt.

For painted surfaces I use up to 600 grit (which may be overkill with something like a TD). 220 will likely show the sanding marks through spray paint. If you are using primer you shouldn’t have issues with paint not sticking. Just use thin coats whenever spray painting. And like Q mentions, tape the ends. Those caps are tight.

Welcome Robert! Best of luck with your build. I just "finished" my AP kit and had a great time doing it. (I don't think you ever truly finish these things - I'm currently upgrading the helmet and electronics and re-fitting some pieces and... you get the picture ). Take your time and have fun with it!

Looking good, Eric. Great job on the trimming!

Here is the issue I had with my armour. The AP armour has moulded return edges at the front and back. I wanted 15mm coverstrips. So, to make things look good, the moulded return edges have to be 15mm too (actually a bit more to match my forearms). I could completely remove the return edges at the back, but then the overall fit would be too small. It is the return edge at the back... it was just in a bad spot for me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One finger is good advice. I used two and my biceps turned out a bit large (at least width-wise). However, I couldn't size them down much more because I had to keep my forearms a little bigger (to get my hand though the end) and wanted to keep the cover strips as close to cannon as possible. In the end, I added a little bit of foam to the inside of my biceps too keep them centered and stable. I could have reshaped them with a hot bath, but then my shoulder bells wouldn't fit as nice.

There is a left and right for the legs. Mark usually indicates “L” or “R” on the inside. And, correct, no specific sides for the arms. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Gil, Most people use E6000 as their glue - especially when starting out as it easier to fix if something gets glued wrong. From what I understand, E6000 may have issues adhering to rubber. I have no idea about leather, but it seems like an expensive option compared to nylon. And I have had leather peal apart on me before (cheap leather perhaps). The nylon worked well for me - I would use it again. Be sure to get high quality snaps.

So, I don’t even have my TK id yet and I’m already over at MEPD researching this: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats on your BBB day! Enjoy your build and ask questions... lots of questions with lots of pictures.

8am here. Makes for a good start to the day.

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Thanks Daniel! Membership application was sent and TK number is reportedly inbound. I can finally finish the counter on my E-11 I love the smell of "approved" in the morning. It smells like... victory.

Thanks Aaron! Got your message... so thank you for that too! Approved! I have some EIB application pics to do this weekend.

Jinx

Did you check here? I'm not sure if she does R1, but it is worth asking.

Thanks Mark! Based on your E-11 build so far, you will crush the AP build. Nice work! My build thread got a bit lengthy, so I'm hoping to put together a single post of all the oddball things I came across in the build (or the advice of wiser builders who chimed in to help me out) - mainly things I don't remember seeing during my research prior to the build.