Plainsrunner

I'm guessing you glued the sniper knee to one side of the shin?

Oh...and how did you attach the boxes to the belt?

Did you velcro the shins front and back? Or did you glue front and velcro back? How about the forearms?

I'm going to post this idea here in case it works and helps. For the shins/calves and forearms -- my wife had an idea for the mitigating the issues we are seeing when you glue the front of the shins together and get cracks from flexing the back side: -- Gluing a strip of elastic from top to bottom on the inside of the front. This will hold the front together theoretically but allow clam shell action and the elastic will take all of the bending. What do you guys think?

I just had an idea about the shins..... What if you did a square of industrial velco midway front and back. Top and bottom you use the elastic straps with bra hooks like the original TKs? That would hold it solid in the middle and the top and bottom would give due to the elastic with bra hooks? It would keep the flex in the elastic instead of in the armor? #brainstorming

I'm thinking that's the way to do it. Believe it or not, I'm skipping right past R1 TK and going after the Mimban which of course is based on the R1. That being said, surface imperfections or wear won't bother me. I don't want structural cracks though.

Have you guys figured out how to keep stress off the shins and forearms in this fiberglass yet? I noticed Jeff's got cracks from opening it to get his legs/arms in. Traditional methods for this is gluing one side and velcro the back and then clamshell opening it. However, this seems to have produced a lot of cracks in the fiberglass for Jeff. Thanks

Fantastic! My question is about how you did the shins and forearms. Most ABS builds uses the industrial strength velcro front and back, or bra hooks with one side glued. My concern is keeping stress off this fiberglass when pulling the back open to put your legs or arms in. I'm trying to avoid stress cracks as much as possible.

For the surface cracks I used glazing putty. For more serious structural cracks I used two part epoxy. Not sure if that is the right answer, but that's what I used.

Plastidip or Flexidip on the insides to make it comfortable to wear. Just put a few light coats on.

This might be an obvious question, but is there any special brand or color for the white glossy paint for the armor? This guide is fantastic for the detailing, but I'm wondering if there is a special color for the actual white armor. Thanks!

In my never ending quest to eliminate feedback, I'm looking at throat mics. I was specifically looking at the iASUS NT3-R BK2. I was close to pulling the trigger but then I realized I don't know how these things remain powered. I'm now thinking they draw their power from whatever they are plugged into? I don't see any mention of them having a battery or anything of that nature. So.... that would rule out using one of these with a TKTalkie wouldn't it?

Looks like I have plenty of options for the power cylinders. The aluminum bapty grips are proving to be most difficult. I'm scouring the internet looking for anyone that can possibly make them.

Thanks guys. I've reached out to Fieldmarshal. It looks like the biggest obstacle I face right now is that grip. I'm trying to stay as authentic as possible. If he can't do it, I'm not sure who I can turn to to try to get one.

I am building a Bapty Blaster from Sterling parts. Does anyone know a source to get the Bapty style aluminum grip? I also need the power cylinders. I found a place called wolf cub designs that used to make the power cylinders, but I don't see that they have had anything listed in a while so they might be out of the business. Thanks for any help guys!

I agree. Directional is probably a bonus. I'd just like for them to be a bit more sensitive though. I have to practically have them in my mouth and I'm not a quiet person.

Popping in from MEPD here just to make sure we aren't missing anything that other detachments are doing! Microphones. We know of two predominant microphones used by our members. The first is the wired microphone that comes with the Aker amp. The other is a wireless microphone that is available on amazon. link The problem with both of these options seems to be that the mic is EXTREMELY directional and not very sensitive. You have to practically have it sitting on you mouth. Has anyone here come up with a better mic solution?

Ok I very carefully kept adjusting settings and finally got the magic mix. Of course all of this will have to be redone once I get my bucket.

Doesn't sound ideal. I'm surprised someone has come up with a better mic for this use. I adjusted the mic so that it was kinda pointed in towards my mouth and almost touching my lower lip and it seemed to pick up my voice a lot better. I can't help but think there has to be something better somewhere.

The mic that came with my Anker speaker seems to leave a bit to be desired. It's almost like it needs to be positioned just right to really pick up even with adjustments in with my TKTalkie. Does anyone else struggle with the included mic? Any suggestions for better mics?

Yeah I don't usually expand or contract by much. 2 or 3 pounds depending on how much my salt intake was for the weekend.

Do you have a storefront or how do you order one? Thanks!

Measuring in cm worked out much better. Far more accurate I think.

So while RS is responding to my emails, they aren't giving me enough details in their answers. They sent me a sizing diagram for the sizes they need. We measured me last night and went with the closest inch or half inch on each location. I sent it to them and asked if that was the right way to do it (I've never heard of tailors going to the tenth of an inch). They simply responded that they need to be my exact measurements or it will be too big for me. Do these measurements need to be that exact down to the tenth of an inch? What happens if you fluctuate in weight down or up a few pounds over time? Edit: They just emailed and said I could take measurements in centimeters if needed.

One of the major differences I noticed was having a BAPTY E-11 if you want SWAT status at some point. (there are other differences obviously, but that is one of the ones that stood out). I wonder if you can take an E-11 from a maker like RS and convert it to BAPTY. I might research that, or either research just building a BAPTY at some point.