fishgoh0nk

Thanks for the tip Joseph! I'll start that as soon as my second coat of paint has dried (didn't like the rough texture of the first coat). Haha thanks! I jest, I jest all in good fun!

Wow, didn't think reinforcing the bracket system with extra plastic would be this arduous. Well, in my case - i had to re-cut a lot of the reinforcement bars to fit the narrow return edges I have in my build. Some of the holes were a little too narrow or too wide, so I had to re-make about a quarter of them. Another thing that made it take a while was letting the glue dry before adding the brackets... I had to add brackets to some because the return edge was so narrow, I needed the screw post to stabilize (couldn't use clamps or magnets). After installation, they seem to be holding up pretty good. I added reinforcement to the cod split rivet as well, waiting for that to dry before I tacked on the elastic. There's some e6000 on the rivet, will come off easily Like Tony's build - I used the handguard elastic included in the kit - but instead of cutting the 8 inch band to 4 inches (single layer), i kept it as a double layer, added layer for more strength and to protect my nether regions from the split rivet Next steps: 1. Finish the shoulder elastic and mount the shoulders 2. Attach the webbing and split rivets on the ab/kidney left side 3. Make and attach the ab's right strap 4. Bracket / strap together 5. Make sure posterior will fit with Tony's 5/8 and 1-3/8 S popper placements Here's how it looks so far.

Got the waist belt snap holes drilled and reinforced - just waiting for the E6000 to fully dry before add the male snaps on the outside: Added the brackets for the chest and back - I wanted to do the chest first because it's really hard to tell where to mount the brackets on the abs. I'm hoping with the brackets mounted, I'll have enough vertical visibility to see the brackets and mark the ab holes appropriately. I also added the shoulder snaps - using double like how Kman did his. The back bracket reinforcement was a bit too long, started an upward bow, so I have to use a clamp to hold it down for the glue to dry. I didn't sand down the reinforcement, backside had slick text (no parking sign)... hope it stays.

Frankenstein bicep - The ATA biceps have a huge 12mm return edge, and I'm guessing the coverstrips would need to be around at least 20mm - to maintain the current ANOVOS suit's 15mm arms (bicep and forearms), I used a sealing iron to flatten the return edge on the inner bicep, filed, sanded and polished it to minimize the remaining evidence of a fold. Even though this turned out well, fitting the flattened ATA inner with the ATA outer bicep would not allow me to use a 15mm coverstrip to cover both edges, all 15mm would sit on the return edge of the outer bicep - I cannot remove any more material here as the bicep is already quite snug. I can either flatten the outer ATA bicep's return edge... which, again is risky... or use the ANOVOS outer bicep: The hybrid looks pretty good - fits the bicep and I can maintain a 15mm coverstrip. [Left to right: warped ANOVOS inner left bicep (too small), hybrid (ATA outer + ANOVOS inner), ANOVOS right bicep) Apparently 400 grit isn't enough to use NOVUS polish yet- so I'm waiting for the mail to come with some 600, 800, 1000 and 1500 grit paper. Once I get the bicep polished up, I'll assemble and trim to fit. Ab to Kidney - using Tony's guide - I cut out 1.5 inch webbing strips and popped in 2 holes, 20mm apart. I figured since we'll be using the rivets with webbing, and my body is pretty flexible, the holes would need reinforcements. I decided to add a layer at the places where the rivet holes would be: Also to figure out where to drill, I made little 1.5 inch strips of tape with holes marked 20mm apart and taped them to the outside of the torso and kidney. These will be my indicators for hole drilling. The tape was attached when the seam was together, as tight as possible, then cut with a knife to separate for my working convenience. Ab Buttons - decided it was a good time to do this. I found it easier to score the backside of the button panel where the return meets the face, and just keep slicing. Doing this yielded a very easy way to trim while yielding an extremely straight edge.

Just got some ATA biceps in to replace the left one I ruined. This is a ATA right bicep compared to an ANOVOS bicep right. Just curious - will mixing parts affect approval?

LOL you caught me... i was only wearing 1 pant on a leg, and only pulled up to my thigh, I had the other leg in my teeth as a i took the picture. The undersuit definitely isn't as baggy as it appears. I'm also ordering from Imperial Boots this week for shoes - I guess I can use a pair of dress boots to do the sizing, thanks for reminding me. I also do have some return here - I will try removing some until it helps. Thanks!

One question about strapping the torso - any reason why everyone tends to put snaps toward the top of the shoulders? Is it bad to have it lower? Just wondering I can see the shoulder bells could pull the strap (if longer because it's snapped lower), but you get less of a snap bulge at the top (more hidden)

I cut away from the cover strip as advised - still too low? Should I cut some more? The rear thigh shim turned out pretty good - there were a few spots that didn't have enough E6000 and yields a flex - I used a thin applicator and added some more underneath, now just waiting to dry. I'll post a new picture of when its ready for ABS pasting. I think i need some help with the calves. The right rear closure just BARELY closes. On a more swollen day, I feel like the closure gap will be about 1-2mm. The cover strip should cover this right? Should I shim? I feel like I should as the upper calve (insider, near knee cap) is kind of tight. If so, I would shim the inner flap?

Hope everyone had a good weekend! I fabricated a return edge for the rear thigh - I don't plan on cutting a semi circle as it does ride high enough for me to bend my knee 90degrees without problem. I plan to do this for the right thigh as well. I'm digging the way the front turned out. I'm going to start the brackets soon on the torso, I started by painting the screws white. Wish me luck!

thanks for sharing!

Oh noes, don't go! These are legit costuming questions! I'm sure the Disney princess forums have all kinds of question and answers revolving around duct tape. I guess I can leave the cod alone for now, I just want to double check before i start removing material. A lot of posts say the removal of material may be necessary if it's for the comfort of the wearer. I think in removing that edge, it would be a lot more comfy, but I'm curious as to how close the posterior and cod will need to be aligned, using the elastic strap. Not sure if anyone could provide pictures as to how the 2 fits underneath the body, only if you're willing to provide those, I don't want to taint the post with anything offensive.

How tall are you Daniel? I feel like a low rider.

Yup! That section I marked would be removed. Yea, I'm not the one to complain as a medium heighted guy. Are you bowed like the maiden head of a ship? I have big thighs, that's a challenge for me, all my pants are toight.

lol there's too much that can be said about that Speaking of the privates - I'm looking to trim my cod. Would this amount be ill advised? I have big thighs, my thighs are not comfortable with this digging in there.

I forgot, I took this picture and forgot to attach it. I hope this would be good reference for anyone else building:

well, as low as it needs to be so i don't get a massive wedgie lol! I'm guessing there is no bending over in trooping... is there?

I kind of agree on the backplate needing to sit a bit lower - if the seams between back, kidney and posterior are to be under .5 inches, I don't know how any of this would fit without massive shimming - the length is entire back to from shoulder to posterior is roughly 30 inches (- 1 or 2 inches for cod to ab strap pull, i bent my shoulders subtract 1 more inch), 27-28 inches, if your back is longer than that you'd need more material to cover. Only time I'm glad I'm under 6 foot...

Ok, so I think it kind of worked - I heated up the kidney plate to be a little more round- BEFORE/AFTER After some tighter tape - I think this might work guys... I'm going take some return off the ab near the hip bone, it's kind of tight there and any little room I can give it so that the posterior to kidney plate isn't that stressed, i'll take it.

I did attempt to force the side posterior to affix to the kidney with tape, but it would just keep popping off the tape on the lower back. I think I have a tall torso, short legs, so when I wear the ab,kidney and back plate higher, causes the cod to dig into where my actual 'cod' is. That leads me to this question - should the cod actually 'support' your junk?

Thanks for the encouragement from all of you! Makes me even more excited knowing that this group is full of spirited, kindhearted and constructive people!

Ah ok, I think i'm understanding. I feel like the kidney plate is a little too tought or tension-ed in a "flat" manner. It's actually pulling the lower back side towards the abs. If i relieve the tension, i think the kidney plate will bow to the rear and fill out the lower back more, giving me room to mount the posterior flatly. Would you concur?

I think if I hot water bath the kidney plate to be a little more 'round' than flat, I'll get a wider side profile allowing for the posterior to actually fit and close up the gap. I can simulate it by pushing against the kidney/ab seems towards my body, bulging out the lower back and abs. This kind of causes the cod to dig into my thighs. I have a good 1.1-1.2 CM return around the cod I think I can take off to get this to work. I think this'll work guys - what do you guys think? I'll wait for feedback before proceeding... Here's the comparison of rounding between the ab and kidney - if I bathe the kidney to be a bit rounder, it would accommodate my larger "round" posterior

I see, maybe I should've used the return edges to create "extra material"... it's a snug, but I don't feel uncomfortable in it. I think I'll be ok with the torso part... My concern is the posterior, it could be that I'm wearing the bottom torso too low, but the posterior seems to angle off my glutes which creates a gap between the middle portion of the kidney plate. I can't get the gap to close without the top rear of the posterior popping out away from body, which would also pull the kidney plate away from body, and in that case, I would need some extra room... side note - i forgot to lift up my arms, but the ab and kidney plate have their side returns removed and are touching.

Ok thanks! I'm guessing there aren't super strict requirements regarding the ab to kidney connection, besides not showing any black - many places indicate that returns should be removed from the sides of the ab as well as the kidney, but I'm wondering, how the riveted connection straps prevent the ab and kidney plates from overlapping upon suit compression? I was under the impression that the returns created a 'wall' that prevented overlap. Are the straps only to prevent separation, not to prevent compression overlap?

Maybe I should've asked for clarification... but I removed the AB return edges from both sides... It's snug at the hips, but I can still close it with no gaps. I'm also wearing 2 layers (had to put on my Sunday suit). There's still some flaring at the top, but much less now.