Digz Graavz

So today's armour party at my place was amazing. I owe Robert (twosolitudes) and Brad (68Brick) a huge debt of thanks. I should be able to wrap it all up tomorrow if I grind hard. Brad got me through heating and reshaping the sniper knee (pics to follow). I got to put on most of my suit for the first time, and they helped me with all the spacing. I could NOT have gotten my suit to the level it will be without their selflessness and expertise. We also welcomed Mark (Markweller) and helped him finally get started on his Anovos build that had been collecting dust for over 2 years. All of us live within 20 minutes of each other.

That's the thought process I was working with. I was considering screwing the bracket to its own piece of ABS then gluing that in to support the bracket. I'll sleep on it and see what it's like in the morning light.

Strapping question! The only one I am having issue with is the centre of the chest. The return edge is pretty skinny and I am pretty sure that I can't safely drill into it. Looking at some reference images they drilled in the front, but I don't like that look. UKs build doesn't show that bracket clearly so I can't go off of that. Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!

Yeah Rob - Let's look at it tomorrow, thanks. I don't know how I didn't do that because I remember you telling me, and seeing it in your thread. SIGH.... Too much info sometimes! Can you please bring yours over so we can measure off of it? Strapping system for the torso is almost done! Just need to connect the chest to the cod.

HI everyone, An old friend from University saw my suit pics and shared a great story about the 501st from Toronto Fan Expo: The last time I went to Fan Expo, I got into the north building with my hubby to see who we could see, celebrity-wise. Unfortunately, I was on a mobility scooter and the traffic in that building was parking-lot-o-sardines. I got to a certain point and then just could not move. Because of the size of the scooter, it wasn't like I could squeeze through the crowd to get out. Skip forward to me on a mobility scooter in the middle of what seemed like a million people with no apparent way out, in the middle of a full-blown anxiety/panic attack. Tears. Hypervenitillation. Starting to shut down. It was horrid. A Stormtrooper from the 501st asked my hubby if I was okay. He explained my claustrophobia and panic disorder, and the fact that we couldn't even move to escape. The Stormtrooper said to hang on, that he'd be right back. Next thing I know, there's a commotion down the laneway and I'm hearing Stormtrooper voices hollering, "Make way! Move along! Empire business! Stand aside!" They cleared the pathway like the parting of the red bloody sea. Next thing I knew, my hubby and I were being motioned to move down the newly cleared pathway, with 'Troopers on either side of the walkway, holding the crowd back just enough so the scooter could pass. I thanked them as much as I could through my panic... my hubby did more thanking than I did because I was just trying to breathe. I found it truly touching that these folks stepped up and helped a person in distress, when they were just there to get their geek on.

Getting close to strapping time!

Thigh cover strips are trimmed. This is my latest attempt at the sniper knee. I am not thrilled with the inside edge, but short of cutting out a section, splitting and filling, I don't see a lot of alternative... I would not look forward to that patch job either.

Managed to close up 2 of the gaps. The other 2 have ABS paste in them now. Thursday is jiujitsu night and I work at 530 tomorrow morning so we'll see how much I get done tonight. Sniper knee held well so far. I have rounded out the corners on the return edge as suggested. I will most likely see where I can brace it and glue down one edge to finish it off. Hopefully by tomorrow night I am strapping.

Cool. I have some ABS paste that I want to use to fill in the seams/gaps at the bottom (left over from my repair when I trimmed the wrong thigh piece). I have glued small support strips in. Don't worry, I am a much better modeller than whoever filled in the ones in the examples above LOL.

Wasn't sure if that was acceptable or not. I unfortunately got called into work today so I haven't had a chance to work on anything this morning. Guess I'll have to hammer it hard when I get home. Goal is completion by Sunday.

I used to like you Q

How does this sniper knee look now? Man this is tiring! I need to go to bed.

This community is awesome.

At work now, but this is what it looks like (before any re-positioning as suggested above). I kept it as it came (pre-trimmed kit from AP) I am very open to suggestions!

I also bought the Aker and Icomm. While I haven't trooped yet, in playing with it's been good.

The strip in my pic is centered and the pencil line follows the moulding.

OK so the rest are pretty clear where to trim them back, but what about this one? Straight across or at an angle like I have drawn in?

Thanks. Easy fix I hope

Thanks. I'll focus on horizontal level then fix the one side to get it attached. More like this:

Shoulder straps! Also have the Velcro on the right shin. Left shin I am going to do the sniper knee first. TD and belt ammo to go...

Thigh ammo pack is riveted on and the rivets are painted.

Stupid belt buttons won't fit flat over the fasteners as the cavity is not deep enough... Is this common? Do I bravely try to make my own slightly deeper buttons or just gap it with E6000? EDIT - Nevermind...I used CA to sick them to the head and then E6000 all around the plastic areas.

This is my initial placement of the sniper knee. Comments?

Awesome thanks. I guess I just need an appropriate fastener for the ammo boxes and I am GTG! Stay safe today Rob.

Ice storm here today. Power is coming and going, and with it web access so I am rushing to gather info. I have 3 split rivets left - One goes in the cod piece - where do the last 2 go? I have to,maybe, brave the roads ad go to work by 2PM. Trying to have a productive morning, so any quick answers would be appreciated. Somehow I don't have any single cap rivets grrr. Here's what I have left to assemble: Shoulder Straps Sniper Knee Thigh Ammo - Says single cap 5/16. Is this where I use the last 2 split rivets instead? Belt Ammo - Says single cap 5/16. Can I get away with Chicago screws or the split rivets? Yeah yeah... Chicagos are 10mm not 7 and I will probably hate myself later. All strapping/elastic/velcro Glue the flexi hand guards to the gloves Assemble the thermal detonator Glue the square buttons to the belt Thanks all!