Mr_Fahrenheit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKRWV0yjqJ0 heh heh

Ohhh that's good squishy. Thanks! Okay, ordering a bunch of those online. Thanks!

Thanks for the detailed answer. Those pictures really help a lot. Maybe the thing that is confusing me is that mix of tandy snaps, elastic, stitching, brackets, etc... Ughhhh, hahah, I went and explored around and found this How To section you speak of. This is great, and I'm kicking myself for seeing this now. Looks like I have my reading cut out for me today. Good news is that I'm done work until the new year. I'm. Getting. This. Done. While I spend my whole day reading, quick question for all; can Tandy snaps be set on elastic? or does it only work on Nylon? I see a lot of people stitching stuff into their elastic bands, and I ask because I would rather not have to stitch anything (but if I must, I must), and I still want to do what's best for mobility.

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I bought some of the LePage Plastic glue from Rona, and hot damn this stuff works fast! It worked extremely well and fast and I even F'ed up a bit and some glue spilled over on the gloves. I've been cleaning it off slowly so it's looking normal again. I'll post a picture soon, but I'm glad it's another piece down. I've also glued the ab button plates on, but now I'm stuck and need heeeeelp. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NEXT!! I have the legs, arms and helmet done, so next is the ab, chest, back, butt, belt. I measured and taped the ab to the kidney piece and it fits well (it came trimmed), but the rivets and snaps and straps.. I keep seeing different options and not complete tutorials. Not sure if I should use popper snaps, line 24 snaps, tandy line 24 snaps, chicago screws, etc... For me to understand this, I kind of need to see one method, start to finish, so I can see how it all fits together and I'm having trouble finding that. Are there any good video tutorials out there that show these steps in extreme detail? I've watched the TrooperBay videos, and the PandaTroopers ones, and I'm finding a lot of examples in threads, but I still feel like I'm missing a certain piece of information. I may need to meet up with someone to see their amor for myself. Anyone in Vancouver and have some free time? 100% movie accuracy on the inside of the armor isn't too important to me for this first build, so I'm looking for whatever is the easiest and most durable. Once it's complete, I'll probably refine my armor over time, or improve it on a second build. I have nylon straps on their way, plus all the elastics. Should be here by Thursday. My AP kit came with some rivets and snaps i can use, but I still have to do all the internal stuff. Someone tell me what to dooooo. What should I start next? If I have the nylon straps, what kind of snaps should I buy? I think the Tandy snaps seem to be the preferred ones. Thanks!

Actually, anyone from Canada know where I can buy that kind of loctite? Can’t seem to find it online. There’s glue from LePage that keeps popping up in search results, anyone know if this is good, or have recommendations on a different brand?

Yeah, I think I’m just going to continue using this thread as a progress/question dump, then when I’m done, actually organize everything and create another, fully linked thread with all of the problems and solutions I came across. Maybe it’ll help some others!

Damn, I read that on a few threads too and was hoping I didn’t have to buy more stuff.... buuuut if I must! Thanks for the tip! Thanks! Thanks! Actually, come to think of it, I’d get a lot of use out of this for my 3D prints. I’m even thinking of 3D printing my entire blaster, if I can find the files for free/cheap.

No, they are just rubber with no cloth backing. Very smooth/slippery to touch. I tried sanding the backs a bit but it didn’t do much, if anything.

It's been awhile since my last update, but I've done quite a bit. This little guy has been helping me out! BICEPS: I attempted the 15mm cover strips on the biceps, thinking that I could keep them uniform with the forearms, but when I took a step back and looked in the mirror, the light would really bounce off those exposed ridges, so I decided I needed to cut them down as much as I possibly can. I cut the strips wider, and though there is still a little ridge exposed, it's not nearly as bad as it was before. Here are some shots of the finished biceps FOREARMS: I also finished up the forearms and got them to use the standard size cover strips. They are fit just perfectly along my entire forearm. I haven't shaved down the return edge around the wrist just yet, but I will do that soon. LEFT SHIN: The shins were fun and I'm learning that every single piece requires a LOT of research. The Sniper Knee required a little bit of improvisation so it looks a little less crooked, but I think it turned out quite well. RIGHT SHIN: LEFT THIGH: I have to get the heatgun or hot water bathe the little gap shut at the bottom. RIGHT THIGH: I still have to paint the rivet white, but I think it turned out well. THERMAL DETONATOR: This wasn't too hard to do. I painted the tube, dried it almost immediately with my heatgun, then followed Uswrath's thread on here to finish it up. The tape is just holding the white piece on while the glue dries. I then touched up some paint and it's now drying. I'll add some finished photos soon! BUTTON PAINTING: So I had a good lesson in how NOT to paint buttons. I tried doing it all at once in one thick layer. It ran everywhere and ended up like this: I cleaned it completely and did it over two thin layers and it's much better. I still need to clean up the edges a little, but it's getting there. HANDGUARDS: Okay, looks like I need some help here. I tried glueing the rubber handguards I got from the AP kit onto the gloves supplied in the AP kit with e-6000, and it didn't stick at all. After 24 hours, it just fell off when I removed the tape holding them on. This was the result: I tried removing all of the glue, then using CA glue. That didn't work. Then I tried using CA glue with an activator and that didn't work either. That's why the left glove looks like it has a smaller amount of glue on it. I was experimenting with that one. I tried washing everything, roughing it up with sandpaper too. Nothing is working. Heeeeelllp. Thanks for reading and all of the help!

Yes. I've actually set the forearms and the biceps now and added the inner cover strips and everything seems to be fitting quite snug. I'm looking up elastics to buy online and could use some help. I've seen some resource threads, and found this information: Elastic- 1 inch wide black for shoulder bells, etc. (4 ft.) 2 inch wide white for ab/back plate shoulder connection (1 ft.), 1 inch wide white for drop boxes, (1 ft.) 1/4 inch wide white** (1 ft.) for shoulder straps. What I would like to know is, if you buy a pack of 2-inch wide elastic, can you cut it to a 1-inch wide? or will it cause the elastic to fray and fall apart?

Here's a photo of the opening closest to the wrist. The kit came pre-trimmed, so there isn't a return edge, though I could probably shave it down another mm or so.

Here's the size of the ridge that would be there if i kept it consistent from lower to upper forearm. There would be about 5.5mm or ridge visible on both sides of the cover strip for the entire length of the forearm. And here is what I mean about a "tapered" approach. It would have 5.5mm of ridge at the lower part (close to the hand), and then 0 ridge by the upper part: Thanks for all of the help, everyone. It may not seem like it, but it's coming along! haha

Yeah, they don't fit without the raised edges, but I think I've figured out my solution for that. I'm now trying to figure out if I should taper the gap from the lower to the upper parts of the forearms, or not. I didn't explain it well, so what I'll do is cut some 15mm strips, clamp them on for both options, and post them back up here. It may help with that visual. Phew. That's what I've been doing as it just looks nicer hehe. Thanks, Mark!

Alright, I've got the first strips on the biceps setting, so I'm moving on to the forearms because I have like.. infinity clamps to work with. Question: With this trimmed kit, and my fat hands, I need about 11mm of a gap between the two pieces at the lower part on each side, but I don't need any gap at the upper part. Should I keep the gap consistent from lower to upper parts, or should I angle it? Here's an image with two pieces taped differently. The left has the consistent gap, the right one has the tapered gap: (they aren't perfect, but you get the idea, and they will be perfect when finished) If I angle it, it will fit more snug, but won't be the same dimensions/ratio as other troopers. Also, the ridges won't appear at the upper end, but will appear near the lower end. If I don't angle it, it won't fit as well in the upper area, but I could also pad that. I feel like this is the right way, but just wanted to check to see if others ran into this while I browse the forums. Thanks!

Eeek. Is this even after it's cured? And if so, do people strengthen it all with something else after?

Thanks, I appreciate that tip, but I've already glued the first 15mm strips on and went with more of the ridge exposed. I figured there's two things that need to be accurate here; the ridge exposure (preferably none), and the cover strips (at 15mm). I was having an internal crisis over it for awhile, but eventually decided that, even if I did increase the width by a few mm, the ridge would still be exposed. By keeping the strip at 15mm, at least one of those two things is still accurate, instead of both of them being inaccurate.

Okay great! Thanks! Haha yeah I know. I’m just trying to make sure that what I do won’t interfere with centurion approval. Until that first piece is built I’ll probably have ten more questions hehe

I cut some 15mm strips and just clamped them on. Here is a shot so you can see how much ridge is still showing: And here is another shot of the inside, where you can see the gap still: I think there is still enough ridge to glue it on securely, but I'll definitely add a wider inside piece to make sure it's rock solid. Thoughts? I also just noticed there's a slight difference between the two sides of the cover strips in terms of gloss. Is there a specific side to display? It seems like it's the less glossy side that should be visible. I'll dig around on the forums, but thought I'd throw it out there which may be faster. Thanks!

Okay this is good because right now, with that distance, my hands just squeeze through with some minor scratching. No blood yet, so I think it's good. Yeah, that's good advice, I'll cut a 15mm strip and take some photos to show how it lines up. But what do you mean by the "back" vs the "rear"? Looking at Uswrath's post, I've figured what front vs back is, and upper vs lower, but not what "rear" would mean. As long as the ridges can be visible, then I think it will work. To give you an idea of where it's at, right now the gaps between the two bicep pieces are both about 7mm, with my thinnest compression top on. Anything gaps tighter than that, and the tape pops off. So if I used a 15mm cover strip, that should allow me to glue it to 4mm on each ridge, keeping a few mm of the ridge exposed on both sides. Does this make sense to anyone?

Absolutely! Thanks for chiming in Here is a photo of me with my arm bent inwards: Here's another photo of the other side to show that there would be even spacing for both gaps: As for the forearms, they could be tighter, but my fat hands won't fit through the opening unless there is a gap of roughly that size. Thanks for any help

Two more questions, but for the forearms: 1. Are they supposed to be the same forearms on both sides, or should they be mirrored? I ask because the aren't symmetrical. 2. I can fit my hand through the front of the forearm with the black rubber glove on and my undershirt, but should I also make room for the handguard to fit through? Or do you all put the gloves on after you've put the forearm on?

Okay, I think I actually figured out a better question to ask. Is it better to have a wider cover strip (35mm), and none of the "ridge" exposed? (The "ridge" being the flat area at the butt joints of two bicep pieces), or is it better to have a more narrow cover strip (25mm), and have a lot of the ridge exposed? (maybe 5mm on each side).

Thanks for the tip. So I taped them up and put them around my bicep and bent it in, in the relaxed state. It's snug enough, and then is quite tight when I flex, so I feel good about the sizing now. I'm just worried because I'm looking at all of the other threads and everyone trimmed theirs so the two pieces can actually join together, and then gets covered up by the cover strip. Mine, sadly, currently looks like this: Sad panda. I just want to be 1000% certain, is the gap underneath the cover strip going to be a problem? Looking at Suspend's thread, I see he added an inside cover strip as well, probably for more support, but I could probably do that too. Just doing a quick measure for how wide the cover strip is going to have to be, it seems like it's closer to 35mm on both sides, but that's if it goes all the way across to where the flat part ends (is there a name for those flat parts where they join together? or are those just called the butt joints?) Here's a photo of the measurement: If I wanted to keep the cover strip to a max of 25mm, then this is how much more flat area shows on each side of the cover strip. Will showing too much of this flat area be a problem? Something to note for other newbies out there, if you're searching for "what is a return edge?", I found this thread helpful, and it even has links to another great thread for detailed examples. Heeeeeelp (and thanks!)

Okay! It's been awhile but I finally have some time off work to start this back up. I'm researching the biceps and forearms right now and have a quick question: I see a lot of threads talking about 15mm for bicep strips, and that you can make it wider if you need, but, for centurion, is there a max to how wide the cover strips can be? I ask because I'm using the AP trimmed kit, and when I put the taped bicep piece on, and bend my arm and flex, there's like a full inch, maybe more, of a gap. I think I'm going to have to cut some super wide pieces in order for this to work, but I'm not sure if that will cost me centurion status or not. Thanks for any help!

Okay, that's super helpful. I think I'm sold on Imperial Boots. And worst case scenario, they are too tight, and I'll throw them up on the marketplace here or something... Or I'll just make them fit, damnit!