mlarsen

Also glued the shoulder straps on leaving about 4 ridges on the chest plate. For the rear shin 25mm cover strips 1/2 of the cover strip should be glued onto the shin leaving the other half overlapped and not glued correct? Should white velcro be put on the remaining 1/2 of the cover strip or just velcro on the shin pieces? Also dry fitting the thigh pieces with little gap between thigh and armor at the knee looks good but doesn't allow me to walk up stairs etc. Leaving the pieces as they came pre-trimmed is more comfortable but there is some gap between thigh and armor at knee Is there a recommended gap there should be between the thigh/knee and armor?

Spent some time last night working on the Thermal Detonator. Are the end caps too big? Should they be trimmed down some?

Enough of the return edge removed on both forearms or should I try and remove more?

Got it thanks for the advice! I still need to do that as well as remove a blue strip that is hidden under the ear piece and paint the screws/rivets white.

Thanks for the advice and I will trim up the small ab buttons a little more. Here is my initial test fit. I have long arms and I feel like there is too much black at the elbow but maybe it is ok. I tried to lower the biceps as far as I could and center the forearm piece the best I could. Still some fine tuning needed but I think I will save that until the belt is finished. And the side rivets aligned better: On to the belt and leg pieces next.

Also, I plan on using Chicago style screw posts to attach the canvas belt to ammo pack/drop boxes to elastic/holster to canvas belt. Is there a recommend size on the Chicago screws? 1/4" or 3/16"?

I made some progress over the last few days. Installed some snaps and rivets, I still need to paint the rivets white on the chest plate. Added buttons to chest plate: Added a hook to the back of the bicep plates to keep the elastic in place. I assume this is ok? The shoulder bells seem big but we'll see what the final fit looks like. Also need to clean up/trim those cover strips on the biceps. Fits seems fairly good but a little off centered/rivets don't line up and would like this to look a little cleaner. I may need to lower the back piece a little by making the elastic in the shoulders a bit longer. Suggestions and feedback?

Are chicago screws or split rivets ok to attach ammo belt to canvas belt, white straps to drop boxes, holster to canvas belt?

I am not going to cut as I described above, a little more test fitting and it seems fine. Should the bottom of the chest plate and the bottom of the back plate ideally line up? I am assuming there should be some play with it once the strapping is installed.

Spent the last few days reworking the biceps and forearms. I trimmed them a little and they seem to have a better fit. My next question is the ab plate and kidney plate seem a bit bulky and boxy when I dry fit them on. It is pre-trimmed but can I cut the kidney plate back a bit as shown in the photos below?

Thanks everyone for the advice! I will look at this again this weekend.

I think I am going to redo the coverstrips, too much of the raised edge showing on the biceps and forearms something I overlooked originally. I plan to cut a few mm off of each of the raised edges, then cover with 15mm coverstrip. Should still allow plenty of room for it to fit. Agreed?

I did notice the "good" and "bad" side to the cover strip material. I do have a little raised edge remaining that is visible. Should I redo this and make the cover strips 20cm?

I have been cleaning up my helmet a bit and started on the cover strips over the last few days. When the ridges of the forearm are flush I am able to put my wrist through so I cut the cover strips to 15cm and glued them on the outside, let dry and will glue the inner piece on. I cut the cover strip a bit long but made it flush with one end and will trim the other flush. I forgot to round off the corners of the cover strips on the bicep pieces but it doesn't seem to rough. The bicep cover strips still need to be trimmed flush. Any red flags anyone sees?

Ok so I got most of the parts painted. Still need to paint the hovi tips white, install mesh behind mouth, install lens, counter sink ear screws and paint white. I need to go back and touch up/clean up the paint a bit. The ear screws don't really fall inline with the trapezoids but is this ok? Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Should I clean the surface of the face plate somehow before I apply the decals or do they stick pretty well?

Looking at the faceplate of the helmet from the outside which side does each decal go on? I will position them pencil width from the check.

BBB Day is here for me! Arrived this afternoon and I am excited to get started. This will be my first build, I have been looking over the forums a lot lately in preparation for the arrival. I am planning on starting on the helmet first, I will have lots of questions along the way. So it begins... Armor : Authentic Props Soft Hand Guards : Authentic Props TD Clips : Authentic Props Holster : Authentic Props Gloves : Authentic Props Canvas Belt : Authentic Props S-Trim : Trooperbay Helmet Dark Lens : Trooperbay Neck Seal : Darman's Prop's Undersuit : Amazon Boots : Imperial Boots E-11 Blaster : Quest Design Canada - pending Fans : banggod.com Comms : Not sure yet