saltyr1

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'm finishing the left thigh trimming. But my plan is to get the calf armor close to final trimming and see how it all fits before making a decision on the mobility cuts. More to come...

Thanks Glen for the explanation. Question - Did you have the cover strip already on (to keep the rest in place) before you did that?

Glen - would you have any close up pics of how you added the piece behind to align it better?

I think I have the right thigh at its final trim for the cover strips. Please let me know if anything needs attention. I still have to do the final trimming on the openings. Front Right Front Back Now I'm not happy as mentioned before about how the back bottom lines up. This could be solved by the following mobility cuts. Any suggestions?

So slightly off topic, one of my concerns has been the potential yellowing of the armor. Since it seems UV and heat sources are the contributing factor, I decided to do a test with a scrap piece of plastic. I have a paint / plastic cleaner / protectant for my motorcycle that I've used for years - Original Bike Spirits (this is the original formula for Honda Spray Polish). It's supposed to block UV. So I applied it to half of the piece. Then I taped the piece to the top of my deck railing which is in the sun all day long (unless clouds). So it's been sitting out there for 2 1/2 months. The result - it did slightly yellow. But I really expected a lot more yellowing. Quality ATA ABS? The pic below compares it to the thigh I'm working on. Interestingly, the Original Bike Spirits did not make any difference. So my next test is to tape it above the burner vent on my hot water heater. If heat sources / combustion are the issue, this should be subject to it regularly.

For the thigh cover strips, it seems most things I've read or watched are using 20mm vs. ATA's 7/8th's of an inch. From what I figure 7/8th's is about 2.5mm wider. Should I use 20mm cover strips instead?

I taped the thighs together to get a rough fit and it fits well. I still need to trim down the sides for the 7/8 inch cover strips (per Terrel) and finish up the top and bottom edges. But I noticed that the back of the right thigh doesn't meet correctly. I'm assuming this is how all ATA's are and assume I just leave it like that (keep in mind each side needs trimmed down about half). Any suggestions? Since it might be hard to see, I tried to put a red line where the 'lip' goes flat. This is what I would assume it would look like finished.

I did add a piece to stop the left kidney side from popping out. The pic I took was unusably blurry. I also corrected the shoulder bell gap by making a new strap. I'll get pics of both soon. But in the meantime, I did the rough trimming on the thighs. Left side Right side When I try to access the link below to PandaTrooper's thigh assembly from the All-In-One index, I get 'You do not have permission to view this topic'. Not sure why. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11563-howto-assemble-thighs-butt-join-with-cover-strips/

I needed to trim the kidney plate sides to fit better, which actually aligned the posterior. So, I decided not to add the notch at this time.

This is my next step!

Today I finished up the strapping on the arms. The last thing I had to do was to sew the snaps on the shoulder elastic. I still have to add some foam to the forearms, but wanted to see my progress. This time I got some pics that weren't blurry. I not happy with the gap at the top of the left bell. That's something I want to look into. As always, let me know any concerns.

I have been working on the attachments of the arm pieces. Progress is still slow in the midst of summer, but I do try to work on it a little every day. So here is the progress over the past couple weeks. Here is why the wife is not happy as I've taken over the dining room table. I like working by windows instead of the basement on things like this! Bell to bicep strapping A little bit of everything getting glued And where I am today - the other shoulder bell strapping

I cleaned and shaped up the shoulder bells. Time to figure out where to attach the snaps. Using tape I mocked up where I think they should go. Now it really gets exciting seeing it start to really come together. Sorry for the blurry pics. Let me know if anything needs attention.

Another week of little progress. But I did add the finishing strips to the right forearm. Now back to the shoulder bells. I need to remove the bottom return edges and clean up the sides.

Your a braver man than me Caleb! I might be more apt to something that extreme if the ATA kits were still available. But since the passing of Terrel, I wouldn't risk messing it up. But that's just me.

As for the biceps, there isn't much difference. Both fit nicely. But yes that right forearm is larger than the left, and the issue is with ATA that flat area is already defined for the cover strips and you can't reduce it beyond that (or at least without having <5/8" cover strips which would look odd). My plan is to leave as much return edge at the top and use foam to keep it from moving around. I would love to hear if anyone else has any suggestion.

Just wanted to mention there was no tape holding the forearm up. Just the shoulder bell and bicep.

I used some thin foam real quick in the left forearm and had to try it on. I threw it all together with some painters tape, and quickly tossed the suit on to get some pics while the wife is home. But overall happy with the fit.

After trying it again, I think the left side could benefit from a little foam as it is a little looser when I straighten my arm.

I think the left side fits well with a little looseness at the wrist. I tried it on with the gloves and that kept it from flopping around. The right side will need some foam as it is a little loose.

Progress has been slow, but progress is progress! I've been working on the forearms here and there. Left forearm is pretty much done (except some inner cover strips). I'm also pretty close to the final trimming of the right forearm. As always, please let me know if you see anything needing attention.

I did take some more return edge off as I did need a little more room in the elbow. Here is what I'm thinking is the final return edge. Also the red line is where I think the cover strip should stop. Please let me know if any concerns.

I also have continued working on the left forearm for the end with no return edge. Taping it together and sanding it as one piece worked well. I think I'm good on this one, but let me know if anyone disagrees. I still have to finish the top end return edge.

Not much progress, but I did finish the left bicep and are ready to glue the right bicep together. More to come...

Thanks! Question - What should I do with the misalignment of the top of the left forearm? Especially if I intend on keeping some return edge (on the top). Sorry for the blurry pic. Good thing I'm not a photographer.