JSchmit

Hey, all. It's been a bit since my last post, but I have some exciting progress to share! I got the torso pieces strapped and fitted: I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, but I'm always open for suggestions on improvements. It also appears that I'll have to deal with the wings on the back piece above the kidney if I want to eventually earn Centurion status, so I may have to follow AJ's method to level them out. Also, in what seems like a long, long time ago when I was assembling my thigh pieces, I was advised to wait until the torso, thighs, and shins were assembled before gauging how much to trim the tops of the shins. In looking at the thigh placement, I'm guessing that I'll have to take at least one inch off the tops of the thighs. I'll also need to make some mobility cuts, as the way things are at the moment I am not able to walk very well. When I was initially working on my thighs, Mario directed me to a link from a previous build thread that offered commentary. Within the thread, the troopers advised not to take the same amount off from the inner leg as the rest of the thigh in order to avoid losing the pieces' original shape. I had difficulty following this thread, but a diagram was posted with suggested cuts. I used a measuring compass to mark in pencil 1 inch from the top of my left thigh and followed along with the diagram when tracing the inner thigh: Does this appear to be the proper markings to trim these pieces? I so, my plan is to incrementally trim following this path until the thighs ride higher on my leg.

Thanks for that feedback, Joseph! I'll round that edge off as soon as I can. I'll be away from home for the weekend, so I won't be able to get back to work on my armor until Sunday at the earliest, but I did have a quick question pertaining to the kidney and posterior pieces. In regards to the 22mm notch some people cut out of the kidney and posterior, what is the prevailing opinion on that now that that portion of my armor is sized and assembled? Are there pros and cons do making that alteration?

With no shortage of inspiration from many posts on the forum, I went ahead and assembled the codpiece, posterior, and kidney pieces with straps and snaps. As I wait for some more snaps to arrive in the mail to finish the assembly of the chest and back pieces, I wanted to post a rough fitting with the completed pieces. I did some minor trimming on the shoulder tabs of the back piece so that the top would ride higher to the neck and the bottom wouldn't overlap with the kidney. As always, any feedback is appreciated as I move forward with assembly.

I went ahead and trimmed the chest and back pieces based on the lines I drew and posted (with the exception of the bottom return edge on the chest and back. Those return edges remain untrimmed. The shoulder tabs are also untrimmed to this point.) I went ahead and fitted the two pieces after trimming the return edge, and my initial thoughts are that it seems to be an improvement. The back and kidney pieces no longer overlap and the corner wings don't hook with the kidney. The front looks to be closer to the appropriate length based on the reference images. I just wanted to see what you guys thought about the updated fitting. Also, I marked the shoulder straps for trimming. Do these lines look accurate?

I think I figured out the source of some of the confusion on my previous post. The proposed cuts to the shoulder tabs are on the back piece, not the chest piece. I moved the back piece up a bit to approximate where the pieces would rest if the back tabs were trimmed down. When I looked back, the picture wasn't clear as to whether it was the chest or back piece.

Ah, I apologize. I thought in a previous post that you recommended incrementally trimming down the tabs from the back. So would it be better to move the chest and back to my original positioning and sliding the chest down and the back up to move the back closer to the neck and away from the kidney? Also, in regards to AJ's method in removing the back plate wings, what direction was he bending the plate after applying heat?

In addition to the questions I asked in my previous post, I went ahead and remeasured my chest and back pieces per Joseph's advice. I move the chest and back so the shoulder tabs overlap in order to simulate what it would look like I I were to trim them down. Does this look closer in terms of top of the back's proximity to the neck and the bottom of the back's proximity to the kidney? If this looks closer, these measurements indicate taking about an inch off of the back shoulder tabs.

Thank you for that information, Joseph! That'll be very helpful as I'm assembling these pieces. I do have a few points I'd like to clarify, however. Do you recommend removing the length of the tab on the back piece before making adjustments to the bottom return edge in order to gauge how much to take off the bottom to prevent the kidney overlap? Also, in regards to AJ's process, I see that he was using a combination of trimming and shaping with heat? Is he incrementally trimming the bottom of the wings and heating the sides to bend them inward towards the back to level them out?

So If I'm understanding correctly, if I were to remove the tab from the posterior piece, I would remove the tab where the plastic angles, as pictured in the image below. I went ahead and re-measured the markings where the snaps would go. Also, I do have a quick question for clarification. Are the snaps on the posterior meant to be functional or just for aesthetic? If so, where do the snaps connect to? I also went ahead and tried on the chest and back pieces: With this fitting, this is how far apart the two pieces are. Does this look about right? Also, do the plastic tabs on the shoulders of the chest and back pieces get trimmed down, or are the left as is? Lastly, I went ahead and marked approximately 5 mm of remaining of the return edge of the chest and back pieces. The exception to this is the lower part of the back piece where the return edge becomes more thick. I marked about half of this section, leaving approximately 13 mm of return edge on this section. I also marked where I would measure the bottom corners of the back pieces in order to prevent the back from hooking the kidney piece, similar to how AJ referenced in his thread. As always, any input before I proceed to final trim works is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for that input! Based off that image, I went ahead and trimmed the tab down and redrew the 14mm and 35mm snap markings. Does this look closer? Also, I've got some glue drying along the sides of the sniper knee to bring it closer the the shin return edge, but after trying on both shin pieces, I think I'll need to take some of the return edge off the top of the sniper knee for mobility. I'll do that after the glue settles for a few days. In regards to the chest and back plates, it's hard to tell how much return edge is left based on the reference photos. It looks like the chest piece is pretty consistently has 10 mm of return edge, so does 5 mm sound about right? However, it looks like the back plate's return edges on the sides vary a little more in return edge length, and they they get to around 25 mm near the bottom. What is the recommended return edge length for this section?

Thanks for the feedback! I'll trim down the tab based on that image and re-measure the markings for the snaps. And it looks like the references leave a bit of the return edges on the chest and back plates. I've been leaving around 5 mm on other pieces. Does that sound about right? And lastly, in regards to the sniper knee, does the top of the knee get trimmed down, or is it just the sides leading up to it?

Hey, everyone! I'm currently waiting for some 2 inch nylon strapping to arrive in order to start strapping everything together. In the meantime, I thought I'd work on a few odds and ends items. I also believe that I solved my issued with the snaps. First, I got the sniper knee mounted on the left shin: I know that I'll need to trim the sides to make them closer to the top edge of the shin piece. Is there anywhere else that needs to be trimmed? Also, I went ahead and trimmed some of the return edges from the posterior piece. I also marked a few dots on the bottom of the crotch area in preparation of the snaps. I measured two dots, one 15 mm from the edge and the other 35 mm from the edge. I just want to verify that these look ok: Lastly, I just wanted to see what was recommended to trim for the return edges on the front and back chest pieces:

In addition to the questions above, I do have another question regarding snaps. I purchased snaps from Tandy, as recommended. I've been having a persistent issue when I align and set the male and female parts, the pieces don't fit together or are very difficult to fit together when set. I've used both the hammer and anvil and handheld pliers methods of setting, and each often yields the same result. Does anyone have any tips on getting these pieces to fit together?

I measured 10 mm for the Han snap. Does this look closer? Also, I plan to go ahead and start trimming the posterior section and attaching it to the kidney piece. What is the rule of thumb for return edges for this section? Am I able to leave about 5 mm on the tops like I did for the kidney pieces, and do the bottoms get removed entirely? Also, does the crotch area where the snaps go get trimmed at all, or just rounded out?

Based on the reference photos, I adjusted the placement of the Han snap to approximately 15 mm over and down: Additionally, I measured 20 mm from the front of the crotch for the snap to connect to the posterior: Do these measurement look close?

Using the updated measurements for the snaps on the left side of the abdomen and kidney pieces, I attached the two pieces using the cover strip/strap hinge method A.J. utilized in his thread. My plan is to install the snap plate for the right side of the abdomen and kidney pieces. When looking at the reference materials, I noticed that there aren't as many pieces to measure on this side with the exception of the Han snap. I measured 20 mm from the corner and 20 mm down and drew this mark: My initial reaction was that this appeared to be too far into the piece in comparison to the references I've seen. Does this look like the accurate measurement for the Han snap? Also, I know that I'll need to install the snaps on the crotch area of the codpiece. I was advised to trim a little more off that piece, and this is what I took off: Does this look to be accurate, or should I remove more from the crotch piece?

I went ahead and redrew those lines out from 10 cm to 14 cm on each side with the same dimensions for the rivets.

I went ahead and did some trim work to the return edges on the codpiece and kidney pieces. I went ahead and traced the initial marks for the left hand side of each piece. I traced a line 10 mm in on each piece and drew dots where I'll eventually be drilling 20 mm from the top, another dot 65 mm down from the previous dot, and the last dot 65 mm from the previous dot. If anyone had any feedback on that, let me know. Also, I may be getting ahead of myself here, but I know that there's a diagram on the site that indicates a square notch being cut out of the bottom corner of each side of the kidney. I was just wondering what the dimensions are of that notch and if I need to trim the posterior piece down in accordance to the vertical side of the notch being drawn.

Hey everyone, in my previous post I had questions about my sniper knee placement and the return edges on the kidney piece and codpiece. I still have those questions, so any information would be appreciated. However, I also alluded to the fact that I didn't think that my kidney piece and codpiece quite closed. I went ahead and resized tonight, and I think they're closer than I initially thought: I just wanted to see what you guys thought about the fitting. I had really hoped to avoid adding shims, if that 's what I'l have to do, that's the way it is. So based off these images, should I add a shim to the kidney piece or move forward with strapping the pieces as they are?

I've currently got the outer cover strip applied and settling to my right shin piece. I plan to make a system of hooks for the backs of the shins, and I plan to have a friend help me sew the hooks to the white elastic pieces. In the meantime, I also want to go ahead and get the sniper knee glued to the left shin. I haven't done any trimming to either piece. I just want to see if this looks to be the proper placement for the sniper knee: Also, while I wait on the final stages of the shin pieces, I plan to begin the process of constructing the torso pieces. I decided to begin with my abdominal and kidney pieces. After researching, it appears it is recommended to remove 4.5-5 centimeters from the extended tab. I traced that off, pictured below: However, I'm wondering about the return edges on this piece, as it appears that both pieces have quite a bit of return edge around the waist. Is it recommended to remove any of this return edge, or are these required to be left as-is? The reason I ask is as I was doing some sizing, I noticed that the codpiece and kidney pieced don't quite close around my waist. Are these pieces required to close completely, or is there an allowance as to how far apart these pieces can be?

I started the same process the right shin by trimming it down on the front and applying the inner front cover strip. After that settled. I went ahead and sized the shin pieces similarly to how I did the left shins. With these measurements, these are the lines that I traced. As always, and comments or feedback before I made final cuts is appreciated!

I went ahead and trimmed the backs of the left shin piece, and the ends of the two pieces split the gap and appear symmetrical. I also went ahead and trimmed the fronts of the right shins and applied the inner cover strip. While I wait for that to settle, I do have a question. When I was trying I'm my left shin, I noticed that I still need to open the backs up pretty far in order to fit the piece around my leg. I'm worried that I'm putting to much pressure on the joints and that I might damage the plastic I was just wondering what was recommended to remedy this? Are the shin pieces meant to open completely with the boot already on, or are you meant to slide your foot through the pieces and close the backs before putting the boot on?

I was wondering about that. I went ahead and resized to make the bottom of the shin more narrow and redrew my lines.

After a few days of setbacks, I'm back to working on my shins. I sized my left shin after I applied the inner cover strips. With this measurement, these are the lines I traced to remove the excess plastic from each side. Also, I went ahead and began the process of trimming down the right shins by drawing the 10 mm lines the front of each piece. As always, any feedback on these trim lines would be greatly appreciated!

Hey, all! I was away for the weekend, so I haven't done any work on my armor since last week. I got the outer cover strips applied to my thigh, so all that should be left for those pieces is the trimming of the top portions and bottom return edges and applying the ammo belt on the right piece. I went ahead and drew some initial lines to start the process of fitting the shins, and I was hoping to get some clarification. The resources I've read indicate that you can distinguish between shin pieces by gauging the curvature on the inner and outer pieces with the inner piece starting its curve closer to the top of the shin. With that in mind, I believe this is the left shin. I just wanted to make sure that I was correct in that assessment. Also, the resources I read recommend removing the entire bottom return edge and the return edge on the back of the top shin piece. I just wanted to make sure that was the recommended method. Lastly, I drew some lines vertically on the front of front of the shin piece. The lines leave 10 mm remaining on each side. I just wanted to make sure these looked good before I made final cuts.