Kagamaru

The corners are at 45°. What does “meet” mean in this case? Like “lie flat against” or the inner point of the angle flush with the top/bottom edge?

Belt completed Holster is in the Han configuration. It’s a little under the button panel but it’s just because I don’t have the other bits of armor in place. I though about adding one more snap from the canvas to the middle of the Ab plate to make it where it would never slip. But didn’t know if that was advisable or passable. It wouldn’t be seen. Photos are reversed mirror shots. The holster is on the left side.

Belt Questions 1. I’ve seen a few threads on belt attachments. Some used Velcro. Some snaps. I was going to do the snap method but was wondering if it mattered what type of snap to use. 2. When attaching the ammo portion of the belt to the canvas are people using split rivets or another type? And does it matter? As always thank you for guidance.

More filling. More sanding. Im feeling better about this. It’s still not perfect. Little pits keep appearing. Wondering if I need to just paint it. Filled, sanded, and polished with Novus. Still doesn’t match the high high gloss surrounding. But honestly it’s shiny enough and I feel like I’m an obscure enough location not to stand out as odd. I don’t know. Thoughts? Still have to refill and resand and repolish this bit.

Seam Sanding I’m really feeling down right now. I haven’t polished this seam with Novus yet, but it’s not right and I don’t see any way just sanding and polishing will ever make it look seamless. It’s already cracking at the top where the seam is as the abs paste got sanded too thin. Is there another path forward? I don’t want my centurion bid to end here. Maybe I’m missing something buried in the archives that I can’t find. Maybe some sort of white filler that isn’t abs or something. this is the unsanded side. Sanded down to 3000 grit. The seam is starting to come through. Distant view. I feel like I’ve ruined it.

Can you go right into the plastic with it? Like going river the abs paste. Once it’s sanded down flat, do you have to paint it or can you just clear coat and sand/polish?

What type of clear coat is best to start with? Just any spray clear coat? Would self leveling brush-on work also? I guess it would need to be acrylic so as not to melt the abs.

Bubble Lens Installation Back from vacation. Couldn’t wait to get back to the build! I’ve attached my shims to my kidney plate according to the advice earlier on and am now slowly trying to get the consistency correct for my abs paste to smooth the joint and sand. Hopefully to make it seamless. It’s making me nervous. I’m going to try to smooth in as little as I can to cover so there’s not so much to sand. I have sandpaper all the way up to 3000 grit. I still need to order polish and polishing cloth. I’ll post all of that when I’m done with it or run into problems. In the meantime, I’ve been installing the green bubble lenses on my helmet. I cut them to size and used the Sugru method to attach. They looked a little sharp on the edges so I added some craft foam cushion for comfort around the eyes in case they touch my face. I think they look pretty cool! Foam inside to simulate a full helmet. Lenses are adequately dark.

Ears Update IV Got the right one trimmed and attached. How does it look? …they look?

Lens Resources Thank you everyone for feedback and encouragement! It’s truly a flood of information. Is there a reputable resource for the green bubble lenses required for the hero helmet? Or do I make those myself as well? I saw someone had boiled their flat lenses and pressed a spoon into them when they were soft to make the bend. Is that how it’s done?

Ears part III More sanding. I got it thinned out quite a bit. The front fits pretty well. I used a little glue to pull the side of the helmet to close a small gap. The back still has a space. It just wouldn’t close. Hopefully will do better on the right ear. Is there an option to add a little filler into the space? Bondo or something? The angle is as far as I can go and still have room to fasten the two halves of the helmet together. Feedback? Please and thanks!

No I see it. Now I’m trying to figure out how to salvage without just downshifting to level one. The helmet faceplate came with the trim you see. Very little tolerance and I haven’t trimmed any of it. The back portion I’ve only just now trimmed a little to make room for the more severely angled ear piece. You can see that I can’t really move the joiner rivet back any or it has nothing to hold the face on with. But as it stands now the ear won’t cover that bit. Did I get a bad trim or pull from the maker? Seems like all the tutorials have yards of plastic to play with here pre trim. Do I add a shim so I can cut it all away so the seam will be hidden by the ear?

Damn. The tutorial I was following from somewhere in here had three screws. Guess I’m reordering ears. Unless I can make the first one work somehow. If I move it back much it will expose the seam of the helmet.

Left Ear Got one on after two tries! That’s about as tight as I could get it before I’m afraid it would have started going the other way as far as fit. Started with the left side as I felt it was going to be the most difficult in terms of the overlap at the bottom. The first time I thought I left plenty of trim to cut down but sadly wasn’t even close. On the second try I pretty much just left the entire edge and worked it down millimeter by millimeter with the Dremel and files until it got to this point. I’m hoping to get even tighter on the right with gained experience. The screws are counter sunk but because the top screw was practically right on top of the river holding the helmet together I had to move the hole on the helmet just a little. The screw doesn’t sit completely flush. Will that be a deal breaker? I could try to wallow the hole down a little. I have a washer between the nut and bolt so it should hold. Thoughts? Would this ear mount be considered within tolerance for Centurion Level? As always thank you for feedback! *photos taken at 2m. The spots on the dome are the dining room lights reflecting.

Helmet Alignment Before I commit these rivets I’d like some feedback. To get the brow right with the eyeholes aligned with the dome divots it lines up kind of funny at the bottom. (See photos) I haven’t trimmed anything on the bottom as that’s how it came and there wasn’t the normal apparent trim line like the other pieces had so I’ve left it alone. Is there more trimming to be done down there? Will the gaps on the sides close up? Super nervous about committing those rivets. This side really doesn’t line up well. Bottom of the right side looks close to good. Bottom of the left side however… Any guidance here is appreciated!

Helmet Trimming My WTF Hero Helmet seems to be almost trimmed to the right proportions. I trimmed some off the brow to make the rubber trim sit evenly. What about the sides? Is that alignment ok? Should I trim those pointy bits at the bottom? How’s the initial profile?

This being the hero helmet, is the last little divot removed or left intact? I see both in the photos of the originals.

Eyes & Teeth Today I trimmed up the helmet and cut out the eyes and teeth! Predrilled some holes for the teeth and used a small round then flat file to hollow them out. The eyes were carefully trimmed out with an X-Acto blade. A few times around and they popped right out. Sanded and voilà! Hope they look good!

@Deployment Officer Team On it! Thanks!!

@gmrhodes13 would this be you?

Kidney Plate Extension Guidance: According to the diagram that is posted for kidney plate extension the bottom edge runs parallel with the top edge. But the diagram isn’t accurate to my armor. If it ran straight across there would be an overhang on the ab plate by about an inch. See photos below. So which is more correct/approvable for centurion level? I cut one shim straight and one at an angle so they meet flush. Advice is appreciated! Please and thanks!

Forum Request: Is there anyway to be allowed access to these topics? Especially:HOWTO: Make your TK as accurate as possible. Thanks in advance.

Buttons attached!

Corner Update: More heat. I used the corner of a ruler on the other side to push the corner shape a bit more. Then another on the out side to pinch the edges more or less vertical. I’m pleased with this result. The last photo is in place on the ab plate. Not glued in yet.

Okay I did the heat gun thing. Is this passable? It’s still not crisp like the other one.