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Hedjii72

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
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Posts posted by Hedjii72

  1. So I was about to try Panda's paint stick method for bending my Thigh Ammo Belt on my AM armor, when upon inspection, I noticed the grooves in the center of each flat section between the boxes.

     

    Clamping down over those with popsicle sticks or paint sticks would keep the plastic on either side of the groove flat, prohibiting bending along that natural groove. Would that be wrong? In other words, are those grooves sculpted in to allow it to naturally bend there when you heat it?

  2. Tragedy!!!!!

     

    Heat guns are EVIL! Evil, I tell ya!

     

    I tried to use a heat gun to make my shoulder bells a little narrower at the bottom.

     

    Well, it really messed up the return edge on both of them:

     

    IMG_0677.jpg

     

    And what's worse, I now have a CRACK that formed when I tried to slip it over the bicep piece.

     

    IMG_0675.jpg

     

    I'm fearful the stress on this piece will make it worse.

     

    :(:6:

     

    This is the first moment I have not had fun with the build. I guess it happens.

     

    What do I do now? Anyone have any spare shoulder bells?

  3. Tom, I can't begin to thank you enough for all your guidance and support on my build! Thanks, Bro!!!

     

     

    Shin Closure:

     

    I have a question about how to do the cover strip and closure on my shins. When I trimmed the shins to fit, I decided to use the trimming for the cover strip as it had the same general contour of the shin back. When placing it on the shin, I also have not yet trimmed off the upper edge. As you can see in my pictures, it offers me two different choices for doing the cover strip.IMG_0667.jpg

     

    IMG_0668.jpg

     

    IMG_0670.jpg

     

    IMG_0672.jpg

     

    I'd appreciate anyone who'd like to weigh in on whether the coverstrip should be below the contoured upper edge, or hook over it.

     

    I've looked at all the screen caps, and I can't tell what would be more screen accurate. Also, I don't have my boots yet, so I can't really tell if I'll need to trim the upper edge of the shin for mobility anway.

     

     

     

     

    ******************************

    THIGHS

     

    I've also been trying on my thighs a lot. Unfortunately, I don't like the way I trimmed them. I should have cut them on more of a taper, because the lower part fits around my knee area well, but the upper thigh is a little tight. Measure twice, cut once! So I have a solution I wanted to put up here and see what y'all think:

     

    I taped up the thigh with a bit more room at the top so it is comfortable. This creates a tapered gap. I figure I have as much width as the cover strip will hide, about 20 mm.

     

    If I strengthen the inside with a wide inner shim that spans the gap, the cover strip ought to hide the taper completely. Make sense?

     

    IMG_0673.jpg

     

    IMG_0674.jpg

  4. is that helmet ABS? also you really should remove the lenses and brow trim before painting..

     

    if the helmet is ABS and if you didn't sand the surface you might be able to scrape it off with a flat piece of plastic (like a credit card)

     

    I'm sorry if this is obvious, but is sanding required/recommended anytime you paint ABS? Like, for tube stripes and traps? How do you get a shine back once it's sanded/painted?

  5. Solid advice, Tim! Thank you.

     

    I did a preliminary cut of the kidney plate and just threw everything on that I could. It's all held together with tape and such, but I'm getting there. Please look at these critically and offer any feedback or criticism! Any glaring mistakes?

     

    IMG_0638.jpg

    IMG_0642.jpg

     

    I know the chest piece needs to come way down, but I haven't trimmed that yet. Does the entire ab and cod piece need to come down too?

     

    The thighs are a source of worry for me right now. I have very skinny legs, and wanted to avoid the "church bell syndrome" of having the thigh pieces way larger for my knees. So I trimmed them pretty tight. Perhaps too much. Do they look ridiculous? I know they have to be raised with straps still, but... I haven't glued the backs yet, so I'm thinking I might try to add an extra centimeter of comfort by leaving the back open a centimeter, shimming the inside, then covering it all up with the coverstrip. Would that work?

  6. OK, as for fitting the torso, I've been a bit intimidated by this part.

     

    Is this the right orientation for the kidney plate? I've looked at a lot of "Which Way Is Up for the Kidney Plate" threads, and it still is difficult to tell.

     

    IMG_0621.jpg

     

     

    IMG_0560.jpg

     

    Here I am trying to draw the line for my kidney cut. I'm thinking my ab plate needs no trimming on the sides?

     

     

    IMG_0562.jpg

     

     

    This really is difficult to do. As you can see, my butt plate is sagging. Am I not raising everything high enough?

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