Having some problems [*AM]

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Getting a little discouraged.

 

Ripped apart my left forearm Saturday night to reglue it. The first attempt had one end a little above where it should sit flush

 

So i ripped it apart, pulled off the e6000 and reglued.

 

I waited the 24 hours then about 11pm last night i decided I was going to pick up my armor mess and put it in my box for the night. I unclamped these 2 pieces and pulled off my magnets, when I flexed the forearm to get it to where the other side would meet i heard the glue let go. same goes for the bicep... :cuss: :cuss: :cuss: :cuss: :cuss:

 

I think the edge where i trimmed back to 7mm may be too small for the glue to get a good grip.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

Did you sand and then wash/dry both surfaces before applying the glue? Makes for a stronger bond. Regardless, the next time I would do two things:

 

1. Leave the E6000 to sit for a good 2 - 3 days. The longer you let is sit undisturbed, the stronger the bond gets. I'd call 24 hours an absolute minimum more than anything.

 

2. After doing that, leave the clamps and magnets in place on the glued side as you carefully flex the plastic to get the other side lined up for gluing. Apply glue/clamps/magnets, and leave the entire assembly alone - clamps, magnets, and all - for another 2-3 days.

 

Hopefully Pandatrooper chimes in soon - he's a real pro at working plastic.

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Did you sand and then wash/dry both surfaces before applying the glue? Makes for a stronger bond. Regardless, the next time I would do two things:

 

1. Leave the E6000 to sit for a good 2 - 3 days. The longer you let is sit undisturbed, the stronger the bond gets. I'd call 24 hours an absolute minimum more than anything.

 

2. After doing that, leave the clamps and magnets in place on the glued side as you carefully flex the plastic to get the other side lined up for gluing. Apply glue/clamps/magnets, and leave the entire assembly alone - clamps, magnets, and all - for another 2-3 days.

 

Hopefully Pandatrooper chimes in soon - he's a real pro at working plastic.

I *do* sand (long time building models I guess) and lightly score to add surface area for bonding. I haven't rinsed & dried as I figured tapping it should shake out the majority of the plastic dust but I will try that tonight.

 

Really? 2-3 days? I really can't do any worse than I already have. i'll try it your way.

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Would I be making my life infinitely more difficult if I were to glue the inner tabs inside let them set then come back and glue the other half of the piece together?

 

Also, looking the the pictures and especially the bicep, should the inner tabs be skinnier? (or of a thinner material? I'm curerntly using scrap ABS which may be too thick?)

[tkrestonva[TK]]

That's how I did mine - glue the inner cover strips in place, let them set, then glue the outer cover strips. I think it makes holding everything together while the glue cures that much easier.

 

I also used scrap plastic for the interior cover strips - waste not, want not. Besides, if they're scratched up or uneven from the trimming process, no big deal since they're hidden anyway. For the exterior cover strips, however, I used the extra ABS strips that came with the kit.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

I would proceed as described. I usually glue an inner shim (which is really optional, I don't think the original screen used suits did it on the limbs but I feel it makes assembly easier / stronger) and let it cure, before doing the cover strips.

 

Also, I'm not sure why but you have increased the gap / spacing of your halves, yet you left only 7mm for the shim to grab? It's not a lot of plastic. The thin width works fine if you run some plastic weld joining the halves before you glue the inner shim, but if you leave a big gap like that, you're right - the plastic doesn't have much to grab.

[dork_jedi[TK]]

 

That's how I did mine - glue the inner cover strips in place, let them set, then glue the outer cover strips. I think it makes holding everything together while the glue cures that much easier.

 

 

 

I also used scrap plastic for the interior cover strips - waste not, want not. Besides, if they're scratched up or uneven from the trimming process, no big deal since they're hidden anyway. For the exterior cover strips, however, I used the extra ABS strips that came with the kit.

 

 

 

 

Sorry, i wasn't clear in my idea. take the forearm as two halves left and right. if i glue my inner strips to one side (say the right) and let it dry and cure then come back with the left side and glue and clamp that into place.

 

 

 

I too am using the scrap for the interior strips, but i am afraid they may be too wide (see pix above) and so putting a wierd pressure on the opposite side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would proceed as described. I usually glue an inner shim (which is really optional, I don't think the original screen used suits did it on the limbs but I feel it makes assembly easier / stronger) and let it cure, before doing the cover strips.

 

 

 

Also, I'm not sure why but you have increased the gap / spacing of your halves, yet you left only 7mm for the shim to grab? It's not a lot of plastic. The thin width works fine if you run some plastic weld joining the halves before you glue the inner shim, but if you leave a big gap like that, you're right - the plastic doesn't have much to grab.

 

 

Panda, boy am I glad to hear from you, i left 7mm as half of the 15mm covering strip on the side of the forearm with the ridge(see 1st and 3rd pictures). I then tried to butt up the two pieces together and apply the inner shims. I think some of my problem is the pieces of armor I'm trying to glue are curved and the inner strips are not. the inner strips are also of a heavy ABS (they're scraps of the AM armor) thus they don't flex well so when i remove the clamps they immediately apply pressure to the glue, add a flex and *pop*. do you think perhaps the omnipresent "no parking sign" would produce a better plastic (more flexible) and better inner shim?

[Femtrooper Julie[501st]]

To speed things up on mine, I used E-6000, then spot glued using CA glue and accelerant spray. With that small of a lip, may need a little more strength?

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Thank you all for your help and tips, please keep 'em coming!! Thank you again!

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Here's what I see is not quite right / could be improved:

 

- Your cuts need to be neater and more consistent. You've trimmed off and left 7mm, but it's not an accurate 7mm consistently down the length of the forearm. The cut looks rather wavy, so in some spots you have 7mm of plastic to glue to, and in others you don't. Also, in the case of AM armor, the ridge is only on one side (for the arms) and so the 7mm doesn't really matter. You could have made it 10 or 12mm, which meant more material would need to be trimmed off the other side.

 

- Your halves are not touching. This isn't 100% required but it will make assembly easier IMO. Leaving gaps also makes your armor bigger than you sized it, which isn't good if you sized it correctly when test fitting / taping. If the cuts were nice and straight, you could tape them and drop a bead of plastic weld down the seam and join the halves (like a plastic model kit). But you can't because there's a big gap between the 2 halves and I'm not sure why you have the gap there at all.

 

- The inner shims are not a consistent strip running the length of the arm. You're using small sections, which isn't the way I would do it. I would use a consistent shim (straight and parallel cuts on both sides) that fits OVER the seam you're trying to cover. Ideally, half the shim should cover one half of the arm, the other part covers the other half. Right now, I see that most of the shim is glued on the curved side of the arm, and only a tiny bit is glued on the other. Of the part that is glued to the ridge side, it's not reaching all the way up the inside of the ridge.

 

- Also, when you glue one side of the arm, the other side will probably be not even close to touching. If you simply force it to touch, and tape / glue it, you're putting a lot of pressure on the first glue join, and that's what is causing it to pop open. When I glue one side, I would use a heat gun to gently heat along the limb an inch or so on either side of the seam, and bend the armor so that the other side touches. This makes a huge difference and will make assembling the other side much easier.

 

Take a look at my inner AM shims

 

Both sides glued at the seam

 

Inner shim is glued the length of the seam

 

Using Plastic weld will help, in that it bonds quicker and is designed to bond ABS plastic. But you need to work fast with it. I usually use plastic weld inside (if possible) and E6000 on the outer cover strips.

[dork_jedi[TK]]

hrmmm.

looks like i fouled it up with those small parts...any ideas? Should I contact TupperwareTK and see if I can get my hands on replacement parts? Should I try it with a thinner, skinnier, single strip like Panda's (no parking sign).

 

I totally see what you did there Panda, thank you so much for the feedback. Do you see a way I can salvage this?

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Trim your armor a little more carefully abd see if you can join the seams first.

 

Cut some straight edged 1 piece strips from thinner plastic (you can use the AM trimmings, just use the thinner ones), sand the glue residue from your current shims and just glue them the new ones in the proper places.

 

Or you can try and skip the inner shims and just go with cover strips, making sure you overlap the seam properly.

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Hey guys, back once again. Fixed the forearms problem. Doing better. My question now is:

 

I see PandaTrooper suggesting tapering the thighs on my AM kit. I did a *quick* search and don't see a tutorial on how. Do I glue the front and taper just the back or should I taper both front and back then glue? I have big thighs (the reason I bought the AM kit) but full sized thighs are insane.

 

Thanks again guys!

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Glue the front and taper the back.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Glue the front and taper the back.

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Glue the front and taper the back.

Thanks Panda.

Another one real quick: the covering strips, rounded corners or straight. I am having a hard time telling from the photos I'm seeing.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Very slight rounding. I tend to snip a mini 45 degree cut on the corner and just sand it a little. The ends of cover strips are not "round" like popsicle sticks.

[stormtrooperguy[501st]]

Very slight rounding. I tend to snip a mini 45 degree cut on the corner and just sand it a little. The ends of cover strips are not "round" like popsicle sticks.

 

Same here. I try to think of what they would have done in the film. They'd have wanted to avoid squared corners since those would catch on things/people/fabric and potentially damage something. But, they wouldn't have assembled each with tender loving care. So quickly rounding off the edges a bit makes sense.

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Hey guys,

I just finished putting my front covering strips on my thighs and a thought occurred to me...I have small gaps at the bottom and I'm curious if I should rip apart my thighs to fix it or leave it be because they won't be seen once I have my kneeplate and ammo pack on? I can always fix them later...

 

Close up:

 

Full piece:

[geordietrooper]

either leave as is or just use a bit of caulk/sealant on the visible gap if you have to maybe ?

[dork_jedi[TK]]

Any TK's out there who used the Tandy 1238 clips.

 

I was told to cut off the return portion (where it curls up so you can get it over your belt normally), but I'm curious if I should cut the length off the other end.

 

See pic below.

[senna1rossi[TK]]

^ You may also want to consider using a 12" long stainless steel ruler. It was difficult for me to find a clip for my TD, so i just used the ruler I had and cut it in half, and bent it to shape. It also looks more accurate width wise. The Tandy clips are too narrow, I think...