Isaac's AM build - newbie- picture heavy[*AM]

[thrill kill kult]

Great Thread Isaac! I have an AM kit that has been in the box since January, so kudus to you for making it happen.

[theisaac]

Thanks Mark.

 

Break out your box buddy! There are some amazing AM build threads here to inspire. Not mine but Pandatrooper's build also Tkrestonva's build. My advice to anyone when it comes to first builds is study and bookmark what others are doing and have done. If you look at my bookmarks right now I think I have about 23 of them just on TK builds and how-to's. Learn from others and follow or better yet improve on their systems. We all benefit from it in the longrun.

 

When you start your build, make a thread and let me know! I want to follow yours too!

Isaac

[silverBoyd[501st]]

looking really great! I've been following your AM build thread for inspiration. I'm working on my forearms now after completing the shins. Did you find you had to taper the forearm when you cut it to fit you?

Edited April 22, 2012 by silverBoyd

[theisaac]

Ya man, my forearm are tapered a lot! I took the two halves and overlapped them the drew a line. There is a half that's smooth with the crescent and the other with the dents/dimple things.

 

Since I was butt jointing the edges I cut about 1/4 inch off the overlap on the bumpy side and did most of the trimming off the smooth crescent half.

 

Then when I covered with the cover strip it looks like a screen suit more.

 

I would trim the overlap down first then tape it up again and double check your measurements before cutting. I also undercut everything by a few milimeters just in case. Then sand down to fit and fix any waves in the trim that might be there so it's flush.

 

I used a for sale sign for my inside shims and the extra abs that comes with the kit for the cover strips.

 

You can go back to page 1 and see how much I trimmed on the forearms. Look at the finished piece and compare to your uncut halves.

 

Make sure to remove the return edge at the wrist opening before you size them too or you'll end up with a bigger wrist opening than you want.

 

Hope this helps bud!

Isaac

[Evilboy[501st]]

Brian I really appreciate your imput on this build man, When its done Im gonna send you a case of beverage of choice!

Isaac

Brian, between this guy and the armor party yesterday ALONE you will never have to pay for beer at Con or Celebration again!

 

Isaac,

you are in great hands here...I am just starting my AM kit (TX Shadowtrooper) myself, so I feel your pain. I would have been lost without the kickstart from Brian...you're Looking good so far!

"Evilboy"

[silverBoyd[501st]]

Thanks Isaac. I too am using the butt-joint method with FOR SALE on the inside and the nice ABS strips on the outside. I took about 1" on both sides of the smooth crescent forearm half. Still feeling too large (mostly @ my wrists). Now I think I will taper the cuts to bring the wrists closer together.

 

Also, I got the Velcro and cover strip on the rear of my right shin but i just tried on the left shin (which also has my TD sniper knee plate) and I'm finding that every step I take....the sniper kneeplate hits my knee. Anyone else have this problem?

Edited April 23, 2012 by silverBoyd

[theisaac]

can i trim down the bottom backs of the thighs so i can bend my let better and still get EIB?

 

Think of the dip people cut out on the back of the calves so those can bend farther back. Id like to trim a small part of the back of my thighs so i can bend the leg more without trimming down the top of the thigh if that makes sense. I dont have the tools to replace the return edge so if I can just trim the back bottom of the thigh that would solve my current issue.

 

thanks in advance.

Isaac

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Hmm. As the queen of thigh problems I want to help here. But I am afraid of steering you wrong. Some of my potential solutions for my own issues lie in this area.

 

It might be best if I wait to see how the guys respond.

 

But my thinking is that you could probably trim it a little bit off the bottom, or at least flatten it out so there's no return edge biting into you there, BUT first choice I would trim the top and forego the return edge at least in back, because return edges aren't required but the bottom of the thigh is part of a defining "look."

 

So now I'm watching closely...

[theisaac]

Thanks Ingrid!

I dont want to do it but Im not sure what to do about the sizing. Again its the same issue I've had since the start. Genetics and sports/wrestling has made me as wide as I am tall. Not a great combo for a TK but I have a dream of pulling this off lol

[tkrestonva[TK]]

If your idea is to mirror the "scoop cut" that many troopers do on the backs of the upper calves - but doing it for the backs of the bottom thighs - yes, that will be fine. It's done for exactly the reason you suggest - to increase comfort and mobility.

 

There are behind-the-scenes photos around here that show it done on screen-used armor. In particular, there is a photo of a group of dehelmeted troopers with Carrie Fisher and David Prowse (both in full costume) on the Tantive IV set discussing something, that clearly shows this modification.

 

Found it (or at least one of them):

 

 

[theisaac]

put in the rivets on the left side

 

 

To adjust for the shoulders I think that they now pull the strap that goes from front chest to back piece that its pulling the webbing out and making the chest float up. You can see in the picture above what Im talking about.

Im going to have to let the shoulder out a bit like it was in the other post I think so that it stops the tension as much. I have the back attatched to the top of the inside of the kidney so that it doesnt overlap put this is pulling it down over the kidney plate in the back. You cant really tell in this angle but the shoulder straps are only attatched to the front chest so they float in the back.

 

 

meet the new bane of my build... the thighs.

might have to shim a little in the back to open them up a little so I can get them a little higher up the leg. Not sure yet

 

more thigh

Edited April 27, 2012 by theisaac

[silverBoyd[501st]]

you're putting my AM build to shame. The only pieces I have completed are the biceps (which I'm taking a heat gun to today), the shins and the helmet. I'm planning on getting ALOT accompolished by the end of the weekend. I have all of my torso pieces trimmed and edges sanded smooth. Now I just need to fit them to my body and trim. Your armor is looking good. I'm building my armor to become a TD, so I won't have the ribbed shoulder connections.

[theisaac]

This is my overall impression of my first build so far.

 

1. There is a lot of anxiety about cutting when you are looking at the freshly opened box of pieces. I think its worse if its a brand new kit and it comes pre-trimmed like AM kits do. Because you dont know whats excess plastic and what needs to be on the suit. Once you start those first fittings and you understand the concept of the butt joint then it gets easier. I was a hot mess and didnt touch anything until Mike the Dune Sea TK that has commented on my thread had me come over and he showed me how to do this. Im a visual learner so I have to see pictures and video or see it in person to really get it. He measured and trimmed my forearms and biceps and that gave me a good understanding of fitting.

 

2. Strapping is fun but getting everything lined up on your own is an exercise in frustration. I cant move really well in the suit so trying to get things lined up and positioned right just doesnt work. Even after I got suited up and the wifey took pictures you see everything you couldnt see while in the suit. So when it comes time for that, make sure you are prepaired for it. You'll think that the whole thing sucks and your suit build is a mess. Its probably not, its just fitted wrong. Im using the pics I took last night to unsnap everything and move it around and get a better position.

 

As far as this build goes, I dont know that the shoulder straps will cover the gap Im going to have with the back and front chest so I might be joining you in the Sandy build lol.

[NastyNoah[TK]]

It looks like your back plate needs to come up just a bit. You want no or minimal overlap from the back to the kidney for EIB. Otherwise your kit is looking great !

[theisaac]

Thanks Noah! I followed your build thread so I appreciate the feedback and the advice

[theisaac]

Ok,

I went out and got some white webbing for the shoulders today. I also trimmed off about an inch of the chest (the moulded straps that go back over the shoulder) not the ribbed ones you attatch but the ones on the actual chest. This let me get the top of the chest to sit flat against my chest and stopped my traps from pulling the chest up and out.

 

I also snapped some webbing inside the chest and attatched it to the inside of the cod to stop if from wanting to ride up. This makes the chest sit better on my frame I think. The shoulders still want to pull down and will pull the white webbing out and under the ribbed flaps so Im assuming the little elastic strings will stop that. I havent picked any up yet so we'll see how that goes.

 

Here are the pics from the 3rd test fitting with adjustments to feedback.

 

 

 

 

[TK1636[TK]]

Chest looks alot better, looks like you need some snaps on your shoulder straps and the white elastic so it doesn't pull down and make your shoulder bells drop down. I am going up to phx on tuesday if you want me to stop by and help you out, since we can't get together this weekend.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

Can you bring the shoulder bells forward a bit more? Not much you can do about all the black at the shoulders since you have such a wide upper body, but if you can balance it out between the front and back that would be good. What I found is instead of mounting the shoulder snaps dead-center on the white straps that connect the chest to back (which is of course the intuitive thing to do), it works better to mount them somewhat forward of center.

 

An alternative is to use the screen-accurate method of having a single long strap running across your traps, from one shoulder to another.

 

Basically what you can do is draw a line bisecting the white webbing strap, then put the snap maybe a third of the way toward the front end of the strap (that's a first guess - it will actually take some trial and error to find the right position).

[theisaac]

Here are some pics of the strapping I went with as well as the kidney shim and rivets. I want to make sure Im still on track to make EIB. If I dont it will be a let down but I can still avoid the gym and just run until I can fit a TM suit.

 

 

 

 

[silverBoyd[501st]]

Once again...thanks for the reference photos of your torso strapping. The rivets looks great, but one thing...the snaps you have on the inside that look like they are part of the side shims...how do they work exactly? Is one side permanently closed while the other side lets you open up to get it on?

[theisaac]

Yup one side is closed because of the rivets and the other side snaps closed. I can also make new straps to pull it tighter if I need to or let it out if I gain weight lol.

 

I wanted to have overlap on both sides because of the EIB rule. Since you are going Sandy its not the same rules. I basically can step into the ab/kidney part and pull it up. Then the chest and back straps snap into the front and back of the ab/kidney area and the whole thing sits where I want it. I can also clamshell it if I want to. The step into it is just faster.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

 

You're going to want to cut off that "trooper wedgie" rectangular tab protruding from the butt plate at the crotch, basically for the same reason you cut off the one on the cod piece.

[theisaac]

I trimmed this last night and did the two male snaps and one on the cod.

 

I'll post the pics as soon as I get back from the hobby shop with paint for ab buttons

[theisaac]

Today I got the ab buttons painted and put on the ab plate. Still waiting for the strip to dry and I'll put the last 4 bottons that that strip and be a little closer to being done.

 

The belt it giving me issues but should be one of the last pieces to finish. Then its just wait for boots to get restocked at tkboots unless someone has a better idea to find some size 10 boots. I also have to look a little closer at Vern's e-11's and holsters to finish up..... and a neckseal..... ya then Im done.

 

Are you ever done?

 

 

Edited May 5, 2012 by theisaac

[tkrestonva[TK]]

Nope. You're never done.

 

It won't affect basic 501st (I don't know of any GML who demands to see photos of a new trooper's crotch) or even EI, but you could cut it further than that. What I mean is cut off the wedgie tab completely, all the way back to that indentation where it starts (if I had MS Paint or something I'd draw a red line) It means you'll have to redo the two snaps at the butt end of the crotch and perhaps make your strap a bit longer, but it comes closer to screen-accurate and will likely be more comfortable to wear.