boomshakra[TK] Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what I came home to after spending a nice morning with my kiddos at Take Your Daughter to the Range Day... I dropped them off and then started driving around the neighborhood looking for a USPS truck. Spotted one, flagged the driver down...and it wasn't my delivery person. She tried to call the one who had my box, but she wasn't answering. The driver I did stop told me where else the route would cover, so off I went (after leaving my cell phone #). Phone rings. "I can be at your house in 3 minutes." WOOT!!!!!! Signed for it and carried my beautiful brown box inside With bated breath...I opened it Stoked doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. I started removing the contents piece by piece. My daughter reached in to pull out my helmet so I had to 'gently' ask her to cease & desist....this is DADDY's toy! I looked at the opening to the helmet...oh, shucks...is my head going to fit through that or will I have to trim it first? Sideways, snagged on both ears, it fits! It will need to be trimmed - it hits up against my adams' apple in the front...might need to put in thinner padding on the top because it sits a bit high... Now...after all this waiting, reading, weapon building...what the hell do I do now? Unfortunately, I probably won't begin cutting until tonight at the earliest. In the mean time I'll be hitting up the local Squad guys & see what their schedules are like coming up. Comiccon in San Antonio is weekend after next...I may or may not be ready by then, and I'm not holding myself to being able to troop there. I want the build to be 501st approved on the first try, hopefully up to EIB and Centurion from the get-go. Lots of pictures and requests for help on the way! Thank all of you in advance for any assistance you can offer me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazmosis[501st] Posted June 9, 2012 Report Share Posted June 9, 2012 Read several build threads first and decide which build route you want to go with. There are a butt ton of build threads that will answer most any question you may have. Ask first=no bad mistakes Good luck!!!! BTW...which armor is this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 It is RT-MOD armor - very nice stuff. Yeah, i'm just having that "beginners' first cut" anxiety...i'm sure it will go away. I will probably work on getting the return edges removed on the forearms first...little by little, that's how the armor goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigironvault Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Nice one Jason! Looking forward to your build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kade[TK] Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Yeah, i'm just having that "beginners' first cut" anxiety...i'm sure it will go away. I will probably work on getting the return edges removed on the forearms first...little by little, that's how the armor goes I got that too it took me ages and much measuring, re-measuring, checking the forums, checking the forums again, looking at the CRL etc before I made the first cut, but it does get easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Ok, no cutting/gluing/sanding tonight, but the blue tape is out & I'm looking at the arms. I'll be removing the return edge at the front of the forearms, and it would appear that I'm going to need to butt join/cover strip (15mm, right?) the top, straighten up the bottom edge & velcro the bottom (to allow my hands through and close after) and then even up the elbow crook ends on the sides - pictures would help that description, so I'll be buying a card reader for my computer so I can post them going forward. For the biceps, I taped them overlapped and have more than enough room to flex and move under there, so I will probably just overlap/glue those for the time being. If I hulk out in the future, I'll pull them apart and butt-join them. Shoulders - I was kind of surprised to read in the tutoral that you leave the bottom return edge - is that mostly for cosmetics/screen-accuracy? It seems that they chaff up against the biceps. They need to be cleaned up along the top/sides with sandpaper. I held off on buying black elastic until now - will get some tomorrow. Will I need to buy a full 15 yard roll of it? Hancock sells the roll for $41.25, which i'm willing to buy that much, but if I don't need it I'm happy to take suggestions on how much would be a good starting length to have on-hand if I can just get less. I was also thinking about getting some 1" black weather strip to put along the inside of the wrist of the forearm, for comfort. I think it would be invisible when wearing gloves, but concerned it might not be kosher for Centurion. Another thing I was thinking about doing between getting started on my arms was gluing snap plates on the inside of the ab/cod/butt/kidney where they will be connecting to each other and the chest & backplate (realizing that those might need to be trimmed before gluing anything). While I'm anxious to get little things like that out of the way, I guess I should wait to see if return edges on those parts need to be trimmed first? I think that is all I will try to tackle at first. It would be nice if everything already fit 'just right' and just glue, glue-snap, snap and be done with it...but I guess it would be missing most of the fun of the build, wouldn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Oh, one last thing - an appeal to anyone who has some spare button covers for the belt...my belt didn't come with any and I was planning on using snaps to secure it to the canvas belt...I don't think gluing the female part of the snap to the inside of the belt would last long, but I suppose I could go that route and also use velcro to attach the belt to the canvas. But, if anyone has some spares, I'll be happy to buy them from you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Ok, one last, last thing...here are a couple of pictures. Front side (taped) Have a bit to trim on the sides of ab/cod. Is everything sitting about where it should in front? I'm asking because... The back feels like that's where it should be, but there is a lot of real estate between it & my kidney plate. The kidney/ab are lined up with each other at the top on the sides. Is the kidney sitting too low? I should have tucked in the shirt & taken side shots - will try that tomorrow and do pix while my biceps/forearms are drying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 (edited) Ok - ignore the pictures above. I taped together the upper body and feel better about the kidney & butt. The cod and back are going to need some trimming, along with the ab/kidney - they overlap each other by at least 1" on each piece. Front side: Back side: I also have overlap glued the biceps (after sanding them down a bit) and removed the return edges on both forearms. Tonight I'm going to cut an 8mm guide strip so I can cut down the top of the forearms and maybe get them glued together as well - at least an inside reinforcement strip so connecting them will be a bit easier. I bought 40 rare earth magnets and I think all of them will be in use tonight! I am feeling a bit better about cutting stuff now - although all i have cut so far is a couple of 2mm tabs off the forearms I forgot to get a card reader while I was out buying elastic, so no pics from my real camera till tomorrow of the arms. On the elastic note, I bought 1" black elastic, but all they had was the ribbed style, not the knit. I am hoping that that won't be a problem...I'll keep looking since I have a bit of time until I will need that. Edited June 10, 2012 by boomshakra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrawns_Drycleaner Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Looking forward to following your progress on this! I just put in my order with Rob a week ago and the wait is killing me already. How tall are you if you don't mind me asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrawns_Drycleaner Posted June 10, 2012 Report Share Posted June 10, 2012 Also, did it ship with a vynil or fabric belt?? Or did it ship with one at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hello Aaron - I'm 6'3" - just inside the guideline measurements Rob has for his suit. It didn't ship with a vinyl or fabric belt, but I think it used to ship with a pleather one, which might be ok for 501st certification, but not for EIB/Centurion. The old one he used to ship (or still does - I didn't get one) apparently was not of the highest quality, or so I understand from other RT-MOD build threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrawns_Drycleaner Posted June 11, 2012 Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 Oh ok, ya I saw that in Darth Alohas build and was just wanting to check before I put an order through on Trooperbay for the fabric one. I'm same height as you , and roughly the same build from the looks of it, will there be a lot of trimming and alteration for the slimmer/taller trooper from your first glances with the RT? looking forward to more pictures of the build!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 (edited) Hey Aaron - yes, the abs, kidney & cod all need to be trimmed. The abs & kidney need about 1" taken off and the cod needs to be slimmed slightly. I was walking upstairs and had to do so slightly bowlegged. I expect to have to trim a bit more once I have the thighs on. So I overlapped on one side of each of the biceps: Yes, that is a Mandolorian helmet in the back corner - a side project that I will cover in another build thread when I can get back to it. My TK build trumps that Oops...that's going to be fun to pry off of my workbench! removed all of the return edge on the end of the forearms: started on coverstrips for the forearm: I'm just going to take of 8mm on the upper side of each and butt join/cover strip I realized after I cut this one that I had cut 1/8" instead of 8mm...so I went back and re-cut to the proper width. Cutting strips is challenging to me, unfortunately. Even when I clamp the straight edge on top of the plastic to use as a guide, i'm cutting some slight 'waves'... I am going to see if there is a local plastic fabrication shop that I can go to and get all the cover strips I will need cut so they will all be even. I haven't cut the forearms yet, but if I overlap them they are just about the amount I would trim if I butt-join them...i'm starting to think about just doing that instead of cutting and velcro the bottoms. I am guessing that it will be up to my GML to approve it if I just do overlaps where the armor pieces already fit? It would save me a lot of grief if they all fit that way, and also speed up the build tremendously I'll shoot him an email to check on that. One question I have is about cutting the ab/kidney, and I'll clarify with pictures later if I don't explain it clearly enough here: if I set the pieces standing up, I will be cutting perpendicular, correct? I noticed that there is a slight angle to them on the edges, and if I were to use that as my guide the ab could be tilting slightly forward at the top. Of course I'm asking this before I look at any screencaps that might answer my own question, but if anyone could answer this before I do I'd appreciate it! Edited June 11, 2012 by boomshakra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkrestonva[TK] Posted June 12, 2012 Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 I held off on buying black elastic until now - will get some tomorrow. Will I need to buy a full 15 yard roll of it? Hancock sells the roll for $41.25, which i'm willing to buy that much, but if I don't need it I'm happy to take suggestions on how much would be a good starting length to have on-hand if I can just get less. 15 yards (45 feet) is a sh*tt0n of elastic, and I can't see you needing nearly that much. Having said that, getting the strapping dialed in is a trial-and-error process, and if you're like most of us you'll redo the straps over and over until you find the right length for each strap - which reminds me, you'll need plenty of snaps as well. So I'd say get maybe a third to half a roll (15 ft - 23 ft). Regardless, it's better to have more than what you need on hand and avoid the hassle of running back and forth to the fabric store, than to run out at an inopportune time and have to interrupt your build to make a supply run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 Thanks - the more I thought about it I realized a full roll would be overkill - and they were limited on what they had left, so I got their last 4 yds...good enough to start with. I have about 50 snaps already, the female sides made into snap plates...but will probably pick up a couple of extra packs to be on the safe side. I glued the other side of the biceps and one side of the forarms yesterday, will apply velcro to the other side tonight. So far I have just done overlap construction as it does fit that way, but leaves me the option to tear it back down & butt join it. I am thinking i'll velcro/tape the arms tonight and snap some pictures for feedback. The shoulder bells might need to be trimmed back a bit, even with my long arms. Rob supplied a bunch of velcro with the kit I can use to put it together so I don't have to get into the good stuff I have for later in the build. I did not purchase lexan scissors when I was gathering tools/parts for my build - they should be available at hobby shops, right? The snips I have at home murder ABS...tried cutting on a piece of scrap and it wasn't pretty. I'll tape the upper body together again tonight and take some side view pictures. When I did it the other night it felt like the back plate will need to be cut back a bit where it goes under my arm, but I might not have had it in the right spot on my back (home alone, needed and extra set of hands...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 (edited) Quick update - I am terrible about documenting my build with pictures, but they will be coming once I start fitting in earnest Besides, magnet placement and blue tape are not that exciting. For the most part my magnets have been tied up in gluing the shins or snap plates inside the torso...I bought 40 and wish I had 80, a sentiment I echo from many build threads I have perused. Here's the state of the build: Forearms and biceps - glued and velcro'd (forearm underside) Shoulder bells - glued in elastic to hold bicep Handguard that came with kit - elastic wrist and hair tie for middle finger glued Shins - glued and velcro'd (in back). I did have to trim just a little bit on each for the overlap (going that route for now as everything fits just fine that way!) 2 snaps in buttplate crotch area - done Brad in codpiece - done - glued a snap plate over the top of it to kind of help hold it in place. I might have to reposition the snap plate later Snap plates along the center line of butt, kidney, cod, ab (lower edge) - done. I will lay out the armor and glue the snap plates left/right of center snap probably tomorrow night - most of my magnets will be in use tonight when I glue the front of my thighs. Snap plates at top of back and chest - glued Tonight is thigh gluing (front) - I'll need to trim a bit to get the overlap lined up. Once those are glued I will break out the blue tape, put my boots/shins on, and start in with pictures again for advice on trimming the back side. I'm not sure if overlap will work on the back side - my thighs have slimmed down over the years so I think that the thigh pieces will be too big, but we'll see. I made 4 elastic snap plates so I can put together the torso along the center line for fitting. I'll have to tape the chest/ab since I haven't put any snap plates along the top of ab/bottom of chest. I'll probably put together the 2 white ones for attaching the back/chest so I can work on trimming the upper body. I know for sure the kidney and ab will need to be cut along the sides, and I think that the back will need to be trimmed a bit where it comes in around my ribs/underarm. My photographer will be back tonight so I can get pictures of that for ya'll's feedback. Over the weekend I'll borrow a heat gun so I can start shaping the belt and thigh battery pack. Does anyone have 3 spare button covers for the belt? If not I can just cut some squares, heat it up with the heat gun and put a indentation in the middle on my own... I think that is about where everything is for now. The ab came with some plastic buttons installed, but I might pop those out for the metal ones I have painted. If I have any magnets available I'll glue the elastic strip between the bicep & forearms Edited June 14, 2012 by boomshakra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 (edited) Ok, thighs trimmed and front side glued - took all of my magnets to do so, but they are setting. I also glued the sniper plate, taking Darth Aloha's advice to 'clamp the poop' out of it. I'll also heed his advice to let it cure at least 48 hours, so no leg adjustments till the weekend, which is fine. I made the strap for the chest/back, but haven't attached the shoulder bells to anything. The cod/butt are also attached by elastic/snaps. My photographer is running late, so I thought i'd see if I could get some pictures by myself using my camera phone, since I STILL haven't picked up a card reader for my good camera...this weekend I should be able to get some better shots with her assistance and more snap plates installed, as you can see armor sticking out all over the place in the (terrible) pictures below: With a touch-screen phone I had to leave one glove off to take pictures... In the last picture I was getting frustrated with not keeping everything tucked under my belt, so I taped my cod/butt... My shoulder bells are just taped to the elastic for the chest/back. I'm not sure if you can see if my back needs to be trimmed around the arm hole or not. Let me also say that I only had the center snap plate installed on all pieces (except the chest, hence the tape), so that is why my butt/kidney/cod are sticking out when I could not get them tucked under the belt. I was pleased that I could put my helmet on/off without too much difficulty and no armor bite on my arms. I also need to glue the elastic between the bicep and forearm - my magnets will be freed up tomorrow night, so that and more snap plates will be the next part of the build. I can't really do much with the legs except tape the thighs in the back to see how they fit - I expect they will need to be trimmed. Fun stuff, but I'm getting a little antsy to finish it off... Stay tuned, more to come soon! Edited June 15, 2012 by boomshakra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barricade[501st] Posted June 15, 2012 Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 Dude, can u look any happier? So far so good bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 I'm in a holding pattern once again with my build...this time for a major sunburn on my neck/shoulders - my upper body armor is snap plated & ready for some trimming/adjustments...but it is PAINFUL to wear my underarmor shirt so it will be a day or two until I can get that done & post pictures for guidance and feedback. I did get the backs of the thighs glued and decided to let them cure another day (along with the sniper plate on the left shin). I am planning to do a 'hidden garter' system to hold the thighs up. I'll have the elastic hanging from a belt and then run the garters through some slits cut at the top of the thighs in my under armor bottoms. The slits will be covered by the top of the thighs so the snap plates will be about 3/4 of the way up the inside of the thigh. I think it sounds good in theory, but we'll see how it turns out. I need to stop by a seamstress/alteration shop to get the slits cut & stitched. I'm feeling good about the build and need to get the thermal detonator and belt assembled. I'm projecting a weekend 'completion' date...but it won't be ready for ComicCon in San Antonio - the cod will need to be trimmed and I don't know by how much until I can wear it with the thighs attached, which has to wait for the garters to be put together. It's an endless cycle of "I'll do this, but have to wait for this to be done first, and...". Pics will be coming...once my neck doesn't feel like it had a belt sander run over it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 No pictures again - my photographer was using my camera in 'panorama' mode...so nothing usable came out. What I did discover is that some of my snap plates weren't hammered down all the way, so connecting wasn't happening in some spots. So, spent time rectifying that and calculating how many more snap plates I'll need to complete this build. I decided I'm going to use velcro while doing the fitting, specifically in the shoulder bell connnections, both to the bicep and where it connects to the chest/back strap, this way I can nail down where it should go for the best fit before gluing snap plates. I'll also do this when adjusting the thighs to make sure they will be in the right postion. I did get the TD put together, and the belt is also assembled - just needs the holster attached. The elastic I glued to the backs of the drop boxes are attached to the belt with velcro - I am rivet-gun impaired and once I figure out how to use that they'll be permanently attached. The holster will use snaps to attach to the belt. One other note about the belt - the one that came with the kit didn't come with button covers, and the middle one is smaller than the ones on the l/r sides, so I'm not sure what to do about covering that. For now I'm using snap plates glued to the back to attach to the canvas belt. I cross-posted on another thread that was a question about trimming the kidney. My kidney/ab overlap, so something will need to be trimmed. As I understand it, the edge of the kidney that connects to the ab should align with the edge of the butt plate, correct? So, if they do overlap, I should trim from the ab plate, right? I'm going into a busy weekend, so I don't think that i'll have much time to work on my armor. I do have plenty of questions about how to go about the fitting, but they will all need pictures to go along with them...I'm kind of frustrated at myself for not providing them up until now so I can get feedback from ya'll. It's a stage of the build where everything is assembed...but now needs to all fit together and it is a bit overwhelming for me since everything up until now went so smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 One other thing I wanted to ask is for advice about gluing the shoulder straps to the chest. I thought the sniper plate was challenging, that was nothing compared to getting those aligned! I've already had to tear one off & re-glue it to get them some what symmetrical. Is there an advised way to get these on symetrically, or is it something I have to play with to get right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 Ok, made some progress tonight & actually documented it with pictures. I tried to finish off the little details on the upper body - mainly trimming and finishing off the snap plates along with the details necessary for EIB/Centurion Hole for the right side snap - on the holes I made for this & the split rivets I used my exacto knife to make the pilot holes. I did this primarily because I was afraid of the tip of the drill bit slipping and making a(ll) the holes off-center (see: my Doopys Hasbro build ) Holes marked for split rivets: One down, 3 to go: I couldn't find a tutoral on installing the split rivets and info I found on-line used specially designed tools, so I was on my own. I got the split started by putting a flat blade screwdriver and moving it back & forth. Once there was a little spread, I used two needle-nose pliers (one pair was right-angle) to spread them further. Then I used pliers to squeeze the head of the rivet against the splits to get it as flat as I could. Finally, I used a hammer to bang them the rest of the way down, with a piece of scrap ABS between the rivet & my work bench. Obviously, all of them got scratched up by the pliers & will need repainting. Finished ab plate: I repeated the process on the kidney plate, and then started gluing snap plates. I wasn't paying attention to the proximity of the ab and kidney...and this was the result: can you say 'sticky situation'? After an expletive-filled rant, I was able to get everything separated and the magnets back into place. When I was measuring to see how much of my ab to trim, I noticed that my chest was riding high, so I moved the snap plates a bit to see if that would help: So, tomorrow when the snap plates are done I'll see about making final adjustments on the upper body. If I can get a belt at some point over the weekend I'll be starting on the lower body. Speaking of lower body, here's my sniper plate: And the battery pack on the thigh. I have drilled the holes for the split rivets on that as well but haven't installed them yet. It had been curing for 48 hours, but when i removed the clamps i noticed a gap on one side, so I squirted more E6000 into it & re-clamped: I was at a low point in my build last night but all of the progress I made today helped me out tremendously . I realize that I have a lot left to do and tweak and there are more challenges ahead, but it's getting closer to submission standards every day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomshakra[TK] Posted June 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 Ah, the ups & downs of armor building. Today, while doing my preliminary fitting of the legs, I learned a very important lesson: no matter how well the build is going, there is no excuse for gluing before you measure & fit. I figured that since the overlap construction was working so well on the arms that I should just go ahead & do the legs and adjust afterwards...very, very bad idea. While I used to have some pretty-well developed quads from years of cycling, since I have ceased to do that & just run instead, the muscle mass has been replaced with lean muscle from running. Same for my glutes, as you will see below. Well, maybe that won't be so bad if I add some padding, let's see what everything looks like when it's on my body: Yes, I have no posterior side: There is a lot of space showing between the calf & thigh, both of which will be trimmed a bit for comfort/ability to sit. The calves were biting pretty hard up top. The thighs are sitting pretty high in the first full frontal pic, so I pushed them down in the two below - which looks better? I haven't attached them to my garters yet, and have a plan to make them adjustable to dial in the proper fit: So, I pulled them apart in the back, fitted & taped them to a proper fit, and here's what the trimming is going to look like: So much for using all-overlap construction. The molded overlaps will have to go and then it will be straight-edge to straight edge followed by a cover strip, right? If I do that and happen to build up my thighs later in life, would I be able to just use shims & a wider cover strip, or would I be looking at purchasing new r/l thighs? Bummer, dude - oh, well - nothing that can't be fixed. I had a small hope I'd be finishing up this weekend, but it doesn't look that way at all. It actually measures about 3" total, so I would trim about 1.5" from each side? I was thinking maybe 1.25, just to be on the safe. (that is Thelma, my wife's Basset in the background holding that dog bed to the floor & keeping the closet door shut ) Moving on, I designed an adjustable belt using my left over webbing I bought for snap plates. I bought some buckles & triglides from REI: A quick cut and now I have a belt that is adjustable for added girth (around the holidays, after a pizza buffet lunch, etc.). I'm going to loop the garters over the top of the belt and for adjustment purposes use the extra triglides to move them up & down to get the thighs in proper position. So, that's the state of the build. Fit them again, measure a couple of times, trim & glue...and remember to SLOW DOWN and do it right the first time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DudeSidious Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 your making great progress. looking good so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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