Lostin's ESB - [AM] build

[lostin480]

Armor: AM lite (no helmet)

Helmet: RT-MOD

Belt: TKittell

Neck seal: Darman

Shoes: TK shoes

 

Special thanks to - LadyInWhite for answering my mass PMs.

 

Tools used:

 

Glue - CA glue / E6000

Power tools - Drill / Dremel (awesome for sanding and cutting)

Sanding bars from Home Depot

Snaps

Hammer

Two sets of 22 bundle clamps

Vinyl siding for butt joint backing (bonded really well with ABS and very stiff)

Ruler and Tsquare

Exacto blade

 

Here is the results - keep in mind that in these pictures was the first fitting - the butt was cut down and trimmed to get rid of dipper but and my shoulders were reversed (wrong sides).

I'm also missing the O2 Cannister and holster - both pending.

 

 

The belt harness didn't work well for me - I am going to switch to hockey suspenders

 

 

Edited November 5, 2012 by lostin480

[lostin480]

 

[LadyInWhite[TK]]

Well! There you go! I had no idea you were this far along

 

I can't see anything blatantly wrong with anything, just a few tweaks to tidy up:

• check the blue on your ab buttons - is it about the same blue as on your tube stripes? it might be the lighting but they look light grey or something
  
• shoulder bells can be moved forward a bit - it's mostly my personal opinion but it seems you have less black in back than in front. Lots of ways to do this.
  
• on your forearms, at the top/elbow part, I'd hate to steer you wrong but I think you can tailor the curve from the U-shape to the back piece so that those corners are less pointy
  
• your hand plates seem pretty huge... could probably trim those down a tad, unfortunately I don't know ESB particulars so check with other guys on that detail
  

The cover strips look good. Are they on the shins too? It's hard to tell. That RT lid looks pretty nice, too!

 

I bet you are uber excited to be wearing that suit already!

[theisaac]

Looks good man, from another AM owner I know how hard it is to put together! I would suggest you trim down the return edge on the back of the thighs where you cut them. Make it a more gradual transition from no return edge to the return edge. This is just to make sure it doesnt crack and start a tear. There can be some stress on it. I would get feedback from an ESB expert though to make sure Im not steering you wrong. Its not a build issue just a trooping issue.

 

Great job man!

[TKRalf[TK]]

Looking good so far. A few tips:

 

1. To close the shoulder bells try shortening the strap from the shoulder to the shoulder bells substantially.

2. Tuck in that butt! (Shortening strap between butt and ab helps.

3. Yes the AM ESB handplates are ginourmous. You can either get a new pair (check the for sale threads some people sell and make some good ones) or you can also do what I did with mine is to trim them. Look at a pair of ESB hand guards up close and pencil out an outline. The ESB handplates should be sized to your hands. Also you might have to heat bend them a bit so that they aren't so flat. I'll post up some pics of mine when I get back from work.

[TKRalf[TK]]

Sorry for the late reply but this is how I modified my AM ESB handplates. As I mentioned before, you need to trim them so they follow the contours of the hand more. Narrower around the wrists and then expand to cover the back of your hand.

 

You may need to heat bend them inward as you trim so that they won't be so flat. Once you bend them you'll notice you will have to trim them again to fit your hand better.

 

Also follow reference pics to the original handplates to get a general idea of how they're supposed to look.