rhapsodyred99[TK] Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 (edited) I see what you are saying. This template by billhag is a great way to spot you belt and thigh beltI only mention this because I think they will call you on it for centurion, and your build should go for it.Ill try to find some more pics of a real suit to show what I mean. Right now yours are more squared. Edit found the RS real suit pic where they trace the cut on the thigh belt, knew I had it somewhere I post it just for reference. Edited July 8, 2013 by rhapsodyred99 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Voorhees[501st] Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 (edited) Frank is correct Lee, but other than that, i think your good to go for your standard 501st approval, and probably EIB. My only suggestion, would be to trim the top of the cod piece, it is too tall. the side "swoops" of the cod should go right to the belt..you shouldnt see it start to wrap around. I think it was supposede to be cut at the height of where the center strip on the cod stops. If you relly need the space, if you can at all drop the placement of the belt a little do that. Because the center strip on the cod doesn't go all the way up. Technically the belt height is correct as it should be just under the ab buttons. But if moving it down a bit will hide that that line ends, it will probably be worth it. Looks like you used Chicago screws to hold the belt on...if that's the case you could probably make 2 more holes lower down and try it out...if it looks silly you can just move it back up. But id try trimming the top of the cod first. Edited July 7, 2013 by Darth Voorhees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Frank - Thank you for the trim information. I will get to work on those corrections, it is nice to have the measurements, I wish I found them when I was doing my work on that portion of my build. Regardless, and easy fix. I will make the radius on the thigh ammo pack more pronounced. Honestly the maker who trimmed the kit for me rounded them, so I did not touch them. The corners of the waist belt can be trimmed back easily, a few simple measurements and that should be a piece of cake. Lou - I totally understand what you are pointing out with the cod. I'm not sure if I can fix it the way that you suggest. The RT-MOD belt originally is very exaggerated for the waist belt. So, in an effort to be more accurate I trimmed down it's length. This unfortunately shows the cod wrapping around the sides, and the "swoops don't go right to the belt . I have seen screen captures that vary in the height of the cod and the center line bump, so I feel like I have some room to play with there.. I have also seen a centurion application that was approved with the same cod, but an unmodified belt that hid the sides wrapping around very well along with the drop box placement. I can easily trim the pieces that protrude out to the side, but I am very hesitant to trim and raise the cod piece, since I would have to lower the belt to cover the gap to the point where I think it would be unacceptable. The belt is as high as it can go and it just covers the split between the ab and cod. I've seen so many applications that were held up by improper belt height, I really paid attention to it in my build. I'm not sure how to proceed with the cod at this point. I'll post corrections to the thigh ammo pack and waist belt when I get to them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Voorhees[501st] Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Totally understandable Lee. I had a feeling it may have been the best you could get it. I guess maybe RT-mod should just have that center strip go all the way up to help when taller guys like yourself build his armor. I went into more detail in PM... But again bro, its a great build...i sent in your approval You should get your number soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Well, soon turned out to be real fast 'cause this guy has a TK# now It's hard to put into words how excited I was when I got the e-mail confirming my first choice: TK 81720 and I was so pumped up I felt like I didn't sleep at all last night. Plus I really wanted to correct the thigh ammo pack, the belt and I'm contemplating trimming the cod on the side so you can't see it wrap around. I'm afraid to cut "swoops" up both sides of the cod right now, and it is hard for me to imagine if it would look good or not. So, since I wanted to get some sleep tonight...I got started on the corrections so my mind doesn't race so much and I get some shut eye. Thigh ammo pack redo I remember reading about this tip a while ago, but I didn't use it since the thigh ammo pack was rounded when it arrived (just not enough though) I can see the difference, hope you can too. First I grabbed a can of my wife's hairspray LIned it up on the thigh ammo pack to get a nicer curve Traced it Cut, sanded smooth then repeat Ok, time for bed. Hopefully I'll get to the belt tomorrow, then I'll worry about the cod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhapsodyred99[TK] Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-42779[501st] Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Congrats on getting your TKID! I couldn't wait to get mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clamps[TK] Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Congrats on approval TK 81720! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Thanks for the congrats Tony and Charles I really appreciate the support. I really love the 501st access too, so many cool things going on that I had no clue about! I felt really guilty about my mistakes initially especially since people may look at my build to guide there own. In hindsight, I'm glad both of the corrections are relatively easy and shouldn't cause anyone major grief. I sincerely want to thank Frank again for pointing out these corrections, and give a really big thanks to Billhag for the original template. I know I've used other Billhag guides, this is another great one. Main waist belt redo Measured my new cut lines to trim off a half inch corner, and viola!, much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhapsodyred99[TK] Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Yes that looks much better! No worries! We are all about troopers helping troopers. Grats on your tk number, just remember to help someone else out if they need it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Thanks for the help Frank! I've been helping people as I've been going along through my build, and answered quite a few PM's along the way. I am an educator so I love helping people to begin with...so combine what I naturally do for a living and my love of Star Wars and that is a great combo. So many here on FISD have helped me and my work is really an accumulation of their help and effort. You have to pay it forward to others, it just makes sense. "Troopers helping Troopers" is a great motto. I'm working on trimming my cod side piece, then I'll suit up again and go for EIB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Ok. Cod sides trimmed and snap plates relocated. Now I just need to suit up to get some updated pics, and I will submit for EIB. Then I'll start painting my bucket and go for Centurion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperJesse[TK] Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Looks great man! Just a quick question, how do you know which piece goes up or down for the back piece below the upper back? Not sure what its called. To me it looks like it can either be up or down same difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperTK460 Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 I need HELP................. Have a kit from troopergear and the helmet is a 3 piece can't find anything on how to cut it and assemble it correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 Jesse. Thanks for the compliment To answer your question: You are talking about the kidney plate and I struggled with which was the top and which was the bottom. I found no noticeable difference either way, so I just put an up arrow on the inside to stop struggling with the decision. It also helped tremendously as I created snaps and attached the other pieces to avoid confusion or unnecessary debate in my head. Essentially I flipped a coin and went with it. I'm not sure if there is a definitive top or bottom to the kidney plate with other armor types, this is just my experience with RT-Mod armor. Ivan. Unfortunately I've never heard of troopergear or a helmet that has 3 piece construction. I even did a google search and found nothing. Maybe you can raise the issue under the hard armor forum. Sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swmand4 Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 Jesse. Thanks for the compliment To answer your question: You are talking about the kidney plate and I struggled with which was the top and which was the bottom. I found no noticeable difference either way, so I just put an up arrow on the inside to stop struggling with the decision. It also helped tremendously as I created snaps and attached the other pieces to avoid confusion or unnecessary debate in my head. Essentially I flipped a coin and went with it. I'm not sure if there is a definitive top or bottom to the kidney plate with other armor types, this is just my experience with RT-Mod armor. That's more or less what I did. I managed to convince myself one side had a slight curve outward and I called it the butt/down side. Although, I'm fairly certain that was an optical illusion from staring at it for so long trying to figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Change of plans... Well, as I was about to take more pictures for EIB, my right side shoulder bridge came off the chest plate. So, I am in the process of putting a heck of a lot of E6000 on it so that doesn't happen again. Plus, I want to give it a good 48hrs. to cure to make sure it stays put. I think the added stress of carrying the entire armor from the shoulders with the elastic holding it down in the back was a little too stressful. Anyway, I started to paint my bucket. I'm trying this masking film I picked up at a hobby store. You brush it on and it dries. I am gently scoring along the sides of the decals, then I plan on removing the decals and painting the leftover space. We shall see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 I am really diggin' these paint markers I got. I never took an art class, let alone painted anything besides a wall and I am pretty happy so far. This model mask stuff I got seems pretty good with very little if any bleed through. I only wish I tried it on my ab buttons, but those are pretty easy to touch up. Bids CD sticker tip is pretty hard to pass up too, and I happen to get the CD labels rather easily. Here is a shot of the finished frown and vocoder. Plus prep work for the tube stripes. I model masked the decals, removed (painstakingly I might add) the model mask and decals with a very sharp exacto blade (very little pressure, but sharp is key so you don't dig into the plastic) Then a little white paint so hopefully after drying the blue tube stripes come out looking sharp and tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Aloha[Admin] Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 That RT vocoder is a real pain in the butt to paint. Not at all as defined and sharp as most helmets. You did a great job considering what you had to work with. I can't wait to see how your tube stripes come out! My RT shoulder bridges kept coming off no matter how much I roughed up the chest plate. There just isn't a lot of plastic of the shoulder bridge touching the chest plate to glue. If I was more patient I would have e-6000 some filler under the front part of the bridge to give more surface area to contact the chest plate. I was thinking some nylon webbing maybe. Instead I used CA glue and made a big mess of it if you look closely at my chest plate. -Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swmand4 Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 My RT shoulder bridges kept coming off no matter how much I roughed up the chest plate. There just isn't a lot of plastic of the shoulder bridge touching the chest plate to glue. If I was more patient I would have e-6000 some filler under the front part of the bridge to give more surface area to contact the chest plate. I was thinking some nylon webbing maybe. Instead I used CA glue and made a big mess of it if you look closely at my chest plate. -Eric I glued canvas webbing between the bridge and the chest plate. Most of the burden is on the canvas so it feels like a nice and solid connection, with no indication that's what was done. I used E-6000 for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Eric - thanks for the compliment on the vocoder. I hope my first shot at the tube stripes are up to expectations. I have a pretty meticulous eye, and going from decals to hand painting I am trying to get things as perfect as I can. Trying to start with the easy stuff in my opinion. I think the tears and rear traps are really going to test my skills. Those thin rectangular lines are going to mess with my head, but having the paint markers really has made things easier. I wish the marker came in french blue though Here are the tube stripes... Eric and Sean - I like both ideas with regard to the shoulder bridges. I think my main problem wasn't only the lack of a solid connection, but unnecessary stress from carrying the armor by the shoulders and my thin elastic holding the bridges down was too tight. I plan on trying to go a little looser, and perhaps affix the thin elastic to the shoulder elastic to keep them in place, but not wrenched down so tight. If they fail on me again, I might go with webbing or canvas underneath. Perhaps even boil them in water to give them more of a bend down on the back plate. I feel like I've given them a solid redo with plenty of E6000, but like Eric said, there is not a lot of surface area to adhere to the chest plate to begin with. We shall see after the next photo shoot and future troops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Well, it has been a heck of a heat wave here in NY. So, I haven't spent too much time in my garage without AC to paint. I did get the other tube stripes done and I'm prepping the tears and traps as we speak. Hopefully the heat wave will break soon and I'll get more work done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 Almost there... So, I am really close to being done with painting my bucket. All I have left to do is the rear traps with the lines. I had a bunch of time this weekend to get the tears, ear bumps and side traps done. After I finish, I'll reward myself and get my electronics ordered. I'll get some new pictures taken then apply for EIB and then Centurion. I am optimistic with the feedback I've gotten here I shouldn't have any problems with those applications. Right side done Left side done I've been using my decals as stencils along with the model mask which is awesome (very little, if any bleed through). I used some old labels from staples and cut the fine lines out with an exacto blade. I'll put the stencil on the back traps, paint my lines and then touch up anywhere needed. You can see the model mask on the bucket on the rear traps. I left the black line, which I will remove and paint the exposed white portion. It is key to use a sharp exacto blade (new is best) with very little pressure to cut through the model mask and the decals. Takes a bit of getting used to, but works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 Traps are done...Now I just have to replace the frown screen and install my s-trim and I should be good to go. Now I can treat myself to electronics, static burst here I come! Decal/stencil in place... Finished rear traps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmm7375[TK] Posted July 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2013 Alright. Had some new photos taken and I am going to submit for EIB and hopefully Centurion soon after...wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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