Maxsteele's New NE Armor Build

[TK5144[TK]]

did you remove the return edge from the inner piece at the elbow? or did it come that way?

 

Regarding the trimming the closure at the back - I am thinking that taking some off of each piece would look better than taking it all off the inner piece.  I am interested to see what others think.

[gazmosis[501st]]

Derek is right. With these pieces, the forearms were made really big. With the overlap you have, you must find a common center line on both pieces at the overlap. If you take material off just one half, your completed connection will be way off center. Just make sure your parts are lined up at the elbow and deal with evening up that return edge when you are done with construction..

[maxsteele[TK]]

did you remove the return edge from the inner piece at the elbow? or did it come that way?

 

Regarding the trimming the closure at the back - I am thinking that taking some off of each piece would look better than taking it all off the inner piece.  I am interested to see what others think.

 

I did remove the return edge from the inner piece, as much research suggested.

 

I can easily take that outer return edge off as well, I had just read that it's suggested to leave the outer edge.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Derek is right. With these pieces, the forearms were made really big. With the overlap you have, you must find a common center line on both pieces at the overlap. If you take material off just one half, your completed connection will be way off center. Just make sure your parts are lined up at the elbow and deal with evening up that return edge when you are done with construction..

 

I am a little concerned with the reaction on seeing the return edge I have on the elbow side.  Those parts are lined up at the elbow right now.  I lined up ends to match up if the return edge was still present at the inside elbow piece, since that's how it would be lined up if the return edge was still there.

 

I'm not sure what it would mean to "even up that return edge" when I'm done with construction.  What would that entail?  Would I be making the return edge thinner?  I'm now thinking I should just cut it off and have no return edges anywhere on my forearms.

[sekullbe]

I'm getting back into working on my NE kit, and your pictures are a big help to me. I've had the same problems sorting out right and left in the arms, but I hope I've got it mostly settled- you can see my pics here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24103-scotts-ne-anh-stunt-build-thread/ . It occurs to me that if I can't tell the difference looking squarely at the parts, how much difference can there really be?

 

You asked about snaps & belt- I've got a mix of 5/8" heavy duty snaps from Michaels and Joanns, and they seem to be compatible. Following the UKG/TK-1650 plan, it looks like ~42 are necessary. My belt is from TKittell on these forums- it's 3" which is Centurion compatible.

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Your second example is the correct way to cut to size.  Trim the parts down to fit you and the pieces will line up better. Once you get the girth sized and trimmed you can tape the parts together and trim all the excess of at the wrist.

The return edge on the outside of the elbo can be trimmed down, just leave a small return. 

Jeez I hope this makes sense.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Your second example is the correct way to cut to size.  Trim the parts down to fit you and the pieces will line up better. Once you get the girth sized and trimmed you can tape the parts together and trim all the excess of at the wrist.

The return edge on the outside of the elbo can be trimmed down, just leave a small return. 

Jeez I hope this makes sense.

 

All of it makes sense.  After looking at 20 different threads, I had figured out about trimming the excess off at the wrist.  The sizing-to-fit is my next nail-biter set of cuts.  

 

I trimmed my right forearm on the front part last night.  Next step for the forearms is the dreaded trim-to-fit step and deciding what to do with the outside return edge at the elbow.

 

I may trim down the outside elbow return edge, or I may just trim it all off.  In order to trim it down, I'll have to do it free-hand, which I'm not so good at.  Removing it all simply requires following the inside groove that the return edge makes with an xacto knife.  That's simple.  

Edited October 1, 2013 by maxsteele

[SCTrooper[TK]]

When you trim to fit, just trim a little less than you marked so if you make a mistake you'll still have some wiggle room.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Yeah, that's a good idea.

 

So if I'm seeing this correctly from my photo, I want the two pieces in back to meet up vertically with where the two pieces in front meet up?  That way it makes the butt joins line up together?  I think that's right.

 

And if I follow the idea of trimming less than marked, going by my second photo, if where I marked became the actual cut lines, I would cut to the left of the number 1 line, and the same distance to the right of the number 2 line?  I think that would leave both pieces longer.

 

Also, I don't think I'm going to have an equal amount taken throughout the whole forearm pieces.  Would it work if I found the cut line on the wrist side, the cut line on the elbow side, and then drew a connector line straight between those two down the length of the forearm, making that my full cut line?  Does that make sense at all?  

[SCTrooper[TK]]

That should work, your talking about a slight taper to the wrist right?

[maxsteele[TK]]

That should work, your talking about a slight taper to the wrist right?

 

I think so?  I would be cutting length-wise at an angle so more (or less) was taken off of one end than at the other.  This is the other part that concerns me doing by myself without having any experience.

 

I might save the cut-to-fit parts of my armor for when I can meet up with a garrison member in person to do it.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Alright, here are shots after cutting the front part of my right forearm to be 7mm on each raised ridge.  Is the right forearm opening more oval than the left?  It seems to fit, but it's certainly a different shape.  Note that all I did was cut the two sides to be 7mm on the top joining piece.

 

 

Here's the view from the elbow side.  I have trimmed down that return edge since this photo was taken.

 

 

 

 

Here's the view from the wrist end

 

 

 

 

This is after I sized it to my arm and taped it down.  Does that shape seem correct?

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what the elbow side looks like fitted to my arm.  Shape look alright?

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what it looks like on my arm (yes, I know I don't have my undershirt on)

 

 

 

 

 

Another large selfie shot showing the wrist end once I've sized it to my wrist

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are several body shots with the forearms on.  I am wearing my undershirt in these shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The usual feedback is, as always, appreciated!

[SCTrooper[TK]]

From what I can tell it looks good, the forearms are very different in shape. Just make sure there not too tight, you want just enough room to get your hand through the wrist opening.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Work is slow, but steady.  I have cut off the return edges at the bottom of all my shin pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

Next up - taking a look at my thighs.  I've started doing research to find out what I should modify on the thigh pieces before sizing.  Here is what the size of the return edge looks like on them

 

 

 

This is the top.  Should I reduce / remove the return edges at the top / bottom for the thighs?

[maxsteele[TK]]

When I was marking the first line on the front of my shins to use for measuring 10mm and then drawing the cut line, it looks like the metal ruler I was using to make the first line cut into the armor at the bend of the edge which gets glued.  It's just enough of an indent that I can feel like if I scrape my fingernail across it.  Does anyone think that will cause an issue as a weak point down the line?

[maxsteele[TK]]

I've started trimming the front of my shins.  Here is the left shin (I think?) with both pieces trimmed 10mm in the front to take a 20mm finishing strip.  I've taped the top and bottom and used magnets to attach the finishing strip to see how it looks.

 

 

 

 

 

There is quite a bit extra to take off on NE pieces.  This is the size of the piece I cut off of the left outer shin piece to get down to 10mm in the front:

 

[SCTrooper[TK]]

Save all the trimmed off abs and use the pieces for cover strips, it will match the armor better.

That is the left shin, by the way.

Edited October 11, 2013 by SCTrooper

[maxsteele[TK]]

Save all the trimmed off abs and use the pieces for cover strips, it will match the armor better.

That is the left shin, by the way.

 

Thanks for the extra abs tip!  The cover strip you see in the photo is from the sheets of abs given to me to cut specifically for cover strips.  It seems to match up pretty well.  I'm at least going to use the extra for inside strips if I need them.  I could always use the extra for the outside as well and use the strips I already cut for the inside.  Also, thanks for confirming I have my pieces lined up correctly.  It took looking at quite a few threads to determine the right match-ups.  The two pieces really go together nicely once you have the front cut right.

 

Here is my right shin

 

 

You can see it at the lower part of the shin where I could cut another 2mm off of the outer piece here.  If I don't, the cut line will be a little off-center.  Right now the finishing strip is lined up with the cut line in the middle of it, and the strip edge on the inner piece is right on the bend, where the strip edge on the outer piece has that 2mm extra.  Definitely more difficult to cut small amounts of abs away.   

 

It probably wouldn't matter too much in the grand scheme of things, but I like to have as much symmetry as I can.

 

After evening up that shin piece, I'll be cutting the front of the thigh pieces to take a 20mm finishing strip.  After that it'll be time to figure out how to cut-to-fit the back parts the biceps, forearms, thighs, and shins.

 

EDIT:

 

Here is a test fit with my undersuit and my boots

 

Edited October 12, 2013 by maxsteele

[maxsteele[TK]]

I've made the front cuts for my thigh pieces.

 

 

Here is the left thigh

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the (slightly blurry) right thigh.  I've attached the 20mm cover strip with magnets for looks.

 

 

 

When I did a quick test fit, I noticed the bottom return edge on these certainly caused some impaired movement.  I haven't seen any threads talking about how to treat the bottom return edge on the thighs.  Thoughts?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Looking good, just round the corners a little will stop them catching

[maxsteele[TK]]

Looking good, just round the corners a little will stop them catching

 

Oh, they're not catching on anything.  It feels like I'm only able to bend my leg about 25 degrees before the thighs stop me.  It could just be because it's not completely fitted to me yet.  So, are all of the return edges supposed to stay at both the top and bottom of the thighs?

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Cover strip stops before the bottom ridge raised section

[gazmosis[501st]]

What Glen said!

Regarding the fit of your forearms: What you have going there is right on. Although the shape is a little different, that's just way it is. What you need to remember, is that once you have the connecting strips installed, the forearms will change shape and become more rounded. If you look at your pics, the loose ends go upward at angles. You will be gluing the ends to a flat surface. As for the elbow side return edge, in the film it varied from a hint of a return edge to a slight, at best, return edge. I would take your dremmel sanding drum and just even things out in those openings.

Your shins look great. You might want to take a little of that inside return edge off. It might make them a little more comfy to wear.

[maxsteele[TK]]

Cover strip stops before the bottom ridge raised section

My pic of having the cover strip on there might be misleading the issue I'm having.  The restrictive movement I'm experiencing isn't related to the cover strip.  I only put that on there for show to see what it would look like once I had the cover strip in place.  It's simply the bottom of the thigh pieces where I'm feeling restrictive movement, and it could very well be because I don't have the backs sized up yet, and extra material in the back is causing the front to sit weird.  I think I'll concern myself about the bottom return edge on the thighs after I have it fitted to my legs.  That's going to be the next step on those.

 

Thanks for the input Steve!  I was able to nicely take down the return edge on the elbow side of my forearms.  They are at a good length now and feel pretty good when wearing them.

 

I'll look to taking down that return edge on the tops of the shins.  I thought they seemed a little thick, but didn't want to start cutting them just yet.

 

It feels like I'm at the point in my build where I'm going to start cutting pieces to fit to my body.  I am fairly certain I am not going to tackle this on my own, and hope I'm able to find some local resources to give some in-person assistance with that.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Depending on height and fitting some cut out a section on the rear of the thigh and calve, this is screen accurate so it is approvable. AS I have long legs I didn't have an issue and to this date not suffered an armor bite, but I am one of the lucky ones

 

You can see the sections removed in the photo below

 

Edited October 15, 2013 by gmrhodes13