TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 And have been working on the strap system. I don't have a pic of the harness just yet, but a "Thanks" goes out to Osothebear for his pics and advise. I doubled up the strap to give a bit more support, but the pics don't show it very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 And the thermal detonator: Could not find 1" Aluminium 1/16 thick bands from any where around so I had to use 1 1/4 angled and cut it down. The grizzly saw came in handy, but I had to be careful with the Al chips flying back and went nice and slow. And of course, used the proper PPE to prevent eye injuries. Actually it probably would be a good idea to use a face shield. Just an FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 The bends were pretty easily done with a kerosene shop heater, a good vise, leather gloves, and a 2' section of RR iron. Pretty happy with how they turned out. After they came out of the shop, 2 small sections of white velcro were attached to the back of the clips to prevent armor scratching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 The canvas portion of the belt was "home made" from white canvas from a local fabric store. The ammo pack was attached to the belt with heavy duty snaps and the covers glued on with Zap a gap. Closer view... And here is the back side showing the ammo pack attachment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 And thanks to Walt for the TK kids kit! Here is a pic of the kids helmet beside the newer ATA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Almost forgot. Thanks to Darman in the metropolis of JAX for the holster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Looking good but your drop box elastic looks a little wide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The5thHorseman[TK] Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 I think i wouldn't bother too much about the strap... I mean, the strapping method used isn't accurate so why bother with something like correct strap width. The drop boxes are aligned with the end of the belt, just under the ammo ABS belt; it's better than many! I would just change those plastic covers for full inner drop boxes. The rest looks good so keep it up like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted February 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks for the input! The strap width would be easy to change out, so no prob on that. In reference to glen's pic, my inner boxes look a bit weak compared to the STD. Will change both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehcaveman Posted February 23, 2014 Report Share Posted February 23, 2014 And thanks to Walt for the TK kids kit! Here is a pic of the kids helmet beside the newer ATA. How much did the kid tk lid run you? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Ok I think I got the drop box issue corrected. Following Germain's tutorial, I made some frames out of some scrap ATA plastic and cut a larger peice for a back cover. After cutting the back down to size, the best I could.... The backs were glued to the frame and that was glued to the inside of the drop box and clamped. I'm not that happy with the gap that I left... Will this be an issue with an Expert or Cent. submission later on??? This is a part that will not be seen, but its still there. Should I take some ATA ABS paste and fill the gaps in and sand down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Off on a tangent note, started back on the helmet for this build. The lens support was done the same way as the previous helmet. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24147-new-ata-helmet-build-and-lessons-learned/page-2#entry334945 Nothing really new and exciting to show on this step, so I'll skip putting up pick of this. Painted all the ears at the same time (kids helmet build also). Here are a few pics from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Painted the teeth and the vicoder... Had ordered some "traps and Tears" stickers for the first ATA helmet so those were used as templates to get a good outside edge. Had to clean up the edges a bit, but they turned out good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Note from post #38. Had to paint the tears by hand because using the old sticker extras was impossible to lay down and not have jagged edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 The dreaded ears went on very well and had smaller gaps than the last helmet. Using a 80 grit sponge sanding block allowed to get a good curve shape to sand with. Still room for improvement, but happy with the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The5thHorseman[TK] Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Which gap are you talking about on the drop boxes? I don't see any problem. All the paintjob looks good! There's only the right end of this frown that i would taper more: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Right side frown, Will do! The right side is a bit too rounded. The gap in the inner drop boxes bugged me for some reason. I know it will most likely never be seen, but I know its there. Would the gap hinder any future submissions? OR if I do go ahead and past the gap, sand, and smooth would it still be Centerion worthy? Maybe I should just let it be.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Finished up the painting on the bucket along with the right side frown tappering. Here's the pics... The tear, trap, and tube stripes were painted by help of Trooperbay stencils which worked out great. In the back shot of the helmet you'll probably notice that the S-trim came up alittle short. I may have cut too much, but the helmet goes on better. I'll fit a spare peice of S-trim before 501st submission. Still attempting to find a good way of padding the helmets. Tried knee pad inserts and if my head was just a bit smaller that would be the way to go. I used a construction helmet inside rig from trooper bay on the 1st helmet and it seemed a bit on the small side. So it looks like the plain jane foam padding may be the next logical choice. Some felt material was spray glued on a foam sheet this morning and will probably be put in sometime over the weekend. These helmet builds are about as fun, or more fun, than early model muscle car models builds. Very seriously looking at a TM or MTK helmet later on in the year. ATA is excellent quality and workmanship, but I'd like to try my hands with another for the fun of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 The revised drop boxes were installed and here is the outcome. Also got some time to work on a initial test fit for the upper portion, minus the forearms and gloves. The breast plate seemed to ride a bit high, but I assume the ab plate will pull everything down a few inches. As usual any comments welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The5thHorseman[TK] Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 Drop boxes lining is good ! The breast plate looks fine in heigth, we'll see when the ab plate will be there like you say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Almost Finished!!!!! wooohooo! OK, Here's a quick pic of the TD with the extra fuzzy velcro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 Finished up the greaves and decided to go with velcro till it becomes an annoyance then the switch will be to the loop and hook method. Walked around in them for a while to get a feel for them. Probably will not neet any padding on the inside due to the snap button on the front strap on the TK boot. Still very impressed with TKboots and how comfortable they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 The left bicep shape seemed to flattened, so the heat gun was warmed up for some molecular chain manipulation. Also added the bicep strap hook and an additional snap to attach the forearm piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 This is a earlier pic of the harness. Have more recently added straps to hold up the L/R thighs. This one was not meant to be a TK selfie... My wife works a lot on the w/e so I'm my own camera man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKheehaw[501st] Posted March 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2014 This part got a bit testy.... The ATA ABS paste was very easy to make with a neat acetone.... applying it to such nice and shiny armor wasn't something I felt comfortable with... Needed a bit more room in the Ab/kidney plate area, so I shimed it 1/2" and attemping to hide the seem with some paste. Will be taking great care in sanding in decending grits to a wet sand then some Novaris #2 to get teh shine back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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