fitting your armor

[psychotropic]

i now have a good idea how to set my armor up but i am worried about trimming. how do you know how much to trim. especially cause i am short and need to do allot of it. what are some things you did to help your armor fit you. and what tools should you use to trim cause i looked into it and couldnt find much info on it.

[trooperstormy]

Before you EVER start trimming, test fit everything. Just tape it all together.

[SuperTrooper]

Blue painters tape is you best friend. I found it very helpful to lay a strip where I was going to cut to keep me straight. Also make sure you cut from the inside of the piece, that way if your dremel jumps and marks will not be seen.

[psychotropic]

the thing i am most worried about is making sure i have space in between the shin and thigh pieces. i figure you should trim at the top but how would you keep the curve and make it look good.

[SuperTrooper]

I've found it's easier to trim the thighs at the top and the shins from the bottom. To keep the curve, use painters blue tape to mark where you want to cut and keep the profile. Use a dremel to get as close as you can and then sand the profile you want. ABS sands really easily, but make sure you don't sand the outside surface by accident.

[psychotropic]

I've found it's easier to trim the thighs at the top and the shins from the bottom. To keep the curve, use painters blue tape to mark where you want to cut and keep the profile. Use a dremel to get as close as you can and then sand the profile you want. ABS sands really easily, but make sure you don't sand the outside surface by accident.

 

did you do that after trimming the back to fit and glueing the front of the thighs

[SuperTrooper]

I've done it both ways, and here are the pro's and con's.

 

If the armor is glued together first, you don't have to worry about the 2 helves matching up (because they are glued). But you have to be really really careful when cutting through 2 layers of plastic because even though I am very experienced with a dremel it was a bit unnerving.

 

Obviously if you cut the 2 pieces separately, cutting goes easier, and I think it is easier to sand because there is less bulk to manipulate. If you do it this way triple check your measurements so your 2 pieces line up after your cut them.

[psychotropic]

would taping the pieces together help because you have more freedom to move it around

[SuperTrooper]

I wouldn't trust tape for that. It can shift slightly while you are working on it.

[psychotropic]

aww. what if you tapped it alot and someone held it. haha