ZeroSkillz AM Build

[SCTrooper[TK]]

I will probably stay home tomorrow. My wifes car decided to overheat and i can't touch the radiator cap until its completely cooled off. And I am NOT dealing with all them mosquitos outside lol. Perhaps when my armors done they will finally leave me alone. 

Stay home, these new cars are made with pot metal, very unsafe in hot temps and low temps to. It can become brittle and snap just like that.

[zeroskillz]

How do I tell which parts make a right and left thigh... They all seem interchangeable

 

 

Edited to add: Disregard, I figured it out. So 20mm covers trips on the thighs?

Edited September 11, 2014 by zeroskillz

[fuumantroop[TK]]

Thighs and shins, 16 mm for forearms and biceps

[zeroskillz]

Thanks bro... Hey did you have to cut down the tops of your thighs? I just glued up the front of one, and taped the back up. And it seems like I need to trim quite a bit to be able to bend my leg.

[fuumantroop[TK]]

I personally didn't trim my thighs.. If I do end up doing so, it will be after i get the ab/cod plate, chest, back, kidney, and butt plate done. That way i can get a better feel of areas where i need to size down. How will you be attaching your thighs btw?

[zeroskillz]

I think I have to trim some, I can't sit comfortably--the front top digs in, or go down on one knee as the back digs in. And I'll need to bend enough to get shins and boots on

 

I haven't decided exactly how to attach the thighs yet... It'll be via a belt, one way or another. I've seen simple loops to go around a regular belt, and I've seen the garters some people make (and sell here). I like the idea of loops for simplicities sake, but the garters offer adjustability, so that's probably smarter. I suppose I could make adjustable loops attached via a snap, and if that doesn't work out so well, swap it out with a garter.

 

Although I think we should collectively come up with a better name than 'thigh garter'...it sounds so girly

 

Maybe thigh utility garter... Thug for short lol

[fuumantroop[TK]]

I wouldn't expect to sit down in the armor. From everyone i have talked to theres a very minimal chance your able to sit down with out taking your butt plate off. If u do sit and take the plate off, your thighs should move up to allow you to sit. I would leave them as they are for now until ya get the body components taken care of.

 

Easier to trim off than add on

[fuumantroop[TK]]

I got a thug from here on FISD. There are also schematics to make one, they aren't super hard to make yourself if ya already have strapping

[zeroskillz]

Easier to trim off than add on

Good point. I'm not so much concerned about actually sitting, more so about being able to reach my feet to put boots/shins on. But that's good advice...I'm going to leave them as is till its more together. So I've got arms and thighs together, now on to my left shin (the right shin is on its way).

 

I made a resident evil alice vest for a girlfriend awhile back, I think I've still got a roll of webbing around here somewhere from that to make the thigh belt.

[fuumantroop[TK]]

What a lot of troopers do is cut a U shape behind the top of the shin and also behind the bottoms of the thighs to allow for movement and flexibility. Take a look at some of the threads and you will start noticing it more. Again, wait until everything is basically all done before doing it though

[zeroskillz]

Update on progress... I got the left shin put together, complete with the velcro. I also put together the arms and thighs, but still need to do the cover strips. And trimmed out the teeth.

 

[Starfox2010]

what did you do for the knee plate?  Im getting ready to do it and I noticed that I have to add extra pressure for the ends to touch the shin.

[fuumantroop[TK]]

Im hoping to get the sniper plate on as well, possibly a BUNCH of tape, magnets, AND clamps lol. Could always use some very small dabs if zap a gap but i am reluctant to do so

[zeroskillz]

what did you do for the knee plate? Im getting ready to do it and I noticed that I have to add extra pressure for the ends to touch the shin.

Mine lined up pretty much as you see it--it's not glued on the corners, just in the center to the top of the shin. So nothing special needed to be done for clamping. I just spread some CA on it and hit it with accelerator. I did line it up before hand and put registration marks on the back to be sure I lined it up correctly when glueing it. Oh and I'm using a relatively slow CA to give me a little wiggle room.

 

It might work for you to do it that way (with e6000 or CA), and then once dry, clamp the corners down to glue them...just a thought.

Edited September 12, 2014 by zeroskillz

[fuumantroop[TK]]

Did you put the hook velcro on the cover strip side ot armor side? Its hard for me to see

[zeroskillz]

I put the soft part on the cover strip--the idea being that if it rubbed my leg ever I'd want it to be the soft part. So the soft part facing in, hook part facing out.

[Rystan]

Hold on a sec, you have two left shins, i think I have two right shins

 

 

The AM 2.0 shins are really hard to identify correctly from the front (or the back either).  Try the method I found and documented here:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28321-sure-fire-am-20-shin-identification/

 

If you got your gear from MightyTank back in July/August, you might have ended up with duplicates and he should be able to replace them, but you should be able to know for sure after checking my post.

[McDNet[TK]]

Hey Ted.

 

Keep up the fine work. I am not far from you so let me know if you have any questions I can answer.

[zeroskillz]

If you got your gear from MightyTank back in July/August, you might have ended up with duplicates and he should be able to replace them, but you should be able to know for sure after checking my post.

Yep, sure did. The replacement shin should arrive today

 

Hey Ted.

 

Keep up the fine work. I am not far from you so let me know if you have any questions I can answer.

 

Awesome! Thanks Michael

[zeroskillz]

You know, this job thing really gets in the way of my build. Jut sayin.

[Starfox2010]

Hey Ted,

 

How's everything going with your build?

[zeroskillz]

It's coming along we'll...I'm messing with chest/back/kidney/ab stuff today. I think I've got them trimmed relatively well. I just bought a bunch of elastic and Velcro...time to pull out the bits box for leather work and see what I've got for snaps

 

I'll post up some pics later

[zeroskillz]

Okay so here's some pics of test fitting:

 

 

The butt felt awflly funny until i removed the bit sticking out underneath. it also felt low till I realized it was hanging crooked. Im not sure if I need to take more off the chast/back plate shoulder straps... I definitely think i need to take more of the sides.

 

After digging out the box of leather working stuff, it seems at some point I stocked up on Line 24 snaps That's a bonus. I've got a ton in silver, but used a couple brass ones to test placing them in ABS. Here's a pic:

 

 

Ok, really that was just to show off my fancy shmancy snap setter

It's also my Han Solo belt hole puncher. The black one. That has 1000 holes in it.

 

I also stuck a couple eyelets in the ABS just to see how well that would work out, but i can't see the need for them.

 

 

Oh and also, the undersuit...by itself, not a good look. Not at all.

[Starfox2010]

I think you can cut out a bit more from the chest shoulder strap area and raise the back plate.  I think the back plate is too long even for me being 6'2.

 

Check out what I did for my butt and cod cutting, I trimmed that extra rectangle on the butt and rounded off the cod.  The butt still hangs low but after you connect it to the cod it wont.

 

Luck-E, wish I had one of these.

 

Lastly, I think very few look good in the undersuit.  lol

[zeroskillz]

Very cool, yeah I ended up trimming mine almost identical to yours, but i rounded the nut-hugger a bit more.

 

I bought that tool for all the leather work I do--and because I live in an apartment and would drive my neighbors crazy with all the hammering for holes, snaps, rivets etc. I broke down and bought it when I was making this for my Han Solo costume:

 

 

 

That thing has a ridiculous number of holes in it