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WhiteHammer's RT-Mod ESB TK (WIP)


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  • 2 weeks later...

While this thread has been quite, I have been busy spending what few moments I have to assemble my armor. Aside from a holster and finishing my TD, I think I am close to submitting my approval photos. I hope to get some last minute guidance on how thins are looking so far and what changes and adjustments might be in order. 

 

Front

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Edited by WhiteHammer
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Looking good, Mike!  You may want to trim that neck seal bib in the front a bit, so it doesn't peek out the sides of the chest armor.  It also looks like the white elastic (or is that canvas?) is being pulled out quite a bit from under the shoulder bridges. You could either shorten the straps so there is more tension between the chest and back, or somehow secure the straps underneath the shoulder brides with a snap or velcro.  Almost there!! :duim:

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Looking good, Mike!  You may want to trim that neck seal bib in the front a bit, so it doesn't peek out the sides of the chest armor.  It also looks like the white elastic (or is that canvas?) is being pulled out quite a bit from under the shoulder bridges. You could either shorten the straps so there is more tension between the chest and back, or somehow secure the straps underneath the shoulder brides with a snap or velcro.  Almost there!! :duim:

Awesome, thanks for the tips. I too noticed these things. I think the neck seal might big too big. Easy to adjust. Think I might cut it back to the shoulder straps and see if it stays hidden there. 

 

The shoulders do pull. I think the biceps and forearms need a trim shorter maybe? Then I can add some slack so the arms don't pull so much on the shoulders. I am not sure if that will fix it. I have heard of troops strapping these across the back to the opposite shoulder to overcome this pull. I will search for mods and play around with some fixes. I like the Velcro idea. My "posterior" armor seems to be fighting for space with my thighs. And my sniper plate keeps coming under my thigh. I am thinking that the thighs could come up a little, but the thighs would need to be trimmed at the top as they are currently as high up as they will go. I also think I need to take out more return edge on the forearms. It's all coming together. 

Edited by WhiteHammer
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So I put some velcro up along the shoulder bridges. Seems to hold ok for now. But for how long. I will need to see if this will last. At any rate, it holds up the canvas and the shoulders very nicely. 

20150506_225843_zpshjjdldsd.jpg

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Looks good. I have a couple suggestions.

 

It looks like your ab/cod can come up quite a bit. Maybe even your chest down some. If you pull up your ab/code your kidney and back will come up too which may mean shorter shoulder elastic. I've found that on most RT-MODs the belt ends up going half across the kidney and half across the butt plate. 

 

I also think your shoulder bridges may need to come further down your chest but its hard to tell in the photos.

 

Otherwise I think you're on point. 

 

-Eric

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I'm pretty much in camp with Eric here... 

To me, it looks as if a lot of your strapping could be tightened up some, pulling the armor up for the most part.  The shoulder bells are a bit far from the bridges (which may need to be adjusted  some, can you get a better picture of the attachment there?), the chest/back could be tightened, which would bring up the abs/kidney group as well.  

As for the Cod..  You might consider cutting a bit off of the top of it. I want to say that I cut about an inch and a half or so off of the top of the plate before attaching it with the strapping.

My belt also runs across the seam between the Kidney and Butt plates.

Build looks good, but perhaps tighten up the strapping.  The "sag" almost makes it look a little bit too big, because of how everything is kind of hanging on you.

Very, very close to submission!!

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This is great advise! Thank you so much for your guidance. I was getting a little bummed that I am so close and there is not much left to do. I am excited to make the suggested changes and do some fine tuning. And I totally see what you are saying with the sag. My butt is droopy. And I think pulling all that up will give me more bridge to work with. I was out of room up there and hence why the shoulder bridges may appear to need to come down, cause they do. I am going to work on this as soon as I get home. Thank you so much for your input. It is all coming together so awesome and I just love walking around in the armor. Better pictures later tonight or tomorrow.

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i moved the cod up and I rotated the forearms forward. 

IMG_2308_zps1kfhiepq.jpg

neck seal peak: i tucked up the seal, but it still is peaking out the back. I may need to just put the seal on under the compression shirt.

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back up: I pulled the torso up and pulled the chest piece down, But looking at this photo, I may need to pull up more. 

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Shoulder bridges?

shoulder bells: I moved the shoulder bells closer to the shoulder bridges. The bridges in the back just wont stay put. Seem to float and the velcro is not doing much good. May need to heat and bend a little.

IMG_2314_zpsl2571gjw.jpg

 

I also made this suspender system from a $10 back brace. I added buckles to attach the thighs. 

IMG_2305_zpsfvcnhpdp.jpg

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Now we're talking- looks great!  Yikes with the velcro on the shoulder bridges!  :shok:   

Definitely bend them instead;  you can do it by hand or with the heat gun.  

 

Also the foam trick to keep that sniper plate from popping under the thigh will work-  small block of foam at the back of the upper thigh, small block of foam at the front of the upper shin.  

Awesome job so far!  

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Greatly improved!!!

 

What I did to prevent the sides of the neck seal bib from flaring out at the shoulders is one of the oldest tricks in Stormtrooper costuming - black duct tape.  I took a piece and wrapped it around the bib below the rib cage both in the front, and the back.  No more problem with flaring.  Not sure if it will help yours though, based on construction - you may need to alter it or as you said, wear it beneath the compression top.

It does look as though you need to pull your back plate up some.  The "OII box" should really be up around the tops of your shoulder blades...  Perhaps pull the chest plate down a bit further on the abdominal plate.  This will bring the ab and kidney plates up more, pushing the back plate up a bit, and may or may not require much in the way of shoulder bridge adjustment.

You're getting closer and closer now!  Nearly there!!!  :D

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  • 4 weeks later...

My blaster arrived today! I had to put on the suit with everything together. There are a few changes to make. I would like to replace the velcro with snaps. Now that I see how everything is fitting I can feel comfortable committing snaps.  

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I am ready to fight the rebels!

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Put me in coach!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Mike, another tip I learned here on the FISD, to save from gouging your armor when putting on and taking off your TD, put a piece of Velcro, the soft side, on the portion of the metal clips that go between your armor and the belt.  It will save you a lot of damage over time.   Again, looks great.

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Excellent tip for the TD. I will set to work on that. Since I'll be working on the TD, I might as well shorten my belt a little. It seems to stick out about two inches too far.

 

Have also replaced all the velcro in the arms with snaps. The velcro has been failing when the arms are in motion. Can't have that on a troop now can we. Let's hope this will put an end to that. 20150622_215145_zpsiqukxuuv.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

The GML has accepted my submission and I am now TK-10504 ready for action. I started at this outpost by getting into public. 

I ran into a local security detachment during a Fourth of July parade. I gave him some pointers on how to treat the locals. 

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Out winning the hearts and minds of the native population!

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 We had  a BBQ to celebrate. I think Lord Vader would be proud. 

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Can't wait for my first mission. I feel a little like Captain Ben Willard in Apocalypse Now. Stuck in my hotel room, so to speak. 

Edited by WhiteHammer
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Congratulations! It's all of those little tweaks at the end that pull it all together and make it look right. Great work, and way to stay on top of the details!

 

Welcome to the 501st, Trooper!

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