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Bearings' TFA build


bearings

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Trimming all the things, so far I've rough trimmed most of the legs and arms. Not much to report except for sore fingers!

 

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I have a question about the chest "wings". When I was reading the threads about increased accuracy, it wasn't obvious to me that the chest piece already had lines for this area at all. Is the mod people are doing just to increase the visibility of the lines by cutting them out? Mine's got the lines, so just wondering if this is updated or if they've always been like this?

 

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Always good to see another joining the TFA journey!! To answer your question- they all come with the lines mentioned - true mod is to make them much sharper. It's not required (to my knowledge, but it does add accuracy.

 

Also highly recommend a dremel for trimming. It will save those fingers for sure- and you'll need them later :)

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Always good to see another joining the TFA journey!! To answer your question- they all come with the lines mentioned - true mod is to make them much sharper. It's not required (to my knowledge, but it does add accuracy.

 

Also highly recommend a dremel for trimming. It will save those fingers for sure- and you'll need them later :)

 

What bit do you use when using your dremel to trim? I did try my dremel at first, but the plastic cutting wheel I was using made the plastic get kinda melty. All it took was one little glob to fly off burn my leg to make me stop and go back to scoring and snapping!

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  • 3 weeks later...

You'll want to get the Dremel EZ Lock mandrel and 1 1/2" diamond cutting wheels.

 

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Starter Kit:

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=EZ406-02

 

Go ahead and use the wheels it comes with, but also buy the diamond wheel at the same time. After the original wheels break and fly apart (you're wearing eye protection, right?!?), then you'll have the metal diamond cutting wheel ready to go. The kerf is pretty narrow, and the metal base will never fly apart thumbsup.gif

 

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=EZ545

 

I use a full face shield so the plastic bits don't burn my baby face, and it helps reduce the direct inhalation of dust

http://www.amazon.com/3M-90028-Face-Shield/dp/B000BO6RIE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1446344140&sr=8-4&keywords=polycarbonate+face+shield

 

Or, if you want to go all Breaking Bad:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Respirator-6900-Respiratory-Protection/dp/B007QY8WTY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446344307&sr=8-1&keywords=3m+6900

 

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Charlie

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Rough trimming done..

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Using the belt sander as recommended by ukswrath, super handy for parts like this

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Starting to glue some things, starting with arms first.. going slowly:

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Boring update, but I'm gluing things! Basic construction of forearms, biceps, thighs, shins and shoulders are done.

 

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Starting to work out the back/yoke situation, kind of a tricky piece.

 

Looking maybe a little too far ahead to painting, but I'm considering getting it done professionally. Any idea what I can expect that to cost vs doing it myself?

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Updates from today!

 

So I decided to go ahead and do the chest greeblie, cutting this out was painful. I used zap-a-gap to fill in the gaps, now I’m working on sanding and bondoing.. 

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TD assembly
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I trimmed this part incorrectly at first..
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Should be more like this
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Better!
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Forearm boxes
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Shin boxes
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Thigh holster part
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Getting more assembled parts in my armor bin, getting closer!
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  • 4 months later...

I guess I should update this build thread too! I don’t use my laptop as much, so it’s rough posting photos here. Here’s the super abbreviated version of my build, since it’s already done! If you want to see more detailed pics of anything, let me know.

 

There was much bondoing, sanding, and tears:

 

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But it turned out nicely:

 

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Primer and paint:

 

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Epic painting failures included repainting the chest at least 3 times. It was a learning experience:

 

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It’s not all bad:

 

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Ab box attachments:

 

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Belt assembly:

 

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Inside the chest looks gross after all the mods and tape/fabric/velcro:

 

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I attached the shoulders to the back/yoke like so:

 

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I really couldn’t stand the rubber gaskets that came with the kit, so after several tries my wife and I came up with this set of gaskets using headliner and some super shiny/stretchy fabric we found at Jo-Ann:

 

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The back has two 2” strips of elastic sewn in, so you just put on the arms one at a time like a coat:

 

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Ready to try on for real now:

 

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And then, trooping!

 

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EXCELLENT! Very nice Ben. I was looking at the build pics and saying wow that assembly looks familiar. lol

 

Trooping pics are awesome also.

Thanks Tony! Could not have done this build without the excellent reference that was your build thread!
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