C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted January 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) I'm blowing this up today I'm sorry! These bad boys. It's one of the only problems with the AP kit so far. Anyone have any luck fixing these? Or know of a method I could use. I have no heat gun so I may have to boil if I need to heat it. Or would I be better off ordering replacement inner boxes? Edited January 28, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The5thHorseman[TK] Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) Actually, you don't really want any return edge on top of the inner half for the forearm. There's nothing against it in the CRL, but removing it will dramatically reduce the risk of pinching when you bend the arm, making the armor more comfortable to wear. For the inner drop boxes, if the fit is really not tight enough to glue them directly, you could make few "L" brackets out of ABS scraps to get more glue surfaces. Edited January 28, 2016 by The5thHorseman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted January 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) Actually, you don't really want any return edge on top of the inner half for the forearm. There's nothing against it in the CRL, but removing it will dramatically reduce the risk of pinching when you bend the arm, making the armor more comfortable to wear. For the inner drop boxes, if the fit is really not tight enough to glue them directly, you could make few "L" brackets out of ABS scraps to get more glue surfaces. So the large gap isn't a major issue? I plan on sticking a card holder inside and allowing it to open and close. Might skip it if the gap becomes a problem. If the gap is fine, I may just leave it for now and figure something out later. Not a big concern really. Edited January 28, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The5thHorseman[TK] Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Ah ok, I didn't understand correctly. No the gap doesn't matter at all as it will be facing inwards and barely be visible at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted January 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Ah ok, I didn't understand correctly. No the gap doesn't matter at all as it will be facing inwards and barely be visible at all. Okay great! I was just worried about it for Centurion. Thanks a million! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder918 Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 I'm surprised all of that fit in such a small box..haha. Great thread so far. I hope to be a future AP owner as well. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 I'm surprised all of that fit in such a small box..haha. Great thread so far. I hope to be a future AP owner as well. Good luck! You won't regret it. Mark is great to deal with and his kit is very good! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 New update! Got to work on a few things today. Started glueing the front cover strip on my left thigh. I had just enough clamps/magnets to do it lol. (should have gotten more, oh well) But I did get quite a few things done today. I made snap plates, using 2" nylon strapping that I scrapped from tie down straps bought at Home Depot. I also bought all the elastic (no-roll) that I need to hook everything together. I got my lenses in, and I must say I did a good job. Hahah! Had to toot my own horn a bit. I don't get to do it often. Then I painted the frown and inserted the mesh. I actually just taped the mesh in with painters tape. Couldn't think of a great way to do it. I'll just leave that for now and maybe get some ideas for it later. (if you have any, please feel free to let me know) And the last thing I did was make sure my ab button plate turned out okay and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I was struggling a little bit today because a lot of pictures weren't loading on my phone or tablet on FISD. I have been trying to find the cool diagrams showing snap plate placement, etc. I know there's a ton of them but I couldn't find any, because I couldn't see pictures. Anyways, I'll figure that out. I actually gouged a good chunk of my knuckle off today on, of course, the last little cut I had to do on the shins. So I called it a day, now it's time to play the waiting game. Which is like watching glue dry haha. See what I did there? Thanks for reading! Any feedback is appreciated and thank you all for the support and assistance! -Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder918 Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 I like what you did with the lenses!..looks very industrial. Where did you say you got the tutorial for that? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I like what you did with the lenses!..looks very industrial. Where did you say you got the tutorial for that? Someone in Danny's (MechaPumpkin) build thread showed pics of it. Very very easy to do. I didn't even need a tutorial I just used the pic in that thread as a reference and then just did it my own way. He actually placed his putty differently, and used regular nuts instead of the motherboard posts as I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 I like what you did with the lenses!..looks very industrial. Where did you say you got the tutorial for that? Here buddy! I quoted his post in the other thread, it's somewhat of a tutorial. Will help if you're looking to do this in your build! Hey Dan, I'm kidding myself thinking I'll have pictures up on my build thread in the next day or two... Here's what I did: Snag several of the little nuts and screws from the ends of almost any computer cable. Mix up some Milliput or similar epoxy putty and form "standoffs" around the perimeter of the eye. Thread a screw into the nut, then push it into the putty. The screw prevents the putty from filling the threads in the nut. Use your fingers to form the putty into a nice shape around the nut and eye socket. Let it harden a day or two, then paint to match the interior of your helmet (if necessary). Position the lenses and mark your nuts with a Sharpie (cracks me up the things we get to say here...) Drill the lenses. If the holes are SLIGHTLY larger than the screws, you'll be able to fine tune the fits. Mount the lenses. I also painted the screw heads black and flocked the perimeter of the lenses with black Suede-Tex. Looks super slick, but I don't have any assembled pictures since I've got a little more fiddling to do inside the helmet... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder918 Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 ah thanks for the reference..that's awesome!<br><br> on a side note did you have any issues with the side notches on the kidney plate? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) ah thanks for the reference..that's awesome!<br><br> on a side note did you have any issues with the side notches on the kidney plate? No, I didn't. But! I'm also VERY lucky and I could trim my kidney plate back so the notch was about almost exactly 22x22mm. It also allowed me to trim the ab plate to match and I got the seem almost perfectly down the center of my side. As shown in the earlier pics. The notch itself is indented into the kidney plate but elongated. I wish I had a picture before I trimmed but I don't. Basically when the kidney plate is untrimmed the notch is indented and runs ROUGHLY 22mm tall x 100 or so mm long. If one has a bigger girth, you would need to put a shim in and redo the notch. Hope I explained that well enough, I would imagine someone of wider girth will have same issue I explained shown and resolved somewhere. EDIT** Here's a pic I found of an untrimmed piece showing the notch indent. Edited February 1, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder918 Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Awesome..thanks for the reference pic. Yeah I'm not too too big in my midwaist section, I'm a 34in waist but I'm certainly not skinny. I guess with the extra length from the ab piece even if I trim the kidney piece back to the 22x22 size, I should be ok. It almost defeats the purpose for the kidney piece to have it pre-notched because you'll have to trim it back anyways...well I guess it only matters if you're looking to get Centurion which I am and it seems like you are as well. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Awesome..thanks for the reference pic. Yeah I'm not too too big in my midwaist section, I'm a 34in waist but I'm certainly not skinny. I guess with the extra length from the ab piece even if I trim the kidney piece back to the 22x22 size, I should be ok. It almost defeats the purpose for the kidney piece to have it pre-notched because you'll have to trim it back anyways...well I guess it only matters if you're looking to get Centurion which I am and it seems like you are as well. Thanks again! No problem! I'm a 33" waist give or take so yeah, you should be more than okay ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) Okay so I have a quick question regarding the detonator. I've seen a very nice animated picture showing all the measurements but have yet to find it again. I know it must be approx. 7.5" long. I know pretty much everything about it EXCEPT the cap sizes. How wide do the caps need to be? Thanks! Edited February 2, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The5thHorseman[TK] Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 End caps should be approximatively 20mm long: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) End caps should be approximatively 20mm long: PERFECT! Thanks for clearing that up! This may be my next piece. I would also love to ask what are peoples preferred methods for doing the belt. I've strayed away from it until now, and it's almost my last piece. I tried to find some ways but a lot of people do it very differently. I've been told to put three male snaps behind the "buttons" and then matching female snaps on the canvas belt, then making the female snaps on the belt facing inward to attach to the male snaps on the ab plate.. I personally don't like the idea of having the canvas snapped to the ab plate, then the belt snapped on top to the canvas belt. I just doesn't sound very solid to me. Would it not be best to permanently "rivet" the belt to the canvas, then just snapping the whole thing to the ab plate? I thought I saw a method like that but can't find any diagram or tutorial on it. Hope that explanation wasn't too confusing! Thanks guys! Appreciate all the help so far! If my strapping goes good I might have some pre-submission photos in here for suggestions soon. Maybe end of weekend or sometime next week. Edited February 2, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Check out ukswrath's build thread. Not the Anovos one. I followed his tutorial and method to do my belt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 (edited) Check out ukswrath's build thread. Not the Anovos one. I followed his tutorial and method to do my belt That's a build thread that I've not been to. Although, knowing now how knowledgeable he is, it seems silly that I have not. Thanks Jason! Edited February 2, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted February 2, 2016 Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Yep, Tony is a smart dude. I call him Trooper Dad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2016 Hey guys! Minor update. I'm moving along quite quickly. Things are actually a lot easier than I had anticipated so progress is great. I always tend to veer off course though, when it comes to pictures. I just start forgetting to take them; likely in my excitement. However, I do take them when I have a particular question. I'm very happy with how this guy lined up. I'm just wondering about this gap here at the bottom. It would barely be visible but it's an eyesore nonetheless. Should I fill it somehow or is it alright? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) Been slacking off on progress pics. But how about this? Done pretty near everything except the strapping. I was going to do it last night but it snowed/rained and I have to hammer my snaps outside so instead I just threw some tape on everything and tried to fit it together as good as possible. This is just a quick teaser because it doesn't look really good just yet but it's coming together. A list of things yet to do. -Start the belt (I know for some reason it's most intimidating part? Maybe it's just me.) -Finish drop boxes -Install Velcro on back of shins -Install elastic at bottom of shoulder bells -Fit/Construct strapping -Finish garter belt -Soft Velcro around bottom of shins to deter boot scuffing/ Place a piece of hard Velcro to front of boot to keep shins from rotating -Paint rest of helmet -Paint ab buttons -Swap already installed 9mm rivets with proper 8mm (only realized afterwards that Marks rivets that came with AP are a tad too big.) -Install Cod rivet -Glue handguard to gloves once received -Install helmet padding WOW. Haha. That's all for now, I'll try and keep tabs on my strapping, I'm still debating on whether or not I'm going to fabricate one large piece of strapping with 6 snaps for one side (where kidney meets ab plate) we'll see. Also, one quick question before I leave. BELT. I somewhat realized why it's so daunting. I've read and read and watched that you measure to the center and punch a hole, that's where the middle of the plastic belt is attached. Now, I'm a pretty thin dude and it doesn't take a seamstress to know that I'm gonna have a lot of excess belt. Do I trim or do I just wrap it around anyways. Is it just me or if I wrap it around the center of the belt will change? Surely the TD isn't going to hold the excess down? That might be confusing I apologize! Anyone who understands please chime in or let me know I can try to explain it better. Thanks a million guys!! Edited February 4, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) Had some time this morning and I got some Velcro on the shins. The left one looked bad in that pic above because it was tough keeping it closed. This is both shins with boots on Pretty comfortable aside from the small bites I get at back up top. But I'm gonna dome the tops at the back down to the cover strip like they did in the originals and hopefully that will cure the little pinches I get. Edited February 4, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C0bra_M3nace[TK] Posted February 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2016 (edited) Big update! I got in a determined set of mind today and got my groove going. Tackling a bunch of things this afternoon. Almost finished painting the helmet. Left the stripes out so I can wait for the paint to fully dry. After that I painted the ab buttons. There's still some work to be done on the helmet paint though, I do plan on sharpening the edges and the outlines. Specifically around the ear bars. I made the line too thick so I'm going to draw them in a bit with a toothpick and some mineral spirits when I get the chance. Then I tackled that belt. Which brings my first query. If I can't do it I'll live but I was hoping it was okay to build a triple snap system for the belt to ab plate. One in the center and one for each end. If that won't hurt Centurion approval I'd like to do it that way. This is what I mean. I don't have pictures but I started glueing the drop boxes together, one of which I built an "Open/Close" system. Where I'll be able to keep ID & possibly debit/credit cards while trooping. Very happy with how it turned out. TD is about 90% finished. I just have to drill one more hole for the second clip and then glue the second cap on! I'm also very happy with how it turned out. Again no pictures yet I'll have some when complete. I got the last cover strip glued for my shins at the back and then I have to apply Velcro to it and trim. Now I'm onto the strapping system. Which I'm going to make a spreadsheet showing each strap along with their measurements. I'll also be mapping out which snaps I'm going to make "permanent". So 1 snap on each strap will be snapped in then glued. Hoping this will avoid snaps from popping off mid troop. Technically cutting my odds of it happening in half. Hopefully this will be my last big update until the final reveal. Gosh I'm excited. Thanks for taking the time to read and follow my thread. If you spot anything please feel free to let me know! Love the feedback! Thanks! -Justin Edited February 4, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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