SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 (edited) Progress for the weekend. I finished front and back cover strips on the thighs and front cover strips on the shins. Also had my next big mess up. My left thigh ended up 1/2" larger than the right. Not sure how I missed that measurement so badly.... Since I've been using E6000 it's been a pretty easy fix. Pulled the rear cover strip off, trimmed the extra 1/2" off and reapplied the cover strip. Good as new and both thighs now fit and look the same. I'll post fitment pictures after I get the rear cover strip and Velcro on the shins. Sorry for the blurry picture. Also got the thermal detonator put together. Used leftover screws from my E11 build in place of the Anovos hardware. Also did a hot water bath for the end caps to get them to slide on easily to the tube. Also painted the screws black. Going for Centurion out of the box. Fingers crossed I'm doing a good enough job. Overall I think it looks pretty good. Also so that I didn't have the center plastic piece centered on the tube after posting this picture! Guess this is my screw up day. Have since removed and re-centered to correct this.... Edited March 14, 2016 by SupRsloth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) Got some more done Saturday. Finished gluing the thighs and shins and did a final sanding with the dremel of all glued parts that I previously did. I think I'm finally done with the bulk of the plastic dust! Glad I've been using a dust mask. Did a test fit of the ab, kidney, chest, back and butt pieces and found that I'm just a bit to large in the belly. I could suck it in and get the ab and kidney to fit together but that definitely would not be too comfortable. Added the ammo pack to the thigh and painted the rivets. Started working on my shims for the kidney piece. The only scrap I had left was pretty warped. Gave it a hot water bath and used the kids Harry Potter books and a cookie sheet to flatten the two shims out. They aren't completely flat but should be close enough. And finally glued on some inside cover strips to the kidney for mounting the shims after I get the return edges bent in. Edited July 15, 2017 by SupRsloth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kman[TK] Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Looks good! Fortunately adding shims isn't nearly as scary as I initially thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) Decided to work on updating the belt today. Got all the covers off with little damage to the plastic on the plastic ammo pouches. Glued on some scrap ABS to fill the holes to have something to drill new clean holes in when I remount on my new TKittell belt. However there was a bit of damage to the rivet covers..... I'm thinking I can just fix the small hole with a bit of ABS paste that I will be making to cover the seam in my kidney shims.... However not sure how to fix the bubbles that formed on the middle piece when that one got a bit too hot. Any suggestions?!?!? Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Looks good! Fortunately adding shims isn't nearly as scary as I initially thought. For making the ABS paste I'm planning on putting some small scraps of ABS in a baby food jar as I've seen others do. Any suggestions on how much acetone I need to add? Do you just try a little and see what happens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingYeti Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Acetone evaporates very quickly. Even if you put to much, it would thicken just by leaving the cap off. Leave it off to long and the ABS will harden again. Acetone is a solvent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Trooper[501st] Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 I usually put enough to cover it, let it sit overnight, then stir it with a Popsicle stick and use cheap small wal-mart paint brushes to paint it on as evenly as possible to cut back on sanding time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kman[TK] Posted March 20, 2016 Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) For making the ABS paste I'm planning on putting some small scraps of ABS in a baby food jar as I've seen others do. Any suggestions on how much acetone I need to add? Do you just try a little and see what happens? You have the right idea, yes. The acetone to plastic ratio is going to be different depending on exactly how small the scrap is, and that also effects how fast it dissolves. I personally had very small scrap (I started mostly by collecting the POWDERED bits that flew off my bench sander, and adding a few scrap strips chopped up no bigger than 1/4" squares) so I started with a very small amount, like a tablespoon, in the baby jar with the scrap. Wait 20-30 minutes, poke/stir with a wood coffee stir stick, and repeat until the consistency is right. I think I ended up with approx 3 tablespoons of Acetone, total, into a baby food jar that was pretty well stuffed (but loosely so) with scrap. I let it sit overnight after I was close, to make sure it was all nice and consistent. You want to end up roughly like mayo consistency, or a little runnier (but not a lot runnier). Too runny and (1) it's hard to control, and (2) too much acetone content starts to dissolve the ABS you DON'T want to dissolve (your armor!). The phases: Dry: 1 tbs: 2 tbs: 3 tbs, after overnight, ready to use: Edited March 20, 2016 by kman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2016 Thanks for the feedback all! I'll give it a shot sometime this week and share the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 25, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2016 (edited) Made a little more progress so far this week. Sniper knee in place. Also installed the Velcro on the back. I've taped the shins closed in hopes that will help the back closures sit a bit more flat. I think they are OK but the flatter the better. Also started on my garter system for the thighs. Currently gluing on 3 inch elastic and will get them sewn to a cheep tactical belt tomorrow. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Pretty much finished all the lower body components. Finished my thigh garter. First time using a sewing machine since home economics in middle school. It took me forever to get the machine set up. My wife and I had a good laugh , but I think it turned out all right. Suited up the full bottom half. Finally starting to feel like a trooper. Couple of issues that I could use some advice on. The shins seem to want to bight in around my knees. I still have quite a bit of return edge that could be removed. Any other suggestions on how to fix that? Also my sniper knee seems to want to wander under the thigh armor. I think I can round off the edge on my thigh that is a bit too long but I'm thinking I'll still have the problem. Any tricks for fixing that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucnak[TK] Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 A lot of people cut out from the knee area for mobility. Regarding your sniper knee, put some foam in the front of your shin and in the back of your thigh. Should prevent locking in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) On 3/27/2016 at 10:05 AM, lucnak said: A lot of people cut out from the knee area for mobility. Regarding your sniper knee, put some foam in the front of your shin and in the back of your thigh. Should prevent locking in. Thanks for the feedback sir. I'll grab some foam and see if that helps out with the sniper knee. I did do a bit of a cut out on the back of the thighs and the shins as well. Look alright? Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucnak[TK] Posted March 27, 2016 Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 Yeah I looked at a bunch of Centurion apps before cutting mine and I saw all styles of cut outs. I cut mine to meet the cover strips and that gives me the room I need. Gives kind of a triangular look. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) Got quite a bit more work done today. First put on my ABS paste in the shims as well as the belt rivet covers and also some other places that had some small cracks. The consistency was pretty good. I'll let it dry and then looks like I have lots of sanding to do. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) After that I started with the snap fun. I'm primarily using Tandy Line 24 snaps but did use the ANOVOS supplied ones in a few places. The right upper ab and the two snaps on the posterier. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted March 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2016 (edited) And finally I went to town on all of the internal snap brackets. I did double snaps in the front and single snaps in the back. No super good reason for the difference. I think it may have been the fact that I've learned that making snaps is not what I consider fun. Also got the latex hand gaurds glued on in the top right corner of the above picture. And finally started making the internal strapping. The strap at the top was my first attempt. Notice the buttons look out of place but are positioned correctly on the opposite side. I found that adding a bit of tape to the anvil kept the button from wandering. The one on the bottom after this trick turned out much better. Learning as I go. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted April 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2016 (edited) Got the internal strapping done today minus the right side (I'm holding the right side together in the following pictures) and did a test fit. Found a couple of issues. Front Left Side Rear View of the internal strapping The posterior wants to ride up. Any suggestions on how to fix this? I'm thinking maybe I need to use canvas straps instead of elastic to hold it tighter, or do I just make shorter elastic straps to pull it in? I also noticed that the right shoulder strap was not sitting how I would have liked so I'v since rotated it slightly and re-glued to the chest. Final work for the day... glued on the ab buttons. I think I need to touch up the paint after I'm done with everything. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) Found one other issue today.... Took the tape off my gloves/hand guards and found that I had a few spots where CA glue spread beyond the hand guard. Is there a way to remove the CA from the rubber gloves without damaging the rubber? It kind of sticks out and doesn't look so great. Picture of one of the spots is on the top side in the picture near my thumb. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentry71[TK] Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Looks really good! Wish I had a good answer for the CA drip, but I don't. Color over it with a black Sharpie? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Looks really good! Wish I had a good answer for the CA drip, but I don't. Color over it with a black Sharpie?Thanks for the compliment sir. Couldn't hurt to try a Sharpie. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) Last work for the weekend..... Made clips for biceps to retain the shoulder bell elastic and added the elastic to the shoulder bell. Also added the elastic for the bicep to forearm connection. I'm out of snaps so I can't finish the arms this weekend. Off to the wonderful world of MIT homework for the rest of the day. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted April 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) So close to being ready to submit for 501st application! Can't wait. Couple more shots of the torso section. Gluing on the forearms Extra snaps should arrive on Wednesday so I can complete the shoulder bell to shoulder strap connection. Then I'm pretty much done. Can't wait. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted April 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2016 (edited) My snaps came early so I got to work on finishing the arms. Added the bell to shoulder strap connection. Added snap plates for more firm connection between the bell and biceps as well. Made the straps to go in between and just need to wait for the glue to dry. All I have left now is to put the 7 holes in my new belt, add the two snaps, and connect the holster etc. to the belt. My checklist is almost completely done! Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupRsloth[TK] Posted April 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2016 (edited) Finished the arms tonight. The shoulders keep wanting to pull my chest to shoulder straps out from under the shoulder straps.. Does anyone know how to prevent this from happening. It looks pretty terrible when it does this. Pretty consistent. Edited July 16, 2017 by SupRsloth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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