KoldKolby Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 I've already made a decent amount of progress on the build, but I was posting updates on a different low-key thread. At the moment, I've glued all of the cover strips on, except for the back of the shins. I still have some sanding to do for the parts with the cover strips on. I'm planning on using Velcro for the back of the forearms, since the size is good on my arm but my hands are too big to slide through. I've put the helmet together and starting applying decals, but Im waiting till I get paint before I go any farther with that. The torso hasn't had any progress, but I have someone who'll help me with it once I finish the arms and legs. A side note so my situation isn't a mystery, I have a self-made deadline of August 13th, since I fly off to college on the 14th. I'd like to have submitted my armor by then so that I can go straight to trooping when I'm back on my breaks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucnak[TK] Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Hi there! Gonna be a quick build then! Have you removed the return edge from the wrists? Hard to see in your photos. Really helps with putting on those forearms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Hi there! Gonna be a quick build then! Have you removed the return edge from the wrists? Hard to see in your photos. Really helps with putting on those forearms.I did sand them down, although I still have some sanding to clean up the look. My hands are a wider than my wrists, so a few inches from the end my knuckles (especially the thumb) kept getting stuck. So unless I made some extra wide cover strips, I thought my best bet would be Velcro. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucnak[TK] Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Okay fair enough! I just took the dremel to them since there's quite a bit to get rid of all the return edge. Peruse some Centurion applications to see some examples. Good luck continuing your build! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretzel[TK] Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Good Luck on the rest of your build. Nice work on the bucket. I know you have a deadline! But.. pace yourself! Once those eyes become heavy, its almost impossible to get the job done right! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 Good Luck on the rest of your build. Nice work on the bucket. I know you have a deadline! But.. pace yourself! Once those eyes become heavy, its almost impossible to get the job done right!Don't worry about me getting ahead of myself. This is about a week of progress, including redoing the front cover strips of the forearms, only because one became misaligned and the other I thought the gap in the back was too big to use Velcro. Besides that, it's been pretty smooth. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretzel[TK] Posted August 2, 2016 Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 That's awesome news! Keep at it, and you will be shiny and white soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2016 The cover strip for the thigh I glued yesterday finished drying, and I just glued on the back cover strips for the shins (the last strips I need to glue). Tomorrow I plan on sanding down any excess material for all of the strips, and sanding the edges I didn't completely sand down to make sure I'm not gonna get cut up, setting the Velcro on the forearms and shins, and painting the rest of the helmet decals. I'll probably start on the strapping system Thursday if all goes well. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 Today felt like a lot of busy work, but I had to do it. Spent a lot of time sanding down the legs and arms, and I trimmed a little bit off of the helmet's neck to make it easier to put on and take off. I fitted the ab and kidney armor, now I just need to sand those down and start putting on the strapping system. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 Today was a short session. I put the tube stripes on the helmet and painted the chin and teeth. Still gotta put the lenses and wire mesh in, but I'll spray the inside with Plasti-Dip first. As you can see in the pictures, I painted the cylinder for the thermal detonator, but I'll put it together later. I also did the strapping for the forearms and biceps. There's a long Velcro strip in them so I can adjust the length. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2016 I didn't have much time today, so I got some small tasks done. I sprayed the inside of my helmet with Plasti-Dip, put together the thermal detonator, and started putting the ammo belt on the thigh. I'll put the sides on the thermal detonator once the panel finishes gluing and rivet down the other side of the ammo belt later. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2016 (edited) Today was filled with awkward building positions and lots of annoyance. I completely redid the chin for a cleaner look, and I'm proud of the outcome. I finally put in the first straps for the torso (one side between the kidney and an armor) and I set the other side of the thigh ammo belt. I also put the sides on the thermal detonator and painted over any white spots. I hope I can have the majority of the torso put together before I leave in a week. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited August 8, 2016 by KoldKolby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucnak[TK] Posted August 8, 2016 Report Share Posted August 8, 2016 Is that photo of the ammo belt on your thigh where you actually attached it? Hard to tell. It looks really high and not on the ridge, but then on the photo of the finished thigh, it looks like it's at the right height. Just wanted to double check. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 Is that photo of the ammo belt on your thigh where you actually attached it? Hard to tell. It looks really high and not on the ridge, but then on the photo of the finished thigh, it looks like it's at the right height. Just wanted to double check. I did put the ammo belt a little higher than normal, but that was to line it up with the bottom of the cover strip. I made sure that it lined up with the strip and the ridge, so the final product worked out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 I've officially reached my first problem that's stopped all major progress. I tried putting in snaps on the one side of my kidney armor, but for some odd reason the stud won't snap into the socket easily. The stud and socket snap together when they're by themselves, but once I put them on the armor and nylon strap they're extremely difficult to put together. Any thoughts on what I should do? Since I'm stuck I went ahead and started putting on the movie-accurate strapping system and cleaned off the black paint from my helmet's ears to get a cleaner outline before I use the gray paint. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucnak[TK] Posted August 11, 2016 Report Share Posted August 11, 2016 Hmm I think you're the first person I've seen putting female snaps directly into the kidney or ab plate. It's possible that the ABS's thickness does not allow the male snap to attach properly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alay[TK] Posted August 11, 2016 Report Share Posted August 11, 2016 I had to cut the stud on the female snaps to get mine to fit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiceCredits Posted August 11, 2016 Report Share Posted August 11, 2016 I just noticed this, but on the brackets (chest and back piece)... you may want to reverse the way you did the screws and nuts for accuracy. That way the nuts are inside the armor and sticking outside your armor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2016 So after my third attempt I finally got the snaps to work. I put the studs on the kidney and sockets on the straps, as well as extra layers of ABS to have a snug fit. Before the snaps were kinda loose. Now they're easy to use and I'm gluing down the other end. I also painted the ears of my helmet, but I think I'll go back later and make the black outlines thicker. Some spots I didn't tape off right so the outline is nonexistent on some parts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2016 Feels like everything is coming together, literally. I put together the whole back of the torso with the strapping system, and I left the chest piece off to glue on the elastic. Should I glue on the shoulder straps before or after I attach it to the ab armor with the strapping system? I also redid the outline around the ears of the helmet, and the left side turned out fine but paint got under the tape on the right side so I'm gonna redo that. Also, what adhesive should I use to put the wire mesh in behind the teeth? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoldKolby Posted August 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2016 This will be my last update until December, since I fly off to college tomorrow. I redid the strapping system for the torso to have the screw heads on the outside, rather than the inside. I also attached the chest piece with the straps, and now everything is stored in a crate until I'm off on vacation. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alay[TK] Posted August 14, 2016 Report Share Posted August 14, 2016 Good luck and have a safe flight! Those brackets look really nice. I think I'm going to use them for my next go around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.