ANH Stunt TK - First Time Builder (ATA)

[Corpor8America]

After 12 months of waiting, BBB received.  I'll go ahead and post that first since I know that's why everyone is here.

 

 

 

Now if I still have your attention, this armor isn't going to put itself together.  This is my first time undertaking anything of this magnitude.  I'm not a particularly handy person.  I'm a computer programmer, no one comes to me for advice on hands on activities in the real world.  Needless to say I feel like this will be a difficult task  To make it more difficult I should shoot for centurion, because if I'm going to spend this much time and money doing something I might as well go for the gold.  Introductions aside, after inventorying all my parts the first question I had was, how do I tell the left arm from the right?  Luckily that was answered here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/tutorials/article/8-howto-assemble-and-strap-arm-armor/incase anyone else doesn't know.  I started trimming my biceps and forearms.  I didn't particularly want to buy some lexan scissors because, I hate buying things I don't know if I'll ever use again, so I started with an old pair of tin snips that my father had laying around.  Those work fine for the straight edges but in the curves, forget about it.  I dreaded trying the score and snap method because I remember when I was younger the knife would always go where it wanted to, and we were not always in agreement on the direction.  But those tin snips really suck in the curves.  So, I found an old pair of exacto knives I had but rarely used, because of the previous problem, and gave it a try.  Turns out it works very well.  I mark it with a pencil and holding the exacto like a pencil I score it several times and peal it off with a set of pliers.

 

 

 

one set of biceps and forearms roughly trimmed.

 

 

Now for the questions:

 

1) Which way is up?  I know I've seen the answer but can't seem to find it.  Answer: A

 

 

2) I don't have any screen for the helmet frown and while I was in the hobby shop I found something called plastic canvas.  Will this work for the frown?  It's kind of thick.  Was only 60 cents. Answer: No

 

 

That's all for now, progress will likely be slow, I appreciate all the help I already know I will get.  After lurking for a year, that's about all I ever seen, troopers helping troopers, and troopers helping aspiring troopers.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Corpor8America

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

The mesh on that screen looks pretty open, Neil.  If you want, PM me your address and I will send you something better.  No charge.

[Corpor8America]

Yeah, that's what I figured.  Some screen would be fantastic Joseph.  All I could find at Home Depot was 25 ft rolls of it.  I was actually going to PM you today anyway.  I want a set of your Centurion rivets and latex hand guards.

 

On the kidney plate:

 

russellr2d2 had the same problem in his thread.  According to this http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29569-ata-armor-build-my-first-tk/page-4#entry385648 it looks like pic A is up.  I can verify more once I start trimming and make sure it lines up with the butt plate correctly. like so http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29569-ata-armor-build-my-first-tk/page-9#entry398186

 

Russell is helping me and he doesn't even know it.   Thanks Russell!

Edited August 22, 2016 by Corpor8America

[lucnak[TK]]

The flat side is down. Think about this: the butt plate and kidney plate rest against each other. The back plate only rests on the middle of the kidney plate, where it's pretty much flat. That, and the curvature of your kidney plate should ideally continue with the curvature where it meets the ab plate at the top.

Edited August 22, 2016 by lucnak

[Alay[TK]]

Good luck!  Fellow programmer here so I know that hands on fear.  You'll do great!

[illusionz_09[TK]]

In Home Depot you will not find it in where you would expect.

Look for Insect Mesh Screen.

that is the perfect size for the frown mesh.

If you looks at my bucket build that is what i used.

 

I Love ATA, can't wait for your build to come through.

Good Luck, i'll keep an eye.

[Cricket[TK]]

I'll be following for sure! My ATA kit won't be here until sometime in December. Until then, I'll live vicariously through you. Looking good so far!

[Corpor8America]

In Home Depot you will not find it in where you would expect.

Look for Insect Mesh Screen.

that is the perfect size for the frown mesh.

If you looks at my bucket build that is what i used.

 

I Love ATA, can't wait for your build to come through.

Good Luck, i'll keep an eye.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll take a better look next time I'm in Home Depot.

 

The flat side is down. Think about this: the butt plate and kidney plate rest against each other. The back plate only rests on the middle of the kidney plate, where it's pretty much flat. That, and the curvature of your kidney plate should ideally continue with the curvature where it meets the ab plate at the top.

 

I think this is a great explanation, really helps visualize it.

 

I'm still trimming the biceps and forearms, I'll post pics in the morning.  How do you go about sanding these items?

[Corpor8America]

I trimmed up the right bicep and forearm more today. I started by measuring 10 mm from the formed ridge. I gave myself a little extra room so I don't mess anything up, I can trim the extra 2-3 mm off later.



I clamped the ruler down to and used my exacto to score a straight line.



After scoring a couple of times with the ruler I removed the clamps and continued scoring



I still can't get over how well score and snap works. I saw plenty of others doing it but never thought it would be a viable method for me.

1 bicep and 1 forearm trimmed, I also couldn't wait to try it on. Still need to sand down those edges.

 

Edited August 23, 2016 by Corpor8America

[Alay[TK]]

I'm still trimming the biceps and forearms, I'll post pics in the morning.  How do you go about sanding these items?

 

 

I use a belt sander.

 

Don't bother sanding much of the butt-join sides as you'll cut those to size for the coverstrip.  The inside you'll want to take off enough that it's smooth and there's no catch, but with a bit of return edge.

 

Also for score and snap, you actually need a ridiculously small amount of cut to actually be able to bend and snap.  Don't worry about giving most bits more than one or two shallow cuts

[Corpor8America]

Also for score and snap, you actually need a ridiculously small amount of cut to actually be able to bend and snap.  Don't worry about giving most bits more than one or two shallow cuts

 

I've noticed I'm scoring less and less.  I think I'm just being overly cautious.

 

I cut out my first cover strip today, does everyone else do score and snap for the cover strips?  That plastic is a bit thicker, and I can't put pliers to it.  I ended up bending it by hand, but at 15 mm there isn't much to grab on to.  It did work though.

 

Also these arrived at my doorstep today

 

[Alay[TK]]

I score/snap coverstrips too.  Needlenose pliers sometimes are needed to start it off, but otherwise with a bit of work it comes apart

[Pledford[TK]]

hey man! good start! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Its nice to see a new TK in the Carolina Garrison!

[Pledford[TK]]

To be honest I used tin snips, marked my lines, and cut it, then sanded. It worked very well for me. There were some thing I scored/snapped but most of it I used the tin snips.

Also, Im not sure if you are doing this or not but I highly suggest adding cover strips to the inside of everything. Some say its not necessary but I have found that it makes the armor very very strong! Plus the inside strips do not have to be exactly 20mm. they can be a little wider. I actually used scrap the left over pieces for inside strips. it just gives it more support.

[lucnak[TK]]

I bent by hand and yes it was a pain. You could put some tape on your pliers to avoid damaging/scratching the ABS for your strips.

[Corpor8America]

I score/snap coverstrips too.  Needlenose pliers sometimes are needed to start it off, but otherwise with a bit of work it comes apart

 

 

I bent by hand and yes it was a pain. You could put some tape on your pliers to avoid damaging/scratching the ABS for your strips.

 

Manual labor it is then. Thanks

 

 

To be honest I used tin snips, marked my lines, and cut it, then sanded. It worked very well for me. There were some thing I scored/snapped but most of it I used the tin snips.

Also, Im not sure if you are doing this or not but I highly suggest adding cover strips to the inside of everything. Some say its not necessary but I have found that it makes the armor very very strong! Plus the inside strips do not have to be exactly 20mm. they can be a little wider. I actually used scrap the left over pieces for inside strips. it just gives it more support.

 

I think maybe my tin snips are just old.  They look like they were made in the 50's.  I intend on doing the inside strips as well.  Not only does it make it stronger, but it looks better too.

[Corpor8America]

Got some more of my soft parts in.  Darman's neck seals and holster

 

 

Very nice!  Also got some latex handguards and centurion rivets from justjoseph63

 

 

Also very nice!  Joseph also hooked me up with some proper screen from my frown

 

 

Got my arms trimed and tapped.  Still need to do some sanding and trimming to remove some of the return edges where necessary.

 

[Pledford[TK]]

Wow man! Very cool! Looking good.

 

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[Corpor8America]

Ok, I've done more trimming. I've trimmed the right thigh, right calf, and the ab plate.  

 

 

Now it appears as if I've made a rookie mistake.  I didn't measure accurately enough and may have trimmed the back of thigh too much.  In the picture below I've got the standard 20 mm strip on the front, and the back I've got a 30 mm strip.  It's too tight on my thigh,  I've marked in red where the thigh is digging into my knee.  

 

 

I can't pull it up any higher and it restricts me from bending my knee when walking.  And it's pretty tight.  So it needs to be wider.  I've already cut the back of the thigh with a 20 mm cover strip in mind.  So I have a 10 mm gap between the halves.

 

 

I remember illusionz_09 having the same problem (http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31122-illusionz-09-anh-stunt-armor-build-ata/page-2#entry455018) He ended up with a 40 mm back strip that tapers but as referenced in the EIB application this would be a problem for Centurion (http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37710-tk-11802-requesting-anh-stunt-eib-status-ata-599/#entry504042)

 

 

Secondly, the rear thigh cover strips should be the same width as the shins, approximately 20 - 30 mm width. Yours look much wider and have a taper that increases with width as you reach the top. These will need some work for Centurion.

 

So what are my centurion options?  Can I have a 40 mm cover strip in the back as long as it's the same for my calves, and doesn't taper?  Thanks illusionz_09, for detailing your thread so I have something to reference and look back on.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Corpor8America

[Pledford[TK]]

I wondering if you could do a big cover strip on the inside the the standard 20mm on the outside. When you do inner and outer strips the outer are really just for ascetics because all of the hold and strength comes from the inner.

 

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[Troopacoola[TK]]

Manual labor it is then. Thanks

 

 

 

I think maybe my tin snips are just old. They look like they were made in the 50's. I intend on doing the inside strips as well. Not only does it make it stronger, but it looks better too.

Lexan scissors are a godsend too!

 

Marc

[lucnak[TK]]

I would suggest sending a DM to Tony or Sly to ask about this...I think the biggest issue was the taper. The strip size just needs to stay proportional. I am actually a bit curious as my recollection is that the thighs and the front of the shins should stay the same size and the backs of the shins should be about 5mm wider. I would ask if you can have a bigger ridge and have a 30mm cover strips with 5mm of ridge on each side or if you could do a 40mm cover strip covering the whole ridge.. You might find that info in someone else's build thread!

 

(Edit: I should reread to correct typos first!)

Edited August 29, 2016 by lucnak

[illusionz_09[TK]]

Glad i could help.

 

Ideally what you can do to make it perfect to fix would be to use ABS paste to create an internal strips that connects both pieces together (similar to a clone). then use the standard 30 mm strip to go over the middle. So the space would be there, but the strip is the correct size.

 

Again, for Expert Infantry you are fine, it just depends if you want to go to Centurion level.

But there are always different routes you can take.

[MissingNo[TK]]

Just wanted to say thanks for posting so much information as you build, I've been following along with your build since I've just started working on my own set of ATA armor (computer programmer as well so no sense of crafting)