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Lorelei's 5'4" ATA ANH-S Centurion-Hopeful Build


TheLorelei

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Awesome progress on your build!

 

Re the forearms, are you planning on trimming off a notch? If so, something you could also consider is taking apart the forearms and aligning the tops more, and trimming them even on the wrist end, since you don't want any return edge on the wrist end anyway. I don't have an ATA kit so I don't know how well it would actually work.

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10 hours ago, shashachu said:

Awesome progress on your build!

 

Re the forearms, are you planning on trimming off a notch? If so, something you could also consider is taking apart the forearms and aligning the tops more, and trimming them even on the wrist end

Thanks, ShaSha! Good idea. Problem is I already trimmed off a notch actually, and the top edge of the smooth piece is pretty "strict" on the cover strip side. ATA has a ton of cover strip ridges molded in that (I'm given to understand) other makers don't. They make for a nice flat surface and clean look when you're going for the size they're made for, but they definitely take away some flexibility when you're not!

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Trudging along. Feeling a bit like I'll never get it all strapped together to a satisfactory level. My advisor in the Carida Academy is also our GML (:)) so I'm going to see if I can meet up with him soon to get chest, shoulder bell, cod, and thigh placement really nailed down. It's quite hard for me to adjust alone, or without real-time feedback. Y'all are too far away!

 

My Han snap is now a snap :o, and the kidney notch reinforcements are curing. Say, where's that to-do list??

 

Glue buttons to ab

Attach snaps to ab and belt, add drop boxes

Size cod and connect to ab

Cod to butt elastic (soft stuff)

Polish and paint ab repair seam

Ab to kidney strapping, Butt to kidney mounts and strapping

 

Create lens and mesh mounts, Install lenses and mounts

Polish bucket, Install ears, Paint bucket, Install frown mesh

Hovi mic things galore

 

Trim shoulder tops, Connect shoulders

Heat form and reinforce shoulder straps (?)

Apply straps to chest

Size bell strap, Sew in offset shoulder bell snap, Trim shoulder bells (12" from bottom of ridge, 5" from side of ridge?)

 

Thigh ammo pack, Sniper knee, Make neck seal bib

 

So. :unsure:  Gotta take it in bites! Make the strapping I know the lengths of (ab connections primarily), do another fitting of everything, make more strapping, and work on those darn mounts for inside my bucket whenever I possibly can. I kept forgetting to bring epoxy putty back from work so had completely stalled on those and since the rest of the bucket is kinda waiting on those... no bucket work. But now I have them! And a few free hours tonight! I got this!

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Well yesterday I got a few things done, almost all of which unearthed more things to be done/fixed. Delightful. ;p But I got a new camera for my phone! Yay!

 

I cleaned up the paint job on my ab buttons and set those a-gluing so I can position my belt today and put those snaps in.

fS0u54z.jpg

 

I hot water bathed, trimmed, and installed my thigh ammo pack

FnvUh8u.jpg

ha7uvlv.jpg

PBFPl8p.jpg

Show of hands for who hates it as much as I do? (I see what you're saying now, Frank!) But really, is the left side mounted way too far back? I can take it off and trim it down and mount it further forward if need be. And LOOK at the cover strips on the side visible in the right picture - *cringe* - worth taking off and regluing, yes? The front one is close to fine, though. I dunno.

 

I also worked on lens and frown mesh mounts

zdF4J0P.jpg

The lens mounts are made of plumber's epoxy putty and will be carved and sanded into much nicer shapes.

yZJXDhd.jpg

The frown mesh mount is made of some HDPE from a black 5gal bucket.

 

I also tried to reinstall the snap mounts for my buttplate to kidney connection. While doing so, I realized my buttplate is no longer curved properly. (Also seen in this pic is the kidney splice, still being smoothed, and the 22mm notch being reshaped.)

f4zM1lg.jpg

c25exwI.jpg

I'm willing to admit the wide curve may contribute to the problem below. But I don't think reshaping will solve everything - the butt and kidney just don't want to stay together. Tony mentioned having the snap plates right on either side of the seam to help combat sliding and overlapping, but I don't think that'll be enough for the sides. Things - me things - just aren't straight enough, so the side straps get slid at an angle and the back pops out and up over the kidney. Ideally I'd have enough room in the torso to pad out my mid and lower back so the buttplate could hang straight down from the kidney but alas, I don't have the space. (Getting a new ab and kidney has crossed my mind.) I'd like a more stable connection method than snap plates and elastic - something more like the ab to kidney connection would be ideal, how the slot+tab remove all possibility of misalignment. I think that's too rigid for this application though. At the very least I'd like to install an elastic "hinge" (also as seen on kidney-ab) in the flat middle portion where this snap set is now.

lSuTqWb.jpg

 

So! Progress progresses. :) Anyone seen any innovative butt to kidney connections?

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Never did post photos of my completed holster!

5a4t6q1.jpg

Stitching detail:

v6dMtGx.jpg

Snap detail:

ltGMvgL.jpg

Blaster strap riveted on back:

fwOWQVg.jpg

 

All done by hand! It was a super gratifying project and surprisingly quick. And I got to make it to my blaster's exact specs. :)

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5 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Very nice stitching, you have more patience and skill with a needle than I :icon_bow:

Why thank you! I must admit I am quite proud of it, haha. It wasn't too difficult, but patience was required, yes. ;)

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2 hours ago, TheLorelei said:

Never did post photos of my completed holster!

5a4t6q1.jpg

Stitching detail:

v6dMtGx.jpg

Snap detail:

ltGMvgL.jpg

Blaster strap riveted on back:

fwOWQVg.jpg

 

All done by hand! It was a super gratifying project and surprisingly quick. And I got to make it to my blaster's exact specs. :)

Brings a smile to an old leathercrafter to see others work in this magnificent material ^^
And as said, very good job on the stitching and the snap placement. 
 

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On 1/5/2019 at 10:52 PM, ukswrath said:

To combat weak connection points between armor sections swap out the elastic for nylon webbing ;)

That makes a lot of sense... I'll try that before the crazier ideas I have. ;) Thanks!

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Sweet deal. Troopers are great and I'm always in awe when I see them... even now. I'm partial to the dirty side as I hate to polish anyway, but this is fantastic to see. Good luck with the build. Plenty of great people on FISD to answer all your questions. Cheers!

Edited by DarthShinzu
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1 hour ago, Pretzel said:

Damn! Nice work on that Holster! :th_AnimatedBravoSmiley:

 

21 minutes ago, DarthShinzu said:

Sweet deal. Troopers are great and I'm always in awe when I see them... even now. I'm partial to the dirty side as I hate to polish anyway, but this is fantastic to see. Good luck with the build. Plenty of great people on FISD to answer all your questions. Cheers!

Aw, TWO garrison-mates commenting in one morning. Thanks, guys! I look forward to trooping with you soon. :) :)

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A-hem... sorry had to clear my throat.

I think it looks good too.

A-thirdgarrisonmatetocomment-hem, sorry still gotta clear my throat, it’s been a crazy morning. Huh look at that it’s still morning.

Anyway I’m in Garrison Carida and I approve this message.

(Subtle enough?)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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1 hour ago, Frank75139 said:

Anyway I’m in Garrison Carida and I approve this message.

(Subtle enough?)

 

50 minutes ago, A.J. Hamler said:

As long as Garrison Carida is weighing in, I'll add my (Cadet-level) approval.

oh my goodness FOUR ...Caridites?... commenting on my thread in one morning - including FRANK HIMSELF!!! *swoons*

8 minutes ago, DarthShinzu said:

Damn.  GC taking over this thread... lol. Keep up the great work. Kylo always needs target shields ;)

I serve Lord Vader. (But, privately, I think Kylo is also the bee's knees. Just to a lesser degree. But still to a degree that caused me to be paralyzed with the mix of fear, awe, and "squeee" that the presence of any Dark Side Adept of his caliber inspires when I had my private audience with him at Disney a few months ago. I had a Very weird look on my face in all the photos, and the aforementioned mix of emotions is my official excuse. :laugh1:)

 

Back to official tk business! My replacement sniper knee arrived yesterday. Y'all know when I asked for a new one - mere days earlier. Terrell (ATA) is the man! He offered different shipping speeds depending on my level of desperation, too. ;) I've been nothing but pleased with our interactions and continue to highly recommend ATA. I'll sketch in the cut lines and post pics tonight before cutting.

 

We sell poly webbed belts at work for holding up heavy tool belt stuff. I got one to use for my kidney to butt side connections and am quite optimistic. It's SO much thicker than the nylon webbing I got from the fabric store. For reference, I make my snap "plates" out of that and I don't even bother punching holes, I just spread the weave apart with the end of a pen and slide the snap post through. This stuff has a much tighter, thicker weave and is quite rigid.

I've made the wide elastic hinge for the center back. It's been curing for several days next to the ab buttons whose glue was refusing to set for some reason. Too cold in the garage perhaps, or maybe it's the lack of air getting to all the glue underneath the thinner button strip.

 

Almost time to leave work and do some REAL work - armor work! :D

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2 hours ago, Frank75139 said:

Go build!

I want to. So much! But I'm beat. Tomorrow promises less exhaustion. *faint laughter heard in distance* But here's my new sniper knee, and perhaps now you can see why I trimmed it on an angle...

kJ5lZPK.jpg

...'cause it seems to be asking for it.

Here are my proposed trim lines - curve to the top vertical bit will be determined when I test fit it on the (proper!) shin. More concerned with the bottom edge ends. I think my only other option is to cut them way out where the bottom ends and flatten the bumpy upper plastic to match but I don't think that's quite practical.

kbsIx6q.jpg

pq0lAQX.jpg

See how lumpy it gets right past there? It seems like I have to use that as my end point. N'est-ce pas?

p8yK5se.jpg

Also, I had previously treated my knee like an ear (oh the phrases I've typed in this build........:unsure:) - like an ear, I say, in that I trimmed this bottom edge to fit the shin perfectly.

4bPHDo8.jpg

It was delightful. However somebody mentioned the knee should be trimmed way up under the little ridge/bump/box things, which obviously precludes such lower shaping. Doesn't seem like too much left to me compared to screencaps, but my eye is certainly not as trained as it could be. Anyone else care to weigh in on it?

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