Help - Need to fix FX Thighs

[foggy[TK]]

After several troops, it has dawned on me yesterday during my drive home why I cannot sit in my armor.

 

My thigh pieces do not fit me in several places. They are FX and have the seams glued together.

One - they are too long. Two - they are too small at the top and need to be shmmed.

 

If I am successful in separting/opening the glued seams, the questions I have are:

1. How do I trim the top of the pieces to make them shorter

2. How do I measure to make the bottom of the pieces narrower and have the top of the pieces flare so that they fit properly at the top with shims?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[TN-TROOPER]

ABS glues is really hard to remove once setup, the thing I would suggest is maybe boiling them to get the glue to become tacky again and then seperate the seam very quick, then use a fine tip marker and very carefully mimmic the way the top is shaped but draw it about one inch beloe, then use a dremel with a cutting blade attached to do your cut

[SuperTrooper]

If you used Devcon plastic welder, superglue, white glue, etc... getting it apart is really easy. Throw them in the freezer for an hour and flex them a little and they will pop apart. If you used ABS plumbing cement you sill have to cut them apart (good luck).

 

Since you need them shorter you have a golden opportunity to make the contour more accurate at the same time. If you do this leave the middle strip length alone and start cutting the contour first. Notice the steep angle on the outside curve, and how deep the inner cut out is.

 

For shimming them so they are bigger at the top and smaller at the bottom. First figure out how much you need to trim off the bottom if you need to. I had to trim about 3 inches off the left just to get them to match. So I cut a wedge taking about 3 inches off the bottom and none at the top. Then add a wedged shim to give you however much you need at the top while keeping the bottom nice and contoured, and reinforce from behind for a stronger hold.

 

I'm working on a tutorial on a better way to shim thighs as we speak. I've been helping a local recruit with this very problem. Hopefully I'll get it up in the next week or two.

 

Good luck.

[foggy[TK]]

Thanks for the replies. Although I have lots of tools, I am tool use challenged.

 

I had not heard about boiling parts. Intriguing prospect. I have several sets of used armor which require not only thigh fixes but also upper arm shims. One set may have been put together with ABS glue. Instead of boiling, I may use a hair dryer. Easier on the pots.

 

I used Devcon plastic welder on the set I put together. I will need to borrow a friend's freezer since I only have the small one to my fridge.

 

When I successfully complete the first thigh mods, the next will be for the sandy I plan to put together along with TX.

 

As I understand the directions, for the top mod, the inside of the thigh (front & back) is where the trimming takes place.

 

Again, thank you.

[cr4nky]

I´ve also used a heatgun to loosen glued parts from eachother.