Revvek[TK] Posted June 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 (edited) Centurion is kind of the plan… maybe Made my left side snap strips, and glued them into each side. Used paper to figure out the pattern I ended up with. (Hard to keep everything exact) then made 2 layer 2 inch elastic straps that fit over those. (That’s Ken for the idea!) then put holes in the centers of the paper template. used a silver sharpie poked through the back to mark the snap points on each strap. I used a clear plastic scrap (not pictured) with the hole size for the punch in it to help draw the dots for the punch to help placement. And the straps are folded and glued around the snap areas with e6000 first to hold them flat. Edited June 1, 2022 by Revvek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 Going to have to heat bend this some to make it curve in toward the ab plate better. glued up and read for the right side. all dry. I put 2 sets over here in case I wanted more to help with vertical alignment. Not sure I’ll keep things this way now… Made more elastic straps, here I am showing the way I used the paper for hole placement. And maybe come up with a way to stop them from sticking out as well if the bend isn’t enough to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2022 (edited) Time to put some new Velcro on the lower legs. They don’t meet up very nice… and I’m unsure how to bend them better without possible damage. Water bending could work, if I can get Just the portion I want in the hot water… going to trim away more of the return edges I think… Edited June 1, 2022 by Revvek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 5, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) Velcro added but how I want to adjust the shape to fit better I haven’t decided… used some Velcro and elastic straps for the chest to ab plate connections. Maybe after all is fitted I’ll change to snaps. Edited June 8, 2022 by Revvek Fix image size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 (edited) For the thighs I have gone with 1” straps with a quick release buckle and a Velcro mount point in the thigh. these hang from a tactical belt and let me put things on and then pull straps to adjust. used some of the pre made straps cut up to make the Velcro mount loops. I’m sure to be removing more return edges in some places like behind the knees, etc… Starting to fit! I’m NOT HAPPY with how the right side snaps together!!! (Ab to kidney) Nearly impossible to contort myself into the position needed to snap the snaps. I have ideas on how to fix this… Edited June 8, 2022 by Revvek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted June 8, 2022 Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 58 minutes ago, Revvek said: I’m NOT HAPPY with how the right side snaps together!!! Nearly impossible to contort myself into the position needed to snap the snaps. I have ideas on how to fix this… Hi Steve, that straps/ buckle system looks fantastic. Regarding your snaping issue, if I understood correctly, it looks like your right thigh is out a bit. If you rotate it in a bit and move the strap too (if it's not sew in) this could do the trick. In my case, I use a leather belt to have more support and the straps are attached making a loop so I can move them as needed. Something like the image bellow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 (edited) 54 minutes ago, TKSpartan said: Hi Steve, that straps/ buckle system looks fantastic. Regarding your snaping issue, if I understood correctly, it looks like your right thigh is out a bit. If you rotate it in a bit and move the strap too (if it's not sew in) this could do the trick. … In my case, I use a leather belt to have more support and the straps are attached making a loop so I can move them as needed. Something like the image bellow. … Thanks! My belt also lets me slide the straps with loops. Maybe that was the issue when I took the photo? I’ll have to keep an eye on that. (And find a way to make the straps stay where I want on the belt once they are in the perfect place) the snap issue is related to my ab to kidney connection on the right side. Edited June 8, 2022 by Revvek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKSpartan[Staff] Posted June 8, 2022 Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 33 minutes ago, Revvek said: the snap issue is related to my ab to kidney connection on the right side. ah ok, language barrier issue here. I have seen this Ab/kidney connection mod, perhaps could be useful to you. and this one 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2022 While figuring out where to attach the holster, I decided I needed to change holes in the leather straps. moved the plug from the new hole and e6000’d it into the old hole to add just a bit more structure. ‘ attached! I’m going to make this use snaps to come off easy for packing, just need some small #8-32 screws. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 (edited) Ok, so…. As I mentioned, I wanted to make the holster come off with snaps, but how to do it… I found some other posts info about people doing it, so I know I’m not the only one. Good. I really like what Chicago screws look like on the outside of the belt, but how would that work with snaps… Like this used tin snips to shrink the screw head grinder to round it off better. (Be carful! They like to fly fast!! If you touch the wheel wrong) And it fits. (I’m sure I could come up with a better way to make it cleaner but, I only needed 2… for now.) I then made some 1mm plastic spacers to go under the snap to help spread the forces and improve the overall fit, like I did for the ab snaps. It’s actually a lot of work to hand craft what’s basically a plastic washer…. and belt now can be removed easy for packing! maybe I’ll make the 1mm spacers bigger so they hang out from under the snap later… we will see how these work stress wise. Edited June 11, 2022 by Revvek Never see the typos till after I post… (sigh) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted June 11, 2022 Report Share Posted June 11, 2022 Nice work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted June 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 repurposed the shoulder straps that came with the kit. Going to attach to the shoulder bell with Velcro to start with, and left some webbing to put the snap through on the other end. Glued in some elastic for the strap around the bottom. left side reverts are ready to glue in place, once I’m happy with the seam and any paint I end up using on the off colored shims… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted July 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2022 (edited) getting close! The Velcro just kept falling out on the shoulder bells, so I put snaps 2 inches from center to the outer edge of the bell. then I made 1” elastic straps that are 3 inch center to center of the snaps. This makes the other snap hang out 1 inch on center, the exact distance to the snap centered on the 2 inch wide bridge strap. also started installing the padding and fans in my bucket. Edited July 26, 2022 by Revvek 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted July 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2022 First complete suit up and fitting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted July 28, 2022 Report Share Posted July 28, 2022 Looking good, just a couple of things On the rear you may want to try some stronger/shorter elastic between your backplate and kidneyplate as you do have a bit of a gap, sometimes adjusting the shoulder strapping between chest and backplate can help also. Your left thigh is on a bit of an angle, right is spot on, you could try adding some foam to the inside to help push it straight. Also note your shoulder bells are a little high on your shoulders, there is a gap there, not sure what is causing that, you may have lifted your arms and they haven't come down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted July 28, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2022 1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said: Looking good, just a couple of things On the rear you may want to try some stronger/shorter elastic between your backplate and kidneyplate as you do have a bit of a gap, sometimes adjusting the shoulder strapping between chest and backplate can help also. Your left thigh is on a bit of an angle, right is spot on, you could try adding some foam to the inside to help push it straight. Also note your shoulder bells are a little high on your shoulders, there is a gap there, not sure what is causing that, you may have lifted your arms and they haven't come down. thanks for the observations! im aware of the shoulder bells popping up, I’m looking into how to solve that. I am 6-1 so I probably will have a gap, back there, but I am going to play with adjusting the shoulder bridge size to see if it goes down some. And it should not have that slant… hmmm I didn’t notice the leg not being straight, it could be the knee was pushing on it…. I need to check that. I didn’t want to have to pull the knee apart as well, but after some in person expert input during this fitting it became apparent that I WILL be pulling it off and fixing it’s alignment…. more tuneups to come! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted July 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 On 7/28/2022 at 3:17 PM, gmrhodes13 said: Your left thigh is on a bit of an angle, right is spot on, you could try adding some foam to the inside to help push it straight. where would you suggest getting foam suitable for this task? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 1 hour ago, Revvek said: where would you suggest getting foam suitable for this task? Not sure what stores you have in the US, locally we can source it at a few places, rubber/foam suppliers, also at haberdashery stores as they use foam for stuffing chairs and stools, the yellow soft foam is what I normally use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted July 31, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 Discovered the TD metal parts are installed in the wrong place for more than basic approval… and far enough over that I’m going to need new grey pipe, or attempt an expert patch and grey paint job to fix it.. apears to be 68mm OD 64mm ID 2mm wall checking the source master list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted July 31, 2022 Report Share Posted July 31, 2022 6 hours ago, Revvek said: Discovered the TD metal parts are installed in the wrong place for more than basic approval… and far enough over that I’m going to need new grey pipe, or attempt an expert patch and grey paint job to fix it.. Just check the overall length of the pipe as you appear to have a large gap between the end caps and control panel and may help to cover the holes if you trim down a little. Also not holes are closer to the ends of the metal clips and they don't have rounded corners at the control panel side 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRascalKing[TK] Posted August 1, 2022 Report Share Posted August 1, 2022 11 hours ago, Revvek said: Discovered the TD metal parts are installed in the wrong place for more than basic approval… and far enough over that I’m going to need new grey pipe, or attempt an expert patch and grey paint job to fix it.. Take the control panel off and move it to cover your holes - those pipes are hard to find in the proper diameter in the US. Easy to square off the ends of the clip as well. (Pro tip - don't glue your end caps on if they'll stay with their own pressure - I keep my bin/car key and some individual packs of Advil pain reliever in there for long troops!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted August 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) On 7/31/2022 at 2:45 PM, gmrhodes13 said: Just check the overall length of the pipe as you appear to have a large gap between the end caps and control panel and may help to cover the holes if you trim down a little. Also not holes are closer to the ends of the metal clips and they don't have rounded corners at the control panel side This is a rebuild, have to work with what I have and try to make it work. tube is 7.5” wide, 68mm OD. the end caps are close to 3/4 but a bit different from each other, not exactly to control spec. Can’t fix that… the panel is superglued on and not coming off without being destroyed… (I played with the idea, but nope) I could flatten the clip ends, moving the screws a bit closer to the end as well. But that will change the control panel rotation a little... ANH stunt control, doesn’t match that image, but the image from gmrhodes13 looks like a real TD, so this will go in my file for future reference! Edited August 2, 2022 by Revvek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrhodes13[Staff] Posted August 2, 2022 Report Share Posted August 2, 2022 14 minutes ago, Revvek said: ANH stunt control, doesn’t match that image, but that looks like a real TD so this will go in my file for future reference! Yes at times photos are used that are the best on hand, not actual screen references, we see this with a lot of CRL's, even ROTJ has an incorrect TD image on that CRL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted August 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) Here is what I have been doing to fix up this TD. I found that I have the perfect paint, so I decided to patch the holes. (Tested on small cylinder on right) Covered the inside. ( my end caps come off making this easier) my fingers were covered in superglue when done! But I didn’t get them stuck on anything. filled things up with some filler. Second filler pass (alternated colors so I had a better idea of where I was) also made the screws black. What holes? and super close match grey applied. Now I wait for it to dry… (inside is original grey except for a bit of overspray) In the right light, 1 or 2 of the holes have a hint of where they were. if it bugs me to much, I’ll wet sand a bit more and paint again. Probably not though… Edited August 2, 2022 by Revvek Added a bit more detail 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revvek[TK] Posted August 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) Also started to play with how to add straps between the bells and biceps. first with a snap in the bicep. then I started making the elastic straps. snapped one end on to get a feel for size… thinking maybe to short… but maybe not… it could work, with a snap on both sides. but I’m thinking now, maybe use a long patch of Velcro on the bell side, to let me have fine adjustability… Especially if/when the elastic stretches. Edited August 2, 2022 by Revvek 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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