Tim’s first time build (RS Prop Masters ESB TK)

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Hey guys,
Below are some images of my top half for you to give me some feedback on.

In terms of my own observations:
1. I think I need to shorten the elastic between the shoulders and the biceps a little so the biceps sit a bit higher.
2. I think I’ve pulled the shoulder bells to the front too much

Also, just a few things for you to keep in mind when considering your feedback:
1. I’ve not added the white elastic to keep the shoulder straps down yet
2. I haven’t got my neck seal on
3. I haven’t got my holster yet
4. At the moment, there is no padding in my helmet so that’s as low as it will sit. Conscious it’s a bit bobble head but not sure how I can get the helmet any lower (short of removing vertebrae in my neck haha)

As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. Please judge me at Centurion standard.

Thanks all,
Tim






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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work. 

 

Yes rotate those biceps a little and bring them up, you can then space the gaps between your forearms and handguards as they are just touching.

 

Drop boxes not quite at the end of the plastic belt

Posterior pushing away from kidney, either tighter strapping or V tabs 

Helmet I only have a piece of 5mm soft foam so the helmet isn't too far above the head.

 

With a heat gun you bend strips of ABS plastic into the shape of a V, only glue one side and the other remains free to allow movement when you bend. Just helps stop the butt plate from pushing back from the back plate.

 

 

 

Check the gaps and endcaps on your TD gap looks a little small between caps and control panel

 

 

Not far to go now, you are nearly at the finish line

 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Coming alone nicely Tim.

 

In a quick check, additional to what Glen pointed, you may want to rise up your AB belt to sit  at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical abdomen button panels.

 

 

 

The Ab rivets must be painted in white color. 

 

 

And about your own observations:

1. I think I need to shorten the elastic between the shoulders and the biceps a little so the biceps sit a bit higher. YES
2. I think I’ve pulled the shoulder bells to the front too much YES

4. At the moment, there is no padding in my helmet so that’s as low as it will sit. Conscious it’s a bit bobble head but not sure how I can get the helmet any lower (short of removing vertebrae in my neck haha)  NO PROBLEM 
 

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Thanks chaps. Yes, I should have mentioned I haven’t painted my split rivets yet but thanks for the heads up all the same.

@glen, just a question on the V tabs, how high would you recommend making the ‘V’?


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

8 minutes ago, TrickyT81 said:

@glen, just a question on the V tabs, how high would you recommend making the ‘V’?
 

Depends on how much return edge you have, you just need it to wrap around that, the smaller the gap the less movement you have

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Ok, so I got my heat gun to start making my V tabs.

First and foremost, more for my own curiosity, could someone explain how the V tabs work when they’re in place and how they prevent the butt plate sticking out.

I’ve drawn out where I intend to place the V tabs (in blue) as well as where I will need to move my strapping to make way for them (in red). My second question is around this, will moving my strapping from the outer edge mean that the butt plate has a greater risk of moving out of position, even with the V tabs in place?




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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

You glue the bottom tab on the posterior, the top tab is free and sits behind the kidney and stops the posterior pushing backwards stopping gaps.

 

You should be able to keep your strapping as it is and have the v tabs next to them, it should be enough to stop the posterior pushing backwards. If you have clamps or magnets try a test first to make sure.

 

 

 

[TrickyT81[TK]]

As always, thanks, Glen.


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[TrickyT81[TK]]

Hi folks,
So I’ve received my new lenses and a foam mount today so want to make a start on fitting them to my helmet.





I’m a bit unsure of how best to do this.

1. In terms of which way around they need fixing, should it be lens first (against the actual helmet) with the foam on top, or the other way around?

2. Should I fix in place with E6000 or strong double sided tape?

I need to make the eye holes a little bigger and cut some space for the nose but really pleased with the quality.

Any additional advice to the above is appreciated as always.

Thanks,
Tim


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I don't use foam there, I would think if it's sealed to your face it would fog up, most just add a lens.

 

I separate and trim so the lenses are just larger than the eye openings, add some black silicon to hold, black as I paint the inside of the helmet. 

 

 

So many different ways to attach, here are a few

 

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Hi folks,
I’m currently faced with a challenge with my left shin armour and have decided to go back a couple of steps to try and correct this.

Just to remind, this is an RS build and both shins are right legs and I’m finding that the left isn’t lining up at the back as show in the pictures below.








My own theory is that the sniper knee is almost acting as a bracket and causing the misalignment. As a result, I’m forcing the back to align. Should i take the sniper knee off, hold the back alignment in place with clamps and then glue the sniper knee back on or are there any other methods I can try?

Thanks,
Tim


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I had to correct one, I decided to leave the sniper plate on then heat the front sides of the shins then twist and hold to cool, worked well.

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Hi Glen,
Did you use the heat gun just on the side that is sitting lower?
Also, are you able to breakdown:
1. Which areas of the shin did you apply the heat to?
2. Best approach on applying heat without bending/warping the shins too much?

I don’t have a lot of experience with heat guns so don’t want to over heat and ruin my armour.

Thanks pal,
Tim


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

7 minutes ago, TrickyT81 said:

Hi Glen,
Did you use the heat gun just on the side that is sitting lower?
Also, are you able to breakdown:
1. Which areas of the shin did you apply the heat to?
2. Best approach on applying heat without bending/warping the shins too much?

I don’t have a lot of experience with heat guns so don’t want to over heat and ruin my armour.

Thanks pal,
Tim


Sent from The Empire

I used a heat gun.

1. From the front sides to the raised ridges, trying on a few shins I find these areas are the best to help twist. I didn't find much movement heating the rear sides.

2. Practice on scrap plastic, I can't say this enough, I have found you can go from just pliable to molten mess in the blink of an eye, try in stages, apply a little heat then try to twist, if it doesn't move try a little more heat.

 

Some people have had success with hot water bath's and that may be worth a try first.

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Nearly there….



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[TrickyT81[TK]]

Hi folks,
I’ll be submitting my approval photos in the next week. Having kept my armourer up to date through my build, he is confident it will get through.

I am aiming for Centurion so I’m assuming I need to be cleared as Expert Infantry first before submitting for Centurion?

Thanks,
Tim


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[Doggydoc[Staff]]

33 minutes ago, TrickyT81 said:

I am aiming for Centurion so I’m assuming I need to be cleared as Expert Infantry first before submitting for Centurion?

That is correct, you get basic approval to then apply for Expert Infantry, then you can use the Expert Infantry approval to apply for Centurion 

 

Good luck on your approval, the costume is looking good 

[Rob .T .[TK]]

So why not go for centurion with your ANH RS armour as well ? Then you can have two costumes at EI and Centurian ! That would be cool . 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

5 hours ago, TrickyT81 said:

I’ll be submitting my approval photos in the next week. Having kept my armourer up to date through my build, he is confident it will get through.

Good luck, hopefully you hear back soon

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Hi all,
I’m hoping to get some guidance on my ab/kidney overlap issue which is starting to frustrate me a little.

So far I have tried:
1. Different lengths of elastic.
2. Different widths of elastic.
3. Adding padding

From what I notice when I put on the armour, my hips are pushing the lower part of the join out, resulting in the top part overlapping.

Before I go any further and waste more materials, any suggestions would be really appreciated.

Below are pictures of my issue and my current interior strapping.

Thanks all,
Tim








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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I added a 2 inch piece of foam behind my ab, you either need something to push the ab forward or use a locking setup on the sides so the kidney can't go any further.

 

Reference of a locking system, personally I would have it locking closer to the ends of the Ab/Kidney so the strips don't bend

 

 

 

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Glen to the rescue!

I think I’ll try the foam padding again first as I may have been adding it to the wrong place.

I was trying to add it near the ab/kidney seam and wasn’t making much difference

Do you usually add the foam to the front of the ab i.e., around the stomach?

Thanks,
Tim


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[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

1 minute ago, TrickyT81 said:

Glen to the rescue!

I think I’ll try the foam padding again first as I may have been adding it to the wrong place.

I was trying to add it near the ab/kidney seam and wasn’t making much difference

Do you usually add the foam to the front of the ab i.e., around the stomach?

Thanks,
Tim


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You really need it at the top of your ab plate, note on the side the angle of the abdomen compared to the kindey plate, hopefully with foam the sides will no longer be on an angle

 

[TrickyT81[TK]]

Hi Glen,
Just a few questions on the locking system.

1. Do I only need to add this to the right side?

2. If yes, are there any adjustments I should consider for the left side e.g., shorter/longer strap connection?

3. It appears the locking system keeps the ab/kidney aligned at the top, how does it prevent the overlap? I ask this because there doesn’t appear to be a ‘stopping point’ that prevents the kidney pulling over the ab too far.

Thanks,
Tim


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[Morgi[Staff]]

vor einer Stunde schrieb TrickyT81:

Hi Glen,
Just a few questions on the locking system.

1. Do I only need to add this to the right side?

2. If yes, are there any adjustments I should consider for the left side e.g., shorter/longer strap connection?

3. It appears the locking system keeps the ab/kidney aligned at the top, how does it prevent the overlap? I ask this because there doesn’t appear to be a ‘stopping point’ that prevents the kidney pulling over the ab too far.

Thanks,
Tim

 

I'm not Glen, but I'll still chime in 

 

1. I've got the system ob both sides. It simply keeps the line-up straight -- both horizontal and vertical. If you only need it on one side, that works too.

 

2. Depends on your body. If you need longer straps for a symmetrical look, if you need shorter straps to ensure everything stays in place... 

 

3. It doesn't prevent overlap. In fact, I specifically built it like this to allow for overlap. By moving the interlocking parts on both sides closer to the edge, you'll have a system that avoids any and all overlap. The Overlap will only ever be possible for the part before the interlocking system:

 

 

See how the armor side with the tabs hits the armor side with the openings? If I had placed those openings directly at the edge of the armor part it would have stopped right at the edge of my armor, creating a neat line for the ab-kidney connection.

 

Hope this helps!