Jump to content

The Count Down Begins . . .


Recommended Posts

* Out of Foreign Customs, December 02, 2008, 3:26 pm, CANADA

* Into Foreign Customs, November 28, 2008, 4:32 am, CANADA

* Arrived Abroad, November 28, 2008, 4:32 am, CANADA

* International Dispatch, November 25, 2008, 5:19 pm, ISC LOS ANGELES CA (USPS)

* Electronic Shipping Info Received, November 22, 2008

 

On pins and needles. Christmas is coming several days early at the homestead.

 

:trooper::wub:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dare I ask... Spartan White Shell? Is that HALO or another form of TK?

 

Lol! No, no, no... No Halo in this forum. Just excited for the pending armor.

The shiny pristine trooper suit. You know, kinda like that new car smell?

 

"Here it is, the last suit you'll ever put on"

- Agent K

Link to comment
Share on other sites

*UPDATE*

 

It's here! Picked it up from the postal depot. Dinged another $50.00 on custom fees :(

 

BUT! It's here :)

 

Unpacked everything and took over the dinner table. Started on the forearms. Using electrical tape to mask. Sanded areas for gluing and now clamped.

 

Hmmmmmm.... plastic weld never smelled so good.

 

Anybody else got the munchies?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day 2 & 3:

- Biceps and thighs. Completed.

- Started this thread on a variation of the thermal detonator assembly http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=5488

 

Day 4:

- Started on the calves. Twin boys fussy as heck. Having to run back and forth from the hobby table (dinner table) and the play pen.

- After gluing one set of calves, realized that I glued 2 parts of the same type (IE: the backs of the calves did NOT have any trim). Panic sets in. Then my hours of surfing whitearmor.net pays off. I remember on one post on accidental gluing to place the piece in the freezer! Move the roast beef, turkey and a whole whack of Weight Watchers frozen dinner out of the way. 20 mins later... Viola! Plastic weld be GONE! 2 halves crack apart. Need to sand and start again.

- 2 coats of primer and 1 coat of paint on my thermal detonator variation assembly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah - trying to build armor with small children? Masochist! Mine are 4 & 20 mos. Too old to keep constrianed in a playpen, too young to let power tools laying around.

 

Pix! Yes, they're a bear of time when you're already stretched with kids, but they're great to see when you have time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah - trying to build armor with small children? Masochist! Mine are 4 & 20 mos. Too old to keep constrianed in a playpen, too young to let power tools laying around.

 

Pix! Yes, they're a bear of time when you're already stretched with kids, but they're great to see when you have time.

 

Lol! Funny story, when I told the wife I bought the armor I told her it's to keep me out of trouble during my free time. She burst out laughing. "Free time?", why? Did you want another kid? (We have 1 six year old, 1 seven year old and the twins are 7 months - incidentally that's it! No more. This Imperial cruiser has been "decomissioned", if you get my drift ;) ).

 

I'll definitely post the pics. I've been taking snap shots as I go along. If I've got more progress on the build, maybe this Friday.

 

I see the armor in 3 parts: extremeties, torso and abs & helmet. Since I'm going with my MRCE lid, it actually is just 2 parts. Oh! and my frankenstein of a thermal detonator.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Snaps are NOT my friend. Rivets, clips and webbing are.

 

Lack of updated post does not mean no progress. Run down:

Calves - front glued. Need 1/2" shim in the back (Dangit! I was so close)

Thighs - front glued. back velcro-ed for now.

Abs and back - belt attached. awaiting suspender system from TK-9820 (I think I'm on his list)

Chest /back - done, done and doner (?)

Forearms - donerooni!

Biceps - is don... don... da done

Bells - bottom elastic strap glued on. Need to attach to shoulders.

Hand plates - si dondas

Thermal D - done

 

Incidentals:

- Awaiting buttons from VaderDave

- E11 Hasbro mod: doopydoos glued on - needing primer and paint

- I'm seriously considering going canvas covered as opposed to a full canvas belt

- For now, I can't bring myself to "cut the butt", plate that is. I really like the slender feeling I get when I put the armor on :lol:

- Need a new holster for my Has-E11. The rigid one that came with my armor will not cut it (anyone want it?)

 

The wife will be taking the kiddies out today for a birthday party. The plan is to lay everything out on the kitchen floor and snap a few pics of the progress.

 

As I said: Snaps are NOT my friend. I know I'm doing something wrong. No, I don't know what it is. Yes, I'm too stubborn to learn what NOT to do.

 

Nylon clips are my salvation.

 

More to come...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like you got things quite under control. What kind of problems are you having with the snaps?

 

I ended up getting the anvil system. Snaps I purchased at a craft store here. I tired installing them on a piece of ABS - didn't work. Kept falling apart. The post was definitely long enough. Tried 3 more times as I thought that the force of my hammering may be the issue. Still not working.

 

I resolved to use pieces of webbing instead of ABS strips. Still kept falling apart.

 

When I finally got one to stay on the webbing, the male and female parts wouldn't stay connected as it was malformed from my excess pounding.

 

I know, I should have just bit the bullet and bought the $40 snap tool.

 

BUT as it turned out, the nylon webbing and clip system is what I really wanted to use. Yes, it came about due to necessity rather than choice, but I'm not gonna split hairs.

 

:blink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couldn't for the life of me locally source these nylon webbing clips that I wanted to use. Finally found some at Michaels (local crafts store), Unfortunately, they wanted like $5 each clip. Ended up going to a Dollar store and picked up 6 lanyards with the clips I wanted. Total cost of clips = $6. Cut out the clips and tossed the fabric.

 

Booya.

 

Tg89pvd.jpg

gPtJX1K.jpg

 

Started with the chest and back. Rivitted the nylon straps and clips to allow to easy diassembly and storage.

bkrplwM.jpg

 

Chest and abs as they presently are - Awaiting buttons from VaderDave and still considering canvas covered belt over full canvas

k78LT6j.jpg

 

Comments?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Starting to come together. I would suggest getting a bottle of white nail polish (don't worry, you won't lose any points on your man license). Use it to cover all the rivets. The silver will really stand out, even on top of the drop box. The white nail polish is great to cover them up, dries quick, and fits really nice in your convention kit.

 

Something else you might want to do is consider pulling the velcro off the chest and shoulder strap and gluing the front side on. You can still have it come apart, but the velcro will force the straps out away from the chest a little more than what you probably would like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went with a canvas-covered belt instead of full canvas. I like it in that it provides more support and an unlimited number of attach points for accessories, including your holster.

 

White nail polish, hmm. I'll have to pick some up this weekend. Thanks for the tip!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Starting to come together. I would suggest getting a bottle of white nail polish (don't worry, you won't lose any points on your man license). Use it to cover all the rivets. The silver will really stand out, even on top of the drop box. The white nail polish is great to cover them up, dries quick, and fits really nice in your convention kit.

 

Something else you might want to do is consider pulling the velcro off the chest and shoulder strap and gluing the front side on. You can still have it come apart, but the velcro will force the straps out away from the chest a little more than what you probably would like.

Nail polish. Check. Purchasing today.

I was planning on painting them some how, but the tiny bottle of nail polish is way easier than masking the whole armor except for the rivets for spray painting (don't laugh. I could have actually done that).

 

I did notice the straps pulling up. There's nothing like experience to pass on to the new recruits :)

 

THANKS!

 

BTW, man license revoked by wife. Next to testicles in her purse.

 

 

 

its coming along nice. is this your first armor build?

Thanks for the comment!

Technically no, it's not my first "build". I posted elsewhere on this site that I had picked up a child's trooper armor for my 7 year old boy Brandon. Looking back, it was very invaluable to get my feet wet this way. I had not known about whitearmor.net and pretty much went into it blind.

 

Trial and error. Thankfully, the child kit was a steal at $150 on ebay. I butchered the helmet (Oh the horror!), but I'd give the armor an 7.5/10

 

I will be going back and tuning up his armor with the knowledge and advice I'm picking up on my own TK.

 

 

 

I went with a canvas-covered belt instead of full canvas. I like it in that it provides more support and an unlimited number of attach points for accessories, including your holster.

I'm glad that the canvas covered is working for you. Those are the exact same reasons why I'd like to go this route.

If you have any pics, please post away, It'd love to see a finished unit.

 

Did you use the ABS stips that came with the armor?

 

 

Thanks again for all the comments and advice! Merry Ho Ho!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...