DamnItDavid Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Hello. One of our garrison members is getting married. His fiance has trooped with us a lot and is wanting to surprise him at their reception with her own armor as an approved member. We have the kit,boots are ordered. I have the neck seal and belt taken care of. A couple garrison members went in and bought her pauldron as a gift since this is going to be a cool surprise. I will have to check the forums here because we still need pouches. I have helped 2 others with their armor builds, and currently have a TK with centurian award. We started off by marking the left and right parts for shoulder, bicep, forum, thighs, and calf. Then moved on to marking the return edge. I use 1/4" masking tape so we have a nice edge and dont have to eyevall anything or measure with a ruler. For trimming I always start at the bottom. Especially if you're new, mistakes are harder to notice and peopel normally dont stare at your feet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henselmonster Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 This is a great surprise for sure! Awesome! More sandy couples! If you want to see how I trimmed up my wife armor check out this thread: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 16 minutes ago, henselmonster said: This is a great surprise for sure! Awesome! More sandy couples! If you want to see how I trimmed up my wife armor check out this thread: Thank you sir. He is a TK, she wants to be a sandy. Ì'll help as much as I can. Troopers helping troopers, and they are good people. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henselmonster Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Well when her armor is all done let her know about the Desert Foxes patrol, it is our all female patrol for the MEPD! And any questions you have about a sandy please be sure to ask! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asher Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 Great idea ! May the Force Be With You Asher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 Right now it's easy. Thickness of the knee plate is my first search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henselmonster Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 1/2”-3/4”! i lean more toward 1/2” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 13 hours ago, henselmonster said: 1/2”-3/4”! i lean more toward 1/2” I got the shins trimmed and and inner strip glued last night. I will save the outer cover strips until Monday when she is there to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Shins sanded, bottom trimmed, inner cover strip in place Ab and the butt/kidney trimmed and sanded I have not cut the butt/kidney plate. It is stillone piece at the moment, it may stay that way. Chest and back trimmed and sanded. I am hoping to have the thighs done by monday as well so we can start fitting the core and legs. I am off to look at the 3 buttons that fo on the ab. I cut And sanded them down the same way I did my 4 button plate for my TK armor. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henselmonster Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Looking great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Thank you sir. Looking at differences for basic approval vs the higher tiers. Easier to buikd for it now, instead of doing it later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne Trooper Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Separate the butt and kidney! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 12, 2018 Author Share Posted April 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Airborne Trooper said: Separate the butt and kidney! I most likely will. I am waiting to get her opinion when she comes to help Monday. I think it looks better as one piece, it is more comfortable when it is seperated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 16, 2018 Author Share Posted April 16, 2018 She was unable to make it over today, so we will work on sizing the armor next week. I will most likely trim the arms between now and then. I had 20 minutes this morning, so I started on her bucket. The 1/4" tape is my best friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 Arms trimmed and sanded down. Once she gets here we will be able to size and glue them. 3 button plateis ready to be attached. Hopefully I have it finished by next monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveMonkey Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Keep it up dude, looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 10 hours ago, LoveMonkey said: Keep it up dude, looking good. Thanks. She just left. We had time to get everything sized but the forearms. Cover strips this week and most likely weathering. Next week strapping and webbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper1 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Yeah Dave, as for separating the Butt from the back. It is necessary. Easy to do as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 25, 2018 Author Share Posted April 25, 2018 On 4/24/2018 at 11:23 AM, trooper1 said: Yeah Dave, as for separating the Butt from the back. It is necessary. Easy to do as well. The crl says it is allowable to have a single kidney and posterier armor piece. I talked the options of one piece or seperate with her on Monday. I think one piece looks better, 2 piece is a lot more comfortable to wear. Once it is ready for strapping we can make that call. Its a quick score and snap. We need the smallest of shims so she has 1/4" gap or less when closed. Total amount will be 1" (25mm) added per side When I do shims I start with the main body of the armor (ab section) and a smaller strip glued with ABS paste and scrap ABS. It'll be solid and 1 permanent piece. Once that sets I glue the rest of the expansion ontop of the protruding backing piece. I will add the front piece this evening, then once the ABS paste sets up, I will sand it with 60 then 100. Check for bubbles and fill with a thin layer of paste. For the Kidney/butt plate I glued a 1" section on top of the original molded edge and filled in the original kidney notch. After this sets up I will trim the extra ABS paste down with the dremel, Then refill that area. It's more work, but once finished you won't be able to tell the armor was shimmed. This also gives me a chance to sand down and fill that pinch in the armor at the return edge. Most of it will disappear by the time fitting is finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 25, 2018 Author Share Posted April 25, 2018 For the helmet I trace a quarter 2x so it makes an oval I then cut that out and glue that where the hovi tips go. The plastic there is really thin, this way the tips stay secure and the plastic doesnt buckle or break if they take a bump. I have cleared out the teeth a little more and cleaned up the eyes. Since I have pieces with ABS papste curing, I will be jumping around a bit while I work on finishing it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 26, 2018 Author Share Posted April 26, 2018 Round 1 of sanding on the shims. I will finish them tonight. Kidney Ab not yet sanded Better image of the cut out teeth Now time for some lenses Place tape and trace I then go 1/4" on the outside of the marked line and put a halfcircle in where i will add a screw Mark left and right I then place it on the material (the side with plastic film) and trace each side This gives 2 sets of lenses Bucket assembly started I use screws at the ears and a dot of e6000 to hold it in place till i get the ears fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inklegg Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Looks like a great start. Following to see the shim results 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 27, 2018 Author Share Posted April 27, 2018 17 hours ago, inklegg said: Looks like a great start. Following to see the shim results Thanks. Hopefully finished with them by Sunday. This is also a WTF kit. I saw in a previous post about your shins. That was the hardest part of my tk build as well. The long/short was the key for me. This armor needs done by June, while i am working on my own costume for the solo premier. So I bounce back and forth a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted April 28, 2018 Author Share Posted April 28, 2018 Kidney sanded down with 60 When you shim this way,the abs gets little tiny air bubbles. As you sand most of them go away. For the ones that don't, i thin out the abs paste a lot and paint over them then sand again. For a sandy, weathering will hide any of the tiny ones by the time the armor is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamnItDavid Posted May 3, 2018 Author Share Posted May 3, 2018 Made progress finally. Had a busy week and didnt get to do much the last few days. 3 buttons glued on Left side sanding done Right side sanding done I have a small divot where the orginal notch was. I am going to cheat and use some wood filler that dries in a natural color. Once weathered it'll be hard for someone to notice. That is a lot easier to sand. I may go through and wet sand 800 and 1000 then hit it with novus 2, but being a TD it wont need to be shiny like my TK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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