Bonded Hawk Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I have a little problem and can use advise. On my lower leg the front shim is 15/16. The back will have to be about 1 3/4". Should I increase the front shim to balance the back out or just shim it at 1 3/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAND DEVIL Posted February 8, 2013 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Steve, I would leave the front at the smaller size and do an additional shim in the back. You really want your front to appear screen accurate and you can hide the shim in the back. You could do it the hard way (I did) and add a shim to the front and back for balance. The issue will be that you will have to bondo over and reshape to get the right look. Then add the right size strip over that. Someone may have another idea, but this worked good for mine. PM me if you need pictures. Good luck brother. Keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonded Hawk Posted February 9, 2013 Author Share Posted February 9, 2013 This works for me. Thanks for the reply. BH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonded Hawk Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 I work out of town so tonight I will try and do the calves. The left biceps is way too tight. Its ATA armor the left side. The front shim is actually 3/4". The back will need to be over 1 1/4" to fit. Should I use a heat gun to round out the oval shape? Or should I just shim it big in the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inglorious trooper Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 hey steve, can i just say one thing,avoid heat guns unless there is no other way buddy! if you feel you need to bend your armour i would suggest a hair dryer,i used one for a few parts on my FX armour. it does take longer but it will do the job eventually,heat guns can be very vicious! good luck bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonded Hawk Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Ok no heatgun. Im just not sure if I should shim the bicep that much. My arms are not that big. The piece is just a strange oval shape. Did anyone else with ATA armor have this problem. I have read several builds and can remember only one person that had difficulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smally Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Shim, not the heat gun! Remember, when your bicep is on you need to have enough room to "flex" I.e. so it's not too tight when your putting on or taking off your helmet. Be sure to use slow drying glue (something like E-6000) so you can be sure of any fitting before it fully sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonCal Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I agree with putting extra shims on the back to keep the lines on the front "correct" I also agree, not to use a heat gun. Unless you have had a lot of practice it can be very dangerous (to the armor). I don't know what kind of plastic that kit is made from but with the ABS that I work with I am very confident in its durability so in cases like this I literally roll the plastic up like a newspaper with my bare hands to give it a curve (if it needs it) FX armor is definitely strong enough to handle this sort of thing unless perhaps it's getting old. Now... DON'T DO THIS before testing or finding out for sure what kind of plastic you have or learning what its limitations are. If you can't go that route I'm not entirely sure what to recommend. Perhaps Marcus' idea of a hair dryer might work. If you have to use a heat gun be very careful and make sure to heat as slowly and as evenly as you can, constantly moving the heat gun. I have been able to do this before when designing helmets and things but man it is risky. Here is a picture from my tutorial as even my stuff has this issue sometimes. The plastic has a little bit of a memory when formed so it can "spring" back a bit pulling it from its intended oval shape. I use .090 virgin grade ABS which is extremely durable. If you have something similar you should be able to manipulate it by hand. Just be careful. I'm not actually bending it that far in this pic. I could literally bend it another 1 1/2" down or maybe 2" without any issues other than maybe a little "pucker / kink" on the return edge which you can straighten out later by pressing the armor against the edge of a table at the location of the "pucker" Hopefully this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonded Hawk Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 I've just decided to go with a wide shim on the back. I'm using e6000, and if I don't like the results I'll just pull it apart and try and reshape then. The armor is ABS. Its good to be warned about the heat gun. I have used it with sintra, but have limited experience with ABS. I appreciate the advice yall have offered. BH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyBoy Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Sounds like you've got this covered guys. Keep us posted man... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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