Fumanchewie Posted May 12, 2015 Share Posted May 12, 2015 Well the the long awaited time for new armor has finally arrived! I have been a member of 501st for 10 years and have rocked FX armor all these years. (Don't laugh, admit it you thought it was awesome too when you first saw it ) But that old and busted armor has been retired to make way for the "new hotness". Here is the box photo I read a lot of great things about the ATA armor and I must say I am even more pleased when it arrived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE TROOPER Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Ooooohhh....so nice. . I can almost smell the awesomeness . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIVE Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 YAY! I loooooove ATA armor. The plastic is sooo nice! Good luck on the build!I'll be watching! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchewie Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Thanks I have spent the last few months reading and following different armor builds both here and on FISD. But I will be looking for feedback and input as I "move along" (pun intended) on the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchewie Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 Here it is all laid out. Nice pulls on everything. All pieces accounted for. On the work bench. I can already tell I'm going to have a hard time pacing myself as the anticipation is killing me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchewie Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 I am using the score and snap method to trim the armor. There are good lines on most of the pieces to identify what is return edge and what is not. I'm marking where I want to cut with a pencil and lightly scoring the plastic a few times followed up by a deeper cut. Things were going well until I snapped two blades. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure. I switched to the old reliable box cutter. . . much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FIVE Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Keep on keeping on! Great job so far!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchewie Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 I've trimmed and sanded the biceps. One tip I picked up from other builders is to sand the the edges that will face each other under the cover strip. I laid a half sheet of sand paper on a flat surface to sand off the high spots and create an even edge. Before gluing on the inner cover strip I sanded the B side of the strip and inside edge of the bicep. I don't know if this is necessary but I did it to give the glue a better surface to grip. Glue and clamp After the glue had set on the inner strips I brought the other half of the bicep together. The right bicep went together as planned but the left bicep had a surprising gap on one side. After adjusting, clamping, taping, re-adjusting, clamping, taping and magnets. The gap did not want to go away. I eventually realized it was the inner strip causing the gap. So I peeled off the inner strip (thank you E6000) and re-adjusted the pieces, then they fit together much better. Anyone else run into this? I glued the outer strip on and they looked how I expected. At the top of each bicep there was an uneven end. I debated what to do with these. Sand them off because no one would see them anyway? Or leave them be and regret every arm movement as they tear into my flesh? I couldn't find any threads addressing this specifically but I did see a builder who used a hobby iron to fix the uneven ends of the forearm. So I bought a hobby Iron not knowing if this is really going to work or not. And by the way the hobby iron does not come with instructions for use on ABS plastic, so I practiced on a couple pieces of trim scraps before using it on the biceps. After a little practice I got it to where I wanted it. The finished biceps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjabenben Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Looking good! I'm currently working on my first ATA armor as well and understand your anticipation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fumanchewie Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Making progress on the shins. Does anyone have suggestions on how to reshape the ABS so the opening in the back is not in compression when closed? I feel like these things are going to blow off my legs in a middle of a troop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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