The Shell Swap (... and This is Why I Use E6000, pt. 2)

I was set on not working on the armor last night. But there was a discussion based upon something that was gnawing at me, and could prove detrimental to my build.

Remember this picture I posted regarding the shins and the huge gap on the right shin closure, and the tight fit on the left shin closure?

A few other people were having the same issue. There was some discussion here and there about the possibility of the pieces being mixed up, not by the builders, but by the numbering Anovos put onto the pieces.

Looking at the back of the pieces as they were, I could tell something was amiss. The ankle profile (as they were taped up to simulate closure) also didn't fill me with confidence that I had the pieces assembled correctly.

This can't be right, can it? I know the kit is "screen accurate," but...

Having used E6000, and despite the pain it would be to test the theory, I did the only sensible thing I could think of, and pull the pieces apart, almost down to the strips. And then I started assembling them by swapping pieces.

After several iterations of test clamping, observation, and getting over denial, I came to the conclusion that the pieces were mislabeled by Anovos, and I had cut and assembled them incorrectly.

Here is the correct order of the pieces for my particular kit:

In this configuration, the pieces closed better in the back, the shins were both much more symmetric (as far as symmetry goes with this kit), and the curves lined up better in regards to the inner pieces curving for the calves inward more (approaching the ankles from the top) than the outer pieces.

Thankfully, I had cut the pieces rather symmetrically in that each piece was 8" near the knee and 6" near the ankle, making swapping them less painful. However, some of the pieces were still sanded in order to make adhesion better for the cement (for strips and the sniper knee), so I will need to get (sooner rather than later) some Novus 1-2-3 to remove those sanded areas.

So I removed some strips, cleaned up the old adhesive best as possible, paired the pieces together as they should be, re-cemented, and re-clamped/ placed magnets.

The back of one shin will have some extra scuff as that edge was sanded for the back edge strip that had to be moved to the correct piece. However, it will be covered up by the cover strip on the closure, probably using the H&L tape for the time being.

All in all, I think this will be complete salvageable. My problem probably isn't reflective of all kits, but if things are looking weird with your shins, consider that the labeling from Anovos may be incorrect. I'm not sure if it's related, but my kit was also missing the artwork (which is now being shipped separately from Anovos).

EDIT: there's no correlation between mis-numbered pieces and missing artwork. At least one kit I've heard of had the artwork AND mis-numbered pieces.

Edit: for the results of the swap, see my next blog post here.