Fit, for Imperial Consumption

I've been working on this armor on and off since 31 January. I figured it was about time to throw it all on and see how everything fits together.

With some help from my wife, getting our older child to bed and then helping me with the thermal detonator and the right shoulder bell, I was able to get everything on.

Assembly happened in the following order:

• Socks and underwear
• Compression pants
• Neck seal
• Compression shirt
• Ab garter (for my gut, underneath shirt)
• Thigh garter belt (over shirt)
• Thigh armor
• TK Boots
• Shin armor
• Ab armor/ posterior plate/ kidney plate/ belt/ back plate (hanging from kidney plate))
• Chest plate (moving back plate into position)
• Fastened belt
• Arm armor (already connected to each other)
• Fastened shoulder bells to straps (assist from wife)
• Thermal detonator (assist from wife)
• Gloves
• Hand Guards
• Helmet

Here's the initial look:

My initial findings:

• I need some tape or low-temp hot glue over the split rivets, especially for the right knee. The rivet ends like to poke into my undersuit and skin (ouch).
• I need some white H&L tape to help cinch the TK boots to my legs to help with fitting the shin armor 
• My left kneecap was getting pinched between the thigh and front of the shin. I trimmed that part of the shin. I might also get some foam to put behind the front of the shins to add extra cushion.
• The back of my left knee was getting pinched between the thigh and shin armors. My thigh pieces are sitting too low, but especially my left thigh. I adjusted the loop tape in both thighs to be optimal and as symmetrical as possible (so the thighs are at the same height).
• The snap loops for the garter belt were twisting. I'll attempt to reinforce these with E6000 to help them keep their shape. I may also try using them inverted to help control torsion.
• I need to finish mounting my helmet fans; that bucket's like a sauna.
• Still need to paint some of those rivets white.
• Tighten that garter belt to keep the right side from popping out near the bottom (and do some crunches :P ).

After passing it into the FB ANOVOS group, they offered the following additional comments:

• Right shoulder strap seems off. If making the strap keepers doesn't adjust it properly, I may need to re-mount it. Bothersome, but doable.
• I need to trim my hand guards and adjust for fit. Making a hollow sand (curving in towards the middle) is my first thought, but I'll also probably trim the total thickness. I honestly haven't trimmed this since cutting them out of the blanks.
• The bucket seems a bit high. I did modify the fit for the stock ANOVOS helmet strap to sit farther back to accommodate my glasses inside the bucket. I'll have to ensure this ins't causing any issues, or else mount old glasses inside the bucket instead and re-mount the head strap.

My wife is impressed and posted a picture to FB. My stepmother asked, "Is it done done or does it still need final fitting and tweaking?" She owns a '68 Mustang (not the sport version, mind you) that's been restored a few times (the salt they use on Midwestern winter roads doesn't help classic cars), so I replied, "It's like your Mustang; it's never really done :-P But it's pretty close to being ready for trooping ;-)"

That being said, it seems that I only have some minor fixes to make before being ready for my approval photos, which I plan to do at my squad's next armor party on 17 April at the latest. That should give me plenty of time to buff out the scratches on my right shin due to the colloquially-named "Shin-gate," as well as working on the minor issues above.

In addition, my squad had a bulk buy-in from HyperFirm. I would love to have the time and patience to tweak my Disney blaster into something more screen-accurate, but ultimately it wouldn't be fit for Centurion, which I'd like to eventually get once I piecemeal more items together (like a Kittle belt and latex hand guards). All in all, I'm getting an Elite E-11 for the piece of a standard E-11. And once again, my wife supported me, thanks to us having a little extra money.

More blog posts will come as I continue these minor tweaks and personal touches, until I'm 501st certified :) Until the next post...

The Thigh (Re)Master Pt 2 - Get In Shape, Thighs!

Edit: DO NOT trim thighs for length until the end of your build. Mistakes were made. Consider the following a cautionary tale.

With the thighs now properly shimmed, it was time to start fitting them to the garter belt and straps and, almost as important, reforming the shape I lost when I trimmed them down.

As one critic pointed out, after the armor party, my thighs weren't looking very much like TK thighs after I did some moderate trimming for length. I chopped off the peaks and ended up rounding them off.

Since then, I had planned to re-shape the thighs. However, initial fitting revealed shimming would be required so getting into the thighs wouldn't feel like squeezing my legs into funnels. That being done, I was now set to trim the upper outside edges into the proper TK shape.

Unfortunately, I was initially overzealous with the trimming and botched the shape on the right thigh. Sigh. That's what I get for trying to bang it out before bed. Well, at least I had a lot of experience with shimming. SO I added part of the cut section back on and shimmed it. Thankfully, it took a lot less time than shimming the back of the thighs.

While I was working on that, I trimmed the left thigh. For both pieces, I simply freehand drew the shape I wanted to cut, going down a total of 1.5" max from the top, cutting the shpe out with the Dremel cutting disk, and then hand sanding the new edge.

Using the new garter belt system, I placed the ANOVOS thigh straps onto the snap mounts and marked where the top of the thigh met the strap. I was then able to use this measure to help determine where to place the loop tape inside the thigh, although I did have to tweak it a few times afterwards. I used a longer length of loop tape to allow for minor adjustments.

And with that, I was at the end of the ANOVOS instruction guide. All pieces have been cut, fitted, assembled, and in some cases modified for better wear-ability. Now it was time to throw everything on and see how it fits together. That will be in the next blog entry.

Strapping Extremities

In addition to the thigh pieces, I also worked on strapping for my arm pieces, and a garter system for the thighs.

First, I'll mention that I did finally receive my soft parts from ANOVOS on Good Friday. But since my office was closed, I didn't actually get them until the following Monday. The ANOVOS undersuit is actually more loose than the stuff I purchased on Amazon, but still fits well. The rubber gloves are what I'll be using to certify for EIB for the 501st.

Now let's talk about the arms. I basically did the arms up per the ANOVOS instructions. I used some longer pieces of H&L tape inside the shoulder bells to help with adjusting placement for the bicep pieces.

After fitting, I decided there was too much inside edge in the shoulder bells for comfort; after all, these were some of the first pieces I trimmed and haven't been retouched until now. I removed a bit of it not only helped with the margin between the bells and the biceps, but also improved flexibility of the bell pieces to give them more give.

As for the thigh pieces, in preparation for finishing this project, I decided that, like many out there, I didn't want to attach the thighs to the inside of the ab plate as per ANOVOS instructions. Instead, I decided to create a garter belt system like many troopers use, but incorporate the parts from ANOVOS to make the build easier, and more adjustable thanks to the H&L tape.

I rummaged around and found an old untrimmed (full length) web belt that was a "field find" from my paintballing days. The first thing I did was unravel it and apply a fresh coat of dye (I used some leather dye I already owned). I did end up taking off the buckle and belt tip for this project after the pictures were taken.

I let the dye dry overnight and then put the belt through a few wash cycles to knock out excess dye - no need getting that on the inside of my armor pieces. Once it was dry, I trimmed the belt for size, leaving me a sizable amount for the next part of the project.

Next, I made loops to fit over the belt that would hold the ANAOVOS snaps for the thigh straps. Because the snap plates were longer than the width of the belt, I didn't have to worry too much about making these too small to fit over the belt. I took two 6" strips of web belt scrap, folded them in half, and then used a leather punch and small leather rivets (again, stuff I already had) to create the loops. I used CA glue on the edges of the webbing to keep them from fraying (I did the same with the actual belt as well).

The snap plates themselves were wider than the webbing; therefore, I removed 5mm from each edge of the plates to fit them to the web loops, using the old score & snap method.

Finally, I attached the plates to the side of the loop that would face INSIDE towards my body, using E6000 cement and excessive clamping. The reason is because the straps were designed to fasten to the ab plate, and the snaps open opposite to the hook tape that fastens to the loop tape to be attached to the inside of the thighs.

Once I'm done reshaping the thigh pieces, I'll be testing this system out to ensure it will stand up to good trooping. Until then...

The Thigh (Re)Master Pt 1 - Shimmy Shimmy Shake

As I mentioned in my last post, after fitting the thighs some more, it occurred to me that, although I have the thighs properly trimmed for length, I don't have them trimmed for shape. However, more importantly, they don't come up as far as I need them to (when I'm standing). They're too tight, especially near the top where almost no material was trimmed (save the front edge returns). Therefore, I'll have to accept the fact that I need to shim them.

To begin, I found scrap ABS strips of the appropriate length and width (> 1"). However, to get more width, I decided to use a hot water bath to flatten them out. I did this using a pot of boiling water and two cutting boards to act as presses. The pieces ended coming out a little curved, which is fine since the back of my thighs (where the pieces will be going) are also curved; the pieces are also flexible, so getting them in place should be a big deal.

I also made some ABS hooks for my bicep pieces (should I need them) while I was at it, to add to the biceps to hook the shoulder bell straps as many troopers do. It was simple enough to add the hooks using a hot water bath, small tongs, and my Gorilla Grip gloves.

I separated the thighs in the back, with the center strip attached to the outside piece; teh shims will be added to the inner thigh piece. After creating the shims, I cut them to a rough length and taped them in. I found that, with the shims at full width, they made the pieces too big, which is a good thing - it's easy to trim down the shims, but harder to find bigger pieces to use as shims if they're too small. I performed additional measuring and fitting without the shims to determine the best width. I trimmed them to 1" width top and bottom, making sure both edges were straight. I may trim more near the bottom after I get the shims permanently attached, when it will be easier to do more test fitting.

With the shims ready, I created six splints, three for each thigh for top, bottom, and center. The splits would hold the shim in place while I used ABS paste to cement them to the inner thigh pieces. Because this will be a permanent fixture, I used CA glue to cement the splints to the inner thigh pieces, and then the shims.

I then used ABS paste to attach the shims to the armor. In retrospect, I wish I had used some CA gel first, and then ABS paste - you'll see why in a moment. Also, when applying ABS paste to shims, I recommend applying it with your fingers using a latex glove, to reduce the lumpiness of the paste. I did NOT do this on my first application, and the outcome was a bit gloppy, requiring a lot of sanding to be flush.

Speaking of sanding, after the paste was dry, I hit large lumps with the Dremel sanding drum, then used a sanding block with 150 grit. I wish I had some lower grit paper, because this step took longer at 150 grit. However, once everything was flat, I followed up with 350 grit, 600 grit, and then 600 grit wet sanding to make everything as smooth as possible before polishing.

For polishing, I used Novos 3, then NBovos 2, to work out the deeper scratches and then polish up. I found that, for scratches that wouldn't come out with Novos 3, additional wet sanding with the 600 grit paper was necessary. The shims came out alright after this was all said and done.

Once finished, and after taping up again to confirm fit one last time, I cemented the back of the thighs back together with E6000.

But as is the case with many of my projects, this part did not go off without a hitch. lamentably, when I was getting the pieces back together, the shims cracked near the knees. This is why I wish I'd used CA gel to fasten them to the parent piece before applying ABS paste.

I let the E6000 cure first. Then, I fixed the cracks by first applying CA liquid (to get into the crack) and holding the pieces in place until the glue set. Then, I covered the crack with an amount of ABS paste applied by finger for minimal coating. Once it dried, I was forced to apply the entire sanding and polishing process all over again.

After this, the shims were done for the most part; however, there are some visible lines on the shims that I may need to address before approval. However, I still need to apply the strapping system to the thighs, as well as fix the shape on the top. I'll be covering this in a future post. 

Testing the Torso and Truncating my Trunk

I finished strapping up the torso by adding the chest and back plates. I don't have any pictures of the straps, but it's basically straight out of the ANOVOS instructions for these sections - four of the longer H&L straps, two per piece, to connect the chest to the ab plate and the back to the kidney plate. Then, connected at the top with the T-shaped shoulder straps. The final look, once donned, is impressive :)

One thing I noticed is that the ab and kidney plate likes to separate near the bottom, due to the slight gut I have. I guess I'll need to work out and wear a girdle in the mean time. It's the only place on my body that's overly fatty.

Additionally, the modified ANOVOS belt seems to be working well enough. The only thing left to do with it is to remove or cover up the upper two Chicago screws to qualify for Stunt Basic or EIB certification for the 501st. I plan to do this with small circular pieces of iron-on canvas patch, after I try adding some washers to the screws to reduce the chances of the holster tearing through the belt.

After the fitting, I finished trimming and gluing the painted ab buttons in place.

There were some places on the armor that had obvious rub, like the back plate into my shoulders and the posterior plate into my inner legs. So I sanded these down with the Dremel sanding drum to eliminate and taper inner edges.

I also noticed, as I did on my friend's armor during the armor party, that the posterior plate likes to stick out. To combat this, I added to two tabs on the inside of the piece, on the edge returns, so that the plate would hook behind the kidney plate when strapped into place.

I'd honestly be about done at this point, but after fitting the thighs some more, it occurred to me that, although I have the thighs properly trimmed for length, I don't have them trimmed for shape. However, more importantly, they don't come up as far as I need them to (when I'm standing). They're too tight, especially near the top where almost no material was trimmed (save the front edge returns). Therefore, I'll have to accept the fact that I need to shim them. I've already started this process, but will make another blog post dedicated entirely to the process. Until then...

Time to Suck In That Gut

I started strapping the torso armor last night. But before I talk about that, I'll talk about the ab button plates and shoulder straps.

I used to paint miniatures. Admittedly, it's been a while. Here's something I did more than a decade ago, mashed up from parts, with some custom sculpt added, and painted by yours truly.

Painting these round buttons was a little harder than expected due to the rounded edges, but overall, I think I did a good job for freehanding it. Not my best work, but certainly not my worst.

Mind you, the edges will need to come off a bit, especially on the four-button plate, but I'll worry about that when I mount these pieces to the ab plate, which won't be until after the strapping is done.

But let's talk about the shoulder straps next.

The reinforced shoulder straps came out very well, and flush on the bottom.

I measured 4 bars plus the first front bar, just to be on the safe side to have enough in the back. It looked great on fitting, so I marked where the the straps would lay and scuffed the chest plate on those areas, as well as the length of the straps that would cement to the plate. Then I applied cement and clamped.

I unclamped them after two days, and the look great. They're nice and flush on the armor, even with the reinforcements.

NOW let's talk about strapping the ab plates.

I connected the three split rivets on the ab plate to the straps already joined to the kidney plate. Because I ended up covering both the "mistake" holes on the cod plate with AB paste I also connected the groin strap to the cod after I drilled a new hole in the code 20mm from the edge. I forgot to take pictures of this, but the cod looks great, like the mistake never happened. I'm just waiting on some Novus 1-2-3 to bring back the mirror shine after I sanded with 150, 350, and 600 grit sandpaper.

After the split rivets, it was time for the easier stuff, namely putting on the ANOVOS H&L straps. Besides replacing the straps on the left side with the full split rivet treatment as described in the 501st Stunt CRL, I'm currently trying the ANOVOS strapping system until I need something better, as laid out in the ANOVOS instructions.

I came up with a system for putting on the H&L tape. First, I marked the area where the tape would rest using a Sharpie, and scuffed it with 150 grit paper. After sanding, I cleaned the area with rubbing alcohol, which also removed most of the marks, but left just enough to easily help me place the loop end of the H&L tape, cut to just the correct length.

Although I didn't have enough time to get the chest and back plates before needing sleep, I was able to get the lower torso done, as far as the ANOVOS instructions go at any rate.

One thing I realized is that, at least with the test fitting, my pudge causes the bottom of the armor to pop away between the ab and kidney plates. I need to lose some weight, or at least get a shaper until I can shed what little weight I want to lose, which is mostly on my lower abdomen :P I've got a basic shaper, but I ordered a better one due in by the weekend, so we'll see if that helps.

Next on the build comes the chest and back plate. Until then...