Chaos

Let me step in here, for everyone's situational awareness. The CRL does not specify in writing which piece needs to overlay. After looking at the ST upper armor construction, it is possible that there was a side piece that attaches between the front and back in which case the side piece is under the front and rear corners. However when we constructed the CRL, we had to use the photos we obtained from the SWC Exhibit shortly after the release of the movie. When we updated the CRL to it's current form, we intentionally left out any references to how the armor is arranged. This accommodated various builder's designs such as Tom's which uses the side insert and Jim's who has the front longer to reach back to the back piece. Either way per the CRL is correct. On my Jim's kit the back piece sits flush up against my side buckle straps. Here are some photos of screen used suits for reference:

Almost all of us with Jim's kit have the back overlap the front.

Doc is spot on with his answers to your questions so I won't echo what he said. When you extend the back, do it so the overall ankle circumference increases as well.

This is an easy fix! Lots of people who have muscular calf muscles have had this issue. No need to panic. There are two things that must look correct when the shins are worn. The front center line must be centerline with your leg and the back raised vertical strip needs to be centerline with your leg. The length of your shins looks good you just need to move the whole thing down over the boot. Your first decision will be are you willing to remove the padding from the tongue of the boot and/or the padding that is in the top of the ankle pads. I originally sized my shins based on the Talib boot which has no padding at all, so when I switched to the Jared they did not close. I cut openings on the inside surfaces of the tongue and ankle pads and removed the padding. They will still meet L2 requirements as the structure and form still remain "Jared." The only thing removing or not removing will effect is how much of an extension strip you will need to make so that the top and bottom of the shins close. No need to mess with your front because its a solid piece, you are at an advantage because you chose to clamshell close your shins at the back. Here's how you fix it: You remove the rear vertical raised center strip, add in extensions to the left and right edges so that the sides close and the outside edge overlaps the inside edge the same width as the vertical center strip. Affix the center strip aligned with the center line of your leg and Wahla! your shins close and meet CRL requirements. You will have to build up any details that continue from the original piece to the center vertical strip, but bondo, filler putty, or an ABS strip can take care of the extension of the details. Gerald @DoggyDoc had to make extensions for his forearms and shins and he has a really good section on it in his build thread. Here is a simplified explanation I did for someone a while back which may help in visually seeing what I suggested. Hope this helps. Like I said don't panic. Also, Jim only makes 2 sizes, regular and tall, neither one increase the diameter of the shins, only the length is different.

Anovos helmets were produced by scans of an actual helmet, they are the standard to which the CRL was written. They do run small so some people have issues wearing them. They are heavier than most others, but there's just something about having one that makes your toes tingle! 🤣😅😆 I think I paid $600 a few years ago. Depending on availability, I've seen them as high as $1200.

Yep! That's it!

Awesome! And keeping right on hounding me! I live for this $h1t 😅

I bought a hard hat from Lowes Home Improvement and cut it up. Here are two video tutorials on YouTube done for a TK helmet, but it's the same process, and the other is for a DT

Philip, What a huge undertaking with the leg armor. I know you aren't completely finished and they are still a work in progress but I need to make sure you are aware of a couple of things. The shallow grooves you are fabricating are only about 3-5mm wide. They are not the same width as the forearm or bicep grooves. This is the same with the shin grooves.

Ok I got a chance to take some photos. When the inside lining is removed, the vents slots are open and already have the required metal screen/mesh installed. You will need to put some type of black fabric under the vents to black out the speakers. I just used a small strip of landscaping fabric I had lying around the garage. My Anovos also rests on the bridge of my nose so I glued a foam pad where it contacts my nose and it is very comfortable right now. The helmet liner gives you the ability to raise the helmet up and down, but with my head, I could only raise it up so far and still be able to see out the visor. As far as the predrilled LED holes in the Anovos, they are only predrilled in the tusks, you have to drill down thru the existing holes and thru the helmet fiberglass. (use the YouTube Video I linked to in my other post) Its really simple and the hole only needs to be big enough to thread the wires thru. Here are some sots of the inside of the helmet. You can see how I positioned Tony's helmet speaker system. Place two fans and the USB power pack. You can also see a switch housing with 2 switches, one controls the fans and the other the tusk lights. The battery pack next to the switches is for the tusk LEDs. My NSM is removable so the LED switch for the NSM is on the NSM itself. You can the neo magnet which is what holds the NSM in place via magnetic attraction. If you have any questions please let me know.

Looks good, like Dan said, the weathering will tone down the (whatever word he made up) 😆

Before you start working on the thigh and ribbing material here's some FYSA info: Size the thighs to comfortably fit you ensuring that the front and back vertical center strips align with the middle of your front and back thighs. Then cut the ribbed material to fill in the gaps. Your only CRL requirement is this "The inside thigh ribbed section is wider than the outside ribbed section." So if it's wider by any amount you're good.

No worries about asking questions, we all do it and it's a crucial part of our Spec Ops community. So keep asking them. I'm back in the US now, so I have access to my actual helmet. I'll take some time today to take some up close photos specific to your questions.

Looking at what you accomplished on the TD notches, it should be able to pass L1 after some clean up. Here is an up close and personal look at the TD notches from my L2 submission. You can see the approximate spacing and size/shape of the notches. When you submit your L2 application you will be asked for the same type photo. outside to 1st notch is approximately 1 3/32" to 1 1/16" notch width is approximately 1/8" distance between notches is approximately 1 1/16" to 1 1/8" Here's a close up of a screen used suit TD, you can see the shape is basically a rectangle.

Nick, awesome find with the Anovos helmet. To be honest, I know it's a collectable, but to be honest most people who use the Anovos have all modified it in some way so wouldn't worry much about what you do to it as the mods can be made "non-permanent." NOTE: the photos below are actually of an install in my old Jim Tripon helmet, however, the location and structure are exactly the same for my Anovos helmet. I don't have access to it right now, so for now we can go back a few years and just pretend that what you are looking at is an Anovos helmet LOL! I removed the inside liner of mine. It was stuck in using a light tack glue so it peeled out nicely. I saved it just in case I wanted to install it back. I did that because I installed a hard hat liner to provide lift/support/and air flow thru the helmet and did not want to have to clean the fabric after every trooping. The liner makes it warm to wear and the sweat just collects in the fabric. The hard hat liner is attached with hot glue so once again non-permanent. Tony's DT helmet audio system fits nicely inside the Anovos helmet. I use his system and even with it, a flat battery pack and three of Trooper Tronix fans, and a battery pack for the LED lights, I still have plenty of room. My hat size is 7 1/2. I use the MP3 player with the Bluetooth receiver and have never had any connectivity issues. I really dislike wires running down my neck etc., so this set up works perfectly for me. I have a video showing how I use the MP3 player and will post the link below. The MP3 player is small enough that I simply attach it to my E-11D and it's really unnoticeable to the average bystander. I did add a piece of material to the Play/Pause button so that it was easier to push the button with gloves on (1:40 in the video) I did manage to find one photo of my Anovos, as you can see everything is in the same locations as my Jim T helmet set up I also used the LED install video I posted to make the modifications. Ironically, the tusks already have the pre-drilled holes for the 5mm LEDs so that's what I am running now. I think during my next upgrade/re-do I will replace the LEDs with EL panels. I like how it looks. The only issue will be that the power supply for the EL panels will be slightly bigger but I think it will still fit in the area where I have my LED battery pack. Let me know if you have any questions.

Dan, any silver will do, when you "weather" it use a "black wash" technique. Thin out any black paint so it's watery and brush it on then gently wipe it off. Make sure the silver has cured, or the thinner in the black wash will dissolve the silver. You can use a thinned out acrylic black, it's water based so no issue with dissolving the silver enamel.

Paul is correct, the center larger strap is for supporting the weight of the bicep, and the thinner elastic string and clips are to help keep the alignment/orientation where it needs to be.

Ahhhhh ... "Progress" its such a great feeling! Looking good!

Doc is spot on about the CRL issues. TD is an easy fix, but it will be tedious to sculpt all those little squares, also not mentioned intentionally in CRL but if you are wanting the best and most accurate TD, the right side end cap is longer than the left by about 10-12mm For the thighs the outside continuation (other side of the center strip) of the raised detail is indeed a groove. Not sure the best way to fix that, unless you can sand it down and have enough material to then make a groove. You might get lucky with both details and your GML will pass them for Level 1 basic approval, but I can tell you it won't pass a Level 2 look. Glad to see you are back on track!

Here's the scope: https://www.amazon.com/HATSON-HA90499-Optima-4x20mm-Scope/dp/B071YJGYVJ As far as print lines and rough areas, UV resin and sanding, or spot putty and sanding .... lots of sanding!

Well done on your build. I can't wait to see the finished project. When you are ready for your L2 look hit me up. We can take a look pre post application and I can tell you beforehand what I see (if any) as L2 issues. Several of our last DTs to apply for their "Specialist" badge did just that. I should clarify that "Specialist" refers to your Level 2 status and not the V2 which has the chest rigs etc. Best of luck.

What ever paint brand you use for the Flat and Silver should be the same as what you are top coating over. Since the appliance paint and your primer are both Rustoleum they will be compatible as long as the primer has fully cured and you have sanded the primer to a finish that the Appliance paint will adhere to. I stopped at 600 grit and the Appliance paint laid nicely over it

You might find this odd but I have used Duplicolor and Rustoleum Primer and Filler. You have to be very careful when doing recoats. You have to use very light coats, and ensure that each previous layer is fully cured because the "primer" in each will cause some serious orange peeling. Some people have used flat black and then coated with SprayMax 2K and when done correctly it looks amazing. I however don't want to pay $21 a can for a clear coat as I prefer my armor look used. My last repaint I used Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy Enamel. Its thick, is easily recoated, and a lot harder finish than normal spray can paints. My current repaint is about 3 years old and the kit has more than a two dozen troops and I'm still happy with it's appearance. At one point I was playing around with the idea of painting my kit with Vantablack

Trial and error until you get everything to sit/fit right. It took me maybe 6-10 troopings and adjustments to finally get mine so that it was comfortable and functional.