DoggyDoc

Quick Question. Does this placement for the neurosav look correct?

More progress over the past 2 days. I decided to tackle the shin pieces as they were the most daunting part of my build because I had to make them bigger. The challenge was working with fibreglass as it was new to me. All in all I think everything turned out well. Just a bit itchy from sanding fibreglass . LOL. I used plastic weld to attach the fibreglass cast moulds that I made a while back. the edges of the armour where the backing mould meets was sanded to a taper to allow for the fibreglass transition. I started with the outer half as it did not have the cover strip or the raised lower portion. Next I prepared the fibreglass cloth. I used 7 layers and made each layer slightly wider to run up onto the original armour piece. The first piece was the same width as the white backing portion. I used West epoxy resin. Easy to get the mix right with their pump system. The basic technique is lay down resin, then put the cloth on top, lay down resin to wet the cloth completely, repeat for all layers. The end result is show below. I may have used a bit too much resin and had lots of runs, but they sanded out easily. After letting the resin cure overnight, it was time to trim and sand. With a bit more confidence working with fibreglass, I next did the inner pieces. First I trimmed off the cover strip portion. For the raised ridge at the bottom,I laid down extra pieces of fibreglass to build it up. The first one didn’t turn out so well, so I built it up afterwards with UV Resin. All in all, I am happy with the results. All pieces sanded and a coat of UV resin used to smooth and fill. Did a test fit and everything lines up well. Just need to get the cover strips back on and they are good to go.

I finally have some time this week to get back to building my costume. worked on the belt today. I followed the Legion 42 guide for the basic build style First step was to glue the nylon belt to the rubber one using E6000. one clip is outside of the rubber edge and one is inside. The next step was to put the upper body armour on (with undersuit) and set the belt length. Once this was done, you can figure out how much overlap you will have with the rubber section and where the seam will be. This is where you want to put your canvas pouch that sits on the back right side. Also mark the front centre point and the 2 points between the hip and butt pieces where the square belt boxes will go. I marked the up side with an arrow on the back to make sure I always knew which way was up. This actually helped a fair bit Overlap of rubber belt shown when the buckle is done up. Inside of the belt marked to show where the rubber belt overlap seam is. I next placed 2 holes through the belt along that line to put Chicago screws in to hold the nylon and rubber pieces together to prevent them from pulling apart in the glued area. Next I covered the screws with the loop part of the velcro (I wanted to make sure that only the soft sides are facing the armour to prevent scratches) Now that this is done, I placed the first of the 3 canvas pouches with the middle of the pouch over where the seam of the rubber belt will sit, with the hook side of the Velcro attached on the inside of the strap on the back of the pouch. Next, 2 more Chicago screws were placed on the other side of the belt using the same process. On this side, the extra nylon strapping that folds back, covers up the screws. Next mount the buckle at the centre point of the belt. And put the 2 front canvas pouches, the leather pouch and the holster into their appropriate locations. Now mount the square boxes. A trick for figuring out where to put the holes for the screws for these boxes is to place the screws in the boxes and cover them with white paint. Then carefully press the box onto the belt where it needs to be mounted and the paint will mark the hole locations. Finally, I covered up any screws on the back with the soft Velcro to protect the armour. Completed belt

Martin Martinez has accurate files. You can find the link on the front of my build thread.

Congratulations

I figured I would create a step by step tutorial on how to use snaps for strapping. I use Line 24 snaps for most strapping projects. Items required: Line 24 snaps (male and female sets) Snap setting tool and anvil 1” and 2” nylon strapping Soldering iron Torch or lighter Mallet White paint pen (if using black strapping) Scissors First step is to make the male snap plates which will be glued to the armour. First step is to make a template with a piece of cardboard. Mine is 2” by 1” with the holes spaced as seen in the photo. I marked one side as edge and one as inner, so I could keep the placement of the holes consistent when making straps. Next, you will need a 1” by 2” piece of strapping. I use the cardboard template to measure it You will need to seal the cut edges of the nylon using a lighter or torch. I have a Hacksmith mini light sabre (overkill but very fun). This will prevent fraying. Once this is done, you can now use the template to mark the hole locations with the paint pen. Next, use a soldering iron to make the holes for the snap posts. This will also prevent fraying. Next place a male snap post through the hole and put the corresponding piece over the post. Hold the snap parts in place and place the snap setting tool onto the post Gently tap the setting tool with the Mallet until the two pieces are secure. Go slowly to avoid bending the post and fouling the snap. The completed snap plate can then be glued to the armour. I use E6000. plastic weld or CA glue will work but it is unforgiving if you make a mistake. Allow at least 24 hours for the E6000 to dry. Secure it to the armour with clamps or magnets. Now for the straps: Roughly estimate the needed strap length and cut a piece of the 2” strapping to a bit longer than needed. Seal the ends again with the torch and then mark the hole placements on 1 end of the strap with the template. Make the holes in the strap with the soldering iron as above. Now place the female snaps the same way you did the male ones. Once you have the 2 female snaps placed, they can be attached to the male snap plates on the armour. Make sure that the pieces to be strapped are positioned where they need to be. I often tape them together for this step to ensure the strap snaps are perfectly placed. Once you have done this, use the white paint pen to mark the rim of the male snaps. Next pull the strap to the male snaps and press it onto the painted rim of the mail snap this will show you where to put the holes for the posts. Make a dot in the centre of this circle. Make sure that you have the strap pulled tight when you mark it. If using elastic, make sure that it is not stretched when marking. Now make your holes with the soldering iron and trim away any excess length of nylon. Remember to seal the nylon cut edge with the torch. ‘Place the female snaps as done in the previous step. You should now have a strap that lines up perfectly with the snap plates Note. If you are using elastic, always fold the elastic to make it 3 layers thick if you don’t do this, you are likely to pull the snap out of the elastic when pulling it. I usually pin the elastic to keep it in place, then mark the hole points as done above.

Since you only see the top of it when it’s in the pouch, I think that area looks about right. I have an STL file based off of a CAD rendering of the magazine for this as well. If you want it, just let me know.

I purchased the snaps directly from Tandy Leather. They are line 24 snaps and I buy them in packages of 100. Originally I bought them through Amazon but last I checked they were not available. I assume you are referring to the rubber straps on the left fore arm? Since my forearms are fully closed, I will likely glue them on. For the male snaps, I used 2” nylon to mount the snaps and then glued them with E6000

Awesome. Thanks for the tip. I have been putting that off until I have everything else done but will need to start soon.

@Hillmansm72 One piece of advice with coating the inside of the armour, which I am not sure that I mentioned in the thread is to make sure to sand it off in the areas where you are gluing, applying Velcro or bonding pieces together

@Hillmansm72 glad you are finding it useful. It’s a learning process for sure.

Hey Alex. I designed and 3D printed brackets to hold the thermal detonator in place. I used threaded heat sunk nuts and bolts to attach them to the back plate and used CM glue to attach the thermal detonator on the other side. I can send you the files for the brackets but I am away on vacation for the next week, so it will have to wait a bit.

Looking forward to it. I will have to get my butt in gear though. You likely will be trooping in yours before mine is done. LOL.

Awesome. Looking forward to seeing your costume when it arrives.

Mounted the Arm Impellers from Phoenix props. Are these supposed to be left black, painted silver, or weathered silver on the black?

Did the weathering on the buckles today. Does this look okay? I have not had a lot of practice at weathering. I did a base of silver, then put a coat of clear coat on the silver and let it dry completely. Then I went over it with the black and wiped off the black before it dried with lacquer thinner. still need to do a couple layers of clear coat once I am happy with it.

I haven’t looked at mine yet. I wonder if uV resin brushed over the area would work better as it won’t fill in the gaps as much. Otherwise Bondo would be the right stuff to use. the rubber is screen accurate I believe and I have seen it used on previous builds, so I suspect it would work ok. If the area is too soft, you could always back it with fibreglass.

Still some sanding with resin but so much less. Also the speed at which they print is so much faster than filament. All of the parts for the magazine took about 8 hours.

Got a bit of work done on the E-11D lighting today. ‘I had planned to use red and yellow EL panels but the yellow looks more white when illuminated and the red looks pinky. I went with one long yellow panel across both openings and then printed covers in yellow and clear red resin. I think the results are what I was hoping for.

E-11D battery placement update. In complete agreement with @Chaos, I feel that putting the battery in the handle will be a mistake. Every time the battery would be changed, the screws securing the handle will need to be removed. Given that the threads are in resin, I feel that over time, it will become looser and looser. The magazine is the best place to put it, but the design of the Tom Campbell / Martin Martinez magazine and magazine well do not allow for modifications to fit a 9V battery. I looked at the file Chaos provided but decided to go with the magazine housing that I used for my E-11 (Trooper96’s files) for my TK costume. This one has a working spring release button and the magazine can be inserted and locked in place securely. I had to slightly enlarge it by 10% and open up the inside of the magazine a bit to fit the battery as well as conform the base to the E-11D barrel. Pictured below are the original magazine set up (lighter resin) and my new one (darker resin)

Hi Stuart. I have a Jim Tripon kit that I am building. I am just under 5’11”, so a fair bit shorter than you. Here is a photo of the armour on me. You would have room to elongate the torso by reducing the overlap on the abdomen and chest plates as well as on the back and kidney plates. Not sure that you could find 7 inches there and still have them overlap though.

Hey Chris. Thanks for finding that photo. I checked the size and my prints are the right size. The magazine well wall is a bit thick, so I will try to modify it and see if I can thin the wall and fit the battery in.

I wanted to do this originally, but the compartment is too small. Can you show me a photo of how you set yours up?

Managed to do a bit more work on the belt as well as some mods for the E-11D today. I created a template for the canvas belt pouches and then put them together. The final version will likely be stuffed a bit more than the one in the photos. For the E-11D, I have been trying to figure out where to place the battery for the electronics. The hand grip seems to be the spot where it will fit best, but the 2 posts inside will make it very hard to get the battery out, once it goes past them. So I designed and printed a cradle for the battery that allows it to be placed in and removed easily.

Wow. That looks amazing.