RaiderNick's Blackhole

[RaiderNick[TX]]

Ok, finally got the snaps. I trimmed the ab and kidney plate sides and glued snaps inside.

 

Am I allowed to have the ab plate slightly overlap the kidney plate so I don't have a gap; that way I keep specialist standards? I don't want to cut them short then add shims to close the gap when I can just leave it longer and overlap.

 

[Griffin-X[501st]]

I'm not 100% certain on that point Nick. The standards are currently being tweaked for Spec Ops Specialist.

[RaiderNick[TX]]

I finally finished the snapping system on the ab/kidney and the snaps on the chest and back are drying.

 

I also trimmed the chest and back sides.

 

 

[RaiderNick[TX]]

Here's a pic of the ab and kidney side gap (or lack thereof). I think this is what specialist calls for right?

 

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Looks really good to me Nick. As it stands now, the Specialst program emulates our brothers at the FISD (kind of like their EIB program). I think your are fine. But, get some feedback from ELP, BH, or Fivezero to be sure.

[Darth Agnon[TX]]

That is acceptible for Specialist, and I will add that it looks great! The only thing I would sugggest is... wear it around the house a bit. Make sure you're comfortable and make any needed adjustements before going out to a long troop. It's harder to make those adjustments on the fly.

[RaiderNick[TX]]

The only problem I'm having with it is they tend to move up and down when I walk, so the ab and kidney edges don't stay lined up. I'm thinking of maybe adding a strip of velcro to the overlap in addition to the elastic to keep them from shifting.

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

The specialist requires that there be no gap and ideally that there is only one seam. You are meeting those requirements as things currently stand with your armor.

 

To prevent them from moving, I would suggest installing snaps near the top and the bottom that connect the back to the front through a piece of canvas. Always prefer snaps to velcro. After you add velcro they could still shift a little and if they do you will hear the velcro tear a bit.

[Griffin-X[501st]]

The specialist requires that there be no gap and ideally that there is only one seam. You are meeting those requirements as things currently stand with your armor.

 

To prevent them from moving, I would suggest installing snaps near the top and the bottom that connect the back to the front through a piece of canvas. Always prefer snaps to velcro. After you add velcro they could still shift a little and if they do you will hear the velcro tear a bit.

 

Cool, that's how I did my setup.

[RaiderNick[TX]]

I'm doing some last minute trimming on the thighs before I put the cover strips on. They are giving me a hell of a time. I think I have the high part of the thighs trimmed properly but the lower parts are hitting the cod piece and butt plate(I can't close my legs, I have to stand with them apart!). I'm not really sure how to trim the back without losing the shape of the thighs. Anyone have any recommendations?

 

So should I just cut the entire thing like an inch shorter on top all the way around?

 

 

[RaiderNick[TX]]

On advice from a member of my garrison, I was able to trim it down and I think the result is much better than before.

 

It kind of looks the same in the front because I'm not wearing my suspenders in this pic so the ab is sagging, but it is better trust me.

 

 

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Looks good Nick. How does it feel when you walk around?

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

If they pinch in the back, I think you still have a bit of room to round the back point out. A lot of the FX kits naturally curved all the way around with little bump.

[RaiderNick[TX]]

Looks good Nick. How does it feel when you walk around?

 

It feels pretty good. Then again I've never worn armor before so I'm not 100% sure how it's supposed to feel.

 

If they pinch in the back, I think you still have a bit of room to round the back point out. A lot of the FX kits naturally curved all the way around with little bump.

 

I was leaving that point for the shim to meet the edge properly. But I guess it can be rounded instead of a 90 degree angle for the shim in the back then?

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

If you check the CRL's for the Blackhole or the TKs (ANH Hero, ANH Stunt, ESB, ROTJ) They are all a little rounded.

[RaiderNick[TX]]

So I was cruising the forum for belt ideas since I don't have enough abs left over to make a belt and I came upon a thread which recommended buying a patent leather belt from ebay. I received it in the mail today I think it'll work well. It fits specialist standards because it is shiny and looks almost identical to the abs but unlike the abs, it is flexible and more comfortable to wear.

 

[TX-8728[TX]]

Belt proper may be made from glossy black ABS or a similar shiny material and must be 3 to 3.5" wide. Black canvas or similar heavy material may also be used.

 

Just took this straight from CRL, Just can't tell how wide the belt is from picture, just make sure it falls within the guidelines for width.

 

I do like the idea, but just a few things to keep in mind.

How do you plan on mounting the front boxes do the belt?

How are you going to hide the belt clasp?

Also you have the think about mounting the thermal detonator.

[RaiderNick[TX]]

It's 3 inches wide. I'm going to cut the clasp off and cut the belt in half. I'm going to rivet each half to the abs front part of the belt and velcro the halves in the back just like you'd do with the abs pieces that come with the kit. My thermal det has metal clips that slide over the belt (as per specialist requirements) so no problem there. And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you attach the drop boxes to the ends of front of the belt where I'm going to attach the 2 halves of this belt to(so they aren't going to actually be attached to the leather but the ends of the front abs ammo box piece)?

 

Exactly as toddo did it here: http://forum.specops501st.com/index.php?/topic/1509-resource-patent-leather-belt/

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

There is nothing that says the belt needs to overlap in the back. You could have it attached to the inside of one side of the belt face.

[RaiderNick[TX]]

I installed the cooling system in the bucket today. The setup includes 2 squirrel cage fans, 2 9-volt batteries, an on/off switch and variable speed control.

 

The fans blow directly up to the lens to prevent fogging.

 

 

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Like the speed control idea. Hopefully this doesnt dry out your eyes

[tbulman315]

Raidernick.....where did u buy the black padding for inside of ur bucket

[RaiderNick[TX]]

i bought the bucket from arakyel and he installed the padding for me

[RaiderNick[TX]]

Ok, I finally took the plunge and started cutting and gluing the cover strips. I cut and glued the biceps and cut the strips for the arms. I used spare abs trimming for these strips.

 

There is a problem I noticed; the abs sheets that came with the kit are not glossy black, they look like they have a white film over them, like that plastic protector stuff(but they don't I scrapped it with a knife to check). I don't want to use this because it doesn't match the rest of the abs, but I don't have enough scrap to do the thighs and shins and will have to use this stuff.

 

Any suggestions as to why it's not the same color and what to do?

 

 

 

It's really hard to see in the pic but look at the abs sheet compared to the spare abs trimmings I have cut here. It looks like it has a cloudy whitish film over it that I can't do anything about.

 

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Got your pm.