Deeks AM Build, join in please i need the help

[deek]

So my kit has arrived in the post. So much anticipation, it took almost 2 weeks to clear customs and everyday was longer than the last, and then like a ray of sunshine that crossed the deepest depths of space and time. This is the chronicle of all that followed, possibly good times and bad, cus this looks really hard. So i guess do or do not there is no try rite.

Here is all the pieces laid out, so shiny and so many pieces

and heres my work area, i have sand paper 150 200 and 600, sanding blocks rough medium and fine there was the novus that came with the kit for fine scratches, a well as electrical tape, painters tape, and Gorilla tape. theres Weld on an ABS glue that came with kit, low temp glue gun and sticks, tin snips and assorteted clamps,box cutter and e6000 and regular scissors

not shown i pic for tools is my dremel 8200, a small vacuum for the mess, moldelers scalpel, i went out and go a roll of 2 inch industrial velcro even though y kit came with velcro and straps for holding up suit, i plan to upgrade to a snap system for this build, and of course some rulers for measuring

This pic above is my forarm piece where i am starting the project, i took off 25mm off the edge of the inner piece of the forarm, i have read in other threads to angle this cut which i didnt and i hope in came out ok, i am assuming to angle the cut it would be wider at the elbow and thinner at the wrist but i dont know. So i then measured about a billion time and laid down painters tape as a guide

then i cut with the tin snips which i found very easy but very nerve racking at the same time as i am going off just what i see online as a guide the little booklet that comes with kit is ok, im sure youd get it together whith just that but i suggest other newbys read as many other build threads as possible

I am also finding that documenting the build expirience is also really fun!And so here is the first cut done, as you can see i took of 25mm all the way down the inner forarm

i cut the othe side the of the inner forarm th same and then put the two halves inner and outer together, and use the gorrilla tape to hold them

here is the left forarm and you may notice i still have the painters tape on

it is a good fit fo me with enough room for a thin sweeter underneath if need be, heres a bottom shot

i tried to show in this pic th ammount of space at the wrist, i had read that i should have had gloves on to try this fit but i havent got them yet, and am not really sure where exactly to go to get them, any help here would be great

Also with the pic above i am not sure if i should be sanding the little roll over edge off at the wrist or if i am supposed to leave it the to give the apperence of thickness?heres anothor shot looking through the forarm and ya i need to know if i should be taking the edges down so that they are flat of leave them rounded to make the armour appear thicker when worn

heres another look at the wrist, i sanded the edges lightly because they were sharp fro the factory

and here is a look from the elbow down, do these pieces match up closely enough or should i keep sanding?

i amlost forgot i put a small piece of industrial velcro on the left edge of the forarm you can notice the gap is a lttle greater on the left side, i think that it is going to be ok because it is the side less likely to be seen, i had planned on abs glueing the right side of the halves( inner forarm ) and am just scared of the glue because it melts the pieces together as i understand and i also have only a few clamps and i dont want to put to much pressure on plastic.well thats how far i am so far, kinda scared to move on until i get some feedback, please add any tips and let me know if i am on the rite track, thank you

[T0R1[TX]]

=) great job so far....terms of sanding...once you put the armor on there will lots of test fits about where the armor will be pinching ya so just beware of it and sand accordingly in the area needed

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Looks like your forearm gap is a bit much (I am sure what you were concerned about). I would trim the down a bit, then install a piece of foam on the inside which help keep them in place on your forearm.

[trooper[501st]]

You could probably remove the return which will make it easier to slide your wrist in and out as well. Good work so far.

[deek]

are the return edges really needed? i am over 6 ft and 220 and this AM seems to be just big enough, i look through other build threads and people seem to always be making there am smaller. i have the forarms clamshelled with abs glue on inner seem and velcro on outer where it will be less likely to be see but i am afraid that if i take return edge off wrist the gap it will be way to large, as it is the gap i can just get my pinky in when shut, afd the forarm is nicely snug it seems to just sit in place as is the upper could really be any tighter. Also i glued the wroung seem on a bicep but got it apart before abs glue set should i sand it off of go get Goof off and try to clean it?

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Return edges can be a sore subject. Are they required? No. I have very few left on my armor for comfort and sizing purposes. However, some people really like them because they give the illusion that the armor is thicker than it really is.

 

As for the glue issue, the problem with ABS is it melts the plastic together so even if you have it on just one side and goof off would start to remove it, what you removed would be uneven. I suggest sanding. I also suggest getting some Rockler sandpaper (rockler.com). They sell sand paper pads of a very high grade (through 12,000 or something crazy). With that stuff you can actually sand the plastic back to its original shine. Here is an example, you can see I got ABS on the bucket. This also happened on the front of my bucket. just above where the mask meets the dome. I was able to sand it out completely:

 

[deek]

So more or less i got my forarms about as close as i can get them for now. Here is a look at a Bicep that has been clamshelled on inner ans velcro on outer

There is a gap of about a quarter inch but i think it looks worse in the pic than it really is. Here is a pic of the sealed edge, i am trying to clean up the last lil bit of glue but am i going to have to sand it after to make it look shiny, i am worried i am scratching the finish with my knife

i have also started trying to size the calf section of the legs and i am not clear on if i should trim bot side so the seem is perfecty down the middle, i put some blue tape on to show middle on the tapes rite edgefrom the top of the knee down it makes a bit T, so should i split the T or can i leave it overlapping brining the left half over till its flush with the other sides egsge as marked by this tape right edge

And the same question in the back can the overlap be offcenter or must i trim it to go straight up the middle, heres the fit no trim So fari have tried walking around with the calves just taped together and i had to remove some of the return edges for comfort but i think it might be best to not trim any further till my boots arriveThis next one is of me trying to show the back while open, it looks like it stresses the plastic quite a bit, should i be using E6000 instead of ABS glue? is there a trick here to the back of the shins?

[deek]

ok last post i did somthing wrong i lost the bicep pics and threw in an extra shin so ill try put up bicip shots againshot with the small velcro gap on left side,and sorry about small pics, this is the sealed edge i was wondering if i would have to sand

[izzi[TX]]

When you clean it up, just take your time and you should be fine. I would probably try ABS polish instead of sanding things down first though.

 

-iz

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Depends how permanant you want the seal diciding between abs or e-6000. E-6000 will hold anything together, but also can be separated. The abs, no such luck. I used abs on my bucket because i knew i wouldnt want it coming apart ever. All other areas i use the e-6000.