Dizzy's [*AM] mods and build

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

***making this somewhat as a tutorial for properly fitting an FX/AM/NE suit to an average/screen height person, and general info for those people out there that were all ZOMG I GOT MY NEW ARMOR YAY all excited and then wimp out cuz theyre intimidated they might mess up. dont be weak, worst case scenario you can make your failure a death trooper or something lol. keep in mind, we have these tutorials to HELP you! i just find more efficient and easier ways to do things.***

 

alright i figured i might as well show wth ive been doing. its been almost a year since i got my big brown box lol. idk what kept me procrastinating but anywho... i waited until i had a good chunk of mods and work done to show off since i hate seeing "heres a picture of the box, heres a pic of the bubblewrap, heres all laid out, oh no what do i do next? let me make a dozen threads asking the same question cuz i wont listen to the people with years of experience" build threads. ill be posting random things ive done for others to learn that A HEAT GUN IS ESSENTIAL.

 

heres the obligatory layout pic everyone takes...

this is like almost half my living room. the other half is a futon for all the hot girls that never come over. insert foreveralone.jpg here.

 

TORSO

im 5' 9" 170lbs. the AM is meant for bigger than that. an ATA wouldve been perfect but i love symetrical clean idealized lines and apparently doing things the hard way using score and snap method on literally every trim. i used my best friend "8 dollar harbor freight heat gun" to bring in the sides of the butt, kidney, back, chest, torso, and belt. (no pic, its pretty self explanatory)

 

CHEST

to shape the bottom of the chest i made a mark where my rib cage ends, put the ab plate over as a stencil, and cut there

 

i cut a bit off the neck to keep from choking me and a bit off the arm area for more flexibility

 

so it looks like this now

 

 

AB/COD

omg always cut the cod. for your bathroom break sake and.. other.. stuff in that area. usually people cut straight across, but those edges dig into your thighs. i just used the ab bottom lip curve and cut there.

 

 

i then cut an inch off the top of the cod to fit me. you cant really mess this part up since your belt will cover up your cuts anyway.

 

BACK

pretty self explanatory, cut the sides off to roughly match the shape of the screen armor... although i did heat and curve the shoulder areas downward. cutting the bottom of the back depends on your body and where the kidney sits.

 

KIDNEY

figure out which way is up by, well, its slightly shaped like an S when you look at it from the 'right' side. the inward curve should be on the bottom to aid in the small of the back and curves outward at the top.

 

now line up the bottom with the bottom of the ab plate.

 

the kidney should now be an inch and a half or so taller than the ab. i taped a line straight across and cut the kidney top off so the kidney and ab look connected and are the same size.

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

BUTT

lol i said butt. heres a good pic showing where i trimmed. then take a heat gun to curve the pointy part up closer to your.. yknow. i know the lighting looks wierd, but the is the inside view looking left.

 

 

THIGHS

BELT

FOREARMS

BICEPS

copied pandatroopers method here:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/10434-pandatroopers-am-build-threadam/

 

but i heat gunned up the biceps and forearm outers together because of this:

 

SHOULDER BELLS

havent done anything but if i need to i might cut an inch or so off the bottom to look better and show a little more bicep.

 

HANDPLATES

print out the template in this thread, tape over center of hand, cut the sides.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/10235-how-to-make-your-own-latex-anh-hand-guards/

 

alternatively just get new or latex ones.

 

SHINS

same as pandatrooper, but with the following modifications. glued the front first, then for a custom fit wrap around your leg, mark, cut the backs off at the center kinda like this:

 

 

 

 

HELMET

get a screen accurate size aka TE-derived. this includes CAP-W, AP, ATA, AA, RS.

my helmet build here: http://forum.specops501st.com/index.php?/topic/2112-dizzys-cap-w-bucket-restoratation-and-build/

 

UNDERSUIT

eastbay evapor compression long sleeve top and pants. great company, but they send you a bunch of "buy our stuff because you bought 2 things so you obviously play professional sports and need our catalog of basketball shoes every month" in the mail...

 

anything else i havent covered yet?

[toddo[TX]]

This is good Dizz. Thanks for helping folks out adjusting their AM purchases.

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Looking good man...!

[neoakaj[TX]]

This will come in handy for my next set of armor, after I finish all the scouts.

[xanthis02[501st]]

looking good i have an AM kit but i'm 6' 0" 180LBS we could do surgery on ya oh say 2 inch extensions then you'd be close to ideal ( evil grin i have taken anatomy )

[THE TROOPER[501st]]

Lookin great Derek !!!

[Master Tej]

Thanks for the awesome tutorial! It answered some questions for me!

 

- Master Tej -

[Tekket[501st]]

Looking Great Derek ................can't wait to see the finished kit

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

with my tutorial type stuff out of the way ive been finishing up my blaster finally. and i just put the last cover strip on the armor and ordered snaps.

 

still left in no particular order:

get snap setter, webbing, make snap plates

trim shoulder bells after strapping is complete

put foam in helmet

make rear shin closing mod (still making sure i know what im doing before i epoxy)

get a belt

add snaps to boots so they fit in shins

build the o2 can and make clips

sand all the armor edges i cut

attach shoulder straps

black out ab buttons

attach knee and thigh ammo pack (no rivets for specialist)

order vinyl to convert into silver nova

[DJTrooper[501st]]

Coming along nicely Derek

 

Although I don't think having rivets is an issue for Specialist, not from what I have seen anyway.

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

idk but ive never used a rivet gun in my life and i dont like spending money lol

[DJTrooper[501st]]

lol fair enough... trust me it's easier than the heat gun

[DizzyStormtrooper[501st]]

so heres a rough translation of where i cut everything

 

cod cut thinner for more walking room here on both sides then sanded smooth after

 

 

battery pack is held on with small bolts. this makes it secure and i can tilt it up to "lock" into place or down slightly for the screen accurate 'shows a little bit of thigh bottom trim'. ill probably do the same with the knee as the metal can just be painted over.

 

snaps on the boots. they are arranged in this fashion so the smooth caps dont rub the legs and straps could be added to connect to not shift around

 

 

but i put elastic instead so it closes the tops and fits inside the notoriously too wide shins better

 

quick test fit

 

 

 

still left:

-add 2 more straps to the butt sides

-build td

-belt sides

-attach knee and strap shoulder bells to the bridges since they were taped on for the photo

-make a way to secure the thighs. i was secretly holding them up by the straps in my hands. cant decide if i want to make garters or snap it to the ab.

-shin back strips

-ammo boxes

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

Looking good, my friend. Glad to see one of these tutorials over here at spec ops. I think this will be very useful to our troopers. I still need to cut my cod.

[toddo[TX]]

I think this is a great guide to trimming the AM for greater accuracy and agree with DE about it belonging here. Thanks Dizz.