TD build

[shwarzwald]

That is pretty reassuring.  Btw any advice on sanding the teeth down? The plastic tends to flex rather than sand.

Also onto progress! So while we got snowed/iced in I made do with what supplies I still had on hand and moved onto strapping. Currently I have the female sides of the snaps glued on the armor. Once I get more snaps I can move further with this step. Then its down to fitting. (However I am waiting on some shims from a member on here so I can finish the thighs and forearms.)

[nukem25rs]

Did you try small needle files in the teeth to file them down? if you use a square or triangle one makes it super easy to cut the corners perfect.

[shwarzwald]

Those were the first things I bought. I'll try it again later to see if they work.  The hdpe is just a really soft plastic.

[shwarzwald]

Ok so I need a little clarification  on if I need to trim this or heat it and push it out so I can keep the length. I marked the lip on the butt plate with arrows so you can see what I'm talking about.
My biggest concern is that by trimming it I will have a half inch gap between the kidney and butt plate, and a half inch gap between kidney and back plate.

[Pixelito]

I would probably wait to see if anybody more experienced than me has input. 
BUT
I'm pretty sure that the raised square detail is supposed to sit flush with the edge. You may need to trim that all down a bit.

As for the gaps that'll leave, you have a few options.

The first is the easiest, really, and I highly recommend it. Since you're going sandy, your backpack will cover any gaps. I have about a 3" gap between my back and kidney plates, but my pack covers it up!

Now, if you aren't going to have a pack, there are a few things I had thought of while making my armor. Note that last I checked, MEPD requires you to have a pack, even if the TD you're emulating doesn't have one. This isn't a problem for 501st acceptance, but if you plan on getting MEPD too, you'll need a pack!

Now, one option is to add shims. Same concept as what we *ahem* larger troopers have to do, just vertical. I did this to extend my ab and kidney plates using some ABS and Apoxie Sculpt to fill in the gaps and extend details. (yes, even after that I still had a 3" gap. I knew my pack would cover it though!)

A super lazy, and NOT recommended way is to kinda take advantage of the CRL. It states that there should be minimal to no GAP between the butt and kidney,  however, it states that there should be minimal to no OVERLAP between the back and kidney. So teeeechnically, you can have as large of a gap between your back and kidney as you want. Again, I definitely do not suggest doing this and Jason could possibly not even allow it. He gets to make those kinda judgment calls! I only bring this up as a possible, desperate last resort. Besides, if your back is exposed it just doesn't look as good!

[shwarzwald]

I'll keep those options in mind until a more senior member comes by and says otherwise.

Until then onward. I got a little bit of strapping done and I'm still zeroing in on how far back the backplate can sit and how far up the chest piece has to sit.

Finally nice to get it off the floor and onto Mr.Bones.  Although once I get the blaster and backpack I will have to finish Mr.Bones.

[shwarzwald]

So I worked on a few more things which can better be described and shown at mepd.  However I am requesting a little bit of help. Could a few of you guys snap a shot of the sides of your shins.

I'll post up my shins in a bit to show why I'm having an issue.

[Pixelito]

I'm no expert on this kit, but it looks like you have your shins mixed up. Hopefully this is the issue you're talking about.

The right half of what you have labeled as 'left' should go with the left half of what you have labeled as 'right'. Those will be your actual left shin with the sniper plate.

I have marked the angle that should stay the outside of your left shin in green. The blue lines are just showing that those parts are meant for your sniper plate, which along with the general shape, is what makes me say that they're swapped.

[shwarzwald]

I see what your saying. Let me see if that feels more natural.

[shwarzwald]

Ok so I tried it out. I have them set up. If this looks good I can do final trimming and get the inside coverstrips glued in.

[shwarzwald]

Ok so I took all the opinions and put them together. So hopefully these look right. I may trim the bottoms a little more once I'm 100% sure they are on the correct sides and such. Once I see green across the board I will finalize trimming and put the coverstrips on.

So what do y'all think?

[nukem25rs]

Can you post another pic of the top edge
From the front shot without the shorts in the way of your knees? I can tell where  top edges are

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

[nukem25rs]

Where your knees are showing with the top edge *to clarify*

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[shwarzwald]

Ah well that may have to wait 72 hours. Had a few people say they looked fine over at mepd and these have been holding me up for over 3 weeks. So...they already have the inside cover strips glued as of now.
Worst case scenario I may need to trim them shorter, but I can bend my knee almost a full 90 degrees.

[nukem25rs]

here is a really good example of the shins!! Alay from FISD posted this.. check out post #106
http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37704-alays-anh-stunt-build-ap-first-build/page-6#entry514245
she has really good images of the shin sides and the top angles for comparison.
I know I have some pictures of mine when I was building them but photobucket is well....being good ole slow photobucket and not loading for me...