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My first Bucket


comm tech

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Everybody's tank position looks fine. Once you fill in the seam around it, put on the base coat, and start adding camo to it, you won't even notice the position.

Besides, when you have everything on, you will find yourself pulling down the chest plate in the front, because the tank is pulling it back. ;)

Only we would notice the small things.

 

OCD is good for me! :blink:

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Grumpy, you bring up an interesting point, you would be pulling down the chest piece due to the weight. Has anyone developed a way to prevent this? I could see putting snaps or velcro to the cummerbund and attaching behind the chest piece (would also prevent the chest from showing any camo undersuit between the two) or make 2 straps running from behind the chest, behind the cummerbund, and attach to the pants like you would suspenders (but this might just end up pulling your pants high in the front...). Thoughts?

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There's really no way to prevent it. It doesn't move up much, but it's just something that happens.

 

And a way to prevent any of the camo undersuit to show between the bottom of the chest plate and the cummerbund, is to make the cummerbund a little taller in the front, so you know only the cummerbund will be showing.

 

Once you get everything done and do your first test run with everything on, you can adjust it any way you feel that would be comfortable to you. If you want to attach the chest to the cummerbund, go for it. If it works, then there you go. :)

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  • 1 month later...

So finally had a few hours off yesterday so I decided to make good use of the time.

E6000 my bicep pieces

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E6000 my tabs to the tank and cut some slots in my back plate to accept them. I decided to pass the tabs through the back plate and then I will bend the tabs over and seal them to the inside of the back piece. I thought this might make the seams and bond a little stronger. After the abs have been e6000'nd I will fill the area around the tabs with bondo and feather them in.

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Lastly I did some more filling on my visor

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Very productive afternoon. I will be attaching my visor this weekend to the helmet and then bondoing it. I was going to use E6000 to attach it, does any one have a better method?

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Today I heated the toe caps and the shin armor to go around my huge calves. I think I am going to have to cut bu boot high tops off about 2"-2.5" to allow me to slide the shin armor up, tie the boots and slide the armor back down. Otherwise my shin armor will be extremely loose when it is resting in place, if I make it big enough to slide all the way up.

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Just did the final touch ups to the tank tabs I installed. Heated them, bent them over and e6000'nd them to the back plate. Tank greeb is installed and with just a touch of filler will be complete and ready for paint.

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Tim, I think your tank came out fantastic! Great idea with the tabs. It may have been easier to install the the tank greeb after painting, just makes painting the greeb and the tank easier, but blue painters tape is a glorious thing! I do not envy the bondo the you have in front if you, but what I foun that was great, is one of those cheap caulk smoother that you get at the hardware store. The kind that is a square or a circle, and has the different edges for the bead of caulk. I used it around the tank and it really cut down on the needed sanding.

 

Dude, bring it to the house at the armor party. I should have some left over paint and the liquid latex I used for masking that you can grab.

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With the tank greeb getting attached from inside the sealed tank, I would have had to cut another hole in the backplate to pass it through later. And yes painters tape is used for just about everything I have done on this project :lol: . I am going to bring it to the AP and thought since we would be trooping together, we need to have out paint colors match as close as possible. Obviously our camos will be different, but that is ok. I was going to e6000 my calf clam shells together today and found that my calves are going to make me add a 3/4" strip on both sides, inner and outer. So I need to pick up some plastic (HIPS or ABS) that will be used as a filler. I have some, but it is way to thick.

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That is what I was thinking DRE, but all the people in my garrison are telling me to used Proflex instead of the E6000. This item stays plyable, but is also easily sanded, unlike the E6000. and then I will not have to do two separate steps. :-)

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Was going to spend my day off yesterday working on my armor, but my wife and friends insisted I leave the house and they dragged me to Busch Gardens for the day. Had lots of fun, but nothing to report on my armor. No wonder this build is taking forever, I have bad influences in my life :P

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Ok, so yesterday I had about 2 hours to spend, so I put the icing (similar to Bondo) on the tank and backplate to fill in the seam. All went well, put on a thin coat so it would dry pretty quickly and was going to put another coat on this morning. I picked the backplate up and found the one spot that the plasticweld did not work and cracked the base coat for about 2.5 inches. UGGHHHH!!!! :6: :6: :6: :6: :6:

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Sanded the icing off of the biceps and they look good. All ready for paint. I glued a 3/4" strip on each side of the calves to give my freakishly large calves more room. When they dry, tomorrow I will E6000 them together. Tomorrow I will also sand the first layer of icing on the tank and get it ready for the second coat. I did do another coat of plastic weld on the one weak point that I found...I hope it holds this time.

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The only issue I see is that your shims stop short of the top. I'm afraid the icing wont have anything to grip to to make it level with the tops of the shins. You'll end up with a weak spot there that could crack or chip off. You can just add another piece there and trip even with the tops, the put the bondo.

 

I'm also not an expert in icing or bondo, so you may be ok, but that is my theory.

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The only issue I see is that your shims stop short of the top. I'm afraid the icing wont have anything to grip to to make it level with the tops of the shins. You'll end up with a weak spot there that could crack or chip off. You can just add another piece there and trip even with the tops, the put the bondo.

 

I'm also not an expert in icing or bondo, so you may be ok, but that is my theory.

I also have a short inseam so I still have to cut the length down about 1/2" on both sides, my knee plates will be pinching like crazy if I don't. Tough being short and fat :lol: By the time I am done triming the shims will be just the right size....I hope :rolleyes:

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Sanding, sanding, sanding. because if mt shims, I am having to fill and try to feather my seams to get them seamless. On one of my calf pieces I did not get a valley, running the length of the piece, totally flat with the heat gun. So now I am filling this void a little at a time. Afraid to go to thick with the icing, as I am worried about it curing correctly. I have been sanding between applications (for a strong bond) and the icing is very easy to sand. I applied the third and hopefully final coat last night. Today I will finish sanding them and sand the tank seam down. Pics to follow

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