Hi! I've been commissioned to build another set of MAA armour so I thought I'd document it here for others to refer to, whether they are building a full set too or just need some tips for refurbishing/repairing their current kit. Maybe something for the archives.

OK so here we go!

First things first, I had to heat the chest piece with a heat-gun and bend it a little to make the overall curve a little tighter. Some cracks appeared but they were only small and nothing a bit of Superglue, filler and sanding couldn't fix

Next drill out all the rivet holes and slots in the torso section. I used a cordless drill with a 5mm bit to drill the rivet holes. For the slots I used the same drill and bit to drill a hole at each end then cut out the centre section with a Dremel with a cutting wheel attached. The back bracket holes were made by placing the brackets on the back piece, marking the holes with black marker and then drilling the holes with the 5mm drill bit. I will be pop riveting these to the armour.



The next step would be to spray all the sections OD green but as the weather wasn't too great today I decided to paint the back brackets Brown Bess and start on the helmet ear cup.



Here you can see the notches I made in the cup using a Dremel with a sanding cylinder. These notches are what the Mic sits in.



Watch this space.

Time to drill out the "vents" in the ear cup plate. I made these the same way I made the webbing slots on the armour; drill a hole at each end use a Dremel with a cutting wheel to cut out the middle section.





Note that I cut away some material below the vent on the backside to allow for the chin strap.

Now it's just a simple case of riveting it to the cup...



and the inside...



And with the mic dry-fitted..

Hurry up! I want to see how you web up the torso armor. I'm having fits with mine.

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"A writer needs a pen, a painter a brush, and a filmmaker an army." - Orson Wells.

http://www.rookscastle.com
http://www.alchemyarms.com

#subscribes to awesome topic

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AKA: Simon

Not to worry Russ ill be going over how it all straps together very clearly soon.

On with the build!

Next step was to trim the shoulder-bell mid-tabs. These were made from a different material to the fibreglass plates (resin I think). I had to cut the frill, drill the rivet hole, cut off the cast in webbing and cut the slot.

Here's a before and after shot.


And a shot showing the frill.


And both done.

didnt have that problem on the set i built

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I'm the one they warned you about

You've gotta love a good build thead, keep the updates coming.
Awesome work.

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"I'm not insane, my mother had me tested" Sheldon TBBT.

Subscribed.

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Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know, a headache with pictures.

Right moving onto the greaves.

First thing to do was to heat them up with a heat-gun and bend to shape; they were a little flat out the box. I used rubber bands and masking tape to hold them in place then dunked them in a cold bath so they "set". Then I removed the bands and tape. Did the same for the rear plates. I then drilled all holes and slots.





Also cut the slots in the lobster plates.



And a group shot. The green smear is putty to fill in some small cracks that appeared when bending the plates. I'll give the plates a sanding before painting as some heat bumps appeared too.

Continuing work on the ear cup as the weather again was too cold and windy for spray painting.

Next thing I had to make was a plate for cup - this is what the foam ear piece will attach to. I traced around the cup on some styrene and cut the rough shape with a Stanley knife.



I then glued it to the cup with 4 TINY drops of Superglue. I need to be able to remove it.



I then did the final trimming...



And sanding....



And now we have a plate that fits perfectly



Now I had to make something for the mic adjustment barrel to glue to. I used a blob of Milliput and pushed the mic into it.



And removed it. Now I have a perfect slot to glue the mic to once dry.

Mic glued in place with epoxy glue and backplate superglued in place. I gave the edges a final sanding after the glue had dried just to tidy it up.

Great guide Nick.

You might wanna change the images to have them hosted on the forum though, in case your image host stops/other reason in the future once this thread is finished and archived.

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Steve
Corporal in 69th Regt. 1st Batt. Homer’s Heroes.

"I'd like to die at the age of 80 in my own bed, with a belly full of wine and a girl's mouth around my c**k."

Thanks Steve, and will do!

Thanx Nick, this thread will help me no end when i get my helmet parts from Marsattack.

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"I'm not insane, my mother had me tested" Sheldon TBBT.

OK I drilled the ear-cup hinge and strengthened it a bit with some Milliput. I used a cut knitting needle to make the hinge pin.



The weather was better today so I managed to spray all the torso parts OD green.



I use the olive drab paint by Fosco for all my armour builds.

Ear-cup primed and base coated. Got hold of a correct sized padded ear defender

You and your great paints that are only available in the UK...

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Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know, a headache with pictures.

Ah sorry Mike, but yeah it does make things a little easier being able to get hold of them here

Speaking of painting I started the camo today. Just the dark green to start with.

Loving the paint work, you'll be getting a PM when i finally get my armour

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"I'm not insane, my mother had me tested" Sheldon TBBT.

Thanks!

OK now on to the brown.

This is looking very nice. Are you using a pattern for the camo or do you free hand? Also do you paint it on by hand or airbrush it?

I needs my money from work like now

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In space, no one gets whipped cream

Thanks guys! I paint the camo on free hand with a brush.

Ok all the camo on the torso has been painted. Next stage is the weathering.