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After four years: Back in armor again! http://forum.alienslegacy.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9653	Page 1 of 2

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:23 pm ]
Post subject:	After four years: Back in armor again!
A few years ago (like so many of us) I needed cash, so I sold my 1st generation Spat armor. Later, I picked up a set of the MAA fiberglass... and it sat in a box for over a year. Then I got a line on another custom kit from an awesome fellow board member... and it too sat in a box for like seven months. So I had a local convention coming up (last weekend to be exact) and I talked to a buddy of mine about doing Aliens at the con (and no, not twilek slave girls you pervs... ). So, I broke out the kit and started spending more money. I bought a set of 1" OD buckles with webbing from Sportsman's guide. Ordered some OD anodized screw posts from another site. Also got OD 1.5" buckles and some cotton webbing from a site called jontay.com. Matt Noble (Thanks Matt!!) helped me out with a pair of 1" cam lock buckles. I visited the local sheet metal and heating place and was able to score some thin sheet metal for custom brackets. I started with the shin guards first. I built up a set of vaccuform ones a few years ago now (2006 I think it was...) with the help of Harry and got them about 95% accurate to the screen used ones. The screen used ones had the front, female buckle attached to the shin guard with bent sheet metal brackets. The inside "hinge" fabric was leather and webbing attached the knee cup to the shin guard. And it went a little something like this... Attachment: 2011-02-18 10.03.24.jpg [ 1.53 MiB \| Viewed 12935 times ] Attachment: 2011-02-20 14.40.15.jpg [ 1.59 MiB \| Viewed 12935 times ] Attachment: 2011-02-20 14.40.32.jpg [ 1.57 MiB \| Viewed 12854 times ] Attachment: 2011-02-20 15.04.48.jpg [ 1.34 MiB \| Viewed 12935 times ] Attachment: 2011-02-20 15.59.00.jpg [ 1.54 MiB \| Viewed 12877 times ] What's funny is I had to wait until I cut and mounted the foam before I could paint or attach the knee cup to the shin guard. It was actually the very last thing I did before leaving for the con.

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:41 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
posting strike two. Lousy internet connection anyway. Pics. Attachment: 2011-02-24 13.51.42.jpg [ 1.17 MiB \| Viewed 12927 times ] Attachment: 2011-02-24 13.51.24.jpg [ 1.34 MiB \| Viewed 12917 times ] Attachment: 2011-02-24 13.52.30.jpg [ 1.3 MiB \| Viewed 12917 times ] The paint I used as a base is OD Green Krylon Fusion Camoflage (Flat). All told I used about 2 cans on the armor and I didn't paint any helmet parts. I also used a can of Krylon clear matte sealant to lock in the green and keep it from rubbing off on my hands. I plan to replace much of the 1.5" nylon webbing with OD cotton webbing as soon as my order comes in. I bought about 12 feet (or more) of the 1.5" nylon because I made a judgement error and made my side straps too short. They're about 10-12" long now which allows for adjustment. I originally had them 6" long which was waaaaaay too short. Doh. I also had to drill a hole in the top of the short under epaulette spacer pieces. This locks the shoulder bells in place to the rest of the torso and it ALSO is locked to the underside of the shoulder epaulette. This was where I failed when redoing my Spat armor shoulders. The webbing attached to both the epaulette and the spacer keeps the epaulettes from falling off your shoulders! Its SO simple, I don't know how I missed it the first time.

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Test fit the foam pieces before gluing in place with contact cement. Attachment: 2011-02-24 22.51.56.jpg [ 1.57 MiB \| Viewed 12911 times ] Matt Nobles Ab Pad kit with armor all installed. I think I might grind off the pop rivits though and replace them with either screw posts or hammered rivits like Matt included with the kit, as they look nicer and don't have the hole in the middle. Attachment: 2011-02-25 22.15.04.jpg [ 1.39 MiB \| Viewed 12911 times ] The breast plate looks small. That's just forced perspective because of my phone. Attachment: 2011-02-26 14.12.33.jpg [ 1.24 MiB \| Viewed 12911 times ]

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
I figured since I was doing all the foam work already, I'd upgrade my first generation Spat helmet with some more accurate webbing and foam. It worked out pretty well I think. Maybe someday I'll get around to putting up pics of the finished product. Attachment: 2011-02-27 14.31.39.jpg [ 1.43 MiB \| Viewed 12904 times ] Since Spat had folded and glued the webbing inside the helmet, I was forced to drill into the back of the thing to put a better mount for the lobster tail. After giving up on using a drill to cut through the steel pot helm, I used the dremmel to put a small "x" shaped cut on the inside and outside, and then used a cone shaped grinding stone to finally "drill" the hole to the size needed for the screw posts. It worked out fine in the end. Took me forever though to figure out how to do it since the drill bits weren't doing a darn thing. Test fit of the ab plate, torso (webbed) and shoulder epaulettes (not webbed, just sitting in place). Attachment: 2011-03-01 00.58.12.jpg [ 1.56 MiB \| Viewed 12901 times ] Torso half webbed... Attachment: 2011-03-01 01.05.43.jpg [ 1.44 MiB \| Viewed 12899 times ] Attachment: 2011-03-01 01.05.05.jpg [ 1.37 MiB \| Viewed 12899 times ]

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 8:48 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Completed shin guard with foam and all webbing. The webbing on the cam lock buckle is nylon, but the rest is cotton. The center joint "hinge" is leather. Attachment: 2011-03-01 01.56.41.jpg [ 1.55 MiB \| Viewed 12897 times ] It wears pretty well. I had to flare the front at the ankle a little to keep from getting bit, and I also ended up adding a small piece of foam to the front bottom. I think I need to add a little more foam to keep it in place. Like every other shin guard on the planet, it wants to sag a little. Even though they were built to my leg measurements there's a little room for error. I think a couple strips of the waffle foam will keep it locked in place and keep it from sagging. It's maybe 1/3 to 1/2" difference it needs. So I hand my phone to Sheila and say "Take some pics of me getting geared up." I thought it would be nice to see it step by step. Well, somehow she got distracted... and it went from shin armor... Attachment: 2011-03-04 21.59.38.jpg [ 1.58 MiB \| Viewed 12895 times ] To complete. Attachment: 2011-03-04 22.11.45.jpg [ 1.39 MiB \| Viewed 12879 times ] Lt. (Keith) Gorman is sporting the uniform I made before Dragoncon 2009. He didn't like the inaccuracy of my Major's rank, so he bought Lt. bars. Even wore them the movie accurate (reality inaccurate) way. Attachment: 2011-03-04 22.11.56.jpg [ 1.3 MiB \| Viewed 12879 times ] Attachment: 2011-03-04 22.31.19.jpg [ 1.53 MiB \| Viewed 12870 times ] I still need to paint the camoflague (obviously) and do some adjustments as the chest plate bites into me on the top right, but overall it fits well and I'm quite happy with it. It was expensive to buy and build, but worth it in the end. I'd prefer if people didn't bomb me with questions as to where I got the set from. If those who put me in contact with the maker want to put it out there, I'm sure they'll speak up. Otherwise I'd prefer to respect the armorer and keep his contact info confidential for now. I only have a couple minor "complaints" about accuracy points on a couple pieces. I wish the chest and back plates were maybe 1-2" longer front to back, so there'd be armor overlap and not the traditional "rib gap" that many of the suits share. The helmet pieces are great, and I'll be using them in the future to do a build up, but the brow plate is quite a bit off and will require additional fitting to be close enough so it will work. The lobster plates are great and will look amazing on a finished helmet. All in all, I'm very pleased and won't be letting this one go any time in the future. Hope you enjoyed the pics! Attachment: 2011-03-04 22.31.40.jpg [ 1.39 MiB \| Viewed 12870 times ] Russ

Author:	spacemarine [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Awesome thread Russ, love the armor ! If mine turns out half as kick-ass as yours i'll be a happy marine How many buckles will i need for 1 set or armor ?

Author:	Akir [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:36 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Wheres the best place to get the buckles and straps.

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:42 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
@ SpaceMarine: You'll need 4 - 1.5", 5 - 1" and 2 - 1" cam lock. Some people swap the cam lock buckles for regular fastex ones. The 4 - 1.5" go on the L/R torso. 2 - 1" on each leg armor with either a cam lock or fastex on the knee cup, and one lonely fastex on the upper torso under the shoulder epaulette. Of course, if you're buying a suit of Spat's armor, it comes pre-assembled, so you don't need to buy ANY buckles. @Akir: There's a couple threads on the forum about both the buckes and webbing. Do a search for "OD Buckles" or Green buckles using the site's search engine. I bought my cotton webbing and 1.5" OD buckles from jontay.com in the USA and my 1" OD buckles from Sportsmans guide. The other lads in the UK will have a better idea on where to get them locally. Russ

Author:	spacemarine [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:45 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Thanx Russ.

Author:	assimilate [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Russ Krook III wrote: A few years ago (like so many of us) I needed cash, so I sold my 1st generation Spat armor. and its still alive despite repairs but looks like its been to LV-426 and back

Author:	chevyh0tr0d [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Looks pretty sick Russ,glad to see you in armor again!

Author:	Vito [ Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:58 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
No, no, no. It's all wrong. Start again..... Looks good Russ, i really like your Greaves! =]

Author:	SSgt Burton [ Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:06 am ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Welcome Back Russ! (I really didn't know how else to start. ) Armour is looking good! You look younger. Finally shave off the goatee? Kevin

Author:	Filandrius [ Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:12 am ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
That armor is looking incredible. Can't wait to see it finished!

Author:	hunterkiller86 [ Wed Mar 09, 2011 3:47 am ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
looking great russ!!

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Wed Mar 09, 2011 6:53 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
SSgt Burton wrote: Welcome Back Russ! (I really didn't know how else to start. ) Armour is looking good! You look younger. Finally shave off the goatee? Kevin Thanks Kev! Yeah, I shaved off 10 years last weekend for the convention. My buddy Keith did too. His wife was worried about being called a cougar for having a "younger" man now.

Author:	Hollis DZC [ Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:16 am ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Russ, it turned out Soooooo Damn Good Bro!! I like it...ALOT! I've got to start working on my set!

Author:	tacblue [ Wed Mar 16, 2011 8:52 am ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Any chance you might happen to have a template for those greave brackets you made? I'm set to have a go myself, but I'm hoping for a pattern I could use. Any help would be much appreciated!

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Wed Mar 16, 2011 5:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Fact of the matter is, there's really no template. How I made them was cuttng some strips of sheet metal narrow enough to fit inside the buckles. Then, using a pair of pliers I crimped them so the metal made the shape of the letter "b" being flat-ish on the bottom (the side that goes against the armor) and the rounded part is on top. You also don't want to make the bend too right around the buckle or it won't be able to move up and down. After getting it into the basic shape I placed it where it should be on the armor (based on pictures of Terry English' work, and screencaps of Hicks tightening them in the locker room) and marked where I needed to cut them. The ends are simply just a straight cut across and two angle cuts. All told, it probably took me maybe an hour to make 6 brackets including using steel wool to remove the razor sharp edges. I used a simple piece of cardstock, cut to fit into the buckles and bent into the correct shape to give me an idea as to how much sheet metal I was going to need to cut. I also used the cardstock piece as a tracing template and marked on the sheet metal with a market and hand cut them out with common tin snips. So, I guess there really was a template.

Author:	tacblue [ Wed Mar 16, 2011 9:41 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Thank you for the information. I'll give it a go and hopefully turn out something as nice as yours!

Author:	Tarim-rex [ Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:28 am ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
I went the lazt route, and ordered D rings from Strapworks. they came with the part Russ made of course they are rounded so they look a little different

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Thu Mar 17, 2011 9:14 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
On Terry's later reproduction suits he rounded them off. I modeled mine after the film brackets so they have the sharp corner cuts. Probably took longer to make than yours Rob. What's funny, is I actually HAD them rounded to start, and double checked my screen caps/reference pics AFTER I had then on the armor... and proceeded to grind the rivits off and mod them again. Check images twice, cut once, rivit once.

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:49 pm ]
Post subject:
I was going to start a new thread, and then realized... I'd done some of this before! So... fast forward from 2011 to 2013. Last time I wore my armor was Dragoncon 2011. She's been sitting in a disassembled pile for well over a year. Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-1.jpg [ 245.3 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-2.jpg [ 198.12 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Since the Aliens: Colonial Marines game was coming out soon, I thought, why don't I FINALLY paint my armor? It was something I always "planned" on doing... just hadn't gotten around to actually doing it. I knew ever since I got the set of armor what paint scheme I wanted to do, so all I needed was to get some decent reference images. The wonderful Harry Harris helped me out in this regard by digging through his photo archives. First, I repaired the damage I did when I was forced to cut the leather strapping on the shin guards before Dragoncon 2011. Instead of using rivets this time, I used screw posts, that way I could still disassemble the legs for storage/shipping purposes if need be. First thing I did was print off some blank armor templates, and sketch out (as best I could...) the pattern I wanted based on the reference photos. I OF COURSE made some mistakes. And discovered this AFTER I had the bloody thing painted. Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-3.jpg [ 183.54 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Rather than stripping it and repainting from scratch, I painted over the OD base coat I added a couple years earlier. All the paints I used were Tamiya paints. There's a paint list in the archives section. I used Brown, Desert yellow (Sand?) Grey and some more OD. I'll do black lettering later. I used almost 2 bottles of Brown and yellow. I did do a couple coats of paint. The yellow didn't seem to cover as well as the brown, but then I did a couple coats of brown in certain spots as well. Started with Brown. Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-4.jpg [ 223.9 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-5.jpg [ 247.78 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Then moved to the yellow... Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-6.jpg [ 229.16 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-7.jpg [ 238.05 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ]

Author:	Russ Krook III [ Tue Mar 12, 2013 9:50 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: After four years: Back in armor again!
Added the Grey edging... Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-8.jpg [ 200.9 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-9.jpg [ 222.43 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Forgot about the abdominal armor, so I had to go back, mask it off, and paint... Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-10.jpg [ 243.83 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] Then I did my "dirty coat" after clear coating the whole thing. In the end it turned out pretty good I think. Finished it late Tuesday morning. Game launch day. Decided to not wear it to pick up my game. Kind of pointless, but heck, at least the armor is painted! I still need to decide how much graffiti I'll be adding. Now, in case anyone was wondering... (I'm sure nobody is, but I'm going to tell you anyway... ) the camo pattern is based on a set of replica Hicks armor created by Terry English and used in the Atari Jaguar Alien Vs Predator game. As far as I know I'm the only one to have ever copied this particular camo pattern. The chest/ab/back and shins are pretty close. The shoulder bells only in the ballpark as the reference images were straight on and not from the side, so I made due as best as I could. I have a comparison pic Harry made for me, but I can't share it without his permission. Here's a screen cap from the game though, which will give you a basic idea... Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-11.jpg [ 115.74 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] So, in the end, I'm happy with my first, full on armor paint job. It took like 3 days of painting to finish, but I'm happy with how it turned out. And, for those who don't like the new Aliens: Colonial Marines game... Metal Armor. Metal helmet. 17 lb 95% metal pulse rifle, accurate BDUs, Collectors edition of the game with guide... Attachment: Rook-armor-v2-12.jpg [ 184.2 KiB \| Viewed 9204 times ] ...your arguement is invalid. Just kidding, you're entitled to your own opinion. No matter how wrong you are.

Author:	88reaper88 [ Wed Mar 13, 2013 12:36 am ]
Post subject:
Great work Russ, looks badass Thanks for taking the time to document everything with great pics too. Where dd you get the blank armour templates from?

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