Update Aug-5th:
I've made the decision to attend Anime414 in Milwaukee this weekend so I can see Steve. There is a Halo panel being led by him that I want to attend in my armor, and then (or beforehand) I'd like to have him sign a pistol (probably with "I need a weapon.")
This means that some of my plans need to be accelerated, as I basically only have until Thursday night. I'm not as worried about some of the things like fans or the mic/speaker in the helmet, and there won't be nearly as much walking as DragonCon will have.
A couple of things I accomplished recently/tonight:
- Got the padded shirt delivered. I like that some of the pads are around the abdomen right below the chest armor, so this adds the "bulk" I'm wanting. Ironically the added pads on the forearms actually make the bracers fit much better as well. I need to figure out which pants I want to pair with the top still.
- I've decided that the bottom "straps" of the chest armor really just get in the way as they currently are. They're rigid (3D printed) and are really difficult to buckle. They also make the chest armor really loose when being worn, but also annoying to put on. To solve this, I cut the pieces off, and I'm going to replace them with blue leather straps that can be tightened. This should help with some of the clanking around, as well as make it easier to put on/take off.
- I have also cut off the inner thigh piece of the thigh armor. This should allow it to flex (they were a bit too tight), as well as eliminate some of the plastic-on-plastic rubbing noises. I'm probably going to put some EVA foam over the gaps.
- Finally put more work into the first pistol which will be the one I get signed. I'm trying out Flex Seal for the hand grip and gunmetal gray for the rest of the body.
Work that I want to get done by Thursday night:
- Finish the items mentioned above.
- Eliminate the side buckles currently being used on the belt. They add just a hair too much circumference, so I'm going to cut the buckles, make one end a basic nylon strap connection, and try to get the other side to have the buckle either inside or outside of the actual belt piece. Ideally do it in some way that I can tighten the belt.
- Need to slap together something for boots.
- Still not entirely sure how I want to approach the calf armor. I might just cut some of the bottom away.
- Bicep armor probably needs to be put on EVA foam sleeves. Not super worried about this, but it was one of the major pinch points at C2E2.
- Need to fix the buckle connections for both shoulders.
