Don't ask me how this came to be... but holy heck I have been able to move quite a bit faster now that I've gotten the hang of it...
It basically takes a certain level of 'willingness to sacrifice' a piece or three in order to accomplish your goal.
Which is why I started with the ribs and lumbar pieces... they're small, few cuttings to assemble them (if things went wrong, which they didn't - WOO!) and the results are pretty rapid to see.
So... here was the problem:
Three rib plates per side, which articulate with the lumbar plates, and also with the back and the cod-piece at the sides and rear.
But HOW? How much range of motion do I want to have versus how much restriction of motion do I want to force myself to endure? I figure I should be able to move a LITTLE bit... if nothing else that will allow my core muscles to engage enough to not fatigue my back while wearing the armor.
Trust me... that part is more important than you think.
Moving on... I figured I didn't want TOO much movement, but if 'push came to shove', I wanted to be able to have some side-bending and flexion/extension through my abdominals/obliques/lumbar extensors... so a small amount of articulation would be enough.
My original thought was a tough-yet-elastic fabric to go underneath all the pieces... but that would a) require articulation with the pieces anyway... and b) require me to FIND a fabric like that.
Good luck, by the way... I challenge anyone to find that fabric before I tame this Pegasus over here.
The problem is... the rib plates aren't exactly a large mass of terrain to attach things to, plus they will need to be Bondo'd like everything else... so bolt-and-nut assembly was out.
The answer?
Rivets.
Flat, reasonably flush with the outside and secure enough to attach straps!
(More on that as progress continues!)
For now, though... elastic strapping will serve my purposes nicely. I sliced some segments (2-3" long) and riveted them along one side of a rib section... then, with a little bit of elbow grease, pulled them to the other rib section and fastened them down... not tight enough to strain the elastic overly (else it might very likely have torn the hole away) but enough to make it 'snug'.
On the OUTside of the ribs, I tried to keep the rivet holes as evenly spaced and uniform as possible... and the end-result seems to be okay. Keep in mind that these will ALL be covered completely with Bondo... so any external evidence will be hidden completely from view.
That will happen some time this week as well. I find there is just enough play in the elastics between the ribs to pry them apart a little... but if it proves to be too difficult, I will slather right along the cracks between the rib sections and then slice them apart and smooth the Bondo in-between with a putty knife or similar small tool.
Also... a bit of 'learning as I go' here... the top panel of the lumbar pieces seems to not fit well with the rest... and the entire apparatus is WAY too large (the back plus four lumbar panels plus the cod) and it appears I'd have to be a lot taller to fit into the set-up.
I think I solved that problem, though... the top panel of the lumbar seems to fit underneath the bottom-most articulation point of the back piece... so when I slice apart the cod (into front and back halves) I will have three visible lumbar panels (the topmost 'hiding' under the back piece).
Stay tuned, for that, though... it may not work. LOL
As it stands, though, the rib panels connected to the lumbar panels quite nicely... once they're perma-connected to the back and codpieces, then I'll have a decent starting-point to go from... and the entire set-up will be ready for the Bondo treatment!
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| Stop starin' at my butt! |
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