Anyone who plays video games will appreciate that statement... basically (for the uninitiated) where a player 'respawns' (after being taken out of the fight) is often a fair distance from where they fell... so the odds (at times) of catching up to your teammates/compatriots and helping THEM before THEY get beaten down are often pretty slim.
Why am I such a 'doom and gloom'-ist today?
Partially because I haven't had the opportunity to post on the blog until now... partly because I've been overthinking a few things on the armor... and the effort I've already put into it has basically been an 'object lesson'... and won't amount to much else. I've inadvertently set myself back some time in my efforts to accomplish my 'clever' tricks...
What am I talking about?
The codpiece/ribs/lumbar plates. I went to great effort to rivet each piece to the other it's supposed to articulate to - in an effort to improve range of motion in the torso and to make the armor feel a little more 'organic' - and the end result was a mish-mash of elastic bits, resined parts and a fair chunk of effort... for very little result.
Not only did I waste a chunk of time trying to accomplish that feat (see my rivets post earlier in the month)... but when it came down to it... I was having a tremendously difficult time trying to get everything assembled... trying to figure out how I was going to get INTO the armor... and how I was going to get it to stay on when I got into it...
... let me assure you... there were WAY too many straps.
So... against my better judgement (or perhaps BECAUSE of it) I've redone the codpiece and ribs and lumbar plates from scratch. Reprinted them, glue them together (and glued the PIECES together) and will proceed to resin the ENTIRE structure as one big piece... Bondo it, then surgically alter it (hinge at the crotch as before, slats cut into the sides all the way up the rib cage so I can get INTO the torso).
The plus side? I'm hyper-efficient with the cut-and-paste process now... I've got them all assembled already, and I only printed them yesterday. =)
Don't get me wrong... I think my rib-elastic-articulation idea is a good one... and with more refinement, I think I could make it work better... but for now, I'm going to go with a solid torso unit (the articulation didn't provide THAT much extra range of motion ANYway) and put my 'thinking cap emphasis' into the exposed shoulder/armpit, crotch and elbow/knee areas (see my 'armadillo/pill bug post for the solution there).
With five final exams coming up with ball-breaking speed, I have to focus my time a lot more efficiently... and nit picking the little minor things with eighty-bazillion rivets isn't a good use of my time. =)
It's crunch time... no more futzing around.
Pics tomorrow... err... I guess later today (Sunday)!
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