Trimming Down the Shoulders

Something I’ve been happy to discover during this build is that Rob and the support team over at RS Props is fabulous.  Initially, I had contacted them about the problem with my kit containing two right inner forearms.  They were quick to respond and remedy things by arranging to send the correct left inner forearm right away.  As I was waiting on that forearm, well, that was around the time when I screwed up my shins. 

I had put my shins away and decided to work on my shoulder bells instead.  There is a pinched area of ABS at the top of the shoulder piece, and I emailed Rob to find out how to cut it down.  See?



There are no cut lines on it, and I didn’t know where to start.  Also, I thought it would be a good idea to ask about ordering an extra set of shoulder straps for my kit.  I’ve seen them crack on more than one set of armor (although not necessarily RS armor), so it’s something I wanted to have on hand as backup.  At this time, I decided to tell Rob about how I’d butchered the shins.  Admitting my mistake to him was humbling, to say the least.  Again, I was mortified that I’d made such a stupid error.   Here’s an example of what my shins had been hacked down to:



Rob emailed me back very quickly with measurements and photos of how to trim the shoulder bells.  (For all of you following along, it should be 12" from the bottom of the spine to the trim, then 5" from the edge of the spine to the trim.)  




Then he told me that he would have everything- shoulder straps, left inner forearm, and two sets of shins- ready to send out the next day.  I was confused because he hadn’t mentioned the cost for it all, and I hadn’t submitted any payment.  I became concerned at this point.  Frustrated, I figured that I would just pay whatever he told me because even if I couldn’t afford it, I still needed it.  Oh well.  I asked him once more how much to pay for everything and braced for the reply. 

I was extremely surprised by the response.  Rob told me that he was happy to send it all out to me for no charge.   He said it was because they want to support their clients with their TK kits, that the people at RS Props are fans first and foremost, and that it’s not all about the money to them.  If I hadn’t been sitting in my chair when I read that email, I think I would have fallen onto the floor.  Talk about amazing customer service!!!

Everything arrived to me safely two days later.  That’s two days from the UK to my home here in Georgia.  So flippin’ fast! 

Moving along, I trimmed down my shoulder bells.  You can see how much needed to be removed.  This was before I sanded them smooth, but you get the idea here.



And now I’m making all my returns about 6mm wide.  I’m using the super high-tech process called pencil-taped-to-my-finger.  I don’t remember where I saw it first used, but it helps to create a fairly consistent line to trace the return before cutting.