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[A'den Ca'tra]

LOL Well, it is! They tend to have a mind of their own and love to come off when you don't want them to (boot armor too!). I wore them for 1 day at WonderCon '11 and walking back to the hotel down the street...POP! One came off and I just ripped the other off. Ok, so...

The culprits:



Yes, a horrible example of how NOT to wear your shin armor lol It was held in place with just velcro ad 2 leather cords. I thought it would work..uhm... 

Here's what I'd love to be able to do: Wear them without putting in any holes for rivets. They are both aluminum and that stuff is quite capable of tearing with the right kind of force and wear. I might have sewn velcro onto my flightsuit but the legs are a little on the loose side despite the elastic around the ankles.

I have used:

Industrial strength velcro
Leather straps
Loctite glue
Hot glue

What I don't want:

Holes - either plates or flightsuit
Rivets

What some members of the App Team don't want [visibly seen]:

Velcro (used to secure elastic)
Elastic (which I used but black on black)

I want these to match how the rest of my armor looks - no holes, rivets, etc. I want to keep it uniform.

Hmmm...

I'm at this moment talking to someone about this of facebook and I just thought about a hidden plate that could be used to secure to my legs and the aluminum plates be attached to them. I was thinking sintra since it's more glue friendly and I can drill holes into it which would be hidden...

Anyone else got any ideas? And if I did above, what glue would work on aluminum and sintra both?

Thanks guys!

[wthrgssr75]

Loctite brand 2 part epoxy for steel / concrete / wood. That stuff works good on my aluminum and it is sandable. I have heavy duty sticky velcro on my metal and sewn on velcro on my soft parts. You can also epoxy snaps in place on the metal, just scuff sand it real good so the stuff can grab and then use scotch tape to hold the snaps in place until the resin cures.

[razor]

my thought is to get nylon straps and glue snaps on the inside of the shin, one at both ends of strap and there you go. just a thought

[Rokeim Gekla]

I've got a very very similar setup to what you've got.

My shins are held to my jumpsuit with velcro thats doubly secured with the adhesive from the velcro AND a bit of e6000 to give it a little extra staying power.   I've also given my jumpsuit velcro a little help along with e6000 as well.

My straps are nylon, held to the shin armor with.. you guessed it... e6000 (i swear by this stuff, its good stuff)   the straps hold to eachother with velcro secured to the nylon wiiiiith... yep.  that stuff.     I have had no issues with my my shins.  :-D

[wthrgssr75]

What about cutting a slit in the pants leg and sliding some elastic inside and sewing in place in the calf area then put velcro on tabs of elastic sticking out? would be completely hidden that way too. Blousing straps might work too.

[Sedavor Til]

my thought is to get nylon straps and glue snaps on the inside of the shin, one at both ends of strap and there you go. just a thought

This is what i do.  basically I glued the male ends on the shin and put the female ends on the straps. Worked out pretty well for me.

[Ca Loar]

wow, you all do complicated set ups.  I have two straps with buckles per shin. Each one is riveted to the shin armor, Never had these come apart , have always stayed in place , even when I stumble walking up stairs 

[Mandalore the Uniter]

Get some nylon straps and parachute clips.  Gorilla glue the nylon straps in and attach parachute clips to the nylon strapping.  Done!   

[Kane Friax]

instead of wrapping the straps around your calf, attach straight to the pants. although it will seem less sturdy it's only falling off now because of you flexing your leg as you walk. you don't mean to but you will ether way. Chicago screws blend well enough if you paint over them... or you could just get really tall boots and attach the shins straight to the boots... somehow.

another suggestion would be to balance the attachment parts (as in: whatever the heck you choose) so that there's one on the very top, one on the very bottom, and one on either of the top two corners forming sort of a cross shape if you were to play connect the dots with them. if the top is unsecured the weight will pull the rest of the shin with it.

just my humble opinion

-Kane

[A'den Ca'tra]

Hmmm... Lemme see...

Glue
Hmm...
More glue
Cut holes into my flight suit legs - ain't gonna happen lol I already have problems putting everything on. I don't need anymore 
Glue on strap and clip system - a possibility.
Hmm...
Rivets... Uhm... Nope.
Attach shin armor to calf high boots - I only have one pair and I wear those for both my Sith as well as my Merc but for the latter under the flight suit. So no go on that one.
Attach velcro to flight suit legs - can't cuz the legs below the knee is too loose and would flop around.

*thinks for a few minutes* I'm leaning toward a clued on kind of strap and clip system, but I'm not sure how they'll stay up on my calves. Uhm...isn't nylon strapping kinda looked down on and CRL's says it's not allowed? Or is that for belts and holster systems?

[OriKad]

Nylon external straps are fine.  It's external elastic that's not.

[Kane Friax]

  who says sith cant have shin armor?  how bout an armored sith? just revamp the other costume n ull be all good!

-kane

[A'den Ca'tra]

Alrighty about the nylong straps. I did at first have the black elastic around my calves but it gave too much...and obviously didn't stay put 

I guess I get to see what I'm getting into...

Kane: Noooooooooo! lol My Sith is an antisocial Alchemist. What does she need armor for?

[Kane Friax]

in case any of her potions go boom?

-Kane

[Ca'tra Talyc]

I'm using JB Weld to attach screws to the backs of my (steel or aluminum) plates. I haven't trooped in it yet, but it seems to be working fine. I'd JB Weld some Chicago screws to the back of the shin plate, then make a nice tall spat that matches either the flightsuit or the vest and screw the shins onto that. These: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=spats&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1440&bih=796&tbm=isch&tbnid=4DKWs1dELWQNoM:&imgrefurl=http://www.gasolinaboots.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D52%26Itemid%3D65&docid=px1Yk1GFrCoDIM&imgurl=http://www.gasolinaboots.com/gasolina_spats_1.jpg&w=468&h=548&ei=SmlPT5GeCMe0sQLmx4mfDg&zoom=1 are pretty cool looking with the buckles but you could also use Velcro of a hidden zipper to close them up.

[A'den Ca'tra]

I thought about spats, but my calves are too big :-/ I'd have to make them or have them custom made. I can't afford that atm.

Anyway, I'm browsing and found this. I think...I've got an idea 

I'm thinking 4 of these each leg: http://www.usalanyards.com/large-curved-shape-side-release-plastic-buckle-p-153-25.aspx
And the strapping: http://www.strapworks.com/Polyester_Webbing_p/pew1.htm
And maybe one of these types to attach to the shin plates and hold the strapping to the plates with: http://www.strapworks.com/slides_loops_strap_adjusters_s/32.htm

I'm going by a mental design... Can anyone see where I'm going, and do you think it would work - given if I can find the right glue?

[Jaro]

I personally do the two leather straps with buckles, riveted to the shins, but I see that's not what you want. You may also try making your shins completely wrap around. Make another piece that fits on the back of your calf, that velcros in to the inside of your shins. Other than that I think every other idea has been explored here. Out of all of the acceptable ideas I think Novall's is best.

Get some nylon straps and parachute clips.  Gorilla glue the nylon straps in and attach parachute clips to the nylon strapping.  Done!   

Easy peasy!

[A'den Ca'tra]

I'm thinking straps, buckles and I'm liking the idea about the plating on the back of the calf... If only I could get my hands one some more aluminum or sintra....

[Mom2Mando]

Tiger Mando has a front and back piece attached with elastic.  It pulls on and is so close you never see the elastic.  I think it's a cool setup for shins.  Just one more idea.