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Belt straps arrived! No issues stitching the two together with the zigzag pattern. Here it is all laid out - nothing affixed yet. I'm torn between attachment via snaps or screws. As this is PLA, drilling in can be a bit tricky, but is definitely doable. Any suggestions on that? Also - I haven't seen anything about spacing between the boxes, so mine are laid out here based on how it would sit with the ab armor on. Each is about 1.5 inches apart.

Hello, thank you for the post ! Do you know if there have been any changes in the company since then? I'm looking for a good place to get a Scouts Rotj. Thank you. TK 42030

The side armor and ammo boxes are all painted, not in picture. Left with the largest armor to work with. The AB armor look kinda tricky. Not sure if I need extension by the sides or by extending the back plate. Will figure it out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks warm. From the quick glance on my phone it looks good.

Yellowing is a problem for most white plastics and how much yellowing occurs can vary widely by plastic type and specific batch formulation and storage conditions. With painting, I've found that clear coats tend to yellow more than uncoated white paint, so clear coating armor would likely not be much help.

I know this is an old post - but here is my experience using similar hair bleaching creams to reverse the fire retardants from coming to the surface. (from what my research found as the cause and multiple discussions about this on First Imperial Stormtrooper forums) Interesting thing is, when looking at parts like the shoulder bells, the INSIDE of the bells are white, the OUTSIDE turn yellow - or IMO the side that is stretched when vac forming. Does this have anything to do with the cause of yellowing? 🤔 I have done this twice with my TK with the first time back in 2019, it brought it back but not completely to the original white. My armor is kept in a bin, in the garage away from any direct sunlight. I religiously used marine grade UV plastic protectants over the armor before and after every troop. Like everyone here states, the process appeared to not cause any physical damage to the plastic. Unfortunately, the armor started yellowing again but not like overnight but over time. The pic below shows what it looked like in 2021 after the doing the process the first time and only after 4 troops (due to Covid). The after doing this hydrogen peroxide process once again is on the right. I used a UV spot light this time and sunlight. (the sun is intense here at 4,500 feet above sea level in the Sierra Nevada Mountains) So my findings - yes using the hydrogen peroxide will reversed the fire retardant yellowing but from what I researched, it doesn't remove the chemicals but pushes them back into the plastic. I could be wrong. The problem is in 2023 my last troop at Star Wars Day for a local baseball minor league event, my armor was already showing yellowing when compare to another TK, I was standing next to. This was only three troops since the 2nd hydrogen peroxide treatment below. So IMO - using this process only increased the rate at which yellowing occurs post treatment. Painting may be the only permanent recourse. I'm not sure if clear coating will help over new armor. Interesting thing, my ESB hand plates were made from vac formed PVC and it is still bright white - 10 years later! YMMV - and like the veteran TK members say, "All TKs eventually become TDs" for this very unavoidable reason. 😊

If it’s got a decent yhickness of clear coat over the base paint , you could try rubbing compound on the laquer to see if you can remove a tiny layer , as it’s usually the outer most molecules of clear coat that start to yellow

I used a locally available boot, not the Ozark one you mention. You can see my in-progress photos and the end result in my Mando Scout build thread: https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/topic/23617-tarok%E2%80%99s-remnantmando-scout-approved/page/3/#comment-229363 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, here's the final jacket that I received over the weekend. The chest and back areas are pretty soft and smooth. The ribs on the arms came out good as I was concerned that the maker wasn't going to make them correctly. Instead of submitting custom measurements, I order the jacket in a Men's XL size as I could go to a local tailor to make small adjustments rather than get a jacket that turns out to be too tight and uncomfortable. What do you think?

Any chance getting a photo or two of a finished boot from those that built their scout boots using the Ozark Trail Work-boot? I picked up a pair yesterday in my correct size but wanted to see how everyone ended up wrapping the vinyl.

When it comes to paint it's usually the clear coat that starts yellowing. I typically tell folks not to clear coat for that very reason. I've never used that particular type of Rusto paint before, but I also wonder if the epoxy aspect of the paint might be part of the issue. Unfortunately, short of sanding and repainting, there's no magic method to remove the yellowing from either paint or clear coats.

I painted my MonCal helmet about 3 years ago and I used Rustoleum Appliance White. I was so excited to finally find a perfect matching white for my SC armor as Appliance White gave that super bright ABS white finish. After waiting around a week for it to cure, I coated it in Krylon Gloss Enamel. For the first year or two my helmet matched my white armor, but after a year in storage I took my scout out to troop and found the helmet is noticeably yellowed. I see that the rattle can lid I test painted with has yellowed at the same rate, so I don't think it was a storage issue. I had my helmet in a cloth helmet bag completely out of any sunlight. Maybe the issue was using Krylon Gloss Varnish but I didn't use it on the test cap and it yellowed the same way. Normally I expect ABS to yellow but in this case it's the paint I used apparently. I think the answer is to deal with the yellowing but I wanted to see if there was any chance at slowing or stopping the process. In the future are there any white paint brands that people use to retain the whiteness? Here is a picture before the yellowing:

Well hello! Got some solid work done this weekend finishing up the ab plate (minus final weathering) and the belt boxes, and started to knock out some very basic strapping. For the ab, as I'm working with PLA, I did decide to heat form the sides a bit. It was just sticking out too much and making the whole thing feel really boxy. I know I need to leave room for the undersuit, so I made sure to fit it with me wearing a sweater. I think the result gives a trimmer, more tailored look. Here's some strapping I did on the shoulder/biceps. Not sure why I didn't think to anchor the rivets with EVA foam before, but contact cementing that to the PLA is never going anywhere. Here are the belt boxes, including the hinged long box. I ended up just adding negative space to the box in the shape of the hole, instead of having to carve that out post-printing. I'm having a blast with this build, and it's so satisfying to see it come together! Next up is the back portion of the ab plate (the kidney, as it's called in Sean's files). I'm toying with leaving it as a separate piece and using rare earth magnets to connect the two sides at the diagonal strip. The CRL doesn't say it has to be a single piece, and i think that would make it much easier to get into and out of. More to come!

Hi Toby, I'm excited to hear we have another future GLG member in the works! Costuming in a post-Joann world is certainly going to be a challenge. To answer your questions, all of the elastic that I used is the Dritz brand. I brought mine from Joann, but it looks like their products are available on Amazon. I believe that is where I found my webbing as well. As for the fabric, I'm not sure where you are located in Michigan, but there is a pretty good fabric store called Haberman Fabrics in Clawson. I've visited there once, and they have a pretty good selection of apparel fabrics. Ordering online is an option as well, but I would recommend ordering a swatch to make sure it looks and feels right before placing an order. If you haven't already done so, I'd also recommend starting a build thread here and asking questions when you have trouble finding materials or need help with anything. The Pathfinders staff is AMAZING and was super helpful to me throughout my build. Best of luck with your build!

Hello, Glory530 I'm pre-planning my armor and the belt is the only issue with this part of the build. The flight suit plan on getting from CB Props but the rest I'm semi-confidant that I can kind of make. I chose to print my armor out of PETG with files from Galactic Armory. With JoAnn's closing any suggestions about elastic, webbing, & fabric's should be looking for? Great Lakes hopeful, Toby

Just purchased these armor files and a bunch of petg spools

Thanks. Next up, soft parts. I’ll trial on an inconspicuous area first or on some extra fabric to get the technique down. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks good.

Final armor weathering. Heavy pic post incoming… Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Saw that on fb. It’s amazing!!

Wickedly cool! Love it!

Dude this is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

I don't know how much you can see in the picture, but today I finally had the opportunity to put on all my Shoretrooper variants and take some photos of it - I've put the pictures together here to make a group photo with myself ^^

Thanks a lot for the information!

Great. Thank you both!