Pandatrooper's SC Biker Scout build

[Pandatrooper]

Hi all, thought I'd start sharing some of the pics from the build. Hope this is helpful as well as an opportunity to get feedback from all the awesome scouts in the woods! Here we go!

 

Here's a new set of armor from SC. I went with SC due to their great service, communication, reliability and quality.

 

Here's a pic of the armor laid out. As you can see, everything is nicely made and shipped very securely in bubble wrap, etc. Everything is nicely organized from the maker! I will post pics of the helmet towards the end of the build.

 

One of the newest updates is the knee armor. They have a new sculpt and more refined details and updated shape, including a return edge! Perfect for the upper knee strap per Lancer spec. These look awesome!

 

 

I also did a quick test fit of the holster with my StuffandJunk blaster. I have something special planned for this, and it fits great. Stay tuned for updates.

 

 

Also worth noting is that the DonJarr greeblies fit perfectly in the new SC thermal detonator. I just placed them here for size to make sure they fit (might need to rotate the square rebel part 180 degrees).

 

[Pandatrooper]

 

Thought I would tackle the back / chest assembly first. I sanded the edges and corners of the rough cut armor, so that it wouldn't cut into my vest / suit, etc. I didn't spend a ton of time refining the shape of the hump to match the back armor. There's big gaps in the movie costumes, so I just got it close and put everything together. I've built enough TK's now that "somewhat sloppy" is actually more screen accurate than "perfect", unless you want to go for the "fresh out of the factory look". To each their own I guess!

 

Then I sanded and refined the edges of the tank topper and traced the shape onto the back hump. I sanded the underside of the tank topper and the sanded area on the ABS hump and spread some E6000 on both surfaces, and let it tack up. Then joined and clamped them overnight. I also glued the round button greeblie down as well.

 

 

 

When you place the hump on the back, you can't use a single rivet through the tank topper to hold the tank down. I have seen some people use a rivet to attach the tank to the back armor, then another rivet to hold the tank topper down (or make it look somewhat screen accurate).

I simply wanted to use one rivet, so I cut a slot in the top of the back armor, and glued / riveted an L shaped piece of ABS plastic down inside the slot. I simply heated a pieces of scrap plastic with a heat gun, held it between a couple strips of aluminum and bent it to shape.

 

Now the tank can be held down with one rivet on top (screen accurate).

 

Simply line up the tank and drill a hole through the tank topper, and hump and the new L bracket.

 

Pop a rivet through everything and you're done. Nice and tight. I also popped a rivet in the bottom of the tank as well of course (no pic).

[Pandatrooper]

For the tank stripes and rank stripes, I used the specs per SC's webpage. 1/8" thick for the tank, rank ones were 3/16", 1 1/2" wide. No dimension was given for spacing the rank stripes, so I went with 1/8" in between.

 

To make the stripes, I used some scrap sign vinyl I have laying around (matte black). It's secure, flexible and easy to remove if I need to change anything.

 

I simply drew pencil lines on the vinyl with a ruler and pencil. Dimensions indicated on the vinyl.

 

I simply cut the vinyl with a sharp exacto blade and a steel ruler. You only need to apply light pressure to cut through the vinyl, not the backing paper too. Once everything is cut out, I "weeded out" (remove the extra surrounding vinyl you don't need) the scraps.

 

Next, I peeled off the 1/8" tank stripes and prepared to apply them. Make sure the plastic is clean and your hands too (no pizza fingers!) as grease and oils from your skin can inhibit adhesion.

 

I simply stuck the striping down using reference pics of the screen used armor. There are some subtle indentations on the SC armor to use as a guide.

 

Notice I left the overlap on to ensure the lines are "square". Once they are rubbed down firmly, I use the exacto blade to score some straight lines on the overlapping areas, and you're done.

 

[Pandatrooper]

For the rank bars, I simply tear a strip of green masking tape (the removable kind for house painting) and place it over the rank stripes. I left the top bit exposed to get it aligned correctly. I am essentially using the masking tape as transfer tape, just like professional sign makers use (only cheaper and free!)

 

Peel the tape back slowly, and the rank stripes are now attached to the tape.

 

Aligned the rank stripes to the tank. They are placed inline with the tank stripes, and they are centered between the tank stripe and the top of the tank.

 

Rub the stripes down securely. The sign vinyl is much stickier than the green tape, so they will stick to the tank while the green tape peels off.

 

Rub the stripes down firmly to make sure they didn't pull off.

 

I've also started the chest. I've simply cut some grey sign vinyl for the front lower rectangle and stuck it in place.

 

Will be doing test fitting and joining the chest and back shortly. Stay tuned!

[BananoPower22]

You da man Panda. Your builds are always very detailed and so well done, I imagine that's what you'll do here so future scouts can use your build as a tutorial

[Griffin-X]

Very cool post, I like your style Terry. Your blaster is interesting too.

[lonewolf]

Great job Terry, the new SC knees look so much better now.

[Pandatrooper]

Thanks! Glad everyone likes the build so far.

 

Here's a completed pic of the tank topper. I simply used some Testors enamel paints for the red and white greeblie accents.

 

[Chex]

Looking great. Love those knees!

[HooliganScout]

New knees and Thermal Det are great!

[Boba Leo]

Well done Terry, as always in all your projects!!!!!!!

 

Leo

[chimei]

Love the painters tape to transfer the rank stripes. I'm totally stealing that for my upgrades.

[Havok69]

Some great tips in this thread - thanks for the great information, it will be very helpful when I get to building my set.

[TB-6539]

Awesome build thread!! New knees and detonator are veeeeeeeery nice!

[scoutjockie]

WOW you make it look so easy Panda, Im very new to all this, I'll be able to use it as a reference for when I get my armour.

[Pandatrooper]

Thanks all, glad this is helpful! Here's some more updates.

 

I was waiting on some clarity from Chex / Mike on the shoulder bridges, so in the meantime I continued with the other parts of the chest and moved onto the knees, since everyone likes the new SC knee shape.

 

Here's the chest being test fit. Before I did that, I taped the front and back of the chest together and overlapped the shoulder area by about 1.5". This was based on the height of the chest and back as seen in screen pics and looking in the mirror during the test fit. I will be able to adjust this tighter later if needed.

 

I also heated and curved the shoulder straps on the front and back slightly with a heat gun on low, going slowly over the areas while the front and back was joined. This curves the straps so that they conform to your shoulders / body better.

 

After heating, I split the difference of the overlap and trimmed the shoulder bridges to the proper length.

 

Taped bridges with 1.5" overlap

 

One thing I didn't like was how "tall" the plastic was under my arm pits. I'm a slim build and 5 foot 8", so not as big as screen scouts for sure, so some trimming and shaping was in order.

 

Stock chest test fit.

 

Here, you can see that the front and back almost touch (if I was using elastic to pull things tight, the front and back tabs are only about 1/2" apart).

 

So I decided to trim the side tabs a bit. Here, you can see where I would cut the plastic tabbed areas to make the gap bigger and more like the screen suits. I also took the opportunity to better align the slot holes that were already punched into the SC armor. Based on photos, the strap slots are more in line with the "flat" areas of the chest and back, and should be similarly aligned front to back.

 

Sides before trimming

 

Here's the sides trimmed. Notice I did not trim the upper edges, as I have "something special planned here".

 

Here, I've trimmed the upper edge slightly with a tapered seam. It starts about 3/8" thick at the widest part before it tapers upwards. I will be adding a return edge here with a heat sealing iron, and its easier to do with less plastic hanging over the edge. I have it taper since you won't really notice the return near the top of the shoulder straps and I didn't want to make them any narrower than they already were.

 

Pencil guide line for return edge added

 

I have used a heat sealing iron on many TK and TD builds, it's a great way to add a return edge or modify armor shapes. I created a tutorial for how to do return edges on FISD and MEPD.

 

http://www.whitearmo...showtopic=12972

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJwOmIS4hSw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra9hrvGZvpM

 

The same technique can be used to create a return edge as seen here (photo from SC website)

 

Here, I am applying the heat sealing iron to the edge. I have drawn a pencil line as a guide and will roll the edge over at about a 45 degree angle. Patience is a must.

 

After about 20 mins of work, you get a rough return edge that's the correct shape. The good thing is that most of the time, if you screw up you can simply reheat it.

 

Rough edge complete

 

After that, some simple work with a file or Dremel, and some sandpaper (I usually use 180 grit, 400 then wet sand 1000) does the trick. If you have time and want to get fancy, you can polish the edges to make them shiny and look like the armor was formed that way.

 

Different angle showing the return edge.

 

Here, you can see the chest has been trimmed to fit better and the return completed compared with the back which is trimmed but not heat had the return edge added. I will do the other side of the chest and back portions the same way.

 

[Pandatrooper]

The new knees are great, and have a proper return on the side for the upper strap per Lancer spec. Nice work SC!

 

Before I started, I sanded the outer edges and rounded any sharp corners. Also cleaned up any rough cuts. I glued some scrap plastic shims inside the sides of the upper knee using Plastic weld cement, so that when the top strap is riveted in, the sides won't get stretched and potentially cause cracking.

 

 

Shims glued in

 

 

Bottom is pretty easy, apply some loop velcro to the inside of the knee, and sew some hook to the ends of your 1" black elastic. Thread it through and affix the velcro.

 

For the top strap, if you're going for Lancer spec, use 1/2" black elastic. I drilled a 1/8" hole and used a 1/8" diameter 1/4" long aluminum pop rivet to pass through the knee armor and elastic. The elastic I folded over twice and stitched shut before popping a hole (to prevent it from tearing during use). Always use a backing washer on the rivet for cases where the elastic might stretch over the end of the rivet alone.

 

Obviously, size up the armor with your undersuit on before you commit to the proper length of elastic. I velcroed in some thin foam inside the knee armor to help it cling to the undersuit and prevent it from slipping.

 

Finished knee.

[Griffin-X]

Very nicely done Terry. Love the vid too.

[Kaltblutfreak]

Awesome work. Great Job!

[HooliganScout]

Stealing that knee idea once my new knees arrive

[lonewolf]

Great work Terry, we will retire your Stormtrooper costume yet

[Pandatrooper]

Thanks! You never know! I have a mannequin that I made that fits my TK and TD armor perfectly

[Pandatrooper]

Stealing that knee idea once my new knees arrive

 

It's not stealing if it's openly shared. That's what troopers helping troopers is for.

[Chex]

You're a tutorial machine! Very nice job so far.

[TB-4813]

Can't wait to see the finished set!