Chunk Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 This is my personal review of the custom made all leather Biker Scout Boots by Francois Picard out of China. I do not have anything to gain or loose & not compensated in any way for my review.......BUT I LOVE EM!!! The boots are custom made to my(your) measurements & made of all white leather with a tan rubber two tone lug sole. They open from the rear & secure with 1" velcro like normal. But your foot just slips in. No fighting with trying to get it in a work boot. The dogbone has the 2 lines of stiching & also has the strip cover. My only complaint is that the toe strip is a lil too narrow. But being that I don't walk around looking at my boots, I'm cool with this flaw. Francois provided me with a chart of where he needed me to measure my foot & leg. Boots fit perfect & once they break in will be most awesome! The shaft looks a lil tall right now, but the leather is stiff & straight. Once they start to take form from wearing they will "shrink" apx 2" & will look just right. I have the holster, but have not attached it yet. The boots arrived yesterday. I paid Sept 18,2014 & they arrived Oct 17,2014. One day shy of 1 month, so this was great production & delivery time. I've walked around the house in them for about 1/2hr. Seem comfy & durable & they make funny streaching leather sounds Price varies depending on the exchange rate,(I paid $168 shipped) but that will be a few dollars difference & nothing major. Not sure what else to put so I will just post the pics I took. No making fun of my legs, my wife thinks they are sexy If you have any questions ask away & I will try to answer best I can. http://www.501st.com...er=asc&start=10 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 One more thing. They are super lite. Even liter than the Brahama Boots I was making. The Brahamas in their stage of compleation were just the toe cap & strip added. This is an entire boot & its liter than the partial build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Just noticed if your reading this on your cell phone switch to full site. The bottom half if the review was typed in white letter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TB-7076 Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 The toe strip is a bit thin for my liking. From the comfort side of things boots built up as real boots are probably better but I think they completely lack the typical feel of boots build up on canvas boots - canvas boots because most boots used are working boots and look even more strange sometimes than these completely fabricated boots. These are probably more true to the original features than caboots for example. I guess crows boots are in the same league as being build by the same principle so these will be competitors. I'm interested how they look in a year with the wrinkling appealing to me after some wear. Maybe they look a bit more appealing then. It's always dofficult to see new boots when they're still new. I wonder how ILM managed to do that as the boots itself got made shortly before the takes by a bootmaker too. Are you going to add the carving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Still thinking about carving out the soles. That was my plan originally. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Thanks for the review Joe. The boots look pretty nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freezerbee Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Wow. the craftsmanship is very nice. Precision work there. Is that a Lugz Drifter workboot under there? I think the only thing that'll interfere with the CRL is the lack of notches in the sole and that single row of stitching in-between the boot and the leather. Has anyone tried to remove that bit from a pair of Lugz? I've been considering re-making mine. I really like the more tapered look of the boot and the way that horizontal stitch across the velcro helps keep the shape of the boot together but I have yet to see a precedent for that in the screen reference. Most of the boots on-screen seem much more tubular which I'll admit doesn't look nearly as good. Hell, if I could make boots this nice, I think I'd probably get a little carried away too. You said they're "super light" The leather doesn't have any structural backing like marine vinyl does? I'm curious to see how the boot holds up with your blaster bolted on. I'm sure if it's a problem, a little Velcro on your jumpsuit will do the trick. Very nice work. I'm jealous of the full-leather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhongvador Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Hi Joe, This is a sharp review of my product. Well, the fabrication process is semi-industrial and it cannot be 100% similar to the original boots as the original boots are made of several parts and technics. As Joe says, they are custome made, no mass production. I also do other type of boots including fine gloves for the Empire. However, based on your comments I shall try to improve their shape. Regarding the sole, I have to order a minimum of 200 pairs to get a custom made sole. If we can get 200 people for a run it can be done! You look great! Best François Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Wow. the craftsmanship is very nice. Precision work there. Is that a Lugz Drifter workboot under there? I think the only thing that'll interfere with the CRL is the lack of notches in the sole and that single row of stitching in-between the boot and the leather. Has anyone tried to remove that bit from a pair of Lugz? I've been considering re-making mine. I really like the more tapered look of the boot and the way that horizontal stitch across the velcro helps keep the shape of the boot together but I have yet to see a precedent for that in the screen reference. Most of the boots on-screen seem much more tubular which I'll admit doesn't look nearly as good. Hell, if I could make boots this nice, I think I'd probably get a little carried away too. You said they're "super light" The leather doesn't have any structural backing like marine vinyl does? I'm curious to see how the boot holds up with your blaster bolted on. I'm sure if it's a problem, a little Velcro on your jumpsuit will do the trick. Very nice work. I'm jealous of the full-leather. There is no boot on the inside. It is an actual boot itself Look at the picture with the velcro open. You undo the velcro & put your foot in. These are shoe grade leather so it is much thicker than the vinyl we use to make our boots with. The inner shaft is lined with real suede for added stability. These are basic 501st approvable right out the box. Just notch the soles if you wanna go Lancer. I think with technolgy & better craftmanship now a days the CRL needs to be updated. I have a double troop this Saturday & will be wearing them on both. So Im sure a full day of trooping will get these broken in very nicely. I will post pics afterwards of the "shrinkage" to the shaft. For those of you who have a problem with the stiching or the two tone sole. All you have to do is paint the sole & stiches with acrylic craft paint .50-$2 at any Walmart or hobby store. Make sure it's acrylic as acrylic will flex & will not flake off when you walk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 They're nice... But I don't think they'd get Lancer, not without a lot of work. The two tone coloured sole would need to be painted a single colour, the stitch detail around the entire sole would need to be obscured (which is essentially what the toe strip is there for) as well as the sole being notched. I think getting rid of the stitching around the heel section of the boot would be practically impossible. With the originals being constructed by adding vinyl/leather OVER an existing boot, making one from scratch essentially negates all of the features that make it stand out as much as it does. The step around the sole, as part of their construction just doesn't exist. When you cover a boot that has this, it is obscured or masked for the most part. Just my opinion. I think it's nice that they're made of real leather and the workmanship does look very good. It's just the fundamentals of a boot from scratch don't belie the same construction idiosyncrasies as COVERING an existing boot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Had a double troop yesterday. Boots held up nicely. EXTREMELY EASY to get on. With my moded scout boots I have to have someone help me put them on & it's normally a fight to try & get my foot in the "work boot", Open these up & slip my foot in & smoosh the velcro closed thats it. The insole has a lil diamond pattern & it felt good on my feet, as it was kinda like a tickle. Even though I liked the tickle I will most likely put D.r Scholls Gel Insoles in them, because I really like comfy boots. But they held up great & they are breaking in slowly. Prob 1-2 troops & they will be perfect. Will add the holster once they are broken in. I will post more pics as they become broken in & in full costume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Wore the boots & did laps in my front yard for 45mins. Will do more laps tonight. I have a major con Saturday & will debut them with holster attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 4 Troops in the new boots & added the holster to the boot. Last night was the ultimate test. I did a XMas parade & chose to walk the entire route rather than stand in the float. Boots were very comfy & held up great. So figures 2 30min+ lap sessions in the front yard, 4 troops including a parade they are broken in. Highly reccomend. Will post pics with the holster tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chex Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 Very nice, but like Chef said, not up to Lancer standards as is. The stitching on the dogbone needs to not be so close to the edge, and the dogbone itself could stand to be a tad bit bigger. The toe strip needs to be at least a half inch, can't really tell by the pic, but it looks thin. My next pair of boots, I will def go the leather route for sure...at least I think..lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Here are the boots with the holster attached. Several troops including walking in 2 parades, so they are pretty broken in now. I attached the holster with rivits with small washers as backing on the inside of the boot. No inner "support" strip was added. The leather is strong enough to stand up with the holster attached on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucasfan7 Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Those are super awesome, wish they made them in my size;( Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Voorhees Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 These look awesome for a fully fabricated boot! But like Chef said, to get them to look movie correct would be near impossible doing them like this. that edge needs to be covered and you cant do that making them like this. But really, these are super nice looking boots.WAY better than the old caboots...those were awful! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 I'll be wearing them in Anaheim for those who want a closer look. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seldomnormal1 Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thanks for posting this. Helped answer questions I had. I will try to order a pair when they start taking orders again in January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Here they are after several troops & "weathering". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrooperK Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Very nice. I take it you're still happy with them? Anybody else have Imperials? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 Very nice. I take it you're still happy with them? Anybody else have Imperials? Very happy with them, Very comfy & i can walk miles at a time. Been in several parades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scavenger Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 The weathering looks fantastic, how did you go about that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chunk Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 The weathering looks fantastic, how did you go about that? I used .50 acrylic paint from Walmart. Watered the paint down, brushed on and wiped away the excess with a damp paper towl. I think i used 3 different colors of brown. Went heavy/darker down lower as that part of the boot would see the most abuse. Took me an hour a boot to complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tb6295 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Very helpful review. Thank you! I am about to order a new pair and wanted to know what is available... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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