Lancer Build Tutorial

[Strider]

I was asked recently if I could provide a tutorial which could serve as guideline for Lancer builds reflecting the latest updates to the standards. Of course I can I'm planning to cover the hard- as well as the soft parts in the build plus tools used and tipps and tricks I've learned on my personal journey.

First things first, the armor kit. The following pictures show the trim lines of the armor:

This is the Dremel tool which I'm using to cut the slits:

Strapping kit needed for the build:

UPDATE for Point 11: The elastics for the upper arm armor are 50mm / 2inches.

[Strider]

1. Making the Cummerbund

 

The first thing was sourcing the right materials. I've tried out a variety of webbing and fleece materials and found the ones below most suitable (the actual fabric/type is unknown):

 

- 100% white cotton with a mercerized satin finsh ("polished cotton"). The weight is about 350g per meter or 115g per m2

- Volume fleece 200g/m (I used it for both although I think the cod piece had actual more "volume" than the CB)

- White foam rubber for the lower section of the cod piece

- 2 inch black elastic

- 2 inch white velcro (male/female)

 

To achieve screen accuracy I did the CB and the cod piece seperately (since it took me about 5 iterations of the cod piece to get it right it also saved me quite a bit of work 😉

 

As this is something that has to be fitted individually there's really no use in creating a template. To get the measurements you basically measure your chest width and your waist and then add some lenght for the seam overlap. The original CB's had a width of about 8.5-9 inches and go from the top of your belt to the middle of the chest/back strap. However, since different armorers make different size chest pieces I would advise tailoring this to your individual measurements.

 

Reference pics:

 

 

 

I've scaled up a picture of the cod piece from the Star Wars costumes book as a rough guide for a template (including seam overlap). Altough in the picture you can see the black 2 inch elastic is attached to the front of the CB I've decided to attach it to the back as it is not seen in the film. However, presumably the cod piece attatches to the vest so that would be another option.

 

Completed CB an cod piece; there are 6 seam lines (or 5 chambers on the CB spaced out by an inch each):

 

 

 

And here's how it looks on the mannequin:

 

Here is a template that may serve as a rough guidline for the dimensions (lower part) of the cod piece. Please note that this would need to be printed in DIN A3 or divided into some A4 sheets:

https://bit.ly/2HdgaCq

[Strider]

2. Making the pouches

 

First off, I have to apologize if some of my descriptions below are a bit dodgy but explaining sewing wasn't really what I majored in, lol.

 

Well, here we go: First fold the cotton fabric and use the templates (found on the bottom) to draw the cutting lines:

 

After the templates have been cut out you should first sew on the velcro for the closure. Then the flap is sewed together and ironed afterwards. Remember that the outside of the flap are facing each other when they are sewed together.

 

Next thing to be sewn are the hangers of the pouch (which will be sewn or velcroed to the cummerbund later on). Again the outsides are facing each other when sewn together and the top end is left open.

 

 

The markings on the picture above show where the flap and the hanger are attached (by pins) and sewed. It’s approximately 5,6cm from the front sewing edge and 2cm from the upper edge.

 

Please note that the flaps on the two pouches are inverted towards each other (see picture below).

 

Subsequently the hangers are attatched (with the closed side) to the pouch and sewed to the back side of it. The back of the closing flap should overlap with the hanger by about 2 - 2,3cm.

 

Last but not least the templates. The dimensions were modelled of from Gino's scout on the SWOC (which in turn were derived from the original templates). However, depending on your height and your armor you might want to adjust these measures.

 

Link to Pouch template: https://bit.ly/2KQSl4t

[Strider]

The chest and back armor is probably the part that needs the most attention of a scout build so let's start here

 

First off, you should put the armor on and make sure it sits correctly, i.e. cutting off any excess of the bridge that connects the back and front armor:

 

To connect the bridges my personal choice is the self-adhesive Tesa extra strong. First I glue in the zip tie anchor (doesn't really matter if you glue it on the chest or back part) and then I attach the hook velcro. After that I cut the hook part in shape (see pictures) and stick 2 pieces to each other so that the hooks are on both sides. Then I connect the chest and back armor.

 

After that I glue in another zip tie anchor in the shoulder bell and pull a (detachable) zip tie through both anchors so that they form a loop. The advantage of using a detachable zip tie is that you can more easily adjust the distance to the armor later on.

 

A bit lower in the shoulder bell I've just used a heat gun to form a piece of scrap plastic in the appropriate shape, glued it in and attached a loop strap of 1/2 inch elastic (actually you have to put that in before you glue it ;-). Make sure before that the elastic strap has the correct lenght to hold your shoulder bell in place so it should be neither too tight nor too loose (casual 😉

 

The shoulder bridge straps don't form a loop but have the loop part of the velco sewn to each side so that I can just stretch them around (the shoulder bridge material is elastic).

 

Comparison to screenshot:

 

The top of the tank is attached by a 1/2 inch elastic strap that is riveted from the inside of the tank and using a washer on the top of the tank top greeblie. The elastic goes around and inside the armor and is attached to the inside with velcro e.g.

 

 

Here is a quick comparison of the tank topper with the one from the screen used scout in the MoM exhibition:

On the bottom of the tank I've just used a screw and a nut to fix the tank from below and give it more stability. This is a personal choice. If you want to go all the way and do it prop accurate you can pull the elastic underneath the back armor and rivet it to the tank (where the scre is instead).

 

As you may have noticed the black stripe and rank bars are a bit different to the other scouts. I've tried to emulate the "Hero" scout here who (almost) captured Leia:

 

Last but not least the strapping that connects the back and chest armor. It's a 38 (1,5 inch) cotton webbing:

 

Magic of Myths exhibition reference:

 

[Strider]

The next parts are the upper and lower arm armor and the knee guards. I guess the pictures speak pretty much for themselves but if you have any questions just let me know

 

Elastic sizes:

Knee guards: 12mm-20mm (1/2-3/4 inch) lower strap, 12mm (1/2 inch) upper strap which is riveted to the knee.

Upper arm armor: 50mm (2 inch). This will be updated in the Lancer specs soon.

Lower arm armor: 25mm (1 inch)

 

 

Edited October 8 by MrPoopie
UPDATE: straps sizes to meet CRL requirements

[Strider]

Since I was re-doing my pouches anyway based on the new measurements Mickey (Bikerscout007) got from Gino's scout at the SWCO exhibition I thought I quickly show the process of dying them. No big magic to it just a couple of guidelines/ rules of thumb:

 

- You can basically use any kind of black tea for it

- The degree and speed of dying them depends on three variables: Amount of tea bags (I use quite a bit more as I would if I made a regular tea), water heat (not above 90 degree celsius, 194 Fahrenheit), the time you leave them in the dying pot (usually something between 5-30minutes)

- The larger the pot the better as you want to avoid tea stains. Also regular stirring helps.

- Less is more. If you look at the references (below) the color difference is very subtle.

 

Btw, if you want to give it a try yourself here's a link to the template I made >>> https://bit.ly/2KQSl4t

 

 

Reference shot from SW blu ray:

[Strider]

Weathering

 

Weathering your scout is acutally fairly easy - if you know how to do it 😉 I know I was pretty scared the first time that I would mess it up and it takes a couple of tries to get the right feel for it. But after that it's fun and it's easily and quickly done. I would suggest trying it out on some white sheets of paper before to get a feeling for the right distance and intensity. It's easy to get carried away and apply too much weathering so I would recommend to start off easy - you can always apply more. Also it doesn't hurt to have a certain pattern in mind which you want to emulate.

 

When I weather a scout I follow three steps. The first step is to apply a base layer by just spraying a mist of black from about 2 feet away. Word to the wise when you're spraypainting outside: Don't spray against the wind 😉

 

The second step is to move a bit closer whith the rattle can and apply some accents. Make sure not to get to close unless of course you want to emulate a dalmatian.

 

For the third step I'm using a fine grid sandpaper to apply some scratches (mostly on the accentuated parts). Try to follow some random pattern, best is not to give it too much thought. Again, too many scratches look unrealistic so start off easy and see how it looks.

 

I've made a short video to convey the idea. Sorry for being out of focus sometimes but it was not easy to concentrate on spraying and filming at the same time, lol! As ususal the bright light outside "eats up" a lot of the more subtle base weathering so I've included 2 pictures below with the final results.

 

Any questions please feel free to ask!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2be0cuCSoLQ&feature=youtu.be

 

[Strider]

Thermal Detonator (TD)

 

The TD looks like a real tiny part but there's actually a lot of effort that goes into it. First off, let's start with the individual parts:

 

- plastic shell

- 2 greeblies

- zip tie

- tube

- cable (still optional for Lancer at this point, you could also use a vacuum cleaner hose e.g.)

- 2 end caps

- belt clips

 

You can find decent belt clips online like these here >>> http://www.knifekits...roducts_id=4192

 

but since I like my parts to be accurate I took a shot at making them myself. This was my reference pic:

 

 

I started with drawing a template and transfered it onto a steel panel. After that I cut out the form with a dremel, sanded it, bent it to the appropriate form and painted it black.

 

 

For the hose I used a 1 3/8" hose garden hose and for the cable two 12' HDX extension cords. You'll need to cut off the ends and pull them apart. This is the hose and the cable I used:

 

Link to cable:

 

http://www.homedepot...2-417/100672779

 

After tieing up the cable around the hose I painted it using a Vallejo light grey:

 

 

One more quick note...make sure to twist the cable when you're wrapping it so the the flat side faces up. The split sides should be next to each other (this tipp comes from Shaun actually

 

I just let the final pictures speak for themselves:

 

Reference:

 

Final results:

 

One word of caution though re the greeblies: In the film both combinations were seen however for reasons of standardization the current Lancer standards require that the larger greeblie sits on the left side (when you look at it).

 

UPDATE from CRL:

The face of the thermal detonator has a short side and a long side: On the long side is a black rectangular thermal detonator greeblie, either prongs up or prongs down; On the short side is a round black greeblie; If thermal detonator face is symmetrical (sides are even), greeblies may go on either side. Detonator box is gloss white or semi-gloss and may be lightly weathered.

OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Thermal Detonator end caps are concave and not flat. Thermal Detonator face must have a short side and a long side; symmetrical TDs are not permitted.

[Strider]

Building a bikerscout helmet

 

Building a biker scout helmet is really as much an art as it is a trade. It's a puzzle where the position of each part influences all other parts; so as many helmets as you may build each one is slightly different. Below you can see a (rather picture heavy) build process:

 

The first part is usually trimming and lining up the dome and use ABS straps to connect the two halves. The ABS straps need to be heat bend first using a heat gun to bring them in the exact shape. The better the straps line up (less gaps) the cleaner the helmet will look from the inside because you have less bondo pushing through.

 

I usually do around 3 rounds of bondo before I'm sanding it down.

 

 

The next step is assembling the 3 visor pieces. I'm using a distance of 3,5cm between the front visor (measured in the middle) and the facemask.

 

 

Assembling the visor to the dome is really an iterative process where you cut of small chunks of material until the visor fits perfectly to the dome. And when you think you're done try opening up the helmet. Usually you have to remove more material so that the visor does not scratch the dome while opening up.

 

The marked section has to be dremmeled out for hinge mechanism to work properly:

 

Fast Forward: After sanding, painting (sequence: Special ABS primer, filler, primer, white RAL 9016 laquer and potentially clear coat), putting on decals and the snout, installing a liner and some weathering, this is what a finished helmet can look like:

 

 

[Strider]

So I've seen the question on how to install the Liner coming up from time to time and I thought I quickly show the process:

 

1. First step is to cut off the excess plastic where I've drawn the line:

 

 

 

2. Drill a hole with the size of your rivets on both sides (I use 3,2mm rivets)

 

 

3. Test fit and drill a hole on one side of the helmet. Make sure the Liner is pressed a bit against the inside of the dome so it sits a bit tight.

 

 

4. Fix the rivet on one side using a washer. Test fit again and find the corresponding spot on the other side. It's round about vice versa but may differ by a few millimeters.

 

5. And et voilá you're done

 

[Strider]

The Boots

 

While this isn't a full blown tutorial about making the boot (I would still point towards the excellent build tutorial from Pandatrooper in this regard >>> http://forum.bikerscout.net/index.php?showtopic=9781&view=findpost&p=92449) it's just to show how to assemble the holster and attach it to the boot.

 

 

 

 

I start by cutting a slit on the part that attaches to the boots about 0,4-0,5cm from the edge almost from top to bottom (see picture) so that the other part can slide into it (no glueing required here).

 

From the other part the horizontal slits are cut out as well. To make both cuts above I'm using this dremel tool here >>>

 

 

Once I've done that I slide the upper part into the holster and determine the position where to glue the front part (again, see pics for reference). In order to glue the front part I'm using a piece of scrap ABS which is formed to about an L-shape (using a heat gun and something to bend it over with to get a straight line). You have to make sure that the scrap plastic has the right shape so that it touches both the parts and the glue gets enough "meat" to stick on. I like to use super glue because it works much faster than e6000 and I can just hold it while it dries (you can use any glue but clamping that particular area is a bit tricky).

 

When the holster itself is assembled 4 holes are drilled near the edges to attach the rivets (the holster is just riveted to the boot, no further glueing). Vice versa 4 holes are punched or drilled into the boot where the holster is to sit (make sure you attach it to the correct boot. In all that excitement I messed that up the first time, haha.)

 

Any questions just let me know.

 

Cheers

[Strider]

While I was taking some new CRL pics I thought it would be fun to replicate the well-known bikerscout pose from Star Wars Costumes book Many thanks to my buddy Alex (OpiWan) for bearing with me during the shot!

 

[BikerScout007]

Okay!

@MrPoopie pulled all the files he could off Strider's server and sent them to me.  I have uploaded them to our server space so we should never lose them again.  I then went through each post and changed the HTML to point to our servers.   The pictures should be back!  The few that are missing we could not pull down for whatever reason.

I have also gone through and removed all the posts that were not Strider's own build posts.  That should make this thread a LOT easier to go through.  However, I've noticed that some of the information is out of date.  We will be going through it and making sure it matches the current CRL requirements.

If you have questions, please post them below and a member of the Armor Team will be happy to help you.

Additionally, a LOT of the armor portions of this are covered in the Armor Party build video.  Please give that a look

 

[mikidymac]

Thank you!!!

[The Wolf]

I’m slowly going for Lancer status on my ROTJ Scout. This helps a lot, thank you!

(Just used my dremel to cut 5 slits in the boot holster).