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Safety pins. Put a piece of velcro inside the knee armor. Stick the opposite piece of velcro to it, along with a pinned safety pin. Use the pin to attach to your flight suit.

@Hask @Ruthar are our PT armorers and they can help guide you through the build process. @MrPoopie, besides being a PT himself, designed 3D files for it and is our 3D printer expert. He also did his own jacket, since the original source for it dried up. Feel free to post up any questions you have about the costume here.

Some background, I've been with the 501st / Golden Gate Garrison since late 2014, served on Command Staff for a couple of years and helped a bit with garrison merch, but got retired due to lack of activity in 2024. A couple of reasons, one) all ABS armor eventually yellows. This was a battle with my ESB TK armor for the past 5+ years and it is now at the point of sanding and painting to rescue it. It saw quite a few troops when I was part of the Golden Gate Garrison. Two) we are in small numbers here in the Northern Nevada under Central California Garrison, thus event requests are far and few between. So with that said, I am planning to return back to active status this year with Central California Garrison (relocated to the Outer Sierra Mountain Ranges in 2023). We are looking to change this in 2025, so if you know anyone who is looking to join the Empire here in the Reno/Sparks area. We are here to help! This is my First Offical WIP entry. Not that there is anything that probably haven't already been done with other builds, but I did do a few tricks when fitting my TK armor to fit as good as I was able to accomplish. Something I am looking forward to doing here as well. My loadout: Armor: Studio Creations full kit. Ordered April 12th, received May 3rd. (Which BTW, at the time of this entry, they were offering a $504.00 price for their kit. Unheard of IMO and don't know how long this sale will be good for! Plus Kurt took care of me when I asked if he could accomodate my request. That was customer service!) Soft Parts: ChrisX909X: Full soft kit including boots. Hoping my experience will be better than some others had, especially regarding the boots. I wanted to give my business to someone in the USA. Ordered on April 27th, with an estimate of completion around June if I jumped in line but his original ETA was end of July, but as we say, "Time will tell" Gloves: Wampa Wear - Size Med Received April 30th. Base Layers: Basic black compression gear and balaclava used with my TK. I am hoping that I won't need to use the insulated ones during colder months with all the TB layers.😄 Voice Amps: Anker and Throat mic. Optional: TrooperTalk used with my TK. Ground Transportation: Honda CBR650F with Imperial Graphics Okay, since photo space is limited on the forum, I'll be sharing anything specific about my build in my WIP thread using the Google sharing method. If you are looking for anything specific, I may have images of it, just ask. Obligatory Big Brown Box and initial unboxing. Hasbro Black Series TB Helmet and LEGO key chain for inspiration. My next post will be helmet related as that doesn't need to have my soft parts for proper fitting. Until then Toybiz out...🫡

Velcro, not magnets. Read through this thread:

More updates Just have to put it on.. still have weathering to finish. First wash on and removed. Will add more wash. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Velcro. You can read more in this post:

I’ve been reading along in the shadows for abit now, and seeing how helpful everyone is here towards each other was part of the reason I decided to actually go ahead with making the costume Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nes, just a note for when you’re trooping. Don’t wear the balaclava over your mouth and nose. You’ll fog up the inside of your lenses super fast that way.

GLOVES: Wampa Wear is the obvious go-to, but I was intrigued by Endor Finders trying to more closely mimic the Esprit gloves what with the included zippers. Ordering was very easy but I did notice that a few sizes were out of stock, I'm not sure how often these are getting produced. I was between a size Small and Medium according to the size chart; I endored ended up getting a size Small and they fit pretty well (even a little on large side). Shipping was very quick and the gloves appear to be very well made. So far, I would recommend these if you don't mind the increased price and a little extra work to remove the zippers. More pockets!!! So about that zipper... To remove the zipper, I used the same method Aradun recommended in his thread here: This was a great resource and I probably wouldn't have gotten these gloves if it weren't for this topic. I considered cutting the zipper like some other posters, but ultimately went with the flathead + knife approach. Personally, I prefer the look with the nylon zipper attachment intact and way it affects the form of the gloves, but I may cut them out later if they are a problem for approval or durability (I would like to go for Lancer status eventually). I'll probably cut the zipper pulls on the wrist at some point as well. All in all, very happy with these gloves. At some point, I may look into modifying a pair of Esprits since they don't seem too uncommon on Ebay. Apologies if that's a photo overload!

Hi all, I've been wanting to make a stormtrooper armor set and joint the 501st for quite a long time now, and I've decided to bite the bullet and just get started, with what seems to be a doozie of a set. My goal is going to be just to get approval while doing as many of the "easy" L2 additions as possible. My helmet I plan on having be full L2 from the start. I've decided that I am going to be making most, if not all of the armor myself using 3d printing and purchasing most of the soft parts. Helmet Plans STL File - Nico's Shoretrooper Helmet Files Filament - PCTG (I'll let everyone know how that goes and update if I change filament) Visor - Branfur Studios Shoretrooper Visor Paints Filler Primer - Rustolium Filler Primer 2 in 1 (May try out Seymors PBE as Ive heard its really good and has a much shorter dry sand wait time) Base Primer - TBD Tan - Montana Gold - Sahara Beige Black - TBD Spicy Red - TBD Does anyone have any tips on filler putty to use. I usually use Bondo for my props but was wondering if there were any good alternatives.

I am starting my build!!! I have the Custom Creations Kit and the KPROP Helmet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Back at it this week. The jacket came in from Galactic Props. The material feels good, and the quality seems on par with other costumes parts I've bought from other vendors, but it doesn't have the flat stitching that I inquired about them doing. I think it will still pass basic approval. Would welcome any input from the folks here. Sent from my SM-S938U using Tapatalk

Correct. The snout aerator should not be silver. That is one of several issues with the black series helmet. Leave it black.

Almost forgotten about the black lines on the sides. Will continue weathering. Another pigment wash when the weather improves. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For the mando scout, yes, it's the tie fighter suit.

My Kit so Far Helmet: KPROP Armor: Studio Creations Gloves: Wampa Wear Cumbersome: KPROP Boots: crow Props flight Suit: looking at Wampa Wear Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Happy to report this method works like a dream!! Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

Brilliant indeed. That was way too simple a solution, which is why I didn’t think of it. 🤣 That’s why you get paid the big bucks around here! Thanks Corey! I’m filing that one away in my bag of tricks for future inquiries.

Given that you also use the flight suit for your TIE, Velcro isn’t really an option. You could try using rate earth magnets. Use E6000 to secure a magnet to the inside of the flight suit and another magnet on the knee armor. Just make sure that the placement of the magnets doesn’t interfere with your ability to bend your knee without pulling the magnets apart. I’d first test gluing a magnet to the inside of the flight suit around the calf where it will be covered by the boots of both costumes to make sure that the glue from the e6000 doesn’t bleed through or mar the outside of the suit.

I know this is an older thread, but it doesn't look like the blaster was ever added to the CRL. I've finished the same blaster mentioned above. Does someone want pics to post?

I’ve been following the 501st since I was a kid, and I’ve finally resolved to try and do a 501st approved costume of my favorite modern Star Wars trooper. I’ll be getting a 3D printer within the month, but I’m still a bit overwhelmed by the entire process if I’m abit honest. Going to try and post the process over the next year or so here so I can track my own progress and help others avoid the mistakes that I’m sure I’m going to make.

Indeed we are. Post up your photos when ready and we will be here to assist.

Ok, took me a while but I wanted to share some first pictures of my new Scout Helmet by iron Motion in germany. He offers three different options on his website: 1) Kit 2) Pre-assembled kit 3) Finished kit I chose the pre-assembled version because of too many projects you know... 😉 It only needs some finishing touch like minor trimming, final sanding, assembling, installing all parts of the helmet and painting. When I'm finished I'll make some new pictures with a tape measure and side by side comparison with my SC bucket.

Was able to use your recommendation for the sandpaper around pen trick (not sure why I didn’t think of that), and it worked out really nice and was able to get them more symmetrical for both side. Tip of the cap to you Chopper! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've used both of these styles in different helmets: https://www.amazon.com/Aoutacc-Universal-Airsoft-Replacement-Accessories/dp/B07PGF4CTH/ref=dp_prsubs_d_sccl_1/144-1238176-3458826?pd_rd_w=PS5H0&content-id=amzn1.sym.efe5d038-dc89-42e0-b82c-81ca9bb5c760&pf_rd_p=efe5d038-dc89-42e0-b82c-81ca9bb5c760&pf_rd_r=3GRSFS4DDVY7G3EGHMT5&pd_rd_wg=Rlb1t&pd_rd_r=763a4310-e4fb-4bc4-802e-09640706bcee&pd_rd_i=B07PGF4CTH&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08Y5JZFGB?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_10&th=1

Agreed! It constantly gave me headaches. Here is my setup. I used to have a pad on the top, but it lifted the helmet up too high

Because of our forum limitations, we can't host every user's photos onsite. We need to save what space we have for archival images, such as the Scoutopedia! But there are ways to add images to your posts. If the image is on the internet somewhere (found in a Google search or hosted on Imgur, Google Drive, etc) the way that seems to work the most is to right-click on your image, select "Copy Image Address" and then paste that link into your forum post. Within a matter of seconds, the link should change to your image. If you don't see "Copy Image Address", you may need to try opening the image in its own tab first (this is usually a choice in the right-click menu). Sometimes just clicking on the photo will enlarge it and you can "Copy Image Address" then. If your images are on your PC's hard drive or on your phone, they need to be put on the internet first -- usually on a photo hosting site like Photobucket, Imgur, Flickr, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Just keep in mind, they need to be on a public drive or you may need to create a share link first (like with Google Drive) Many of those sites have ways that you can "hotlink" your images for forum posts, but try the above method first. How to Embed a Google Photo Into a Forum Post: 1. Go to your Google Photos and use the share button on the photo you want to embed. 2. Select Create Link and copy the link it creates. 3. Go to https://www.labnol.org/embed/google/photos/ 4. Paste the link and click Generate Embed Code and it will provide an embeddable link. 5. Copy the Direct Image Link and paste that link in your post. How to Embed a Dropbox Photo into a Forum Post: 1. Upload the photo to a dropbox folder (I just drag them into the Dropbox folder of my computer's file manager). Make it easy on yourself and don't put any spaces in the file's name. Spaces in a link have to be represented by "%20", so it's best to avoid them. 2. Once it's uploaded to Dropbox, right click the file and select "Copy Dropbox Link" 3. On the forum, start a new post. Enter whatever text you want to put in before the photo is to appear. From here, you have two ways to go.... 4. You can click the button in the Lower Right that says "Other Media" and then choose "Insert Image from URL" 5. Paste in your Dropbox link AND CHANGE THE "www" to "dl". 6. Click "Insert into Post". Do this for as many images as you have. OR 4. If you feel comfortable editing in HTML, click on the upper left button that says "Source". The contents will change to HTML. 5. Paste in your link. It will appear something like this: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3ui19u5g3nurir9/3.5.22.jpg?dl=0 6. Edit the link to read as follows (using the above as an example): <img src="https://dl.dropbox.com/s/3ui19u5g3nurir9/3.5.22.jpg?dl=0"> NOTE: Do not forget to change the "www" to "dl" 7. Click "Submit Topic" and enjoy your pic! Here's the one I used as an example:

Yeah. I may pull one side of those magnets off and do velcro there to see which works best. I don't like that you can clearly see the magnets.

Depends on the outer diameter of your det hose and most but not all are exactly the same. Any vacuum or pool hosing you get from Amazon is going to be more than you need. I would email studio creations or cal at far away creations to see if they'll just send you some det hose at a nominal price.

Yes, the maker specializes in leather jackets and since I provided them with as many pictures as I could including samples from Sheevs, they can make more! Just PM me for the maker and address.

Yeah it is looking pretty fun to work. Just haven’t get my sewing machine working to do the straps. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Got my kit from Walt’s today. It’s go time. Working on the helmet first. I’m gonna have a buddy who paints cars paint it for me. Figured this will be the hardest part to complete outside the jacket.

Except for the assembling the back cap and top, most of this next section is purely OPTIONAL. I ridden motorcycles for many years and the inside of the helmets are usually medium/dark gray or black. Because of this I painted the inside of my ESB TK helmet BLACK as well. I know it's more work but I like the end results. To me it makes the helmets look more "military". With that said, the time to paint the inside is BEFORE it's all assembled. So the first step was to combine the top and rear helmet sections. Whether you are painting the insides like I did or not, it is the first step. With the SC helmet the two pieces come pre-trimmed and when fitting them, they appear to line up fairly well. I would say about 90%. If you choose to, I recommend to polish up with fine sandpaper, all the exposed edges of both parts before gluing them together. I did scuff up the mating surfaces with 100 grit sandpaper where the glue, in my case E-6000, would meet. This was along the rear lower ledge of the top and the upper recessed channel of the back cap the two pieces meet. I chose to use E-6000 because that was my go-to when building my TK. Strong, flexible and forgiving if you have to take anything apart. Rare earth magnets and some ratchet clamps held things together overnight. What next? Here's that part of the journey of masking, masking, and guess what? More masking. Followed by cleaning and double checking the masking - then painting. Remember when painting, best results are from prepping prepping and prepping. 👆🏿 I got myself some 1/8" wide masking tape to outline the shape of the snout. As one of the features our fans see first, having a smooth blacked out snout is important. I taped and removed the thin masking tape about 4 times before I was satisfied. This isn't an RS helmet so there are some imperfections along the snout "ridge", so just do your best that you can. Better to change your mind with masking than to remove paint later. I used Krylon Fusion Satin Black for Plastics spray paint. It's not as glossy in person as it does in pictures, so it should be good. 👆🏿 Got some old newspaper and wrapped the rest of the exposed areas to prevent any overspray. You will get some no matter what. I used some plastic polish and any overspray, pencil marks, scuffs, etc - all came right off with a little bit of elbow grease. Took some masking tape and visually found the center of the forehead and without peeling all three decals separately, I just peeled them back about halfway and lightly tapped them into place, stood back and checked for center/level. Removed them, recentered them (three times) and when I was happy, I simply rolled back the paper while pressing out any air bubbles and all three decals stuck in a straight line just like they were on the cut sheet. 👉 My next post will be assembly. I KNOW all fan made helmets are slightly wonky. They are not symetrical and nor were the ones used in the films. I have a Hasbro Black Series if I want to look at an idealized version of the Biker helmet. So take a breather and just find some peace to do your best, just get as close to the reference images as you can and you should be good to go. You have literally over 100 years of combined experience here on Pathfinders to give you a hand so don't worry. Assemblying the face plate and visor will be shared on my next post. Until then Toybiz out...🫡

Great to hear it.

This is brilliant. I have a big troop today with the Minnesota Twins baseball team for Star Wars night. I'm going to give this a try today! Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

Good news all around (except for the shins, 3D printers can be fun like that). Yes, the forearms are each 2 large pieces. The left forearm also has 2 small oval parts that attach to the top detail section (see the CRL for positioning).

I dislike the “hard hat” insert from RS prop masters for the helmet. Any padding suggestions? Anyone willing to share a few photos of the inside of their bucket?

Hi, welcome back to the world of the legion. Re: photos, we don't have infinite storage space on the site, so you'll need to use external photo hosting. See this thread for more info: https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/topic/23053-faq-how-do-i-post-images/

Throw in the washer, hang to dry. Put the cummerbund and vest in one of those washing machine bags so they dont get all twisted up.

Hi everyone, this is a thread I've been wanting to post for a while now. There are plenty of great build threads on the Pathfinders Forums, but I thought it might be helpful to share some tips for keeping your scout costume together while trooping. Usually these are the sorts of things you discover after you've been walking around in your armor for a number of hours! I'm not a huge person, so, when I first started trooping I found that a lot of my armor parts would shift around throughout the day (particularly my belt, knees, biceps, and forearms). After my first few troops I started modifying my scout costume to try and make it as stable as possible. Anyhow, below are a few of the modifications I made to prevent parts from shifting awkwardly and falling off. All of the mods are non-visible once everything is attached and I was approved as a Lancer with everything I've shown below. Remember, this is by no means the only way to keep everything together, but hopefully it'll provide some good ideas for all you new scouts trooping away out there. Tank -- I wanted to make it look like I was using the 1/2" elastic strapping to keep the tank on, just as was done on screen, but I wanted to make it a bit more stable. My 1/2" elastic strapping attached to velcro on the inside. Also, for stability, I anchored 2" velcro strapping on the inside of the tank, and attached it to the back armor. Undersuit -- I sewed 2" hook velcro onto on the knee, bicep, and forearm positions of my undersuit and and placed loop velcro inside the armor parts. In order to find the proper positions to sew the velcro, I put my armor parts on and then marked where they were in chalk. This meant I wouldn't have any velcro sticking out awkwardly when the parts were anchored on. I know that some folks add stirrups to the bottom of their pant legs. I tried it, didn't like it, and ended up sewing boot blousers to the bottoms of the legs instead. Flak Vest -- I sewed 2" hook velcro on the front of the vest and loop velcro on the back of the cod. My vest is a little bit longer than most, but you could easily do this mod on your undersuit as well. The end of the 2" elastic coming off of the cod attaches to the back of the vest. The front of the cod has a large strip of hook velcro for anchoring the front of the belt. As I mentioned, my belt was constantly slipping down, so this keeps it in place. The corresponding loop veclro is mounted on the triangle portions on the inside front of the belt. Also note that my 2" webbing on the belt extends much further beyond the single rivet on the inside. I velcroed the webbing to the inside of my belt in order to take the load off of the rivet, which is a known stress point. The vest also has hook velcro to attach the bund just underneath the armpit level as well as two small pieces of velcro on the upper chest to hold the front armor in place. The velcro tab on the back of the bund attaches to the back of my belt and helps keep it from slipping down in the back. Pouches -- I added some velcro behind the pouch and on the bund to keep them from flopping around. Belt and Detonator -- I used velcro to affix the det to the back of the belt. Of all the mods I added, this is the one I'd probably do differently. The velcro makes it difficult to slide the det on the back of the belt and, although it's not going anywhere, it's also a pain to get on. Boot Holster -- Probably one of the most common issues is keeping your boot up when you've got a pistol in the holster. Try this -- before you rivet the holster onto your boot, sew an elastic boot blouser to the vinyl. This will help anchor it in position to your leg and prevent the dreaded boot droop! And that's it! Hopefully this will be helpful and useful for all you scouts out there. I realize some of this may be overkill, but you can take what you need, and leave the rest. Thanks and keep trooping! Chopper

Yeah, love my GML job too [emoji6] Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

Mine is spent running this Detachment

It might be fun to paint one of these black and covertly carry it next time we have a "Blast-a-Trooper" event, so when they start shooting, I can shoot back.

It's from a new maker. I worked directly with someone for the past year trying to design the most screen-accurate helmet we could. There was lots of back and forth between us as well as input from @BikerScout007. This is the only photo I can show right now just a peek. He'll start selling them as soon as I get mine for final approval. Honestly it's as good if not better than the Anovos Patrol Trooper Helmet. As soon as everything is approved we'll post up details.

Onto the soft parts weathering. First is toning down the white so it blends better with the weather armour. I used a tea dye to take away the bright white. First off was a test using various scrap of nylon and fabric to see how they all take the tea and trying different teas to see what colour to dye the pieces. I tried 3 different teas and got a variety of results. The test glasses each had 2 tea bags steeped for 15 minutes then the pieces were added for 5 minutes. I decided to go with the Earl Grey. I boiled a big pot of water and added 4 tea bags and again steeped the tea for 15 minutes then added the pieces. The test pieces were a little darker than I wanted so I only had the pieces in for about 30 seconds except for the pouches, their material was different and they sat for 15 minutes to get to a similar tone. Once dyed, I ring out the left over tea and I hang them outside in the sun to dry. Then iron them smooth and here is the final colour. Next up is weathering the seams and edges. That is a whole different process from the armour, details to follow...

As we don't know how the chest to back and shoulders are connected on the Mandalorian Scout Trooper. I tried to find a way based on screen shots. There is no canvas connector between the chest and back like on the ROTJ Scouts. There is a tiny to small visible gap between both pieces and its black underneath so I would guess the used black nylon or likely elastic to connect the two pieces. Its also doubtful they used the zip tie method ROTJ Scout use to connect the shoulders to the chest/back, so I would imagine they likely used the same black ribbed elastic strapping they used on the all the other pieces. Screen shots of the chest and back connection, on one Scout the gap is very tiny and on the other its a little separated. So here is my approach to connect the pieces. Here is the top view of the chest and back pieces connected on my Scout. And with the Shoulder attached. I attached these so the chest, back and shoulders separate so the pieces breakdown easier for transporting. The black elastic is glued with e-6000 to the back piece. Then the other half is connected to the chest with a sew on snap. Top view showing the snap that connects to the chest Bottom view of the chest, a sew on snap is sewn to a piece of white elastic and that is they glued to the chest plate. Bottom view connected together. There is a second sew on snap sewn to the bottom of the chest to back connection for the shoulder strap to attach to. The shoulder strap has the elastic strapping used on the rest of the pieces glued to the piece and has a sew on snap at the end to connect to the chest/back strap. Here it is attached. I prefer these types of snaps as I've used them on multiple costumes and they have never failed or popped unlike the Line 24 snaps most people use. Then for the lower chest and back connection I glues the elastic strap to the back plate and then glued a strip of velcro to the inside of the chest and the strap that feeds through the chest has velcro sew onto it. I went this way instead of feeding the strap through the chest and folding back on itself and connecting to the back of the strap so there was no stitching visible on the strap.

The back armour... Base colour applied The base wiped down and then a darker base in the creases added First layer of weathering Finally the weathering is done The helmet will be this weekend. Then onto adding distressing and wear marks to finish the armour off but everything needs to dry for a few days for that. Then onto the straps, cummerbund, pouches, and cod weathering.

Not sure if this will help, but I just finished doing this, myself. The following entries document the thigh patch installation: https://becomingbobafett.com/scout-trooper-flight-suit-modding-continued-4/ https://becomingbobafett.com/scout-trooper-flight-suit-modding-continued-5/ https://becomingbobafett.com/scout-trooper-flight-suit-modding-continued-6/