lonewolf

That is great Andy, as other guys have said , where did the seven come from and why do we not need any evidence for that? The Biker Scouts in Return of the Jedi were all of a similar build, I doubt that they were stitched differently to fit the extras/stuntmen better. The Biker Scout costume was pretty well put together, unlike the earlier Stormtroopers in ANH, it seems the costume department had a lot of money to spend this time on making the suits great. Variations are there, balaclava,neck seal, TD, no TD, TD with greeblies, TD without greeblies, TD with one greeblie etc but generally speaking they were great. I can't rule out yet that there were no cummerbunds with more or less stitch lines but this is our best evidence yet. Anybody fancy breaking into the LFL archives?

KS is made from a strong plastic, the parts are quite good. The chest is a bit too concave and wide[good for wide chested folks] The back is the same width, the hump too big and hump greeblie too chunky the drop boxes are huge, too big the forearms ,biceps and kneeplates are good, the belt is too long, the gap between the raised boxes is too wide the kit has too many warps and bumps it has decent return edges on the armour pieces. The MC, SC and KS are all quite different, when they are out trooping together they all look great. As Rick said above this is the common view of which armour is "best" although your size could sway your decision. I can't give any opinion on the soft parts or how it comes prebuilt but good luck with your Biker Scout cossy Mathew.

Thanks Leonardo, yes this is the pic I tried to post initially, I am fairly certain this is an original cummerbund as seen in Return of the Jedi. I can see clearly just how the pouches and rows of stitching look and easily see this on the screencaps, even just by the distancing of the pouches. I intend to use this reference for my new cummerbund build, the cummerbund material is also the same as the MOM exhibit, almost a very fine sheen to the surface, possibly polyester/rayon, but thiat will be for another discussion.

Thanks guys, I still see some minor things but I think it is pretty close to the originals now.

The TD is a different subject and has not been proven to be wrong. Yes the holster is a weird one , I have few ideas why this was made like this, maybe a late fix to match the models that were already made. I will check to see if I can find the dates of which was made first , the models or the actual suits. Back on subject, cummerbund stitch lines.

This is a bit poor quality but shows six stitch lines , five rows,

There is no way this is an extra new cummerbund made wrongly for the archives, , It is an original piece, just like the helmet and armour. Now we have the evidence to prove the stitch lines. I will check out the Blu ray for more proof that the requirements are wrong but this is pretty clear proof IMO. Maybe Gentle Giant have clearer screen grabs or some LFL photographs to work from because they too have only five raised sections on their excellent Biker Scout sculpt. I have heard this line taken a lot in the short time I have been here, the MOM exhibit being our last checkpoint,but the screen caps have proved it all to be accurate, still looking for a red square! but that is the only part not seen. I know I will be making and sewing my new cummerbund like this original piece.

Yes you really need to have the belt made and the chest/back sitting nice to get an accurate measurement for the cummerbund. The originals stopped along the top of the belt. The codpiece and thong keep the cummerbund from wandering.

Thanks guys, I am at a point where I am happy with the mold,

Hi Michael, you have a good idea what you are doing so far, The cummerbund may be too long if you measure from your hip to nipple, folks make this part too big and it either goes below the belt or above the chest/back joining webbing or both. Also I think while you are about to start sewing that you possibly use a thin foam padding, maybe like camping mats material on the codpiece only. The "camel toe" can be avoided by proper padding in this material, I am still experimenting myself. The codpiece could start at around 12" at the top and taper away to the groin area.The originals were quite wide and start above the plastic belt. Many guys make the codpiece too thin IMO. The 2" thong should possibly be stitched over the front of the codpiece like the originals, however toilet breaks could make this a bit impractical, many of us have a snap at the front to allow easy access. I think there may be a good compromise somehow. Yes I think real suede was used on the original riding patch and butt flap but some of the fake suede looks just as good and is more washable/user friendly. I know after every troop I have to wash my undersuit due to perspiration, and I live in a cold country. Good luck with the build,

Also it could be Lancer requirements that the pouches start at this point, another equal space either side beyond the last stitch line, larger guys could adjust the spacing to suit their belly rather than add more rows.

Yes Mike, there are a few images already on the forum clearly showing the stitch lines, http://forum.bikersc...h=1 This post has been up for a while, thanks to Jeff for posting the large Blu Ray images, I can't find any pics to prove the present CRL is correct. I am always looking to see if we have things "right".

I think we can change the basic CRL and the Lancer requirements regarding the number of stitch lines on the front of the Biker Scout cummerbund. The requirements presently are seven stitch lines resulting in six raised areas, I think this should be six stitch lines resulting in five raised areas. There are a few other requirements that may need to be updated as well but we could start with this one.

Nice sculpt on the TD Jeff, the original doesn't really have well defined lines, yours is very close, best version I have seen.

Looking very sharp so far,

If you think the Lego Biker Scout helmet is a good shape then yes this is great! Seriously there are so many inaccurate angles etc etc on this helmet it is difficult to know what is the worst part. Yes not a lot of us have seen an original in person but we all saw ROTJ, the books and pictures of the helmet, the Ebay one is crazy.

Thanks Leonardo, I am still tweaking the sculpt, mainly just the lines and deepening the u section.

this part is overtrimmed, the corners are too square, The rear of the visor is trimmed too much behind the bolt covers, I fillered my KS in the warped parts and painted it, The eyes could be cut a bit better, still enough plastic to fix this, It is up to you, with the overtrimmed parts it is a write off IMO.

This is my sculpt for the Biker Scout knees, I have made plenty of return edge for the rivets, test pulls, It still needs a few tweaks, I am at the crazy stage of looking at knees.

Yes a fine wet and dry sandpaper, 1500 grit, use water with it, then use cutting compound lightly, then T Cut then car polish, it should shine up fine as long as there was a decent spray job in the first place.

Is this the remastered helmet? The faceplate visor has been cut poorly at the sides, the top cuve and the inner return edges, the faceplate is sitting too close to the main helmet piece as well. Maybe with new stickers and nose detail it could look ok. Take the white edging strip off as well. Or send it back, I know what I would be doing.

The SC shoulders are a bit too long anyway, cut them both the same size, round the corners of them as well, check screen grabs for the details. The back hump will fit with a little bit of trimming, the originals didn't sit too well together either. Studio Creations armour is made from a nice robust plastic, it can look great when finished, many guys on here use SC, in fact some of us achieved Lancer using SC. Me in my old SC kit. Whilst not as accurate as Mon Cal armour it is not a bad buy. You may have to change some of the strapping and some elastic widths, please glue the belt parts together rather than riveting them together, Careful trimming and a bit of care, oh and a load of questions will have you tree dodging in no time.

You are doing great job mate, once you start trooping in the Biker Scout costume the TK will stay on the mannequin! I started out trooping as Biker Scout , then later Stormtrooper, that slowed me down a bit!

For my visors I use 3mm dark tinted acrylic/perspex. It is very easy to see out of and impossible to see into. Great all round visor material imo. The only problem is having to heat it up to fit the faceplate shape. I have trooped in welder mask style visors, dark indoors troops are terrible.

Great job Jules, now get out there and show the other guys how trooping should be done!