Darth Voorhees

So it has come to my attention that the 3M headband 04-0650-00-aad-37140 used in the ROTJ Scout helmets has been discontinued. Does anyone know of anywhere that may actually have them still in stock? A lot of places have the picture of it, but when you order it, its not what you get. i have already returned 3 of these things. Any leads would be great. i just want one for my personal helmet. there does seem to be a "copy" of it .. "Fibre-Metal 3RC Standard Headgear Replacement Suspension" but i am trying to find out if it is what the pictures actually show.

** this is my thought, not an offical PF/Legion stance or anything that im aware of thus far** i dont think it would be approvable at all due to not having a return edge on the visor and i have no idea how one would put that there. Everything else with some work i think can be made to an approveable level, but not seeing how that one thing could be remedied.

i just do my business before i suit up. in 15yrs of trooping i have only had to use the bathroom suited up maybe 2-3 times.

So i have had 4 Scouts in my 15yrs in the 501st, previous to my current build. Most were almost Lancer and i got lazy and never did the last thing or 2 to apply lol. Over the years i have come up with creative yet useful ways to do some things. Partly because my weight goes up and down like a yo-yo lol So one thing i recently came up with was a way to attach the shoulder bridges so i can just glue a strip of elastic over the seam on the top/outside and it NOT wrap around. This is something that our DL Mickey has discovered evidence of and although thus far it is NOT in the CRL for basic or L2, i still wanted to do it for my personal goals of accuracy. So this is not really anything new so to speak, but i wanted to still be able to attach the chest/back bridges with a 1" wide piece of nylon webbing but with velcro sewn across the entire length of the strip. This usually keeps everything lined up nicely, and that will be crucial if i want to put the bridge cover only on top/outside the armor. The "issue" with this is that i also want to use the zip tie method to attach the bells and would need a zip tie anchor/guide on that strip. So i came up with basically a simple slide adjuster with the anchor/guide built in and 3D printed them and they work perfectly. I should probably print them in black, but this actually works so you can see them better for detail purposes. The holes are for the option to sew it in place, but the strap with velcro attached in it fits pretty snug so you likely wont have to do that. The reason the velcro goes all the way across the webbing strip is because it loops through the slider part and will then still have velcro exposed right at the join so the "slider" also keeps it stable and it doesnt over bend at the join. Now i should be able to glue the elastic strip on top and it look neat and stay put. The files are on thingiverse! https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5929971 For the belt, this is something i did on my last build...but then 3D modeling/printing wasn't really a thing yet, so i did it with all scrap ABS pieces and although it worked well enough, it wasn't flawless and also looked kind of sloppy. So this time i 3D modeled and printed the parts i needed to accomplish my goal. The goal was having the belt adjustable with no visible slide adjusters. I created "belt loops" and stops along with slide adjusters to accomplish this by putting all of it in the front part of the belt. I forgot to take pics before i added the nylon belt for the parts to mount in the belt but i think you get the basic idea. The rivets in the belt become "mock" rivets as they wont actually hold the belt. I cut down the rivet body and glued them in place. Basically these are the pieces, the rectangle "boxes" mount under the parts with the cut corners and attach in the inside of the boxes on the belt front So mounted they go like this. You can then slide the belt under the "belt loop" on the end and into the slide adjuster. this way you can adjust the size of the belt or even the length of each piece indefinately without having to unrivet and re rivet the belt. thsi also would prevent the belt from pulling off the rivet since the rivet is just visual. As a bonus, you can use the flat part of the parts with the cut corners to add velcro to attach to your jumpsuit to keep your belt in place. So yea thats how i did it lol. Hope some of you like it! Again, if you want the files, just ask! These were made to fit the MonCal/FAC belt so you may have to fiddle with them if another makers belt piece is taller or shorter.

yea that was pretty much how i always did it as well... connecting strap and then adding the bridge cover to the connecting strap like a "T" and just wrapping it around. Worked fine. Although not in the CRL (yet) Mickey has discovered that the bridge cover is likely just that, a cover not a wrap..so my OCD "i want it like the movie" self wants to do it that way lol. I was just feeling out options/methods to do it without wrapping it around. i also will be using the zip tie for the shoulder bell so just trying to figure out a nice neat way to go about the whole shebang using the bridge cover as only a cover on top, NOT wrapped around. Im messing with printing some stuff that can easily slide onto the attachment strap with a zip tie guide built into it to keep it centered, basically like a slide adjuster with the zip tie guide/anchor built in. Im gonna test that and see how it goes. Anywho thanks for sharing your method!

Ok cool, yea thats what im gonna do..strip of velcro to hold the 2 halves together. As far as the bridge covers, yessir i am aware it isnt anything required but since Mickey figured it out/discovered it, i want it, lol required or not Was just trying to figure out the best way to go about it. Mickey said he glued the elastic on top and hasnt had any issues, so thats what imma do. As always, thanks for the reply/input brother!

Ok so even though i have had at least 4 scouts over the 15yrs ive been in the 501st, i know standards change and new discoveries are made. My most recent build i am going for Level 2/Lancer. I have checked the CRLs and think i have all of that squared away. (i am going to need a new TD though for L2 as the MC one is the same on both left and right) However there are a few assembly choices one can make and due to some new discoveries i want to be as accurate as possible, even if its not a L2 requirement. SO. I have searched through some builds but most are a little older so i want to make sure im as up to date as we currently know. Mickey mentioned that the shoulder bridge covers have been discovered to NOT wrap around the entire bridge and are more like a cover. i figured i would just glue them on so they stay put. Has anyone done this and can it/does it cause any issues not being able to shift around? Also if said cover is glued, how did you attach the chest/back at the shoulder? strap with velcro or snap attachment or permanently attached (since the cover would be holding the parts together as well) I found out about the bridge cover thing after i put mine together so i undid it, (even though i wouldn't have gotten pinged for it)and i don't want to have to undo anything again. Also if there are any recent build idea floating around im open to hear em. I have been around a while so i likely heard a lot of ideas, but dont worry about that...just post how you did it. There is always someone with a fresh new idea.

i saw those a few days ago and fogot to share/post em haha. These would be great for someone with small hands!

Sorry to resurrect this thread but figured it may help someone out..... what i just did was i used velcro on both sides of the strap of the cod, and attached it to the back of the vest in between the vest closure velcro. then i put the vest on like a shirt, (pre-closed with the strap attached). I have the cod attach to the inside front of the vest with velcro and i do that after putting the vest on, so i don't have to reach behind myself at all. You may have to adjust where the strap is sitting a few times to get the length just right for you, but you only have to do it once and then you can just attach the cod to the vest last. I leave the cod strap attached to the vest in the rear all the time, i dont undo that part.

This is the 7oz canvas in question...obviously it would be black for the vest This is the mercerized cotton bund on top of the 7oz canvas in question haha. As you can see it barely looks like "canvas", it is a very fine texture, not as smooth as the mercerized stuff, but it is pretty close. This is a bund made with the 7oz canvas..i already shipped it out so this is the only photo i have lol. I feel like the way it falls/sits and acts, it's very much like a regular cotton fabric and i think it work for the vests. I just want to be sure because after i do mine, i will start offering them and i want to be sure the fabric wont be an issue for anyone trying to get clearance.

yea, i'll take a shot of it... Oh i know about the mercerized cotton..i just meant when folks order a canvas one, that's what I'm using.. its also what i use for the pouches. I make the bunds with mercerized cotton as well when people want that. Mine is mercerized cotton as per the level2/Lancer standards thanks for the heads up though!...i'll get that pic in minute!

So i am going to try my hand at making the flak vest. I have one currently but it is the standard version (sleeve seams at shoulder) and i want to do one for level2/Lancer(ragalan style sleeves). The CRL says heavyweight cotton fabric. The recent material i have been using to make the bunds is 7oz canvas and looks like it would be perfect, as its fairly light weight for canvas, but id consider it heavy weight for just a cotton fabric. You really dont see the "canvas" pattern on it at all. It is pretty smooth. if it was black of course lol i think it would fair well. I just want to see what we all think before i dive into getting the fabric. (i am going to make a test one out of muslin first.)

Whoa! nice Job! i have a set of gloves from WampaWear but i may try and make myself a pair as id love ones with less padding/insulation in them. they get SUPOER hot in the warmer months! Thanks for posting this!

Square T-Bit printed! please excuse the paper towel dust lol

Thank YOU for the pics i needed to make these! I know these arent really scarce or hard to get greeblies, but figured the move vendors the better!