Chef

Good spot... I'll give you that one. But I shall refer you to the Lancer Specs. Maybe this is a detail that can come under review. But until then....

Looking good overall there buddy. I'd be tempted to pull your bicep armour up, so it meets the bottom of your flak vest sleeves, and just widen out the pouches a little so you can see all the ribs on the cummerbund. If you go for Lancer, you'll need to sort the flaps on your pouches, as they have the visible square stitch marks where you've added the velcro. And if I'm being ultra-picky.... When you suit up, make sure the bund isn't twisted at the back, so that the velcro join sits directly underneath the tank, and not skewed off to one side. And if that's all I can pick up on... That's a tidy job. Well done.

There was nothing 'canon' in the film, but there is plenty of supplementary evidence of a 'canon' (i.e. licensed and released by Disney/LFL and it's subsidiaries) to support them. New Battlefront Game. Old Battlefront Game. (??) SideShow Model Plus a million other bits of artwork... I've got loads.

The CUCBlack helmet is not the most movie accurate at all... Far from it. It's way too big to be Movie Accurate. And there are many factors to "movie accurate". Being made from the same material and in the same method (Split bucket) are probably the biggest factors here. Currently the list of helmets stands at something like this... SC - back/cap style - on the smaller side KS - back/cap style - some issues with quality control of late EFX - GRP cast of a Production helmet (not sure if these have officially hit production yet) LW - Split bucket. Excellent fan sculpt - No sure if still producing CUC - GRP - Oversized - has had delivery issues RS - Taken from production helmet - in progress apparently CC - Split bucket. Everyone else can tell you about that one. MLC - GRP, well regarded but personally think it's a bit 'thin in the face' ALT - re-run of Licensed release from way back when. NI - GRP, don't know enough about it to be honest Rubies - Licensed release - usually terrible, but can be modded to be a good lid (cheap). There are probably more. We won't even mention the Starfortress sack of spanners... I know there are a few recasts of Jeff's stuff in circulation. But the quality is poor and best avoided at all costs.

The screen used blasters did not have any 'glass' or lens type stuff in them to simulate a reticle. It's not needed. As long as it is the correct size (and not the hasbro/recast of) and doesn't have a trigger, with the correct detailing (*so it looks like a hold out blaster... you know what I mean) then it should be fine.

Obviously shop around.... The 457 model is very capable and durable with a surprising amount of 'functions'. The 507 and 513 models are also very good. (I think they have even more bullet proof internals). The 513 is the better of the two with various stitch functions (not that you'll need most of them to be honest).

Still a good price for that type of machine... Even with the shipping. I'd have one of them over a walmart special any day of the week.

In terms of a machine... Seriously consider a 2nd hand older Singer/Brother/Pfaff machine. Spares are still readily available for them, which can't be said for some of the newer 'cheap' machines and they were built to last. I'm still using my mum's (rest her soul) machine, which is a 1967 Singer 457. Works as well now, as the day it came off the production line. And in contrast, I've seen people with 'el-cheapo' modern machines that have broken within 12 months and not been able to get spares for them... They've just gone in the bin and had to get new ones. Here's a 457 on eBay (your side of the pond). http://www.ebay.com/itm/Singer-Model-457-Stylist-Zig-Zag-Portable-Sewing-Machine-/221827848740?hash=item33a5f85a24:g:rvYAAOSwd0BVpuhn 39 Bucks... that's a bargain!

Certainly.... You can probably find yourself an old trusty Singer sewing machine pretty cheaply. Learning to use one is not rocket science. You can grab a yard of fabric for a few bucks to practice on and before you know it, you'll know what you are doing and be able to do the bits you need. Whether you save a great deal of money in the long run depends on how much you initially spend on your machine. But what is certain is that at the end of the day you will have a machine, and the skill to use it... which is priceless.

You've passed the first test!

First - no Second - Yes.

For the love of all that is Holy don't rivet your boots... You'll end up with bleeding feet and hours and hours of agony! Just glue them. They'll be fine. Mine are just glued and have lasted about 6 years of me being a complete d!ck in them. As for the holster, if the 'outside' look is one of just having the rivets, then it will be fine for Lancer. But if any of the velcro is visible, then it might not pass muster.

What you have there are call 'double cap' rivets. They are used in leatherwork and for making 'studs' to hold fabrics together. Especially on the more 'specialised' kind of leatherwork. nudge nudge... What you need are 'pop rivets' or more correctly called 'blind rivets', as has been pictured by the chaps above. They also use a special tool for their installation, called a rivet gun. normally very cheap. It's just a hand tool for squeezing them up. They come in various different sizes, I suggest you get 5/32 considering that's the size holes you've already drilled, and you need to get the corresponding 5/32 washers to go over them. Basically the tool pulls the shank down through the rivet expanding it. When it gets to a certain level of pressure (generally when the expanded part hits something it can't get past, i.e the backing washer) it snaps the tang off. The expanded bit pulls the surfaces tight together and then it can't be removed as the expanded part is larger than the hole it needs to get out of. When they're installed, they look something like this.

Yeah, but that Rubies can be turned into something half decent... The StarFortress would still stink afterwards. Some smells you just can't get rid of... No matter how hard you scrub.

I always go the same size as the rivet, and use a backing washer. The expanding part should not get to the plastic itself as it should be halted by the washer. 5/32... that's 4mm yeah?? That's what I use as standard.

Yup... EMA plastic weld. It's the business.

Yup, there are many ways to make the slots bigger, or add them in... Get a router bit on your dremel and router the slots manually. Drill either end and use a disc cutter bit to cut out the slot between the two. Or drill either end and use a slot cutter to trim the bit in between. Just out of interest... which strap are we talking about here?? The one between the chest plate and the back plate?? If so, get some that is the same as what is used for the drop straps.

Yes, or just stick in non elastic in the first place so you don't have to go replacing anything at a later date. The base standard is just that, a base. You can always go higher with various parts and that will not stop your clearance.

There you go.

2nd one.

it's a bit... clean... You need to get out in the field! Looks good dude, should be an easy pass.

I've an open face one... Works fine. Just as long as it covers the chin as Chunk mentioned then you're golden. Never had an issue with the seams, but then my lid is quite strategically padded for maximum air flow and doesn't overly press on my head.

The side joins are cotton... And we are lead to believe that they are the same width (or at least very similar) to the stuff used for the drop boxes. So using the same, is a good option.

Yup, those will do just fine.

It's true.... some of them had gaps you could hide Ewoks in. But in essence, who actually thought they were a 2 part system when they first watched the film?? The mind told us it was all a one part back plate, so trying to get the gap as flush as possible makes the costume more believable on close inspection in person.