trilobite

OK, since the costume standards specify a mandarin collar, am I correct in assuming that the balaclava has to be worn tucked into the flight suit? Or can it go over the collar? I try it out both ways and tucked in makes it look kinda....funny. How should it be worn? Or does it even matter? -Tim OK, I see it's a requirement for Lancer that it is tucked in... not a requirement for basic acceptance though. Maybe my balaclava is too thick and I should try for a thinner one.

Be careful when painting it. I painted my Rubies a month ago and it's STILL tacky to the touch. I'm guessing my only recourse now is to sand it down and repaint (maybe I overpainted? I thought I was being careful...). -Tim

So I followed the tutorial online and made myself a pair of boots. I made custom leather boots for reenactors for a living a few years ago so I didn't really anticipate any problems. I'm going to walk around for a bit with them on to make sure they hold up well. I've got enough vinyl to make another pair or two (sans the holster) so if anyones interested shoot me a pm. Comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated. -Tim

Thanks for all the replies! One more quick question...Does the codpiece get batting then too (not that I need it ), or is it just around the bund only? thanks all, Tim

If one of you guys who makes these yourself can help me out, that'd be much appreciated... Here it goes: I assume that to make the raised ribs on the front that a quilt batting is used. Is it generally only used in the front, where the vertical stitches are? I mean, the batting doesn't go around the entire cummerbund, correct? Also, I've seen some people attach the pouches to the cummerbund and other recommend attaching them to the chest armor itself. What's the general consensus on this? If they are to be attached to the diaper, then what method is best? Just stitched on? Thanks in advance, Tim

I agree. It may save my nerves to have it assembled for me, but I love projects and get a sense of satisfaction at doing as much as I can myself. I'm doing the cumberbund, pouches, flak vest, boots, and modding the flight suit myself. I had intended on making the hard armor myself and even built a rather nice vacuum-form machine but the mold making process takes too much time. I want to jump into this right away. Maybe in the future I'll make some Fett armor or something.

Yep, that's the one! It seems very thorough, but sometimes I'm not entirely comfortable unless a tutorial can hold my hand through the whole thing... I'm sure I can do it, but it'll keep me nervous until the end. Thanks for the encouragement and the tips. I think KS is the way to go for me. I was going to wait for Jeff at SC to remodel their bucket but I've become too impatient after putting my armor together. I hear you about the blood, sweat and tears. While putting my SC armor together my exacto slipped and stuck me under my fingernail. That sucked. I usually expect to get hurt a few times doing these things. I'm already kinda accident prone.

OK, I think I've decided to order the KS kit but I've got some concerns. I'm a fairly crafty guy and normally I have no problems making/assembling things like this but I normally don't drop this kind of money on projects so I'm a little nervous. One mistake and it could be all over. So, does the KS kit come with any instructions? I've seen the tutorial in the forums and it's great and all, but how about detailed pictures on exactly where to cut/trim? Sure I'll have a general idea, but the difference between 1/8 inch here or there can be quite dramatic. I guess I worry about trimming too much off and then I'm SOL. Am I going to have to print out a whole bunch of reference pictures and wing it? I guess if nothing like that exists maybe I should consider taking some high res before and after shots of each piece for future reference. Just wondering how I should prepare myself for this thing...

Looking forward to it...I always preferred box modelling with meshsmooth over other types of modelling techniques. You are doing quite a good job for your first attempt at it. Optimizing the mesh is the tricky part...poly counts can tend to get out of hand, at least that was always my biggest problem. I was never cut out for low poly modelling, like for video games. Most of my stuff is really nice looking, but the mesh underneath can sometimes be a disaster!

What software are you using to model this? I'm a former student of computer animation and now I'm itching to reinstall 3dsmax and make some models. Excellent work so far.