TB-5027

Since I, too, own a KS blaster I share the same troubles. You can get any other resin cast blaster or buy the Kenner toy and modify it. That would be the least heavy prop you can find. Since I have no intention to buy another one of those tiny blasters I fixed up this strap system inside my boot. It's helping a LOT with keeping the holster up against my calf

I had the same concerns before getting my kit together, Nicole. I'm precisely your size without shoes on. Thing is, my armor kit is a SC which is slightly larger than the KS armor, buuut the KS helmet being huge as well the whole set evened itself out. The shoulderbells will make you look a little larger and not like a bobblehead. And then there is your posture and the different angles in which you have your photo taken. Obviously when trooping you shouldn't bobble your head.

No harness in my kit. It's a SC but all kits are similar (I think)... Unlike the Stormtrooper kit, TB armor parts are light and can hold together nicely with velcro patches loop on the inside, and hook patches sewn on your flightsuit.

No it hasn't peeled off yet, but it depends if you live somewhere really hot and humid then glue would do the trick

Since I'm in the process of assembling TK armor, I'm going to use this tutorial for the snap system. http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/snaps.html But for my TB I used velcro everywhere and it's not been a problem so far.

They're generally found on eBay, look for SithArmor.

Hey Nicole Sanding and trimming is the way to start on your armor, take pictures, use mirrors and see if the pieces look proportional to your frame, etc. For some pieces you might even want to squeeze them a bit like the forearms and biceps. On my SC kit I had to heat-shape those parts, and the chest/back, knee plates as well. I used a hair dryer and a heat gun (which I do not recommend due to warping hazards). When you're sanding, mind those sharp edges that need to be rounded out a little bit. You don't want your suit or anything else getting caught on your costume. Once you get a good idea of how the armor will look on you, continue with the straps+velcro business. It's kind of a pain to sew velcro on elastic straps, and if you don't own a sewing machine it can take several hours.

Keep using velcro! Then wrap it up with a strap of white canvas. http://i283.photobuc...ut/DSC_0062.jpg That was before I eventually turned them into T-straps because that made the shoulder bells sit closer to the chest armor. http://i283.photobuc...ut/DSC_0072.jpg Note that I can't detach the 2 parts anymore and the armor just stays that way in my luggage, so you might want to find a non-definitive way to secure your strap covers. Maybe with press-fasteners....

My finished boots made by 4505Marcel! I had to trim half an inch off both top and bottom of the holster (made by SC) so that it'd fit the height of the boot. Now that it's done I can't understand why I hadn't done that on my first pair of boots. And here's the calf strap I made out of elastic canvas material + velcro, and riveted to the holster, it helps support the weight of the blaster pistol (it's a KS). Side by side comparison:

Okay I thought about buying new ones from Marcel but now I'm worried about the holster rivets that I can't break off... is it even possible? I'm worried that I'm going to miss out on lots of fun trooping because of these boots

Good news everyone! I went to my first couple of troops and it was great. With all the pictures taken of my costume I managed to find what was wrong and how to fix them... ... Except my boots. I don't have the right stuff to make them durable. Granted I did a lot of marching, crouching, kneeling, and even some jogging because I was over-excited at the French Comic Con Vinyl cracking! Flap detaching, glue not holding... Same thing with more dramatic glue failure. I haven't been able to get my hands on E6000 so far. I've put so much efforts into these that I'm running out of patience. I don't have enough vinyl left to re-do them entirely, let alone taking the rivets out to re-attach the holster. So the other options are: buying new vinyl and better glue OR buying Scout boots from MC or Witness. If there's anyone out there with an extra pair of size 6 biker scout boots I would be interested... however unrealistic that may be. Anyway I thought I'd share these pics for those who might opt for the tough kind of vinyl for their own boots. It's a furniture type of material and not for clothing.

Like this, with that picture and from that distance... they look just fine by me Very well done! How rigid are they and do you have your holster yet?

That's a pretty good way to go about it. Thanks for the tip, it's useful when there's no mirror nearby.

You know, the material I got has somewhat of a textured grain to it and I noticed, while trying to clean the excess glue off, that nail-polish remover would smoothen the texture a bit. No guarantees that it won't stick afterwards... Otherwise it looks like a sturdy kind of vinyl, you should keep working with it, see how it goes.

Did you order a built one? My helmet came in built and, to my surprise, really great looking overall. The gap between the lid and the bucket is a little wide but I have no complaints.