askernas

Since I just 3D printed a complete full scale BB-8, as beta testing for the BB8 builders club I'd be very happy to test out and print parts and assemble to see how they go together properly, if you want a beta tester on this one =)

TB-47101 reporting and ready to serve!

I will measure them tomorrow! For now everything's packed down. From the standard size, I reduced them in width with about 15 mm, roughly. Oh, the GML has now approved me... so.. all depends on the head office how long before I am an official TB ! =)

Here we go again, a new series of pics! =) Since I had a minor thing to change on my Biker Scout before 501st approval, this was fixed, but it took a week and a half to get the pictures done! So, without further ado, here are the pics from my new biker scout build! Enjoy!

Bags have been reduced in width slightly. I also identified one issue that I had a cardboard box inside the pouches, which made them stand out more from the body, instead of conforming to my body curve, which made them look even bigger More pics to follow soon! =)

Well... my R2 completed tonight... I need to adjust my pouches somehow, even though they were made by our detachment leader... Anyone got any suggestions for how I can adjust them to be smaller easily? I don't have the pattern or anything for them...

Thanks Southscout! I will move them around and see if they look better! Thanks for the tips on NG as well, haven't had time to work on the biker as I've been rushing around the clock to get my R2 finished! Tomorrow he'll be all done! Then back to the biker scout, and hopefully get the bag issue fixed with moving them around a bit =) I may sew them in a tad as well, if I can. I will take a look at it next week! =) cheers guys! //Micke

One comment I got from the Membership Liason officer up here, is that the pouches are too big. Now, these pouches were made by our glorious Detachment Leader, 4505Marcel, so what do you guys think? Should I make them smaller or not? =)

Hey All! Just wanted to share the pics I took earlier... Pics of the suit just prior to applying for approval... Biker Scout Ready? Hey All! Just a quick note with some pics displaying my finished Biker Scout! Ready for submission for entry into the 501st! - Vader's Fist!

I checked CO. However, I only found one thing that comes with a small tool and 10 buttons, not any more buttons than that.. However, Might be good enough ... 10 should last the TB build at least =)

Thanks, Marcel! The shoulder bells will indeed be hanging from a 1" piece .. of black elastic, stuck to the webbing crossing the front and back armor piece. I've placed velcro on the vest and on the holder from the webbing loop.. as well as around the arm, so hopefully it should be fine! The only reason why I haven't used poppers, is that I don't have a tool for them, and buying this tool (which is fairly pricey over here) for using it possibly 6 times in total, is something I'll try to avoid. I checked in with a fellow TB over here, but he didn't have one either, so for the moment, self adhesive velcro it is! At least, this is something that can quite easily be upgraded in the future, if it should need to! =) Thanks for the feedback, though! One more thing to do, I realized, is dyeing the pouches... and make an insert for them...

While waiting for some time to paint my R2 properly, I'm still doing a lot of wok on my biker scout! Here's a summary of what's been done today! For all my loose armour pieces, I've sewed on elastic bands according to the Lancer standards, and used self-adhesive velcro inside the pieces and sewed on velcro on one of the sides of the elastics. This should enable me to tighten the pieces up somewhat if I should need to. I've also added velcro inside the pieces, and added velcro on the corresponding pieces on my jumpsuit, and sewed that on. Let's have a look! The shoulder bells, complete with velcro for fastening on to the torso, and also 35mm elastic around the arm in place! Biceps pieces, complete with elastic inside, and also velcro around the top edge to match the velcro sewn on to my under suit! Arm pieces. The elastic is like the others, sewn on one end, and velcroed in on the other end. These also have long strips of white velcro going all along the bottom, that will attach to the under suit to not make them slip. Knee pads, elastic bands in place, bot the big one that will go into the knee joint, and the top thinner one, that is required for Lancer approval, should I want to go for that some day. I have also velcroed in place my cummerbund pockets, although I feel they maybe should be a little more spread apart. I'll see to that later on! =) All this velcro makes the suit a little harder to get in, but at least it makes the pieces stick where they should be! It is a little easier once they were sewn in properly, instead of just put in place with self-adhesive velcro... Not in pictures: I've worked on the placement of the back hump, and once I find a proper screw, I will do a small "wedge" in styrene in order to help this sit more straight and not move about at all. Looking good so far. Also, I've removed the rib stitching on my vest/undersuit that was visible in the shoulder area, and there's only rib stitches on the arms of the vest now. Next step is the scary bit: Cutting up the armour! Last thing needed to sew, is to shorten the cummerbund a few cm, and tightening the groin area elastic... not too much though! *ouch* !

So, today I've been working a little more on my biker scout, breaking two needles on the sewing machine, and putting it all together! I still have to mount the Thermal Detonator, and the greeblies on the arms are not painted or mounted. The chest piece and back piece are held together with tape, and the shoulder armour is just held in place by double stick tape! =) So, a little more sewing to do, but this is just a costume check! =) I did finalize my belt though, and after playing around with the torso, I have extended it since last, and I think it sits a little better now! Enough talking, let's get to the pics already! =) I still need to shorten that cumberbund.. The biceps armor had slid down on this post... I need to tighten the straps and add a bit of velcro to my undersuit to keep them in place. Same thing with the knee pads that had slid down a bit... I think the belt and torso looks a lot better now. The pockets have only been tucked inside the armor and has not been fastened at all in this picture, so they are off center.. Not sure if I look happy or scared in this pic.. Provided it all looks good, I will continue sewing the last pieces together and finalize the armor this weekend! =)

While my R2 is properly letting the paint dry, and it IS not very fun watching it, I decided to work a bit on my Biker Scout! There's a big Sci-Fi exhibition in December, and me and my R2 will be there, and the idea is to sport my new Biker Scout armour as well! Anyway, here is the progress made for today!: I started with the belt. I know there will be snaps and other things on the straps for the side pockets, but I'm just checking the length for now. Second: How much do I need to trim off the torso pieces? Should the whole chest piece come down or is it good where it is? I also wonder if my cummerbund is too high up, I may need to shorten it somewhat... Finally, Just wanted to show off that I got the proper greeblies for my TD!:

Today, a 9 month wait was at its end! A slightly beat up package arrived at my door step. 9 months in the making, 7 days to travel across the US and to Sweden, and finally 8 days to make the loooong journey from Malmö to Stockholm... The contents of this bag is not R2-D2 related, but belongs in the same universe.. It is my Biker Scout armor, hand made, and now it is time for me to take these ABS plastic pieces and try and piece them together to form a proper Biker Scout armor! I had arranged to have my helmet painted and assembled.. even though the mesh in the front of the snout and the smoked glass had fallen out during shipping.. Tiny things like that, that I need to glue back in place.. To officially start this build, I decided to bring in two bottle caps and glue to the ends of the thermal detonators so I've at least accomplished something.. If you think they look grungy, it is because I gave them a good sanding first in order to give the CA glue something to grip on.. Once glued, I realized the potential for comedy straight away... A short trip to the store to pick up a riveting tool.. .. and I was ready to start doing some damage. New tools needs to be tested, so I took a good look at some reference pictures, and decided to fasten the holster to my boots... The blaster is still not painted black, but it looks nice in the holster. I will probably need to add velcro on the inside of the boot and on my undersuit leg if I want the boot to maintain its shape with the blaster in it, though.. Can't wait to get started properly. I've spent the night cleaning the apartment and when done, looking at reference photos and planning how to make this armour in the best possible way...

Good news! My package containing all the MC goodness is now in Sweden and has just passed through customs! Tentative delivery date is *drumroll* ... TOMORROW! Why do I all of a sudden feel like I was 10 years old and it is the night before Christmas all of a sudden...

Well, That I've been doing for 9 months... My armor is on the way.. It left San Francisco yesterday according to the tracking number! :D

Thanks for clearing that up! Now that I have a sewing machine, it is not unfeasable, and most of the hard work is done =)

Yes, considering the builder is/was? a member here, I was surprised that there was no closure on the back. However, it is a relatively simple task in making a back closure with a 2 inch velcro to hold it together...

Hello! As my MC armour is on its way, it is high time for me to start a build thread here and post what I have so far, before I dig into the box of plastic due to arrive within the next week! While waiting, I have been gathering soft parts, and even though I know I will need to pick up more canvas, straps, snap fasteners, rivets (and a rivet tool), I think I am on pretty good grounds to begin with! First off: The Blaster! I ordered a Rubber Resin Blaster from Niko, my number is #76. I've sanded and assembled the blaster and primed it in grey. I'll need to paint it in black, obviously, but I will also put a few layers of silver underneath the black as suggested. Gloves: I purchased a pair of Biker Scout gloves from Sitharmor off ebay, they look great! Boots: My boots was ordered from 4505Marcel. I don't think I could have made such good boots at the same price. Cummerbund Also made by Marcel. Even though I sent measurements, I think this may be too long, check out the pictures later. I have since gotten a sewing machine, so I can fix things like this myself now! The pockets... The undersuit: I bought this off swprops. He has an ebay shop as well. It is tailored to fit me, with the flak vest added on. However, I think I need to add the top back part of the vest to the undersuit (with the velcro in the back) in order to be fully compliant with the rules. Especially if I would be going for lancer at some point. Not that I normally post crotch photos , but here are the riding patches, that is not really visible in the pic above.. Putting it together: This is what I have so far... I am aware that what I have so far is mostly purchased and not little actually made by me, but I've been busy building my R2 droid. Also, I did not have a sewing machine at the time, but that has been fixed, so any little fixes I need to make to what I have, I can fix myself! If you have any input on what I need to fix, please let me know =) My goal is to have both my R2 and my TB finished by December 1st =) cheers, Micke

Thanks for the tip! I read through that thread, great build and great attention to detail! That will definitely come in handy!

Hello all! Got the word yesterday that my MC armor is on it's way! So, as I haven't read through all threads in the forum yet, is there any threads you guys can recommend to read up on when it comes to piecing the armor together? I know I will get instructions, but like in my R2 build, it is often more useful to read a good blog/thread to see what pitfalls to avoid, and ow to avoid them! My bucket will come pre-assembled, so I've got the hard part done. This is just for the body armor, and considering it's an MC armor, and the soft parts are up to specs, I may have the ability to go into Lancer with this.. Anyway, I'll definitely keep you guys updated in this thread, and any suggestions you may have are greatly appreciated! thanks Micke

Well, be prepared to wait... I ordered an MC armor around Christmas, was told 10-12 weeks to deliver, and it's now almost 8 months later, and they still haven't shipped it.... So, be happy if you receive it before Christmas! =)

Sounds good Jaycee9! I just want my complete biker scout armor so I can walk around with my now 96% finished R2-D2 and be in costume myself... When did you order your armor, if I may ask? =) ... 8 months.. I should be getting mine soon as well then... I did order the helmet.. the nice, glassfiber helmet =)

I've also ordered mine right before Christmas... 10-12 weeks they said, originally... Still waiting.. At least it will be worth the wait, but I would kinda like to have it now, if you know what I mean ..