batninja

I did quite a bit of research before I finally made my decisions for armor and helmet. For the armor, it came down to the return or 'lip' of the major pieces. There isn't one on the SC, but there is on MC. Plus, I sold MC my Fett costume a few years ago (it's the one featured on his site), so I have a 'history' with him, so to speak. I think I like the size of the SC thigh boxes. Who knows, if the plastic color matches, I may mix and match a few pieces between the two makers. Regarding the helmet, LW was always my first choice, but I never heard back from my last PM. I bought the KS kit, but it's more trouble than it's worth, imho. I even have a couple of threads regarding its...quality. I like the shape of the SC, but heard it is a teeny bit smaller than the KS, and I wanted a larger bucket. I like the fiberglass construction of the MLC, but I always thought the blinder/visor top was too squared off, it needs to be more rounded. Which brings me to the CB: I bought it. The ear holes seem a little too large, and the visor eyelids may droop a little low, but proportionally, I think I'll be happy with the final product. And it's fiberglass. And since it is shipped in a gel-coat condition, I can color-match the paint to the same shade of the armor (will probably take it to an auto body shop for professional job). I've just seen the NI version on their website. I'd like to see more direct, head-on pictures to compare it to others, but it looks nice. A little pricier than the CB. Both my MC armor and my CB helmet are due in the mail next week, and I'm sure I'll post a few (thousand) pics.

1. On my first Scout costume, several years ago, I modified my hump to attach with industrial-strength Velcro. I could drive to events, and just have a spotter attach it once I arrived. 2. Patience. Use a drill (at low speed) to make the starter holes, then a Dremel tool, with the narrow sanding drum. And a $10 set of hobby files. 3. Hit up a fabric store, look for foam (usually in the back) that's the same thickness as your pouch, then cut it to fit the width and height. I'm sure others will chime in here soon...

Good info. Yeah, I'll hit the local Tandy Leather outlet this weekend search for a sizeable piece for both the flap and the thigh pads.

Faux suede is not approved for Lancer, so I might as well do it right the first time. More expensive, I agree, but the look is correct. Next question: is there top-stitching on the outside edges of the butt-flap?

Never mind - I just re-read the Lancer requirements. Real suede it is!

For the suede work on the undersuit, what's the consensus? I know quite a few troopers are using faux or ultrasuede, but isn't real suede used on the screen 'suit? Are we sure either way?

I've had success using electrical tape for masking off curved sections. Unfortunately, it's sometimes difficult to get the straight lines 100% 'straight'.

Do tell!

I didn't make any special measurements, but you're correct - the widths are not consistent. I simply based the groove width on the width of the existing notch of the boot.

I've reached a crossroads with my KS helmet build. I'm trying to decide whether or not to simply accept the minor imperfections in the plastic and polish the ABS plastic to a shine, or go full out and putty/sand/paint to the glossy finish I want. I already have a small 2" square area that I need to sand down to polish, as a result of a gluing mistake. I've sanded with 220-grit to prep the area. So my question is: what grits of sandpaper do I use to get the plastic down to a point where I can use Novus 1/2/3 plastic polish to obtain the glossy look? 400? 600? Do they make anything finer? And please understand, although I appreciate speculative information ("I bet this would work!"), I'm looking for advice from those who have done this process ("This is how to do it!"). Thanks!

I did a total tape-up with it in that position, but there was a 3/4" gap between the front edge of the dome and the rear of the blinder. So, even though it should work, it won't.

Could someone PM me with the source info as well? MY KS bucket did not come with one...

It did, but there's still an unfillable gap between the dome and the front edges of the back piece, if I follow KS instructions. When I reverse it, the gap disappears, and it almost fits perfectly. Very strange.

I've got all my pieces cut and sanded. I still need to trim out the ear holes, and do some light sanding, but I started test fitting tonight. In the sparse instructions provided with the helmet kit, in regards to the dome, it states: "rounded cut edge faces forward" However, after test-fitting the pieces, I've found that the reverse of that actually works much better, and seems to 'fit' as intended. I can't seem to find any pics of anyone's bucket who actually did it this way. I can post pics later, but has anyone been successful in mounting the dome backwards?

And just because I love this picture so much, here's what the sole looks like after having been spray-painted with Krylon Fusion Satin Khaki.

Here's a shot of the back of the boot, from the other thread. Notice that the top incision is slightly angled inward as it goes down, leaving the top ribbed section intact.

A few of you have prompted me to post a short tutorial of how I add grooves to my boots, and I finally got around to getting some pics of my own. Like the other thread, I started with a pair of Rugged Outback 'Cheyenne' work boots from Payless Shoe Source. These run about $35 a pair. Although it's not necessary, I used a pair of pliers to pop off the metal 'WATERPROOF' tags. It actually makes a cool "pop-pop" sound when it comes off! From past experience, I use 3/8" elastic instead of laces. If you decide to do the same, take an afternoon, walking around in your elastic-laced boots, making adjustments where necessary. You need to make them loose enough to slip on, but snug enough to troop in. Again, I'd done this with all my past Scout boots, and it makes getting suited up much easier! Here you can see the elastic-laced boots, along with the tools I use: X-Acto #2 medium weight aluminum knife with #2 large fine point blade X-Acto #1 light weight aluminum knife with #17 lightweight chiseling blade 1/4" quilters' tape marking pen spare X-Acto blades Using the quilters' tape, I mark the 'center rib' around the back heel of the boot. Next, use a straight-edge to mark the grooves. IMPORTANT: Make sure the groove lines are 90 degrees perpendicular to the center rib! With the medium weight knife, make 1/8" incisions on the three sides of the groove. Use the smaller chisel blade to 'scoop' the tooth out the groove. Remember: Be careful - these blade are SHARP! Take your time - don't rush it! (this process takes me about 2 hours per boot.) Change blades often. The sharper the blade, the easier the cut! As you can see, not all of the incisions will be perfect. Which is okay; if anyone ever gets this close to my boots to make a negative critique, I'll be kicking their little Ewok teeth in. Please let me know if you have any questions, and see this thread for the rest of the tutorial: http://forum.bikersc...showtopic=10610

...which is great, if the smaller helmet fits you. For me, it would not.

I debated posting this, but after careful consideration, I thought it important to post, if only to assist fellow Scouts when shopping for helmet options. Back in 2004, I ordered KS armor and a helmet kit. The armor was, in my opinion, acceptable for what it was. The helmet kit was a complete disaster. Two different shades of ABS, dimples and gouges everywhere. Having done some vacuforming work in the past, I could tell the bucks needed to be cleaned up or remastered. I deemed the unfinished kit unusable, and ended up selling it at a prop party a few months later. Getting back into the Scout trooping mind again last year, and after seeing a few Scouts get better-than-average pulls, I started to reconsider KS as a reputable prop seller. And their price had risen a bit, so I'm thinking, "Well, they must have updated the molds, right?" I had looked at SC (too small), MLC (blinder top is too flat), LW (out of production), so I decided to pull the trigger on KS once again. In May, I won a buy-it-now auction on eBay for a KropSerkel helmet kit, from KS themselves. The kit arrived in a timely fashion. However... Opening the box, it seemed that KS never updated their molds, and once again, I got a crappy kit. Here are pics, along with notes that I sent back to KropSerkel, concerned about their quality control. After a scathing email (I was NOT a nice biker scout) to KropSerkel, they offered to replace the defective kit with one from their NEW IMPROVED molds. This pissed me off even more! Why did I get an inferior product when they had a better option available?? I shot another email asking this very question, along with several other remarks about quality control, pride in a product, etc. No sooner had I shipped my kit back to them, they posted another eBay auction, using the same pictures as the one I won, but labeling it as a 'B' kit, stating there might be blemishes or color issues! Now I'm LIVID. After several weeks of production and shipping delays, and a half dozen emails (all of which deflected my questions regarding kit quality), they finally shipped the 'new' kit version last week, and I picked it up at the post office on Monday. I will say that the resulting quality is marginally better. The left-side blinder gouge is gone, as are some of the dimpling and other blemishes. And the color issue seems to have been looked into. However, there are still some problems. As you can see from the pics, the dome warp is still not corrected, and the blinders now sport a 1/2" warp edge along both sides...VERY noticeable. I still think the new kit can be workable. I'm just sitting on the fence whether to accept the blinder warps as they are, or attempt to fill them, forcing me to repaint the entire product. This will give me a few sleepless nights. So, in closing, I just want to make potential customers aware of the lack of quality control with KS. And if you DO decide to go this route, make sure to ask for a kit from the 2013 NEW REMASTERED molds, NOT the 'B' kit. Buyer beware. I don't see me making another purchase from KropSerkel, ever again.

I just purchased a KS kit off eBay...fingers crossed!

jyjellyfish77, I've never used rivets on any of the boots I've made. I know the tutorial suggests this, but I've never had an issue with simply using Shoe Goo. Mr.Bojangles, I hadn't thought about it. But, I do have to start carving my own boots here in a few days, so I'll try to snap a bunch of progress pics!

I saw this one as well. Was hoping someone on BSN would give some feedback before I dropped the cash on it. Still on the fence about which bucket to buy. On a side note, I'm still waiting to hear back from KS's availability. I emailed him over a week ago...

I masked and painted the sole with Krylon Fusion Satin Khaki. After it dried, i finished it off with a misting of Krylon Matte Finish, to take the shine off. And here is the finished project! The shaft and dog bone are not glued on yet. Final construction will be completed by Wes. Thoughts and comments are welcome!

Alright, let's wrap this project up! Prior to painting the soles, I worked on the pattern for the shaft. Wes is a little shorter than me (let's face it, he's just a bit taller than a hobbit! - just kidding, Wes!), so I modified my existing boot shaft pattern, by taking an inch off the top. I made another modification to the pattern that allows for the slight downward curve from the back of the boot around the heel, see here: On to the painting!

I lace the whole thing with elastic. After a few walkabouts, the wearer can trim the top edge of the vinyl to adjust if necessary.