UT Trooper

You need to not finish it so you can keep taking pictures of us at troops! Looking good! Can't wait to see a shore in GA Garrison

Small update: I went ahead and tried the duck cloth method and it came out great! I don't have pics right now but I'll try to post them. I actually did use padding in the sleeves as not using it caused it to look flat. Overall it came out great and I highly recommend going this route rather than the shirt route.

I have a KS bucket with SC armor. Can't say enough good things about SC. The KS helmet I bought assembled and was upset when I saw how easily I could have assembled it. I also had to get a different snout greeblie and replace the screws. Not to mention KS took FOREVER to ship my helmet. The only reason I got it was the size, I have a huge head and fit snug in the KS. Apparently the SC is a bit smaller. Here is KS helmet with SC armor:

I wish every dealer was like Jeff. You will be happy with the SC armor. I don't have the helmet so I can't comment on that.

Everyone will tell you "you should be able to find all that you need on this forum." If you read up on build threads for each component you can get ideas on what to use. There are many ways to build the different TB components so not every suit will be the same.

Go to Joanns fabrics and ask for duck cloth. Don't forget to use a coupon from their website.

Now that I've been through a few troops with the vest I want to update on my findings.. The sleeves ended up being too long and too wide for 501st approval. The shoulder bells caused them to flair out. To fix this I simply took in the sleeves making the holes smaller. It's a tight squeeze getting into it, but it looks much better. If I had to do the entire vest over again I would buy a shirt that is 2 times larger than what I normally wear and buy black duck cloth. I would cut the shirt open to use as a guide and trace those shapes from the duck cloth. Sew the duck cloth together as a shirt and NOT use padding in the sleeves, maybe just double up on the duck cloth. The padding I currently have is too much and I think doubling the cloth would be just enough. Sleeve flair before: Sleeves after: Too thick:

Has anyone ordered from this dealer? Great looking flak vest, just wish it were cheaper. https://www.etsy.com/listing/219011511/flak-vest-for-scout-trooper-biker-scout

Here is the 1 inch elevator bolt painted with gray primer. Does it look too large?

What size diameter for the elevator bolts? I have 1 inch but they seem too large.

Thanks again, I found a lot of people on this forum and my garrison forum to be very generous. You guys are the best. I went ahead and ordered a DVH snout piece and I bought two 1" elevator bolts. I've already cut the bolt part off one of the bolts with a dremel. Just need to finish the other one and find some spray paint to match. Where can I find the small pin-stripe tape? I couldn't find any at Home Depot or Lowes.

I took it out last night. It's not uncomfortable by any means and it allows for more space to push the helmet downward. The helmet feels better now, as if it's part of my head. The only issue is my nose hitting the ABS or lens. KS puts padding there, but it was too large so I removed it. I will cut it down and reapply. I see several ways to get a new lens, but I need a method that will not distort it. As I mentioned the KS lens is like looking through a pair of glasses that aren't your prescription. It instantly gives me a headache. Has anyone experienced this and found a solution?

Yeah I think that's right. It's still not going to solve the problem for my head being so large! I hate that when I talk you can see my entire mouth out of the bottom. Maybe if I remove the top padding altogether it will help. Off to find some new bolt covers, snout piece, and paint.

Exactly. Live and learn. Not sure if I can post the fees on here, but lets just say I can get all of my money back if I sell it.

Yeah I'm definitely going to fix the KS before I offload it. I'll look around for the best greeblie to use, but any recommendations on greeblie, bolt covers, and type of black paint for the snout would be appreciated. For the comment on the color, here are some pics of the NI with my SC armor. Keep in mind I'm not 501st approved and I am fixing a lot of the issues seen in these pics. I'll try to get some pics of it right next to the armor.

I am really unhappy with how the KS helmet turned out, especially for what I paid to have it built. People say the KS is one of the larger helmets, but on me when I open my mouth you can see it below the helmet. Here are a few things I immediately found wrong with it: They did a terrible job applying the greeblie sticker. C'mon, for how much I spent you couldn't have spent just a little more time on that detail? The visor has horrible molding. It looks a lot worse than the photos show. Looking through the visor is terribly distorted. I get the same feeling when I try on a pair of glasses that aren't my prescription. Overall I am just not impressed with the KS helmet. In the words of my fiance, "[Compared to the NI, the KS] feels like a halloween costume." Maybe ABS helmets aren't for me, IDK. I like the fact that the KS is light and could take a drop, but the fiberglass NI feels like an actual real helmet. The NI helmet is simply a work of art. Off to eBay with the KS. It would be great to get a side by side between the NI and Cucblack helmets as they are both fiberglass. Maybe that will be my next helmet to add to my collection.

Side By Side: KS (left), NI (right)

KS Bucket Checkout how they applied the sticker: The ABS is not smooth at all on the visor: NI Bucket

Thank you for the tutorial! The sleeves weren't too much trouble, I did a straight stitch and then a heavy zig zag to finish. Those sleeves are not going anywhere! I wish the material was a bit heavier like the flight suit. The sleeves now feel strong, but the front and back of the shirt just feel light. The only concern is to not pull too hard when getting it on and off. Once it's on I have no worries of it ripping during a troop.

Not sure why, but this whole time I had the impression that the soles of the boots had to be a solid color for 501st entry. I'm not going for lancer so from what it says on 501st.com I should be good with the two colors on the soles? Boots For 501st approval: White or lightly weathered. The soles of the boot are tan. A "dog bone" shaped strap covers the bridge of the foot. The boots are secured up the back using 25mm (1") white hook and loop fastener. The calf of the boot rises to just slightly underneath the bottom of the knee armor. For level two certification (if applicable): The boots have slots cut into the heels as seen on film. The boot sole is a single color with no visible stitching. Here are the boots I made from Payless Dexter workboots (really comfortable and solid!):

As requested here are some shots of the NI helmet. The helmet is gorgeous and really shines in the light. Definitely on the larger side, but I have a huge head and broad shoulders so it fits me fine. It's a bit heavy and somewhat fragile since it's fiberglass (probably can't take a drop). I also ordered a KS bucket which should be here this week or next. I figured I would either sell this one or save it as a backup for special events.

I made this over the weekend using a 2XL black shirt from Joanns. I normally wear an XL shirt comfortably so I thought one size up would do the trick. Turns out I should have gone bigger to account for the velcro. I had to add length in the back, not a huge deal though. I like the results considering I just started sewing a couple weeks ago and I spent less than $5 on this (the lady at the register scanned the wrong coupon). The sleeves end just after the shoulder bells.

The drop boxes need to move up?

I don't think washing the bund after pulling the stitches will help much, it will still look bad, the holes will be large enough to see when close. I'm wondering if making the pouches smaller and more apart would help.

Yeah I haven't attached the velcro for the shoulders so it kept sliding down. I really hope I don't have to make the ribs smaller. IMO the larger ones look better, and if I remove that threading it will ruin the cummerbund. The helmet I bought off of Gato (Josh) from the forum. I will post up pics soon.