Retrofire

No worries mate! It’s a bonkers time for all of us[emoji3] We are here whenever you need us!

Doing a comparison against the TK it seems that this armor is pulled from the Force Awakens version. The helmet, chest plate, abdomen plate, belts, and hand plates all seem to match well. The biceps and forearms look to be unique to this trooper. The cod is a question mark in my mind as it doesn’t seem to match the current FOTK version. It seems a bit narrower and flatter to me but it could just be the photo angle. It also seems that the upper body gaskets and neck seal are a good match as well. The pants are going to be tricky to pull off as there is a lot of texture there. That and trying to pin down the material used to fabricate them. The boots are also rather complex looking as well. If you look underneath the greaves they are definitely not the standard TK boot! We’re going to need some 360 shots for sure especially for those greaves. I was hoping they would be shoretrooper based but they look to be a new design. I know there are a ton of talented troopers in here so I’m looking forward to seeing this mature and what the crew comes up with!

Beautiful work!

What a proud moment for that Pathfinder! Lord Vader AND the Emperor walking so close. I shudder at the thought....

I’ll second our DLs sentiments. I purchased my Scout vest as well as parts for my Endor commando from him. He does quality work and stands behind his products 100%. It takes a little time to get your articles but the excellent work he does is worth waiting for.

I think you’ll have less eye rolling than you think[emoji3] 3D printers have come a long way in a short time. We ask for the armor maker because they are all a bit different and it helps the review team as we go though the submission as it can be a long process. I applaud you for going for it. I would suggest that as you build that you keep your Garrison GML and the Pathfinder Armorers in the loop. The team can help you adjust if needed so you don’t end up toasting rolls of material. Best of luck to you and let us know if you need any help.

Hi James and I sincerely apologize for the delay in the reply. We did have a look at your flight suit from Chef and the only item we see that would need to be addressed is the brass snap at the neck. That portion would be able to be seen above your vest and under your bucket. We're fine with the pockets on the chest as those would be hidden by your chest armour. If you could get that addressed along with the items we posted earlier I think you'll be there. Again apologies for the delay in my response we make every effort to get back to the candidates as rapidly as possible but it's been a unusually busy month for the team. Thank you for your patience.

Yeah we do

James, Sorry for the delay. We've been working quite a bit with the elections and changes in our garrisons and legion so thank you for your patience! First off your submission is excellent so well done trooper! Here's what we have and it's a short list which goes to show how well you prepared. Shoulder Bells 1.) Your left shoulder bell needs to brought in a bit and positioned better on your shoulder. You can see how it juts out in your third suited up picture. Knees 1.) The knee armor needs to come up off the top of your boots. It might help to place some velcro in on your knees to keep them from dropping. Flight Suit 1.) We would like a good overall picture of the flight suit as there are two items we would like to verify a.) The mandarin collar. We cannot see this in your submission pictures and we need to verify. b.) Length of the riding patches at the front of the suit. These seem to us to be excessively long and we would like pictures to verify. c.) We would like an additional picture of you wearing your flight suit with only your boots on so we can see the overall look. Everything else is well done and just these few items need to addressed. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or need any clarification.

Easiest upgrade to make with your armor. Get yourself some good painters tape. Frog or 3M are good Tamaiya modeling tape is best but a tad pricey. Make sure you take your fingernail and burnish the edge of the tape to promote a good seal. Mask off the area and use Humbrol enamel paint typically a medium grey. Paint several coats but allow each coat to dry in between or you risk getting brush marks in it. It drys hard as a rock and looks great. The humbrol is the same paint most TKs use for their armor and you can get it from Trooperbay or your local hobby shop. You can carefully remove the mask after your second coat sets but remove it before the paint dries or you risk pulling the paint off with the tape. Sound more complicated than it is but it’s really easy to do.

Heh heh Cats and Scouts go well together...

I though MonCal had a pretty close set as well. Best thing to do is reach out to RS and CFO and see if they can take care of you. Maybe also see if there is an accurate 3D print file floating about somewhere in the Empire you could use?

You will be well missed by your fellow Pathfinders brother. Rest easy we’ll take the patrols from here and will not forget you nor any of our family that’s passed on ahead. Buckets off Pathfinders!

Stories like this make me proud to be a Pathfinder. Great job Scout and we look forward to receiving your a Lancer app when you’re ready.

That might have been my fault on the vents. When I originally posted on your welcome thread I thought when you said vents that you meant just the openings at the ears. Those are typically cut out for circulation.@Jakeputt pointed this out to me and both he and chopper are correct. There shouldn’t be any openings through the helmet other than the ear vents. I’m sorry for any confusion this caused you and I hope it didn’t futz up your print.

Maybe it’s time to start thinking about other options and considering getting your money back from them. Hask has a fantastic rig for the patrol trooper. I’d see who he went with for his bucket and maybe reach out to them for more information. I would hate to see you abandon this project due to the Anovos frustration syndrome[emoji6].

Chopper gave you a good pic to go by. Depending on the maker you can use a #2 pencil and carefully go around the inside of the ear hole and trace out the impression from the molding process. Give it a shot and post up a pic before you cut and let us take a gander at it.

I’m not sure if that’s going to be sufficient to maintain the shape of the boot but when you sew the Velcro on and the seam along the top it might give it just enough rigidity. I don’t think you’ll want to double it unless it’s really thin as that will make stretching it difficult and you want it to be very smooth. From what I can see of the grain on the material it shouldn’t be an issue for Lancer. Do be sure to follow the boot build thread and make sure you sew your closures correctly. For the right boot the closure is right over left and the left boot it’s left over right. It’s a good idea to use a pencil and mark the parts for your left and right boots for reference. Also, the dog bone should not cross over onto the sole of the boot. Just things to keep in mind.

Heh I learned the hard way cutting my boots with x-acto knives and took an unplanned trip to the ER to get stitched up[emoji6]. Funny look on the docs face when he asked me what I was doing. Best of luck with your build and make sure to start up a build thread. As a GML I see a huge difference in ease of approvals when folks spend time with the detachments building their rig. Don’t forget we’re here if you need us so reach out if you need any help.

Those soles will be fine for Lancer with the correct cuts. Keep in mind that the dog bone part of the boot does not cross over the soles so that’s a measure twice cut once part. It’s best to cut out a pattern from something like a paper grocery bag to check the fit before you cut your vinyl. If/when you decide to do your cuts a Dremel tool makes fast accurate work of them so if you have one or can borrow one I would recommend it. You can cut them out with hobby knives but you got to go slow and be careful to just cut the boot and not you.[emoji6]

I’m sorry the RS didn’t work out but I am happy that they worked with you to take it back. It’s just a minor setback and we all get them so don’t be discouraged. Your boots look like they will work just fine. You don’t need to worry about the cuts unless you go for Lancer (which we hope you do) so this base boot is good. Too many troopers neglect their feet so make sure they are comfortable on yours for those long stints in armor. If your researching armor types that will fit I would recommend dropping by the Recon Fatale thread on the forum and see what providers they used for a smaller frame. Keep chipping away at that soft armor and I would suggest to use the Lancer CRL specs even if you don’t have any immediate plans to go there yet. It makes for an excellent looking scout. As always you’re not alone on this journey so keep posting those questions and let us know how we can help.

That lid looks so epic in the black I’ll hate it when you have to paint it. Although I know it’s going to look fantastic when you do.

Chopper and Stroker are right. I've been down the glue path and trust me it's better to sew it on. Fabric glue is a good thing to have in your emergency armor repair kit for troops but it's really not a good long term solution.

First of all you’re not alone and second of all take a deep breath and relax. You’re in good company and we’re here to help you be the best scout you can be! Cool? Cool! Ok so good start getting your bucket so let’s focus on that for a moment. Sweet you got the chin cup trimmed out and now you need to work about fitting the strap. No problem. I don’t use one myself as my bucket fits nicely (I too have an Altman’s) but I would recommend getting some 1” stick on Velcro and some 1” sew on. Now, you will use the stick on in the helmet and sew-on with the strapping. Make sure you leave yourself a bit of slack as you want it to be adjustable. Now if you already haven’t drop by the armory and start a build thread where the Armory team can come along side of you to help. You can post pics and ask questions and get all the help you need. Also look through some of the other build threads and learn that you are indeed not alone. We were all there once so no worries. Some things you can start thinking about are sourcing your boots and gloves and thinking about your armor but take it one step at a time and if you need a hand post up.

Congrats Ranger!