Retrofire

Yeah the paper template is the best way to go since it will give you best measurement for the boots you're using. As mentioned in the tutorial it looks a bit funky but it works and you'll have a lot more confidence putting the knife to the vinyl.

Thanks Tom! Had a lot of other Pathfinders helping me though this process. They give you the confidence that you can do it!

Tonight I drilled out the rivets on the speed laces and removed them and then installed the tennis shoes laces. I'm adding a spring loaded holder to the lace so I won't have to tie them just put them on and draw down the holder. One other thing I did before moving on to the vinyl is to stuff some packing paper in the toe of the boot to make sure it keeps its form as I'm pulling and stretching the vinyl over it. I plan to start stretching the vinyl tomorrow so more pictures then. I'm going to continue to work on the boot treads and clean the them up with sand paper and remove the pencil lines with rubbing alcohol. It's neat to see it coming together as I never would have thought I could do something like this. I guess it's all a matter of just doing it and seeing how it turns out. If I can do it anybody can!

Great! Thanks for getting back so quickly I really appreciate it. Now off to remove some rivets!

Jim, regarding the four speed laces did you just use something like pliers to remove them or some other covert method? Thanks!

Welcome to BSN! Forrest Patrol couldn't be more right. Just take a step and try and I'll be you'll be surprised at what you can accomplish. This is a great place with lots of folks who are there to stand behind you to help and guide you to become a great trooper. Everyone here has just been great in answering questions, giving tips and warning of gotcha's every step of my build. Take your time and look around and get to know the place learn all you can and ask lots of questions. I'm just taking it a step at time myself so again, in agreement with Forrest, there is no rush. Best to you! -Peter

Your boots are looking great Jim! I'm following along right behind you. I'm smiling at all the toys on the table since that's what surrounds my boots too! I think today it's pipe cleaners Can't wait to see the total package and I hope you your armor build is going well too! -Peter

John/Barry thanks so much for the input. I think I'll just leave it as it is until I go for a new pair. Based on the CRL it will pass basic approval. I did square up the heel as much as I could with out going too deep. I think next time I'll go with your idea Eric and get something like an end router bit for my rototool and do it that way. Using the X-Acto does the job but add a little bit more risk of damaging the boot (or yourself). Everything so far has been a learning process and one thing I've learned is that this costume is WAY more complicated then I originally gave it credit for. It's great though because I am learning so much and my next iteration will only get better. Thanks again for the input and more importantly for the encouragement it really is much appreciated! -Peter

Does anyone know where to find Gabe on BSN? I checked under Gabe and his company name but no joy. I am interested in a flight suit and I would like to send him a PM. Thanks! -Peter

Hey Stasz. Did you cut the section on the arch between the heel and the front part of the sole or did you just square off the heel? Does my description make sense?

You're getting a T-Shirt?!?!?! I want one Heck, we should get Lancer just for dealing with the boot cuts alone. I haven't tackled how I'm going to do that series of cuts yet. I might PM WookieVader to see how he did his. He has the same boots too. I think Bobik96 ended up repairing his boots with ShooGoo maybe you could PM him and see how he did it? Just a thought. -Peter

Yeah I'm going to go with SC as well. I contacted MC and they were really nice and helpful but quoted me a 7-8 month lead time. I know they do great work but I'm already waiting on my Anovos TK which I ordered in July and there is no floggin way I'm going to wait another 8 months for my scout armor. The Armor wait is TOO Dang Long!

To all those building your own set just want to reiterate taking it slow. I'm on my second boot and I broke 2 #11 chisel tips. The second one got stuck in the boot and I had to pull it out with needle-nose pliers which was a royal pain in the tushie. Going slow and not twisting the knife are two things I've learned so far. Next is the vinyl So stay tuned...same scout time....same scout channel.

I'm using RedKap for my flight suit with the appropriate tailoring and mods. After doing the research it seemed the better choice and a bit less work to get it up to requirements. Living by an AFB I had the chance to look over some USAF flight suits but they required a lot of modification since they have a "billion" pockets and zippers. I also checked out the FAC flight suit but it too would require too many modifications to meet the CRL.

We're all a little odd or we wouldn't be dodging trees at high velocities and chasing teddy bears around a forest...and I wouldn't have it any other way! Warmest of welcome's to you Jeff! This is a great detachment filled with a ton of great people. Dive into the boards and introduce yourself around and if you have any questions please ask. These folks really know their stuff and are always ready to lend a hand. Best to you! -Peter

Progress being made on boot#1. Can't emphasize enough taking it slow nothing worse than slipping up with an X-Acto knife . I'm happy with the results so now to finish the cuts on the back side of the boot. It seems that it's all about finding a method that works and sticking with it.

Good point Howard. Thanks for the reminder. The template works for me but it's good to point out the wisdom of making sure you do your measurements right. If I remember correctly there's a knee armor template in WookieVader's build thread. Thanks again! -Peter

Hi Phillip. I got about a yard of material. The lady gave me about a quarter yard more because it was at the end of the bolt. Most of the boot posts I read mentioned that a yard is about right. The boot tutorial has a basic template for a size 10 so you may want to use that as the basis for what you're going to need and don't forget the dog bone. I hope that helps. Best to you! -Peter

Yeah I'm thankful, and extremely lucky, that my Mum is a pro seamstress so she's going to help me with all the sewing for my flightsuit and vest. I'm going to Marcel for my bund/pouches since I want that to be perfect and his work comes highly recommended. Ultimately I want to go for Lancer too so I feel it's best to put the time in on front end to make sure everything passes muster. Joseph you might want to check out Gabe. I believe he does flight suits. I'm sorry I don't have the post available but you should be able to find more info on the Soft Armor boards. -Peter

Awesome, thanks for the input Stasz! I have to give a shout-out to Wookievader's earlier thread on these boots! I agree in regards to the laces. I'm going to pull them and replace with tennis shoe laces and remove the four speed laces at the top of each boot. Now I just have to get through all these cuts without a visit to the ER for stitches so time to go slow and steady. Thanks again for the input!

I went with a Hyperfirm since I have a HFx E11 for my TK build. I have to say that I really love it for its accuracy and weight especially since it's going to sit in my boot holster and I don't want it to weigh down my boot. I'm not familiar with the TPE or Negativeleven's versions so I can't speak to those but I have seen DVH's version and it is really nice and light and a lot of scouts are carrying them. Keep in mind that there are a lot of, how shall I say this, inaccurate version floating around so I would recommend checking out the Armory and give the blaster section a good read. You'll find a lot of the experienced Pathfinders speaking up about their blasters and find examples of inaccurate ones. Best to you! -Peter

Time to start my boots! I've been through many of the threads, and the boot tutorial, and I would like to see if what I have looks good before I start to cut. These are size 10.5 boots from K Mart. Appreciate any constructive criticism to make sure I'm doing this right. Thanks!

Thank you so very much! That's a great technique and really innovative. I wouldn't thought of doing it that way. Reading through the thread I think I've learned to go slooooooowwwww and have band-aids ready and possibly some Neosporin:) Thanks again for taking the time to give me a tutorial I really appreciate it! -Peter

Can you tell me what blade type you used here (i.e. angled, flat) and how you approached your cuts? Your cuts are amazing! I just got the same exact boots so I'm following this thread pretty closely. Thanks for posting it!