Retrofire

Congrats Pathfinder and welcome to the Det!

Ola' Javier! There are quite a few troopers that use a strap for their DLT-19x typically made out of leather or canvas. You'll need to reach out to your GML to verify what your Garrison will allow. I'd also consider reaching out to a few troopers in the Spanish Garrison. That being said if you haven't had the opportunity yet then I would encourage you to reach out to your local garrison here: https://www.legion501.com/501web/ Looking forward to your build and please let us know if we can be of any further assistance!

I wouldn't use a snap as you risk tearing the pouch fabric opening and closing it. You could use a pliable magnet like the thin ones you get in the mail for your fridge. Those should fit flat enough to maintain the look of the pouch and keep it closed. Most of the rare earth magnets are too thick and will cause the flap to stick out. Any reason you aren't liking the Velcro closure? That's typically the best way to keep your pouch closed securely. I keep my phone and my mp3 player and a stack of trading cards in my pouches so I like the Velcro closure. It's robust and I've had my pouches for a long time and no issues with it.

Armor is looking good Frank! Keep up the great work!

We might also want to check and make sure we're not there over any major town functions like a bike meet or car show. I'm thinking of areas like Coachella or Gilroy that have big festivals and such like. I know from living in Oakland for several years that a lot of the smaller cities in CA have festivals of some sort. Just a thought.

Hi Kevin. That part of the holster is meant to be a compression fit so that's why the slot in the holster. The trim line should you desire to cut it would be about here: You can glue it in using E6000 and some holsters have two rivets attaching the front part of the holster. If you do rivet it then make sure to use backing washers and pre-drill the holes to prevent cracking. @Chopper @Aradun what are your thoughts?

I'd have to second what Chopper is saying. Put on your flight suit and knees then boots and take the pattern to fine tune your measurements. You're going to want some room between the top of the boots and your knees. Check out the CRL model for spacing.

This is a good suit up! I'm sure @Aradun and @Chopper will weigh in and I'll share some things I'm seeing, I agree with what you mentioned you have to fix apart from the knees and I'll explain that in a minute. Your boxes should be about an inch from the belt and your shoulders seem to be a bit too far out from your shoulder bridges. You'll want to rotate those forearms to sit on the top of your hands and move them a little further down your arm so they are not touching the biceps. The biceps could move up a bit to increase the spacing between them and the forearms. Regarding the knees the upper strap is optional so you do not have to install one if you so choose. I would also pull your bund up so it sits on your belt and straighten out your belt. It looks a bit too high in the back. You can see where the bund is bunching at the back of your belt area. Overall it's a good start and most of this is fitment of the soft/hard armor and that will come in time. There will be some adjustments so don't get discouraged. You're doing a great job and keep it up as you're almost there!!!

HUZZAH!!! Best of luck Kris and really nice work and attention to detail!

I am SO going to Endor! Been wanting to make a trip there for some time now.

Hi Frank! You're making great progress on this and should be very proud. Here's some input for you on your list @Aradun @Chopper please feel free to add to what I have. 1. I'm going to add velcro to the back of the cloth belt so it will attach to the back of the cummerbund. May do this with a snap as well to prevent it from sagging. Need to think about this solution because it's already sagging without the TD being attached. I'm not sure why the belt should be sagging especially without the TD attached. If you need to add some strengthening there then I would forgo a snap and use white Velcro. Over time that snap will start to dig into your back and could rip the bund material. 2. Need to tighten up the crotch strap. The white crotch piece hangs a bit too low and loose. This will help raise up the pants which are also kinda low, just the way they were made. This makes sense and the soft armor will need to be adjusted as you grow used to it. Just be sure not to make the cod too tight or it'll fold over and cause what we call "cod crunchies" and it won't look right. 3. Considering taking the boots to a cobler and having the tops lowered 1" or 2". These look too tall for my short stature and I think having more black flight suit visible between the knee and top of boot will improve the look. Based on the CRL pics and your pics the boots look ok. The right boot actually looks a bit lower than the left in your pictures. Take a look at the overall CRL pic. 4. Need to fill the pouches, probably with furniture foam that I have left over from my TK build. What's the correct thickness for these pouches? Based on the CRL the correct thickness is no thickness. The pouches lay flat against the bund and belt. Check out the CRL photo and the model photo above. 5. Need to make the slot on the right side of the chest bigger where the side strap comes through. It's impossible for me to tighten up that side when I have the chest on. Can someone verify my strap rigging is correct on this side? Strap comes from the inside, through the slot to the outside and folds backwards upon itself. The rigging looks good to me. The only thing I would recommend is that you strengthen the the area around the slots on the chest armor to prevent cracking over time. I learned this after over 80 troops in my SC armor and ended with a bunch of micro cracks. The way I halted that was to cut out a square of ABS and plastic welding it to the inside of the chest then used a Dremel to cut the slot. It's much stronger now. I've learned that while it's always good to be able to dress yourself there are always folks that you're trooping with that can help you with dressing and give you a once over to make sure you're looking sharp!😉

That armour is shipshape in Bristol fashion! I can't see you having any problems getting basic. Really nice work Kris!

Hi Ron! Give this thread a good read through to get an idea of what you'll have to do for the suit mods. If you already haven't you can gather the required items, suede/strapping, so you can work it yourself or with another tailor. @Aradun is solid with a sewing machine so we're here to help should you need.

Fantastic to hear! Take your time and go at a speed that is comfortable to you. We'll be here should you need us.

Hi Kris. This is looking good and the only thing I could suggest is to tighten up the drop boxes to about 2.5-3cm from the belt and pull up the bund a bit so it doesn't bunch under the belt. That's all fitment with the soft armor so it'll adjust as you start wearing it more and more. This looks ready to go to the UKG GMLs! Nice work!!

Congrats on the new baby! Hope you and yours are healthy and happy and getting caught up on sleep! I don't have that particular helmet but it's pretty standard to trim out the bolt square to fit. Go slowly and take a little at a time. You can always remove material but it's difficult to put it back if you go too far. Paint can be very tricky. It's recommended that you use the same brand primer and paint to avoid any chemical issues with the ingredients. We've seen our fair share of accidents with combining two different brands. Once you are ready for paint wash your armor thoroughly using soap and water to remove any sanding dust and any sort of release agents/oils as they can damage your finish. @Chopper can you recommend a good brand of paint for a 3d print? Armor storage is pretty varied among the det and it really comes down to your preference. I use a short Husky rolling bin from Home Depot and others use the larger rolling bin and some even use just a tote. It all comes down how much space you want it to take up and ease of transport for you. Mine sits on the bottom of my closet in my bed room and my wife has the hamper on top of it😉 It's looking good so far so keep up the great work and keep posting those pics!

That looks great! Nice work Kris!

That's fine doing the vest first. There is a tutorial for the bund here: and if you can do the vest you'll be just fine making the bund. @BikerScout007 is a jedi master of the bund and it's various measurements and materials so feel free to reach out here or with ST6. The bund and pouches are front and center on your scout so you want that to look sharp😉

The vest is looking good. Nice work in figuring out the sleeve attachment! Once you get your bund done I would recommend doing a soft armor fitting so you can work out if you need to add velcro to hold the bund and cod if you decide to go that route.

You are correct. You want either 3/4" or 1" ribbed strapping. The upper strap you mentioned is for the ROTJ Scout only and even then it's optional so if kits have been converted that's why you might see it. Knee Armor Gloss white or semi-gloss. Moderate to heavy desert-brown toned weathering. Black elastic is used to secure the armor around the leg. Worn upside-down. OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Weathering adheres to production sources. Black elastic measures either 3/4 or 1 inch and is ribbed.

Hi Jay! The WTF tank topper is known to be oversize. It's not a problem for basic approval but it wouldn't be approvable for Lancer (lvl2). To attach the tank topper you'll need to drill through the topper and tank then install a rivet/washer combo as shown in the CRL here: https://databank.501st.com/mw501/images/2/2f/TB_tank_greeblie.jpg When you install the rivet you can add a piece of 1/2 inch elastic then run it over the back of the armor and attach to the inside. Note that the elastic is optional for basic and Lancer and you don't have to include it unless you really want it. The rivet on the bottom of the tank can be blind if necessary. Some folks attach the tank using velcro (pulled into the back armor), some folks use E6000, and some folks rivet it if they have enough "meat" to run the rivet into between the tank and armor. If you don't have enough you could split the tank so use caution if using this method. There are some great build threads that use all these methods. Your build is going along really well so keep up the great work!!

Thanks for bringing that up @Chopper I thought the same thing when I read that in the CRL but forgot to add that to the post. Frank, if you can't pinpoint a hose at your local hose-mart I picked one up off of Amazon. I'm glad Chopper added that correction as I had a wrapped TD and I totally get what you were saying about it being heavy because mine sure was! I think you'll be happier with a regular tube.

Hi Frank. Yeah the wrapped TD's are very heavy so you will want to add clips to the tube to bear some of that weight. The zip tie will go through the center of the TD as shown here: https://databank.501st.com/databank/File:Mando_scout_TD.png Looking at the caps they look like they could use a sanding stick to round them out a bit more or maybe some trimming. The caps tend to run a bit larger than the tubes so I think you're fine there. The TD greeblies can go on either side of the housing so you can make that determination when you get to that point. This is a great build thread and I think it's great that you've been so thorough. It's threads like this that are a great help to those coming behind so thank you for taking the time!

You're correct. The drop box webbing and chest armor webbing is cotton 1.5in wide and the shoulder straps can be 0.5in to 1in. The belt is attached with 2" nylon/polypropylene webbing. The cotton you have is just fine to use.

Off to a great start! Remember slow and easy wins the race so take your time and let us know if you need anything. If you haven't had had the opportunity I would recommend reaching out to your local Garrison which for you is the Carolina Garrison here: http://www.carolinagarrison.net/ They are the folks that will be approving your costume for entry into the 501st. Get a forum account and get to know your local troopers. Keep up the great work. We're looking forward to seeing you progress on this build!