Dmorja

I have made some progress on the build. I have fished the knees. It is a little hard to see the two straps. I will take a better picture later. I also worked on the shoulder bells. I made the straps too tight the first time so I am redoing them and adding snaps to make them easier to secure when putting it on. This is the first testing on the Ductape dummy to see how everything fits. Of course I tried it on myself and ran around the house a bit. My vest sleeves are too long so I will be fixing that. If you notice anything in the pics that I can update please let me know. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Thanks Steve and Rob. I am not confident in my heat gun usage yet so I will get the armor strapped and see how it looks.

Started working on the armor. I am of course viewing Panda's information with some modifications for the bug guy size. I started making the straps to attach the chest and back together. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk I attached the straps to see how it would fit. The initial fitting showed the back piece of the Altmann Armor fits well but the chest is still a little small for me. My chest size is 56 and Altmann built the armor for a 44 to 48 size. I will need to see what I can do for some modifications.

I have finally been able to start working my armor. First question is that the chest armor is a little small in the width department. If I use my heat gun will I be able to widen the side strap areas? I am pushing in on the chest to make it more form fitting. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Yes, at the top of the shoulder where the cloth loop covers, so that gap is to be no more than 1.5 inches?

Hey guys question on the Top spacing between the back and chest. Being a larger trooper is there a guideline on how wide that gap can be? (i.e. 2 inch gap or 1.5 or 3 inch gap)

Look what arrived last night. The Altmann Armor. It looks terrific and I was suprised and happy that much of it came pretty assembled. Can't wait to start working with it. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Andrew I just used the "How to make your own vest" tutorial at the top of this forum. I found a Big and tall shirt at Hobby Lobby here in the states. Most craft stores will carry the t-shirts. The tutorial was very helpful.

Thanks Joe, It is not the needle it is the machine. My wife doesn't really sew and we received a Hobby 303 as a wedding gift eons ago. This is very low end machine so it doesn't pull the cloth through and freezes up a lot even with cleaning it. I might also add how odd it is for me to be talking about sewing machines, but now that I have the costume bug I want to start on other projects.

Thanks everyone, this helps a lot. I will start on a new CB and Cod. I will wait for the Armor to make sure everything is sized correctly. My sewing machine doesn't work with the heavier cloth so I hand sewed the CB and Cod. I am looking to get a new one soon. I will double check the mudflap as well.

Happy Holidays everyone! I have completed my soft armor and would like some feedback, tips, thoughts, concerns, etc. I don't believe it is up to Lancer standard but hopefully it will pass for basic, so any help would be appreciated. Looking at the pics I am thinking the cod may be too narrow and long. I also have not attached the pouches yet. The armor has been shipped so I want to see how it fits before attaching them.

Thank you, that's a big help.

The SC website has their dimensions for their armor.

Before I start sewing the ribs on the cummberbun I would like to know if the pouches look like they are in the correct position. The Armor has not arrived yet so I made cardboard cut outs based on the dimensions I received from Spike. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

I have started on the cummerbund, cod, and the pouches. I used the template from the forum and adjusted it for my size. I received the size and dimensions of the chest armor from Spike so I would have a good estimate on the size. I have completed the first pouch. How does it look? Anything I need to adjust?

Hello, My Armor is supposed to ship this weekend so I thought it would be a good time to post what I have finished thus far and get some feedback. Any help is very much appreciated. I will continue to post updates as the journey to Endor continues. I am looking to go Lancer so any direction and/or tips are helpful.

Kevin, can you post a picture of that set up? It sounds like the buckle would squish certain areas when you sit.

My Altmann has the black trim and I noticed the on screen buckets also have the black trim.

Congrats!

Thanks Q, I will work on that.

So, I went back to the first pair of boots I made and tried the heel cuts again. The sole was two toned so I painted it as well. I would like to your opinion on how they look. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Congrats!

Congrats!

Hi Joe, overall looks good. Just a few tweaks. Your vest from the back looks a little bunched at the shoulders and a little long in the sleeves. It could be the picture. Your pouches either need to be moved out or smaller, The belt looks a little low as well, if you move it up you may need to adjust your bund as it shouldn't be below the belt, Your drop box strap on the left side is twisted, easy fix. The boxes also look a little low from the picture and uneven. The flight suit looks a little baggy around the knee pads so you can try adding some heel straps to pull it down. Rachel is correct your dog bone on the boots are a little long and try adding some velcro to the inside attached to the suit to keep them from falling.

While I am waiting for the Armor to arrive I decided to make a second pair of boots and add the heel cuts. I am not happy with them since it is not screen accurate and they are too deep, but now that I have a good idea on how to do this I am going back to my original boots and make heel cuts on them. I printed out the photos of the ROTJ boots to help.