Shada

I started research earlier this year and went with Altmanns plus SC, with WW gloves and DHV blaster. They're good choices and worked well for me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

and here it is on (without the belt in the way):

... and now I have a DHV blaster! (please ignore the magnet in the first photo - I forgot to remove it before taking the shot) I've also re-made my cod, to make the upper bit a little squarer to match the photo reference, sew the elastic to the cod and velcro it to the bund (which is the opposite of the first version) and remade the plastic insert so it doesn't look crooked - lower cod is the new one. Here's the back, to show that the stitches are hidden here, not visible from the front: Will suit up for an as-worn picture soon.

Thanks Lou. I'm liking the blaster but have a gap between my SC holster and the blaster so the magnet can't sit in this spot and still connect: You mentioned modifying your wife's SC - can you please show how you did it? I can think of mounting the magnet a bit higher up, but it wouldn't be as strong a connection? Or do you pack it with other material? Any advice would be great - I'm keen to troop with it on the weekend so will need to McGyver something in the next few days.

New arrival last week - my DVH Blaster. Customs inspected it - I guess it looked suspicious in the x-ray, but let it through without cost. It's very nice - great work Lou! I've included a few photos of it next to the 3D printed one I had made for my initial trooping - DVH's is bigger in some areas and smaller in others, but feels more substantial. The only problem, which I'll post in response to a Weapons thread, is that it fits in my SC holster but not in a way that allows me to easily attach the magnet. I suspect there's a fix, so am looking for that. I've also created a new cod (the cleaner-looking one with black elastic attached) in response to feedback on my Lancer submission - hopefully that will pass muster. I'm likely to be doing at least 2 and maybe 4 more supermarket troops this weekend, so looking forward to trying out the modifications in real life.

It's also visible a lot with Boba Fett's rangefinder, some imperial rank bars, and one TB's holster. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Yes - they're decorative. While you could make them functional, there's no real reason to remove them while trooping - it would just be another two parts to keep track of. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great to see you flying speeders now Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think that's an artefact of putting in some plastic to avoid a camel toe, but it's shifted within the fabric so doesn't sit straight - it's the one thing that bugs me when I suit up. Will see what I can do but may need to remake it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And then I suited up to see how it looked with the armour:

Suited up this weekend - vest is less bunched, arm pieces are rotated further forward. I think the bund is closer to the centre too, although it's not 100% down the middle. Lou is now shipping my DVH blaster so I should be complete in a couple of weeks.

I've been following this thread for a while, so decided to give it a go. Found a cheap Nerf knock-off that was 40% off, so bought it and used putty to fill in the screw holes and numbers. Gave it an overall coat of silver, then lightly sprayed again with black to give it a metallic tone. The scope is an Energiser flashlight with a light fitting screwed to the back of it. I painted the mag so it can still be used as nerf-type gun, but think it looks better as a SW weapon without it. It's definitely not canon, but looks like a fair enough BFG for occasional trooping.

I initially carried my stuff in a 160 litre Ezy Storage box, which looks good but was way too big and only had little wheels, so was very bulky when trying to fit it through a convention. I may be traveling with it soon so investigated whether it would fit in my soft-sided suitcase - I discovered it does, if the arm/knee armour is pushed inside the boots and I removed the tank from the back, but was a little concerned about how the helmet would fare if it was squashed so have been looking for a more solid plastic-sided box. Just bought a 100 litre Toolpro box on sale today (NZ$45), which fits everything with a little room to spare (and doesn't require me to remove the tank), takes up the space of a larger sized suitcase, and has proper wheels so will be easy to move around!

Re-made the zip tie connections to be shorter, more even and connect directly to the white bridge fabric:

Zip tie modifications complete! Shorter, more even and connected directly to the white bridge fabric rather than the black velcro that was holding the chest/back together:

Thanks Mickey. I'm pleased the list is so Short! Zip tie fixes should be easy enough and I can adjust the fitting of the rest. 3D blaster is a temp until I get my DVH so I'll probably just leave it and then do a final submission when the blaster arrives. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Here's my Lancer application, which I think is 95% of the way there. The only thing I don't think will qualify is the blaster - I've got a 3D printed one here, but have a Darth Vorhees one on order, so I hoped I could get all of the actual costume details checked now so I can make any last adjustments, and then go for a final submission once I get the new blaster. Helmet is Altmann, armour is SC, gloves are WW, flight suit is ex-Army surplus shop, bund and boots are DIY. Overall look: Flight suit suede patches: Other soft armour: Hard armour Bucket: Bund and cod: Boots: Blaster (temp version):

Looking good Craig Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking good Craig Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In retrospect, i think that would have been a lot easier and cheaper! Although the Altmann bolt covers are curved shells so there's not a lot to file flat - may just have wound up exposing the metal under it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used a saw to remove the shaft, then a few shallow drill holes to make the concave bit: I came very close to going too far through - holding the plastic up to the light I could see through it! Stuck the bolt back in with E6000 and now have flat bolts and grey traps.

So, my 3M bolts have arrived and I can see it's not just an easy replacement for the Altmann originals, as noted in NellyKweto's thread. As I see it, I've got two options: cut away the square part of the shaft so the whole thing is round and goes through the hole in the helmet, or slice off the whole shaft so the flat part of the 3M remains and glue the Altman bolt to the back of it. Can anyone recommend the best way to go? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I never found a full tutorial but recently did mine - have a look at Shada's WIP Build Thread (sorry, can't figure out how to add a link while on Tapatalk) for some pictures and a description of my technique Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm 50mm at narrowest point, 80 at widest. I think that's width enough but wish I'd had more overlap between base and upright - dogbone covers a gap Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks like the vacuum cleaner tube I used! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk