Chopper

For general trimming you want to get a pair of lexan scissors. For the slots you'll need to use a dremel with a cutting wheel. When using the dremel, I think I used the next speed up from the slowest but YMMV. If you go too fast the wheel can get away from you and gouge other parts of the armor. You'll have to get a feel for what works best for you. You can always test it out on some scrap plastic. Also you might want to get some nail files or emory boards to smooth out any edges.

Those areas are a known stress point, so it helps to have a large washer behind it to distribute the flex load. If you email Chef you can likely purchase a replacement holster.

Congrats on your approval.

For a ROTJ scout, that's correct. There should be no black between the bund and chest armor.

That should likely work.

Okay no problem. As you identified, the bund is the biggest issue and you'll need to find a way to keep it in position and attached to your flak vest. Most people use velcro, though you can also use suspenders, as long as they aren't visible. The other item that sticks out to me is the boot height. For 501st approval, your knee armor shouldn't be over the tops of your boots. Can you pull your knee armor up at all? This thread might be useful for keeping the armor parts in place:

Shade 5 is darker than the Hobart lens I linked, which is shade 3.

Not sure what's available in the UK, but you want the equivalent of this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VECKRO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Shaded flexible welding shield.

Just to be clear, are you doing this for a con costume or are you doing with this the intent of 501st approval?

@Aradun I believe you can see the off-kilter tank in the photos in the first post.

I think you've covered the bulk of the dressing issues. Keep on driving on and you'll get cleared soon, I'm sure.

I think you should probably fix the tank if you can, so long as you feel you can remove it without externally damaging the armor.

https://studiocreations.com/howto/bikerscout/forsale_bike_replacementparts.html

How did you attach it?

Then the only thing I can suggest for you to do is to carefully study the images of the production scouts and start marking up your kit with a soft pencil. If you post up images, then the team here can advise you on the cut marks.

Have you looked through this thread? It's not a step by step, but it does have a decent amount of images. The person who created it was used as the Mando Scout CRL model.

Here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002BUMS8Y/?coliid=ILTCA2MHBZT97

Get white pouches, then you can tea dye the pouches and the straps if you want to go with that option. What vendor are you looking at for flight suit? I assume racer means a "mandarin" or "covered" collar and flight means an open collar? More info would be helpful. For the flight suit you have the option of an open collar or a mandarin collar. This video summarizes the options well:

Scratch that, you're right FogOut. Apologies for the oversight.

A lot of vendors claim to be "501st approved". Based on what I see on their website, the handle and other details do not look correct. I recommend you pass. https://outerrimprops.com/products/1-1-ec-17-scout-trooper-blaster-501st-approved-abs-resin Get one from blasterworks instead:

Aside from the shoulder issue you mentioned, you should also pull your cod down a bit, so it's not so scrunched. Also, remember that the chest pouches need to go over your belt, not under. That's all I can see from what you posted. Let us know if you have further questions.

I would try for more gloss.

It might be the lighting, but the finish looks pretty flat.

I don't think the shade difference is an issue. Did you do a clearcoat on the armor yet?