Chopper

You could PM Lou Darth Voorhees @Darth Voorhees. He was making 3D versions of the 3M bolts with a real metal screw. You could try asking him to see if his might fit better.

I want to clarify what the CRL says, because it's not only 1/2" elastic that's allowed: Knee armor strap may be 12mm (1/2 inch) OR 20mm (3/4 inch) wide and passes through the side slots of the knee armor. You can use either width. Also, the slot is fine as is. Look at the screencap below -- plenty of space.

Don't trim, at least not yet. I think the armor just needs to come forward a bit. When I did my flak vest I put some velcro on the front to keep my chest and back armor from shifting back and forth.

This is an older post, but have you seen this yet?

Excellent

What you are describing is a Level 2/Lancer specification. For basic clearance, it is not a requirement. For Level 2, you can use 1 and 6 bars without the trapezoid. If you want to use 4 bars, then you need the trapezoid and they 4 bars need to be double thickness. OPTIONAL Level two certification (if applicable): Only 1, 4 or 6 "rank bars" on tank are acceptable: If tank has extra trapezoid detail on the center tank pin striping, only 4 thick rank bars are acceptable.

Huh. I've seen plenty of Mon Cal armor over the years, but I honestly can't recall him putting a big screw hole like that at the bottom of the tank. @Retrofire Pete, have you seen this on your radar in the past? One option is to glue a piece of plastic over the hole on the inside of the tank, then use some white scrap plastic, like the trimmings from your shoulder bridges, to make some abs paste: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/51562-how-to-apply-abs-paste/ Once it dries, you can sand it at increasingly high grits and you should be able to smooth it out to the point that it's not noticeable.

Re: images, we don't have the budget for unlimited image storage, so you'll need to use a hosting site: https://forum.501stpathfinders.com/topic/23053-faq-how-do-i-post-images/ How big is the hole in the MC tank? Once you get images up and running, I'd like to see it before getting into repair methods. I used pop rivets and washers when I attached my clips to the det tubing.

This may help in a general sense: https://imgur.com/3k4k43m

Do you by any chance know who made the files?

Hi Wes, just to clarify, is snowy_menace the designer of this scout kit?

I really don't think the final effect will easily look "finished". I recommend that you remove the holster from the boot. Do you have a steel 1/8" drill bit? You should be able to remove the rivets by carefully drilling them out through the middle, which should allow you to remove the holster from your boot.

The item that's most clearly specified in the CRL is the velcro. For Level 1: The boots are secured up the back using 25mm (1 inch) white hook and loop fastener. I do think the grain on the vinyl you used is a little too much. Sometimes there's a little grain, which is okay, but the material in the photos looks "pebbled". Check with your GML.

Try overlapping the shoulder bridges by about an inch and secure the halves with tape. Then take another look. That'll inform how much you need to trim.

Honestly, I'm not seeing a huge difference in shade. Either should be fine.

The butt flap is an area where folks tend to over-estimate the size. That's not such as bad thing, as its easier to remove material vs put it back. Look at the CRL photo -- the flap isn't that big. I did some eyeball approximate markups on the sizing for your build in green below. Try and get it in that general ballpark.

Congrats

The requirement for single direction t-bits has not been added to the CRL yet, and even then it would be a L2 requirement. For basic, the exiting t-bits are fine.

Those cuts should be fine, and mostly hidden by the strapping. I think hitting them with a nail file should clean 'em up easy enough.

A full V2 would probably be overkill, as he didn't overall all of the parts, The shoulder, bicep, forearm, det box, and knee parts are the same. Are the detonator caps concave or flat? The chest and back are different with the V2, but the V1 will still pass clearance.

That is the last gen Studio Creations kit, but it should still clear approval without issue. The only issues I see are the old style 3 piece belt, the double rivets to attach the back belt webbing, and the large strapping holes in the drop boxes. You might want to pick up a new belt and boxes from Studio Creations, but otherwise, everything else should be ok.

Unfortunately, that tank topper is not going to work, even for basic clearance. That's the Don Jarr tank topper and it's very oversized. Once you remove the tank topper you'll need to further trim the top of the tank so it fits more flushly along the back armor, as is shown in the photo Dennis posted. Can you clarify your assembly of the boot holster? Did you cut a slot and push the holster section through the slit? Is the yellow portion glue? The protruding section should not be outwardly visible and needs to be flush. Are you able to trim it without the holster section coming out? Those rank stripes are thick. It's fine to have 4 thicker ones, since we saw that on screen. I recommend you remove the 2 top ones so that you have 4. We are happy to continue to help with your build, but do you know of any armor parties or fellow garrison mates who are experienced armor builders? There's only so much we can do remotely when it comes to armor trimming and assembly. If possible, I do think it might be helpful if you were able to team up with someone and work on the armor build side by side.

Looks good

I'd go with the longer forehead stripes. The Trooperbay logo decal is fine for approval.

FYI, the images in your latest post aren't displaying.