Chopper

Just out of curiosity, what's the selection of synthetic fabric dyes out in Australia? We have RIT Dyemore, which would work well for any future scouts who can't find a black set of coveralls and want to dye a set. What's the selection like for that where you are? EDIT: Google to the rescue -- https://ritdye.com.au/shop/ols/products/rit-dyemore-graphite

Most people either glue the elastic or use velcro on the knee armor, but it really doesn't matter how you rig things that we can't see. Many of these posts about methods to rig up the armor/strapping etc are more about best practices and personal preference as opposed to any sort of requirement for basic or lancer requirements.

The original tanks came down to the very end of the back armor, but I also don't think it's a necessarily a deal-breaker for basic clearance. You can check and see what your GML says. I'm not sure there's a ton more you can do to get it sit further down that wouldn't affect the rest of how the tank sits. Maybe Pete @Retrofire has some ideas. If it came trimmed short out of the box, you might try and see what Jeff at SC says.

No problem Pat. Glad that you could get that clarified at the local level as well.

Hey Pat, you're pretty close with your build. I have just a few refinement comments after looking at your photos, see below. Try and bring your shoulder bells in slightly. Also, they're rotated backwards a bit. They should sit about evenly on the side. Your belt is dropping in the front. Consider putting some velcro inside the belt and sewing some velcro onto your cod or bund to help keep it in place. If you can, I'd let out some of the tension on the crotch strap for your codpiece -- that's part of what's causing the "cod crunchies" in your photo. As Retrofire said, your dropboxes are quite low. I'd bring them up so that they're about 2" from the sides of your belt if you can. I don't see a detonator on the back of your belt. Are you still working on that part? Once you get the detonator fitted, try and move the back attachment straps outwards slightly, if you can. I do want to note that those are some really large shoulder bridge covers. The specifications for how wide they should be is under Level 2, but I do recommend trying for something a littler narrower than what you have -- typically the bridges are about 1" wide. I am not familiar with Tye Rocks as a boot maker. I recommend that you check and see how your GML feels about your boot height. To me they look short, but check with your GML first to see where they're at with them. That's all I have for now. Keep working on it and we'll get you feedback as soon as we are able.

Unfortunately, this is sorta a dry spell for blasters. of the top of my head, DVH sold his molds and, as far as I know, the person who bought them isn't producing anything right now. There was some sort of natural disaster with Praetorian, I think. Hyperfirm is long gone, but their blaster wasn't very accurate anyhow. There's 3D printing options, which can be decent and lightweight, depending on the model, but there's a lot of sanding and finishing involved. Hole in the ground Productions has a resin blaster, but as with anything resin, it'll be heavy.

Don't drill it. You can use some cheap white acrylic paint from Michaels to paint it, or if you can cut the decal material exactly to fit, that would work too. It'd just need to look like it was painted white.

Hey Pat, you want to use the BBCode link option on imgur for linking images.

For Level 2, no. The rear closure should look like this:

Sounds like you're off to a good start, Matt. I look forward to seeing your build progress.

Welcome Patrick. Please let us know how we can help.

There can be some overlap between the suede and the knee armor and from the images you've shown the patch doesn't look too long. Strict measurements like 2-3" from the knee aren't in the CRL b/c that'd look pretty different for different people, depending on their height.

Overall, for a front side riding patch, it looks good. Have you checked to see how it looks when you're wearing it? Have you made a pattern for the rear side patch yet? The patch doesn't need to go up to the waistline, but you just generally want to avoid having the squared edges peaking out from the sides of the codpiece.

My bund is attached to my flak vest, same as Jake. I also keep my chest armor from sliding back and forth by velcroing it to my flak vest, up near the shoulders.

There can be some overlap between the knee armor and the thigh patch, yes. This photo is from one of the screen scouts, so if you're trying to figure how long the patch should be for your set up, you can emulate this image:

Looks good so far dude!

Oh ok, "Temple Armoury", I found them. Thank you for that, MJ. I was genuinely just curious, as I hadn't heard the name before. Now I know!

Send him a PM: http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/messenger/compose/&to=78307

Welcome Timbo!

In trying to keep this thread current, I wanted to post a few additional comparison photos that have come up over the past few years. Some of the related posts have been linked, but here are the inline images. Mon Cal/Far Away Creations on the left. RS on the right. New Image Prop Replicas on the right. RS Props on the left. Chris the Prop Guy on the right. Original screen used helmet on the left.

@Meowied_Cass or @M.Jcan you give me some more info on Temporal Armoury? I try to stay on top of the various scout vendors, but this is a new one for me!

The blaster you have appears to be a finished 3D print. If it's printed in ABS, then I would expect it to be fairly durable. Aside from that, unless you know the exact creator of the model, it's tricky to tell you much more. Much like the 3D armor models, quality and accuracy can vary. If you're looking for a comparison with the other blasters which have been reviewed in the past, the main feature that stands out to me is the singlepoint scope. It appears to be longer than those used on the DVH, Praetorian, or RS blasters.

Update -- link to @woobiee's review of RS Prop's Lineage Scout Holdout Blaster: http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/22936-a-look-at-rss-lineage-ec-17/#comment-215008

Looks great dude!

Good review, Andy. Thank you for that. Goes to show that Lou really did his homework. Hopefully whomever bought his molds will continue the tradition.