Chopper

For basic approval, the tank should not have the red square, nor should it have any lighting systems. Nether are listed or depicted in the CRL.

Hot glue on the sides and some on the top. Leave the bottom unglued with a very small gap between the lens and the front of the faceplate. This helps prevent fogging.

^^^ That is not exactly the same, but pretty close to what I did.

Arne, one note, since you're working on a Level 2 build -- are those shoulder bridge covers between between .5 inch and 1 inch wide? Hard to tell with the close up. I've seen some people glue the zip tie mount. Velcro tends to pop off if your arm pulls the bell too hard, but individual mileage may vary. For my shoulder bell attachments, I skipped the mount and cut a very small hole using an exacto knife on the bottom of my bridge cover and then looped the zip tie through that. Additionally, you can reference the post from April 22, 2017 in Strider's Lancer build thread, where he talks about his method for mounting the bell attachments. http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/17305-lancer-build-tutorial/

Hey Thomas, welcome aboard. From what I can see, everything looks great. The surface quality you've shown in the photo of the forearm and knee armor look great. It should absolutely be acceptable. For the inside parts of the print -- if we can't see it and it isn't visible, then it's up to you. My take? You don't need to make the inside perfectly smooth. All you'd need to do is make it smooth enough that it doesn't catch on anything or feel uncomfortable when worn. Do the insides need to be surface smooth like the visible portions? No. The only concern I would have with painting the insides is that the paint will likely streak some white marks on your black coveralls over time. That's not a huge deal though. Great work overall. Looking forward to seeing you finish the build.

Nice work. I can't imagine that you will any issues whatsoever with approval. Having struggled with some of the issues of the Imperial Surplus Armor myself, I was also intending to print the shin plates from Mr. Paul's files as well. Well, at some point...hah. Again, great work! Your attention to detail is outstanding as always.

The issue could be a number of different things, but the results in your photos look like what happens when the solvent/propellant/and paint ratios aren't coming out right. Where are you storing the paint cans? Inside? Outside? Non-headed garage? What's your paint technique? How far back are you holding the can from the surface? Where are you painting? In a garage? Outside? Is it windy? Are you sanding the primer before applying the top coat? How long are you waiting between the primer drying and applying the top coat? How many coats are you applying of top coat?

Congrats Andy and welcome aboard. Don't forget to request 501st Pathfinder access here: http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/forum/162-access-requests/

Both the Studio Creations holster and the Chef holster are perfectly acceptable for a Level 2/Lancer submission. If you want to go with the Chef holster, that's not a problem.

Those look like Chef's boots. Yes they should be fine for Level 2. Are you not planning on using the holster from your new Studio Creations kit?

Thank you, Nico. The review team has discussed the matter of you purchasing a new set of SC armor and we're going to recommend closing this Lancer application until you've assembled your new kit. On top of reducing the weathering, there are number of parts on your current armor that would need replacing or repairs, such as the holster and tank. Also, now that we're seeing the belt, the double rivets on the sides would need to be removed and filled as well. Once your new armor is assembled, you'll need to post a new application photos. In addition, we have some follow up notes: The shoulder bridge covers are obscured by your thumb and measuring tape. As per the CRL, they should be between ".5 inch and 1 inch wide". Yours appear to be bigger than that. Please remember to check that item when you're building your new armor. Your new pouches look fine. As I mentioned above, your belt is the old 3-piece SC belt. The two rivets would need to be removed and the holes filled. As per the CRL: "Belt has the appearance of being a one-piece construction. Any joins or seams are filled." Since you are purchasing a new SC armor set, you can use the newer one piece belt that's included. For your cod and bund, I think you should be able to still use your bund, as long as you can unpick the attached codpiece without damage. I do not think you can salvage the codpiece, as it will likely be too short to work effectively on its own. You will likely need to sew or buy a new codpiece. For the boots you will need to add cuts to the front portion of the sole. See the area I've circled in your boot photo below, vs the CRL photo. We do not see any cuts in that area of boots. While the cuts do not have to exactly match the Sierra Sneaker soles, they should approximate the pattern on the work boot sole. Thank you again for your application and please let us know if you have any additional follow up questions.

No problem at all!

Do you mind sharing where you got it from? Offhand, there are quite a few inaccuracies with that tank topper. Basic clearance ultimately rests with your local GML, but in my opinion it shouldn't be approvable for either basic or level 2 clearance. From the CRL (basic level): The top of the tank is flat with a black tank topper detail attached. Tank topper features the same greeblies as seen on the screen-used armor. Tank topper has a white painted circle and red line detail. While that tank topper is a rough approximation of the scout tank topper, it's far enough off that it shouldn't be approvable. Check with your GML. If you need a replacement tank topper, Studio Creations offers a la carte parts: https://studiocreations.com/howto/bikerscout/forsale_bike_replacementparts.html

Hi Nico -- To be clear you are planning on purchasing a full new set of Studio Creations armor?

The ROTJ scout basically had some misting/blaster spots, which I think you've approximated. Less is more, so I wouldn't do any more weathering than what you have now.

MikerScout dyed his to match the belt strap. See the link below. Otherwise, if it's just looking too "crisp", you could run it through the washer a few times to take some of the sheen off of it. Other options might be some light misting with a spray can, but I'd rather see a photo before committing to paint.

You might want to try mocking up a cod with heavyweight paper, or cardboard, just to work out the proportions. It takes a lot less work to cut a new piece of cardboard, than it does to sew a new cod.

If you're re-doing your cod anyhow, then I believe what you have right now is too narrow. Compare the photo below to your current cod. The edges should be approximately around where your pouches are mounted and the curve is a lot more shallow until it gets closer to the bottom. The position of the thigh patches in the CRL isn't an absolute, but yes, what you have proposed will work just fine.

Looks great!

If you're going for the 4 stripe version with the trapezoid on the tank, then the 4 stripes should be double thick. For the 1 or 6 stripe version, they're only single thickness.

Hi Nico, The team has completed your initial assessment and we have the following comments: Armor Weathering The weathering on your armor looks like a heavy black dusting. Is it possible to reduce the weathering a bit? Helmet Can you please provide some close up photos of the helmet bolts? The bolts for Level 2 should be the gray 3M bolts, or replicas. See example: https://databank.501st.com/mw501/images/9/97/Bolt1.jpg Shoulder Armor Bring your shoulder armor closer in to the bridges by approximately 1.25 cm. The bottom edges should be more rounded. See reference photo as an example: http://www.501stpathfinders.com/images/scoutopedia/06. Back Armor/ROTJ pouches tank.jpg Chest Armor Please provide measurements on the side straps. Back Armor The top of your tank has two rivets. You will need to remove the second rivet, which is behind the tank topper, and fill the hole with putty or abs paste. http://www.501stpathfinders.com/images/scoutopedia/06. Back Armor/Tank greeblie.jpg Codpiece Your codpiece appears to be sewn to cummerbund. For Lancer/Level 2 the CRL states: "The codpiece is NOT sewn to the bottom edge of the cummerbund." A separate codpiece that attaches to the flight suit the vest, the undersuit or the backside of the cummerbund will need to be added. Pouches Pouches are also mounted low. They should not hang over the belt. Exterior stitching is visible on the pouch flaps. The pouch body should not have any exterior stitching, outside of the stitching for the velcro tab. Either way, if you plan on modifying your existing pouches, or if you plan on getting new pouches, then you will need to provide us with measurements of the dimensions, which should be: 6 inches high, 5 inches wide and 2 inches deep. Belt Can you please clarify if this an Studio Creations belt or from a different maker? Also, please provide left/right photos of the belt. Detonator Detonator tubing is silver. It will need to be repainted in a neutral gray color. Boots Sole cuts are only present on the heel of the boot. Please add the corresponding cuts to the front portion of boot. Holster There are two rivets in upper right portion of the holster mount. Only one rivet should be present in each corner. The plastic cracks near the two rivets means that the holster will likely need to be replaced. Again, thank your for your application, Nico. Please let us know if you have any questions, need any clarification, or if you need any guidance on how to make the suggested changes. Thank you!

From the Level 2 portion of the CRL: "Vest sleeves have the appearance of being raglan (ie, the connection seam is at the collar of the vest, not the shoulder)" We know from the costumes book that the screen used vests used a raglan sleeve for the flak vest, in other words, the sleeve construction was similar to the attached photo below. For the CRL, we are only asking for the appearance of it being raglan. That is to say, if we can't see that mid-sleeve seam under the shoulder armor, then it's not an issue. If we can see the seam and it's fairly obvious with all of your gear on, then it would be an issue. Should you strive for a true raglan sleeve on your flak vest? Yes Is it ok if you only have the appearance of a raglan sleeve on your flak vest? Yes

Excellent work and thank you very much! The team will review everything and return with our assessment.

Hi Nico, you'll need to post them as images in your application (not links, please). Again, this helps us do our review and is part of the deployment requirements listed here: http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/20150-lancer-deployment-request-rev-2021/ In order to post your flickr images in your application, you can reference the "Copy the BBCode" instructions on this flickr help text page: https://www.flickrhelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404078014356-Share-or-Embed-Flickr-Photos-or-Albums Thank you!

Looks great! Good luck!