Chopper

Hey Rob, looks like you're off to a good start. As Troy said, the diff between basic clearance and Lancer isn't that huge and we welcome your application, should you choose to go that route. FYI, I did want to clarify that the 1/2" tank strapping is a nice addition to any build, but it's still optional for Level 2/Lancer: "Optional: .5 inch elastic strap anchored to the tank rivets on top and bottom and loops around the inside of the back armor."

The clips in the link above will work, but since you're in the UK, I'm guessing you will want to use a version that's available in-country. Try these, they should be available through Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/micoshop-54x25mm-Holster-Buckles-Hardware/dp/B07KLJK62B

Hi Delta, in addition to what MJ already mentioned, I think your back flap is a bit wide and long as well. I would take off maybe and inch from the bottom and maybe an inch and a half from each side. If you look at the CRL image, the flap should be smaller than the width of your hips. Also, one other note, but you might want to check and see if the bottom of your flak vest can be fully hidden under your bund and belt? It looks long, but it shouldn't be an issue as long as it's all covered when you're fully kitted up.

I agree with Pete/Retrofire, I think the sewn curve is too low on your current cod. If I can also offer some additional pointers, note that the sides of the codpiece depicted in the CRL are not a perfectly straight line, they taper a bit towards the bottom point. I should say that the tapering observation is more of a level 2 item, but if you're reworking your cod, you might as well take that into consideration. Nice work overall.

Check this thread for some more details on the undersuit mods.

Those look ok to me. Nice work. The only item I can see, and keep in mind that this is really a Level 2 critique, but are the top flaps wider than the box portion? Might be the angle? Or perhaps the lack of padding?

I posted this in your other thread, but if you need an EC-17 and don't mind a resin one: Hole in the Ground Productions does offer a resin scout blaster. They do clean casts and their work is good, but keep in mind that solid resin is going to weigh more. http://www.holeinthegroundpro.com/starwars.html The UGP blaster in the following review is the same as the Hole in the Ground Productions blaster: http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/10612-duff-blaster-review/

Hi Sean, overall you look pretty good. There's a few items you should take a look at -- 1) Go ahead and bring in your shoulder bells so that they're closer to the shoulder bridges. Don't do any trimming yet. Not a strict measurement, but try and put the bells about 1/2" to 3/4" from the bridges and see how that looks. 2) I don't see the sewn inverted curve on your codpiece, is it there? Also, you might want to loosen the strap a bit to get rid of the "cod crunchy" effect. 3) When put your armor on, try and put your biceps at your 9 and 3 oclock positions, and your forearm armor at the 10 and 2 oclock positions 4) As you said regarding your drop boxes, bring 'em up about 1.5 to 2 inches, so that they're closer to the belt. And really awesome job on the helmet. I had to look again for a minute to double check that it wasn't an RS. Great work Sean. Almost there!

Nice work on the heat bending, Delta. Regarding your boots, I don't see anything offhand for basic level clearance that would be an issue. Just to clarify, is the boot you posted a photo of the left boot?

Hi Phil, great work so far. You've already self-identified the issue with your shoulder bells. I think part of the issue there also stems from the fact that you need to trim down your shoulder bridges between the chest and back armor. Looking at your rear photo, your back armor is dropped way down. I would take a little off the chest armor bridge and a little bit more off the back. When looking from the side, it doesn't need to be perfectly even between the front and the back, but I think we should raise it up a bit. I know it's been mentioned a few times, but you should try bring that cod up like another inch if you can. I agree that your flak vest sleeves seem a bit long, though the only standard for that is really in the Level 2 part of the CRL. It's a little difficult to make the call, b/c your shoulders are off-kilter, but I'd say maybe an inch and a half too long? From the back, there's a visible gap between the belt and the top of the butt flap. That flap should come up so there's no visible gap. I also wanted to mention that I think you've done a great job with the weathering. Not too much, it's just right! You're really close, Phil. Just a bit more to go. Pete @Retrofire, anything from your side?

If you're using vinyl decals, I recommend that you do not put a clearcoat over them. The clearcoat may react badly and then you're going to have to deal with sanding and repainting. While vinyl decals are technically removable, most decals are probably cut from Oracal vinyl and it's very unlikely they'll come off easily.

Ok, thanks. I added the shot to your original set. The Armory Team will get back to you with some feedback shortly.

Hi Phil, do you have a back photo as well?

I remember someone theorizing that the rivet is actually inverted, with the crimped portion being what you can see in the photo below. That said, you can use a normally inserted 1/8" pop rivet with a washer and that should do the job for both Level 1 and 2.

Ah ok, yeah when Jeff assembles them, he angles the outer part so you can insert the return edge into the slot, which sorta locks it in. You don't need that return edge if you don't want to deal with trying to slot it in. You can trim the edge and slide it into the slot, then once you get everything set up, throw some glue on the inner/non-visible side of the holder.

Can you show us some photos of what you've got to work with right now?

You did a great job! I think you hit the right spot wrt your sholder trimming and shaping as well as the chest/back armor height!

You shouldn't need to paint them. Though if there's instances where you need to sand the resin parts down in places, or fill in pinhole gaps, then you usually end up with lighter or whiter areas. In that case you would need to hit it with a flat coat of black.

Yep, both front and back!

Looks better! Are you able to take it up about another inch, without the sides pinching under your arms?

As long as it is not visible, then it should be fine. You can also probably further hide it with a piece of white electrical tape.

ABS as a material has a melting point of around 200 degrees. So if the water you were using wasn't even boiling, then it probably wasn't hot enough to bend the material. A hair dryer will get it hot enough, but you need to be close-ish and it will take a little while. Heating and bending plastic is tricky, as plastic can lose it's shape entirely once it gets past a certain heating point -- there's no harm in being conservative about it. Oh also, just to be sure -- if you're boiling plastic, make sure that you do it in a pot that you don't plan on ever eating out of afterwards.

Gio, those look AWESOME. Thank you so much for doing those.

If you're using a DVH blaster, then there's a magnet in the handle as well. You should be able to glue a magnet on the opposite side of the plastic on the holster to help keep it in place.

For clarification, when you say cutting out the snout, are you talking about trimming this part? The Kropserkel helmet has a bit of a return edge on the bottom of the face plate, as is evident in your photo. I haven't looked at a Kropserkel helmet in person in a little while, so my only concern with trimming the bottom of the face plate like in the screen used helmets would be if there's enough material on the sides to keep it structurally intact. If possible I'd try and clean it up a bit with an emory board so it's more symmetrically rounded on the bottom.