Chopper

Thank you very much, Sebastien, for your work! We'll get back to your shortly.

A lot of places sell pig suede on Ebay actually. That's where I picked up the piece that I used for my undersuit. For example, I think this would work just fine: https://www.ebay.com/itm/AVETCO-INC-Pig-Suede-Premium-Garment-Leather-Hide-7-9-sf-0-6-0-8mm-Black-2-oz/283761786191?hash=item4211853d4f:g:zH8AAOSwjyZeMeFe Looks like it's about the same price as the first Tandy link. Suede can be a little tough on non-industrial sewing machines, so make sure you buy a pack of leather needles as well.

Hey Phil. Welcome to the Pathfinders detachment. There are a few build threads that you can check to help you on your way: Strider's Lancer build tutorial: http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/17305-lancer-build-tutorial/ Pandatrooper's Studio Creations build (this one is somewhat old, but it covers most of what you need): http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/9781-pandatroopers-sc-biker-scout-build/&tab=comments#comment-81496 When in doubt, check the CRL and if you're not sure, ask an armorer! https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TB_Scout_trooper Again, welcome. We look forward to seeing your build progress!

Quite frankly, I can't see any GML having any issues with basic approval, as is. Great work, Dennis.

Sebastien, thank you for providing additional photos. 1) Yes, that divot on the tank topper will need to be filled in and then painted with a circle. 2) Your ear holes looked ok in the initial photos. If you want to give us a head on 3/4 angle shot, that might show us a little better how they look from the front. 3) The rivet you used, the 5/32 is a bit large. The 1/8" rivet, which I believe is the top most one in your photo, is typically what is recommended. Keep it up!

Hi Sebastien, the team has taken a look at your progress on the boots. We really appreciate all the work you've put into this. Since you can't make the right boot any smaller, due to the holster fit, go ahead with what you have. Make sure to try and make the right and left boots match in terms of width. One final note -- we've seen a lot of folks use those large flanged rivets in their build -- you should really replace them with smaller ones, which are closer to those used in the screen builds: Large flange: vs Small flange (preferred): Reference:

Both of mine are the 5-piece ABS helmets. I didn't sand the paint all the way down to the plastic, so I don't think the underlying material was an issue. With the sort of reaction I was seeing (paint crackles), it's usually a reaction between two different types of paint.

I have two RS helmets. One is a re-paint of a helmet I picked up second hand. I purchased the other one directly, which still has their standard paint colors. When I painted my first helmet, I wet sanded the decals off and smoothed out the surface, then I applied a new layer of white primer and then gloss white. I believe they use their own formulation of paint, which almost exactly matches the abs color of the armor. The Rusto 2x Painters Touch Gloss White I used did react with the original paint a bit, which tells me that the solvents are different. A coat of white primer was all that was needed in order to lay down a new paint layer without any further reactions. The Rusto gloss white is more of an appliance white, which would likely match the SC armor better. Obviously, there is some work involved in a repaint, and the process of painting the scout helmet properly can be tricky, so take that into account. You could also try and commission an experienced painter to do it for you. If you should choose to try and do a repaint on the RS, I might have an extra set of decals that you could use. Let me check.

Both the RS armor and helmet have more of a muted white color, vs the bright white of the SC ABS. Obviously the RS helmet, due to it's screen used lineage is going to be the most accurate, but, as you said, there will be a color difference between the RS helmet and the SC armor. If you decide to stick with using the SC helmet, it can be modded to look very, very good, particularly if you can open up the visor eye slot a bit more. One of the best mods that I've seen recently was by @equuspolo as a part of his Lancer application. The modded eye slot just makes a world of difference on that helmet.

Thank you, Sebastien. Could you please have someone take a side view photo, or do a time delay, of the right boot? It's very difficult to see the width of the boot with the angles you've provided.

I heard back from Lou: He said you could try wiping the blaster with a paper towel saturated with acetone and that might remove the rusto paint. Acetone didn't seem to affect the rubber when wiped with a paper towel, but he also said don't soak the blaster in an acetone bath. Best give it a shot at least.

Chris, the rivets you linked to are stainless steel. If you use those, then it will be very, very difficult for you to drill them out, should you ever need to remove them. Use aluminum, same with the backing washers. Backing washers are important to keep the rivet from cracking the plastic when it contracts. These have a 3/8 pull, but should work well: https://www.amazon.com/Snug-Fastener-Aluminum-Diameter-SNG173/dp/B07L4B92WJ/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=1%2F8"+rivet+aluminum&qid=1594134005&sr=8-6 1/8" aluminum washers: https://www.amazon.com/Back-up-Washers-250ct-Bryke-Fasteners/dp/B06XCG6QZ4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=1%2F8"+aluminum+washer&qid=1594134081&sr=8-1 Home Depot or Ace Hardware should both have these items in stock as well. I'm gonna disagree on the reamer tool -- I've used it on pretty much all of my builds and it's def handy to make drill holes in plastic just a little bit wider! 😎

Hey Chris, welcome to the Pathfinders detachment. To start, I would pick up the following: 1) Pop Rivet Gun 2) Pack of aluminum 1/8" diameter with 1/4" pull pop rivets 3) Pack of 1/8" diameter aluminum backing plates 4) Lexan scissors 5) Zap a gap glue 6) E6000 glue 7) 1 roll, 15ft x 2" industrial strength velcro, black, stick on 8 ) 1 roll, 15ft x 2" industrial strength velcro, black, sew on

Ok, small update -- Lou said that he's going to do some tests on some bad casts to see how some paint removing solvents react with the rubber. If you can wait until tomorrow or so, he said he's gonna drop by with the results, once he's back on a computer.

Yes, it'd be about the same reaction for Rusto vs Krylon rattlecans. Quite honestly, I'm not sure what you could use to remove the paint that wouldn't attack the rubber resin as well. Typical methods to remove enamels, like Rusto and Krylon, would be thinners, acetone, or oven cleaner. Problem is, I think those options would all wreck the rubber resin. Your blaster is from DVH right? Let's check with Lou -- @Darth Voorhees what do you think?

Hey Dennis, I'm super sorry to say this but you really can't use Krylon paint on flexible rubber resin -- the paint isn't formulated for it. Generally, you'll get reactions similar to the one you're encountering, which I suspect is that the paint isn't curing. Based on past experience, it's probably going to remain sticky for quite a while. The other issue that you could run into would be that the paint would start flaking off as the rubber flexes. You can use acrylic paint on rubber, and that's the ideal paint to use for flexible materials, such as rubber or HDPE, but acrylic also doesn't bind to the rubber material.

Oh, they don't need to be specifically "riveted", no. That's just the most common method, since most vendors supply their kits with a piece of vacuum tube.

The two sets of metal clips are riveted to the tubing. Then the the clips just slide over the back side of the belt webbing. I had originally had velcro on mine as well, but I removed it, because in the end I didn't need it.

Gaps between the visor and dome fit is a question that's come up a few times in the past -- A lot of troopers remember this photo from ROTJ and think that the helmet needs to be exactly flush: But actually, that's the stunt helmet in that frame, which had no opening face place. It was a fully sealed helmet. The helmet is actually supposed to have a bit of a gap on the sides and many of them did, due to the 5 piece construction of the helmet. Now, I know you have the red label version, which is only a 3 piece build, but my RS helmets have similar gaps too. The scout helmet was designed by hand, not with computers, so there's going to be some asymmetry in the build. Embrace it!

Yeah, having the velcro on the back sure did keep the TD on securely, though it made it very difficult to slide the det on when getting dressed. I eventually ended up removing the velcro from the tubing bc I didn't really need it in the end. I had also built up my own wire wrapped tube originally as well. As Pete said, it's really heavy and it weighed down my belt a lot. Nice for accuracy, but not necessarily very practical for continual trooping. You may want to keep both as a option, depending on how it feels when you wear it.

Nice. That looks much better.

Hey Dennis. Great job adding the indents on both the RS and Home Depot end caps. Regarding the modded PVC end cap from Home Depot, the overall size, shape, and indent looks good. However, for Level 2/Lancer the primary issue I see is the thickness of the plastic when viewed in profile. If you look at the original caps shown in the Magic of the Myth Exhibit, you can see that they're about the same thickness as the rest of the armor. For just basic clearance, I can't see any problem with what you've got. However, I know you're aiming for Level 2, in which case you should probably look towards finding replacement parts that have the correct plastic thickness. Trust me, every single one of us (myself included) has written the "need replacement parts" email as a part of our various builds. This sorta stuff happens, it'll be ok!

Back in the day you had to add the concave portions to the end caps yourself. I'm not kidding! Even a few years ago most end caps that came with scout armor kits were flat. With a hair dryer and a rubber ball or baseball you can add the indents. Put your end caps flat on a cement or wood floor and slowly heat up the top of the cap. As it heats up, use the ball to push an indent into the flat top portion. You could probably also use a soak in hot water instead, but I didn't use that method when I formed mine. It might take a little while, and you have to go slow, so you don't warp the sides, but that's the way it used to be done.

Right on. I'm guessing that it's raw fiberglass finish under the lining though, so one tip if you end up taking the lining out -- If you remove the lining, you'll want to put a coat of black plastidip over the fiberglass interior. You can blorp it on using those foam paintbrushes. Raw fiberglass on, or close to, your skin is not a great feeling.

Interesting. I have 2 RS helmets and neither have their ear holes covered. That said, I have the standard helmet, not the red label version. I imagine you could trim the lining around the ear hole and glue the edges on the inside?