Hoda

Chopper - thank you for the quick feedback! The tips on lining up the bicep w/ flak vest, and drop boxes with center of thigh is super helpful. Also thank you on the parachute clip, I wasn't sure what's the best way to get that looped through. Once I figure out the attachment to the back, I think we'll get it taken care of. That will be the next update. Thanks again!

Alright, exciting post ahead! I made this for the shoulder connection - I took some zip tie mounts and chopped it down. I then glued it to the front shoulder bridge. To connect the front and back, I took a strip of hook, cut out the area for the zip tie mount, and then attached a strip of elastic to serve as the bridge cover. I then inserted the zip tie that's already connected to the shoulder bell to the mount that's on the front bridge. Next - belt! I continued the velcro system I was using and added velcro to the side and the center. I am doing a bit of cheating here but it holds up solid. I might switch over a bunch of the attachment over to the good ole' snap-based system. We'll see. Added a piece of spare plastic to lock that rivet in real good. And then ... drumroll please ... I did my first test fit! A few things: Ignore what's happening with the belt/detonator situation in the back. I haven't secured them yet since I am still waiting for the metal clips to arrive. I also haven't secured the drop box to the back yet since I wanted to play around with the length of the connection. Looking at the pictures, I think I will need to bring the shoulder bells closer to the shoulder bridges. Should I close the gap completely? Am thinking it should be minimal. I am unsure about the placement of my bicep pieces. Should there be a gap between the shoulder bell and the bicep? I am assuming so. Dropbox placement - should I move it further to the side? Would love any feedback!

Ditto Chopper on not mixing brands. I've done that in the past and ended up having to sand off the whole thing again. This collection of Rustoleum paints have served me well over the years. I like to use the gray filler/primer since it's easier for me to pick out spots I need to work on.

Small (but exciting) update. I painted and finished the helmet! I am going to do some more work on it to get rid of some of the bumps/sanding lines, and I will do some more clean up of some of the paint but ... accidental weathering, yay? This is the first time where I've had to do some serious bondo/sand/prime, but I'm relatively happy w/ how it turned out.

While I've been slowly sewing away by hands (gah I need to fix the sewing machine, I've stabbed myself a few times already. I have half a mind to just switch to a snaps system), I have also been working away at the helmet. Face - easy enough. I drilled through the lens opening from the back along the edge of what I think the opening should be. SC provided a nice line inside the face plate so I just drilled along the line (a little further from the line), dremeled away, and sanded down to the line. Since I will want it to match the rest of the bucket, I've sanded and primed it. What do you think? I have also continued to work on the bucket that I showed earlier in the thread. After a lot of priming and sanding and priming and sanding, this is where we are at now! I am going to sand it again and hit it with some more primer/filler, then I think we're good to go for paint. I am going to continue to buff out the bumps along the ridges, but I think we are there (esp. after hitting it with paint). I have not had a lot of luck finding a build thread for the SC helmet. ... though I am guessing it's fairly straightforward (looking at other makers). align the visor and face plate along the top and on the side edge, then match up line against the back of the bucket, leave some space so you can lift the visor up and down, then affix with 3M bolt? Speaking of, I hit up Kevin for some accurate helmet bolts, so will slots those in once they arrive. For now, am thinking I will just go with the default SC bolts and just replace them after.

Question for all - do you think I need to trim anything off the shoulder? I did a test fit today with the suit/vest on, and thought the fit was pretty good (no need to trim).

Thank you sir!

OK, one more update for tonight. "Fixed" the flak vest closure - removed the hook/loop and restitched so closure is right over left as in the CRL. This took way longer by hands and definitely doesn't look that great up close, but it works! I also found some foam around the house and used it to stuff the pouches. Looks much nicer filled out. Lastly, boots! I attached the holster to the boots tonight. Looks like I can check this off the list now!

Haha I've used this hack in a few other builds in the past. Sharpies comes in handy for little fixes like these. This guy actually inspired me a few years back so now I just sharpie everything. If he can dye car seat stitching using markers, I can do it too!

Bit of a hiccup. Running into problems with the sewing machine. Hand sewing time it is! Thank goodness all I am doing is fixing the vest for now so that won't be too bad. Decided to take a break today from sewing (might resume tonight) and tackled the "boot thread should be white" situation. I was thinking ... why not just turn the thread white? So I took some white markers and gently went down the threads to color them. Check out the finished results! White on the right, original on the left White on the left, original on the right @Chopper - what do you think?

Ah that's really good to know, thank you!

Thank you! I was going to do that anyway (the Velcro fix) and see how that turns out (seam ripper to the rescue!). I guess I never finished my thoughts in the above - I was also wondering about the "padded sleeves' requirement and whether this will do. Will report back!

Thank you!

Two questions for the group! 1. First question - Ears Should I remove more from the left ear? Feels like I'm pretty close on the right ear. 2. Second question - Holster/Boots Are these about the right placement for the holster? Should I cut the vents wider? Also, should I rivet the piece with the vent on it to the holster or just hit it with some glue?

Onto the hardware! One of the requirements for Lancer is to have "as flush as possible" on the back/cap joins. I decided to bondo the halves together and sand to remove the seams. Weather has been cooperating. I did some rough bondo-ing (no judging please, ha), and then did a coat of filler primer. Doesn't look great yet, but I think with another fill+prime/sand or two, we should be in a pretty good place. I unfortunately ran out of filler primer and had to order a new batch online. Will have to continue this when they arrive.

I had mentioned that I've been collecting these pieces over the years, and it seems that there's some work I need to do on the flak vest to even achieve Basic (either the CRL has been updated over time and/or I just need to make some updates). Right off the bat, I noticed that I need to adjust the closure so it's right over left and not left over right. Going to have to take a crack at fixing, and/or make/get a new vest.

First things first - items I think that are good to go for Lancer (subject to fit, of course). Flightsuit Cummerbund and Pouches Boots Blaster Gloves

I've wanted to start on a biker scout build for a while now, collecting pieces along the way. Finally pulled the trigger on the hard armor this past week, so let's start a build thread! To start, here's a parts list: Armor: Studio Creations Helmet: Studio Creations Flightsuit: Chrisx909x Flak vest: Chrisx909x Boots: Cheesewhoopy Cummerbund and Pouches: Cheesewhoopy Blaster: DVH Gloves: Wampa Wear Posts and follow-ups to come. It looks like I am going to mod some of the above to meet Lancer standard, so I am going to post images / questions along the way as well. Stay tuned!