Aradun

Didn’t even know that was a possibility lol. I’ll have to look into that as you have me curious now.

Okay, so after my first troop, it became apparent that I needed to make some adjustments in the baton’s set up. The rod was originally secured into place using the method developed by MrPoopie in his JFO WIP. That’s an excellent method if you’re not using electronics, but will lead to this if you have wires running through the body of the baton. That’s the LED wire that runs through the prod shaft. The two screws I used to lock the shaft in place were catching the wire and pulling it up into the PVC channel I created as I extended and retracted the prod shaft. I realized something was amiss when I recently couldn’t retract the prod without a great deal of effort. So the channel and the screws were removed. Original set up: I then printed a new end piece for the prod and a new tip for the main body both with 100% infill. I wanted solid pieces so that I could insert magnets to secure the prod in place. I also anticipated some filing and sanding to get the pieces to slide freely with the magnets, which is why 100% infill was needed. I didn’t want to risk compromising the integrity of the piece with a lesser fill ratio. I used a Dremel with a grinding stone to shape out the channel for the magnets. The key is to go slow and steady because the stone will quickly melt the plastic if a high rpm is used or you work one area for too long. I think I was operating it between 5-10K rpm. It’s also a good idea to keep the wooden dowel in place so the internal side doesn’t warp or become misshaped during this process. I was originally going to use three magnets but went with two out of concern for integrity. Make sure to mark the outside face of each magnet so that they are oriented the same. If you mess up the polarity thing it won’t work [emoji6]. Then I did the same for the main tip. The walls of this piece are much thinner, so the magnets will not be flush with the outer surface as they are with the shaft end. You’ll then need to do some filing of the inside of the main tip and the inside of the PVC pipe that the tip slides into. Just spot filing. There’s no need to file the entire inside of either piece. It’s a snug fit with the magnets so I did not use glue in case I ever have to disassemble it for some reason. However, because it is snug, it will make the inner tube of the main tip snug, which means the prod may not slide freely without some effort. A little filing of the main tip and everything was sliding through with easy. I felt that if the prod shaft had too much weight, the magnets would be unable to support it and hold it in place. The magnets are 60x10x3mm Neodymium with 18 lb pull. I used 3/8” PEX pipe instead of the wooden dowel to reduce the weight and to allow for the LED wiring to feed through. I used flat pan connectors rather than solder to connect the wires running from the LED to the wiring running from the battery up the shaft. This too will make for an easy disconnect if I have to remove or replace the prod tip or LED. Once everything was reconnected and put back together it worked like a charm. Easy slide and the magnets do what was intended. What’s really cool is now I can thrust the baton and it locks into place while activating the sound at the same time. Pretty cool effect [emoji41].

Frank, I wouldn’t worry about the shade difference between your bucket and the rest of your armor. I have an RS bucket and armor set and they deliberately use a difference sheen (helmet is flat and armor is gloss). Others like yourself use different vendors for their bucket and armor a lot. No one notices. You always will, but that’s because you know the finer details of your kit. Fans will be oblivious in their excitement [emoji6]. As Chopper said, your boots look fine and that vinyl will wrinkle and crease anyway over time so no sense in trying to get them crease/wrinkle free. Once you put a strap in your boot to address the boot droop with your holster it’ll be even less noticeable. Great to see you back at this and the finish line within view!

Love it! It isn’t easy to match the color of the ABS used by RS, but you did a bang up job! Well done! Filing that paint info away for the future!

If you know someone in the US, they might be able to ship it to you via a Priority Mail International[emoji2400] Legal Flat Rate Envelope which measures 15”x9.5” and costs a flat rate of $29.60 USD. The shield packaging measures 15.5”x8” so you might need to trim 1/2” to get it to fit, but that is cheaper than the other avenues you looked at.

Nope. I imagine it would be roughly the same ease ether way.

Brien, this is just my personal preference, so take it for what it is, but I'm not a fan of using parachute clips to secure the strap to the cummerbund/flak vest. That clip will most likely sit, under the CB and press into the small of your back. I just don't feel that it would be comfortable for long because the CB is usually a snug fit. I know one or two guys who troop with that set up and I don't know if it's an adjustment/dressing issue, but I almost always see that clip slipping out, causing the strap to sag between their legs while trooping. I secure mine with hook and loop to the back of my flak vest.

We’re the advanced teams for the Empire; the first boots on the ground. We get down and dirty unlike our shiny brothers and sisters 🤣😉.

Hey Garrett! Welcome! Excited to see your build and if you have Mikerscout in your corner you’ll be in great hands. For the Kingshow boots, I used https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017THAWAO/?coliid=IICGVXFJ7GZ90&colid=17ZNF8WW4QACN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it For the cummerbund is used https://www.joann.com/sateen-solids/5970074.html I picked up 2 yards, and was able to make 3 bunds. One for practice, one for my ROTJ and one for my JFO. I used the following for batting in the cummerbund and cod: https://www.joann.com/fairfield-poly-fil-project-fleece-81inx96in-full-size-batting/15954084.html#q=poly-fil%2Bproject%2Bfleece&start=1 For the pouches: https://www.joann.com/jo-ann-stores-duck-canvas-fabric/2136323.html Others may chime in with alternative options, but as you’re going to Joann’s, I thought this might be helpful.

That’s how I have mine set up. It loops through the slot on the chest armor and then folds back and Velcros to the band spanning the back and chest armor. You can see the square stitching for the Velcro on the second photo below circled in red. Velcro is also used to attach the band to the inside of the back armor as it passes through to the other side as seen below.

MrPoopie showed the boots on Zoom today. They look amazing! Well done.

Today was great and I really enjoyed it! It was awesome seeing everyone and chatting. Thanks for making this possible.

Dig no further… https://www.etsy.com/listing/741836481/biker-scout-helmet-audio-system?click_key=b1495fd4bede4eb709f5495b7399beb1ea2e8d77%3A741836481&click_sum=8a8e8648&ref=shop_home_recs_1&frs=1&sts=1 This is probably one of if not thee most expensive audio option available. Compare that to the VoiceBooster for about 1/3 of the price. https://smile.amazon.com/VoiceBooster-Voice-Black-MR1506-Presentations/dp/B003FQ2X56/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=11C6Y3FPWAGX8&keywords=aker+1506&qid=1649301754&sprefix=aker%25201506%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-4 You can even get a decent speaker and headset for abt $35. It all depends on how much work you want to do to “blend” the audio into your set up and how much cash you want to invest. I know some scouts in my garrison that have a decent but cost effective speaker in their pouch, but then invest in a blue tooth headset so they don’t have to run any wires. Like I said, lots of audio options are available at different price points, which will help you stay on budget and you can always upgrade later.

APPROVED! Just received word that my kit has been approved making me the 9th JFO Scout in the Legion! Thanks again to @MrPoopie @RickyBoyBlue and @Ammonites for leading the way and all the help and inspiration to take this kit on!

Excellent work Patrick! Well done.

Not to derail the subject of this thread Matt, but have you considered any audio options for your build? That would be a solid investment down the line, and there are many ways to do it at various price points too. I can tell you from experience that both kids and adults think it is super cool when they hear you talk, especially when they’re not expecting it. Remember they can’t see your face so there’s no facial cues. They don’t see you smile, and they can’t read your eyes. All they see is the helmet turn towards them and boom! The Voice! So cool! Speaking of not being able to see your face. It’s amazing how often I can get people to retake a picture because I tell them I blinked or forgot to smile 🤣🤣🤣.

Great mods Jenny! We’ll done.

If I’ve got room for a Ukswrath audio system to be mounted in my dome, you should have ample room for fans. That being said, the helmet does provide decent ventilation as Mickey noted. It’s much more open at the bottom than a TK bucket, the open ear holes provide decent air flow especially on a breezy day, and there’s even a little opening for air flow at the bridge of the nose where the lens doesn’t come flush against the eye opening. Before laying money out for a fan, I’d try trooping a couple of times in your kit to see how comfortable you are. You can always add it down the road if you need it, but why lay out cold hard cash if you’re okay without it.

Yep. See my post preceding yours above. My bucket is wrapped in my flak vest and nested between the pull out tray and my armor. I have room in there for my neuro-saav binocs, sound system, and pouch inserts as well.

You’re making great progress Brien. Looks great!

Great info Dart! Thanks for posting this!

Thank you Justin! That means a lot coming from you. It’s a great build and a cool look. When last I looked before submitting for approval there were only 8 in the entire Legion. As more build this kit and it get visibility I’m sure numbers will grow quickly. I have a few who have talked about doing this build in my Garrison. Hopefully seeing it live will give them the inspiration to build their own. Thanks again for everything!

SUBMISSION PHOTOS Sent these out to my GML along with links to my build thread and details on what was modified on my existing ROTJ kit to meet both builds, what did not need to be modified, and what was brand new for the JFO. I’m really lovin the look and feel of this costume. I’m also keen on how well I was able to match the paint for the 3D printed belt and bicep armor to the color of my RS armor. It’s barely noticeable. I hope this helps any ROTJ Scouts who may be thinking of adding the JFO to their repertoire. It’s easy to do, and I’m sure others will find ever more creative ways to make their armor interchangeable between kits. Thank you @MrPoopie for being the forerunner and designing and making available excellent 3D files for the JFO Scout. Thank you also to @RickyBoyBlue for an excellent build thread on modifying a ROTJ Scout for use as a JFO Scout too. Your work too was very helpful and inspirational for my own mods. Pathfinders lead the way!

TUBING FOR THE BATTERY My apologies, but I completely forgot to take pictures of this part. So I wasn’t able to do RickyBoyBlue’s method of attaching the Tubing to the battery pack because I had already assembled and finished my battery. What I did instead was remove the circular port where the tubes enter the battery because I just could not get both tubes to slide through the port and into the battery. Once removed I stitched the ends of the tubes together, and leaving the needle and thread attached, was able to pull the tubes through the circular port. Then I removed the needle and excess thread leaving the tube ends sewn together. I then used a skewer to work the tubes into the hole on the battery. It’s a tight fit, but that is a good thing because it means it will be unlikely that it will be pulled out from the battery itself. Once the tubes were inserted into the battery, I work the circular port back into place and glued it with e6000. End result… ATTACHING THE TUBING TO THE HARNESS The tubing runs through four tube ports on the rear of the harness and two ports on the front of the harness. I used the rubber grips from a Pilot G-2 black gel pen. I cut the grip in half and used the narrower ribbed portion of the grip. The grips were sewn together and then sewn to the harness. I used the other half of the grips for the front o the harness only because I didn’t have any more pens on hand. My preference would have been to have all of them ribbed, as I find the ribbing to be a nice aesthetic. For the tubbing that runs from the shoulder to the glove, I sewed the ends of the orange/red tubing together and the sewed a small snap to the end of the tubing and to the shoulder strap to secure it in place under the vinyl. Here’s the finished look once slid back into place. I used larger 3/4” snaps to secure the tubing to the flight suit under the shoulder bells and to the very end of the sleeve where it will be hidden by the glove. I left extra length at the end until I get a feel for mobility while trooping and will then readjust the placement of the end snap and length of the tubing. For the tubing that attaches to the control box, I used RickyBoyBlue’s method of inserting screws through the tubing holes on the control box and sliding the tubes over the screws and into their respective ports. This method work very well. You can use machine screws or pan head screws. Glue the in place inside the control box. TIP: If it’s a little difficult to slide the tubing over the screws, then coat them with a little dish soap and they’ll slide on without any resistance. Once the soap dries you won’t have to worry about them sliding off . End result… I plan to stitch the tubing to the harness at certain points to keep it secured, but will wait until after I troop in it to see where best to place the stitches if they are needed at all. And that’s all folks!

You should be! They look fantastic!