Aradun

For the chin strap. Mine starts at the top of the V runs down the inside of the bucket (glued) and exits a slot at the bottom, then up the out side of the bucket (no glue) and back through a slot at the top, as pictured below. Here’s a shot of the inside of the face plate. Lens attached via hot glue at the outer edges and then at bridge of the nose, top and bottom. You want a little gap for venting heat so don’t mount the entire lens flush or seal the entire lens with glue.

There’s some great tutorials for making your own boots, flight suit, flak vest and bund/cod. There’s even a tutorial to make your own gloves if you’re really ambitious. You’ll save some cash, and if you have access to a sewing machine you’ll be fine even if you’ve never used one before. Many of us have gone this root with much success even without prior sewing experience. If you’re interested let us know and we’ll direct you to the tutorials.

Buckets off and condolences to his family and all his fellow troopers.

I concur with Bikerscout007. Great WIP, excellent documentation and very helpful for those considering this build. Great work all around!

Photo space is limited in order to keep forum costs low. You can use a hosting site like Imgur to insert your photos or the free version of the Tapatalk app will allow you to log into the forum and insert photos into your posts directly from your phone. The link above has additional details and options.

Nice work Matt! Slow use of the Dremel and frequent breaks are the way to go. As Chopper already noted, you can always take more off, but you can't put it back once removed. Great progress!

Those are my pencil lines LOL. Looks like you bought that bucket off of a buddy of mine in my garrison who was working on a shadow scout. I was preparing to help him build the helmet, but then he managed to get his hands on a finished helmet instead. Just note that the cut out around the top of the visor will likely need to be adjusted so that you can open the visor up over the dome. I did not mark pencil lines on the top part of the visor because everything needs to be assembled to know where and how much needs to be cut.

Garrison Carida is pleased to announce the formation of their A.R.T. Name: 27th Elite Recon Motto: Always Ahead Never Behind POC: TB60446 Dennis Mueller Roster: Bill Best - TB42987 Bill Blake - TB14791 Meredith Dapsis - TB60223 Darren DiCello - TB42756 Sean Fassett - TB26694 Joe Fencl - TB12060 Don Haring - TB11375 Dennis Mueller - TB60446 (POC) Juan Colamarco Negrete - TB10675 Frank Peranteau - TB75139 Avi Silverberg - TB71881 Justin Taylor - TB2193 Mark Zaslavsky - TB33910 EDIT: 2024/10/20: Added Logo Artwork

Woohoo! Congratulations! Well done Pathfinder!

That looks awesome and it was a cool solution! I actually dig the red. With the black. it’s very imperial looking.

Good luck!

Looks good. For your submission photos if you have someone taking the photos or if you are doing it yourself, make sure to review each photo as it’s taken so that you can make any adjustments needed along the way. Your biceps can come up about an 1”. It’s okay if the flak sleeve covers them a bit. Your forearms can rotate in towards your body a bit. Center them on the V of the gauntlet. Make sure your shoulder bells are evenly spaced. Your right one is rotated back further in this set of pics. And then adjust the tension on the cod as needed. All simple dressing issues for a cleaner submission, but I’m not seeing any issues with the build itself that would hold up approval. Great job!

You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished and how you tackled some of the challenges in your build. Well done! My observations were the same as Chopper’s. You’re in good shape with the finish line in sight.

I think you’re good. The gap between your shoulder and the bridge will likely be filled with material from your flight suit and vest and won’t be as noticeable if at all.

Here’s a couple of posts to help you regarding the posting of pic. http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/22990-sharing-photos-with-dropbox/#comment-215704 http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/23053-faq-how-do-i-post-images/ Most will use either a hosting service like Imgur or there’s the free Tapatalk app that allows you to post nice res pics straight from your phone into the post.

I’ll second the build your own method Paul. Boots, vinyl, some e6000, measuring tape and scissors and you’re pretty much set. If you wanna carve the boots soles to resemble the original Hi-Tec’s used then add a narrow chisel blade for an X-Acto. I’ve made my own and others for Garrison mates and the tutorial provided above walks you through everything you need. Of course we’re here to help if needed.

As a fellow scout with RS armor and bucket, you’ll definitely be pleased! As for a blaster, check out Blasterworks. It’s a rubber cast blaster that’s excellent for trooping and passing off to kids for photos (no worries about it dropping). I have one and it’s a nice fit in the RS holster. Snug as a bug! https://blasterworks.net

You’re dialing everything in nicely. Personally, I think your issue with the pouches hanging too low is now resolved, although I’d still follow through on Chopper and Retrofire’s recommendations above. Your chest armor sitting just under your pecs is where you want it. Looks good. If you’ve never used a heat gun on ABS before, I’d recommend using a hot bath on your shoulder straps first before going the heat gun route. If not managed properly it can melt the ABS and completely ruin the armor piece.

Looking over your earlier photo below. Your pouches should be set about 1” from the outer most rib on each side. They can definitely move up. You have about 1.5” of tab exposed beneath your chest armor. Ideally, the tabs should only be minimally visible if at all. You can definitely move them up. As mention in my previous post, if you stuff them with foam, it’ll eliminate the sag which should save you another 1/2”. Combined with the adjustments you already made to your shoulder straps, I think you’ll be good. Give these adjustments a shot, post up some new pics and we can guide you from there.

Are your pouches removable from the bund? If they are, set the bottom of the pouches even with the bottom of the bund and then readjust the Velcro at the top where the tabs attach. You’ll like have some of the tab sitting above the bund, but it’ll be covered by the chest armor and won’t be seen. A slight overlap of the pouches over the belt shouldn’t be much of an issue. The top of the belt should rest just under your naval. If your eventual goal is to shoot for Lancer, you may need to redo the pouches if they’re currently too wide, but I’d stuff them with foam first to get a more accurate measurement and then post up dimensions.

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing your build unfold. Regarding your gloves, don’t forget to remove the clips on the side [emoji6]. Hit us up with any questions.

Congratulations Micah! Welcome to the ranks!

Hey Matt! Glad to see you’re thinking about Lancer. I can sense your excitement now that you’ve finally crossed the finish line and are approved. Keep in mind that Lancer is as much about fit as it is accuracy. My advice would be to get a couple of troops under your belt to see what adjustments you need to make on your kit to improve comfort and fit. I know I made numerous adjustments to my kit once I started trooping. Then once all that is sorted and you’re happy with the fit and feel of things, then begin preparation for a Lancer app. It’ll make things a lot easier.

I’m not crazy about the design of his butt stock. There were hand carved wooden butt stocks that had that side protrusion detail, but his is much more angular and sharper than the originals. Most stocks lacked this detail and were completely smooth on the sides. I would avoid getting any painted version too as his weathering is way too heavy and it’s inaccurate. He has weathering on parts that shouldn’t be weathered because they were rubber or Bakelite. There’s better options as noted above.

Tank looks fantastic!