Aradun

Nice job Brien! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for this link! That’s a pretty reasonable price point and it looks like a great 3D print. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A solid start! Looking forward to watching your build as I await delivery of my RS armor and bucket. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Awesome! Can’t wait to see em. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cummerbund Material: 36” x 44” 100% cotton sateen fabric 2” white Velcro Sizing your CB Length: Measure your chest just below your pecks while wearing your undersuit and flak vest. Add 3” to this measurement (1” for bunting volume, 1” for Velcro closure, and 1” for seams) Sizing your CB Width: CBs are now standardized to be between 8” - 9” wide. So you’ll need double that and then add 1” for your seams. Use your pouches to determine the width. Pouches have a set height of 6”, but the tabs can vary between 2” - 3”. My pouches had a 3” tab so I made my CB width 9” (doubled + 1” = 19”) Overall fabric needed for this build was 44” x 19”. Once you measure and cut your material I recommend ironing it with steam to remove any wrinkles and creases prior to stitching. It’ll be more difficult to press once the bunting has been added. Seaming the Bund: I added 1” to both the length and width of the CB so that I could create 1/4” seams. I measured 1/2” around the border of the material and drew a line along the 1/2” mark. Fold the edge of the material to the 1/2” line. This creates a 1/4” fold. Then fold it again (another 1/4”) so the the cut edge is now tucked and locked in under the seam to prevent fraying once sewn. I did this for all for edges. Once it’s all seamed, fold the material in half, lining up the top and bottom length to create your 8” - 9” bund and mark the center. Then measure out your 6 vertical stitch lines to create your 5 ribs. Measure out 1” from the far right and left vertical stitch lines and make a mark along the top edge of the bund. This is where your pouches would begin. They should be no more than an 1” or so from the outermost vertical stitch line on either side. I also measured out 5” to mark the opposite end of the pouch, and repeating the marks for the pouches on the back side of the bund. Then lay out your markings for where you want to place any Velcro to attach your pouches and CB to your flak vest. I used two 2” x 1” strips of Velcro to attach the bottom of my pouches to keep them from flopping around. I also attached a 4” x 2” strip of Velcro on the reverse side of the bund directly behind where each pouch would sit in order to attach the bund to my flak vest. I avoided running any Velcro behind the ribs because I was fearful that it would effect the end result of my vertical stitch lines for the ribs. The Velcro I was using was rather stiff. I added a 3” x 2” strip of Velcro on the reverse side along the top next to both Velcro closures to secure the back of the bund to the flak vest. FRONT: BACK: Then measure and cut your bunting. I used three layers of 3/16” bunting giving an overall thickness of 9/16”. Pin the top edge even and sew the seam. Prior to sewing the 6 vertical stitches remeasure from the edge of the bund to the top and then the bottom of your first vertical line. Why? Because while sewing the top seam I found the the seam pulled the top about 1/8” so the top of my vertical stitch lines curved ever so slightly to the right. I noticed this because the marks I made back for positioning the pouches had shifted after I seamed it. The bottom of the vertical lines were fine. Remeasuring allowed me to straighten my lines. Once you ensure that your lines are straight, begin sewing the vertical lines. Start at the seam (top of the bund) and stitch down to the bottom of the bund where there is no seam. Be sure to keep the fabric taunt by pulling to the right and left as you guide the bund through the machine. This will keep the stitch from puckering the bund. Slow and steady wins the race here. Note: if you start from the bottom of the bund and stitch up to the seam, the fabric will be more likely to pucker. I made that mistake when creating my first bund and had to redo the entire bund. All that’s left is to add your 2” Velcro closure to either end of the bund. Make sure that the bund closes right over left. I still have to add my Velcro closure which will also serve to the seam the edges of the bund, and then add my pouches. I plan to stitch the tabs to the bund. I’ll post those photos once I finish. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Phenomenal work Constantin. You’re an excellent craftsman! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Corey. I completely forgot that I subscribed to your CB and cod thread ages ago. I went back and gave it another look and will be adding some of those tips to my build. I also plan to reduce the bunting in the CB. The quilting of the sleeves and shoulders of the flak vest are 3/8” and I want to go just a tad thicker for the CB, but 3/4” was definitely too thick. My bunting is 3/16” thick so three layers will reduce the thickness to just under 5/8” which looks much better to my eyes. Alas, while sowing my ribs this morning, my first line puckered the fabric because I wasn’t pulling tight enough when running the line. I can’t remove the stitch so I’m going to start over and use this one as a sample pattern to lay out my Velcro attachments, etc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Absolutely. A pig skin hide is roughly 7 - 10 sq ft. Mine was around 7 sq ft and I had plenty left over. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I currently have it pinned and set to be raised about 5”, but wanted to get some feedback before cutting it. With the test fit for the CB in the photo below the vest sat about an inch above the bottom of the bund. Here’s a test fit with the bund. No ribs sown yet. Questions regarding the bund. 1. The pouches were sown directly to the bund for the film, which I’m planning to do too, but was wondering if you had any thoughts on making them detachable with Velcro as some scouts do? 2. When adding Velcro to keep the bund from sliding down or rotating, is it preferable to secure the bund to the vest or the armor? I’ve seen both ways and am wondering if one is better than the other. I suspect that attaching to the vest is better so the bund doesn’t pull down on the armor, especially if the pouches are being used to store stuff, but I’ll defer to the opinion of the experts. 3. My batting for the bund is 3/4”. Is that sufficient? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks Awesome Strider! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You read my mind Corey. I just added the pic with me wearing the vest over my undersuit today, and was thinking it may be too long after seeing everything together. Glad to hear you confirm my suspicion. I’ll take it up as you suggest later this week (an easy fix) and then repost a photo. Thanks for the feedback! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! I’m glad I’m able to help. I’m just standing on the shoulders of a ton of other scouts who helped and inspired me. This really is the best detachment in the 501st! I ordered 2 yards, but only because I had to order the material online from Joann and they have a 2 yard minimum for online orders. I’d definitely advise getting 2 yards though. If your mid section is larger than 42” you’ll definitely need 2 yards. However the extra material gives you a material to play with in case you need to redo the cod piece. I know several scouts who went through several iterations of the cod piece as they tried to get it just right. It very important that when you measure that you do so while wearing your undersuit and flak jacket as their volume will add to your measurement for the CB. That’s why I had to knock out the flak vest before jumping into the CB which I hope to begin work on this week. I like this material I picked up for the CB. It’s a 100% cotton sateen and has a slight sheen to it. It was the closest thing I could find to polished cotton. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! Go for it! It’s definitely doable. I used a jigsaw to cut it out and a dremel to sand and shape it. You’ll also need access to a drill press and spade bit to cut the holes in the barrel. If you have that stuff you should be ready to rock. If you’re interested in the original blueprints for the MG just PM me and I send them to you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice! Like what you did with the patches and creating your own foam inserts to compartmentalize bottom. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sweet! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Holding off on the rest of the boots until my armor arrives and have moved onto making the flak vest. I bought a Lg Gilden T-Shirt from Joann (sized up to fit over the undersuit) and proceeded to seam rip it and cut it up to creat a pattern. I also bought 1 and a 1/2 yards of heavy weight matt black cotton fabric to create the vest. Removed sleeves and labeled L & R, setting the sleeves aside for later. Sketched out pattern for quilting the shoulders and marked out cut line for neck opening. Pattern for main vest after splitting the back. I removed 6” from the bottom of the t-shirt. I noticed that there was a variation in how I cut one shoulder from the other. My daughter said to fold my matt black cotton material and use only half the pattern I created to ensure uniformity. An ingenious fix that I wouldn’t have thought of. Here’s the pattern all laid out and pinned ready to cut. Remember to add a 1/2” to either side of the back opening so that your 2” Velcro will be centered down the back. I did the same thing for each of the shoulder pieces. You’ll need to cut this pattern 4x’s. Keep in mind when you cut the pattern out that it will open up to twice the size. I repeated the process for the quilting. I used two layers of 3/16 quilting making it 3/8” thick in all. I didn’t want to make it too thick in case it became too stiff and caused problems with how the shoulder bells would lay over the flak vest. Here’s the near finished product. Keep in mind that I’m waiting to construct the sleeves until my Armor arrives so that I can ensure a proper length and avoid flare for my lancer app. The ribbed pattern on the shoulders is spaced 1 1/4”. I originally went with 1” but it was spacing a bit funky towards the arm pit due to the curvature. Adding that 1/4” eliminated 4-5 ribs and created a nicer spacing. Front: Back Open: Back Closed: The overall length is 24”. I prefer the longer look than the crop top version. Shortening it if needed will be an easy fix. I’m hoping the extra real estate will accommodate additional Velcro to secure CB, Cod, and Armor without having to add Velcro to the undersuit. Flak Vest over Undersuit (sleeves not attached yet) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice! Happy Birthday Brother! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love your attention to detail Corey! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Alright, I’m in a holding pattern while waiting for my armor to arrive so I started carving my boots. I went through several iterations before settling on the pattern below which is similar to what I’ve seen others do in their builds. My first “sketch” was to try and match the pattern of the hi-tek sierras as close as possible, but the layout was not matching up with the existing tread cuts on the Kingston so I scrapped it. Then after a second try, I had to go back and rework the spacing so the third time was the charm and voilà final product below. I used an Exact-O chisel blade to carve the notches along with an Exact-O knife to extract the notches. It cut like butter and was way easier than I thought it would be. For anyone interested, here are the measurements I used for carving the sole. Front: Carved notched spaces were 1/4” Each tread was 15/16” wide with a 1/2” x 5/16” carved notch. The three large treads in the front were 1 1/8” wide with a 7/8” x 5/16” carved notch. Heel: Small carved cutout was 1/4” Larger carved cutout was 3/8” Uncut space between each carving was 1/4” I left abt a 1/8” space between the top carving and the bottom carving in the heel. I also carved an 1/8” strip along the arch to match the hi-teks. Any comments welcome. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First, welcome TaterNanners! Second, if you’ve got the cash to lay out for custom made soft parts go for it, but as someone who never touched a sewing machine before deciding to make my own soft parts, I gotta tell ya it’s not as bad as you think. In fact, I’m really enjoying it. There’s a ton of eager scouts who love to help on here and their tutorials to help you build your own stuff are top notch. Give it some thought. You’ll save yourself some cash too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great question. Now I’m curious too as to why there’s an option for the lower strapping on the knee. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m looking at these from Amazon. They’re similar to those in the link Bikerscout007 posted. https://smile.amazon.com/Bluemoona-Sets-54x25mm-Holster-Sheath/dp/B07MR3CQCC/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=metal+belt+clip&qid=1583981581&sr=8-5 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Chopper, all these years and I never noticed that! So much for thinking I had an eye for detail [emoji6]. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I second this! Listen to Stroker, he knows his stuff. It’s much easier to build to Lancer specs now than to have to pull things apart or redo things later. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Congrats Chris! Well done! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk