jennyruth

Congratulations! Thanks for all the time and energy you invest in this detachment. It really is the best

I didn't do a build thread for that seal, unfortunately. I was figuring it out as I went, so I wasn't taking many pictures. BUT, I do have my patterns traced out and could try to make like a pdf of them to share if that's helpful. I have like 2 in-progress pics, but I could try to write up a little something. If that would be useful, let me know, and I'll work on getting something together. I made it for a friend, and his neck size is about 17". The pattern I have would fit probably about 17-17.5" neck. Having a little space helps not feel like you're being choked.

I decided to make the little duffle bag that is an accessory to the ROTJ scout. I have the body made but had a question about the handles. In the CRL, the handles are attached with silver (take your pick) rivet-esque things and has a tri-glide on each handle. Looks kinda like this (Yes, the Chicago screws are upside down, but I couldn’t get them to balance and stay up otherwise.) With that setup, the tri-glide is completely non-functional (much like the buckles on the hip box straps). With a setup like the following, however, it could be functional and the straps adjustable. But that may not be best for CRL adherence. So my question is: can I make it like these latter picture with adjustable straps, or does it need to be like the first picture with a decorative-only tri-glide?

Looks like you came up with a great fix I know you've already adjusted your belt, but I wanted to let you know that as a 5'3" scout with a short torso, I also have wear my belt on my hips. Lancer standards were not written for short people, it seems. My belt would look ridiculous on my actual waist, so I scoot it down too. You are in good company. I'm also impressed with all of the tailoring you did for your flight. Nice job getting that down to size. That's a monster job. One other thing I wanted to suggest was in curving your armor. Instead of a heat gun, I have heard many people use almost boiling water so it doesn't dry it out. I even used it for a few pieces of my 3D printed armor to get the shoulder bells and other arm parts to wrap better around my arm. Just dip the part you want to bend in quickly and then try to shape. If you need to dip it again, you can, but don't leave it in very long. I did leave one thinner piece in too long, and it definitely rippled and needed a reprint. Oops, happens to all of us And now that you have an extra piece, you can even practice with it. You may find that you want to curve the shoulder bridges and the parts at the sides where the straps go instead of the middle part. Another smaller scout did that with her SC armor. You can look through her WIP here: Reading back, I somehow missed the boiling water method was something you already used, and I’m glad it worked for you! Just ignore me over here

Thank you! Don’t be too fooled. There were multiple iterations

I finally got the neck seal finished to a place I’m happy with. I wanted to show you how I ended up doing the back, in case it was helpful. I added 1.5” to my pattern on that side so that it could lap over the zipper and hide it some. The bottom part of the zipper is mostly hidden, so concealing that part wasn’t necessary. Then, I put small snaps in the top and bottom corner of the overlap to hold it down. It’s not completely inconspicuous, but you can’t see the zipper. I guess it’s almost like a backwards Mandarin collar

When people ask me, "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper," I tell them that I am stealth size. I mean, we are scouts, so being more stealthy is good Great progress on your build. I think you're going to love this costume!

I completely understand that. It wasn’t my first choice either. They used PLA plus filament on mine. I also used XTC-3D as part of my finishing, which helps with some of that stuff too. I bought the bucket and didn’t print it. We fiberglassed the shoulder bells, and much of the chest and back pieces. But I don’t leave it in my car in sunshine/heat and wouldn’t spend many hours in direct sunlight. I do have a friend whose MonCal armor is very yellow right now from sunlight (He’s going to fix that though.). So I figure I can’t get away from all the maintenance no matter what. I’ve only been approved since last May, but so far everything has held up well. When I was painting, I dropped a shoulder bell straight down on my concrete garage floor, and it didn’t have an issue at all.

Hi! The scout was my first armor costume, and even though it was tricky to get it all to fit, I love wearing it. It’s so much fun! Being able to sew, you will especially enjoying being able to make your soft parts exactly to fit you as needed. You can check out my work in progress here: I posted regularly about both my soft parts and the hard parts. One lesson in hindsight—make elastic waist pants I am the same height as you but am a bit heavier. I found that the length of the chest and back pieces were not a problem with any maker, but the width was my biggest challenge on the two models I tried—RS Propmasters and MonCal. We ended up 3D printing most of my armor, and it worked great for sizing. It was a ton of work to finish, but it fits well. Reinforcing certain parts with fiberglass is extremely helpful. I definitely recommend the smaller belt pull from Studio Creations. It’s what I have, and it allows some more flexibility over what a 3D print does. They also have smaller bicep pulls. You can ask for the smaller than normal pulls of these pieces. I do have a friend who is taller than I am but smaller around and she made the Studio Creations armor work for her. You can check our her build here: If printing isn’t an option for you, then Chopper’s advice and looking through builds like these should give you an idea of what you may be looking at. Let me know if you have any questions!!

Haha! Nothing to teach yet Thanks so much and no worries about the delay. We all have other lives

Oh, goodness. Can I blame autocorrect for the mistake and myself for not proofreading? Haha That was supposed to ask how tall the seal part is, basically the ribbed part—in front and back. Thank you!

Does your neck seal drop a little lower in the front or is it all the same height going around. Also, and I may have missed this, but about how tall is your seam part? I'm thinking about what you said about using an invisible zipper, but I'm not sure it will work with fabric that thick. They are normally used for thinner applications. But a smaller zipper size is totally possible. I'll have to play around! Thanks for all of this info!

Some of the the armored ladies in my garrison love the Cat Crap brand that Chopper posted, but they use the spray bottle. I also saw it available on Amazon. https://ekusa.com/product/cat-crap-spray-on-blister-pack/ I'm not a scout veteran, but I haven't had much fog issue on the lenses, even when I get plenty of condensation around the mouth area. I am grateful for those open ears

Thanks for your continued leadership and the time you put in to this amazing detachment. Thanks for leading the way!

Happy New Year! I’m grateful for all the Pathfinder support in 2022 and finally getting my armor together. Looking forward to a fully year of scouting!