Kashew

No tools necessary 👍 for that ec-17, I just sanded a tad bit and glued it up!

Thanks for the tips!! I'll be getting these sorted soon and re-upload some pictures. Big facepalm on the pouch direction hah - not sure how I missed that but easy fix.

Hi Kevin! I was actually very impressed with Cristian's (Kripton) work and communication, everything was tailored really well I thought. It took about 2 months from ordering to receiving (last spring). This is the blaster I went with - it shipped in about a month and then just pretty quick to assemble + paint, pretty happy with it. Nice to meet you and have fun on your build! -Frank

Hi Kevin! Where in WA are you? Hailing from Bellingham myself and 6'2" so happy to compare any notes on taller sizing! 👋 Cheers! Frank

Some updates and very early fitting process pictures after a bit of a break. Again just going for basic approval here while trying to go a little above where I can. Boots: (not the most pleased with how these turned out, mainly wondering if they're too "wrinkled" or creased?). These kingshows had a crazy tough sole that was extremely hard to cut cleanly but did my best with an x-acto. Knee: EC-17: Alright very initial fitting and testing below ⬇️, apologies as I only took one very quick set of pictures here and do realize there is some misalignment. Mainly looking at spacing and fitment. I will get some pictures of with better alignment soon. Running list of fixes: - Bringing in shoulder bells 1-2" towards neck - Velcro patches once everything position has been correctly positioned (all arm hard armor rotated slightly more forward I believe) - Iron out pouch wrinkles + perhaps figure a better method for defining pouch angles - Knee armor a tad higher - Elastic strap inside boot for holster sag - Holster/EC retention method - Stirrups on bottom of flight suit to help prevent bunching - Also wish the helmet shade of white wasn't so different from the rest of the armor, but in reading a bit it seems like I shouldn't worry so much about that? Matching exactly would be a bit of work at this point, wondering if anyone has any input here 😅 Apologies again bad alignment here and some obvious positioning mistakes but cursory glace at the back: Thanks again to everyone for your feedback and assistance! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Cheers, Frank

Ah yes good catch I think that would definitely qualify as more of a white cotton/twill - I will probably swap out for elastic when I do the zip ties for the shoulder bells down the road. Thanks for the the spot!

A few updates! Torso, belt, and thermal det are done - or at least should be up to CRL specs. Front/back: (trimmed shoulder bridges for better fitment, no zip-tie attachments yet but maybe down the road) Bridge strapping width per CRL: Belt: (rivets and rivet washers + plastic reinforcement on inside with a bit of back-up glue along entire length of inner bridges ... Thanks for Chopper for this rec/idea!). Only the two visible rivets per CRL: Det (metal washers inside). It's symmetrical so will plan on an asymmetric down the road as well:

Heh yeah it's definitely not to my personal spec more than anything else, similar to those home projects where you know the small imperfections are. But cleaned the cuts up a bit and it's definitely not noticeable from more than a few feet away but I'm going to munch on what I want to do with them, at least they aren't expensive. A good learning experience with the X-Acto for sure, back on the horse!

Got the 3M-style bolts in 👍 Started on the boot tread as well, but made a pretty dumb mistake by learning on the outside tread and also found out there's very little room for error with the gum rubber, any cut that wasn't perfect came out pretty off color, a little surprised to be honest, but it is what it is! Hoping this is workable - not super pleased with myself and how many blocks it took me to get a good cutting technique down (you can see where it starts getting better) and unfortunately sanding and/or dremel seemed to just make it worse.

Thank you for the feedback! Yes I have been super impressed with Mon Cal's armor so far, it's really well done. Thank you for the link as well 😄 - replacing the helmet bolts is definitely a priority!

Back & tank (still need rank bars waiting on decals but this will be the 6 bar layout from the CRL): Riveted top and bottom and have an additional strap on the bottom rivet to keep things nice and tight / squared in with the rest of the back armor. I know this isn't a traditional method however it was the best method I found to keep both the tank tight with the back armor while moving around (understanding there was some slop on the screen ones of course). Starting on the det with some test fitting on the belt (I am slightly worried the clips are sitting a little high?):

Hello friends! What a great community it is here 😄 Finally started putting things together here after tackling a few small things here and there. I always appreciate the smallest attention to details, so please don't hesitate to point anything out! Main goal is to just get basic approval first, and then maybe Lancer down the road but that's TBD. Build: Helmet: Kropserkel (modded) Armor: MC (the newer .07" thick, old style is .09") Soft Parts: KriptonTop Gloves: WampaWear Boots: Kingshow Blaster: 3d resin print First to the bucket! Started out with a Kropserkel (maybe one of the last runs 😌 as Scott said he was getting out of the business soon?) Removed the existing snout decal and old snout greeblie, painted black and replaced with a painted MC greeblie (had to dremel just a hair off the bottom of the new greeblie to fit). Snugged up with velcro on the sides while closed. Old greeblie vs. new Side angle:

I had a similarly good experience as @DontDissTheFett ... purchased earlier this year and no problems + great communication.

Just stumbled upon this tutorial as well - great tips and super helpful, thanks! One question regarding how you attached your cod strap to the back of the flak vest - For this did you sew the velcro on the outer back of the vest i.e. in the centerline over the existing hook/loop that connects the vest in the back? My flak vest is about identical size comparatively so I'm looking forward to emulating this. Thanks again!