Fox

I've been busy with this and other stuff. Felt I was very close and submitted what I had. Took a couple extra pics as requested and well as you can see by my Avatar and the picture below, I'm ready for patrol. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GgYh2DvXs9oAinSYxjKJZLBfrEO070l8/view Even though it's approved I still consider this a work in progress. Like with my TK once I start using it more I'll upgrade and tweak things. Yesterday I bought some knee pads to wear to protect my knees from the Scout's plastic ones. Can't wait to try it out in public.

Small update did another full suit test fitting in the mirror and felt everything looked good enough for some submission pictures. Stepped over some large boxes to reach my camera, bent over to pick up my blaster, dragged a chair out of the way and do see where I'm going with this? Everything that was "in-place" got knocked off center from all the moving around that I did. Set your shooting spot up first before getting suited up. I do think one of drop pouches might be too low or I might lean to the side when standing. Funny thing is looking at what has been approve by my garrison these last couple of years mine looks alright even with these sloppy pictures. I think I do want to see about adjusting that one pouch first.

Found somebody willing to do it no charge. I gave them a hefty tip. Took about an hour. Won't earn level 2 but will qualify for level 1. Going to work on a few fine adjustments. Mainly figure out where I want things to rest and sew on little patches of Velcro on the jumpsuit to anchor things.

I'm currently putting out feelers for a tailor. I play an ever so small part with the local creative community. I have two of these cummerbunds to play with but I'm seeking out a skilled help before I attempt things.

Last night I did my best to hand sew over the many missed gaps from the machine. This morning I did the other side entirely by hand. Took less time and looks better. Not perfect by a long shot but it is black on black and hidden under the white belt. Did a test fitting and the thermal detonator does conceal the bridge I made for the white belt. I've decided not to sew the cod piece on to the vest. As I'm fairly tall and I'm bound to rip all the stitches out if I move the wrong way or even tear the vest itself. This also reduced the cod piece from bunching up. I'll just have to sew in some Velcro on the jumpsuit not only to help keep things in place but to act as marker of how high or how low things should go.

Among the supplies I bought was one of those mini-sewing machines for the simple tasks that I could do by hand but would take too long and wouldn't look pretty. Even though these little things would be hidden under other parts of the costume I wanted to a pretty job this time. Practice first on an old shirt. The provided instructions weren't very helpful. Found a helpful video someone made and felt comfortable enough to try it for real. Since it came with white thread pre-installed, I decide to tackle making a bridge for the belt. I think it worked fine for this. For the next job I needed to remove the white thread and replace it with black. Somewhere during this process, I guess I touched the tension knob. Apparently from some of the reviews the tension for machine is impossible to reset. All the work I did with the black thread looks worse than if I did it by hand. Maybe this is my fault for not buying a real full-size machine, but I don't intend to ever do more than simple things when it comes to sewing. You don't by professional grade frying pan if the only thing you're going to make are grilled cheese sandwiches. Hours I spent trying to troubleshoot it I could actually finish a few things if I had done them by hand. How do I know it is the machine and not just my lack of skill? The next day after getting the machine I got Amazon message from the maker saying in order to have a better experience please follow these instructions. To me that's pretty much admitting your product doesn't work as advertised. Time to see about returning it.

Riveted the holster to the boot. Did a few practice rivets before attempting. Of course, I let the backing plate slip when doing the second rivet and it didn't secure with the boot. Then spent about 20 minutes to remove it without damaging the holster. Was then able to fix it and do the remaining two. Next step later this week Velcro those belts.

Imperial Boots/Keep Trooping did the soft goods.

First purchase of materials to finish this made. Should get what I need to attach the holster to the boot, extended the belt and to work on the cod's straps by next week. Doing these first next weekend before I try the cummerbund. I'm confident with my ability to sew on some Velcro and anything that is hidden from plain sight. Cummerbund is something I might seek actual help with.

That's not the Velcro stitching. It's the maker's label. I ended up with 2 cummerbunds because the first had the wrong pockets. Both have Velcro on the inside but only one has the maker's label. I'll use the one without it. Also got 2 cods as well. Guess I could sew one on top of the other to double the thickness.

Safety pin fitting before any cutting and sewing. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jr4jHKsD5KxzUORzXwUN1eFM-REaSYyd/view?usp=sharing If things are a little sloppy that's because everything is held together with safety pins. The pouches were placed an inch away from the last vertical line on cummerbund. I pinned the cummerbund closed with the back facing forward and then rotated it around my torso. In doing so the pouches got pulled to the side. Height of the unmodified cummerbund is 11 inches. In this photo I folded 2 inches of it under itself making it more like 9 inches in height. Length of the cummerbund is about a foot too long. Making everything bunched up in the back. I feel like I want to pull the cod's lower elastic tight as it looks like it's just hanging but when I do that it bunches up the fabric of jump suit it feels like I'm trying to steal hotel bath towels by hiding them in my pants.

I'm making a shopping list. One thing I'm unsure about is the type rivets for the holster. I know they are 3mm silver, but Amazon is throwing like a thousand different types at me. Is there a technical term for the type of rivet to speed up my search?

Just tried attaching the cod with the vest using safety pins and it works pretty well. I'm now in the safety pinning things in where I want to place them phase.

4. And I'll need to sew on the pouches.

First test fitting armor with soft goods. Keep in mind that the cod piece is held up by a loose knot. I have to sew on the Velcro. Cummberbund is held up by fiction. With the jumpsuit on the two ends of the main belt don't even touch. Camera is in auto-mode making things too bright. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XSZKP4rVyU2gL9FBX2GNrY7bl14QBej7?usp=drive_link A few observations. 1. While you can dress yourself (as I did). I think it would help to have someone make fine adjustments. 2. Neck seal pretty much just there to traps in all that body heat. 3. The lower edge knee armor really digs in. Have to add padding of some sort. 4. Helmet starts to open when you bend over. Might add some Velcro to keep it shut. Face plate in the fully open position locks in place but makes a popping sound when pulling it back down. I'm not going to lock it in place like this as I fear over time it will cause it to crack. 5. The bigger Jumpsuit feels better. Those elastic thigh straps were cutting off the circulation in my legs. Things I need to work on: 1. Attach Velcro to cod piece. 2. Create a bridge for the belt. Thermal detonator should be long enough to cover it. 3. Cummerbund is too long. In one picture you can see that I wrapped one end under the other. Black strap I'm holding is to show where the Cummerbund closes in the back. I think it too far off from the center I'll have to trim some of the length off. Guess I'm buying one of those handheld sewing machines.