NegativeEleven Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Alright, I haven't put up many pictures of my progress because it seems most people's builds are identical. I am nearing the end of my work, and now need some feedback. I'm meeting with someone tomorrow to discuss getting a vest made. I was ready to order one from someone on here, but after seeing it... a local friend of mine got one in the mail a couple of weeks ago. It's great, it looks amazing, but he says he can no longer suit up by himself because it keeps him from being able to move his arms freely. Maybe that's unavoidable, but I'm going to work with someone so I'll see how it's put together and can possibly mod it if needed later. I also plan to do something about air flow. I don't know if it'll be possible to put a mesh/screen window in the back of the vest and flightsuit (below the armor so it won't be seen), but I gotta do something. There's all that room in the tank, and it's so easy to wire up a fan in there. I wore the suit 2 weeks ago and I've never had a problem with sweating like I did that day. It's dangerous to be walking around in something that hot. Anyway, here's everything else. I'm cropping out closeups of the helmet because I have some damage on that to fix next week. It's a KS helmet, SC armor, red kap suit, and everything else was made by me or a friend here. I had my mom in town a couple of weeks ago and she helped me do the suede patches. That is hard to do. I'll start with the gloves. I got motorcycle gloves from Ebay and had a friend modify them, so I hope they're good enough. Here's my boots. I put a snap on the suit, inside the leg to hold the boot up. I might need one on the outside too on the boot with the holster. Or I might just need to move the snap up a little bit. That sag over the dogbone is bothering me. For the shoulders, I used 3 inch white elastic to cover that gap. I trimmed the SC shoulders to a rounded shape based on screen grabs. I think I might need to trim down the top of the chest piece's shoulder straps to pull the whole thing forward some. Any ideas? Also, I had a friend taking pictures, and I kept asking "you think that's all the parts?" But she wasn't sure what I needed to show off, so this one's the best picture of the top of the tank. Here's my thermal detonator (sorry it's blurry). I used a 2inch clip on the belt so it would be easier to put on by myself than the recommended velcro. There's velcro on the clip that attaches to the TD, and I made big hooks out of thick cotter pins. I'll probably paint those black. You can kinda see a little metal in the picture. Seeing this closeup, I now know I definitely need to do a better job with the velcro on the back of the cummerbund. And here's some full pictures: I feel like I need to trim the bicep armor, but I'm not sure which way to go with it. I think I need to move the velcro to get the pouches closer to the middle of the bund. I need to tighten up the back of the bund. I am going to use some snaps or velcro eventually to make sure knees, biceps and forearms stay put on the suit. To the more experienced scouts, please tell me what you think. I really hope to be 501st approved before Dragon*Con, although I believe it's too late to get registered for the parade. ---- edit: wow my carpet is disgusting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 No one seems to use a clip for the belt, but that's what's pictured on the 501st CRL, so it has to be accepted, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4505Marcel Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Your bund rear closure wants to be 50mm (2") and you also want off white chest armour side straps if going the off white pouch route bud. Your boots do look overly wrinkled, what material did you use as I have never had an issue with mine? Also having a vest shouldn't effect you dressing your self, you just pull them on le a T shirt, of you mates is giving restrictive movement I'd say its either too small or poorly made. A clip on the belt is fine if I cannot be seen, I'd say more people do it that way than any other at present, folk are just now starting to change to Velcro and clips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjsavage7 Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 I also have a clip on my belt like in that pic, but I strongly believe (and I could be wrong) the screen-used belt had a velcro closure. Like the boss said, it doen't really matter as long as it's hidden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Very nice work on your build. I know you've had challenges, but you have done outstanding. This is just my 2 cents: the boots should really be a bit higher (based on your height), but it should not hold up an approval. A lot of troops run into the "sagging boot" deal due to the weight of the blaster. Your snap idea should fix that up for ya. Next, I'd raise your belt boxes about .5 to 1" a little closer to the belt. Love what you did with the TD, looks cool (and I noticed the orientation of the greeblie). I have my white TB done with a Velcro belt closure and TD clips. For my shadow scout belt, I went with the clip closure similar to the CRL pic. I like them both, but tend to sway towards the Velcro closure since that's what was used. Awesome work on the shoulder shaping, super nice. For the chest/back closure, I'd use 2" cotton webbing similar to your belt webbing. It'll look more uniform and less flimsy. The 3" is too wide and I'd also bring it together a bit more to sure up the way the chest sits on you. I also love the material you used for the cummerbund. Nicely done. All-in-all, just a few tweaks and you'll be all set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 The boots are marine grade vinyl. I've got about 2" of boot folded over at the top because when I first fitted them, they seemed too tall. I am afraid if I unfold that, I'm gonna have to move the holster up and then I'll get more sag. I've got a piece of sintra backing the holster, which used to go all the way around the leg, but I had to remove the other side because it was just too tough to get my foot into the boot without being able to open the vinyl more. Think I could just fold under 1" of the white elastic (1/2 in front - 1/2 in back) on the shoulders? The two armor pieces come together with just a 1/2 strip of velcro between them. I used SC's instructions with just one long velcro piece between the front/back instead of an actual strap. I sewed the opposite velcro inside the white elastic sleeve to make it stay put, but obviously, it's elastic and the tension would have made it stay put. You think I should have those 2 armor pieces touching inside the white sleeve? And off-white 2" elastic for under the arms. Damn, I was lucky to find off-white thigh straps that match the material I had on those pouches (left over from Fett pouches). I doubt I'll find off-white elastic, right? I'll do some adjusting tomorrow when I've got another scout here to help. My friend who took the pictures did a lot of the sewing for me, but she just isn't familiar with the costume enough. If she was, she would have gotten pictures of some of the other parts I wanted to post for comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Yeah, I don't think any of this will affect your approval submission. In the 2 years I've been a scout, I've tweaked my stuff probably twice based on what I have learned. It never stops! Here's a shot of my chest/back setup. The chest and back parts are about .5" apart with Velcro underneath holding them in place. Then the cotton webbing wraps around it and I have a "T" strap underneath for the shoulder parts. This method works well for me. I've also got my shadow scout setup this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 Thanks Griffin. Looking at your white armor, I really wish SC hadn't trimmed the shoulder straps on theirs down so much. Having worn both in the last month, I like the return edge on KS's armor, but I like everything else on SC's more. ---------- edit: is that leia's episode 4 blaster in the background? I've repainted 3 Rubies Han blasters in the last month and it's made me want to collect more original trilogy blasters (even just toy repaints). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted May 30, 2013 Share Posted May 30, 2013 Np, glad to help. There are pros and cons with both armors. I really like my KS setup but have replaced several parts due to them being overly large and not very accurate (drop boxes, shoulders, holster, etc). My Shadow Scout is SC armor and I really love it more than the KS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted May 31, 2013 Author Share Posted May 31, 2013 Here's the tank topper: And here's how my thermal detonator is attached: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Thanks Griffin. Looking at your white armor, I really wish SC hadn't trimmed the shoulder straps on theirs down so much. Having worn both in the last month, I like the return edge on KS's armor, but I like everything else on SC's more. ---------- edit: is that leia's episode 4 blaster in the background? I've repainted 3 Rubies Han blasters in the last month and it's made me want to collect more original trilogy blasters (even just toy repaints). Yep, I'm a blaster guy. I've got 2 Leia sporting blasters but they more resemble the one used in ROTJ. It's a resin cast but not too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverBoyd Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 Think it looks great Chris. And I've seen it in person. He did a great job. I always wondered why you folded the boot tops down a bit. I thought they were suppose to be tall like I made them originally? edit: I'd like to have a collection of the OT blasters as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted June 2, 2013 Author Share Posted June 2, 2013 The boots seemed tall based on the size of the KS holster I was borrowing last month (the SC one's a little smaller). Also, folding it over gave me a place to put the snap that wouldn't show on the outside. I'm gonna have some tiny holes now when I unfold it. I'll wait till after this week's troop to fix those. Hope to have the vest by the time we troop, too. Any thoughts on the hooks I made for the thermal detonator? Not as neat as Pandatrooper's solution, but it was what I had lying around in the garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted June 13, 2013 Author Share Posted June 13, 2013 Brought the boots up an inch. Supposed to get my vest tomorrow. I hope to take full pics and submit for approval early next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 You have come really far and did a great job. Best of luck on your approval! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NegativeEleven Posted July 12, 2013 Author Share Posted July 12, 2013 Someone higher up than my GML says that the wrap around the shoulder bridge and my underarm elastic connecting the chest and back armor has to match the off-white of my pouches and dropbox straps. I'm going to the fabric store to see if I can find something that matches. I used nylon webbing like the belt for the shoulder bridge and white elastic for the underarm connection. I bought the dropbox straps that color, so I might be able to find that kind of strap (cotton I believe) in 2in wide to use for the shoulder. I am pretty sure elastic only comes in white and black. My backup idea is almond rustoleum spray paint. It's very close in color. I'm fairly certain that it'll be fine on the nylon webbing. I don't know how it will hold up on the elastic. Here's a picture of some test areas I tried out. The elastic stretches now without the paint cracking or anything, but I don't know about over time, rubbing on the armor if it will last. [deleted image] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverBoyd Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 the almond color looks pretty close. Hopefully you can find some material that's the right color though. Good luck with that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southscout Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Say what? I've never heard that the shoulder bridge should be anything other than white. I would check that with Marcel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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