Nexous - Looking for advice!

[Nexous]

Hello All!

 

(July 21st, 2015)

Just added photos from Squad Photoshoot.

 

(May 9th, 2015)

This is my very first armor-build and I am open to suggestions on how to improve it, I've already submitted these photos to my local garrison for approval... but in hindsight have already noticed some things I want to change. Please feel free to critique and give me any ideas of things I can do to improve and eventually achieve Lancer

 

(June 1st, 2015)

I got approved over the weekend, exciting stuff! I plan to continue updating this thread as I progress towards Lancer specs. Below is the "To-Do" list of things, if you see anything that needs to be added feel free to let me know

 

(June 20th, 2015)

I'm changing the "To-Do" list to just a "Lancer To-Do List", if you guys see something I am missing please let me know! I want to get this as close to perfect before applying... and of course I really appreciate all the suggestions, this has certainly been a really fun on-going project and experience.

 

Lancer To-Do List:

I. Helmet

II. Armor

--- Replace Side-Under Arm straps to 45mm (roughly 2 inch) White Elastic

--- Replace TD Holders w/ Twin-Metal Brackets

III. Soft Armor

--- Update / Change Cummerbund for Screen Accuracy

IV. Under Suit

--- Hem / Tighten suit a bit

--- Change Faux Suede for Leather Suede (Flap & Inner Thighs)

V. Boots

VI. Blaster

 

Photos Taken July 19th at Squad Photoshoot

 

Left Photos taken May 6th, first round of approval photos / Right Photos May 28th, second round with changes

 

[Gato]

I think you got most of it already.

A couple things I noticed is: the black strap right above the thermal detonator. Is that the elastic from the cumberbund? That should go on the inside and shouldnt be showing.

Other thing is the front/rear armor connection. It looks as if the is a space between them. It should be connected then wrapped with the cotton webbing. It looks like the armor is showing too much black right now and will be fixed once you do that.

[bugdozer]

There shouldn't be any black stripes on the holster either (I think!)

[Gato]

There shouldn't be any black stripes on the holster either (I think!)

 

Right you are. No stripes on holster.

[Nexous]

I think you got most of it already.

A couple things I noticed is: the black strap right above the thermal detonator. Is that the elastic from the cumberbund? That should go on the inside and shouldnt be showing.

Other thing is the front/rear armor connection. It looks as if the is a space between them. It should be connected then wrapped with the cotton webbing. It looks like the armor is showing too much black right now and will be fixed once you do that.

There shouldn't be any black stripes on the holster either (I think!)

 

Thanks for the advice!

 

As for the Holster, if there is indeed no stripes I'll remove them! (easy enough). I vaguely remember why I added them... I think they came with the kit that SC sent and based off their website I sort of just added it as part of what I believe to be accurate;

 

 

http://www.studiocreations.com/HOWTO/bikerscout/thekneepadsboots.html

[Bobik96]

Indeed no stripes on the holster. Why do you want to make new boots? You could paint the soles a solid color with acrylic paint and carv the heel.

 

I also submitted my photos with suspenders showing and got gigged for it. They should be out of sight under the vest. Their color is irrelevant.

 

The cod piece seems a little narrow to me but that could be because the belt may be low.

[Chef]

Here's the list I would advise for Lancer. Some of which has already been pointed out and some already addressed.

 

1: Bring your pouches in and pad them out so they are a bit more 'full' and less droopy.

2: Shorten the Flak Vest sleeves, so they 'just' poke out from the shoulder bells.

3: Bring up the bicep armour to the bottom of the flak vest sleeves.

4: Twist both Bicep and Forearm armour around to the outside, they are twisting backwards.

5: Change bicep/forearm strapping to 38mm and 25mm respectively.

6: Cut the ears out on your lid (if they're stickers).

7: Put the cloth covers on your shoulder bridges.

8: Loose the white braces

9: Bring your belt up, or hide that black back fastening, cover any gaps.

10: turn your TD up the right way round, centralise the button.

11: Check T-Bit orientation (can't see if from your pictures... so would ask.)

12: Widen top of crotch part on bund (check detailing... again can't quite see it)

13: Pull up your drop boxes an inch or so.

14: Lower the elastic straps on your flight suit (they should be below the drop box bottoms)

15: Add in the Top strap on the knees and put in the rivets.

16: Change the belt for single rivet fixing rather than double.

17: Check real Suede on suit (rather than faux)

18: Loose the Holster Stripes.

19: Paint boot soles and cut ribbing.

20: Bund closure at the back doesn't look overly central.

 

 

 

There's a few things you'll probably need to address for your standard clearance, such as the braces (suspenders) and the holster stripes and the rear bund fixing, but it shouldn't be a lot.

 

 

Nice job though bud. most bits are just a question of shifting stuff about.

[Nexous]

@Chef - Thank you! Based off this list, I have lots to work on! Really appreciate the compilation for things to get Lancer... it'll make it much easier to work with knowing exactly what can be done and check things off I'll try to get other shots to address some of the things you mentioned wanting clarification over. Otherwise I'll post progress of the working list and hopefully narrow it down a bit

 

@Bobik96 - Very true, I could re-work these boots! My primary reason for wanting to re-make them entirely is because I sort of rushed making these essentially two nights prior to Star Wars Celebration and the overall quality doesn't seem great to me and I wanted to take my time with a second pair or just order a proper pair from a talented craftsmen

 

In regards to the suspenders, how did you situate them? I have mine connecting directly on the top Cummerbund area and if I hide it underneath my Flak Vest it looks wrong.

[Bobik96]

What looks wrong about it?

 

I shortened the vertical part on the rear suspenders. I sewed them to the bund in the rear. The vertical attachment allowed them to peek out above the vest. I just put the bund on, attach front suspenders then put on my vest. The suspenders are covered by vest and armor. Here is the back of my bund.

 

[Bobik96]

I think most people use Velcro to attach the bund to the suit to keep it from falling down. Mine is intentionally shorter than most so I like the security of suspenders and less restricted movement over Velcro.

[Katscan]

If you plan on using the suspenders, I would recommend not using ones that cross in the back or that have a bridge in the back that connects the two as it tends to pull them inward and shows (as evident in your photo) If you get the individual black suspenders or remove the piece that connects the two, then it would be easier to keep them hidden. I have heard of some who have sewn or somehow attached suspenders to their flak vest to keep them in place.

[Nexous]

I'll see about putting on my suit tomorrow and maybe clarifying what I mean about the suspenders... and I too enjoy the suspenders option over the velcro option, it was a suggestion a trooper at Celebration gave me and I wanted to incorporate with this build.

[Nexous]

If you plan on using the suspenders, I would recommend not using ones that cross in the back or that have a bridge in the back that connects the two as it tends to pull them inward and shows (as evident in your photo) If you get the individual black suspenders or remove the piece that connects the two, then it would be easier to keep them hidden. I have heard of some who have sewn or somehow attached suspenders to their flak vest to keep them in place.

 

I like the idea of modding the suspenders to make them work better, I'll see about addressing that a.s.a.p. I'm going to take Chef's recommendations and put a sort of check list together and go through as many as I can tomorrow.

[Nexous]

As I am putting pieces together I am realizing why the Bund elastic strap is exposed & the Pouches look "droopy"... because the velcro sewn onto the pouch tabs are incorrectly done (they had Velcro attachments when I purchased them). To resolve this I think I'll position them correctly and sew them onto the Bund.

 

I'm going to work on shortening the dropboxes today if I get a chance to buy a Rivet "gun" at Harbor Freights.

 

Stripes were removed this morning from the boots

 

Here is a closer shot of the T-Bits, I brighten up the image a lot to show the directional. I think these are correct? I may of worn them incorrectly, should probably label them R/L so I don't in the future.

 

 

EDIT: Once I resolve the Pouch issue I'll move onto the Suspenders / Harness, want to take it one step at a time.

[Chef]

T-bits are cool...

 

cross that one off the list!

[Nexous]

T-bits are cool...

 

cross that one off the list!

 

Awesome! You mentioned possibly needing to widen the upper part of the Bund, mine are approximately 145mm... not sure if that is dependent on the individuals size or not, but I am roughly 5'9" and 160lbs, in other words a pretty slim fit dude

 

EDIT: To be more specific; "12: Widen top of crotch part on bund (check detailing... again can't quite see it)"

 

[stasz]

The boots should close outside over inside. Your right boot looks right, but the left looks like it's closure is inside over out. Hard to tell from the pic tho.

 

If the Velcro to attach the crotch strap to the back of the bund is on the outside, your bund might be inside out. I had mine that way for awhile, then hand an "aha!" moment

 

Side Note:

When you're ready for submission pictures, you don't want that white background. The armour gets washed out on it and details are will be harder for your GML to discern.Pick a background that's contrasting to the white/black armour.

[Nexous]

The boots should close outside over inside. Your right boot looks right, but the left looks like it's closure is inside over out. Hard to tell from the pic tho.

 

If the Velcro to attach the crotch strap to the back of the bund is on the outside, your bund might be inside out. I had mine that way for awhile, then hand an "aha!" moment

 

Side Note:

When you're ready for submission pictures, you don't want that white background. The armour gets washed out on it and details are will be harder for your GML to discern.Pick a background that's contrasting to the white/black armour.

 

I've had that "aha" moment today but the work is completely doable, need to re-do my Pouches so that it fits correctly when flipped around

 

 

Here are the back side of my boots, should I have mirrored the velcro slips? I think that's what you're talking about. Also, Chef already noted about painting the soles and wedging them which are on my To-Do List.

 

As for the Background, my Sister took these using her leftover material which unfortunately was White (the black background worked nicer, only issue was there wasn't enough for full body shots w/ arms out), it had some cool effects, but I agree that a different contrasting color would be better suited for Approval!

 

And as a side question, none of my things are riveted... I am looking to get a Rivet Gun and Rivets, what size Rivets am I looking to purchase and would the Hand Riveter work? http://www.harborfre...-set-38353.html

[stasz]

Yes, Mirrored was the word i was looking for!

 

 

That Rivet Gun will work fine. Nice price too! Here's the rivet size you want:

 

[stasz]

Your other closures (bund, vest) will go right over left.

[Chef]

Bund wise...

 

For Lancer, you only want 5 vertical ribs on the front, rather than 6.

 

Each rib should be around 1" wide (ultimately depending on your size), and the top edge of the rich part should roughly be around 10" wide. It's much wider than you might think.

 

If you look at this picture, you can see that the cod section is much wider than the ribbed area.

 

[Nexous]

@Chef, Yeah Bund-Wise I am thinking I'll need to get another one made down the road for Lancer. The Top-Crotch on mine is only reaching about 5.5 Inches, so it'll need to expand more. For Standard Clearance will mine be alright? I am hoping to get in at the very least and work my way slowly toward Lancer through replacements.

[Bobik96]

If the bund fits you could just cut off the triangle cod piece, make a new cod piece and sew it on. Some people are going to a two piece bund and not attaching the cod to the bund.

 

Picking the stitches out of the vertical lines might not take as long as you think. Probably less time than making a new bund.

 

 

[Nexous]

If the bund fits you could just cut off the triangle cod piece, make a new cod piece and sew it on. Some people are going to a two piece bund and not attaching the cod to the bund.

 

Picking the stitches out of the vertical lines might not take as long as you think. Probably less time than making a new bund.

 

Probably true, I'm not super great with sewing things... my undersuit was altered by a tailor etc etc, will see about trying to fashion a new cod piece down the road versus ordering an entirely new Bund.

[khazara]

 

And as a side question, none of my things are riveted... I am looking to get a Rivet Gun and Rivets, what size Rivets am I looking to purchase and would the Hand Riveter work? http://www.harborfre...-set-38353.html

 

Just don't use the rivets that come with the riveter - they're too short for most of the jobs. That's what I found, anyway, and I had to then cut down the existing rivets and re do them.

 

 

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