indylead Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 OK, so here goes nothing...I finally feel I have enough together to seek comments/feedback/encouragement on my build. I ordered pretty much everything with a lead-time a couple of months ago after my trip to Seattle (Shout out to anyone from Garrison Titan - a great bunch of guys and girls who made me feel very welcome and answered all sorts of idiot questions) Armour - SC - received and assembled Helmet - Altman - received Gloves - WW - received Undersuit - Dickies - received Cummerbund - done! Pouches - done! Boots - done! Blaster - VH - received Balaclava - Underarmour - received Approved and reporting in as TB-22512! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted October 4, 2015 Author Share Posted October 4, 2015 First to arrive was a large box from SC. They had been great answering a few questions and keeping me fully up to date on progress of the order. Everything looked well-packed... ...and everything was present and correct. Thanks, SC Any screw-ups now are down to me. I checked the armour over, and only had to do some light sanding. Shoulder pads: As per Pandatrooper's build thread comments, I rounded off the corners of the shoulder pads (although I didn't angle them off in the same way). Then I added the hook velcro read for the connecting straps. Not a great glue job - since I was still trying to source E6000, one of these was epoxy, the other hot glue as I tried out options. For the knees, forearm and bicep armour I added the main elastic strap. These are simply the appropriate size elastic with loop velcro stitched to it. A comment about the SC forearm armour - the design seems to have been changed since pandatrooper's build, and now is much flatter on the lower edge. Undersuit: This started off as a Dickies coveralls. I removed all the external pockets then sewed up the thigh pocket and hole (to reach internal trousers). I used one of the pockets to make the mandarin collar. This is sewn on oneside, and velcroed on the other. I also folded down the top third of the collar itself, as it felt too high. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristancraig Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Exciting stuff, keep goin and keep posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwattsup Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Big box time is the first of many great feelings in store for you Steve. Look forward to seeing your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 OK, no posts in a while partly due to holiday and a 2000km trip by motorbike and partly due to no real visible progress (buts lots of sewing of velcro to elastic...) On return from holiday I had a large pile of boxes to open... I'm 37. I was like a kid on Christmas morning. Especially as I knew that big one was going to be... My bucket! Not sure if I can name names here, but I've already thanked the sender concerned for spotting this in a barn sale and sending it on So...ahem...OBVIOUSLY I had to try the bucket on to make sure it fitted. Next up ... Another great item - just as I wanted. Again, thanks to you -know-who-you-are. Cummerbund: This was made using the pattern kicking around on this forum. I made mine 11" top to bottom, with the vertical stitches 1" apart. This shows the inside with the stud fasteners for the codpiece. Velcro around the top to attached to undersuit, velcro on outside to attach to chest armour and pouches, and velcro up the back (with decorative stitching). This was my first 'big' sewn part of the project, and I'm happy to say it came out fairly well. I was afraid it might have been an inch or two short but a preliminary check seemed to suggest it was spot-on. I'll need to finish the belt properly for a size check. The codpiece was also took a bit of time to get right. I used pandatrooper's idea of embedding some plastic to keep things tidy, and again was fairly pleased with how it turned out. I ended up using the stud fasteners as I was unable to sew the thickness of material (the hems were in the way). Still so much to do, but enjoying the challenge and learning some new skills. Any comments or constructive criticism welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 I had things far enough along to check the over-all fit and position of the armour, cummerbund and belt. What I am interested in for feedback is the belt / cummerbund positions - once I haev this right I'll size the pouches. Known issues - arm piece locations, back armour piece, TD, various greeblies, boots!, riding patches and flap (made, just not attached yet), posture and beergut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwattsup Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 Definitely need to move those shoulder bells a bunch Steve. From what I can see, it's looking pretty good. You should probably move your pictures to Photobucket. They'll appear much larger for us to look at details in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 Yeah, the shoulder bells are way off They are just hanging from the shoulder T-straps at the moment until I get the velcro in place. In terms of the cummerbund, belt and hip pouches, are things looking about right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwattsup Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 It looks about right. You should pull the belt up some in front to the actual waistline. I have the same situation, so I know the battle. It will allow you to see the top of the cod/chevron more. It's all about balance. The drop boxes look pretty good. You'll move them a little once you get ready for submission pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 6, 2015 Author Share Posted November 6, 2015 Cheers! Just wanted a little assurance I was on the right track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Riding patch added. This was tricky to say the least. Pattern was based on one around here somewhere, but I had to modify it to fit my suit. Sewing this was a bear - getting the material in to sew it was tricky, but it can be done. Hint - pin the crap out of the patch, then pin it some more. Then take your time. I also finished the bicep armour greeblies. These were cut, and the flat plate thickened with some balsa, filled with epoxy putty then painted black. Next up, the thermal detonator. I forgot to take in-progress photos, but the approach is pretty straight forward as per Pandatrooper's mods. I realised I will need to remove the end caps when i add the belt clips (en route) but the E6000 glue is not as strong as I thought . I'm not sure about the magnets, tbh, and may resort to a couple of extra cable ties. Not a bad weekend all in all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Bicep armour greeblies finished and glued. Back armour assembled. I kind of used the same approach as pandatrooper, however since i stupidly glued the greebly too close to the edge, I had to improvise. And not in a particularly aesthetic way, so no photos Helmet cooling fan with switch and battery pack. Being an unfit and short-sighted trooper, I get hot easily, and my glasses steam up. Given the problem I have with my motorcycle helmet, I figured something to keep the visor and glasses clear from fogging up would be a good idea. Tested and works a treat. I might upgrade the battery pack (4x AA) to a single 9V in time. This weekend I focussed on the boots. These were from Toolstation in the UK and I followed the guide on this site. Oops, no other in-progress shots, i'm afraid. The length of the back piece was as per the drawings, but I had to widen the top of the boot considerably to make it fit. The top of the right boot really isn't that wide...I just couldn't find something to stuff in it to hold the shape! I'll cut the sole details later. Only the pouches left as a 'big' thing to make now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowfanny Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 Very nice build progress so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Thanks, Bowfanny. I think I'm about done. Had a friend help out with some photos today - not sure if these are good enough for a pre-approval set, so lets say a pre-pre-approval? I see I need to work on the armour placement on the arms still! Tricky to get them right when you don't have a decent mirror and your helpful friends aren't aware what goes where. I guess some velcro on the back to keep the damn things from sliding around? Anyway, open fire... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Drat - forgot to add - I still need to make the modified T-shirt thing to go under the body armour. I'm going to take in the cummerbund at the top a little to better fit my not-cylindrical torso a little better. I think the flight suit needs a little more tailoring around the arms as it is baggy, but maybe the over-shirt will fix that? Um...I need to velcro the boot behind the holster to my flight suit too I see, and but the sole pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowfanny Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I think your cummerbund pouches could come towards center a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Thanks, Bowfanny - it's a couple of press studs so easy to move them an inch or so. Apart from that, am I almost done, do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Pre-approval photos went up in the other forum - a few comments from Marcel that I'm now working out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowfanny Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Awesome! Hope you get it here soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Forgot to update in here...Following Marcel's comments, a few improvements were made and I submitted my approval photos to the French Garrison the weekend before The Force Awakens opened in France. I haven't heard back from the French Garrison yet, however I did wear the costume to the opening night in Toulouse. So glad I did - I must have been stopped thirty times for photos walking through the city centre, and got mobbed outside the cinema (lucky I had a 'spotter' friend - the buckets don't give you much spatial awareness of little people!). Had a great time, both with the cosplay and the film itself, and really fired up to get stuck in with the 501st troops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Update!! I'm in! ): TB-22512 reporting in. Heard from the GML of the French Garrison that my costume has been accepted, and that I should be hearing from the 501st shortly. just heard from the 501st officially. I've been sitting here smiling like a loon for the last hour. Thanks, everyone, for all the help, advice and encouragement, and to the various sources of materials (you know who you are!). I'm looking forward to trooping, and hope I do the Pathfinders proud. Now, how do we handle those pesky trees, again? Aim for the middle? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 It came up elsewhere - someone asking about the shoulder bridges. I thought I'd post what I ended up with. Materials: Elastic Velcro Cotton cloth as used on the cummberbund I started with the basic elastic "T" that connects the front, rear and shoulder bell with matching velcro glued to the armour. I then made up a double-thickness piece of cotton. One dimension is long enough to wrap around the armour three times, the other is the gap between the armour plates, plus 1/2". Velcro is added to this cloth so that, once folded around, it stays closed. The next photo shows the bridge wrapped around without the armour included. It looks like there is a visible edge of the bridge when worn, but this isn't the case. T-piece fitted to the armour plates, before the bridge is wrapped around: Wrap bridge around... ...add attach in place with the velcro on the underside. I hope that's clear enough! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblivian Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 How well do the bottom edges align? Looks like the same cast as mine and not just an error on the slotted grey panel side (right in your pics) the under lip was quite thick on the right side compared to left, and looks like yours is too - I trimmed it back to make it sit better on the right. I'm at the slot cutting to widen them for the 2" requirement. But damned if I can find a true centre. The front and back are differen't heights, and the slots differ L to R, while the arm gap is also varied between shoulder and under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indylead Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Mine align fine, a slight difference in the round over between the two halves,but nothing dramatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oblivian Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Damn. I probably should have held off on the attempt to match them Sent from my XT1092 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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