Shada's WIP build thread

[Shada]

More progress and lots of questions

 

I've got a few photos of this week's progress below - I was lucky to get some assistance today from Spark (Outpost 42's GCO), who helped me with some points, and mainly just gave me the confidence to start cutting some bits I'd been putting off.

 

I also have a lot of questions that I need to resolve before moving forward on next steps, so I've put them near the front so people can see them and respond before wading through the rest of the post.

 

Questions:

• Knee rivets - I've added the upper 1/2" elastic and riveted it on, which worked out well. However the 501st CRL says "Rivet remains silver in color." while a Lancer spec I downloaded says "one white painted rivet" - should I paint or not?
  
• SC decals - I plan to use SC decals for the tank stripes, but it also includes a red stripe and white circle for the tank greebly and gray rectangle for the chest. Everything I've read in build threads suggests these should be painted, not decals - is that correct or are decals ok?
  
• SC's instructions are to use velcro for the entirety of the T-bits, but that gives the shoulder a scratchy texture - I plan to go with elastic for the main T-bit and velcro on the ends - is that right?
  
• TD tube colour - I'm still not sure that the SC base colour is ok - it's definitely a gray colour rather than pure white, but looks lighter than the screenshots of the TB on the speeder, although not far off the colour in the MotM exhibit. The lower tube is from an old vacuum cleaner that I found that is the same diameter but a darker gray (almost silver). I'm going to assemble the TD this week so would appreciate others' views on whether I need to paint before I build.
  
• Riding patch - I've printed out the pattern and played around with sizes - I think this looks right as it goes to a couple of inches above the knee and is fairly visible around the front of the thighs (note that I plan to take in the coveralls as they're baggy, so am focusing on the length). Any suggestions?
  

Other steps this week have been:

Adding greeblies to forearms, TD and tank, using E6000 and clamps. Finished filing and sanding the edges.

A lot of sewing of black elastic and velcro - all of the arms and legs done (aside from my T-bit question above). Started on white elastic that came with the SC kit but may not use as I'm likely to get some white cotton webbing to meet Lancer standard.

Assembled the belt - I was wary of doing the full Panda bend/cut modification as it seemed to have a high potential for melting, so am trying it with just an E6000 connection - I'll keep this if it works and re-do if it fails.

Stuck a 38mm plumbing part to the inside of the TD endcap, so it's got more to connect to. So far I've only done one as I'm using my other big clamp on the tank, so will do the second one tomorrow.

Took a little curve off the top of the tank so it would fit more closely to the back armour, then made 3 cuts in my tank. I've decided to follow Mustangman's velcro assembly method so have made space for the straps and bought some extra stick-on velcro.

 

All up, I think this was a fairly productive week. Next steps are to: finish the boots - adding the uppers and dogbones; attach the tank; sort out the chest/back elastic and t-bits; build the TD; order the suede for riding patches and … wait for my helmet to arrive from Spike (hopefully in about two weeks).

 

 

 

Look out for those evil little teddy bears.

[Scavenger]

Looks like the build is going fine!

[Oblivian]

OK, I used a grey sticker for my frontal armour before noticing there was one in the envelope - no issues there that I can tell. my topper is also got the red line and the white dot added.

 

I used a laser level for my striping on the back. Crazy fussy like so they are visibly straight but follow a strange curve to get that way on the actual surface Will pic later.

 

Used the same endcap trick on my TD. And yep, my tubing is like your vacume cleaner was! Might have a mixture of kits he throws together rather than ensuring all up to date

 

Re T strips - yep. I used velcro on the under (where the armour sticks to) and the shoulder strap itself is elastic means the shoulders have more play and can move with me rather than be limited by thick plastic that is velcro

 

I've even seen webbing used. Seems to be no rule, as long as it sits right.

 

Also suffered the melting issue with the heating to match pandas belt. Hopefully the now non-flat surfaces are bonded ok with the E6000. Its meant to be good for 2mm. Time will tell...

 

Still not revisited my boots. Which is the major hold atm. But am messing with riding patch sizing myself. I printed the pattern A3. Width is almost spot on, but the length is past my knee. With some adjustments I hope to flare the front edge a bit more and shorten

[tfett40]

nice work so far

[Retrofire]

Nice work! Keep it up trooper!

[Shada]

Tonight's progress:

 

Attached fabric to belt with E6000. Will rivet tomorrow.

 

Followed Mustangman's approach to velcroing the tank to the back piece. This worked incredibly well, as it was less effort than building a shelf, holds tight, is easily removable when needed, and looks pretty good (with some minor "screen-accurate" gaps).

 

(green tape is my attempt at lining up the stripes).

 

I'd definitely recommend this as a worthwhile approach for others.

 

Shada

[Shada]

Oops - double posted.

[Shada]

Ok, so this week I've completed the belt itself (just need to add the drop boxes), added uppers to the boots, cut/sized the holster (my first time with a power sander ) and also cut my suede.

 

My big realisation, which was never mentioned in any build threads i've read, is that vinyl is a nightmare to sew

 

Luckily, I started a test sew with a scrap bit and realised very soon that it tends to jam because the plasticky side sticks to the machine, so the stitches wind up close together and the bit that feeds the material through tends to damage the vinyl. I imagine professional tailors have trick to avoid this, e.g. a special foot or different settings, but I had to rely on trial and error and a bit of advice from the family.

 

In the end, I realised that i needed a gap between the vinyl and the machine, so I just sewed it with a paper towel attached. Then, after the stitches were in place, I ripped off the paper towel and it looked ok.

 

The final boot build:

 

Dogbones were harder to put on than I expected. They dry-fitted ok, but then the vinyl was much harder to manoeuvre once wet with the shoe glue. I think it's passable, but a little more curved than ideal (but, hey, that's what they'll look like when worn-in anyway).

 

My suede arrived this week and looks good - i ordered pig suede, but am pretty sure it's actually genuine Ewok-hide. I used a template from BSN with an additional front piece for the riding patches, then went for a 12x12 mudflap (which I'll attach with snaps).

 

Jobs for the next week are to: size the straps that attach the drop boxes, tidy up the elastic/velcro combinations for the chest armour and t-bits, attach the holster and actually sew on the suede and thigh elastic (taking the opportunity to tighten the bagginess of the flight suit). This should mean my armour is all sorted when my bucket arrives in a couple of weeks.

[Scavenger]

What size suede was that and what did it run you?

[Retrofire]

Brian that is one sweet pair of boots Brother! They look just great and that's a great trick with the paper towel. I also like the fact that you're using Ewok hide for your flight suit that's the Pathfinder way !

[Shada]

Scavenger - the place I got the hide from (www.nzlsl.co.nz) says they're between 8-10 square feet - I figure I've used just under half of it, so around 4 sq ft. Cost me NZ$25, although I suspect the shipping to Kentucky might be a little more...

 

Retrofire - thanks. A couple of wrinkles aside, I'm really pleased with the boots. All that time sitting in a hot car stretching vinyl has paid off!

[khazara]

More progress and lots of questions

 

 

[*]Knee rivets - I've added the upper 1/2" elastic and riveted it on, which worked out well. However the 501st CRL says "Rivet remains silver in color." while a Lancer spec I downloaded says "one white painted rivet" - should I paint or not?

 

I recommend going with the Pathfinder CRL. I finished my scout a year ago and painted the rivet.

 

[*]SC's instructions are to use velcro for the entirety of the T-bits, but that gives the shoulder a scratchy texture - I plan to go with elastic for the main T-bit and velcro on the ends - is that right?

 

Yes use elastic for the T strapping to your shoulder bells with Velcro on the ends. Works great!

 

[*]TD tube colour - I'm still not sure that the SC base colour is ok - it's definitely a gray colour rather than pure white, but looks lighter than the screenshots of the TB on the speeder, although not far off the colour in the MotM exhibit. The lower tube is from an old vacuum cleaner that I found that is the same diameter but a darker gray (almost silver). I'm going to assemble the TD this week so would appreciate others' views on whether I need to paint before I build.

 

The vacuum hose looks to be perfect in size and colour.

[khazara]

What size suede was that and what did it run you?

 

I believe this is what I used. Tandy Leather have a lot of locations, hopefully there's one near you! https://www.tandyleather.com/en/product/super-softy-garment-pigskin-suede-split

[Shada]

Thanks khazara

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Oblivian]

 

Not sure about your boot dilemma - is it the boot shape itself or the stretchiness of the vinyl that's the problem? I just looked at your boot pictures on the O42 thread and it looks like you pinned it to the bottom of the sole, whereas I put pins in the side first, which gave me good traction for the stretching, and then pushed more into the top of the sole (the sticky-outy bit). The other tip i found somewhere and followed was to stuff the toes with newspaper, so that the boot had a firm surface for stretching over.

 

Both. The vinyl appears less maliable than your own. And each time I tacked the pins into the boot top they pulled out, under neath was the only way to get em to stick in and stay in.

 

Too late now, but I taped my seams down (I folded and sewed) and used a bit of talcum powder to let it slide on the foot etc

 

I have the leg bits done, just still not progressed the boots.

 

Contemplating throwing the towel in and starting with the Kmart real leather ones and ordering some of that suede. I have enough for thighs but not rear flap as it stands

[Shada]

It's all coming together now - lots of progress in the last week.

Started by making some cotton straps to cover the shoulder joints, using leftover bund material and velcro. Once I've finalised my t-strap placement, I'll sew these onto it so it neatly covers the joint.

Went to my first armour party last weekend and played with a power sander! Used it to size and shape my holster, which I've now attached to my boot with rivets holding it on and an elastic/velcro strap inside to secure it to my calf.

Also found some white car touch-up paint so I could whiten the rivets on my knee armour.

Today was Decal Day, as I've added all of SC's stripes onto the tank and chest now.

Final hard armour adjustment was to build some magnetic connectors for my TD, which I'll connect once I find a long enough rivet!

Started on the vest - basically using the pinned pattern, but angling the sleeve cut to make it more of a raglan-style, as in these photos. I've done most of my flight suit conversions myself, but sought help from my partner's mother this weekend. She has sewed the suede on, making it look a lot easier than it would have it I did it, then also took a heap of the bagginess out to make it much more form-fitting for Lancer standard. Finally, I've also outsourced the tricky task of sewing my newly-ribbed sleeves back onto the shirt!

Here are some near-final photos of the assembly as it stands. Still need to finish vest, attache velcro to the suit to hold the bund in place, size the drop-box straps, attach the TD and make the pouches.

… and I'm hoping for a delivery from Spike in the next week or two!

 

 

Shada

[Retrofire]

Looking good Mate! It's great to see you in your armour! Looks like you need a set of bridge straps for the front and back armour as well. If you have enough material I would make them out of the cotton webbing that came with your SC. That way it will be done when you go for Lancer.......you are going for Lancer after basic approval right? I ended up sizing my thigh boxes something like three times to get the distance between them and the belt right. I would suggest posting a pic when you get those set and get input from another Pathfinder or Lancer. The right box looks a little low but I know you haven't connected them yet.

 

Looks great!

[Shada]

Thanks Retrofire. I'll raise the right Dropbox - do you think the left one is at the right height?

I've made cotton straps for the shoulders but haven't put them on yet as want to check the t-strap placement with my vest on first. And, yes, will go for Lancer eventually - once I overcome the psychological barrier of carving up my boots😀

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Retrofire]

Hi Brian. Looks like there is a problem with Photobucket or the forum so I can't tell at the moment. My pics are not showing up either. I hope it's temporary. If I remember the left one was looking OK for height but I know you haven't got them fastened yet.

 

I just saw Benwbell's boot build and he mentioned that he had a "method" maybe hit him up and see what the secret is .

 

http://forum.bikersc...showtopic=15203

 

You're doing great!

[Shada]

Thanks for the tip - have asked Benwbell about his technique

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shada]

Have now finished the vest (using the pinned post, but marking the sleeves more of a traditional raglan shape) and pouches, complete with foam core lining to hold their shape (with a cut-out for comms gear):

 

 

I don't have my bucket yet, but have sacrificed a hard hat to get the liner. I'll see how much of the white material I need to cut away to make it fit once the helmet arrives:

 

It's very satisfying to be able to turn all of the components in my signature to green completed text!

 

Here's what the whole ensemble looks like now that everything south of my chin is built, subject to any feedback others can provide:

 

Just looking at it, I've realised that the tabs I have holding my pouches to the bund are sticking out from under the armour and look ugly, so I'll need to tidy those away (probably adding some velcro under the armour), and you can see a bit of excess strapping poking out from under my right dropbox (I'll cut that to size next).

 

Does anyone see anything else that will need fixing?

 

Thanks for any tips you have

 

Shada

[Retrofire]

That's a good looking kit so far. Here's a few things that might help:

1.) Roll your bicept and forearm armour over a bit more they're a bit too far back. I was told that they should line up with the center of the shoulder bell.

 

2.) Agree with you in regards to the pouches. For my pouches the tab folds over the back of the pouch and the loop Velcro is sewn on the "top" part of the tab. I have the hook on the bund so when I attach my pouches you can't see the tab. Not sure if I made any sense with that.

 

3.) Not sure what's going on with your side view picture but from what I can see the connecting tab needs to come forward a bit to cover the front and back armor tabs.

 

It's looking great and you're getting so close! Look forward to seeing pics with your Spike bucket on!

[Shada]

Thanks Retro. I'm not sure what happened with the side view either - I cropped it but it looks like it squished instead 😟

Do you mean the connection between the front and back armour at the shoulders? I'm wondering if I need to curve the front armour more as it seems to meet at a tighter angle than I expected?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Retrofire]

Thanks Retro. I'm not sure what happened with the side view either - I cropped it but it looks like it squished instead 😟

Do you mean the connection between the front and back armour at the shoulders? I'm wondering if I need to curve the front armour more as it seems to meet at a tighter angle than I expected?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yeah that's the one. I went over my shoulder joins with a heat gun, a la' Pandatrooper, on low and curved them down to fit my frame a little better. I used my eye to get both sides even then put them front to back to make sure the halves met. I think it looks a lot better. If that's what you do just go slow with the gun on low and keep testing it to see if it's soft enough to bend. When it is gently pull it down and hold it until it cools enough to hold the curve. I cannot express enough to be patient if you end up doing this. Just do a one at time and move to the next one. I have a couple of side views in my build thread if you would like to take a look.

[Retrofire]

Thanks Retro. I'm not sure what happened with the side view either - I cropped it but it looks like it squished instead 😟

Do you mean the connection between the front and back armour at the shoulders? I'm wondering if I need to curve the front armour more as it seems to meet at a tighter angle than I expected?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yeah that's the one. I went over my shoulder joins with a heat gun, a la' Pandatrooper, on low and curved them down to fit my frame a little better. I used my eye to get both sides even then put them front to back to make sure the halves met. I think it looks a lot better. If that's what you do just go slow with the gun on low and keep testing it to see if it's soft enough to bend. When it is gently pull it down and hold it until it cools enough to hold the curve. I cannot express enough to be patient if you end up doing this. Just do a one at time and move to the next one. I have a couple of side views in my build thread if you would like to take a look.