Retrofire Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Oops sorry about the double post. Not sure how that happened.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wookieevader Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 With your pouches i would line them up with the stitching of the last ribs on the bund so they are right next to the ribs with no gap....bring them in a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Thanks Wookieevader - I'll try that on my next fitting 😀 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 And now I have a bucket Spike's big brown box arrived today (I was actually bigger than the box I got my SC armour in). Just holding reminds me of how elegant the TB design actually is: All going well, I should be able to put some pre-approval pics up tomorrow or the next day and be ready to submit for approval this week! It's been a fun journey so far, and I've really appreciated all of the tutorials and advice on BSN, so I've excited to be this close to finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 Helmet #365 here. I got it on Star Wars day so it made it even more awesome. The bucket looks great! I'm looking forward to your pre-approval pics. Suit up and let's see the whole package Scout! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 Did my helmet liner yesterday - rather than gluing it in, I stuck velcro to the bits of the helmet outside and to the inside of the bucket, so I had room to adjust it: (the helmet liner had 6 straps rather than 4. I've just attached 4 to see how they go - may attach the others later or cut them off) Then did a full test in my armour, including an Aker fitted into my left pouch and (according to my family, nicely audible even with my helmet on). Here's the front-on pic - I'll add the full set of 4 to a pre-approval thread: I'd love feedback from others. I can see my bicep pieces need to rotate round to the front more, and my left drop box is a little higher than the right (I suspect I need to lower the left rather than raise the right), but otherwise it seems to make the reference pics. I have plans for building some TD clips over the next week as well. Eventually, I'll carve my soles, weather it a bit more and go for Lancer, but my main goal at present is to get basic approval so I can troop at Armageddon (basically NZ's version of comic-con) over 4-6 June. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Great job Brother! I really love how you did the liner in your lid that was really slick and something I may upgrade later. Here's a few items you may want to look at and a couple you've already touched on. Drop that left box a touch and bring it even with the right. Bring your bicep and forearm armor around and center it with your shoulder bell. The right pouch needs to be even with your belt line. Not sure if that's the one you have the Aker in. It looks crooked. Pull your flight suit down through your knee armour so it looks tight. I ended up putting some elastic in the legs of my flight suit so it would pull tight when I put my boots on to help avoid the "bagging" problem. You're more than ready for pre-approval brother! I don't see anything that would stop your GML from approving you. Now get that done and let's make a run at Lancer! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted May 26, 2016 Author Share Posted May 26, 2016 I've submitted my approval pics, but found time to do one more task: making the TD clips. Used 1/16th inch by 1 inch aluminium, following Pandatrooper's measurements. Rather than spray paint, I borrowed some black nail polish and used that for colouring. Now I'm just in waiting mode for approval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rackey01 Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 That's an impressive build. Are you planning on weathering it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted June 3, 2016 Author Share Posted June 3, 2016 Will weather eventually. First troop is this weekend so I'll see how it all shakes out, then start on adjustments (weathering, carving boots for Lancer, maybe zip tie bells) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Will weather eventually. First troop is this weekend so I'll see how it all shakes out, then start on adjustments (weathering, carving boots for Lancer, maybe zip tie bells) Where is that approval? Did your GML take the month off to go snow skiing in the Alps or something? I want to see that TKID# Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted June 4, 2016 Author Share Posted June 4, 2016 Apparently it's cleared at the GML end so just needs final 501st processing, which seems to be taking some time... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Sounds like your GML needs to shake the trees and get that TKID# to fall out. Congrats Brian! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 TB-27138 reporting for duty! Just came through today while I was trooping at Armageddon 😎 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 TB-27138 reporting for duty! Just came through today while I was trooping at Armageddon í ½í¸Ž Congrats brother! That's the best news ever. I hope you had a great time on your first troop! Make sure you post up to the tree dodger thread. Love to see some pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 TB-27138 reporting for duty! Just came through today while I was trooping at Armageddon í ½í¸Ž Congrats brother! That's the best news ever. I hope you had a great time on your first troop! Make sure you post up to the tree dodger thread. Love to see some pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted June 5, 2016 Author Share Posted June 5, 2016 Thanks Retro. It's been good having you guys to follow Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Begun ... the Lancer conversion has Now that I'm approved, I'm headed towards Lancer status. Starting with the bit I've dreaded most - carving up the boots. As it turns out, much like the stretching of the vinyl in the first phase, it turned out to be much easier than I expected. I devoted a bit of time to marking out, using ROTJ and MOTM reference pics, adjusting them for the size/style of boot (an NZ K-Mart purchase, but not a Texas Steer), and the width of the blades I was using. From this, I started cutting - outlines first, then putting the flat blade under and along, then using an angled blade to clean up any stragglers. Initially, I used a metal ruler to guide the cut, but soon got the hang of it and freehanded the rest. All up, the left boot took about 1.5 hours. I suspect the right will be less than an hour, as I've got the hang of it now (but also have to deal with the holster). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrofire Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 I like that you kept the cuts shallow. I wish I had kept that in mind when I did my boots. Nice work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 Finished the second boot: Now doing weathering tests - aiming to replicate the light spray can effect from ROTJ, but trying not to look like a spray can ("I don't know, weather casual"). I figure a real speeder bike travelling at 200mph would lead to a lot of dust and grease (and dead bugs?!?) on the armour, and especially the knees/boots, so will try for that. I like the overall gentle spray approach. Also tried spraying more on and wiping it off with a wet cloth to just leave it in the cracks, which is how I've seen a lot of weathering done - that wasn't as effective, although I may use it on the boot cuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 Phew - today I went ahead and weathered my armour. It's very strange that, after several months of carefully looking after it, I've voluntarily made it look like it was dragged behind the back of an AT-AT. It's still white from a distance, but you can see the light weathering when you get close, which is the same effect as watching on screen. As always, I started with research and re-watched all of the Scout scenes in ROTJ, paying careful attention to just how weathered everyone was. I'd previously focused on the reference photos from BSN, so it was interesting to see how some of the Scouts looked in the fight scenes, and to spot just how much spray paint was dusted on various bits of armour - it gave me confidence to got a little heavier than I'd previously planned. I started with knees and boots, putting more paint on these than the rest because they're closer to the ground and the bike, and spending a bit of time spraying then wiping it off/around to get them nicely smeared. (photo is of one boot done, one not, to show the contrast) I also made sure to mask my visor so I didn't get paint in my vision! For the rest, I arrived at a technique that is less about weathering the armour, and more about painting an imaginary object in front of the armour and not worrying about overspray - that gave a nice dusting effect without it looking like it was tagged. I now just need to wait for my DVH blaster to arrive, replace my helmet bolts and traps (which I'm ordering today), and paint the red line on the top of the tank, and I'll be ready to submit for Lancer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 I thought I'd try the zip-ties trick to attach the shoulder bells to the chest/back armour. First I anchored the zip-ties to the velcro I'd originally used for the connection inside the bell, then sewed it between the velcro/elastic layers I had at the chest/back connection: then tried it on, adjusting it so it's visible but has that subtle "float" effect (blue shirt for background here just so it stands out): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Looks pretty good. Ultimately, the gap should be no more than 1-1.5". I'd bring them up a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 Re-made the zip tie connections to be shorter, more even and connect directly to the white bridge fabric: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shada Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 New arrival last week - my DVH Blaster. Customs inspected it - I guess it looked suspicious in the x-ray, but let it through without cost. It's very nice - great work Lou! I've included a few photos of it next to the 3D printed one I had made for my initial trooping - DVH's is bigger in some areas and smaller in others, but feels more substantial. The only problem, which I'll post in response to a Weapons thread, is that it fits in my SC holster but not in a way that allows me to easily attach the magnet. I suspect there's a fix, so am looking for that. I've also created a new cod (the cleaner-looking one with black elastic attached) in response to feedback on my Lancer submission - hopefully that will pass muster. I'm likely to be doing at least 2 and maybe 4 more supermarket troops this weekend, so looking forward to trying out the modifications in real life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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