Jbar's new sc scout build

[JBar]

Ok, here I go, after months of researching I finally ordered all my parts and a ton of stuff arrived in the mail today! It's like Christmas! I'm still not exactly sure where all the parts go, so I may have outlined my armor wrong haha.

I have a horrible camera so I'll try to get the best photos I can for now.

 

I'Il be the only scout here in Montana so the forums are all I've got to base my research off of. I'm so thankful for all the posts I've read and help I've had here. I got to go to Salt Lake Comic Con and I'm thankful for some of the tips I received. It was my only chance to look at real scout armor. Anyone out there feel free to critique or ask questions!

 

I ordered the full sc kit for the helmet and armor. I'm 5'5" 150lb so I needed an overall smaller armor and helmet set which is why I went with sc. The flight suit is from Red Kap Twill Action size 38 regular and fits me just fine. The boots are ordered from Kmart, Texas Steer Men's Soft Toe Work Boot size 9.

 

The scout blaster is 3d printed from a friend. Lots of sanding and priming!

I used the exact tutorial from a guy on youtube called Happy Trooper. It's a great tutorial for a cheap dlt 19. I added the scope to make it a DLT 19X.

[JBar]

Helmet - SC

Armor - SC

Undersuit - Red Kap and custom sewing by me

Vest - WIP by me

Cummerbund - Chef or Marcel

Pouches - Chef or Marcel

Boots - WIP Kmart work boot and marine vinyl

Gloves- Wampa Wear

Blaster - 3d printed

[762s]

looks very nice!

 

good luck and keep us updated with the build.

[M.J]

Hi ya John, you can't go wrong with that armour.

 

Post as many pics as you can while you build.

 

Remember there never is a dumb question only the one you didn't ask.

[JBar]

I did a cut out of the lens area. I still have to smoothen it out some. Before I do, does anything think I should sand out more? I've heard that SC helmets usually have a small eyepiece, but I also don't want to cut out too much.

[JBar]

More helmet progress:

So I've searched far and wide for an sc helmet tutorial. I got some help when I emailed sc. I've never done this before, and I don't have any references, but I hope to show as much as I can to help the next person. I hope I'm doing this right, so far so good!

 

First I used ABS cement that I found at Home Depot. This stuff is unlike anything I've ever used. BE CAREFUL not to let it go anywhere but where you want it. Not only does it glue, it also fuses like acid into the plastic. It dries in minutes though! I glued the back end then once dry clamped each side and did the same.

 

This first part was easy, I drilled a small pilot hole into the middle of the indent, then a second pass with a 1/4" bit.

 

I clamped the visor to the faceplate so that I could get a good alignment on the two pieces. The clamp really helped. I spent nearly an hour aligning everything. Take your time here. A few extra minutes can save hours of a mistake.

 

I made sure that the top of the faceplate stayed underneath the visor. I'll probably glue this after a dry fit.

 

I marked a spot to drill into the faceplate from where the hole was in the visor. I then drilled the faceplate holes.

 

I repeated the same process for the last piece of the helmet

 

Also, I learned this trick from building my tie helmet. I boiled a big pot of water and dipped my visor into it for just a second. While hot, I pressed the visor against the faceplate as it cooled. I did this a couple times and now it's a perfect fit. I've heard horror stories of melting plastic with a heat gun. However boiling water seemed to do the trick, and nothing is warped. Just be patient with it.

 

I'm still working on getting a larger drill bit to fully plug the holes with the metal discs. I'll post pictures soon.

[Mr.Mike]

Following! I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on an SC armor/helmet combo as well (5'9" 165 lbs with bit of a beer gut) Thank you for the detail in your build. Would mind forwarding or posting the email you got from SC regarding their advice, I too can use all the help I can get.

[JBar]

I wish I could say I did more, but I'm being really patient and following the glue instructions to "wait 24 hours" for it to cure before proceeding. Patience is hard haha.

 

So I left the hole that is drilled into the main part of the helmet at a 1/4" bit. However, I drilled a 9/32" bit into the visor and faceplate to make it just big enough to fit the metal hinge bolts all the way through. Now they are secure with the square part of the bolt. This leaves the rest of the bolt to fit and pivot into the 1/4" hole on the other piece of the helmet.

 

I think I'm safe to start gluing the visor against the faceplate on the top and sides.

 

While drying I cut out the ear holes. I still have to clean them up to be as accurate as I can make them.

[JBar]

Ok big helmet update. The "Gloo" finally cured and everything is pretty much put together.

I painted the rest of the inside of the helmet with some black paint. I also hot glued the visor into the faceplate. I was going to make a fancier way to insert the lense, but it was shaped so well that just a little hot glue is holding it well in place.

 

The snout greeblie was spray painted grey and I masked off the respirator part. The front of the faceplate where the snout is placed was carefully painted black. Looks like years of painting miniatures was finally put to use! I also glued in some putty behind the snout greeblie so that it wouldn't wiggle around the faceplate with just the screw put in through the back. Here is the back of the faceplate where the screw goes into the greeblie.

 

Then I put the faceplate on the main part and twisted in the nut and washer.

The left side of the helmet doesn't quite fit as snug as the right side. Some work with the heatgun helped, but I don't want to risk warping. I think I'll either add some velcro or even some sort of latch in order to keep the faceplate secure to the helmet.

 

I also have to add the decals, weather it, and possibly paint the metal side bolts if required. I still have to do a little resarch.

I'm wondering if all the sticker decals are required or can I just paint some of them on? I don't want my helmet to look like it has stickers. Maybe I can find a way to blend them into the helmet.

[JBar]

Next part, Boots! I'm literally just following the tutorial in the soft parts sticky tutorial. I'll add more to this post and I go. Here it is so far:

[M.J]

Looking good John

[Imperial Speedster]

Yeah, I would too. Recently received my Kit and noticed that one side didn't quite fit as well as other side. Myself and a friend agreed that adding a small bit of Velcro would be best suited and minimise impact on ABS plastic.

[The Wayner]

Wow, this is the exact helmet and armor I looking to go with. I'm 5'11, would you say that the armor has some room for a bigger frame person?

It's so tough to find the right dealer even if you read all 1000 threads. I actually makes your head spin trying to figure out which one works best. Not like any of us can just go down to the SW armor/helmet store and try on the right pieces to see which fits better.

 

Also, with the helmet, did you find it easy to align it up before attaching/gluing? With all the kit helmets, I'm hesitant will picking one that might be a pain to come together and possibly ruining the whole thing.

 

Keep it up, we are all watching and taking notes.

[The Wayner]

Also, I pain on making my own boots. With with the marine vinyl, can you heat it to wrap around the toe of boots to get that smooth or is it just muscle stretching it smooth and lots of abs glue? lol

[JBar]

Also, I pain on making my own boots. With with the marine vinyl, can you heat it to wrap around the toe of boots to get that smooth or is it just muscle stretching it smooth and lots of abs glue? lol

 

Here is the exact tutorial: http://forum.bikerscout.net/index.php?showtopic=903

What I did was pin the vinyl down then would take turns stretching out a side and re pinning. I heated up the vinyl each time. It was easy to do with a heat gun. It gets very stretchy so it isn't too hard. Always leave the pins in where the toe is though. Just stretch the sides. Also, one everything cooled over night I took out the pins on the sides and very very quickly glued the vinyl down and repinned one more time.

[JBar]

Wow, this is the exact helmet and armor I looking to go with. I'm 5'11, would you say that the armor has some room for a bigger frame person?

It's so tough to find the right dealer even if you read all 1000 threads. I actually makes your head spin trying to figure out which one works best. Not like any of us can just go down to the SW armor/helmet store and try on the right pieces to see which fits better.

 

Also, with the helmet, did you find it easy to align it up before attaching/gluing? With all the kit helmets, I'm hesitant will picking one that might be a pain to come together and possibly ruining the whole thing.

 

Keep it up, we are all watching and taking notes.

 

Thanks! I have the same problem. I live where there are no other scouts to compare armor with. From my research, sc looked to be perfect for people who are in the medium to small sizes like me. Here are some quick reference photos if it helps:

 

 

I rarely take pictures of myself, so I didn't realize I've gained some weight now that I'm married haha.

 

Here is a reference pic from my last troop. I'm the little pilot lol. Then again, the other pilots did seem taller than most.

[JBar]

I'm at a bit of a standstill while I figure out how to use my sewing machine. Lots of youtube is involved. My goal for the weekend is to finish the boots and sew the suede into my flightsuit. I have the time just not the skills yet.

I had to take a break from youtube and I finished my gun case for my dlt 19x. I had to router out the inside for the rifle to fit. It doesn't look pretty, but it is very snug and shouln't get damaged during transport.

 

[The Wayner]

Well we are on our 2nd child and I’ve got a starter Dad-bod working myself. So a few extra inches in the cummerbund for me too.

Last Q- buying the SC helmet, I’m happy to see it’s not one of the sets where the whole piece is split in half. I’m trying to stay away from that. I’m invisioning a disaster for me. But are you happy either the SC set up/puttting together.

 

Again, keep up the detailed work. I’ll be watching and taking notes my friend. Looks great

[JBar]

Well we are on our 2nd child and I’ve got a starter Dad-bod working myself. So a few extra inches in the cummerbund for me too.

Last Q- buying the SC helmet, I’m happy to see it’s not one of the sets where the whole piece is split in half. I’m trying to stay away from that. I’m invisioning a disaster for me. But are you happy either the SC set up/puttting together.

 

Again, keep up the detailed work. I’ll be watching and taking notes my friend. Looks great

 

I've never assembled any armor kit or helmet before. However I'm pretty experienced building miniatures, but this was a much larger task. I thought it actually came together nicely so overall yeah I'd say it was easy enough. Still took a couple hours. You just don't want to rush it at all. Measure 3 times before drilling or gluing anything. Definitely looks much easier than the "authentic" helmet builds out there with a split down the middle. PM incoming for a pdf instructions I have of it.

 

Furthermore, I was finally able to finish the boots! I still need to add the blaster holster. I'm also thinking of adding a velcro strap near the top of the boot to hold it tight on my leg.

 

 

It literally took me all weekend straight to learn how to sew. Lots of mistakes were made along the way but it turned out pretty good in the end.

[CLINK]

Just ordered my first Biker Scout full kit from StudioCreations. Can't wait to get started. Neon City Garrison helping me with the build, starting in about 30 days. Good luck! I will be watching your boot progress.

[JBar]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad this is going ok so far. Ok, here is a "snap" update...literally. I didn't want everything held together by hot glue and velcro, so I went with a snap build. It's funny I literally had a dream about how to put this together using snaps, and so far it has worked!

 

So first, I glued the black greeblie onto the tank

 

I apparently forgot to take a picture of the other side, but here is a piece of abs plastic that I riveted into the back armor side (I messed up the first time and put the plastic in too high). I used a 3/16" rivet. By the way, if you don't have a pop rivet gun, get one! They are amazing. Anyway, I used a heat gun and what you see here is the back side of an "L" shaped piece of plastic. There is a ledge on the other side that is glued to the top underside of the tank.

 

(This one pic is not mine, this is from Pandatrooper's build. This is what I replicated. I forgot this picture.) As you can see, the part sticking out is meant to be used as a place to rivet the top of the tank down to. However, my rivet didn't quite line up so I just hot glued the ledge to the underside of the tank and it's holding together well.

 

And the bottom is riveted in with a 1/8" rivet

 

I used 5/32" rivets that worked perfectly for some snaps I got at Joanne's. Here is how I riveted them to some plastic. I used these female ends to hot glue to the inside of the armor so that I could attach the straps. I probably went through 20 rivets until I figured out how to do this right.

 

The side straps are white 1 1/2" cotton webbing I got from Jontay Webbing. The top black straps are actually loop velcro with the loops facing the ground. I'm going to use that strip to later attach shoulder armor and the white 1 1/2" cotton straps that cover the connection between the front and back plates.

 

Here is one side snapped together. I left some room on the bottom to fit in more adjustment snaps in case I ever gain or lose weight.

 

Some fitting pictures. I should mention that I carefully and lightly heated the ends of the armor under my armpit and shaped them in a more inward way to better fit my body.

[Retrofire]

That’s a fine pair of kickers there! Great job and good on ya for tackling the sewing yourself. Once you get some experience it becomes less intimidating and you’ll be able to do more yourself. When you go for the holster use a couple of scrap strips on top and bottom that run the length between the rivets. That will secure your holster tight to the vinyl and reduce the risk of the rivets pulling out. Other than my back tank that’s the one area I tend to “bonk†on things (chairs, tables, Ewoks) so you want that connection to be strong.

[JBar]

Huge update! For the most part, I have the hard armor finished up. I'm still waiting on some rare earth magnets to arrive to finish the boot holster and the thermal detonator. I'm building this with possible lancer status in mind in the future, so I used the correct width of straps for the armor according to the CRL. You'll see here I used a ton of snaps. For each snap I used the same method as I did with the chest armor. I also put snap ends in my flightsuit to hold the armor onto. It took a lot of trial and error and measuring. (I also made a mistake and I'll have to put that top shoulder snap on my vest instead, I haven't made that yet)

 

For the shoulders, using a dremyle, I trimmed off about 3/4 of an inch from the bottom on the shoulder armor. I very carefully used a heat gun to warm up the armor while squeezing them with my hand so that they would better cup my shoulders. Straps are 1/2"

 

*This is next one is not my picture, it's one from Pandatrooper's build which I used. However, I only shaved off up to 4" high and slightly less than 1/2" deep since my shoulder armor was already trimmed down to match my smaller size*

 

The upper arm piece fit my arm well enough that I didn't need to use the heat gun. Straps are 1 1/2".

 

The forearm also needed a heat gun to curve it around my arm. Strap is 1".

 

I made the shoulder, upper arm, all line up down the side of the flightsuit. I also rounded off any edges of the armor so that it didn't have sharp angles.

 

The knee caps have a 5/8" top strap and 1/2" bottom strap.

(I forgot to get a picture, I'll need to add one here)

 

Here is the test fit, it looks good to my but I'm no expert. I need to add another snap so that the upper arm armor doesn't flare out at the bottom. Also looks like I forgot to snap down my knee caps which is why they are low.

 

The belt was one of the trickier things to make because of all the sizing I had to do. As you can probably tell, I prefer snaps over velcro, but here I used a big clip to hold everything together. I basically just used my dremel cutting wheel to cut slices into the armor for the webbing to go through. I got the by the yard webbing online from Jontay. It's 1 1/2" white cotton (3 yards, including enough for the sides of the chest armor) and 2" for the back strap (1 yard). The buckles are from Strapworks online with the respective sizes. Again, you'll see where I put lots of snaps, and when the back buckle is snapped together, the belt fits perfectly. I may add the two rivets on the sides of the belt if I go lancer status.

I greatly trimmed down the edges of the belt and glued them together with more abs adhesive. I tried to get the boxes (not the drop boxes) as close together as I could. I'm kind of a small guy, so like I said, I had a lot of cutting to do since the SC belt armor comes with some extra plastic on the ends for larger people.

 

I had to heat up the belt buckle tabs and curve them inward so that when I glued the three belt pieces together, they would form around my waist. If you want a better belt tutorial, visit Pandatrooper's, who I've referenced before: http://forum.bikersc...opic=9781&st=40

I used snaps whereas he used velcro.

 

Here it is snapped together

 

And unsnapped

 

And some test pictures. Looks like the boxes are supposed to hang 1-2" from the belt which I did. The 4 buckles are just looped through and the back buckle is secured with some sewing.

[JBar]

That’s a fine pair of kickers there! Great job and good on ya for tackling the sewing yourself. Once you get some experience it becomes less intimidating and you’ll be able to do more yourself. When you go for the holster use a couple of scrap strips on top and bottom that run the length between the rivets. That will secure your holster tight to the vinyl and reduce the risk of the rivets pulling out. Other than my back tank that’s the one area I tend to “bonk†on things (chairs, tables, Ewoks) so you want that connection to be strong.

Do you mean scrap strips of plastic or vinyl? Just curious on how that helps the holster from falling out? Do the strips go between the rivets or through them?

[JBar]

Blaster/holster complete! I again used Pandatrooper's method of magnetizing the blaster handle. I bought some 1/2" by 1/8" steel cup holds from K & J Magnets (NSC82) as well as some 1/2" by 1/8" axially magnetized magnets (D82). The cup holds help strengthen the magnets and provide a hole for them to be riveted into some scrap plastic. I layered more plastic on top of the riveted magnets/cups until it was flush with some holes I drilled in the holster. 5/32" rivets did the trick for me.

 

 

Lots of hotglue to glue the magnets in

 

Thanks to Retrofire for giving me a pro tip before I riveted the holster to the boot. You'll see some leftover scrap from my shoulder armor that I used as a brace to rivet the holster to the boot. It also will prevent the vinyl from tearing. I used 1/8" rivets. Make sure the scrap plastic is tight against the vinyl and holster.

 

I tore off the guard to my 3d printed blaster and replaced it with a tie plate I had ling around. It was a perfect sized replacement. I had to fill the holes of the metal with welder's putty then covered each side with black electrical tape before repainting.

 

Magnet test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JiE-qojDCQ