FN1313 scout build thread

[FN1313]

Hey everyone. I’m working on building my second armor kit and have decided for a scout. My first kit was a TLJ FOTK and due to immobility, size of storage and visibility, I opted to give a scout the run for my next kit so I can have one for versatility.

That being said I’m going to be documenting my build and progress here.

First, my components:

Helmet

KriptonTop/Cucblack helmet kit

Also getting a spare with my armor kit

Armor

Studio Creations armor kit

Soft goods

Deluxe Biker Scout soft goods from KriptonTop/Cucblack 

Gloves

Imperial Boots

Boots

Currently going to get from a garrison member otherwise I will build my own.

 

Long term I aim to go Lancer with this build as I don’t see too much difficulty in doing so. But I may get basic build done first then add to it. We will see.

progress pics and guide to come.

[FN1313]

Links to Build Sections

(in progress)

Build materials

Helmet - Cucblack aka Kripton Top

Boots

Soft Parts

Armor

> Boot/Holster

> Thermal Detonator

> Back Plate/Tank

> Chest, Back, and Shoulders

> Arms

> Knees

Basic Approval Submission Photos

>>>note: the TD was upside down in these photos. So use them as reference points, but know that I had it put on upside down.

[FN1313]

As mentioned I will have two helmets. The first I've already got from Cucblack aka KriptonTop. The second which I will build much later probably will come with the armor kit.

Here's the build process I followed with the Cucblack helmet.

The helmet unpacked

From here I used an exacto blade and did score and snap method to cut off all the additional plastic and cut holes into the eyes and ear sections.

I then used some masking tape to put things together how the helmet would be formed so I could see how it fit together and which spots would need some additional trimming to fit. I also at this point drilled holes into the sides of the visor to determine where to put the nuts and bolts that came with it to connect the faceplate/visor to the helmet.

Now that I had the basic sizing and build, It was time to glue things together.

I used some Loctite glue and the extra plastic provided to glue the helmet sides together on the inside. After the glue set I used fiberglass cloth and fiberglass resin to fill and strengthen the seam.

I also added fiberglass and resin to the inner ear vents as you can see above to strengthen them as the plastic there was a little thin.

After that solidified, I needed to fill the seams. To do this I used Bondo filler. Note here I had to fill once, and then let it cure a day, after I had to do another layer to fill completely as there was still a dent left behind from filling the first time. Here's how it was after:

Now to sand...

and sand...

and sand.

did I mention sanding?

 

 

 

[FN1313]

But it's worth the beauty.

I then used some primer filler to see if there were any spots needing touch up.

There were a few, so I filled them using Bondo Spot Putty.

and layered over the seam for added filling.

 

[FN1313]

Finally painting.

I used some Rustoleum 2x gloss white paint and just sprayed light layers every 15 minutes until I had an even distribution of the paint as such.

Did the same on the face cover. After such I let the paint sit a few days to cure properly. I then used some black enamel paint I picked up at the local hobby shop to paint the snout area. I used a sponge type brush to avoid the marks you get from regular horse hair paint brushes or so.

I let this dry overnight and then applied decals and glued the snout greeblies in with the Loctite glue.

 

[FN1313]

Finally to start putting things together.

 

[FN1313]

And because I'm a dirty guy, I decided to weather my helmet. How so?

First I took a black paint rattle can and sprayed little puffs of paint from 2 feet away, this gives the dirt look and light weathering. 

I then did some puffs a little closer in some spots to emphasize a little more dirty, but not a lot of these.

The best trick I found was putting the same enamel paint I used on the snout in a plastic cup and pouring in a bit of water to "wash" the paint and thin it out. The enamel didn't thin like acrylic paints, but I liked what it did instead. I used some shredded paper towels that I dipped in and some spots got wet with paint and others with water. I then brushed the wet paper towels along the helmet in spots that I would think wear would happen and that gave it the black scuff looks you see below.

Finally I used some 200 Grit sandpaper to scuff up some of the heavier black paint areas to make it look scratched up there as well and not just painted. This gave it a true wear look.

 

[FN1313]

After drying I used Loctite to glue the grey covers in place for the visor.

And now he sits with his brother while we wait for the rest of the kit.

[FN1313]

Got the soft parts from KriptonTop on Etsy.

These are the deluxe soft parts which have the better material to be more accurate. The suit fits just like I thought it would, perfectly. If you get the same undersuit, measure everything 1 inch bigger to give some space otherwise it will fit too perfectly. You'll thank having that extra spacing.

Here's a closer look of the diaper

and the cummerbund

I plan to sew the top of the diaper to the bottom of the flak vest.

Each part came with Velcro that is not already sewn on so you can size and then determine where to place the Velcro so it holds everything in it's proper place. I will detail more of how I put it together later when I can fit it with my armor pieces.

[Stroker]

Hey could you post some pics of the riding patch? I wanna see if his changed his pattern any.

[FN1313]

I will have to get it in a few days. It’s all with my family who have the sewing machines and all.

[Aliaz]

To get you into the scout mindset: codpiece, not diaper


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

[FN1313]

1 hour ago, Aliaz said:

To get you into the scout mindset: codpiece, not diaper


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

Yeah didn’t know what the best term was, had my hard codpiece with my FOTK, so I didn’t know if that was still the term or what. 

[Aliaz]

Yeah didn’t know what the best term was, had my hard codpiece with my FOTK, so I didn’t know if that was still the term or what. 

All good


Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk

[FN1313]

On 3/15/2019 at 8:58 PM, Stroker said:

Hey could you post some pics of the riding patch? I wanna see if his changed his pattern any.

@Stroker Here you go.

[FN1313]

Alright, I got my boots and materials to build them, so here's what I've got. I've been following this guide from @cheesewhoopy Biker Scout Boots Tutorial. Let me add, it's a fantastic guide, so give it a read over.

I actually got the same boots and didn't realize it until I started working on them. They are on Amazon pretty affordable. Kingshow Water Resistant Premium Work Boots

First thing I did was draw out the design on the soles to cut out.

After I saw more detail that the squares around the heel actually cut up to the seam, so you will see that in my cuts.

And here's an added small video I did explaining my process some just for those who want more visual aid.

Boot Sole Cuts Video

 

[Stroker]

Nice clean job on the boots. Looking good. 

[FN1313]

Now that the soles were cut I'm working on the marine vinyl covering.

First I cut two equal sized portions of the vinyl to cover the toes of the boots. It's okay to give yourself some extra just to be sure you cover it completely.

Now the big part here that took time was the stretching and pinning. You want to stretch it so it sits as perfectly flush to the boot as possible. What this means? You will stretch, pull and repin multiple times to be sure to tighten the material. All while heating regularly with a heat gun. I got a reasonable price heat gun from amazon.

The vinyl material is pretty durable so don't worry about ripping when you pull tight. It can take quite a tug.

Also make sure you have LOTS of thumb tacks. You will need lots. (also cheap and easy to find on Amazon)

My first pass of heat, stretch, and pin was along the outer part of the soles

Then I heated more and stretched tighter while putting the pins more along the seam of the soles (see the front part of the boot in the above image and the images below)

Again see how many tacks I used. Maybe it's not necessary, but I think it's good to be sure to form the heated vinyl and hold it as tight as possible while it cools.

I let my boots sit for an hour to cool (probably don't need to wait that long, but I was watching sports ball too) after it has cooled and the material is now more rigid and retaining it's shape, pull all the tacks out minus the front two or so. Then pull the vinyl back to expose the shoe.

Now here's where you'll need to forgive me. I didn't get any pictures or so of my glue process, but I think the post I've followed again does a great job, so follow that one for sure. I used Shoe Goo to glue the vinyl instead of E600 as I've heard it's better for the purposes of exactly this, but Most adhesives I'm sure will do a decent job.

After spreading the Shoe Goo like sticky slightly cold peanut butter over a cow's hide so it has a very thick sticky layer of shoe snot coating the area to be covered, Lay the vinyl back in place:

And start tacking again, being sure to keep things taught so the vinyl is fully adhering as much as possible. It's been said if you have shoe expanders or something to stick in so it acts like a foot, put that in beforehand to keep things pushed outward.

I had none of that, so I decided to be creative and got some canned fruit, peaches to be exact, and shoved them in the boots so they would push out in the spots around the mid foot that don't have as much strength or outward push. They do the job. (I think you will be fine using pears, fruit cocktails, maybe even broth, but avoid the chowder at all costs...It can get kind of clammy)

and with basic tack structure, I again put as many in as possible to hold the bottom edging as close to the goo as possible.

And now, I'm going to let this sit for 24 hours.

[Stroker]

Wise choice to go with shoe goo! It holds up on all my boots. My buddies have used different glues and didn't stand up to many troops. Shoe goo has proven to last. Keep up the good work!

[FN1313]

Update on the boots:

I sized up the calve portion following the previously noted build thread and cut out the vinyl.

I then used the exacto blade to cut off the remainder vinyl on the boot toe. 

And then cut out the 1/2 inch strip to cover the toe seam and glued it in place:

[FN1313]

Then it was on to build the calve portions:

As in the build thread I followed I folded down the top inch and sewed a line through that about 1/2 inch down. Then I sewed the two lines down the velcro seam. After such I used more shoe goo on the sides of the shoes to attach the bottom sides of the calves in place, leaving area in the back for the calves to open up for my feet to get into the shoe.

I was bad at getting pictures of all this process...sorry I was a little in a rush and excited to finish. I added the dogbones to cover the gap and finish the boots.

Here's the results:

 

Sadly my flight suit is not with me right now as I'm sewing parts to hold everything in the right places, so I tested them out wearing jeans. This caused some more scrunching at the bottom because of the extra fabric which the flight suit has a zipper down there to tighten closer to my legs.

[Chopper]

Hey Kyle, just some minor feedback, but you might want to re-align the back 1/3 of your boot tops. It's hard to tell if the fold is slightly slanted, or if they just have their velcro stuck together unevenly. 

Nice work on the boots overall, though. 

[FN1313]

Yeah I see what you

mean, it’s the top of it that seems to angle up a bit. I think I just need to angle it downward a bit. I will look into that.

[FN1313]

Alright huge pic dump of the soft goods as my armor has shipped and I’m on the final stretches!

As I’m aiming for lancer, might as well post pics for guides here too.

Flak vest seams

flak vest back velcro

cummerbund stripes

Cummerbund with pouches

Cummerbund velcro

Distances between stripe and pouches

Test fitting soft parts

[FN1313]

Gloves