Dennis' Scout WIP (Lancer)

[iceknyght]

1 hour ago, AradunFF said:

 

Thanks Jason. Great tip! I’ll give that a shot to dial in the sleeves.

As to the Velcro in the helmet, that thought did cross my mind about stretching the elastic. So I’ll need to be careful opening the lid like you said. I too was thinking about using rare earth magnets but will feel the Velcro out first and see how it goes. Thanks for the advice!

 

 

You're welcome!   

I didn't think about the elastic either, and then I went to take the helmet off for the first time after I added it and realized that "just opening" it wasn't going to work!  LOL!  The velcro I have is the super strong/low profile stuff, so that's probably not helping things either...  LOL!  But it DOES stay closed!

[Aradun]

[mention]iceknyght [/mention] Jason your assessment was spot on. So after kitting up and taking photos for my lancer submission for about an hour I quickly noticed how the Velcro was actually preventing the face plate from closing all the way. The hook would snag the loop as soon as it came in contact with it just catching the edge of the loop. I was driving myself nuts. So I removed it from the one side that was causing the most problems and plan to remove the other side as well.

 

My thought now is to glue a magnet to the bucket just behind the chin strap and place another magnet where the hook was on my faceplate. That should eliminate the pull on the chin strap that the Velcro was causing while also allowing the faceplate to close properly. I just gotta pick up the magnets.

[Retrofire]

If you need some rare earth mags I have some 1/4” dia that I can give you. I also have some 5/8-3/4 dia but those might be a touch too strong. Let me know if you want some so you don’t have to buy a bunch.

[iceknyght]

11 hours ago, AradunFF said:

[mention]iceknyght [/mention] Jason your assessment was spot on. So after kitting up and taking photos for my lancer submission for about an hour I quickly noticed how the Velcro was actually preventing the face plate from closing all the way. The hook would snag the loop as soon as it came in contact with it just catching the edge of the loop. I was driving myself nuts. So I removed it from the one side that was causing the most problems and plan to remove the other side as well.

 

My thought now is to glue a magnet to the bucket just behind the chin strap and place another magnet where the hook was on my faceplate. That should eliminate the pull on the chin strap that the Velcro was causing while also allowing the faceplate to close properly. I just gotta pick up the magnets.

I'll be curious on how the magnets work.  My velcro works "okay" as long as I keep it on just the one side, but that side also doesn't sit 100% flush to each other (and I kind of pull the face plate out as I shut it over the velcro), so I can seat it where I want, but it's definitely not as easy as just opening and closing it!

[Aradun]

If you need some rare earth mags I have some 1/4” dia that I can give you. I also have some 5/8-3/4 dia but those might be a touch too strong. Let me know if you want some so you don’t have to buy a bunch.

You’re the man Pete! Thanks for the offer. My wife actually had 5/8 mags that she uses for crafting, but they’re about 3/16” thick. However I don’t care for the way it looks, as together the two create a 3/8” gap between the bucket and faceplate, which is really noticeable in my eyes. So I think I’m going to let sleeping dogs lie on this one until I can think of some alternative.

[Aradun]

Okay so I’ve submitted my kit to the Lancer review team. You can see my submission here:

 

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/21728-tb-60446-lancer-deployment-request/

 

Following feedback, I’ve swapped out the 5/16” rivets in the knee armor and holster for 1/8” rivets. It’s all about screen accuracy right?

 

New 1/8” rivets in place. You can see how the existing rivet was oversized.

 

New rivets installed.

 

So for those of you RS kit owners ( [mention]BrewMongrel [/mention] , [mention]Hawk [/mention] , [mention]iceknyght [/mention] ) who have commented on my build, changing out the knee rivets is another change you’ll need to make IF you plan to pursue Level 2 certification with the detachment. You’ll be fine for basic approval.

 

Another possible change may involve relocating the lower rivet on your tank. RS’ placement of the bottom rivet for my tank was fine for basic approval, but needed to be shifted up higher to meet Lancer specs. It could have been an anomaly with whom ever built my kit, or it could be standard assembly procedures for their builds. In either case I wanted to call it to your attention so you can check it’s location.

 

 

There was enough 1/2” strap for me to stretch it to fit the new rivet placement, but I had to pull it free from where it had been glued to the inside of the tank.

 

I used some Green Stuff to fill the hole (I only had gray abs on hand, so making an abs slurry to fill the hole wasn’t in the cards for me.). The Green Stuff has a way longer work time compared to body filler (not that it’s needed in this case), but I find it less messy and easy to clean than body filler, which is why I used it. The down side is it takes waaay longer to set so I have to hold off of sanding and painting until tomorrow.

 

I used 5/16” rivets for my holster to keep everything in uniform with what RS used. Shoulda went with my gut and checked in with an armorer first to confirm that it wouldn’t be an issue. I know 1/8” has been recommended in various threads and heck I even recommended them myself to others. Lesson learned. Follow your gut and ask your questions.

 

When I removed the holster, I noticed cracking spanning out from the rivet to the edge of the holster. All four corners had it and the top rear was the worst. This is common if backing washers aren’t used but I did use them on all four rivets so not sure why it was stressed.

 

 

To remedy this I grabbed some 60mm gray abs (would have preferred white, but as noted it was all I had on hand), traced the corners out, cut and filed to shape and then used CA glue to attach to the holster in order to reenforce the corners. Letting that cure for a day before reattaching to the boot. I’ll hand paint the edges white so it blends in and is less noticeable.

 

 

Last thing I need to address is the dreaded boot droop. I have an elastic strap sewn into the boot already and even added additional Velcro to it so I could get it tighter, but alas it’s still sagging a tad under the weight of the hold out blaster.

 

Was talking with a soon-to-be fellow scout from my detachment at a troop yesterday, and while I was thinking of inserting a snap on the boot and the undersuit leg, we came to the consensus that hook and loop might be more secure and a bit more forgiving with regard to adjustment if enough is used. So that’s what I’m going to tackle next.

[Aradun]

Lessons Learned - What I'd do differently.

This build was an incredible journey from start to finish.  I received basic approval on August 2, and obtained Lancer approval on August 18.

 

 

 

On behalf of Pathfinders Command, it is my pleasure to welcome Dennis "[mention=85551]AradunFF[/mention]" Mueller (TB-60446) to the illustrious ranks of the Lancer scouts!

Great job, Dennis!!   Make sure you send a picture of your coolest pose to us for addition to the Pathfinders Hall of Fame.  

Check out TB-60446's application here:

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It's been one heck of a ride since I started this WIP back in January, and I want to thank all of those Scouts and PDF Recruits who helped along the way.  Your input, ideas, suggestions, and most of all encouragement were invaluable to me.  Thank you. So to bring this WIP to a proper close, I thought I share what I'd do differently if I were to do it all again, (and I might...I'm currently trying to persuade my wife to join the Dark Side as a fellow Scout, fingers crossed).  

 

1. Undersuit:  I'd definitely go with a long option for the Red Kaps as opposed to their regular size.  I opted for the regular for this build and while I find it very comfortable to wear once it's on, suiting up is a bear.  I undergo a contortionist act getting the sleeves on and bending down to put boots and knee armor on raises my voice 10 decimals if you get my meaning.  A size long might require some additional tailoring, especially if you plan to go for Lancer, but I think the added comfort it will bring is worth it. 
2. Leather Riding Patch:  Most of the builds I viewed had the front patches squared off at the top.  If I were to do it again, I'd round off those corners.  If you don't get the patches and codpiece to align just right, you're likely to have those corners poking out from beneath the cod.  Rounding those corners from the get-go eliminates corners all together and will prevent you from having to seam rip the leather patch to cut and modify those corners. 
3. Boots: This one might be a matter of preference, but if I were to do this again, I'd get Elastic Laces for a no tie option.  I know that I have Elastic Laces listed in my materials list, but I decided to just keep the boot laces at the last minute.  Not a deal breaker, but I as I noted in #1 above, getting my boots on is the most uncomfortable part of suiting up.  Elastic laces would just make things a little simpler and quicker.  That being said, I think if I had a little more room in my undersuit (i.e., a long vs. regular) this would be a moot issue. 
4. Flak Jacket:  This was the bane of my build, especially trying to place hook and loop in the right spot to secure things like the cod, CB, and armor.  If I were to do this again from scratch, I'd make the neck opening a bit smaller so that I had more material between the neck seam and the start of the sleeve.  My current jacket only has about 1/2' of material.  I attached hook and loop to my undersuit and that part of the FJ to keep it secure and from sliding down on the shoulder.  I also made my raglan sleeves in two parts: a portion for the shoulder and underarm, and then the sleeve itself.  I'd make the sleeves one piece if doing it again.  I find that my current construction method makes the shoulder stiff and causes it to jut out a little, which was contributing to some initial sleeve flare.  You can see what I mean in the photos from my 3/17/20 post above.  Making it one piece and using lighter batting for quilting would allow the sleeve to roll over the shoulder and help lay flat against the undersuit.  As it was, I had to take in the sleeves to correct the flare.
5. Holster: This is a no-brainer given all of the advice about it on this forum, advice which I myself have passed along to others, but failed to heed myself...Use 1/8" rivets to attach your holster to your boot!  While at this time 1/8" rivets are not specifically noted in the CRL, they are required for Lancer.  They're not mentioned because it was one of those "givens" that everybody just knew.  It's also my understanding that 1/8" rivets are used in the CRL model, which also sets the standards in addition to the worded descriptions.  However, it was providence that I had to change them out for my Lancer app because I noticed that the corners of my holster were cracking in spite of being properly backed with washers.  If I were do to this again, I'd reinforce the corners of the holster from the get go with a little abs glued to the back, and of course use 1/8" rivets to attach to the boot.

Lastly, because I hate hook and loop, if I were to do this again, I would probably try using rare earth magnets to secure my bicep & forearm armor to my undersuit as [mention]“ Sure Shot “ [/mention] did in this post on correct armor positions.  It's a cool method and just one example of why the advice and idea exchange on this forum is so invaluable. 

 

Well, that's a wrap for me and this WIP.  So, thank you again my fellow scouts and soon to be scouts for all you did to help me succeed in this build, attain Lancer status, and fulfill a longtime dream of becoming a Biker Scout!  Now I gotta build me a speeder bike!  Summer Project 2021.

[BrewMongrel]

All extremely useful info, especially considering my RS armor should be nearing the end of its construction. I’m actually headed out the door as we speak to go do some work on my build. We don’t have a sewing machine at our place so I have to head out to the Imperial Sewing Department (my girlfriends grandmothers place). It doesn’t hurt to have an expert seamstress standing over your shoulder either. Congrats again on your Lancer approval Dennis, your thoroughness is a godsend. 

[Gree23]

Dennis, Thank you for pointing me to your build. A TON of helpful information has been posted by you in this and will help me take my build to Lancer I hope. I have been "thinking" and mind melting over the soft goods for a few months now, but I think that stops today and I am going to jump on getting the Patches and mud flap installed. I am also going to look at making the vest as I had an idea, but then looked at Lancer and will change it up a bit based on your build. Thank you so much for taking the time to focus on the information provided and helping future Scouts get done.