Harbinger’s TB WIP (501st/Lancer Approved - but never done!)

[Aradun]

Nice job reshaping the tank Brien. The whole thing looks great!


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[Harbinger]

Was able to wrap up the tank today (except rivets!). Here it is taped up to the back tank, I think the gaps look good to me:

 

And, a bonus:

 

I added a switch!

I know, I know, it isn't screen accurate... right now it's a dummy switch but I plan to eventually mount an Arduino/speaker in there to play some radio chatter. Unfortunately with everything shut down right now it will have to wait.

[BikerScout007]

Just now, Harbinger said:

Was able to wrap up the tank today (except rivets!). Here it is taped up to the back tank, I think the gaps look good to me:

 

And, a bonus:

 

I added a switch!

I know, I know, it isn't screen accurate... right now it's a dummy switch but I plan to eventually mount an Arduino/speaker in there to play some radio chatter. Unfortunately with everything shut down right now it will have to wait.

Just make sure it's in the proper position when you go for approval!

[Harbinger]

Yep, my plan is to make the correct position the "on" position... if I ever run a troop w/o audio I'll just pull the battery.

[Aradun]

Looking good Brien! Tank looks super!


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[Harbinger]

Update on my boots - Despite claims of being “extra-flexible”, the Rustoleum paint starting peeling almost immediately. I ended up sanding and repainting with regular ol’ latex paint. Mini how-to below:

How To: Paint boot soles (and add accurate horizontal strips)

Step 1 - Sanding

Sand boots with 150-200 grit sandpaper until your arms fall off (seriously, sand until you think they are good and then sand beyond this point!). The goal is to add surface area for the paint to grab onto... rubber is notoriously hard to paint. Be careful not to sand away any details or hard edges.

Step 2 - Accuracy/“Rubber-band’ing” (Optional, for Hi-Tec/Sierra Sneaker IV’s)

The Sierra/Woodland Sneakers lack the horizontal ribbing of the film used Inter boots but are otherwise, nearly identical.

Props to @Whiskey for realizing standard size rubber bands are just about perfect in terms of thinkness/width/flex for adding this detail back in. What I like to do is this:

1. Cut the rubber band to open it up.
2. Lay the rubber band strip down on the boot and mark the width of notch to fill with a pencil.
3. I like to cut the band at an angle so the piece is slightly ‘V’ shaped, this helps it fill the notch better than completely straight sides. It also helps if you match the natural “bend” of the band (it will have a curve from being a loop originally) to the contour of the boot sole, this avoids the ends sticking out: 
4. Glue band with a fresh tube of E6000 (for maximum adhesion).
5. Before fully dry, use a toothpick to scrap away any glue that has bled for a cleaner look.
6. Optionally, I used some “super flexible” exterior latex caulk to fill any remaining gaps between the original sole and rubber bands:

Step 3 - Prime

After everything has dried for a day or two (assuming you did step two), clean the whole sole with rubbing alcohol and let dry, they do a very thin coat of exterior latex primer over the sole and net dry fully.

I didn’t paint the upper sole as the white leather/vinyl will cover this part, but did paint the rear portion as it may be exposed per the original boots:

Since the glue, rubber bands, caulk and paint are all flexible they won’t crack when the sole flexes:

Step 4 - Paint

Using a good exterior latex paint (try and find a brand with added flex) in a wheat/gum/natural rubber color.

Note: The original Inter sneakers had soles with a slight orange tint:

Depending on the paint and underlying primer/sole color this may take 1-3 coats. A spray gun is ideal bit you can use a brush as well:

[Aradun]

Great “how to” Brien. Thanks for taking the time to document the process and your experience! This will be helpful to a lot of Scouts.


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[Harbinger]

Finished the other boot, how-to updated. I used some latex paint I had mixed locally (the color is on the can):

It looks pretty close to the original color, IMO.

[Strider]

Outstanding job! I really did not think it would be possible to get this to work but you defied the odds 😃👏

[Harbinger]

More progress!

Gave my knee armor a water bath to make them fit my legs better, hard to show in photos (narrower one on bottom):

 

I was able to finish my tank strapping, first sewing job, not the greatest but it’ll be hidden so all good:

I think the top looks pretty accurate though!:

[Harbinger]

Started on the knees. First things first, reinforcing the stress points. I made some pieces for the riveted area from scrap ABS and some reinforcing bits from a vinyl sign ($1 @ Home Depot!).

The sign material is thin enough to conform to the contours of the slot area:

Probably overkill but, rather be safe than sorry.

I also polished up the slots so they won’t snag on the elastic. I am doing this to the bicep/forearm armor as well but likely won’t take more photos as it’s more of the same.

Question, what’s the preferred/correct way to attach the elastic to the knee/bicep/etc. armor? Glue? Velcro? It seems most people use velcro but that seems like a lot of extra effort so I wonder why it is so prevalent.

[BlizzardScout]

I used Velcro sewn onto the right size elastic. My knees and biceps has corresponding snaps on them and the flight suit. I can’t stand sliding and having more petit arms it helps.


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[Chopper]

On 5/14/2020 at 7:45 PM, Harbinger said:

Question, what’s the preferred/correct way to attach the elastic to the knee/bicep/etc. armor? Glue? Velcro? It seems most people use velcro but that seems like a lot of extra effort so I wonder why it is so prevalent.

I imagine that the original scout armor glued their elastic onto the armor -- that's what they did with the OT TKs. I used velcro, which was a bit more work, yes. However, it allows me to easily adjust the tightness of the strapping as well as allow for quick replacement of the elastic, if needed.

[mickeymark34]

I also glued mine. 

 

[Harbinger]

22 Months Later…

 

Greetings troopers! I took an unplanned break from this build due to COVID, moved house, new job, had another kid… you know, the usual “life” thing.

My soft goods arrived sometime in the winter of 2020, after many delays (also COVID!). Sadly I’ve lost quite a bit of weight so will need those tailored or replaced. Anyway, first quasi-test fit since 2020!

 

Boot holster placement check?

[Chopper]

Hi Brien, your holster placement looks good.

You might want to loosen your crotch strap a bit to keep it from pulling your codpiece between your legs.

Otherwise, you look like you're well on your way.

[Aradun]

Dude!!! It’s great to see you back at it Brien. Looking forward to seeing you complete this. Congrats on the weight loss too. That’s a good problem to have.


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[Harbinger]

It was not intentional, I guess working from home and not eating fast food almost every day was a good side effect!

[Harbinger]

For Lancer, do the slots on the holster need to be cut all the way through or do they just need to be present?

[Chopper]

The slots should be cut through for Lancer. 

[Harbinger]

Thanks Corey. Always love reference.

Speaking of reference - how does this look for chest? Should the back armor be noticeable lower than the front? Apologies ahead of time, I'd prefer to have taken these with my flight suit on but I forgot, so sriracha shirt it is:

I may need to bring the tops closer together to maybe rotate the entire assembly forward... I'm also thinking I may need to use a hot water bath and/or heat gun to give these a little bit more of a curve so they fit my chest (see crudely drawn dashed white lines) better. Thoughts on either point appreciated.

[woobiee]

It might be okay with the width. My chest is small and I was also worried but after putting on everything, the jumpsuit plus the flak vest and the cummerbund really do fill that area up.

[Chopper]

Yes, consider the extra width that the flak vest will add to everything. I would hold off on any heat shaping until you have all of your soft goods in order.

I don't think you need to bring the back up much. Maybe a little, but they don't need to be absolutely perfectly even. Look at the screenshot below for reference:

[Harbinger]

More build questions, in no particular order, as I prepare to work on my kit this weekend:

1. How much should the belt overlap in the back, other than 'the TD should hide it"? Was there a set overlap on screen suits?
2. Does anyone have photo reference of the shoulder strapping from the inside of the screen suits, or in lieu of that recommended methods that best approximate the look (other than Strider's thread, wanted to see what others have done).
3. How are people mounting the back armor cotton webbing on the inside of the armor? Glue/velcro, vs. one continuous piece from one side to the other, etc. Anyone know what the film suits did?

[Chopper]

24 minutes ago, Harbinger said:

More build questions, in no particular order, as I prepare to work on my kit this weekend:

1. How much should the belt overlap in the back, other than 'the TD should hide it"? Was there a set overlap on screen suits?
2. Does anyone have photo reference of the shoulder strapping from the inside of the screen suits, or in lieu of that recommended methods that best approximate the look (other than Strider's thread, wanted to see what others have done).
3. How are people mounting the back armor cotton webbing on the inside of the armor? Glue/velcro, vs. one continuous piece from one side to the other, etc. Anyone know what the film suits did?

1. Not sure how much overlap there was on the screen suits and I haven't seen any photos of that detail. There is no set standard, aside from the det should hide it.

You can't see the webbing overlap in the photo below, so it can't have been a lot. For the sake of practicality, I'd say approx 2" min overlap would work, but that's not a "rule".

2. Similarly, we don't have any photos of the inside shoulder strapping. We only actually determined that they used zip ties to hold them on relatively recently, thanks to the HD blu-ray releases. Most folks tend to do some variation of the Strider method, as you mentioned. If you want to go with a diff method for attaching the zip ties, that's fine, as long as the end result looks right.

My original build used a piece of webbing that wrapped around the bridge with velcro and the zip tie looped through. Personal methods may vary.

3. I used a single strap + velcro to mount the back webbing inside the armor. See below.