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

[Harbinger]

More questions!

 

#1 - Is there a right/left for the shoulder/bicep/forearm/knee armor? RS specifically? Mine weren't labelled so I assume not.

#2 - I still need to get some areas taken in, I believe, but I took photos of my armor fitted while in my suit and I wanted some feedback, not just for basic clearance but eventual Lancer...

 

#2a - Armor, overall fitment. Comments on fitment, flight suit, vest - everything please. Apologies it's split but was hard to get everything on and not fall off, with all the tape and no handler:

#2b - Boots/Knees. Does this look 'right'? Where should the knees sit? I took plenty of measurements pre-boot covering but I'm concerned my knees sit too high or I'll need to shorten the boots. The knees are not terribly comfortable and I'm not sure where they are supposed to sit on the knee. Took a photo with a bent leg to hopefully help diagnose as well:

 

#2c - Shoulder/biceps/vest - Currently, my vest extends about 2" under my bicep armor. So obviously I'll need to hem it. But - bicep and shoulder armor nearly touch, and shoulder bell is butted up against chest/back bridge. So question part one, how much gap is allowable between armor pieces, is butting OK? And second, would I want to trim the tops of the bicep, bottom of shoulders, or both to give enough room? Thirdly - forearm armor, do I need to trim it so more of my wrists are exposed?

 

Thanks again everyone.

[Chopper]

7 hours ago, Harbinger said:

More questions!

#1 - Is there a right/left for the shoulder/bicep/forearm/knee armor? RS specifically? Mine weren't labelled so I assume not.

#2 - I still need to get some areas taken in, I believe, but I took photos of my armor fitted while in my suit and I wanted some feedback, not just for basic clearance but eventual Lancer...

#2a - Armor, overall fitment. Comments on fitment, flight suit, vest - everything please. Apologies it's split but was hard to get everything on and not fall off, with all the tape and no handler:

#2b - Boots/Knees. Does this look 'right'? Where should the knees sit? I took plenty of measurements pre-boot covering but I'm concerned my knees sit too high or I'll need to shorten the boots. The knees are not terribly comfortable and I'm not sure where they are supposed to sit on the knee. Took a photo with a bent leg to hopefully help diagnose as well:

#2c - Shoulder/biceps/vest - Currently, my vest extends about 2" under my bicep armor. So obviously I'll need to hem it. But - bicep and shoulder armor nearly touch, and shoulder bell is butted up against chest/back bridge. So question part one, how much gap is allowable between armor pieces, is butting OK? And second, would I want to trim the tops of the bicep, bottom of shoulders, or both to give enough room? Thirdly - forearm armor, do I need to trim it so more of my wrists are exposed?

1: R/L shoulder bells are not specific.

2: It's hard to say without an overall shot, but the leg portions of your suit look good to me. If you don't have the soft goods pinned up in the photo, then I don't think you need any tailoring right now.

2a: Bring your shoulders in closer, so that they're about 1/2" to 3/4" from the shoulder bridges

2b: Boot and knee positions look good.

2c: You should get more clearance between the bicep and shoulder armor when you bring you shoulders in. Don't trim the biceps or forearm armor. You may need to trim the bottoms of your shoulder armor, if there's still clearance issues, but we're not there yet -- adjust the bell positions first.

[Harbinger]

Had a bit of time to work on this over the weekend again. Making progress, slowly but surely.

Put all my armor on for another refit after the tailor but before strapping and further tailoring to get it all dialed in (thank you in advance my sewing friend!). Shoulders/biceps are right on top of each other so they need to be trimmed down. Not really in height, but in angle, to match the CRL and screen reference:

Vs mine (trim lines in red):

All masked off and ready for cutting:

 

While I had the files and Dremel out, I figured I would also tackle the holster. RS cut slots but they are only about .5mm deep into the ABS, and per early questions sounds like those need to go all the way 'through for Lancer:

Both after cutting, sanding and clean up:

 

With that out of the way I can now move onto the shoulder/chest strapping. Step 1, velcro:

 

And that's all this week!

[kayelbe]

Did you add any adhesive to those sticky back zip anchors?  In my experience with my first scout they came off after a few troops so I added a dab of good epoxy.  With my new set I used the “screw on” anchor with epoxy (no screws, obviously).

[Harbinger]

I used the included double-sided foam adhesive from RS. It might need some help - we'll see!

[Harbinger]

Masked off and painted the chest rectangle with Testors 1138, and then did a bit of clean-up with some hobby sized Q-tips, toothpicks, and rubbing alcohol:

[Chopper]

Excellent work.

[Harbinger]

Made a lot of progress over the weekend!

Sewed up most of my strapping. How do my forearms and gloves look?

Took a little material off the knee return edges to curve them, so they don't 'bite' into my shins as much (ouch!):

Then sewed and riveted on the upper elastic with 1/8"/3mm rivets:

 

Sewed up the chest shoulder covers, and drilled out extra holes in some zip-tie anchors, then hand-sewed those onto the elastic:

 

I designed these based on the ones @Chopper posted in another thread. These attach to the front/back chest pieces using velcro, but at 2" wide for more surface area, then 1" to wrap around, over, and attach at the bottom.

Here they are installed, with the shoulder bells zip-tied to the anchors:

[Chopper]

I like what you did there. Nice work.

[Aradun]

You’re making great progress Brien. Looks great!

[Harbinger]

Do these boot closures look L1/L2 acceptable? I had to hem the tops down a bit.

 

[Chopper]

For basic clearance it should be fine.

For Level 2, the velcro shouldn't go over the top edge like that. Can you trim it?

 

[Harbinger]

I was able to do a test fit of nearly everything last night:

 

I still need to finish assembling my belt, obviously, and everything felt/fit pretty good (missing a couple straps that broke, and chest/back strap is on the floor, as I was measuring it) - but does anyone see any red flags?

One thing I am slightly confused by is my flak vest. It fits fine until I put the bottom shoulder elastic on and which point it seems to pull the sleeves up and under the bells.

[Chopper]

I'm going to guess that the bell on your left/photo right doesn't have any elastic?

What I do with my elastic is keep it sorta loose, so it doesn't constrict the arm of my vest. It's just enough to keep the bell in place, but it's not tight by any means.

You can also try positioning the elastic further up on the bell, so it's closer to looping under your armpit, as opposed to your bicep.

 

[TreeHuggerMatt]

14 hours ago, Chopper said:

I'm going to guess that the bell on your left/photo right doesn't have any elastic?

What I do with my elastic is keep it sorta loose, so it doesn't constrict the arm of my vest. It's just enough to keep the bell in place, but it's not tight by any means.

You can also try positioning the elastic further up on the bell, so it's closer to looping under your armpit, as opposed to your bicep.

 

So the lower elastic on the bells essentially just stops it flapping about rather than secures it tight against the bicep then ?

 

Cool

[Chopper]

Correct

[TreeHuggerMatt]

So if it’s too tight it pulls the flak  vest sleeve and causers the flaring / bunching.  
 

Got it

[Harbinger]

Corey, thanks again mate. I think that will do the trick! I will report back.

[Harbinger]

Been busy so I’m getting my build thread updated - past couple weekends have been very productive.

I got the belt nylon installed, glued and riveted, and dropbox webbing sewn up. I'll eventually replace the stitching with snap rivets (to be more film accurate) but for now, I want something less permanent in case I have to adjust for Lancer:

I was able to fix my boots by undoing the top stitch and removing the extra loop velcro so you won't see it when closed, as well as stitch in a stirrup to help keep my boot up when I have a blaster holstered (thanks to BSN for that tip!). I then used some leather scraps to re-enforce the holes before I riveted the holster in, using the 3mm rivets and washers:

[Harbinger]

Sewed up the chest/back strapping. Using elastic on the inside of the chest to give it some flex, but hidden so the outside all you'll see is webbing:

Got the rest of the strapping sewn up and adjusted as well. More to come...

[Harbinger]

More updates - sorry, no photos this time…

Sewed the codpiece velcro and did a final test fit of all parts Sunday. Noticed the cummerbund is offset - likely from aforementioned weight loss - how far ‘off’ of dead-center is OK for the 2” velcro closure?

I also added additional velcro to my shoulder bells to keep the flak vest from getting bunched up inside the armor.

[Chopper]

There isn't a hard rule on the offset for Level 2. As long as it isn't more than about inch or so, then it'd be fine. 

Post a photo and I can let you know for sure though. 

[Harbinger]

Oh it was way more than an inch. I just decided to trim and redo it (more on that in a bit!).

In other news! Approval photos taken and sent off to my GML! If any of the Lancer review team want to point out any possible issues now - please! - less I have to possibly fix later. I’m already aware the drop boxes are too high (I clearly measured wrong, they seem to be sitting closer to 1/2”).

 

 

 

Re: the cummerbund, the velcro tore off so I was wondering if it’s okay to stitch it like this?

(Already tweaking, more velcro on the vest!)

[Chopper]

Is that x pattern stitch on the inside or the visible exterior side?

[Harbinger]

Both