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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

If you're talking about stitching circled below, the only vendor who does this is Chef's creations and that's because he has a cobbler sewing machine. It is not required for Level 2.

MOTM_22523.jpg

  • Like 4
Posted

Lancer updates!

Had to trim down my dogbones on my boots - unfortunately they were glued on with CA, so when I removed them some of the vinyl was damaged. Nothing a $10 3M vinyl repair kit couldn’t fix:

upnMga8.jpg

A little cleanup and you can barely even tell.

 

Trimmed down and redid the stitching on the dogbones and got those glued back down - this time with E6000!

obdjtZa.jpg

 

Now to redo my lower knee straps, somehow I brain farted and made them 1”…

  • Like 3
Posted

Forgot to post this one up, but I trimmed down my shoulder/chest over the weekend the rotate my shoulders forward and bring my back armor up. Here was the test fit:
oztc5T5.jpg

I ended up taking off about 1" from the chest side on both sides.

  • Like 1
Posted

Got the new knee elastic sewn up!

An update on the blaster screws: the ones I bought online are backordered, so I cancelled my order and bought some #8 1-1/4” oval head phillips machine screws at Hope Depot. I filled the original head in with JB Weld and used a Dremel tool to cut out a slotted head, then painted them with the same flat black paint I used on the scope screws.

WqeubDV.jpg

 

Reference:

Auction%20Blaster48.jpg

Total cost, $1.08, no waiting.

Posted

One final tweak I made yesterday, before my troop today (and updated Lancer photos) was to sew my cod to my vest, to reduce the fiddliness when suiting up:

ubTtSWq.jpg

The elastic in back has hook velcro on one side and loop on the other so I can sandwich it in the vest closure.

My understanding is the film costumes were constructed this way, so a nice accuracy boost as well!

  • Like 1
Posted

Lancer status - achieved! Thanks to each and every one of you who stuck with me the past 3 years.

But wait, there's more! I am by no means done here. I got to troop our local MiLB Star Wars night on Saturday (troop report coming soon!), and 5 hours in armor gave me a lot of things I'd like to tweak. Plus, there's some stuff I already had in mind. In no particular order:

  • Dial in cod strapping better (elastic probably needs to be shortened 1/4" or so)
  • Add a counter-weight to my chest plate and/or some sort of attachment method to bund. My chest rides up as the weight of my back armor  + tank pulls it down. I'm thinking a hunk of steel epoxied to the armor, and velcro/snaps/some other method to keep it and the bund loosely connected.
  • Replace the wire (cord) on my detonator with (ideally vintage) gray wire. No more paint issues.
  • Weathering - will try to replicate the 4-bar TB on screen, because accuracy.
  • Modify my mandarin collar. Thanks @BikerScout007for more work!

No real timeline on these. My buddy is going to let me borrow a mannequin for weathering which should help quite a bit, I'm hoping to get that done this summer before the wind arrives.

  • Like 2
Posted
  On 8/1/2022 at 4:33 PM, Harbinger said:
  • Add a counter-weight to my chest plate and/or some sort of attachment method to bund. My chest rides up as the weight of my back armor  + tank pulls it down. I'm thinking a hunk of steel epoxied to the armor, and velcro/snaps/some other method to keep it and the bund loosely connected.
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Going for all of that might be overkill. I had the same issue with my kit and I just put some velcro on the front of my flak vest, and also on the inside of my chest armor. It stays in place without any issue.

lDKlJGZ.jpg

  • Like 1
Posted
  On 8/1/2022 at 4:33 PM, Harbinger said:

 

  • Add a counter-weight to my chest plate and/or some sort of attachment method to bund. My chest rides up as the weight of my back armor  + tank pulls it down. I'm thinking a hunk of steel epoxied to the armor, and velcro/snaps/some other method to keep it and the bund loosely connected.
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So, what I do (cause I had the same problem) is have some elastic strips pinned (you can also sew it, I just haven't got around to it yet) to the top of my cummerbund and attached to the top/inside of my chest with velcro.  I just attach the straps to the inside of the chest once I get the armor on.  It stays perfectly where I put it, no matter how much I move.

Full disclosure, I also have my cod piece attached to my cummerbund on the bottom via velcro, so not 100% sure if that will make a difference (it might pull the cummerbund up a little without it)...

Posted

I second Corey's method.  I did that myself after he shared his tip with me and I too have had no issues since.  It's a real easy fix.  I know you're all about detail and accuracy, and are probably already aware of this, but less is better when it comes to weathering.  Don't overdo it. 

Super happy to see you cross the finish line Brien!  Once again, awesome job!

Posted

…and now for something completey different! Well, it is sort of related to my build.

Cut some vinyl and mounted it to a 10-1/4” x 5-7/16” sheet of Lexan for the recess on the top of my Home Depot tote:

TSHhwSx.jpg

 

PS: Added a mini table of contents to post #1 for some of my more relevant posts (and edited some of them for grammar/clarity) to others on their TB journeys. Pathfinders lead the way!

  • Like 5
Posted

Just about ready to weather my scout - a couple line items I need to address first. The first will be redoing the wire wrapped TD, as the clear never cured and it's been tacky, and I'd like to fix it before putting more paint on it. The search for the correct gray lamp cord continues, but I have a couple of promising leads. Will report back. Second will be exploring a clear coat for my bucket, as the RS buckets ship in what I think is an eggshell or satin finish - and I'd like it to match my armor. Am looking into the rattle can 2K clear coat products that have been mentioned in other threads.

Anyway, on to the weathering...

 

I've been doing a lot of research on the 'Hero' AKA 4-bar scout that captures Leia. Since I chose to model my build after this particular biker, I'm going to try and replicate his weathering (and eventually, I'll need the other EC-17 with the drilled front barrel and scope and extra bolt on back!).

I was able to pull a bunch of 4K screen caps and thankfully, the same scout shows up outside the bunker later in the film.

 

Here's our favorite scout capturing some rebel scum from the Scoutpedia:

Blaster-2.jpg

Here's some reference shots of the same scout helmet weathering:

4-bar-scout-ref-helmet.thumb.jpg.5dbdccf571e176f6bfff9acd008eb9d3.jpg

4-bar-scout-ref-helmet-top.thumb.JPG.1b6cf7226fcee07cd13c3fb412e1c20f.JPG

And right side:

aH1h3bv.jpg

(Anyone else notice his TD is held on with white zip ties? :lol:)

Note the telltale weathering on the helmet:

4-bar-scout-ref-weathering-tells.JPG.eadbae9f4155ae114d4ed0f448d8804d.JPG

 

..and the same weathing on the right-most scout at the bunker. Scoutpedia reference shot:

Bunker%20Scout%20mudflaps.jpg

Here's some good reference of his left side weathering from the whole sequence:

tUlxZja.jpg

You can see the same weathering (including the very weathered right cheek) in the Scoutpedia BTS shot:

LeiaBTS.jpg

Another good shot of the armor here on a bike:

Rs7nGy6.jpg

The Blu-Ray has a good shot of the tank but it appears to be a frankenstein'd suit so not much else I'd trust:

Blu%20Ray%20back.jpg

 

...Anyway, a good place to start. I can't expect to replicate it perfectly, but I'll try my best.

  • Like 1
Posted

Before you put a clear semi-gloss your bucket, have you checked with RS?  They swear their research shows the helmet was more muted in sheen than the armor which is why it’s not done in semi-gloss like their armor.  I know you’re all about accuracy and trying to model your scout after the hero scout.  Perhaps @CatfoodRob can shed some light on the rationale for a different sheen for the bucket, as I cannot recall the particulars, but do remember reading about it or hearing it discussed in one of their videos.

Posted

I would be very careful about adding a layer of clearcoat to your bucket. Clearcoats can react strangely to different solvents, so you might end up with the dreaded crackles, which would leave you having to sand and repaint the entire bucket on your own.

As for the det tubing, if you are not able to secure grey colored wiring, then I'd go with a gray acrylic paint, as you won't end up with that forever sticky curing process you're experiencing now.

Posted
  On 8/9/2022 at 10:05 PM, AradunFF said:

Before you put a clear semi-gloss your bucket, have you checked with RS?  They swear their research shows the helmet was more muted in sheen than the armor which is why it’s not done in semi-gloss like their armor.  I know you’re all about accuracy and trying to model your scout after the hero scout.  Perhaps @CatfoodRob can shed some light on the rationale for a different sheen for the bucket, as I cannot recall the particulars, but do remember reading about it or hearing it discussed in one of their videos.

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It looks pretty reflective to my eyes in all the reference shots above.

Posted
  On 8/9/2022 at 10:34 PM, Harbinger said:

It looks pretty reflective to my eyes in all the reference shots above.

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Agreed. I've seen varying finishes, depending on the source, but the the helmet from StarWarsHelmets also has a semi-gloss finish.

SWH_Biker_scout_trooper_01.jpg

  • Like 2
Posted

I’ve seen a screen used helmet. Pretty reflective in person.  In these pics I took, you can see the reflection of the interior lights

 

 

 

Posted

The obsessive part of me is willing to take chances of having to repaint the entire bucket. But I will probably try a test but first, like the inside of the visor or something.

Have a question regarding the CRL change, if I wanted to convert my Kriptontop flight suit -would I be good to go by removing the velcro and trimming the collar here?

j06qIuL.jpg

Posted
  On 8/11/2022 at 5:27 PM, Harbinger said:

The obsessive part of me is willing to take chances of having to repaint the entire bucket. But I will probably try a test but first, like the inside of the visor or something.

 

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I'll be waiting to see how yours turns out.  I am still on the fence wether I want to repaint mine, or just weather it.  I am not a fan of the way RS painted the helmet (love the helmet itself), plus it is "slightly" off from my SC kit, which still bugs me (but apparently not enough to do anything about it, LOL)...

Posted
  On 8/11/2022 at 5:46 PM, Chopper said:

How's it look when you fold it over? Is there enough collar material to fold it over?

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It looks… fine? The angle is a little bit off obviously, but it doesn’t look wrong.

There’s plenty of material to fold it over, it’s is about 2 1/4” tall. I’ll take a pic next time I’m in my bin.

Posted

I was able to pick up an old back massager from a rummage sale down the street. I spotted the gray extension cord from a mile away – looked pretty close to the perfect shade.

Immediately I set out to redo my TD with a non-sticky, non-painted wire:

bjDBB2h.jpg

I scraped all the old paint off the inside tube, and wrapped the new cord after splitting it down the middle. I stopped about an inch shorter than the original wire, since it was hidden by the plastic portion anyway, I figured I might as well save some weight (plus, I wasn’t sure if I would have enough):

HGydhx8.jpg

fEjhmPt.jpg

 

All told, it looks pretty good. I like that it is a little lighter and warmer in tone, closer to the ones used on set. It will be really nice being able to pick it up and not worry about paint transfer or the tackiness. There are a few cuts and nicks on the wire, expected on a used item; once I weather it, I’m sure it won’t even be noticeable.

  • Like 4

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