Delta’s new build

[Deltaturtle26]

Hey everyone, just looking for some helpful hints and advice for trying to downsize my new scout kit to fit my slender frame. I’ve been with the Pathfinders and Galactic Academy for a few years, and I’m just about ready to join the 501st (just basic approval, not Lancer). I also just joined the Mando Mercs, so here’s some pics of me in my armor to give you guys an idea of how thin I am (about 5’7” and 112 lbs.), as my beskar fits me much better than my scout armor.

My old scout armor, which was slightly reduced-sized to fit me better, is not accessible at this time as it’s at our other house far away. I ordered a new kit to start from scratch and it’s huge on me (makes me look like a Power of the Force action figure). Here’s a few pics of me in my suit, flak vest, and chest/back/shoulder armor as an example of how big it is on me (the armor’s just taped together for the pictures). I feel like the chest/back/shoulders is a good place to start, any advice would be helpful before I start cutting/bending anything because I don’t want to mess it up, haha.

I know the shoulders need to be reduced, just wondering how many inches should I cut off the bottom (and probably heat and bend narrower). I also know the flak vest sleeves are wayyy too long, but I don’t know how much to cut off if I don’t modify the shoulders first.

Also the neck line looks a little low in the front and the back looks very low, so how many inches should I cut off the shoulder bridges to bring them up?

The sides need to be cut as well, as the sides actually touch.

Any advice would be helpful and very much appreciated, thanks!

[BikerScout007]

You ordered that kit new?  it looks like the old Studio Creations armor kit -- which is indeed very big and not well suited to you.  Their newer kit would probably be a better fit.

Your vest sleeves should come about an inch below the shoulder bells.  But your shoulder bells need to be trimmed first so I wouldn't mess with them too much yet.

There are a lot of reference photos in the Scoutopedia that can give you an idea of proportions

http://www.501stpathfinders.com/scoutopedia.php

 

 

[Chopper]

In terms of your armor, you're not the first to fit a SC kit to a smaller body size. With some trimming and heat shaping, Jen0fArc was able to make her scout kit fit her pretty well -- and she had the exact same SC kit that you have right now. It's definitely doable, but you will need to put a bit of work into molding it to fit your frame.

I suggest you take a close look at this thread to see how Jen0fArc went through her build:

http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/index.php?/topic/17873-jens-lady-scout-build/

[Deltaturtle26]

@BikerScout007

Yes, I did order this new. I originally ordered his new SC kit, but it was so big and with the return edges and the recessed areas for the strapping that it would’ve been almost impossible to properly cut and resize it. Jeff did send me his old chest and back plate as well as a downsized belt as the new belt will not go around my waist without cracking. Here’s a pic with the original chest/back and belt, but that set’s not going to work. I’m literally holding the belt in place about to the point of it cracking.

The new belt looks very similar but smaller so it fits around my waist better.

The biceps are also incredibly huge, so I’m thinking about reusing an older set of smaller biceps. I don’t have short arms, but as you can see there’s really no spacing between armor plates.

@Chopper

Thanks for the link. I did check that out, which is why I asked Jeff for the older style chest/back plates because the new ones with the return edges, even though they looked nicer and seemed a bit smaller, were still huge and probably impossible to trim due to said edges.
 

Thanks for your input, guys.

[BikerScout007]

Ah well that's a shame, because at least from the front, the Version 2 armor looks so much better.  But if you can't make it work, you can't make it work.

Looking at production references, you can see that the neckline for the front and back armor are a lot closer to the wearer's neck than the SC armor sits right out of the box.  So you have some shoulder strapping you can remove to bring that up a bit.  I'd experiment with it with tape to figure out where to cut.

As for the sides, there's no set distance they need to be apart according to the CRL.  Sure, they shouldn't be touching, but they don't need to be "X" distance apart.  There's made to be some play there for when you hop on and off your speeder bike.  I'd just carefully remove a bit of it at a time with the Lexan scissors until you've got it just right.  

SC shoulder bells are always too long; we all end up trimming at least an inch off the bottoms.  There's also usually a little bit of plastic on the bicep that can be removed as long as you mind the slot for the elastic strap.  

Check out the reference photos below!

[Lucasfan7]

Yeah I can second and third what everyone else is saying for the most part. I originally had a version 1 SC kit and now have the second one and the second version on the SC kit is smaller besides the shoulders I believe and biceps, those are larger for some reason. The rest of the parts I feel are either smaller or the same size. The SC helmet has to be a few sizes small compared to other makers so that might be a good option. SC has always treated me well with great customer service but I believe WTF makes an 80% kit that is scaled down for smaller adults and kids. Not sure if that is even approvable or something that you would be Interested in. Hope everything works out. 

[DarthSnark]

I'm not an expert by any measure, but have you tried using hot water or a heat gun to shape some of the armor pieces? It might make it easier to tell where you need to trim. I'm building a shadow scout, and when I was looking for armor the makers I contacted said their armor likely wouldn't fit me without a lot of trimming (I'm even smaller than you at about 5'2"). I looked into WTF child armor as well but Walt said it was designed for kids under 5 feet and didn't recommend it. I've ultimately decided to go with far away creations (though right now I'm still coming up with the cash lol and haven't ordered), but even that kit (which is on a bit of the smaller or closer to screen used side) would still require heat shaping and trimming, especially on the shoulder bridges. As another upside far away creations has the option of smaller size shoulder bells for their scout. Does SC offer smaller sized shoulder bells? Anyways good luck- I'll be following to see what you come up with.

[Deltaturtle26]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. I haven’t vanished from the earth, I’ve just been waiting for my Lexan scissors to arrive, lol.

I tried the boiling water technique to bend some of the armor to fit me better, having a heck of a time with the chest and back. I trimmed some off the shoulder bridges and then bent them so they’d sit higher, as well as cut the top of the back armor so it’s flat.

Before I make my final cuts, does it look like the neckline’s up high enough? I still need to cut away at the sides, but I wanted to make sure it’s sitting high enough first.

Thanks again for your help, guys!

[Chopper]

Looks better! Are you able to take it up about another inch, without the sides pinching under your arms?

[Deltaturtle26]

@Chopper

Thanks! The sides are already pinching under my arms as it is :’) but if it needs to come up more I can do that, and I’ve already planned on trimming some off the sides so it doesn’t pinch. 👍 Just wanted to get it positioned properly first.

When you said to bring it up an inch, did you mean on both the front and the back?

[Chopper]

Yep, both front and back!

[Deltaturtle26]

@Chopper

Gotcha, thanks! 

[Deltaturtle26]

Hi guys, I took a break from the scout to work on my TIE reserve (which was approved! Yay!) but now I’m back

I shortened the shoulders an inch and heated and bent them to fit my arms better

and also brought the chest/back up a little like you said, Chop

(The comparisons between how it looked and how it does now, you can tell by the grid lines that I brought it up) I still have work on the sides, but I want to get the height right first.

 

What’s your guys’ opinion on the shoulder length? Do they look good or should I trim them more? I want to make sure they’re good before shortening the flak vest sleeves.

Thanks all

[Chopper]

You did a great job! I think you hit the right spot wrt your sholder trimming and shaping as well as the chest/back armor height!

[Deltaturtle26]

@Chopper

Thanks man! I’ll start working on the sides and update with my progress

[Lucasfan7]

Great job on making this fit you, the progress is coming along nicely 

[Deltaturtle26]

Just an update: I’ve been having a heck of a time heating and bending the chest/back, I had to cut it at least three times on the sides but I think I got it close. Also had to take another half inch off the shoulders as they were still too long. I’ll add picks of them later.
Also just dropped my flak vest off at a seamstress shop to have the sleeves shortened, so in the meantime I fixed up my old cadet boots and started heating and bending other armor pieces like the knees and forearms to fit my skinny arms and legs.

Painted the soles a single tan color, added a more accurate “dog bone”, and completely remade the shafts with thinner Velcro.

Also repainted my old holster as the SC one is huge.

What do you guys think of the boots? Anything I should change before adding the holster?

I appreciate all the advice I’ve gotten so far, many thanks to all

[Stryker_412]

First- welcome to the Florida Garrison and our squad.
Looking good so far with the upgrades. Would be nice to have another scout at the ROTJ movie event coming up. 😀
keep us posted. 👍

[Chopper]

Nice work on the heat bending, Delta. Regarding your boots, I don't see anything offhand for basic level clearance that would be an issue. Just to clarify, is the boot you posted a photo of the left boot?

[Deltaturtle26]

@Chopper

Thanks, man! I suppose it is hard to tell from the pic, but yes that is indeed the left boot.

[Deltaturtle26]

I’M BACK~
I’ve been very busy with end of semester classes and haven’t had time to work on my scout, but I’ve spent the last two days making some progress. Hold on tight, it’s kind of a long post lol

I think I’ve finally accomplished downsizing the chest/back. Here’s the side-by-side comparison of how it looked and how it does now

I got my flak vest back from the alteration shop, and the sleeves look a lot nicer now. Now they’re only about an inch below the shoulder bell.

I’m no seamstress but I do have some sewing experience, so I decided to attempt making a new cummerbund, codpiece and pouches as my old bund was a one-piece and the pouches were undersized.

Starting with the pouches, I measured and made paper templates to trace onto and cut the fabric. I know ideally they’re supposed to be 5x6x2, but I made them a hair smaller.

After sewing the pieces together I lined the inside with heavyweight iron-on interfacing to stiffen up the sides. Still going to put foam or boxes in them to help them actually keep their shape though.

The back of the pouch and the flap that gets sewn to the bund are both one piece to make sewing easier.

For the codpiece I started by making a cardboard template and then tracing it out on some nice quarter-inch two-sided fusible flex-foam I found and adding about an inch on top for Velcro.

On the bottom edge I cut a 2x2 inch piece of the same interfacing I used in the pouches and stuck it in place with double-sided tape. This will help reinforce the bottom edge and keep it from bunching up.

Next I traced a quarter-inch around the foam on the white fabric, cut them out and sewed them together, making sure the elastic was sewn on the inside of the seam. After mildly fighting with the foam to get it inside the case, I sewed the top shut and ironed the fabric to the foam and interfacing square.

Then the fun part, the stitching!

I lightly sketched out the shape onto the front of the codpiece and carefully sewed the stitch lines. With tricky stuff like this, I personally suggest not using the sewing machine pedal. It’ll tire out your arm but you’ll have far more control  if you turn the knob by hand the whole way. Lastly was the Velcro on the top.

Finished! And it doesn’t bunch up at the bottom 

For the elastic strap I ended up sewing a Velcro patch to the back of my flak vest for it to stick to.

If all looks good to you guys I’ll begin working on the cummerbund and finish the pouches tomorrow!

Any input is always greatly appreciated.

[M.J]

Delta looking good. I love the before and after well done!

The shape of your code piece is a little wide you don't need to have it as wide .. take a look at this photo as you can see the just over the belt where the code piece comes up, it doesn't fan out, and being so thick across you may find it uncomfortable.

[Chopper]

Hi Delta, in addition to what MJ already mentioned, I think your back flap is a bit wide and long as well. I would take off maybe and inch from the bottom and maybe an inch and a half from each side. If you look at the CRL image, the flap should be smaller than the width of your hips.

Also, one other note, but you might want to check and see if the bottom of your flak vest can be fully hidden under your bund and belt? It looks long, but it shouldn't be an issue as long as it's all covered when you're fully kitted up.

[Stryker_412]

Hey Delta, looking great with all the mods “much better than out of the box”. Nice thing about Pathfinders is there are a lot of wonderful people on here that can help give tips and advice on projects and with your builds which is very nice and helpful along the way.

As Chopper mentioned, I agree the suede flap is a bit too large and I would also trim an inch or so off the bottom of your flak vest to assure it’s covered

. I also agree with MJ that the cod piece is too wide at the top!  Funny thing is that I didn’t make mine, I bought mine on Etsy from KT and it looks the same- like a large piece of NY pizza and it is uncomfortable. I need to have mine altered as well but I can’t sew, so I’ll have to take it to a alteration shop. Keep up the good work your doing great!

[Deltaturtle26]

@M.J

I’ve looked at several reference pics and screenshots and it’s hard to get a good look at the top of the codpiece, so much much thanks for your input.

I decided to make a new codpiece as it would’ve been difficult to alter the first one with the foam fused with the fabric (mannequins need clothes too I guess) and made the top about an inch and a half narrower on each side.

New piece on top of old one to show the width difference.

 

@Chopper

Thanks Chopper, I also thought it looked kinda big so thanks for pointing it out and confirming it. I’ll suit up tomorrow to see how it looks on me, but I did what you said and cut an inch off the bottom and an inch and a half on each side. 

 

@Stryker_412

Done and done 👍

Also I see we’re signed up for the same troop, so maybe afterwards I can help you out with your codpiece!