wegotdeathstar Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 21 minutes ago, Retrofire said: If you can close the gap cleanly then go for it but it's not crucial for approval. All the ROTJ tanks showed flaws in one area or another. For the SC you want the tank to sit as flush as possible but again it doesn't have to be "exactly" flush to the end of the back armor hump. I would recommend against putting a rivet through both pieces as you want the rivet to be in the bottom, center of the tank as shown in this picture. Before you glue the end of the tank to the back armor make sure attach a "blind" rivet in this area. When you place the rivet make sure to pre drill the hole and add a backing washer to keep the plastic from cracking. Right on, thanks @Retrofire! I think I'll try closing the gap by another 3-4 mm if I can do so cleanly. After that I'll install the rivet with elastic and washer before attaching the tank at the top of the back piece. Am I understanding correctly that I should glue the bottom of the tank to the back piece? Thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 Gluing the tank is not required and isn't something that everyone does in their builds. The screen tanks flopped all over the place! If you use the 1/2" elastic strapping and also rivet the tank topper through the shelf that comes on the SC back armor, then it should be secure enough. That bottom rivet was meant to retain the 1/2" elastic strapping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 5 hours ago, Chopper said: Gluing the tank is not required and isn't something that everyone does in their builds. The screen tanks flopped all over the place! If you use the 1/2" elastic strapping and also rivet the tank topper through the shelf that comes on the SC back armor, then it should be secure enough. That bottom rivet was meant to retain the 1/2" elastic strapping. Good to know! I shaved a bit more off the tank, but would need to trim quite a bit more off for the bottom to be flush. It's not noticeable at all when looking at it directly. I've approximated the spot for the rivet with an X on the bottom of the tank. How's the placement? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 Looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted February 2, 2023 Author Share Posted February 2, 2023 Currently in progress: Attaching tank to back piece Dye straps, pouches Mocking up flak vest with muslin before trimming shoulders on armor Quick question: I've had the hardest time finding the right size washer for the top of the tank. Does the outer diameter of this look too big? Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 Hey, yes that washer looks too big. Do you have an Ace Hardware near you or TrueValue? They usually have a loose nuts and bolts section where you should be able to find a smaller washer to fit with the 1/8" rivet. Will prob cost you about .10 cents. Do you have the backing plates that go with your 1/8" rivets? That should work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted February 2, 2023 Author Share Posted February 2, 2023 58 minutes ago, Chopper said: Hey, yes that washer looks too big. Do you have an Ace Hardware near you or TrueValue? They usually have a loose nuts and bolts section where you should be able to find a smaller washer to fit with the 1/8" rivet. Will prob cost you about .10 cents. Do you have the backing plates that go with your 1/8" rivets? That should work. Thanks, @Chopper. I stopped at Ace on my way to get groceries. I think this washer is a much better fit. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted February 2, 2023 Share Posted February 2, 2023 Looks great. Happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 Tank is attached to the back piece. Still need to get out my wife's Cricut and cut out the small white circle for the tank topper. I also dyed my pouches. Hot water and 5 black tea bags soaked for 1 minute. They look darker in the photos than in person. Almost done with my vest prototype and will post that soon. Pouch on some white muslin fabric. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 Hi, all. I've been working on creating my vest and wanted to share my process. This is the first time I've ever sewn something from a real pattern and I am positive there are much better methods out there. I think I got to a good place in the end, though. I honestly have no clue if this pattern will work for a vest or not. I figure if it doesn't turn out I can look into purchasing or making another. I started by purchasing some cheap muslin cloth from JoAnn's for a prototype. I think it was $5 a yard. I then purchased this pattern kit (also from JoAnns) for a raglan shirt. I chose to make option A because it had shorter arms. I neglected to take any photos, but here were my next steps: Cut out the patterns. I used the XL pattern because you can always go smaller. Overlay the patterns on the muslin fabric and cut those out. I added 1" to the pattern for the back of the shirt along the fold. This would result in 2" added total for the velcro. Sew the sleeves to the front of the shirt and then the back Sew the sides and sleeves. The pattern kit has a helpful video to walk you through the basic steps. Here is the final result: My next step was to modify the shirt to better resemble the shape of a vest. I started by cutting the neckline to a shape that sort of mirrored the shape of the armor. I took 10 inches off the bottom of the shirt to make it more of a vest. I didn't go too wild with this because I wanted to make the final adjustments on the real vest and this will save some fabric. Again, I can always go smaller. Here's the cut lines for the neckline and trim mods: I then disassembled the shirt with a seam ripper and laid the pieces over their respective patterns. I took a marker and traced my new pattern. I cut along the newly traced line and have updated patterns for my vest. I'll be working on creating a real vest using my updated templates next. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aradun Posted February 14, 2023 Share Posted February 14, 2023 Great work and mock up, especially for your first go at creating a pattern!You may need to adjust your neckline a bit. Looking at the CRL image below it’s should be a tad wider and a bit more curved that the U shape in your photo above. Before you make any adjustments I’m tagging in @Chopper for feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted February 14, 2023 Share Posted February 14, 2023 We have pretty much zero photos of what the front side opening of the flak vest looked like on the production suits, so we're not all that critical about the shape of the neck. It should be primarily under the chest armor anyhow. The only real issue to be mindful of with the flak vest opening is to make sure that it doesn't extend beyond your shoulder bridges. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted February 19, 2023 Author Share Posted February 19, 2023 Thanks for the info @Aradun and @Chopper! I'll alter my pattern a bit around the neck until I get the chest/back armor on and the modify the neckline from there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted March 5, 2023 Author Share Posted March 5, 2023 Well, my first attempt at a vest didn't quite work out. The neck ended up being way too wide and the shoulders wouldn't lay flat. In hindsight, I wish I had waited to alter the neckline on my actual vest and not the prototype. I ended up cutting off too much from the pattern. Unfortunately, I don't have enough material or a pattern to make another run at it. I do think the pattern I bought would have worked fine, though. Lessons learned! I did buy a heavyweight black t-shirt and will make another run at making a vest using this tutorial. A bit of good news, though! My boots from Crowprops came in and they are absolutely outstanding. Extremely comfortable and fit really well. I also finished tailoring and adding the riding patches and thigh straps to my flight suit. I still need to attach the butt flap. Next I'm planning on assembling the chest and back armor and the shoulder bells. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted March 10, 2023 Author Share Posted March 10, 2023 Chest and back armor and the shoulder bells are nearly complete. Just need to add the white circle to the tank and paint the grey bar on the chest. The shoulder bells also need straps, but I want to wait until I have the vest done to get the right fit. I created hook and loop sandwiches to attach the chest and back armor. Started with two loop pieces with sticky backs: Attached a single hook piece with a sticky back: Attached a black loop piece with a sticky back of equal length. I also 3d printed some anchors with sticky hook pieces: For the bridges, I used Panda's technique and it worked well. Started with 1" canvas slightly less than 2x the width of the shoulder. Joined these with 2cm of elastic: Cut small holes in the elastic: I slipped the bridges on after attaching the hook and loop sandwiches: Final result: TD and belt are up next! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aradun Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Really nice work!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted March 18, 2023 Author Share Posted March 18, 2023 Finished up the TD. Made a cummerbund following the pinned tutorial. Very straightforward! Definitely follow the advice and measure, measure, measure! I also received my helmet kit from MonCal/Far Away Creations! Very excited to start on this after finishing up the rest of the suit. The kit looks very well made. Belt up next! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 Nice work. You should be happy with the Mon Cal helmet. It's quite close to the RS in terms of accuracy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 A couple questions for armorers regarding the belt and dropboxes: Should I be trimming the belt to line up with the boxes? (Pink line for reference) Also, should I trim off this "lip" on top of my dropboxes? Thanks, all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted March 23, 2023 Share Posted March 23, 2023 Yes and yes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted March 23, 2023 Author Share Posted March 23, 2023 3 minutes ago, Chopper said: Yes and yes! Sounds good, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Finished the belt today. I still need to do a pass with fine grit sandpaper over the edges. I was pretty excited to finish the belt and decided to try on everything that I have: Note: I'm wearing my old 3d printed helmet by SurfinBird There's a lot of fit issues to take care of, but pretty dang fun to put it all on. Still to do: • Holster • Butt flap • Cod (searching forums for a tutorial now) • Flak vest (wife surprised me with a vest from KriptonTop) • Helmet • Add hook and loop to the suit and armor for secure placement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopper Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Looks good so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotdeathstar Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 2 hours ago, Chopper said: Looks good so far. Thanks, @Chopper. I'm planning on tackling the holster next. I've got boots from Crowprops and was planning on using a backing washer for the rivets. Should I also use a plastic backer on the inside of the boot similar to the belt? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aradun Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 A backer for the holster rivets is a good idea. I’ve added them to mine after two rivets tore through. No issue now with the ABS backer. Also, if you’re looking for info on the Cod, you can check out my WIP. I’ve got a pattern posted there. You may need to modify it for your needs, but it’s pretty step by step for the build.http://forum.501stpathfinders.com/topic/21137-dennis-scout-wip-lancer/page/2/Let me know if you have any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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