BikerScout98 WIP

[BikerScout98]

I am almost done, just gotta check in with @MikerScout for the Dogbone pattern he's givin me to fix my boots. I also still need to find someone who makes that vest, then I'll be ready to send the GML these changes for acceptance.

-Scot

[M.J]

Hello, sorry I never caught your name,

I understand the frustration and I can assure you one time or another we've all been there, even myself having to create a new complete 501st armor , though with my scout  I was knocked back on my first submission all those years ago, I also thought it was unfair and pointed out why... though I fixed it and felt better for it. Since then my scout has had some major upgrades along the way.

Now just a couple of things, am I correct you didn't make any of your pieces, meaning from boots, soft parts to armour? 

It can a little uneasy trusting your money and expectations on someone that isn't in the same boat so to speak. Sadly as the 501st we never ever recommend anyone assuming they will be atomically approved on words of a maker.

So my advise you've got a good kit, research the parts you've been asked to look into, Boots are an easy to fix.. I've had my fair share of pulling apart the vinyl when realising the tongue was glued wrong, and I helped make over 7 pairs of boots. You've got the pattern in your hands already, and there are so many WIP  here.

Next is the Vest ( my pet hate) grab the maker Dennis suggested. or again look at the forums for builds.

The Belt... oh good that is another argument in our house, I have 3 scouts under the one roof, mine is a grandfather effect and I do have the buckle though the other two are per CRL. Every costume in the 501st have the grandfather effect and people don't read the current the CRL so I assume this might of been your case. again another easy fix. 

With all of these  fixes we can help you through it that is what we are here for. I believe you can do this, you have the passion and once you've corrected them trust me you will feel more satisfied with your Scout.

I cannot stress enough you are not being targeted and very disappointed you posted a members photo, they know its them and can you imagine how they feel you've made an example of them. I would highly suggest you delete that photo 

[MikerScout]

@BikerScout98  I got my "dog bone" pattern from page 3 of Cheesywhoompy's boot build tutorial.  AradunFF shared the pattern in the thread and like him, I can't remember where the original is.  However... this is the one I used, I just scaled it as needed.  Make your changes with the pattern first.  Print it, test fit until you get it right.  I had to scale my pattern, different boots and boot sizes will "hold" the pattern different.  

 

 

[BikerScout98]

On 9/11/2021 at 12:00 AM, M.J said:

"Hello, sorry I never caught your name,"

Thats ok MJ, these things happen..😁

Scot aka -=BikerScout98=-

 

"Now just a couple of things, am I correct you didn't make any of your pieces, meaning from boots, soft parts to armour?" 

You are correct. I purchased my entire set/kit from armour-factory.com in Marbella, Spain.

"It can a little uneasy trusting your money and expectations on someone that isn't in the same boat so to speak."

My fabricator who made my armor used to work for RSPROPS in the uk. He is now with armour-factory. He has made alot of armor for alot of European, Australian, Chinese, russian 501st members from what i gathered.

"Sadly as the 501st we never ever recommend anyone assuming they will be atomically approved on words of a maker."

This wasn't the case though. I understood that i would be looked over by gml's on how the armor fit me and looked on me as well, which armour-factory also told me. What I asked was that please build my armor using the tier 2 requirements set by the 501st using the CRL as the guide. Then when it came time to submit for a tier 2 approval, all i would need to worry about was "DO I WEAR THE ARMOR WELL ENOUGH TO BE TIER 2," and not have to upgrade any armor when that time came.

 

On 9/11/2021 at 12:00 AM, M.J said:

"So my advise you've got a good kit, research the parts you've been asked to look into, Boots are an easy to fix."

This is currently happening and most issues are now fixed.

"Next is the Vest ( my pet hate) grab the maker Dennis suggested. or again look at the forums for builds".

This i appreciate very sincerely and couldn't be more thankful. I will do that immediately.

"The Belt... oh good that is another argument in our house, I have 3 scouts under the one roof, mine is a grandfather effect and I do have the buckle though the other two are per CRL. Every costume in the 501st have the grandfather effect and people don't read the current the CRL so I assume this might of been your case. again another easy fix."

Issue resolved 👍

"With all of these  fixes we can help you through it that is what we are here for. I believe you can do this, you have the passion and once you've corrected them trust me you will feel more satisfied with your Scout."

This is just one example out of MANY, why i am dedicated to become a pathfinder. That statement alone. The help offered and the attitudes presented are just that higher standard i look for in a group, I have definitely found that here. 🙏👏

"I cannot stress enough you are not being targeted and very disappointed you posted a members photo, they know its them and can you imagine how they feel you've made an example of them. I would highly suggest you delete that photo"

Resolved, I think that is best.

Thank you MJ for your time, opinions, help, encouragement,  and your personal time with my situation. 

Greatly appreciated is a gross understatement. 🙏👍👏

 

[BikerScout98]

On 9/9/2021 at 1:25 PM, AradunFF said:

The armorers will chime in with solid advice for sure. However, be prepared for them to ask you to post higher resolution photos. It appears (at least when viewing from my Tapatalk App) that the images are small and low res which will make it difficult for them to see the finer details that may need to be addressed. They’ll definitely get you squared away though. Hang in there trooper.

Hey @AradunFF I actually own the samsung Z fold2, which shoots photos and videos in 8k down to 4k only, so its impossible to take low res photos. Blurry, bad, meaningless, accidental, and otherwise i can do that sure....lol. Imagevenue just uses thumbs as a clickable link to direct you to the much larger (I'm hearing from @MikerScout a bit too large actually) photo. I just clicked 6 randomly and the photos i saw were very clear,  very large, and very detailed. I will however change this tactic to embedding photos, as this seems to he an issue already on hiw i post photos. No problem ofc, amd thanks for All the info and insight Dennis!

Greatly appreciated!!

-Scot

[Aradun]

I wasn’t getting any link before, just the thumb which wouldn’t enlarge.  I see now that your posts have clickable images.  Not sure what you did or how it happened, but you’re right…awesome detail in the photos!  Really nice!

[BikerScout98]

ISSUE #1 "Vest"

I Researched around this time, then asked Mickey's opinion. that "I am confident your GML will accept that vest", 

Issue #1 - RESOLVED.

[BikerScout98]

On 9/14/2021 at 10:01 PM, AradunFF said:

I wasn’t getting any link before, just the thumb which wouldn’t enlarge.  I see now that your posts have clickable images.  Not sure what you did or how it happened, but you’re right…awesome detail in the photos!  Really nice!

@AradunFF Its actually a real pain sometimes. @MikerScout mentioned his previous or current phone took only ultrahd80-40 as well, which basically means prepare to just about ALWAYS render videos down or resize images as well everytime. Luckily i use my Z fold2 for serious video editing so it has its usefulness in that aspect.

Respect tho for even comin back in here to just say that tho....dont see that too often in boards...heh. 👏🤜🤛👍

[BikerScout98]

This is currently where I'm at on resolving my 5 issues the GML had on me..

•Vest - Resolved

•Belt - Resolved

•Chest Armor (Front) - Resolved

•Chest Armor (Back) - Resolved

 

•Boots - About a day left of final touches, detailing, Slots cut out of the sole, but the main issue is resolved imo. I will post my boots here first tho for Y'all to look at before final submission ofc. 

[MikerScout]

It's coming together!  

[BikerScout98]

@MikerScout Small Update:

After thinkin it over, I am going to do my boots fresh myself as i have all of the materials as of today. I will probably have them lookin sharp in a few hours.

[BikerScout98]

@MikerScout 

Since you have basically helped me everyday darn near and have shown no signs of exhaustion or mental breakdown from being asked questions constantly, i decided to purchase the phasma kit for ya. It's the least i could do for all you done for me this past month or so....just need that shipping address. 🤣

[MikerScout]

Haha, thats quite alright, happy to help
Besides, I just gave you encouragement, you did all the work

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[BikerScout98]

So back on topic..

I went thru the first page of "Lancer approval requests" in order to avoid creating threads with questions that have been answered many times already. I hate being that person that wears out his welcome or begins to annoy his new found friends. With that said: Do i remove the clear plastic and decal, then the holdout is good to go?

[Retrofire]

If you're just going for basic then no modifications are required to your blaster. You would only have to do that if you decide to go lvl 2. While we do encourage troopers to take their armor to the next level the most important step is to get that basic approval first and join up with your garrison. Do not feel that you have to overwhelm yourself by shooting for Lancer out of the gate. We're more than happy to help you prep for Lancer if that is where you would ultimately like to go but take it in bite size chunks and get basic first then if you want step up to Lancer.

The most important tool you have at your disposal is the CRL here: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TB_Scout_trooper

That is guiding document for your costume and what your GML is going to use to approve you. They do not look at the Optional parts of the CRL when approving a costume.

I salute you for doing the research and encourage you to keep doing it. Keep those questions coming and know that you WILL NOT wear out your welcome here. We've all been doing this for more than a few years and there are a ton of amazing and incredibly talented people here that are 100% behind you and are more than happy to help.

[BikerScout98]

@Retrofire I been looking at the "CRL" since before i commisioned my armor, and when i ordered armor finally, the vendor literally showed me videos of him following the requirements of not just tier1, but the tier2 requirements while making my kit (just making the armor by specs). The "GML" already told me his issues, and Miker_Scout suggested i just make a wip and kinda start fresh here with PF participation making sure all looks right for resubmit. I have fixed them all, and i am just waiitng on the new flak vest i ordered from christian. The flak vest sent in my kit wasn't even close to correct, so i had to buy a brand new one to replace my brand new one. It wont be here until Mid november, so after i ordered the vest, i went in to the lancer deployment request threads and read about 20 of them over the past week. Having done that, i went over all of my armor to see what was what.

When it came to my armor being made following the tier 2 CRL specifications, ALL OF MY SOFT ARMOR WAS WRONG (they sub-out the seamstress for soft) In fact, i have had to replace, fix, change, and re-sew every piece of armor hard and soft except the Balaclava (i orderd on Amazon), and the gloves which they ordered from wampa gloves site. Miker_Scout has been helping me with questions on instagram messenger, as well as Jason. I just finished replacing all the webbing on my belt to an actual white i see always in pf members photos. I replaced the buckle with velcro in back, and it looks much nicer than the slightly white they used (not off-white or white, but in-between the two) and had to replace the 1/4" rivets with 1/8". Many who have seen my armor believe that it could of passed basic, except the vest as the sleeves werent raglan, and the velcro was only 5/8" in the back.

So i guess what i am saying is i have been prepping for lancer approval since i can no longer move forward on basic until vest arrives, and memorizing things like "upper armor is 3 & 9 o'clock with the circles facing forward, "forearm armor facing 10 & 2 o'clock, no crumpled or bunched cod in the groin, sagging boots, cummerbund sitting on the belt, etc, etc. I have much free time atm, so try on my armor to make sure i meet the standards i see you ask for in so many threads, i am also here alot reading information threads, and the do it yourself tutorials too.

My frustration lies with the vendor i used. It has cost me now over half the cost in repairs of my total armors cost. $1100 for kit, $520 to redo thier mistakes or replace certain pieces to meet even basic approval.

Like i told my wife a few nights ago:

"This whole deal was supposed to be a memorable life experience for me, to become a 501st Scout Trooper finally and join up with the pathfinders to do really great things along with them. Instead, it has been such a nightmare, I'm beginning to hate looking at my armor. If it wasn't for the PF, i would of thrown in the towel after the 2nd week of all this. The Pathfinders have been the ONLY ones to show any interest in my joining the 501st.

Thanks RetroFire for proving PF cares and tries to help as they can. I will make sure to do the same.

P.s. @BikerScout007 Thanks to your video, I too have chosen your path of the "Baller". 👍 Your video was great info & help!

Thanks,

-Scot

[BikerScout98]

Finished my boots today.

These are the photos i will submit to the GML on the dogbones being reshaped and the horizontal stitching removed at top of boots.

This was my only shot on these boots. If they don't pass the GML, and its not fixable for little to no money, that will do it for me on gettin in to the 501st for quite awhile. Wifey will slay if i spend one more cent on anything armor related. Thanks for views and replies on this in advance.

[MikerScout]

Looking good!! If these don't pass for some reason mail me your boots and I'll completly redo them for you.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Aradun]

Looking good!! If these don't pass for some reason mail me your boots and I'll completly redo them for you.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Dude! You are the man!

[Aradun]

Finished my boots today.
These are the photos i will submit to the GML via email on the dogbones being reshaped and the horizontal stitching removed at top of boots.












This was my only shot on these boots. If they don't pass the GML, and its not fixable for little to no money, that will do it for me on gettin in to the 501st for quite awhile. Wifey will slay if i spend one more cent on anything armor related...
Thanks for views and replies on this in advance

When you send your photos make sure to include one that captures the side profile of your boots. You have some shots of the sides, but it’s more of an above shot looking down. I suspect if your GML had issues with your first go he’s gonna want to see how those dog bones look from the side. Better to be safe than sorry and have your approval held up because you have to submit additional photos.

Sample shot:



Good luck Scot.

[BikerScout98]

On 10/10/2021 at 12:40 PM, MikerScout said:

Looking good!! If these don't pass for some reason mail me your boots and I'll completly redo them for you.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


 

Wow miker, that is above and beyond! 

Thanks for the replies and heads up on the photo angle dennis! I will make sure to do that!

-Scot

[MikerScout]

If it were me...

I would wait until all my stuff was in.  Test fit it and make adjustments if needed. I know it's a tailored vest and all that, but if we have learned one thing in this adventure it's that nothing is good to go right out of the box.  You could post the basic pictures on your build thread and let the wise people here look at it and help you make corrections if needed before you submit them.  It's helpful to take a series of shots, and critique them yourself against the CRL.  You may find you need to adjust a couple things and retake the pics, this could take a couple days of getting it right.

Once you feel like you're good to go I would probably submit your final set of pictures all together along with extra pictures highlighting details like the tank topper, your proper dog bones, strap measurements and areas that GMLs had a hard time with.  You want to show that your kit is well put together overall and you fixed (not hid) the issues they found before.  Make no mention of how much of a struggle it was, or the issues you had with vendors, this just distracts from your hard work and they already know that nightmare anyway.  After all this they may come back with issues that are new (like fitment stuff), they may see things that they overlooked before.  This all ok and easily worked though and a natural part of the process.

I submitted nine profile pictures in my email and then put my detail pictures on Imgur showing that I complied with the CRL in the different areas.  (my boots were 5 pictures, my TD 3 pictures) The photos should be of good quality but easily viewed by the GML so something like Imgur worked well for me.  I'll link it below for your reference.

You touched on Lancer...  I'm not a GML or a Pathfinders Armorer so I'm over stepping my bounds here a little.   Buddy to buddy though, I say don't worry about lancer right now.  I think there are somethings that would need to be fixed for that level and frankly, it's not worth the headache right now.  Get your basic approved, do some troops because it's so much fun.  The general public and most of the 501st don't see that lancer accuracy. Once the dust settles and you're feeling good about your kit and have made those little trooping tweaks THEN start making a to-do list for lancer.  Post that list and your questions on your build thread and let the other pathfinders help you through that.

Here is a link to my Imgur so you can see what I am talking about with the detail shots.  https://imgur.com/user/MikerScout/posts

Here is my garrison's guide to approval as well. It may help lay out the picture requirements.  Every garrison is different but I found this helpful.
 

Step #1 - Put on your costume

• You must be wearing the entire, completed costume in order for the pictures to be considered acceptable.
• Your application cannot be judged based on parts that are not present in the pictures, no matter what the reason for their absence may be.
   

Step #2 - Take your pictures

There is a minimum of 7 pictures that will be required when submitting a costume for approval. See the pictures below for an example of what your pictures should portray. Pictures taken by yourself while standing in front of a mirror will not be accepted. They must be taken from a 3rd person point-of-view. Please ask a friend or family member to take the pictures for you.

• Full body shot of the front.
• Full body shot of the right side.
• Full body shot of the back.
• Full body shot of the left side.
• An “action pose” to use for your roster photo.
• A “bucket off” photo to use for your roster page.
• A close up of your head from the shoulders up (to be used for your roster thumbnail). If your costume has a helmet, keep it on for this picture.

Additional pictures of specific areas of your costume may be required. If you have any small details on your costume (ie: greeblies, logos, pockets or patches, etc) it would be helpful to include pictures of those in your e-mail as well.

[sconlon68]

I agree with Mike. You've done a ton of work to get where you are. Just get your stuff tweaked for basic approval and deal with Lancer later. I personally think that you should already be approved for lvl 1, based on my kit and the pics I've seen of other approvals. Unfortunately, it's not my decision.

I started out with the same thought process, did a bunch of stuff to go Lancer, found all kinds of stuff that would not pass lvl 2, and just decided to revisit it later.

I'd much rather troop with lvl 1 for a while and have fun. I still want to go for lvl 2 at some point, but I'll deal with that later. I have way too many other projects to deal with as well.

[Aradun]

Mike has provided some really sound advice and tips, and he’s speaking from recent experience as someone who is new to the Legion.

Address your GML’s concerns so you can get approved and out there trooping because that’s where it’s at and the real fun begins. You’ll quickly realize the journey you took to get here, as frustrating as it may have been at times, was soooo worth it. Then when you’re ready, give some thought to Lancer.

[BikerScout98]

On 10/11/2021 at 7:45 AM, MikerScout said:

If it were me...

I would wait until all my stuff was in.  Test fit it and make adjustments if needed. I know it's a tailored vest and all that, but if we have learned one thing in this adventure it's that nothing is good to go right out of the box.  You could post the basic pictures on your build thread and let the wise people here look at it and help you make corrections if needed before you submit them.  It's helpful to take a series of shots, and critique them yourself against the CRL.  You may find you need to adjust a couple things and retake the pics, this could take a couple days of getting it right.

Once you feel like you're good to go I would probably submit your final set of pictures all together along with extra pictures highlighting details like the tank topper, your proper dog bones, strap measurements and areas that GMLs had a hard time with.  You want to show that your kit is well put together overall and you fixed (not hid) the issues they found before.  Make no mention of how much of a struggle it was, or the issues you had with vendors, this just distracts from your hard work and they already know that nightmare anyway.  After all this they may come back with issues that are new (like fitment stuff), they may see things that they overlooked before.  This all ok and easily worked though and a natural part of the process.

I submitted nine profile pictures in my email and then put my detail pictures on Imgur showing that I complied with the CRL in the different areas.  (my boots were 5 pictures, my TD 3 pictures) The photos should be of good quality but easily viewed by the GML so something like Imgur worked well for me.  I'll link it below for your reference.

You touched on Lancer...  I'm not a GML or a Pathfinders Armorer so I'm over stepping my bounds here a little.   Buddy to buddy though, I say don't worry about lancer right now.  I think there are somethings that would need to be fixed for that level and frankly, it's not worth the headache right now.  Get your basic approved, do some troops because it's so much fun.  The general public and most of the 501st don't see that lancer accuracy. Once the dust settles and you're feeling good about your kit and have made those little trooping tweaks THEN start making a to-do list for lancer.  Post that list and your questions on your build thread and let the other pathfinders help you through that.

Here is a link to my Imgur so you can see what I am talking about with the detail shots.  https://imgur.com/user/MikerScout/posts

Here is my garrison's guide to approval as well. It may help lay out the picture requirements.  Every garrison is different but I found this helpful.
 

Step #1 - Put on your costume

• You must be wearing the entire, completed costume in order for the pictures to be considered acceptable.
• Your application cannot be judged based on parts that are not present in the pictures, no matter what the reason for their absence may be.
   

Step #2 - Take your pictures

There is a minimum of 7 pictures that will be required when submitting a costume for approval. See the pictures below for an example of what your pictures should portray. Pictures taken by yourself while standing in front of a mirror will not be accepted. They must be taken from a 3rd person point-of-view. Please ask a friend or family member to take the pictures for you.

• Full body shot of the front.
• Full body shot of the right side.
• Full body shot of the back.
• Full body shot of the left side.
• An “action pose” to use for your roster photo.
• A “bucket off” photo to use for your roster page.
• A close up of your head from the shoulders up (to be used for your roster thumbnail). If your costume has a helmet, keep it on for this picture.

Additional pictures of specific areas of your costume may be required. If you have any small details on your costume (ie: greeblies, logos, pockets or patches, etc) it would be helpful to include pictures of those in your e-mail as well.

 

Wow miker!, that looks like it took you a bit of time to put that reply together. That is just being good poeple right there brother. I really appreciate anyone that takes the time to reply or message me for anything.

UPDATE! 

My GML not only emailed me today....He watches this thread! He is actually a good guy and was just busy with kids, life , etc. So he said email him with what I have so far on my fixes, and when i get my vest to resubmit my pose photos like you mentioned above Miker. I'll be Posting photos later tonight to see what the fixes look like now, compard to before...cheers!

-Scot