micahman6525: Scout Build WIP

[Aradun]

I’ll second the masking of the snout area and using spray paint. I’ve seen hand painted snouts and the brush strokes are always visible to me creating a textured effect. The spray paint will give you a cleaner look.

[Micahman6525]

Clarifying question, in relations to your knee, should your kneecap be in the upper or lower portion of the knee armor? Boots might a tad high but if needed it’s a relatively easy sewing fix to alter it.

[Chopper]

Typically it's in the upper, but it also depends how the boots fit on you and what's comfortable. The knee armor should not be dipping into your boot shafts.

Post a photo if you'd like and we'll take a look. 

[Micahman6525]

Whelp with the help my of brother, tape, and safety pins I was able to try most things on to get a feel for how it should look. Thought I’d be excited to put it on but frankly I’m discouraged with the amount of alterations that will need to be done concerning the soft armor.
Few things to mention:
1. Yes I know not all pieces are trimmed perfectly, still hammering away at that.
2. Drop box height can be adjusted
3. With the belt sitting right below my naval, I definitely think the cummerbund needs the bottom snipped about an inch or so since it was resting underneath the belt in the picture. Also going off the diy pouch thread, the pouch attachment point seems a tad too long, may need to trim that on top of the cummerbund.
4. The flak vest seems to be sticking out a lot, even if the biceps cover it will that need to be altered also? If so how many inches do you think?
5. I’ll include measurements of various items, is the TD or boots too long?
6. For the greeblies, they are already the base color they need to be (minus some painting of different colors ie. The tank greeblie, should they be spray painted or is that color seem fine? Or any way to clean it up?

Please don’t be shy in picking the armor apart, I want to make sure I address anything that would be a basic clearance issue. Thanks everyone.


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[Chopper]

1 hour ago, Micahman6525 said:

Whelp with the help my of brother, tape, and safety pins I was able to try most things on to get a feel for how it should look. Thought I’d be excited to put it on but frankly I’m discouraged with the amount of alterations that will need to be done concerning the soft armor.
Few things to mention:
1. Yes I know not all pieces are trimmed perfectly, still hammering away at that.
2. Drop box height can be adjusted
3. With the belt sitting right below my naval, I definitely think the cummerbund needs the bottom snipped about an inch or so since it was resting underneath the belt in the picture. Also going off the diy pouch thread, the pouch attachment point seems a tad too long, may need to trim that on top of the cummerbund.
4. The flak vest seems to be sticking out a lot, even if the biceps cover it will that need to be altered also? If so how many inches do you think?
5. I’ll include measurements of various items, is the TD or boots too long?
6. For the greeblies, they are already the base color they need to be (minus some painting of different colors ie. The tank greeblie, should they be spray painted or is that color seem fine? Or any way to clean it up?

Your initial mock up looks pretty decent so far. Just a few notes and answers to your questions.

3: Correct. Your bund should sit on top of your belt, not tucked in. Can you raise it any further without it sitting above your side straps?

4: L2 of the CRL calls for "Vest sleeves extend no further than 1.5 inches past the bottom edge of the shoulder bell." Your current sleeves look anywhere from 2-2.5" longer than the bells. Pin them up about an inch shorter and see how it looks.

5: There is not specific measurement for the TD or boots. They are meant to be proportional to your body. The TD looks generally about right, though I recommend you get rid of that silver tubing and replace it with some gray tubing of a similar size, or you can paint it gray.

Your boots look approximately 2" too long, at least as well as I can eyeball it from the photo.

6: The black greebs look fine. The gray greebs will need to be painted the proper medium or neutral gray color.

Try and get your pouches to align with the edges of of the chest armor.

The drop box straps in the rear should meet approximately in the center.

Reference the CRL photo:

[Micahman6525]

6 minutes ago, Chopper said:

Your initial mock up looks pretty decent so far. Just a few notes and answers to your questions.

3: Correct. Your bund should sit on top of your belt, not tucked in. Can you raise it any further without it sitting above your side straps?

4: L2 of the CRL calls for "Vest sleeves extend no further than 1.5 inches past the bottom edge of the shoulder bell." Your current sleeves look anywhere from 2-2.5" longer than the bells. Pin them up about an inch shorter and see how it looks.

5: There is not specific measurement for the TD or boots. They are meant to be proportional to your body. The TD looks generally about right, though I recommend you get rid of that silver tubing and replace it with some gray tubing of a similar size, or you can paint it gray.

Your boots look approximately 2" too long, at least as well as I can eyeball it from the photo.

6: The black greebs look fine. The gray greebs will need to be painted the proper medium or neutral gray color.

Try and get your pouches to align with the edges of of the chest armor.

The drop box straps in the rear should meat approximately in the center.

Reference the CRL photo:

Thank you so much Chopper, I really appreciate all the feedback. 
the cummerbund is as high as possible so unfortunately I’ll be snipping off a couple inches. 
For the TD tubing, would that also use medium gray or flat gray spray paint?

I’ll work on pinning things up and take new pictures when I get the chance, hopefully sometime tomorrow. 

[Chopper]

Yes the tubing should be about the same color as the other parts.

[Micahman6525]

Is there a recommended spray paint for the medium or neutral grey greeblies? There's so many grey colors/ brands/ types so I thought I’d ask! 

[Micahman6525]

Also, my current kit does not have the notches in the helmet so it can stay open. Does anyone know of any threads/topics that modded a helmet to include it? Or should I just accept that my visor should primary stay shut? I know for events it should stay closed but I’m just thinking like usability/ taking clearance pictures that show your face (would taking the helmet off be acceptable instead of lifting the visor up?)

[Chopper]

1 hour ago, Micahman6525 said:

Also, my current kit does not have the notches in the helmet so it can stay open. Does anyone know of any threads/topics that modded a helmet to include it? Or should I just accept that my visor should primary stay shut? I know for events it should stay closed but I’m just thinking like usability/ taking clearance pictures that show your face (would taking the helmet off be acceptable instead of lifting the visor up?)

There is no requirement to have a ratcheting mechanism to hold the face plate up, nor is there any requirement to show your face in clearance photos by ratcheting the face plate up. It's a convenience, sure, but the ratcheting is actually a stress point and can form cracks in the visor shroud over time anyhow, so I wouldn't worry too much about not having it. For clearance you can just take a photo with your helmet off.

[Chopper]

14 hours ago, Micahman6525 said:

Is there a recommended spray paint for the medium or neutral grey greeblies? There's so many grey colors/ brands/ types so I thought I’d ask! 

This color should work: https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-249088-Painters-Purpose-12-Ounce/dp/B002BWORZO

[Micahman6525]

This color should work: https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-249088-Painters-Purpose-12-Ounce/dp/B002BWORZO

Thank you chopper!


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[Micahman6525]

I’m working on finishing the tank, I had a question about the orientation of the top rivet.

From Mickeys armor party build, he shows the mandrel (the part the rivet gun holds onto) facing down into the tank.
On RS video they have the mandrel facing up (towards the tank greeblie)

On the CRL there’s a screen grab (with mandrel down I think), and also an additional picture which shows mandrel up (I think) ((not sure where picture is OG sourced from)) . Can anyone help me understand the correct orientation?





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[Chopper]

Either orientation is acceptable.

[Micahman6525]

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong but wanted to check here before drilling the rivet out….again.
It looks like the mandrel head is either slipping through or entirely popping off and leaves it looking like this (pictures below).
Is this either A. Fixable or B. Approvable (basic certification) or do I need to drill it out and start over? If so im just flipping the orientation so it’ll be hidden.



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[Chopper]

What's the pull length on the rivet you're using? Is it too short for the material you're affixing?

And as I said earlier, you can install the rivet in either orientation and it will clear.

[Micahman6525]

What's the pull length on the rivet you're using? Is it too short for the material you're affixing?
And as I said earlier, you can install the rivet in either orientation and it will clear.

What does the pull length reference? The thicker part of the rivet or the part where the rivet gun latches onto?


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[Chopper]

The pull length or the grip range refers to the length of the part that compresses when you use the rivet gun tool.

[Micahman6525]

The pull length or the grip range refers to the length of the part that compresses when you use the rivet gun tool.

Ah, for that I was using a longer pull length rivet but I ended up just using a short rivet and flipped it around. Now we’re golden:)
This costume is teaching me so much patience and troubleshooting lol


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[Aradun]

Slow and steady, Michah. You’re making good progress. Keep those questions coming. We’re happy to assist.

[Micahman6525]

Sorry for the delay everyone, college started back up so I’ve been busy with that.

Slowly working on the soft armor alterations, just wanted to run by the fixed length for my boots. (Sorry for the quality, had to take a video to get these shots)
Per the recommendations I lowered it by 2 inches. How does this look? And I eventually need to Velcro the knees to the flight suit but how should the armor pieces sit?
(2 pictures sitting down with different knee placement)
(Haven’t made any cuts yet, that’s why the boots look weird at the seam/ Velcro line)





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[Retrofire]

That's looking much better when you compare to the CRL model. Always good to have that overall front and back image up when checking your fitment. Keep up the great work!

[Chopper]

The adjusted boot length looks good. 

[Micahman6525]

How does the grey look for the tubes? Wanted to check before gluing stuff into place. Didn’t have straight grey so I used rust oleum filler/ sandable. Definitely think I’m going to cut a half inch off either side most likely, just seems a little long.
And assuming the black clips go about halfway/ 2/3rds closer to the white caps?





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[Chopper]

Filler primer is basically paint primer + bondo and isn't really made to serve as a surface coat. It may start rubbing off and not be very durable over the long term.

The black clips are generally positioned a little more than halfway between the detonator box and the end caps.