Mandrake Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Just thought I'd throw it out there,I think I've figured out what was used for the shoulder straps ..and the answer is a timing belt! Ive got to figure out what pitch etc is exactly needed but I think I'm on the right track! I'll keep everyone updated when I find out the details. Sent from my M2007J20CG using Tapatalk 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dart Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 Interesting. I'd definitely want to know more about this. How did you come across this find? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted May 4 Author Share Posted May 4 On 4/26/2024 at 3:20 PM, Dart said: Interesting. I'd definitely want to know more about this. How did you come across this find? My enquiring mind has always wondered what was used and due to the fact that parts for this costume are rare,and may need replacing at some point,I thought I'd Google lens it ,the first results were for toy tank tracks, which looked correct but are obviously to small,so I Google lensed that picture and one of the suggestions was for a timing belt . To be honest I've only spent a hour or so researching online and haven't got round to even taking measurements yet, although I am tempted to visit a local specialist shop to see if they can help,as I'm not familiar with the specifications of timing belts and how they are defined. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dart Posted May 6 Share Posted May 6 On 5/4/2024 at 1:40 AM, Mandrake said: My enquiring mind has always wondered what was used and due to the fact that parts for this costume are rare,and may need replacing at some point,I thought I'd Google lens it ,the first results were for toy tank tracks, which looked correct but are obviously to small,so I Google lensed that picture and one of the suggestions was for a timing belt . To be honest I've only spent a hour or so researching online and haven't got round to even taking measurements yet, although I am tempted to visit a local specialist shop to see if they can help,as I'm not familiar with the specifications of timing belts and how they are defined. I wonder if they're some other light-duty belt? Automotive belts are usually pretty well reinforced and difficult to cut, where something more light-duty might be easier to use? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 After your suggestion,I've done a little more digging and found out what type it is,It's a wedge tooth profile .. unfortunately I still haven't got round to measuring the current straps , I'll do that soon ,so I can identify exactly what specification it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted May 6 Author Share Posted May 6 I've just had a thought,I imagine that each armour maker / designer ( Mr poopie,Walt's and armour prop shop) may have designed the opening / hole that the straps fit into, slightly differently to each other ,in both height and width. So for anyone reading this in the future,my findings are for the prop shop armour,I will contact Mr poopie and ask if he will so kind as to give the measurements for his design on this thread, for future reference. If anyone reading this who has Walt's armour,please feel free to add measurements for it,so it can be used by others when needed, thank you 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dart Posted Tuesday at 02:41 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 02:41 PM Might also be worth checking if the belting comes in various widths. Either way, this is an interesting rabbit hole to go down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPoopie Posted Tuesday at 07:02 PM Share Posted Tuesday at 07:02 PM 22 hours ago, Mandrake said: I've just had a thought,I imagine that each armour maker / designer ( Mr poopie,Walt's and armour prop shop) may have designed the opening / hole that the straps fit into, slightly differently to each other ,in both height and width. So for anyone reading this in the future,my findings are for the prop shop armour,I will contact Mr poopie and ask if he will so kind as to give the measurements for his design on this thread, for future reference. If anyone reading this who has Walt's armour,please feel free to add measurements for it,so it can be used by others when needed, thank you 🙏 We know that the buckle is a found piece so that helps minimize the variance of straps. The buckle is an RAF parachute buckle and these were modeled up precisely for the Shoretrooper and Deathtrooper kits. That being said the tab on the back is approximately 4.6cm wide which means that the straps should not be wider than this. https://blasterfactory.com/product/death-trooper-rare-shoulder-buckle-set/ My shoulder straps are 4.4cm wide and 18cm long. The recessed areas on the back that the straps fit into are approximately 4.5cm wide and 0.85cm tall at the opening. It tapers inward so that's a difficulty measurement to get. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted Wednesday at 07:10 AM Author Share Posted Wednesday at 07:10 AM I got round to measuring the strapping yesterday and it's as follows Width of strap = 45mm / 4.5.cm / 1.79 inches Length of strap =230mm / 23 cm / 9.05 inches Height of tooth = 4.5mm / 0.45cm / 0.177 inches Gap between each tooth= 5mm / 0.5cm / 0.196 inches ( from edge to edge ) or 10mm / 1cm / 0.393 inches when measuring from the centre of one tooth to another I believe I have found some that may fit the bill, although they are slightly narrower in belt width and slightly less tall , only 2mm by though! I have noticed that the belt needed trimming down to fit into buckle recess, which is 40mm on mine,so a smaller width belt would probably be a better fit 🤷♂️ I will visit a local specialist shop in the next few days and see if they can narrow it down ,as my only concern now ,which dart pointed out, is the belt being reinforced. Thank you very much for replying Mr poopie, without me having to contact you 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandrake Posted Wednesday at 07:15 AM Author Share Posted Wednesday at 07:15 AM For reference this is the shape of the teeth, although the gap between them is far wider on the picture than on the armour! Also the teeth are far more pronounced in the picture than IRL. The picture was taken from here https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/Belts-Toothed-Belts-Wedge-Tooth-Profile-H-Profile-Wedge-Toothed-Belts-12.7mm-(1/2-inch)-Pitch/c4601_5046_5064_5068/index.html?selection=Synchronous+Toothed+Timing+Belts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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