Pandatrooper's SC Biker Scout build

[troygordon2]

On 7/18/2012 at 1:26 AM, Pandatrooper said:

The new knees are great, and have a proper return on the side for the upper strap per Lancer spec. Nice work SC!

 

Before I started, I sanded the outer edges and rounded any sharp corners. Also cleaned up any rough cuts. I glued some scrap plastic shims inside the sides of the upper knee using Plastic weld cement, so that when the top strap is riveted in, the sides won't get stretched and potentially cause cracking.

 

 

Shims glued in

 

 

Bottom is pretty easy, apply some loop velcro to the inside of the knee, and sew some hook to the ends of your 1" black elastic. Thread it through and affix the velcro.

 

For the top strap, if you're going for Lancer spec, use 1/2" black elastic. I drilled a 1/8" hole and used a 1/8" diameter 1/4" long aluminum pop rivet to pass through the knee armor and elastic. The elastic I folded over twice and stitched shut before popping a hole (to prevent it from tearing during use). Always use a backing washer on the rivet for cases where the elastic might stretch over the end of the rivet alone.

 

Obviously, size up the armor with your undersuit on before you commit to the proper length of elastic. I velcroed in some thin foam inside the knee armor to help it cling to the undersuit and prevent it from slipping.

 

Finished knee.

Can you point me towards the type of rivets and gun you used?  I think I'll have to order it online with the quarantine and all going on, but want to make sure I get the right stuff so I can apply for Lancer when the time comes.

[Pandatrooper]

Thet are just 1/8" diameter pop rivets 1/4" long. Get the backing washers for this as well.

Any pop rivet gun that have a 1/8" adapter at the end will work

[troygordon2]

On 7/11/2012 at 12:23 AM, Pandatrooper said:

 

Thought I would tackle the back / chest assembly first. I sanded the edges and corners of the rough cut armor, so that it wouldn't cut into my vest / suit, etc. I didn't spend a ton of time refining the shape of the hump to match the back armor. There's big gaps in the movie costumes, so I just got it close and put everything together. I've built enough TK's now that "somewhat sloppy" is actually more screen accurate than "perfect", unless you want to go for the "fresh out of the factory look". To each their own I guess!

 

Then I sanded and refined the edges of the tank topper and traced the shape onto the back hump. I sanded the underside of the tank topper and the sanded area on the ABS hump and spread some E6000 on both surfaces, and let it tack up. Then joined and clamped them overnight. I also glued the round button greeblie down as well.

 

 

 

When you place the hump on the back, you can't use a single rivet through the tank topper to hold the tank down. I have seen some people use a rivet to attach the tank to the back armor, then another rivet to hold the tank topper down (or make it look somewhat screen accurate).

I simply wanted to use one rivet, so I cut a slot in the top of the back armor, and glued / riveted an L shaped piece of ABS plastic down inside the slot. I simply heated a pieces of scrap plastic with a heat gun, held it between a couple strips of aluminum and bent it to shape.

 

Now the tank can be held down with one rivet on top (screen accurate).

 

Simply line up the tank and drill a hole through the tank topper, and hump and the new L bracket.

 

Pop a rivet through everything and you're done. Nice and tight. I also popped a rivet in the bottom of the tank as well of course (no pic).

 I apologize for all the questions.  I haven't used a rivet since metal shop in high school, and that was in 1996!  When you put the rivets in, you put the backup plate inside, makes sense, but do you put on on top?  Are there 2 washers on the rivet, one on both sides?  Thanks for your help and continued patience with all of us looking to do this right.

[Chopper]

2 hours ago, troygordon2 said:

 I apologize for all the questions.  I haven't used a rivet since metal shop in high school, and that was in 1996!  When you put the rivets in, you put the backup plate inside, makes sense, but do you put on on top?  Are there 2 washers on the rivet, one on both sides?  Thanks for your help and continued patience with all of us looking to do this right.

Since we are aiming to emulate how the tank topper was attached in ROTJ, in this instance there is a washer on both sides of the rivet, yes.

[CatfoodRob]

The rivet goes upwards , the head  is inside . The bit you can see is the tail of the rivet through the washer . 

[MAD1_TK45001]

Salutations Panda... I'm just sitting on the sidelines and doin my homework. I love the bracket to hold the back tank flush. My question is does that meet Lancer status, cause I've noticed on the screen used there is a black string and a gap between the back piece and tank.

Thank you for all and any advice 

MAD

[RZill]

On 8/20/2012 at 2:37 AM, Pandatrooper said:

For the thermal detonator, I wanted to do something a little different. Still screen accurate of course.

 

First up, I prepped the end caps for the TD by gluing in some ABS pipe so that the rear caps are centered, and firmly held in place. I glued a flat circular disc of ABS into the bottom of the pipe before gluing the pipe to the end cap.

 

The new SC thermal detonator (TD) is awesome. Great new shape, the back side is already curved to conform to the belt / screen accurate, I just sanded the corners and edges and drilled the holes for the zip tie that will hold the hose in place.

 

To hold the TD in place, I will use a combination of screen accurate clips and a rare earth magnet setup. The clips keep the TD upright and close, the rare earth magnets prevent the TD from shifting but still allow you to adjust or remove it easily when required.

 

You can get these magnets from hardware and furniture places, they are commonly used for cabinets.

 

I took a short section of 1/8" thick aluminum 1/2" wide, and drilled some holes at the ends 2 1/2" apart. The holes in the middle keep the bar centered and tight INSIDE the hose. The magnets will protrude from the hose and attach to metal studs attached the back of the belt.

 

The magnet cups were riveted to the aluminium bar, and the magnets glued into the cups. The steel cups will amplify the strength or pull of the magnets, more than the magnets alone.

 

Clearance holes are Dremelled into the hose.

 

The bar with magnets is placed into the hose, and riveted in place with 1/8" rivets about 1/4" long.

 

The hose assembly is zip tied into place. Make sure it's aligned with the back of the belt.

 

 

I marked the corresponding locations on the belt and punched holes and riveted the matching steel washers (they are always paired with the steel cups) in place. Make sure that the magnets sit absolutely flush with the matching steel washers as they won't be as strong if they aren't in direct contact.

 

The TD is now attached to the belt, just line it up and it clicks into place! Seriously, if Batman was building a TD - this is how he would do it. There's something incredibly cool about how it snaps into position.

 

Forgot to mention, I glued the TD greeblies in place with E6000. These are the Don Jarr greeblies and the position of them is based on the blue ray details.

 

You can actually lift the full assembled belt by the TD and shake it, and it won't come apart unless you specifically pry them apart.

 

I forgot to take a pic, but I hot glued the inside ends of the hose and glued the end caps on.

So, in the photo with the snaps, strap, and rivet, is that sort of a before and after photo?  The rivet goes through the snap and the backing once the snap has been applied?

[Chopper]

Hey Ron @RZill, FYI there's an easier way to mount the front drop box webbing -- just make a fold in it, like below. You can stitch it down to keep the fold flat.

[RZill]

10 minutes ago, Chopper said:

Hey Ron @RZill, FYI there's an easier way to mount the front drop box webbing -- just make a fold in it, like below. You can stitch it down to keep the fold flat.

Okey dokey.  Easy enough for the front.  I guess there is no need for snaps to allow it to swing, since it's going through the strap slot, anyway.  I'm more concerned about how to connect the back.  Is the swaying around that big of a deal where I'd need this snap contraption?  Or, is it just fine to simply glue or stitch the drop box straps to the belt without doing the snap thing?

[Chopper]

I did use snaps where they connect on the back webbing, just because sometimes they get tangled and it's an easy fix. Others, like Mickey I believe, sewed their straps to the webbing and that's fine too.

[RZill]

2 minutes ago, Chopper said:

I did use snaps where they connect on the back webbing, just because sometimes they get tangled and it's an easy fix. Others, like Mickey I believe, sewed their straps to the webbing and that's fine too.

 I only have two snaps left from my TK build, so now I save yet another trip to the store!

[BikerScout007]

7 minutes ago, RZill said:

 I only have two snaps left from my TK build, so now I save yet another trip to the store!

Sewing was the film method, and I've tried to make my costume a replica of the production suits so I went with that.

I don't have a single snap on my Scout anywhere.  Velcro does a great job!