Pandatrooper's SC Biker Scout build

[lonewolf]

Nice and creative with the magnets Terry, the only "problem" I can see is where you joined the drop box straps at the back of the belt, the originals were closer to the centre, kindof behind the TD.

I have made this mistake in the past.

[Pandatrooper]

So I wanted to make accurate looking TD clips. I have seen different solutions so far, and scoured stores. But I figured these would be easy enough to make, just takes some dedicated time. I have built plenty of screen accurate TK style thermal detonators, and I figured this would be similar.

 

I started with a 1" wide 1/16" thick aluminum strip. Same as I used for my TK detonators. I plotted out some measurements for the slots. You could use the same measurements based on the ruler in the next few pics.

 

I drilled some small holes on the end for mounting the clips to the hose, and to assist in the bends later on. I realized after the fact that one of the small holes was drilled in the wrong spot, but it's hidden under the belt.

 

The larger holes are the ends for the large slots. I made the small pilot holes bigger with a Unibit.

 

I cut the large slots out with my trusty Dremel and a fiber reinforced cut off wheel (wear safety glasses kids).

 

Used a file and some sandpaper to clean things up and straighten the slots.

 

I bent the longer ends into a curve, so that they can be screwed tightly into the hose (and through the ABS pipe that was glued into the hose caps - remember?).

 

The bigger bend was made by using the small hole in the other end, and folding the clip over a piece of 1/4" plywood. Make sure you make the bend at the top of where your belt sits (position may vary depending on how curvy you bent the hose end).

 

Test fit, looks good.

 

You can see how the clip will hang onto the belt on the back side. I think I made the bend even a bit tighter after this pic was taken.

 

I also bent the tips that go behind the belt inwards slightly, to prevent the clips from sliding easily. Same trick as seen on TK TD's.

 

I did a final sanding, washed the clips and cleaned them, then primered them and painted them satin black.

 

Clips screwed into the bottom of the hose. Job done!

 

Back of the belt on my duct tape mannequin. *Note: things might look a little big as I have a 30 waist. The mannequin's stuffing is a bit packed out, so the belt is "oversized" on the mannequin. The TD hose is also a hair shorter than I would have liked, but it will do.

 

TD installed via magnets and clipped in.

 

I stuck a piece of paper under the belt so that the belt clips would be visible.

 

 

Close up view, similar to the clips seen on the SC site.

 

[Pandatrooper]

Nice and creative with the magnets Terry, the only "problem" I can see is where you joined the drop box straps at the back of the belt, the originals were closer to the centre, kindof behind the TD.

I have made this mistake in the past.

 

Thanks for the feedback, John. How much further "inwards" should they be? 1" deeper on each side?

[Pandatrooper]

I think I was using this as a guide for the rear strap spacing, I forgot to post this as a reference picture. The straps seem further apart here?

 

This is the current spacing on my belt

 

I'm tempted to leave it for now, as I would essentially need to redo the back of the belt to get things spaced more tightly together. Might want to re-assess when I'm actually dressed and wearing everything? Thoughts?

[lonewolf]

Yes your final pic looks fine,I hadn't seen the belt on you/your stand in. Your belt matches that screen shot really well, I' ll get my coat!

 

SW Chronicles shows where the originals were joined, with the added help of not having a TD to get in the way. It may be a case of body widths.

[Guest BS1]

Thanks for posting pics of your armor build. I just started my sc armor build and I could use all the visual aids I can get..

[Pandatrooper]

Yes your final pic looks fine,I hadn't seen the belt on you/your stand in. Your belt matches that screen shot really well, I' ll get my coat!

 

SW Chronicles shows where the originals were joined, with the added help of not having a TD to get in the way. It may be a case of body widths.

 

Thanks John, no worries. Great feedback all around.

 

I wasn't sure about the SW Chronicles pic as the straps look safety pinned in place. Not sure if thats how they were really fastened or if it was just for the book so I used that bunker shot instead. I can always change it later.

[shdwtrpr13]

hope you don't mind this newb question but how did you get your cuts so clean and those strap holes so nice in your belt?

[Pandatrooper]

hope you don't mind this newb question but how did you get your cuts so clean and those strap holes so nice in your belt?

 

No problem. Draw some pencil lines where you want the slots to be. I used a 3/16" drill bit for the ends of the slot. Then drilled a series of holes along the slot as well. I then use a Dremel with this bit to route out the rest of the slot. Then sand the slots smooth with 400 grit sandpaper. Only takes a couple minutes to do a slot. Hope that helps!

 

http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=9903

[shdwtrpr13]

woot thanks. that helps loads. your setting a level for me to achive to in my armor crafting. so your tutorials are becoming a very big part of my build. I'm still desiding if I'm going to do the makita clips or your routed design.

[Pandatrooper]

Glad you like the build.

 

The clips are not required for 501st acceptance or Lancer (currently). So it's a detail you could add later.

[Griffin-X]

Glad you like the build.

 

The clips are not required for 501st acceptance or Lancer (currently). So it's a detail you could add later.

 

These are really nice Terry. Any chance you would offer a set of these for sale??

[Guest BS1]

PT's the man!!!!!!! Doin my first armor build and what great tutorials to start first build with..

[Pandatrooper]

These are really nice Terry. Any chance you would offer a set of these for sale??

 

I'm considering talking to my friend who's a machinist who could make a few sets out of steel. Depends on interest and cost I guess.

[stormsurge]

Wow Terry!!!! What an excellent build thread, just read it from top to bottom, absolutely superb and some great ideas!

 

Great work, can't wait to see more!

[Griffin-X]

I'm considering talking to my friend who's a machinist who could make a few sets out of steel. Depends on interest and cost I guess.

 

I think many of us Scouts would love your clips. I'm good with some things, but not that and those clips look g-r-e-a-t!

[shdwtrpr13]

I know is be down for a set or 2

[Pandatrooper]

Some updates.

 

Forearm armor. I noticed that in some reference pics, the forearm armor is actually flat the front edge, with a return. I hope SC does this with the forearms and biceps if they update their armor in the future. So for now, I cut mine at the front edge and added the return with a heat sealing iron.

 

Original armor reference

 

I now the SC armor proportions are not exactly the same, but I decided to modify it to add the flat front edge. Pencil guidelines drawn in.

 

Sanded the edges, rounded the corners slightly. Cut the front edge and added the return

 

I sewed some straps using 1" elastic per Lancer spec.

 

I also sanded the edges and corners on the bicep armor, and sewed the 1 3/8" elastic for the bicep armor.

 

One detail I noticed on the screen used scouts is that the bicep greeblie looks like it's in 2 parts, and the square sticks out more than the upper "T" part than the stock greeblie you get from SC or Don Jarr (they cast them with with the T being the same thickness).

 

For the greeblies, I cut the top section of the "T" from the bottom using a thin hobby saw. I then glued on a section of scrap 1/8" plastic to shim up the square greeblie to make it sit higher.

 

Filled in the edges and gaps with model putty and let it cure, then sanded the edges flat and bevelled the corners and back side.

 

Then painted the sides satin black and glued them in place using E6000. I also glued in the T top part as well, but taped it in place since it sits lower.

 

Much more accurate placement now.

 

Completed biceps with elastic.

 

Next up will be the shoulder bells!

[Griffin-X]

I love your attention to detail Terry. You are going to be a great mentor to upcoming troops in the Pathfinder world. Well done as always sir.

[Guest Sc0ut tr00per]

This thread is 'frikkin AWESOME', its so helpful.

 

Thanks

[shdwtrpr13]

Gaga now I need to con someone in my local hobby store to make some cuts for me and I can reset the square parts higher. Yes panda is my mentor. The sensai of scout armor

[StudioCreations]

 

 

Much more accurate placement now.

 

 

 

Excellent modifications to the suit, Panda! We are planning to add those return edges to the elbows, but not until the winter.

 

For the T-bits, I recommend adding a 'raised rectangular bar' near the bottom of the T-bit "flat area" to take it to the next level of accuracy... see screencap below....

 

 

 

...but... the 'raised bar' could be two raised bars side-by-side, as seen in this SW Bluray 'Behind the Scenes' image....

 

 

[Pandatrooper]

Great catch Jeff! Perhaps I will upgrade my greeblies and cast some new sculpts / scratch built square bits in the future to coincide with an SC armor update!

[Pandatrooper]

Shoulder bells. I find a lot of people aren't trimming or shaping their bells accurately to suit their build. I think the shape is very distinct on the scout and often overlooked, much like TK shoulder bells.

 

The screen used Biker Scout shoulder bells have a very tapered shape. The top of the shoulder "dome" is not a perfect sphere, and from the side view the bell tapers about halfway down the length, ending with large radius rounded corners.

 

Here's the SC shoulder bells out of the box. You can see they are cut very "straight". The bottom edge is straight and flat, and the sides of the bells are also very straight, and parallel to the lengthwise profile of the bell. The bottom corners are almost 90 degrees square.

 

The first thing I did was heat up the bell with a heat gun, and curve the bend more. I heated the round dome part of the bell on low heating, moving the gun over the whole dome while squeezing the curve tighter. I then heated the straight portions of the bell, again keeping the gun moving while squeezing the sides. Be careful not to heat the areas around your fingers or you will get a sharp indentation in the bell (and burn your fingers!)

 

Here, you can see the bottom end profile. The one on the left is curved more than the right. I know the screen bells look flatter from certain angles, but remember that they used much more flexible plastic. Plus the stock non modified SC bells curve radius looked really big and goofy on my slim arms.

 

Side view. The left is slightly more tapered and narrower than the one on the right.

 

This is the most important part, trimming the bell to shape. Of course, if you are a smaller trooper, you might need to trim the height and sides of the bells. I left them the stock size but reshaped them based on screen used images of the movie scouts.

 

After a series of trimmings, I thought this looked the best and made this diagram.

 

I measured from the bottom edge of the bell and marked a line in pencil 4.5" up the side of the bell. I drew a second mark 0.5" inwards from the edge of the bell. The diagram here shows a straight line (in blue) but you will curve this line slightly with sanding or you can draw a subtle curved line.

At the new "corner" of the bell, you want to round off the corners. I have found that if you use a small cylinder or circle template, that a round object with a diameter of 1.75" is about right. Draw in this quarter circle (also shown in blue). Make these same markings on both sides of a bell, and of course on both shoulder bells.

 

 

As a guide, I used the bottom of a plastic container for CA glue which was exactly 1.75" in diameter. Its important to round the corners but not too much or not too little.

 

 

Trim out the shape and follow the lines closely. After trimming, I sanded the edges all the way around, and rounded the junction where it says "smooth this angle out". You don't want a sharp corner, you want to round the whole bell off.

 

You can see what the new cut edge looks like if you lay the bells on a flat surface.

 

I have attached heavy duty velcro to the inside of the bell, and sewn the appropriate 1 3/8" wide black elastic that wraps around my biceps (per Lancer spec). The top of the bell is attached to my T shoulder elastics via velcro. I still like to use velcro in areas like this so that I can fine tune the sizing.

 

Finished shoulder bells.

[Griffin-X]

Great work on the shoulder bells. This is something I need to do with my setup and you make it look so easy Terry! You are a hero to us all!