Beren

Approved! Thanks again to all and to a very helpful Special Ops community. http://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=18121&costumeID=136

The lighting in my house at nighttime is not ideal, but I'm hoping I've got the pouches in a better location. I took some of the padding out of each pouch and moved them outward to reveal the bund... and I relocated the belt to align better with the bottom of the bund. Thoughts???

Wow Chef! Great reference. Thanks so much for the help. I'll get her suited up and reposition the pouches first. I'm hoping I can "hoist" up the cummerbund without ruining my marriage.

The soft parts were made by cucblack. Overall I'm very pleased with his products. The pouches shown on my wife are actually reduced to 5x6". If I were to have them reduced in size, what would you all recommend given my wife's size? Before I remake them, I'll reposition them first to see if that helps.

Thanks Chef for your feedback! I agree... the pouches despite having them remade once still look a bit too big, and I didn't like how they pushed together. I will likely have them remade (again). Right now we are aiming for just general clearance and hoping these details won't hang us up.

I just wanted to thank you all for your help and guidance. I've been lurking around and learning from you all as I worked to complete this Shadow Scout build for my wife. Her 501st application has begun, so I am hoping she'll soon join your ranks. As I have done the work and studied this build, I will consider myself one of the family, even if just a distant relative!

Well, I feel like I need to follow up with you all regarding the outcome of my "experiments" just in case someone in the future wants to reproduce or improve upon my efforts.... After a few days, the tinting material used in the "sandwich technique" began to sag and droop. Up close, it just didn't look good, so I tried to reapply tinting to the curved piece of plexiglass. Using a squeegee, I was able to get a very good adaptation to the plastic lens material and let it set up overnight. Unfortunately as the lens needed to be slightly flexed to fit within the mask, the tinting began to wrinkle in the center again. Unless you can get the exact curve reproduced, it will be a challenge to keep this material affixed properly. So, I've resorted to ordering reflective lens material from http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/11378/i/afx-fast-shield. I'll let you know how that goes soon enough!

So..... the bubbles don't seem to be "working themselves out" and they're bugging me. After half a day of contemplation, I thought of another option... rather than peel and stick the reflective tint material to the plexiglass, I thought I'd try to sandwich an unpeeled piece between two flat pieces of plexiglass and bend to fit. I think it's a big improvement. No more bubbles, and no wrinkles either. Let's just see if this holds up now....

I got the helmet assembled but still have a few minor details to do. I've tried to make it look fairly "accurate" by cutting out the ear holes and placing material behind to simulate depth. The CRL for 501'st approval is very basic, but I'd like your advice regarding decals and painting... Should I leave everything as is? Or, should I place the decals (bar code stripes, fish hook, nose and faceplate)? Should I paint the snout detail grey? What seems to look best for the shadow scout???

I got the lens installed this evening and I think it turned out fairly well... I got the tint material placed and worked out the bubbles as best as I could. A handful of small bubbles remain but I hope they'll work themselves out over time. The good news is that there's NO CREASES or WRINKLES! Worse case scenario... I may have to attend window tinting class and apply a new sheet to eliminate the bubbles. Behold...

I haven't ruled out the motorcycle lens idea yet, but I thought I'd try the "boiling water" option first. This may be an epic fail, but I've got nothing to loose since I've already got the plexiglass cut out. It took about 20 minutes to get the plexiglass soft enough to bend. I got it nice and warm on either side over the top of a sauce pan, and eventually pushed it down into the boiling water. Once "soft", I used the side of another sauce pan as a mold to create an even curve. Got a much better result than I got with the heat gun for sure! The curve may not perfectly match the inside curve of my mask, but it should be close enough to keep the tinting material from blistering. More pictures to follow once the mirror tint it placed.

Did you have any trouble cutting the motorcycle visor to fit inside the mask? I've found a few on Amazon, but wonder what kind of cutting tool I'll need to get through it...

Thanks for the suggestion!

I am trying to make a "mirrored lens" by applying window tint behind the existing lens; however, the lens that came with my SC kit is flat. When I bend the lens to fit into the mask, the tinting wrinkles in a few spots, so it appears that it may be better for me to pre-bend the lens first, and then apply the tinting. Does anyone have any suggestions for bending a flat piece of thin plexiglass. The trusty heat gun just made things worse... the edges curled up and the middle of the lens warped.