Chef

Batting wise... depends on how thick yours is. I only use a single layer, but it is relatively thick. If you wanted a more distinct padded section you could always double it up in that area. If you get any problems with the glue not sticking to the plastic that holds your velcro patches down, then just get a bit of sand paper and give the area a bit of a rub. This will 'key' the plastic and give the glue something to grab.

Steve Honeywill over here in the UK also does an absolutely stunning DLT-19.

Sometimes is possible to just un-pick the stitching and re-do them. If you run it through a wash cycle the stitch marks come out. The bund does go up inside the armour, as you can see here. Just as long as it doesn't go over the top of the side strap seems to be the right place for looking neat. It has ridden up a little in this shot, but then he is leaning forward. I have snaps affixed to the top of my bund, which attach to the inside of my chest plate to keep everything in place. (I have updated to a 5 bar bund, but the attachment system is the same) And a similar thing on the rear too. Although Velcro works just as well. I've got velcro on the standard Scout (ran out of snaps). I find it to be a great system as you don't need any braces to hold it up, it stops the bund from slipping down from the chest plate stopping any 'gaps' (more noticeable on a standard Scout), and it also stops the chest plate riding up and throttling you.

There are only FIVE vertical ribs on the cummerbund, rather than six. (so 6 stitch lines, instead of 7) Yes, the CRL caters for both, but that's from old information. The latest research confirms that there are indeed only 5. We just haven't altered the CRL because a large number of people have 6 on their old ones. Might as well be up to date from the start!

personal choice... I gave mine a slight weathering of silver just to pick out the details.

Yeah, tank stripe can be done in 3 parts. both verticals and the horizontal is how I do it. Just overlap the joins. For attaching the scope on the blaster. I just drill right through the scope and into the main blaster and insert some of the rivet shanks to pin it in place. Then just glue the cover on the top. You could drill out the 'screws' and insert real ones. Either way will work just as well. Remember the turret (the bulge bit) of the scope abuts directly up to the scope ring. There isn't a gap in there between the two. Depending on how snug you've got it to fit, it should be OK. Mine stays in, even with my silliness. So unless you're planning on karate side kicking people whilst out trooping you'll probably find it's OK. But adding a magnet into the grip is a fairly common mod. Get a large round neodymium magnet and insert it into the transistor part (round bit) on the grip. Add another on the back of the holster in the same place and they should just 'click' together when you put the pistol in the holster. I've seen people add in a little strap that goes over the blaster with either a snap or velcro to hold it down. That's probably the most sure fire way to keep it in. But this irks my screen accurate gland, so I don't advise it.

Suit size.... 34 will refer to the chest circumference in INCHES. Coveralls do tend to be larger than the advertised size as they are an 'over-suit'. Chest pockets can be left in place, but remove the all the pockets on the lower half of the suit. Wampa-Wear are about the only decent gloves out there at the moment. They are screen accurate, and I haven't found anything else that comes close yet. This is a Cumberbatch. This is a Cummerbund. I wouldn't worry about the flap on the top. Make it tall enough so it sits under your armour. As for the batting (we call it wadding over here in Blighty)... Yes. Go the full length around as this will help it retain a certain 'padded' look (because oddly enough it will be 'padded'). Pouches, they are the same size as the Snowie ones, but the flaps sit the other way. Diagonals outermost, rather than innermost as the Snowies have them. Made in exactly the same way though. I attach mine to the armour as it stops them pulling the cummerbund down whilst wearing it all. Personal choice at the end of the day. But after years of trooping experience as a Scout, attaching them to the armour is the way to go. Vest... Yes. T-Shirt material will be fine. Boots... Either the 2nd or Last link would be the best ones to use. On the second one, you might need to colour that grey stripe black, but other than that it should be fine. The sole detail doesn't overly matter. Just the cuts in the right places. If snaps are an issue, just use velcro instead. works just as well, and in some cases it's more comfortable than having a metal snap rubbing on you.

Boot holster should end up something like this... The internal trimming will depend on the blaster for the ultimate tight fit. So get it glued together and trim it out until it's nice and snug. Rivets end up in the corners like so...

Looks about right to me.

I've got another supplier... I'll send you the PM.

They'll be going on 50mm Red webbing, which will be sewn in the loops and have a 50mm fastex buckle on the rear. probably....

Shipping wise... I don't think the weight will be the issue, it will be the size. There is a fair bit there, but it should all fit in what would qualify for a 'small' parcel. On that basis, postage to the US "tracked" 5-7 days delivery time would be £15. At the moment, I think these are looking to come out at £75 a set, due to the massive print time (it is 40+ hours!). So with shipping that's £90, which works out at $135 if my maths are correct (well, xe.com). Although check that with Paypal, as I think their 'exchange rate' differs from the usual one. As I've mentioned before, exchange rates and shipping are a bit of a killer for you chaps in the US. Nothing I can do about that unfortunately. Unless you want to convince my missus to move to the US! in which case, they'd probably cost you half that! But I am on the tweak... got some upgrades parts coming for the printer, ordered some spangly new filament which I am assured by a man who knows is much better quality, adjusted some of the settings so we'll see how that little lot turns out.

Looks like an older MonCal suit... but it checks out. A waft of black paint and all the trimmings and you should be golden (well, black... but you know what I mean).

Righty.... I'll address them in reverse... To make the gapping better... If you look on the inside of the tank, you should see some mould lines like these... These are a rough trimming guide to get the tank flush. They do get a bit vague on the lower bit of the tank, but you should still be able to make it out. This will help bring the tank right in. The crack... I think the best solution will be to get a bit of spare plastic (should be some kicking about!) and glue a bit right over the hole itself. Warm the spare plastic up (NOT THE TANK!) until it goes a bit floppy and then press it onto the area so it forms to the same shape. Then glue it down. Trim it off so it's all the same shape and give it a sand on its inner edge so it doesn't interfere with the tank sitting level on the back plate. Re-drill the hole in the same spot. That should sort the tank. If with the re-trimming and new placement you find that the holes overlap a little, then what you need to do is the same as the above... Get a spare bit of plastic and glue it to the INSIDE of the Back-Plate. When you re-site the tank, you can drill the new hole up through the back plate and the new bit of plastic. You'll need to get a new rivet with a much longer tang to go through the extra thickness of plastic. a 15mm tang should probably be plenty long enough, but the longer the better. It can always be trimmed back after installation. Remember to use a backing washer on the inside of the backplate. Just squeeze the rivet up gently so it pulls the tank and the back plate together. DO NOT try to squeeze it so it breaks the shaft. This is probably what split your tank in the first place. Just get it to pull together then STOP. At this point, the tank and back plate will be together, but the shaft will still be sticking out of the bottom of the rivet. Just snip it off with a pair of pliers, or a dremel. Carefully hit it with a sanding drum to smooth it off. Don't go mad at this stage because hitting it with a sander will heat it up... and heat melts plastic. So do a bit... let it cool... do a bit more... let it cool. Until it's smooth. Job done. Tank repaired.

Just the wide box to go and I'm done. Weight wise they're coming in at a shade over 500g for the entire set, not including the length of webbing or a buckle. Which I don't think is too shabby.

I did the CAD designs based off this picture from Rogue Leader, as it was the one which showed all of the boxes. Then used this close up for the weird 'dome' shaped one on the left shoulder. I may adjust the 'ammo case' style one yet... not quite decided.

Same as Todd. Works faultlessly.

Well... amongst the absolute nightmare than is my world currently, I have managed to fire up the printer and run some prototypes off of the General Weir boxes.. Not all of them are done at the moment (printer is still running!) These have taken probably the best part of 30 hours to print off (probably more). The four large square boxes I am currently doing are going to take 8 hours alone! Surface quality needs some fettling, but then I am only just getting to grips with this new technology. But not bad... for a first attempt. I think the full set of boxes should weigh in under a kilo.

Everything is repairable dude... Get some close up pictures of it and I shall try to assess it for a remedy.

Nah, should be easy to do... just re-drill the back plate when it's in the new position. Use a longer shank rivet and a spare bit of plastic on the inside of the back plate to relieve the stress on the backplate itself.

1: Yup, paint the rivets black. If you forget to do it... a sharpie marker is always a good back-stop. 2: There can be a small gap on the tank yes... Depends on how well you've trimmed it up. It is possible to get it pretty tight, but its not critical. 3: Yup, straight to top coat is fine. I would use a much finer paper though to give the base key. Say 1500-2000 (or find some Scotchbrite). That way you won't get any visible sanding marks in your paint. If you use too coarse a wet/dry you'll be able to see the marks. Fine if you're going to hit it with a primer... not so if you're going straight to paint.

The GML (Garrison Member Liaison) is the person who 'clears' your costume before you are allowed to use it. They then do all the necessary admin to the 501st. How you find them?? Well... for mine. I normally just shout something rude and wait for them to pick up on it! I'm sure yours might be different. If they're happy for you to go Satin, then I suggest you do. Painting wise. You can just spray as is. It will rub off a little easier, but then that's no bad thing as it shows another bit of weathering contrast as it shows up gloss underneath. Or you can hit it with a bit of ScotchBrite (like a pan scourer) to just give a fine key to the plastic. Either way works.

The paint thing will be dependant on your particular GML. I would discuss it with them first. If you are the first Storm Commando, then I would make a serious recommendation for the use of Satin (Semi-gloss) because I think it looks better and makes them look a lot meaner. If you are not, then it will probably be pertinent to follow the lead and keep the uniformity within your Garrison. (all of the UKG ones are Satin) Both are fully approvable on the CRL so you 'shouldn't' have issue with either. It is possible to paint after you have strapped it up, although it's easier to do it prior to strapping. You may just have to whip some masking tape around the straps or move them out of the way whilst spraying. Greeblies are attached as is. They then provide little tiny bits of contrast on the costume, rather than it looking all 'flat'. Because it's all black, you ideally need little points of contrast, greeblies, helmet snout, bund fabric, suede etc to give the costume some depth. Remember to paint the chest indent gloss (or mask it off and leave it the gloss of the base armour). Side straps... Recent discoveries within the Scout community have revealed that the side straps are webbing, rather than elastic, similar to the stuff used for the drop straps. Now, using webbing doesn't give you any flexibility (to breathe) across the back/chest. So I don't affix it to the back. I have the webbing secured on velcro to the chest, and then it goes through the slots on the back plate with a small length of elastic between the two across the back. This way the straps can have a bit of flex as you breathe and move about, but you still have the correct webbing straps visible. But either webbing or elastic are still clearable on the CRL guidelines, so that's a personal preference thing.

Boots are being done next week, everything else is ready to go.

Video's didn't happen no.... But I'm around to chime in on stuff as and when required. I've got a blog link to my regular Scout build, but I have yet to transfer it over to here as a 'tutorial'. http://kgbairsoft.com/wordpress/?page_id=122