Newbie Shadow Scout

[ImperialZaku]

Greetings!

My name is RZ, but Ray will do too. I would like to join the 501st, and have decided to build a Shadow Scout as my first costume. I've contacted my local GMO, who instructed me to register here in the SpecOps and the Pathfinders forums. So here I am!

 

My first question would be if there are any kit makers available in Europe and how accurate they are. My GMO suggested RWA Creations. And besides the kit, what tools and materials should I start collecting?

 

Best regards,

Ray

[RAIDER[COTG]]

23 hours ago, ImperialZaku said:

Greetings!

My name is RZ, but Ray will do too. I would like to join the 501st, and have decided to build a Shadow Scout as my first costume. I've contacted my local GMO, who instructed me to register here in the SpecOps and the Pathfinders forums. So here I am!

 

My first question would be if there are any kit makers available in Europe and how accurate they are. My GMO suggested RWA Creations. And besides the kit, what tools and materials should I start collecting?

 

Best regards,

Ray

Welcome!  In addition to RWA, you could also consider RS Props and Chef's Creations...both UK based makers of scout armor as well that are both very good.

In terms of tools...a dremel/rotary tool, curved end snips, lots of sandpaper/sanding blocks, pop rivet tool.  Take a look at the CRL for the various straps/elastics you will need.  I can''t speak to all the makers, but I know Chef provides all of the materials you will need to finish the armor build (straps, rivets, greeblies).

Consider also soft goods and boots...decide whether you will be making your own or buying from a vendor.  Most of these also provide those pieces as well.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

Welcome  IZ!

SO, big question:

MS-06 II or MS-05A?  Gained a lot of respect for the MS-04 Bugu watching Gundam Begins but I also dig the -05A from MS08th Team. But if you look in my closet, its all MS-06, green and red! 
Everything Raider said above.  Dig into other peoples WIP topics to see how they did things.  We just updated the Shadowscout CRL so you are good to go with the freshest information. Start putting your soft parts together while waiting for the armor to be delivered.   And don't forget to post progress pics, it helps everyone.  

[ImperialZaku]

@Raider

At the moment I'm still considering between Chef and RWA. RS is beyond my budget, plus their soft goods are far too big for me. I forgot to mention I'm 165cm (that's about 5'4-5'5) and slim built. Is there a minimum size requirement for the hard parts of the suit? Another important thing I'd like to ask is whether a Scout helmet has enough internal space to wear glasses with? I've seen 501st members wear glasses under TK helmets, so I assumed it'd be a similar situation.

 

Right now Chefs seems to be the most convenient option, as they have soft goods and blasters as well as the hard parts. Their soft good are tailor made according to the website so that's neat. Does Chefs do kits or do they already handle a bit of the work? I'm making assumptions based of their Scout page, as their Storm Commando page says to contact them for more details.

 

@Blackwatch

I've already looked around in some WIP threads and have picked up some bits of information here and there.

 

As for the big question,

I respect the 05, but it frankly was fairly outdated by the time the war broke out. The 06 however, was designed with extra internal space to accommodate future upgrades, which gave it long-term viability. (I wonder if the writers copied this from the Panzer III and Panzer IV from WW2, with the latter having extra space in preparation for upgrades.) As for my profile picture, it's the MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai B-Type, also known as the Final Production Type of the 06. B-Type just means this version has the "Fritz" head.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

You might also want to head over to the Pathfinder forums.   There are some very serious very in depth helmet discussions there. I just ordered a helmet from spike because it is about the 2nd to the largest helmet made It will accommodate a 26" head or a smaller head with glasses. There is a long and incredibly detailed helmet size comparison topic in those forums.  

[ImperialZaku]

19 minutes ago, Blackwatch said:

You might also want to head over to the Pathfinder forums.   There are some very serious very in depth helmet discussions there. I just ordered a helmet from spike because it is about the 2nd to the largest helmet made It will accommodate a 26" head or a smaller head with glasses. There is a long and incredibly detailed helmet size comparison topic in those forums.  

Spike is the Altmanns bucket, right? I'm also registered with the Pathfinders forum and looked around a bit, though I haven't read the comparison threads very in-depth yet.

[Dropkick[CMD-XO]]

I got my Shadow scout kit from Chef's creations.

I got to cut & build the armour. It was a very enjoyable process [mostly].

I have a build thread on here. My shadow scout build thread

Feel free to have a read if that helps.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

Yep, that's him.  Mine will be in in a few weeks. 

[ImperialZaku]

Out of curiosity, what do troopers usually wear under the undersuits or flight suits? 

[RAIDER[COTG]]

1 minute ago, ImperialZaku said:

Out of curiosity, what do troopers usually wear under the undersuits or flight suits? 

My boxers (which are like a spandex dri-fit material) and a dri-fit tshirt.  Bout it.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

i wear those spandex Russel athletic shirts, and a pair of cheap nylon shorts.  I can get dressed at the fan table.  I haven't had a changing area (Besides a parking lot) in a long time.  

[Dropkick[CMD-XO]]

10 hours ago, ImperialZaku said:

Out of curiosity, what do troopers usually wear under the undersuits or flight suits? 

I would usually wear a tee shirt & boxers. The costume is warm enough even for the Irish weather.

[ImperialZaku]

Hey guys, 

 

It's been busy lately, so I haven't checked in for a while. Right now I've decided to order a Chef's kit (when my wallet permits it). I did see Crow Props is going to make Scout gloves and boots as well, so I'll wait till there's a bit more information on that front before I order any soft goods. 

[ImperialZaku]

Update, I placed an order for armour and blaster, no soft goods yet.

[Dropkick[CMD-XO]]

The start of a beautiful journey.

Congrats. You'll love the scout.

[IcyTrooper[CMD-DL]]

21 hours ago, ImperialZaku said:

Update, I placed an order for armour and blaster, no soft goods yet.

Glad to see you getting the start on it!

[ImperialZaku]

Update:

Received word from Chefs the kit is ready for dispatch and just finished up on payment. This is going to get interesting soon.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

SWEET~! 

[ImperialZaku]

@Dropkick I'm looking at the pieces for my bucket here and the instructions call for trimming till the 'rough guide trim lines' but I don't seem to see any, or at least I don't recognise them... could you tell me what exactly I am looking for?

[Dropkick[CMD-XO]]

2 hours ago, ImperialZaku said:

@Dropkick I'm looking at the pieces for my bucket here and the instructions call for trimming till the 'rough guide trim lines' but I don't seem to see any, or at least I don't recognise them... could you tell me what exactly I am looking for?

I followed the build guidelines on the Chef's website for their biker scout build when I built my shadow scout. The instructions were easy to follow. If I remember correctly,  the trim lines were quite faint.

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

Whats the progerss on your set? 

 

[ImperialZaku]

On 4/19/2021 at 6:54 PM, Blackwatch said:

Whats the progerss on your set? 

 

It's been pretty busy lately so I haven't really worked on it. I think I've got the main dome trimmed enough to glue the halves together though. 

 

On different topic, has anyone else gotten odd (or suspicious) looking emails from Chef's? I've added a screenshot of what I got. 

 

Edited June 1, 2021 by ImperialZaku
Replaced wrong screenshot with correct one

[ImperialZaku]

4 minutes ago, ImperialZaku said:

It's been pretty busy lately so I haven't really worked on it. I think I've got the main dome trimmed enough to glue the halves together though. 

 

On different topic, has anyone else gotten odd (or suspicious) looking emails from Chef's? I've added a screenshot of what I got. 

 

I have to add that Chef did respond to my original email with a normal email, this came in a month after his initial response. 

[RAIDER[COTG]]

Never seen a response like that.

So were you able to figure out the helmet trimming?

As far as the dome assembly your best bet is to heat and bend some abs strips to mount on the interior of the dome to hold the 2 pieces together.  Then bondo/fill the seam.  Want to work that seam as much as possible to conceal it.

After thats set you can move on to the visor (similar technique).  One thing...on the interior of the dome I fiberglassed over the abs strip as well.  Prob not necessary but I wanted some additional reinforcement though it did add some weight as well.

[ImperialZaku]

3 hours ago, RAIDER said:

Never seen a response like that.

So were you able to figure out the helmet trimming?

As far as the dome assembly your best bet is to heat and bend some abs strips to mount on the interior of the dome to hold the 2 pieces together.  Then bondo/fill the seam.  Want to work that seam as much as possible to conceal it.

After thats set you can move on to the visor (similar technique).  One thing...on the interior of the dome I fiberglassed over the abs strip as well.  Prob not necessary but I wanted some additional reinforcement though it did add some weight as well.

Yes, from the brow to the neck I think it's done trimming, but I still have to take a look at the base of the neck because it seems a bit uneven. 

 

On topic of the email, I took a look at Chef's social media tab and it turns out they had someone spoof their emails due to the server being not as secure as thought. They moved to a more secure server though, so everything should be fine with that.