right, a short update but a important one. ive got in contact with a uk garrison member who does holsters at recommendation and hes happy to work with me to get the holster done in leather, fitted to the blaster loosely like we see. and i can probably either get the templates he'll make or get him added to the vender list when its complete. once its done ill take as many pics as i can to compare it with the blaster in to the clear screenshot we have above as well as the others. and we can decide if it passes muster. i think possibly this might open a discussion on the materials used for the grunts holster. as it would make sense that they used the same material for both, but thats something for another time.
so the bad update. ive made 0 headway on losing enough weight to feel comfortable doing the upper body armour flightsuit or ab. ill be going with francais's epic and fully show accurate flexible ab but thats not something that would fit atm and so its not the best idea to get yet. i have a distinct feeling ive had an undiagnosed thyroid issue for a decade which is why ive had so much trouble losing weight amongst a whole host of other issues that i wouldnt have considered part of an overarching condition if i didnt push myself to lose enough weight for this, and subsequently fail.
for now my priorities will be finishing the bicep, belt, thigh, knee and resin greeblies. as well as the helmet when its paint ready