Brattie

No worries Torok. Alright peoples.. Wow.. this thread just keeps going and going eh? <-- yes I know.. Canadian Thing.. So today we are going to discuss.. Troop Etiquette and How not to piss people off in forums and overall in general. Troop Etiquette: Things I have found helped me Remember that you are representing fans all over the world that love Star Wars and costuming just as much as you do. So act the part! Goofing around and having fun is great!!!! Just remember that sexual poses or other inappropriate gestures are not cool. Think of all the kids and people that love Star wars watching a Storm Trooper going down the street doing Michael Jackson impersonations grabbing their crotch every few minutes or something.. BLECK! Keep it real! Act your Part! So How does a TK Act? They are Military based. Do your research. Anyway, when arriving at a Troop here are some things that I have found helpful: Introduce yourself to the event organizer. Be Polite and listen to their needs Ask if they have any special requirements for you. (Is there anywhere they want you at a specific time?) Ask for a tour or directions to the area that they'd like you to set up or to spend time Walk the venue ** Extremely important to do before suiting up as you get an idea of the "lay of the land" and can note any obstructions or points for possible trip hazards or other dangers when in costume with limited vision HAVE FUN! You are there to have fun. If you are grouchy and being an old bugger you aren't going to have fun and your mood will be sensed by EVERYONE around you. Take a chill pill. You aren't anyone special. You are a person in a costume THERE TO MAKE PEOPLE SMILE. Sorry if I burst your bubble on that last one. It is true. Thinking you are above everyone else or something along those lines doesn't make you anything but annoying and a forking snob. No one wants to be around that. You aren't there for YOU either.. you are there to support the event and to have fun. REMEMBER THAT and stop being such a "you know what that starts with a B and seems to itch!". This goes for other peoples costumes as well. Just because they don't look perfect doesn't mean you should make negative comments. You don't know their story. All Costumers should be supportive of ALL Costumers.. no matter their theme, or background. PERIOD. Funny story: On the last troop we were at a library and there were a few costumers. One group thought it was best to sit in a circle facing each other and not talk much with anyone. After they wondered why no one wanted pictures with them. The other Group ventured around the event, interacted with others and were in a lot of pictures.. gee I wonder why? Anyway.. on to the funny bit of all of this.. there was this one.. "Creature" I'm going to call it.. a furry.. I say it because I don't know if it was a male or female figure.. the individual within was male which I discovered from elevator chat later on. This guy was just as hot and uncomfortable as we were! Laughs. He was awesome though.. he was blue and white and squeaked a lot. LOL.. Wow could he play his part. His movements and gestures were amazing. I love bumping into amazing costumers like that! So much fun to interact with. What I find so extremely funny about it all is that neither of us broke character roles but still interacted in the most peculiar way at a fish tank and a few other "encounters" around the event. I still don't know what the furry was.. some sort of fox like creature I'm guessing. My thoughts on How not to piss people off in forums With all that said.. lets move on to the next portion of our chat today.. How NOT to piss people off in Forums. Everyone has an opinion and that's good. We are all individuals with our own brains and yadda yadda yadda... When people have CONSTRUCTIVE criticism it can be helpful and help sort out issues or make things better. (for the morons out there.. Constructive means -> Intending to improve or promote development; having a use) The problems come when people make odd comments offering tips that come across as if you are a moron or something and don't know anything. It's in how you put it. Some are careful as Text type can be taken different ways. Most find people that offer NON-constructive.. or destructive comments as being a snob or elitest. These are comments that come across as if the person leaving the comment is better than any of the other 10000 people around the world that are also costuming and doing things. So when leaving a post.. leave your troubles, and grouchiness out of it. be pleasant, read and re-read your comments before posting. Be sure they won't come across as snobbish or like a know it all. Not everyone is the same, and not everyone is trying to reach some impossible perfection state with their gear. Most want it to look good but not all are going to the extreme. The next part of this is when you are leaving comments.. think before you type. What can I say? How can I say this and come across clearly without sounding like a a very impolite person? Read and Re-read over and over again until you are sure that your comments can't be taken any other way. Don't complain about people you post to off forum. If you have a problem or issue in a forum, Address it IN THE FORUM. For example: If you know someone that you post with on a forum, and you don't like something they are doing. Don't whine like a baby to other people about it. <- This REALLY pisses people off. They are their own person and can make their own minds up. It is NONE of your business how they do things or what they are doing unless they have asked you directly. Going to chat with friends about another person and what they are doing will do nothing but make people not want to talk/deal with you anymore. I hate whiners. Hearing that people are whining about me or are talking behind my back about my build or my stuff.. then stupidly thinking that I won't hear about it or that it won't get back to me.. wow.. who's the moron now right? It ALWAYS gets back to the people and sometimes it ends up worse than it actually was intended. Especially when they see you outside of the forum and act all buddy buddy with you.. pfft.. can you say.. loser. LOL In this case remember the old saying "If you can't say anything nice, don't say it at all!" That being said.. the purpose in these threads is to leave constructive ideas and helpful direction. These comments provide insight into experiences from your own builds. That doesn't mean it will be the same as the other person so remember that when leaving comments to others. I don't know everything, and I'm not afraid to say it. I will be honest with everyone I speak with. When it comes to advice I prefer to offer options or ideas, suggestions or relate experiences from my past leaving openness for creative growth. My way is never the only way, it's merely what worked for me and I do my best to ensure it comes across that way. I enjoy sharing my follies during my build, laughing at myself at some of the things I've done, passing on knowledge to assist others with their build. OMG.. the day I sneezed all over my armor comes to mind.. BLECK.. never work on armor with a cold! Laughs.. You should TRY to be light and happy in your posts.. not everyone is trying to beat the rest of the world in some competition to make their armor "better than" everyone else. With all that being said I have thoroughly enjoyed many of the conversations during this thread. Thank you to most of those that have posted. Yes this is a build thread.. but it is also a journey into what happens along the way. So I AM SO SORRY (NOT) if you don't like that my thread is 60 pages.. but you won't find a more accurate trip than this one. All the ups and downs included. If you are an admin of this forum, that's a different story, otherwise.. mind your own beez-wax! Remember there is no "i" in Team.. Together Everyone Achieves More... this doesn't say "One person knows everything and they are the only correct way of doing things so only listen to them" When posting on forums, don't edit and change your post 10000 times.. if you make a mistake fix it, but don't change it every 5 minutes. After the 5 minute mark.. post a new reply or post with updates or adjustments. That way it reduces confusion on the forums. You never know if someone is replying to you as you are fixing things and then their post makes no sense afterwards. Remember the B's Be happy, Be kind Be appreciative - there are other forums and NONE offer as much information or help as FISD Be respectful, and don't talk behind people's backs.. it always.. and I do mean Always gets back to them. I like the "Suzi seat kicker" reminders from the movie so I'll say this.. Don't be a Crabby Craig - by leaving negative comments or acting as if you know everything. and/or Don't be a Winnie the Whiner - talking behind peoples backs No one likes Crabby Craigs or Winnie the Whiners and it just pisses people off... Well that's all for now.. ta-ta and stay safe! ~*~ Brattie ~*~

If you have the right stuff you can always make something work! Laughs

Another fun troop. People would think that troops at a Library are boring but they are fun! Anyway.. stories from Brattie Land.. Lesson 1: Never leave your bucket in a warm car! So.. at the Library event we went to I had left my bucket in the car for only 30 minutes.. well.. with the sun beating down it caused an issue with the padding. It seems heat means that the velcro doesn't like to stick.. or keep sticking to the helmet!! .. During the troop I suddenly had a pad sliding down in front of my face and I casually pinned it to the front with my cheek.. Laugh. Anyway.. the Industrial strength velcro doesn't seem to do this as much.. so I'll be picking up some more black velcro on my next trip to Micheal's art store! But wait.. why would you need all that velcro!?? Well.. at the same troop.. a fellow trooper forgot the straps to go from his belt to his thighs.. lucky for him I had a wad of Velcro in my repair kit. So he was able to come up with a quick fix for strapping and join us on the troop. We had so much fun! Always have a repair kit.. Always be prepared for odd funny things to happen.. and be aware of the effects your environment and surroundings have on your gear... Like heat with Velcro and what Cold does to plastic! Stay safe and have fun! ~*~ Brattie ~*~

Hi Guys!! Yes I'm still around.. haven't had much to say lately to be honest.. things are slowing down with winter coming and I've received my next build.. a Biker Scout.. I've completed the helmet portion but have loads to wait on for funds to purchase gloves and a flight suit and all sorts of that stuff.. soooooooo there's not much happening.. I was mega sick over last week with HammerPlague.. seems a lot of us that went to the comic con got sick.. blah.. I ended up with a serious eye infection as well. Loads of fun there! Below is a picture that I call "Picture of my Inner Soul" Anyway.. life sucks.. but that happens now and then.. On the plus side.. I received some of the legion patches I ordered ages ago. Seems I got lost in the threads but they found me and got it sorted.. awesome!! All in all I'm just tired. Some days I just don't know about all of this.. I love it.. don't get me wrong.. but it's money I could put into other things.. its' times like that when I decide to go for a walk through the local park in my gear. It seems to give me time to recharge my inner star wars and remind myself just how much I feel at home in my gear. This was over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and it was fun. That's Boo.. my niece.. (Not really blood related but as I'm her aunt.. well.. Laugh) Anyway.. during this walk about we also went to the local Police department.. Gave them all a big Happy Thanksgiving surprise and thanked them for all they do.. The detectives and officers were truly grateful for our little pop in.. I like to keep up good relations with them so they know who I am and that I'm a costumer in the area. With that said.. if you plan on trooping in public at non-events don't carry a weapon and also check in with your local law enforcement.. be sure to talk to the community liaison officer and such. It really helps them to know who you are and helps you to have fun and not have to worry about some moron calling the police about some crazy person in the park wearing a mask. Laugh. Well that's all for now guys... I am planning on some more tweaks to my gear in the coming weeks.. I want to figure out some more padding.. In saying that I also want to express something to the new people out there.. Our gear is not comfortable at first. You are putting on semi-ridged pieces of plastic that bite and rub in the most uncomfortable ways. As time passes you tweak your gear, get advice from others and eventually sort it out.. I was in my gear for this walk for over 3 hours without a single bite or issue.. but that was after MONTHS of tweaking.. Don't get discouraged.. your gear does get better and you learn how to best adjust it to fit your body type and movement. For me I really like having pads inside thigh armor near the knee.. it REALLY helps prevent twist and bites. Keep your head up and keep on troopin' -~*~- Brattie -~*~-

This has always been one of my favorite songs. LOL

Alrighty.. now that I'm feeling meh.. instead of BLAH.. I have some great fun to share.. Over last weekend I was at the Hamilton Comic Con.. many of us call Hammerplague as the ventilation wasn't the best and a few of us ended up sick. If I forget about that for a minute I can share that I got to meet Dave Prowse and Brian Herring!!! For those that don't know.. though you should... David Prowse is the actor that played DARTH VADER in the original movies. This also turned out to be his last convention that he would travel abroad for!! Nice guy! I got to talk to him and shake his hand and sit for a massive group photo with our team at the convention!! Brian Herring: Puppeteer of BB8 and actor!! That's right.. we had fun conversations about SW and how things went down on the set and designs.. it was awesome! Both great people and I wish them happiness and good health! Again.. other than this plague that I am fighting .. I had fun!

Alright.. moving along.. http://www.instructables.com/id/Restoring-yellowed-Stormtrooper-armor/ or take the easy road and go to Trooper bay and get Armor White For future reference.. how to remove yellowing from ABS plastic... So more tweaks on my gear and leading up to more troops coming soon. I have so much to do and so little time.. Laughs.. My cut proof gloves have finally arrived and I have Patches.. what was that you say? Patches.. we don't need no stinkin' Patches.. oh yes we do! My long lost order of legion patches is on it's way.. WHOOHOO! Second Item of the day.. MOLD. Yes I said the 'M' word. Through conversations during troops I've talked with people that have had the misfortune of having to deal with MOLD growth on their armor or a costume.. One guy lost a full alien suit to the green fuzzies!!! But WHY would that happen? Surely we don't have to worry about it on ABS plastic... or do we... ???? Go ahead.. tell me mold won't form on plastic.. I dare ya! I have actually done testing on this item in school and yes it does and yes it can.. on any surface, on any material.. on anything.. it's like a mini-hammerplague.. it can get everyone... and everything!! First hand knowledge here folks so please save the argument. A variety of mold species, (Penicillium or Aspergillus to name 2 of them) can grow on Plastic. Usually in places with stagnant air. Long Troops lead to tired Troopers and well.. if you leave your gear in a garage, basement, other area with even a bit of moisture or in a sealed box where it can't breath.. and if it's still full of sweat and nastiness.. you can be sure that it's the PERFECT breading ground for Mold.. which CAN ruin your gear if left in that state for too long.. PREVENT MOLD.. Clean your gear! There are numerous ways to clean your gear but the easiest thing to do would be to ensure you wipe your gear down thoroughly after each troop. Perhaps a little cleaner now and then as well but nothing too strong. Be sure it's clean for special troops.. like if you are planning a Hospital Troop! Clean gear stays pretty longer! That's all for now..

Let me win the lottery fist to afford them. Lol

Alright, so next on my list of things to adjust.. Laugh.. I think I'd like to figure out a way to tighten up my belt a bit and at the same time I'm going to pad the backside of my holster.. with that being said.. as much as I love my resin blaster.. I need to start looking into other options as I'd love to be able to carry my blaster in my holster now and then without worrying of damaging it.. Food for thought.. open to ideas..

I wanted to speak about something Dave said in his quote.. those that have never experienced trauma, mental illness or other problems in their past wouldn't understand the difficulty most people have in expressing themselves and information when they have suffered or are suffering from some sort of Trauma/mental illness/or other person issue.. It's a very delicate matter and can cause them pain just talking or thinking about it. He spoke of "struggling in silence or in whispers" Too many victims or people suffering with trauma, mental illness, or even other personal challenges do this. They are unable to trust people, or to have the support to face their problems. Some are embarrassed and afraid to be "outed" or judged because of what they are dealing with or what they have survived. It is this problem that pushes so many to the edge. The lack of support. Granted in recent years there has been movement and support offered to people dealing with such things, but judgement is still out there. If you are dealing with Trauma, or suffering from a mental illness or problem.. then please do reach out for help. There are so many resources available all over North America for those wishing help or guidance. You are never alone, there are others just like you out there. For those that have never had such issues, problems, or trauma in their past, present or future.. that's great. You are very lucky. All I ask of you is not to judge those that have or are dealing with such things. Just thinking of my past brings me to tears. It doesn't matter how long ago it was.. writing about it, thinking about it, talking about it brings up raw feelings of hurt, despair and a pain that can't be put into words. So why do I do it? I do it because in forums of this nature where we are all here to help each other I feel comfortable that I can express some of these things with you all in the privacy of the forum. I do it because I know, in the thousands of members of our forum.. there are others like me.. others that might not have someone to talk to, or know someone that might understand what they are dealing with.. I do it so others know that they don't have to suffer in silence or be alone.. Thanks for reminding me Dave of just how far I have come.

will do Brad.. looking forward to it!

Alright.. so moving along.. I keep hoping that someone in Canada will start to build the rubberized or hyperfirm style prop weapons. This round about way of trying to get some of these great items from the US is really painful. It is also horrifically expensive for Canadians. Yes you can go with 3_d printed plastics which I have.. it's light but wow fragile and just doesn't take the paint that well.. it requires loads of work to the point that I have abandoned my 3-D blaster to a degree due to focusing on other projects until I can figure it out more. The holster that was moveable had a crack and was quickly replaced by the maker, however it's really hard to drill out and find replacement pieces for it all. The Quest design Blaster is awesome. I love it. The fact it was built here in Ontario makes me even more proud to carry it. The biggest issue is that it is fragile.. The fire switch broke and I had to JB weld it back in place... it's holding up pretty good actually. The down side is the weight. To carry it for long periods of time is tiring. I did figure out a way to rest my hands holding the blaster on my belt when standing at attention.. this helps take the load and give my arms a rest for a short time. That is the only con I have for it.. truly it's an awesome addition. Holster.. The Quest blaster fits in the holster perfectly.. but with the weight it tugs on the belt.. not to mention the damage that can be done to the armor if you walk with your blaster swinging around in the holster.. not good for the armor or blaster.. To fix this.. I plan on finding a way to get a lighter blaster for the holster.. I considered leaving my plastic one in the holster but even that bangs around a lot and again.. the plastic requires loads of work to get it looking more accurate.. parts easily fall off of this as well. Perhaps padding the back side of the holster could help prevent rub against the armor.. maybe even some Costume silk attached to prevent the rub. A wise Garrison mate has made a thin pocket on the backside of the holster for items.. it's a grand idea.. He said he is currently working out the kinks in his design for it.. I'm watching and will let you know how it's done and what he found worked best when I see the final design. I may even do the same. At a troop with 3 of us in TK's, a sand trooper and one Vader.. we ran into a problem not having a handler of who could carry the dressing room key.. some of us have the ability to place it in some spots.. The Sandtrooper tried to see if he could get it into one of his pouches.. but he had an audio system taking up some of the space too.. In the end the idea of putting it inside one of our gloves was the best idea for now.. but it got us all thinking of ways to best store easily accessible items within our gear. I have drop boxes that will open up and am going to work at making them into little pockets as well.. however I want to keep down the sound.. so I'll have to pad it in some manner.. As an example.. I don't want to hear the sound of jingling keys as I march. In a thread on FISD here.. can't remember exactly where.. someone spoke on this and discussed baby socks.. using the toe and attaching it to the inside of the drop box.. This is something I'm leaning towards.. but I am also looking for something that could be closed within it and not cause a problem.. I'll keep you guys up to date on how I do with that as well.. This weekend I have Hamilton Comic Con.. as my Biker Scout build is on hold for armor.. and I don't have any other supplies yet for it.. I plan on using the time over the next month to figure out the drop box idea. So stay tuned. Brattie out.

This is so me.. Laugh

hugz Meshie

I'm there all weekend, so pop by the 501st booth... Look for me!

ok.. so Build related.. I added some padding to different parts of my Bucket to give it a bit more of a tilt.. with doing this it gives a bit more space between my upper chest and bucket so I can move my head better.. It was a friend in the garrison that suggested tilting the bucket a bit.. although it makes the lower lip touch my neck.. the tilt actually increases the space and gives me more movement while ensuring I can still see out of it.. it actually increased my visibility. I'll be testing that out on the next practice walk through the park next week maybe.. Have a Comic Con this weekend .. using my Jawa.

Thanks Paul.. as long as someone is getting something from this.. I'll keep it going

Alright.. we are approaching page 60 of this thread... Should I shut it down? No idea.. I know we are talking about various parts of building as it is truly a never ending journey of adjustments... _______________________________________________________________________________________ On the Bloggish front: Lately I've been distant from so many things due to other priorities. Some drama seems to surround me at work these days and it is taking up too much of my time. Here's what happened: I asked a co-worker two days ago to help me with a project and they did. They had done a similar project in the past and I knew their knowledge would be extremely helpful. Also, I fully expected to help them as well down the road as that's what being a friend and co-worker is all about. Right? Anyway, yesterday my co-worker .. lets call her Sin.. comes to me and tells me that apparently two others on our team (lets call them Jorge and Betty) were talking trash and whining like babies about me to Sin because she helped me with the project. With her help we got it completed on time and my boss was thrilled. So it should be awesome right? We completed a high profile job and made our team look great. I couldn't believe that Jorge and Betty would be so ridiculous. The badmouthing crap became so stupid that my boss stepped in and well now there are meetings and blah blah blah trying to do team building skills etc when truly it's not necessary.. Jorge and Betty need to learn to mind their own business. There's a huge rift in our Team right now because of it all. So with all this stress at work it got me thinking and trying to understand why a person would be a moron like that... why do so many stick their nose into others business.. is it jealousy? is it an overall desire for others to chime in on other peoples things? Are they trying to act as if they are better than another person? Do they think it's fun to make another person's life difficult? I don't get it... I asked for help from a co-worker.. a member of the team.. like we are suppose to do.. Team -> (Together. Everyone. Achieves. More) We are suppose to help each other. Anyway, it's times like this that I am glad that my work doesn't flow over into my Star Wars or I'd be angry all the time. There are days I'd like to walk up to them and throttle them right in the face just out of the blue.. like just suddenly snap one day and take my clip board and slam it over their heads.. because that would make me feel better and perhaps knock some sense into their stupid brains. However, doing that would lower me to their standards and perhaps get me fired. I don't get why my co-workers don't come talk to me so we can discuss the issue if they have a problem like grown adults instead of whining like a 2 year old to another person. I don't get it.. I'm so glad I have this to focus my attention when I need to escape a little... The bigger issue is that there is a downside to being bombarded by this type of thing at work.. I have a temper.. and I mean when I blow up.. look out.. I like that quote "somebodies gonna get a hurt on real bad" Laugh. To understand this.. here's a little about me... I tend to be calm and collected 99% of the time. 20 years of martial arts training helps me maintain control. I used it as an outlet. I became a black belt in Karate and am helping teach youth Judo now. All of this is my way of taking all of the horrors of my past and flipping it into positives as much as I can. It helps release the hurt, pain.. and victim guilt that I have carried since I was little. I'm not afraid to say that I had a rough childhood. I am not afraid to admit that I had thought of and attempted to kill myself numerous times to the point that I hung myself in the basement and would have succeeded if the rope didn't break. That was the final wake up call. I thought it was my only way to escape. I went through years and years of therapy in my 20s and 30s. With professional help I have started to learn to live with the past. It was also decided that it would negatively affect my parents at this point if they knew about it all. It could actually kill my mother as she has a bad heart. I know I appear to most as a strong woman.. but truly I am more of a survivor. Like so many people I know... I've had a rough life. Mental struggles, tons of medical and health problems due to the trauma I endured over my younger years until early adulthood. I've been alive for almost 40 years of life and I'm now FINALLY getting beyond it all.. FINALLY getting back on my feet again.. FINALLY doing something for me.. Don't get me wrong, it is not all bad.. I have an amazing loving family.. all the bad crap was all going on outside of the "family circle". I wish my struggles ended with all that so many years ago. It doesn't... Two years ago I was told I had six months to live. A nerve problem from the years of "trauma" had developed and it was possible that my nervous system was shutting down. 38 years old and my life was possibly over. It was a tough thing to face. I became stubborn and wouldn't take it laying down. I fought.. and beat all the odds and got through it all. I have only a small tremor in my right hand now, numbness on the right side of my face.. and a slight limp that isn't always detectable.. but I survived yet again. I guess it seems like you just can't keep me down. Over the past 3 years I lost my 3 best friends to tragedy. One I lost to Bone Cancer, another to a heart attack and the last to a car accident.. They were my support, my best friends. There was no one left to talk to, or to offer support. It felt like the darkness was back to consume my life again. This has been a very challenging journey for me.. I'm so glad I have so much support within this community and people that will stand by me. I'm so glad that I don't have to deal with Bull crap here like I face every day at work. People here are respectful and will mind their own business about what others do especially when it doesn't effect them or have any impact on their lives in any manner. I've overcome so much to get to this point.. and though the battles to keep my temper in check continue as I have rage from my past at least with all of this I have a fun happy outlet in my love for star wars now. I'm so grateful to those I call friends here. All of you that have been part of my journey so far.. Thank you... and I can't wait to meet so many more awesome people moving forward. With all of you I have started to find the light and fun in life again.. Thank you... I survived horrible challenges that have clouded my life for years and years... however that horrific trauma gave me this amazing inner strength. I am a survivor. I can keep going... The damage of my past can't be undone and it still darkens the deepest part of my heart and soul.. but with my love of Star Wars I can now add some light to the darkness. The struggles have caused relationship problems and made me feel as if I would be better off alone. I lost my house.. my home... but I know I can rebuild myself now.. Life goes on.. and it is what you make of it.. people die and they are remembered. I honor my lost friends with every step I take and every bit of myself that I give to a good cause. My life, my journey, my recovery.. so now.. I begin again..

Monday Song..

Next few tweaks will be to try to adjust the armor so I can move my head a bit more.. thinking of a bucket tilt or something..

Thanks guys.. hope it helps others.. it worked great and really gives everything some good structure!

Fixed... I tanked it!! Duct Straps Attached with Rivets and Washers Then Velcro covering the metal Duct Strap And Voila.. Tanked out strapping sandwich!!! So strong I can lift the gear and bounce it without it moving... Can you say TIGHT! that's right.. Centurion level tightness!! and VOILA .. space between my Bucket and chest!! Eat your heart out!!

Hahhaha Meshie.. I'm going to try.. I have 3 hours to accomplish this today.

Wow.. look how small the distance is from your front and back armor.. I wouldn't even be able to get my head through that hole.. Laugh.. my AP armor is smaller so in order to manage the back gaps and such I had to give more space in the shoulder.. thus the issue with the strap... when they were closer like yours.. no issue.. I think my idea to fix this and provide further structure to the attaching strap will result in a very minimal problem moving forward.. It's either that or I buy bigger chest and back .. . where at that point I'll just throw in the towel and go Sandy.

You can see in this small picture that the strap I am talking about sticks out about half an inch.. This was rectified for Fan Expo via another black elastic that ran to each strap on each side of my head and pulled them inwards preventing this issue. The flex in the strap allow it to be pulled out.. My theory is that if I remove a lot of that flex.. it will prevent it from becoming visible. Fingers crossed