11b30b4

Devolver, thank you. As best as I can figure based on posts here in FISD and on MEPD, there 5 completed RO kits. All were TKs but at least one (Yoshix) is now a TD. Also there are a number of people who have built the RO sandtrooper pack and/ or Jedah crystal patrol pack but do not have RO armor. There appears to be 8 works in process including my build. All the builds are using Jimmiroquai armor except one (Sascha9481G) who is modifying an OT armor set. About ½ of the people working on RO kits are modifying the black series helmet and the others went with a Jimmiroquai helmet. ID Date Completed Date Started Location Variant 501st Approved Armor type Jimmiroquai 6/11/2017 3/26/2017 Philippines TK Yes Jimmiroquai THMAustin 9/19/2017 6/28/2017 Oklahoma TK No Jimmiroquai darthcue 12/25/2017 8/11/2017 Philippines TK Yes Jimmiroquai Yoshix 1/29/2018 11/29/2017 Florida TD Yes Jimmiroquai porg_executioner 6/1/2018 2017 Puerto Rico TK Yes Jimmiroquai NaturalBornDT WIP 5/20/2018 Florida TK No Jimmiroquai Big Deal WIP 10/12/2017 Canada TK No Jimmiroquai Zeddy WIP 4/14/2018 Australia TK No Jimmiroquai Parquette WIP 9/26/2017 Illinois TK No Jimmiroquai NotRookie WIP 10/22/2017 Florida TK No Jimmiroquai cjkirk11 WIP 7/26/2017 Unknown TK No Jimmiroquai Sascha9481G WIP 5/22/2017 Germany TK No Mod OT 11B30B4 WIP 4/2/2018 Georgia TK No Jimmiroquai If any of this information is incorrect, please let me know and I will edit it.

Updates… So the sand continues… I primed all the sanded parts and hung them to dry. Next they will get filled and sanded again. Then they will be masked (if needed) for final primer and painting. Next, I sanded the final parts that needed sanding and washed them off. They will need primer, filler and more sanding. And that is it for the update. I told you guys this was the boring part. Thanks for the interest.

Update… And the sanding continues. So as you can guess, sanding, sanding, and even more sanding. Ok lets start with the lower leg armor. I have found a few cracks in the lip of the top of each armor. These cracks appear to be due to the opening and closing of the armor to put it on. If you recall, the lower leg armor was a two part set for each leg and I made a permanent weld on the forward side of the armor. The back seam of the armor was open and would be closed with Velcro as per the CRLs; however, the flexing of the sealed side has experienced stress and is not cracking. These cracks are not deep but I do not want them to get any worse. So I backed them and filled them with PC-7. And once I fixed the lower legs, I inspected and found similar seams on almost all the two part sections. Biceps and lower legs curing. Before someone asks, the mesh you can see inside the armor is metal mesh that I rolled and placed inside the armor to hold the armor open for painting and to provide a place to hang the armor from. Next I sprayed a coat of automotive primer on everything that was sanded to uncover issues that need correcting. So once all this is cured, more sanding and filling. And these are the parts that still need to be sanded. And that is it for now. Thanks for the interest.

Ukswrath, thank you for the compliment. Updates, Ok so I took a few shots of the undershirt to show what I did. In this picture you can see the inside of the back along the zipper. The material I used is a breathable black stretch fabric. I also reinforced the mesh then applied the zipper to aid in smoothing the zipper section. In this picture you can see the outside of the back along the zipper. You can see how far down the material goes. Ok so we tested the back cover plate and notice how it does not wrap around the curve of the back. There is a gap between the plate and the back of the abdomen armor. Big Deal, you were correct. I needed to modify the glued in styrene to allow for the curve. Once I did this and used some Velcro to hold the cover plate in place, it looked much better. Thank you for the suggestion. So I got more sanding done over the weekend but not a lot of sanding (Father’s Day). Anywho, I also snapped a closer picture of my friends Clone Trooper shoulder strap. Here you can see the silicone and/or rubber shoulder strap. I think this would be a great option for the ROTK but until I build the Jedah crystal pack and see how heavy it is and if it interferes with the shoulder straps, there is no way for me to know if I need to make a version of these for the ROTK. Well, that is it for the update. Thanks for the interest.

Update… I fixed the back zipper as best as I can by removing the additional black material and the zippers. Sewing in a binding along the seam of the mesh seems to help stabilize the seam. Then I added the additional black breathable fabric and finally the zipper. I should have some pictures of this in the next few days. Sanding, ho hum… Ok I sanded the glazing on the gauntlets and they are done I think. I also 220 grit sanded the chest plate, thermal detonator, back belt, posterior plate and groin plate. These parts will need to be inspected and glazing putty applied if needed then re-sanded. I forget if I mentioned this in a previous post so I will add it here. My sanding process: So once a part is cut and fitted, I prepare it for painting by sanding and filling imperfections. All the sanding I do is wet sanding. I use a square (2.5” wide 4” long and ½” thick) of EVA foam as my sanding block. The foam is stiff enough to hold its shape but will bend and conform around uneven surfaces. I use two types of sand paper. The first type is 3M pro grade ultra flexible sand paper. This stuff comes in rolls and sheets but I get the roll from home depot. I have only seen it in 3 grits; 100, 150, and 220. The other type is 3M silicon carbide wet/dry sandpaper. You can get this in almost any grit so I use 300-2000 grits. You can get this stuff at any auto parts store, home depot, and Lowes but I get mine at Ace Hardware, they seem to have a larger selection of grits. SO my process is as follows: I start with a 4” square piece of 100 grit and soak it in cold water. I keep a bowl of water next to me that I will repeatedly dip the sandpaper in as I sand. I warp the sandpaper around the EVA foam and start working on a part using light pressure and working in a circular motion. This will become more important when I sand the primer before the pain but is a good practice to get into. The goal here is to smooth and feather any imperfections form the surface being sanded “without” leaving any sanding lines in the finish. I constantly re-wet the sand paper and keep the surface wet. I change directions randomly and keep working in a circular motion. It is tempting to go in one direction along seams and squared off features but I try to avoid doing this as it will leave sanding lines. Next, I repeat this exact process with 150, and then 220 grit. For good adhesion of the primer the finest grit I will use will be 320 grit, anything finer and the primer may not stick to the surface and may delaminate later ruining the entire paint job. Once everything has been sanded to at least 220, I wash off the part with mild soap and water and let it dry. Next, I inspect the part. I am looking for any uneven surfaces, pin holes, sanding lines, gaps, etc… Anything I find, I circle with a Sharpie. Next, If I can fix the problem with sanding, I do so. After that, I apply a filler. If the imperfections are small pine holes or very minor issues, I use an automotive grade glazing putty like Evercoat. Most fillers are two part, the filler and a hardener cream. If the issue is larger I may use Bondo. If the issue is on a heavy ware area like an edge that sits on top of the boot and may be exposed to stress, then I would use fiberglass resin, PC-7, or some sort of reinforced filler that will not simply break off with use. If one of these is used, the area will need to be sanded after the reinforcement and filled with bondo or glaze to smooth the surface. Regardless, once all the areas are marked and filled, I let them cure and then wet sand with the last grit I sued on the part, such as 220 grit. I blend/ feather the filler with the surface. Re-wash everything and let it dry. Next, I use a rattle can of automotive primer and apply it to the part. One this is cured, I look for imperfections. Some people use several different layers of primer and alternate primer colors to know how deep to sand. Regardless, the purpose of priming at this stage is to use the primer to bring out the imperfections and now is your last opportunity to fix them. If needed, sand and/or fill the issues then re-sand as needed. Do not be concerned about removing the primer when you do this final cleanup. You will be applying additional coats of primer once you are done with this stage. Re-wash and dry the part and it should now be ready for priming and painting. So that is my sanding process, I hope this helps some people who do not have a lot of experience doing this kind of stuff. I know I have read several posts from people who are intimidated with spending this kind of money on a costume and still have to do all this work. I can only say that building it is half the fun and do not let a lack of experience deter you from building a set of armor. This forum is here to assist you as is your local garrison. Dive in and if you make a mistake, most can be fixed and you will learn more about your armor in the process. Thanks for the interest and I will continue to update this as I progress.

Sandtrooper,a suggestions is that if it is raining or has been very humid wait to paint once you have dry air, if you can not wait when you do the painting, consider using a dehumidifier. I have not done this since i am in a somewhat climate controlled basement; however, in a garage I would think it may be necessary if its humid outside. When DAC an I did the Retro Sci-Fi stuff I stayed outside the paint booth to mix paint and pass stuff inside to DAC. DAC did all the spraying and we were not smart enough to test the over pressure before we started so in the middle of priming we turned on the exhaust fan and it slowly sucked all the drop cloths inwards. I was running around the outside of the paint booth try to tape and tighten the drop cloths to remove slack and prevent them from collapsing. The biggest issue was the top drop cloth. This time around I will add across member halfway down on the top to help with this.

Sandtrooper, thank you for the compliments and you question. I already have a paint booth that is roughly 4’ wide 4’ tall and 3’ deep. I made this out of wood and metal sheeting and it has a 12” inline exhaust fan. But I use this booth for smaller projects rather than all this armor. Since I am using automotive primer, base coat, and clear coat; I really need to paint everything at one time and need the room to do it. Further, with a quality paint job I do not want dust or anything else to ruin the paint job. As it happens, my friend DAC and I made some 1950s Retro Sci-Fi costumes in 2015 for DragonCon and we used automotive paint for that project. So we built a temporary paint booth and this is my plan for this build. Here is a link for the 1950s Retro Sci-Fi costumes build if anyone is interested: https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=244683 So here is a picture of my work shop from back in 2015. We moved my build table and constructed a frame from 1” PVC pipe. You can see my main paint booth (with the arched top) in the background. And here are two more of the temporary paint booth. We just used 3mil drop cloths and clamped/ taped them to the frame including the floor. We used my exhaust fan from the smaller paint booth for the temporary paint booth. The whole temporary paint booth cost about $30.00 total. If you do this make sure you test the fans because it will cause the drop cloths to collapse into the booth so you need to get the input air (filtered) and the exhaust fan working together to avoid this. I hope this helps to answer your question. Sskunky, good advice. I chose to stay indoors to help compensate for the insane humidity we have in Atlanta. Thumpy~, thank you. I hope it all turns out as I am picturing it. BigDeal, I did consider this and you are correct, I may need to angle or feather the styrene inserts and this is not something I will be able to see alone so I will need to get a second set of hands to determine this. I may wait until after the painting to address this. As always, thank you for your suggestions and lessons learned. TKSnake, thank you. I am anxious as well to see this build completed. Everyone, thank you for your interest and comments. I am afraid that the sanding going forward will not be all that interesting but I will continue to update as I progress.

Update, just a quick one… So I test fit the back belt with the front belt and it looks like everything is good to go. The snaps for the back belt are about 3” back from the forward edge of the sides of the back belt (confusing?) I added a small section of Velcro at the forward edge of the back belt. I used some black Velcro for this but will use white Velcro after the paint. The back belt protrudes from the sides about 1/8” (yellow circles) and this is because of the Velcro. I will need to see how over time is my arms swinging when I walk will be hitting the back belt but I think it will be fine. I have ordered the air brush paints needed to do the greys and blues on the abdomen and helmet. This pretty much completes the fitting and cutting. I will be reworking the back zipper of the undershirt tonight and see if I can fix the bulging issue. That means starting tonight; its time to sand, fill, sand, and sand some more. Then its masking and building the paint booth. Thanks for the interest.

Updates: Ok so I decided to ditch the elastic suspenders that were strapped to the belt on my pants and go with the idea from the previously posted Rogue One behind the scenes strapping. I did not have any 1 ½” black webbing on hand so I used 1” but I can change this later if it becomes too uncomfortable. I permanently attached the straps to the back of the abdomen (at the top of the picture) and used snaps to attach them to the front. I made them adjustable with Velcro and a plastic D ring. Again I did not have a black 1” D on hand so I used some green ones. You will be able to see this better in a later picture. Also I added two small straps that attach to the outer edges of the posterior plate with Velcro to hold is closer to the body. Next I placed some soft Velcro on the inside front of the abdomen to attach the strap you see in this picture. The strap has a snap at the top and will snap where you see the clamp to help hold the chest plate in position and not let it ride up. Next I started filling in the inside edge of the back cover plate to the Velcro or whatever method I come up with, will mount to the back of the armor better. I used two layers of .90 styrene and glued it in place. It is still recessed under the edge by 1/16th”. Next I sanded the gauntlets with 100, 150 and 220 grit then filled in some cracks with glaze. Ok so I was figuring out how to attach the back belt and make sure it was centered when I found this behind the scenes pic. Notice the snaps on the side of the front belt (yellow circle). I assume they are to hold the back belt centered, so I figured why not. I glued two 2” white cotton straps on each side of the front belt with E6000 and added 3 snaps to each side. There is one snap that connects the ends of the front belt to the abdomen and two snaps that connect to the back belt. Next I lined up the snaps with the back belt and added the snaps to receive the front snaps. Lastly I tested most of these changes and here are the results. Notice how well the chest armor and front belt lay on the abdomen. Also, since I discarded the elastic suspenders and crisscrossed the new 1” straps, I needed to attach the shoulder bells to the elastic straps that sit under the shoulder straps. Here is a picture of the abdomen where you can sort of see the 1” shoulder straps snapped on the top and the chest armor strap hanging from the center. Ok so I need to test the back belt and figure out how to attach the back cover strip and then its heavy sanding. I am planning on painting in late July or early August if not sooner. It really depends on how far I get with the sanding and prep work and then I need to construct the paint booth. Thanks for the interest.

Jimmiroquai is the only one making Rogue One TK kits. E-mail: jimmiroquai@yahoo.com

Parquette, Interesting… Here is a shot from the Solo movie. Looks like it is an expandable baton like the ASP with possibly a different end cap. The holster looks like it’s a kydex holster not leather or nylon. I do not know if this is the same type holster used in Rogue One and simply painted black? Daetrin, Sounds good to me. I really don’t have a dog in this fight since I am not planning on wearing the baton but I agree we need to see better pics of the baton holster used in Rogue One. I would even suggest that in the absence of a better source we remove the Level 2 and 3 and holster language all together and simply state that eh holster must be black until we can better verify its actual construction.

Just a quick update. I attended an Armor Party last night and conducted a test fit of most of the armor. I figured out a few other things that I need to change but overall I am pleased with how this looks. One of the items I will be addressing is the undersuit shirt. Where I took in some of the mesh along the zipper to bring the ribbed sections in more to cover all the exposed areas along the sides of the back plate; the material is now bunching (yellow circle). I will need to figure out how to prevent this. Additionally, I need to replace the elastic suspender that hold up my pants, assist in keeping the abdomen at the proper height, and the shoulder bells attach to. I found this behind the scenes photo and notice the webbing suspenders (yellow circle). Another thing I learned is that the Velcro and cut out area of the shoulder straps for the chest armor seems to be working well. Also, a friend was working on his clone trooper armor and I noticed he had silicone rubber shoulder straps (yellow circle). I really like this idea and have considered making some for my TK. If my fiberglass ones become a real issue I will look into this. The only concern I had was painting them to match the armor but Smooth-On has a paint designed for silicone that will stretch with the silicone and not delaminate or crack. Anyway, its nice to see progress on the kit. Thanks for the interest.

I could even see them using something like this although its not very secure. It would explain why there seems to so much of the baton exposed in the above screen captures.

Well, I think the silver part is the exposed tip of the baton. Even if the baton is black, the paint will wear with use and the tip and opening ring on the business end of the baton will become bare metal. In this picture the ring and tip are seen on the left side. This ASP has a nickel/ stainless finish called electroless but even if it was black, you would eventually see the tip and ring. The other end is the butt of the baton and normally has a black bap but there are a ton of different end caps available. Some with flash lights or spikes for breaking automobile windows etc… The grip in the center is normally foam. I logged onto Netflix and snagged a few screen captures. The quality is not that great and I have not noticed the batons on any other TK except in the detention scenes. The yellow circle is the baton exposed tip of the baton and it is bare metal or stainless. I am still not able to make out any real detail of the holster except that the tip of the baton protrudes from the bottom of the holster and it looks like the holster and baton are swinging freely as the TK spins due to the door of the transport being blown open. This may be because of how the holster is attach to the belt. I am thinking that the holster is something more like this with an open bottom. I am still not convinced that the holster is leather but there is no reason this holster could not be made of leather rather than nylon. This is from here: https://www.police-supplies.co.uk/expandable-baton-holder-c Until we get some production pictures, behind the scenes pictures, or someone can enhance a 4K or blu-ray scene from the movies. I do not think we will ever truly know.

Darthcue, is it supposed to be segmented like the one in your picture? In actual law enforcement we use the ASP break-free holster. ASP makes a leather holster that is not break-free and all that would need to be done is removing or cutting off the mounting strap and attaching a longer mounting strap made of leather to match. And there are a ton of cheap options for a simple leather holster like this one from DeSantis available on Amazon, ebay and law enforcement supply stores. However, without seeing how the one from RO looks, I can only assume that they used a simple design. Most of the off-brand batons come with a nylon holster similar to these in shape and appearance. There is also a large selection of kydex holsters out there. I am curious why the CRLs state leather without any real source images? As we have seen with other magazine pouches, nylon seems to be used just as frequently as leather for a lot of this stuff.

Update, I have made progress with the belt. I marked where each box will be attached then drilled two holes for rivets in the belt and the back of the boxes. I had planned on using PC-7 to attach the boxes to the belt but realized that the boxes will not sit flush to the belt across the entire back of the boxes due to the belt bending around my torso. So I decided to attach the boxes along their center vertical axis with screws, bolts, or rivets. For screws, they would need to have aggressive threads to not strip out the holes and become ineffective due to weight being placed on the boxes or snagging of the boxes. Bolts would require me to cut access holes in the boxes to adhere the nuts inside the boxes. So rivets seemed the easiest method. I will not permanently attach the boxes until everything is painted. If the rivets fail then I will alter my plans and go with the bolts. In this picture you can see one box mounted but I have not cut the rivets to demonstrate how they will be mounted. Also note that I needed to cut holes in the two front boxes to allow the recess of the snaps that attach the belt to the abdomen. For the back belt and the Thermal Detonator (TD) (that’s is what I have heard it referred to but I honestly have no idea what it really is called) I decided to go with bolts so I could remove it if need when wearing a back pack. After I marked where the TD would mount on the belt, I cut a large hole in the center of the mounting face of the TD then I drilled the four mounting holes in the belt and then through the TD. I am using T-nuts with the spikes cut off as the nuts. I mixed up some PC-7 and mounted them on the inside of the TD. I used small binder clips to hold the T-nuts in place while the PC-7 cured. Once cured, I removed the binder clips and noticed how far the T-nuts protrude from the mounting face of the TD. Next, I cut off the T-nuts with a cut off disk on a dremel and sanded them flush. It was kind of a rush job so I did not do a clean of a job as I would like but it works. I cleaned out the threads of the T-nuts and tested bolts in each. Then, I test fit the TD to the belt. So, I still need to sand and fill the Td and back belt and that should be ready for paint. I still need to sort out the shoulder straps, chest and back plates. Do a lot of sanding and then its on to paint. Thanks for the interest.

Do you or anyone else have a good picture of the holster used in the movie? If so please post it or point me to a link and I will see if I can identify who its made by and where to get it if its off the shelf. If its not, I am sure I can make you one as long as I have an idea of how it looks.

Darthcue, I have not seen a good picture of the holster so I am unsure what exactly the holster looks like; however, a simple google search for ASP baton holster should provide quite a large selection to choose from. Unless they made the holsters for Rogue One exclusively for the movie, I would think that the holster was an off the shelf purchase just like the ASP baton. and the M300 flashlights on all the guns.

THMAustin, I have read that the Flex-Seal attacks dust and debris? Have you noticed this and/or had issues with this? I will update you on the liquid application below. Update… First, I ordered an orange RO pauldron from Kathy of Katarra8. Fast shipping, great price, fantastic quality, and great communication. I highly recommend her products. https://www.etsy.com/listing/150178963/classic-star-wars-stormtrooper-shoulder?ref=shop_home_feat_3 Anyway, it was not until I posted a review of the pauldron to my FB group for my Mando Clan that I learned that Veeds is in Georgia and a member of my clan. The first RO pauldron I found online was a Veeds but I could not figure out how to order one so I went with Kathy. Oh well, I am very pleased with the pauldron and if I ever need another one, I will check out my local Veeds pauldron. Next, I started the belt. Marking where the boxes will mount and figuring out the snaps and Velcro. I ended up going with two front snaps under the two front boxes and the sides will be Velcro. I have not decided how I will attach the boxes, I am thinking I will use PC-7 and possibly a screw or a pop-rivet. I do not want anything to protrude on the back side of the belt and cause it to not mount flush. I primed the boxes to observe any holes and imperfections. I found quite a bit of small holes mostly along the seam. I applied some glazing putty. I sanded down the shoulder bells and biceps to 320 grit and found lots of pin holes so they got the glazing putty as well. Lastly, I inspected the liquid Flex-Seal. I think this stuff is going to work great. The liquid is a little thicker than regular latex paint but is applied the same way. Once its cured, I do not know how easy it would be to get off. It feels like it bonded to the fiberglass pretty well so I would say that you would want to mask off areas that you do not want it to get on. I had read that it attacks dust and debris since it has a rubber feel or similar to cured silicone. Overall, I like the liquid application because I have more control of where it goes as opposed to spray paint version. I also have control on how thick the application is so I can keep it pretty thin and still have a layer between me and the fiberglass. Ok so from here you should be able to tell that I only have a few things to get worked out then its on to serious sanding. I am happy with the progress. BTW, did we always have a build section in the Rogue One thread? I don’t know how I missed that… Thanks for the interest.

Big Deal, Thank you for the input. If the flex- seal does not work out, I will look into other options. Ok, Update… First, I knew the bicep armor was tight but I realized that I would only have about ¼” overlap for the application of Velcro and that is when my arms are hanging down. If I bent my arm or raised it (flexing my bicep) it would really test the hold ability of the Velcro. So, I decided to add a ½” shim. In this picture I am using thick piece of HIPS as the shim and it is backed with a 1” wide piece of thinner HIPS. Everything is adhered together with PC-7. Once the PC-7 is cured, it will all get sanded flush. I will probably add another layer of PC-7 on the inside to make sure the HIPS is welded to the bicep armor and provides a smooth transition. Next, the sniper knew came out great. Next, I think the Velcro method will be the best method to properly hold the shoulder straps in place so I sewed some ½”x 1 ½” pieces of Velcro to the elastic shoulder straps that connect the back plate to the chest plate. Doing this in pieces rather than one big piece of Velcro insures that the elastic and still stretch. Next, I added some hard Velcro to the bottom of the shoulder straps. I will probably use white Velcro here after everything is painted. Lastly, I went ahead and cut out the underside of the shoulder strap boxes on the chest plate and added some PC-7 on a slope to provide a flat mounting surface for the Velcro (yellow circles). I also picked up some white liquid flex seal and painted a small area (red circle) in the center of the chest plate to test it out. And that is the update, thanks for the interest.

Cbrant, thank you for the compliment. Ok so last night I learned something new about my build. I thought my abdominal armor was relatively un-moving once it was tightened down with the two back straps. This is not the case and it has been moving up or down 1-2 inches every time I put the armor on. This means that when I mark something, then cut it (abdominal armor), the next time I put it on, I will probably get a different fit. So, I think I may have been a bit premature in cutting down the abdominal armor but all is not lost. Based on how I put my armor on, it looks like I will have a 1 or more inch overlap from the chest plate in the center. Anyway, considering this issue, I need to find a way that will force all the armor to sit where it need to be when I put it on. While I stew over this, let move on… Lower leg armor. Well I was correct, the lower legs are about 1” longer than they need to be. I determined this by bending my leg in a 90 degree angle and the armor prevents me from completing the bend. It is striking at the back side of my knee and on the top of foot. Looking down at the armor it looks like the flair of the leg armor (bell bottoms) is a bit extreme; however, when I look at these pictures, it look very normal and correct. Anyway, I did not want to rebuild all the detail at the top of the leg armor and feeling that the flair was too big, I decided to cut off 1 inch from the bottom of each leg. So here are some pictures before I cut the 1 inch off. Ok, so once I cut the legs down and sanded them, I decided to put mostly everything on and see how it all fit together. At one point, I dropped the back plate cover strip and bent down to get it. This is the reason that both of my bicep armor came loose from the tape on the back side. So that is the update at this time, thanks for the interest.

Ok time for an update, First, after figuring out how I would attach the shoulder bells I test fit all the arm armor and discovered that my forearms are about ½” too long but due to the detail on the armor cutting off just ½” would not be possible so I took off about 1” from the back side. Once they were cut and sanded I tried all the arm armor on. Please excuse any similarity to a Von Trapp family singer, its hot in my basement this time of year. Ok, after that I wanted to test fit the thigh and chest/back plates. BTW, if anyone is wondering, yes the fiberglass on the inside of the armor is rough and itches badly. I know some people have coated the inside of their armor with plasti-dip. My only issue with this idea is that my experience with plasti-dip is that it comes off and when it does, it does in large sections. So, I am considering a few other options. One idea I have is paint on flex-seal. I really do not need the coating to be rubber but it does need to be sufficiently thick enough to seal the fiberglass and flexible so any suggestions are welcome. Ok, next I used PC-7 to adhere the leg ammo belt. I also sealed up the font seams on the lower leg armor with PC-7. I had been holding off on this until I could determine if they needed to be cut down but without an additional set of hands its damn hard to hold the lower leg armor in place and tape them shut then mark where they need to be cut. Since the forearm cut-down went well, I figure I can put the armor on and mark them if they need to be cut. Lastly, I removed the connector straps from the groin and posterior armor and added snaps. I discovered that I placed the snaps for the straps about 1.5” high inside the bottom lip of the abdominal armor and once the abdominal armor is tightened, it’s very hard to reach under the bottom lip and attach the straps. So I will make some straps that have snaps on both ends and snap them inside the abdominal armor then attach the groin and posterior plates. So I still need to sort out how the shoulder straps will attach to the chest plate and how to make the straps lay flat on my shoulders. I am thinking Velcro but I am open to suggestions. I am also considering cutting out the bottom of the attachment points (the red squares in the picture below and then just using Velcro to attach the shoulder straps. Also, I need to figure out how to attach the belts (front and back), the back plate cover strip, cutdown the side plates and finalize the helmet inserts. Once all this is done, it will be time to sand and fill then painting. Thanks for the interest.

Hello guys, Ok so last night I did a test fit of the abdominal plate with groin and posterior plates. Also not the “v” cut I did to the front top of the abdominal plate to hopefully allow the chest plate to sit closer to my body. The top edge of the posterior plate is not flat so the plate does not sit flush where it sits under the back of the abdominal armor. On the side picture you can see how the edges project up above where the back of the belt will be mounted. Is this correct or should I trip it to sit flush??? Also I removed the suspender snaps from the inside of the abdominal plate and added them to the inside of the chest and back plates. Lastly, I removed the bottom snaps from the shoulder bells and moved them higher to allow for the overlap of the shoulder bells over the bicep armor. I will not be doing any work tonight as I have a troop for the Solo premier but I hope to make some headway over the long weekend. As always thanks for the interest and I would appreciate some input about the posterior plate and should I cut it.

LTM, that is a cool and complicated build. I think I may grab Blaster Masters light and sound pack and come up with something for the scope. I will look into getting the folding stock but 100 bucks is a bit more than I want to spend. I know there are aluminum reproductions available form War Machine for 80 bucks. Ok so last night I started on the suspenders and discovered that the snaps (red circles) I hard mounted inside the abdominal plate protrude into my chest and back and are very uncomfortable. So I think I may follow Yosh’s idea and mount the suspenders to the back plate and chest. Honest I do not really need them but they will held hold the chest and back plate together and not stress the armor shoulder straps. Also I do need something to mount the strapping for the shoulder bells so I guess I will still include them. The Abdominal armor stays in place just fine with the two straps on the back. Also, I have cut down the top of the abdominal armor even more. Since my sternum kind of protrudes, the abdominal armor exasperates this and caused the chest plate to stand off my body more than I want. In this picture before I cut down the abdominal armor, the center is pushing on the chest plate where the red circle is. I had cut 1 inch off this area but I have no gone back and cut another 1.5 inches so hopefully the abdominal armor will sit just below the indention between the pectoral sections. Well that is the update so far. Thanks for the interest.

TKSnake, you can but you will need to modify it. See the black series mod thread in the RO section.