Chest plate shoulder straps question

[Brooklindad[TK]]

Hello My name is Mark and my screen name is Brooklindad.  My apologies if this question has been addressed in an earlier post.  I am in the pre-approval process for my ANH Stormtrooper costume and my challenge is the straps at the top of the chest plate stick-up on my shoulder, despite the velcro I am using.  I would like the straps to form fit over my shoulder and I would as wondering if any member has experienced this same issue and how did they solve it.  Is heating the shoulder straps a potential option.

 

Many thanks in advance for your assistance.

 -Mark (Brooklindad)

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Do you have photos of the problem, may help us best solve your issue

[Brooklindad[TK]]

[revlimiter[Staff]]

Definitely heat up the straps. You can use boiling water on the stove as the safest option or a hair drier as the next level. Resist using a heat gun unless you've got a lot of skill with one and won't melt the plastic. The straps are very thin and can melt a lot quicker than your other armor pieces.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Definitely some heat, just take care, hot water bath is very gentle, DON"T risk using a heat gun without A LOT of practice, you can go to pliable to molten mess in the blink of an eye 

[dblcross[TK]]

Heat gun, no bueno. 

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

Hi Mark. 
Great talking to you yesterday and glad you found your way here. 
 

[Tilheyra[IPM]]

Like others have said, using boiling water is the best way to do this. 

 

You can either remove the straps and immerse the whole strap in boiling water, or carefully hold the end of the strap in the water while also holding the rest of the chest piece. Make sure to wear gloves to prevent steam from scalding your hands. Try shorter amounts of time at first (20 to 30 seconds) and shape accordingly, gradually increase the amount of time for the immersion if you need the should strap to be more malleable. Just recognize that each additional immersion counteracts the shaping work you previously performed.

[Brooklindad[TK]]

Thank you to everyone who has replied to my query, it is much appreciated.

 

-Mark

[Brooklindad[TK]]

On 4/1/2025 at 12:01 AM, Doggydoc said:

Hi Mark. 
Great talking to you yesterday and glad you found your way here. 
 

Great Speaking with you as well and thank you for your insight

[Brooklindad[TK]]

On 4/1/2025 at 9:07 AM, Tilheyra said:

Like others have said, using boiling water is the best way to do this. 

 

You can either remove the straps and immerse the whole strap in boiling water, or carefully hold the end of the strap in the water while also holding the rest of the chest piece. Make sure to wear gloves to prevent steam from scalding your hands. Try shorter amounts of time at first (20 to 30 seconds) and shape accordingly, gradually increase the amount of time for the immersion if you need the should strap to be more malleable. Just recognize that each additional immersion counteracts the shaping work you previously performed.

Hello Brian,  thank you for your reply and instructions, they're much appreciated

-Mark

[Brooklindad[TK]]

On 3/31/2025 at 10:14 PM, dblcross said:

Heat gun, no bueno. 

Thank you Terry for your reply.  Admittedly, I would be VERY nervous using a heat gun, so it's not a route that I'll be taking

 

-Mark

[Brooklindad[TK]]

On 3/31/2025 at 6:19 PM, gmrhodes13 said:

Definitely some heat, just take care, hot water bath is very gentle, DON"T risk using a heat gun without A LOT of practice, you can go to pliable to molten mess in the blink of an eye 

Thank you Glen for your input.  I am not comfortable with a heat gun, boiled water makes more sense.

-Mark

[Brooklindad[TK]]

On 3/31/2025 at 11:46 AM, revlimiter said:

Definitely heat up the straps. You can use boiling water on the stove as the safest option or a hair drier as the next level. Resist using a heat gun unless you've got a lot of skill with one and won't melt the plastic. The straps are very thin and can melt a lot quicker than your other armor pieces.

Thank you Adam for your comments,  I will go with the boiling water approach.

-Mark

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

It is also a good idea to add a support piece under the shoulder straps, they can crack over time so adding the support will prevent that. 

 

[dblcross[TK]]

13 hours ago, Brooklindad said:

Thank you Terry for your reply.  Admittedly, I would be VERY nervous using a heat gun, so it's not a route that I'll be taking

 

-Mark

A heat gun has a very quick time of "no, it's not bending, to no, it's spaghetti." 

[Brooklindad[TK]]

Thank you for your assistance the shoulder issue has been addressed and I’ve now been approved to join the Canadian Garrison,  TK-34770 reporting for duty!

-Mark

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Congratulations trooper and welcome to the ranks . You can request TK forum access here 

 

A great read for our newly approved troopers https://databank.501st.com/databank/TrooperSurvivalGuide

 

Hope to see you out and about at events, you can keep a troop log here , there is an award program that may interest you.

 

Hope to see you applying for EIB and Centurion in the future 

[Sly11[Admin]]

Congratulations Mark!

 

[themaninthesuitcase[Admin]]

Congratulations trooper!

[Doggydoc[Staff]]

On 5/8/2025 at 10:43 AM, Brooklindad said:

Thank you for your assistance the shoulder issue has been addressed and I’ve now been approved to join the Canadian Garrison,  TK-34770 reporting for duty!

-Mark

Congratulations Mark.  you did a great job on the fixes that were requested and I can't wait to see you in the costume.  Now lets work on that EIB and Centurion approval

[Brooklindad[TK]]

On 5/11/2025 at 7:07 PM, themaninthesuitcase said:

Congratulations trooper!

 

[Brooklindad[TK]]

Thank you! My first trooping event is next Saturday. Looking forward tonit

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 minutes ago, Brooklindad said:

Thank you! My first trooping event is next Saturday. Looking forward tonit

A great read for someone new to trooping https://databank.501st.com/databank/TrooperSurvivalGuide

 

Don't forget to request a forum access update here