Guidance on a TI build

[Hikuro1983]

So I'm relatively new to the whole star wars costuming side of things.....I've had a cheap quick jedi outfit that has gone away as it couldn't hold together.
Recently a buddy of mine turned me on to being a Tie Fighter Pilot going as far as offering me some of his extra gear which would be the back and front upper body armor, the straps to connect them and hoses. Meanwhile I have a proper imperial buckle, gloves and boots from Imperialboots, helmet and chestbox all on the way and making my own flight suit.
You could say I'm well on my way to achieving something that for me is fairly monumental. But I'm already hitting a snag and that's cleaning up the armor parts. I'm a fairly large guy or you could say Porkins in proportion. While trying to figure out how the parts would feel and join I could tell that the edges are really sharp and the parts don't fit very well and very uncomfortable.
So any of you tie pilots out there, how much sanding around those edges do you go down on? I was almost thinking right to the end of the surface and then trying to balance out the collar area as one side seems thicker than the other looking unbalanced. To be honest I'm not finding much in terms of assembly or anything and I tend to do a lot better with instructions than improvising.
Any help would be appreciated so I can get this project done this summer and suit up with you all later. Thanks!

[carpe mindiem]

Welcome, Lee!

I'm sure someone who knows more about working with armor than I do will be along shortly with some ideas for you.

I'd also highly suggest coming out to an armor party. You'll find plenty of resources (both people and tools) to help make mods to your armor. Check the Imperial Armor board (http://www.cloudcitygarrison.com/forum/index.php?board=9.0) for some options. I'm pretty sure we're going to have one on 7/23 in SE Portland if you're nearby.

[Hikuro1983]

Welcome, Lee!

I'm sure someone who knows more about working with armor than I do will be along shortly with some ideas for you.

I'd also highly suggest coming out to an armor party. You'll find plenty of resources (both people and tools) to help make mods to your armor. Check the Imperial Armor board (http://www.cloudcitygarrison.com/forum/index.php?board=9.0) for some options. I'm pretty sure we're going to have one on 7/23 in SE Portland if you're nearby.

I live near salem but no stranger to traveling so I'm fine in going to an armor party. I kind of just stood there tonight and said screw it and shaved off a good quarter inch of ABS on the edges.....I think it fits better now. All that's left is figuring out the side strapping and the stupid pocket flaps. One side says rectangular flaps are fine if you're following ANH design and not ESB/ROTJ, another side says nope, chevron flap all the way. Only patterns I found are for rectangular and what Chevron flap designs I've seen are to small to make out for measurements or scale.

[CJ49er]

Welcome Lee!

I trimmed down almost all of the return edge on my front and back armor:



for connecting the front and back, I highly recommend the flexible rubber strapping:



As far as the pocket flaps, I used the patterns that I got from another pilot on the:https://www.jrs501st.com/forums/index.php

If you havent been to that site, you will find lots of info there.  I have the templates, I can email them to you if you want to check them out.

[Hikuro1983]

Welcome Lee!

I trimmed down almost all of the return edge on my front and back armor:



for connecting the front and back, I highly recommend the flexible rubber strapping:



As far as the pocket flaps, I used the patterns that I got from another pilot on the:https://www.jrs501st.com/forums/index.php


If you havent been to that site, you will find lots of info there.  I have the templates, I can email them to you if you want to check them out.

Fantastic references there, that shows I'm going in the right direction, love it! yes please email to me if you can, I joined the jolly rogers and found some template images but they're for some reason incredibly tiny. I'll shoot you a PM little later.

I"m also taking suggestions on the kidney straps. CRL shows it can be nylon webbing or elastic.....I was thinking 1 inch webbing with a buckle on both the inside of the front and back. I figure as long as it's not seen, then there's no complaint right?

tomorrow I get my flight suit and I'm really eager to start working on that. And I work in a graphics company so I'll be using some vinyl material we have to heat press the cogs onto the shoulders. OH! and yes, I have some rubber straps for above the shoulders including plastic chicago screws. I need to just sand my edges before I drill the holes to put those on.

Now I feel like I'm making some progress!

[CJ49er]

I just have my front and back armor hanging loose. I would think some elastic would be best, it would allow for movement.

[Hikuro1983]

So i guess my next big question is, can I still use the flat flaps versus chevron if I'm not doing ESB/ROTJ, and are the measurements any different from a rebel pocket version? From what I've been looking at it's not completely clear but is it even going to be actually noticeable?
The rebel pockets I've found include measurements to help but TIs really don't.

[CJ49er]

So i guess my next big question is, can I still use the flat flaps versus chevron if I'm not doing ESB/ROTJ, and are the measurements any different from a rebel pocket version? From what I've been looking at it's not completely clear but is it even going to be actually noticeable?
The rebel pockets I've found include measurements to help but TIs really don't.

Both ANH and ROTJ CRL's only specify that the collar has a chevron shaped closure, so you can use either flaps for your pockets.  The CRL also has approximate measurements, so if the RL measurements that you are using are in that ballpark, they should be fine. Ultimately it will be one of our GML's that decides, but they will go by the CRL.

[Hikuro1983]

Thanks for all the help and info. I'll start getting this patted down and finished in the next couple of weeks I hope. I'm looking forward to meeting so many of the people here and suiting up for good causes and more.