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[Darth_Vemon]

SUCCESS!!!!  Or so it seems while it's still soaking wet.

Here's the vest, soaking in the dye bath.  Smells like vinegar and salt water.  Because, of course, that's what it is.  Certain fabrics need hot salt water, others need vinegar.  I couldn't find what the material was, so I opted for both.



After soaking for about six hours in the dye bath, here is the result


Laying out to drip dry.  I'll wash it again once it dries to get the smell out.  Oh, and as you can see, the front pocket was removed.  The large pocket that is for the plate can't be removed without destroying the vest, so I'll have to work around that.


Will update the outcome of the flak vest in another few days.  But it is looking good so far.  Still need to eliminate the zipper pull tabs.


While I was in between coats of helmet paint and stirring the vest in the dye bath, I went and worked up a quick soft cod, loin cloth and girth belt.  Ammo pouch visible on my right hip, left side of photo.  Canvas three mag Uzi pouch, German military surplus.


I don't know whether it's OM app worthy or not.  The front "plate" of the loin cloth is heavy vinyl, painted with the same brown paint as my helmet, to tie in color scheme.  The OD layer behind it matches fairly well with my flight suit, almost to the point of missing it at first glance.



No, these are not the boots for my kit.  Will do a full gear pic once the flak vest is dry. 



Soft cod (made from EVA and painted/ weathered) underneath is attached as all one piece to the girth belt and loin cloth. 

Still debating some kind of way to pull it tighter against the groin.  Some sort of thong to the back of the belt.


Off body. 

[Niyic]

Great start! Hopefully that dye stays in the vest. Be warned, if you wash the vest, I'm certain a lot of the dye will wash out, so be careful with that.

The loin cloth looks good, I don't see why it wouldn't be approvable. If it see me though, I'd weather the Mythosaur skull a bit to tone it down and make it like less of a target.  keep up the good work.

[Darth_Vemon]

I'll be wary about washing the dye out.  I've got to do something about the smell of vinegar, though. 

All my soft parts will get weathered and soiled, just wanted a quick opinion, sort of an unofficial pre-pre-approval. 
I still have the dye bath, so I'll sponge it on the flight suit to simulate oil stains.  The vinyl and Mythosaur skull will get scratched, faded and worn out as well.

My intent is to join the Mobile Engineers Brigade as a mechanic, so I have a lot of weathering in my kits future

[Mi'ix]

That's fantastic!  I have to admit I was worried about how the vest would dye, but you look pretty on point there. 

My brother is considering an engineer build as well, so I'll be watching this with great interest.

[Darth_Vemon]

I've already built up some custom tools, but won't post anything more about then til my Brigade app.

[Rohm Iy'Kadaysh]

Love when things turn out. Especially when it's not a 100% sure thing tested and proved. That's great that the dye worked. The loin cover is killer!!! Been working up ideas on my own. But still pretty focused on finishing my helmet and working out the concept of my armor.

That all aside... Well done. Solid progress. Looking forward to seeing more.

Oya Vod

[Aria]

As far as the soft cod goes, it looks good and should be fine for OM app, but if you plan to upgrade to bridges with this kit it will need to be a plastic plate. (FYI, that's very difficult to phrase and still sound decent) But you can switch to that at a later point in time if that's the route you would like to go.

[Darth_Vemon]

I saw that Cod and back plate were Brigade requirements, wasn't sure if the soft cod would cut it though. 

Thanks for the replies.  Positive feedback is a confidence booster and a motivator, for sure.

[Darth_Vemon]

Well, kinda bummed.  Once the flak vest dried, elements of the camo pattern were still visible.  It's been resisting in the dye bath for going on 36+ hours, so maybe round two will turn out better. 

Otherwise, it's onto plan B.

[Rohm Iy'Kadaysh]

Well, kinda bummed.  Once the flak vest dried, elements of the camo pattern were still visible.  It's been resisting in the dye bath for going on 36+ hours, so maybe round two will turn out better. 

Otherwise, it's onto plan B.

 I would suggest that you switch the dye to slightly different color or at least brand. Different colors and brands often have much different affect. So you might be able to double up the affect so to speak and knock out more of the pattern. Logic stands in my mind that if you apply the same brand and color dye to it, it won't result differently in masking the pattern, it will only make the current results darker. Maybe.

[FEF]

Well, kinda bummed.  Once the flak vest dried, elements of the camo pattern were still visible.  It's been resisting in the dye bath for going on 36+ hours, so maybe round two will turn out better. 

Otherwise, it's onto plan B.

Would upholstery paint work.  I have a cotton-ish belt that I'm working on and it looks like upholstery paint is the next attempt.  All the dyes (leather, cloth, ect) I've tried didn't make it black.


It's a thought, I suppose.

[ConDar Ward]

How much shows with the Armor on ?   

[Vraeden]

If the camo pattern still shows through the dye, you might try dyeing it again, or you could soak it in bleach for a couple of days and then try dyeing it again (and possibly a second time).

[Darth_Vemon]

I let it re-soak in the bath again, for like two full days.  While it was still wet and drip drying, I sprayed it down with mineral spirits and fabric paint.  It's still hanging in the garage, I'll check on it in the morning, see the results.

I don't have armor yet, so I don't know how much shows through.  It was very faint, but still noticeable. 

FEF, paint is difficult to get to penetrate the fibers.  RIT dye is why I used, with salt and vinegar mixed in with a few gallons of hot water.  Knowing the material you're trying to dye is critical.

If you're going to use any sort of paint, make sure the fibers are wet with some sort of thinner, like a light mineral spirits before applying the paint.  Synthetic fibers are much less porous and are difficult to get to accept pigments, regardless of how they're applied.  Which is likely why my vest is taking multiple applications of various pigments.


UPDATE: Didn't take a pic, but the result of the second dye bath and fabric paint wash was successful.  The interior of the vest still shows the camouflage pattern, but it won't be visible when I'm wearing it, so I'm not going to sweat it. 

Armor plates should be here next week, so those will get fit at the armor party.  The rest of my soft parts are done, so this one can just about be put to bed.  I'll gear up for a full soft parts pic and post that later.

[Darth_Vemon]

Hope 9 days doesn't count as a double post.  If so, I apologize.

So after some advice from my Ruus'alor at the clan armor party, I'm going to have to do something about the vest. 

The camo still peeks through, and the fabric paint is flaking off, so I'm going to attempt the make a shroud to cover it completely.  I'm going to end up changing the vest color from its current black to a dark tan.  I've got some tan on my weathering, and my kit is all earth tones, so it should be fine. 

I'm repurposing an old window curtain I found in a box down in the basement.  Hopefully some fabric glue and some cleverly placed rivets will be enough.  Otherwise, I'm back to square one on my vest, and will hit up the craft store for some duck cloth when I have some extra cash.