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[Darth_Vemon]

Boots:
Very small and subdued emblem on the side.  Can kinda see in the photo, but will be removed or covered.  Won't be visible in full gear as Flight Suit breaks over the top of the boot.

Instead of removing the emblem on my boots, I'm going to cover the tops with a pair of...




Flak vest:
Why not use a real, military surplus flak vest?
This one is from the mid 90's, French military surplus.  I have not started to do any work to it yet, pockets to be removed, zipper pulls hidden or removed.  It's got the large internal pocket for Kevlar panels, but it's empty, so it kinda flops a bit.  I'm going to get some EVA foam to fill the space, which will stabilize the vest once the armor panels are attached.  But before I get to that point, I've got to dye the fabric.  Woodland Camo is not approved, so it'll get dyed black, or very dark green to stick with my color scheme, 98% sure it'll be jet black.


I'm not sure if this style buckle is allowed.  Hoping so, or I'll have to rethink this vest for something else.


Flight Suit:
Also military surplus.  This one is already sorta weathered and faded since this was the one I used for while on active duty USAF.
Needs to be taken in around the waist, where it balloons out, pockets removed, side access pockets are already velcro'ed shut, but it's a small tab and needs to be done completely.  I considered working the collar, but holding off for now since it is hidden by the vest.


Flight suit and Vest:


Also visible in the above pic is the start of a girth belt.  Details are sparse for the moment, ready to be overhauled if the buckle won't be approved.  It's a larger version of the buckle on the vest I need an answer on.  I could fabricate a cover up for the buckles, but I have another belt that should meet standards.  I've seen approved costumes with regular, ordinary "peg and hole" style buckles, so I'm hopefult this one will work.

Girth Belt: UPDATED 5/4/16
Considering my intention for a Brigade Mechanic app, I'm going to use a wide tool belt with multiple tool pouches and a single ammo pouch.  Instead of a girth belt, I'm thinking of a sash wrap, but of a cotton rag material that can be stained to look like shop rags.  I may even go as far as to stitch together a bunch of shop rags that have authentic grease, oil and other stains already on them. 


Gloves:
There are the gloves I'm considering for starting out with, but may swap them out to something more like welding gloves to help fit the character.
The emblem on the closure tab isn't lettering, or anything overtly Terran.  I'm going to leave it alone unless the app team says otherwise.

[Aria]

The buckles should be fine as long as they're not obvious. I know a couple of us who use buckles on our flak vests.

Boots look a lot like Jango boots, so once you cover the logo, I see no problems with them.

You mentioned dying the flak vest, and everything else looks good so far!

[Darth_Vemon]

Good to hear that.  Thanks Aria

[Ref Al'drann]

Just be aware that dyeing that vest might not work. Even if you dye it black, the camo might still be apparent. Also, I don't know if this is already in the plan, but you might want to remove that front pouch pocket. It'll make mounting armor difficult and it'll look odd under the armor. Looking at how the vest fits you, I don't see a need for an EVA insert. I feel like that would also make fitting armor difficult.

[Bazii Malric]

It's a good vest so if dyeing it doesn't work, you could cover the vest with some fabric I would imagine without much trouble to be able to use it still. 

[Darth_Vemon]

Well, hopefully I'll have the a chance to dump it in a bucket of RIT black dye, maybe mixed with some dark green (the only two colors I have on hand) and let it soak for a few days.  Should be enough time to fully penetrate the fibers. 

[Aria]

RIT only works on natural fibers (failed this one once myself) so if the vest is synthetic, it might not take very well. You might have to get some special synthetic dye.
I tried to dye a white dress blue and it turned light lavender. Wasn't exactly what I had planed. 

[Darth_Vemon]

I don't read French, so I couldn't tell you what the fibers are.  If the RIT dye doesn't work, maybe some watered down fabric paint will.  Or, worse comes to worst, I make a cover for it.



Now, what about dusters or trench coats?  I've got a couple, each near floor length (which is saying something as I'm 6'3" standing barefoot) that would be pretty sweet to incorporate into my kit.  One is black canvas, heavily weathered; the other is lamb skin and pretty pristine. 

I don't know if I want to go that route, as I'm already planning for a dual layered cloak.  I don't have a back piece yet, which is why I'm trying to figure a way around it, temporarily.

[Vraeden]

There are a few people who have dusters or overcoats, and they can work.  They can also look like you put on a duster or overcoat and then slapped some armor pieces over top.

You want to look like you belong in the Star Wars universe, not like you walked out of a Clint Eastwood movie or Inspector Gadget.  If you have pictures or a concept, post it up.

[Darth_Vemon]

I was just rummaging through my closet, over thinking stuff.  I'm going to stick with my original cloak concept. 

The duster/ trench coat doesn't fit the concept I have for this character.


Since I'm a mechanic in real life, I'm thinking of going that route for a future Brigade app.  Limit weapons to just one melee, one carbine blaster and maybe a small hold out blaster, finish off my accessories with Hydrospanners, Fusion Cutters and Alluvial Dampers.  Add some greasy, stained rags and a hefty tool pouch full of spare parts... yeah, I dig that idea.  But that'll be a WIP thread of its own.

[Dha Bral]

Just be aware that dyeing that vest might not work. Even if you dye it black, the camo might still be apparent. Also, I don't know if this is already in the plan, but you might want to remove that front pouch pocket. It'll make mounting armor difficult and it'll look odd under the armor. Looking at how the vest fits you, I don't see a need for an EVA insert. I feel like that would also make fitting armor difficult.

Ref came a long way from application land to share...
Dyeing is difficult to cover the camouflage. Be sure to post pics after you dye. If it doesnt cover the camouflage 100% , you'll need an alternative plan.

[Mi'ix]

I'm not volunteering anyone for work, but Aria does a fantastic flak vest if you go that route.  I use one of hers for my kit! 

[Darth_Vemon]

Mail man arrived and I'm a happy prospective merc.

Boot gaiters came in and I'm quite impressed.  Nice heavy leather, well worn and weathered.

He also delivered my custom chest diamond with engraved Mythosaur skull design and the new face shield to replace my T-visor. 

Front pocket has been removed from the flak vest.  Dye process will begin tonight.  I'll add new WIP pics tonight or tomorrow.

[ConDar Ward]

I'm a Bit Curious to See how Dyeing the Cammo Works out ... good Luck ...

 Don't forget to add Salt .... 

[Rohm Iy'Kadaysh]

Bookmarked and following. Something that may assist with the dying... rough up the surface fibers a bit. As you would a surface before paint. It will add a bit of weathering but may allow a bit more openness for the dye to really get in past the surface.

It may also disrupt the camo a bit. Using the premise of camo itself (broken patterns), if you can “blur the lines” and shape of the camo a bit with a little abrasive and some oil (speaking to the mechanic in you) it may be enough to really dissolve the straight camo appearance and make it a custom pattern.

-Rohm

[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.