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 My Soft Parts thread

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CaptainMorgan


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My Soft Parts thread
« on: Oct 09, 2011, 04:40 PM »
So its time to get this started with my purchase of the first piece.

I order my flight suit (black).  I'm using the Red Kap Mechanics Coveralls. - http://www.automotiveworkwear.com/RedKap/CT10/coveralls.html


I really didn't want any pouches on the flightsuit for my build, and this allowed affordable choices with specific sizing (got a 38L for myself - same as my tailored Tuxedo from this past May so I know its the right measurement).  The front closure has a flap covering itself so no need to worry about it at all and the two pockets get covered by the flak vest.  I won't even both removing them.

The only issue I have here is the collar.  I would like to have some sort of soft neck coverage that goes up into a neck seal for total coverage, so what is the best way to modify the flight suit to fit with that idea?  I'm thinking of fully buttoning the closure and flipping up the collar, then following the closure line around the collar for a place to trim.  It would protrude a couple inches out of the flak vest but have an even cut off around my neck.  I would sew up the seam where I cut.  I'm going to have a friend tailor the suit where needed so I'll have her do it all together and I think I'll be set.

The Vest is definitely going to be custom made from the tutorial now that I have someone to help with the sewing.  I like leather, but I don't know exactly what to go with.  I want to avoid any brown on my Mando for my color scheme, but I'm not so sure I want black vest on black flight suit.  The colors are black, red, silver, with a slight bit of gold.  Opinions?

The waist is an area I'm having problems with.  I don't really like the girth belt look for this build.  I want something that looks like a beefy utility strap out of a solid piece of fabric.  Leather is fine with me if that is my best bet here too.  I've just been having a hard time hunting through to find what I'm thinking of.

Boots I'm not worried about.  Just waiting until I find the right ones in the right size.  I've seen lots of things I like.

For the neck I'm thinking pick up a simple black balaclava and trim the head section a bunch so it still stays on but just goes up into a neck seal on the bucket.

Pouches and such for the belt I'll figure out based on what I do for the belt.  I have an idea of what I want on there though.  I want a phone pouch, key pouch, flask pouch (for DragonCon only), hotel and con card pouch, and one or two misc pouches.  I would make them all a standard size to fit all.

Gloves are going to be under my weapons build because I'm making crushgaunts.

Kazya Rembrea


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #1 on: Oct 09, 2011, 07:04 PM »
I was having the same problem trying to pick a vest color with mine... Though I'm going with a navy blue flightsuit with mostly black armor, I didn't want it blending together. Settled on a nice medium gray. Looks pretty good on the Mando Maker. I'm gonna be making it out of faux leather (prolly vinyl, though there's a urethan one that I'm looking at too, it's just a little more expensive).

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CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #2 on: Oct 09, 2011, 09:35 PM »
I was having the same problem trying to pick a vest color with mine... Though I'm going with a navy blue flightsuit with mostly black armor, I didn't want it blending together. Settled on a nice medium gray. Looks pretty good on the Mando Maker. I'm gonna be making it out of faux leather (prolly vinyl, though there's a urethan one that I'm looking at too, it's just a little more expensive).


I was thinking using the silver theme would work and the red or gold would be too much for those accent colors.

CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #3 on: Oct 12, 2011, 06:01 AM »
I also stumbled upon these, I think they may have to be a must.

http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=18153&TabID=548&cs=1

Not too expensive if they work like the glowing testimonials say they do.  If it is good enough for a soldier in the desert then I think it can handle cons and marching.

I'm looking at balaclavas with a similar style - heat gear oriented.  I've looked through a lot and there are only a few heat gear ones that are form fitting around the neck.

Under Armor's tactical version that specifically goes below the neckline here looks like a great choice. 
http://www.code3tactical.com/under-armour-tactical-heatgear-hood.aspx

Plus it can convert to just a neck gator if I don't need to keep my hair under control inside the bucket.


CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #4 on: Oct 12, 2011, 03:15 PM »
So my flightsuit arrived today, and the fit is really good.  Here is a quick picture of me in it, I'm standing a little goofy with my arms so you guys can see better how it fits around the chest. 


The collar is actually slightly different in design than in the sales pictures, but in a good way.  When its flipped up like this it is straight up and wraps around my neck pretty nicely.  We'll see how it looks with the balaclave and bucket on, but I may not need to do anything here.

The sleeve might be able to be trimmed back just a bit, but maybe not.  When my arms are actually bent and I'm moving around its probably just about right.

What do you guys think?

Gesai Primax


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #5 on: Oct 12, 2011, 03:34 PM »
Fits good! I have a Redkap coverall too. They fit great if you order your exact size. Red Kap's are 100x better than flightsuits.

Once the gaunts and gloves are on, it will probably fit perfect.

You could try a dark gray or medium gray for the vest.

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CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #6 on: Oct 12, 2011, 11:50 PM »
Fits good! I have a Redkap coverall too. They fit great if you order your exact size. Red Kap's are 100x better than flightsuits.

Once the gaunts and gloves are on, it will probably fit perfect.

You could try a dark gray or medium gray for the vest.

Thanks, that's what I was thinking for the vest.  I'm considering whipping up a "crap" vest (first draft) out of some fabric to see what I think about the color and using this to test fit all the measurements from the flak vest tutorial.

I really agree about the flightsuits, these are perfect.  Good fabric thickness, nothing to remove or modify, and lots of specific sizes to get fitment correct.  I am quite pleased, I'll wash it tonight and start wearing it around when I'm bored to break it in and weather it a bit.

CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #7 on: Feb 05, 2012, 05:33 AM »
Well time to raise this from the dead, progress is imminent!

My birthday is coming up and my mom is getting me my boots.  I just placed my order.

Corcoran 10 In. Original Jump Boot
http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=5489&TabID=548



These are actual military boots, the real deal.  The laces aren't a problem at all because I planned on using armor plates that go all the way down on the boots anyways.  I'm really excited, these boots will last me a lifetime.

I know they are expensive for boots, but I have foot injuries that require tough shoes.  Cheapy costuming boots weren't going to fly, plus I'll wear these as regular boots as well.

I also ordered two pairs of Ridge CoolMax-Tac Socks to go along with the boots.  These are made to keep feet dry in the desert for the troops, so they should be great for DragonCon.
http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=8320&tabid=548&catid=86

I picked up one more thing, technically not really a soft part though.  I got a 50 oz camelback water bladder, but not with the actual back straps.  I'm going to make a pouch that attaches to the back of a thigh and hide in under the flight suit.  They make extension hose kits for 9 dollars that I'll run up through the flight suit.  For regular events it'll be great to have water all the time, and for DragonCon I'll be filling it with my drink of the day so I don't waste so much money on a bar tab.

Alright that's all for now.  I still need to fight gloves that I like to turn into crush gaunts, a belt, vest, and neck seal.  After that I'm set on soft parts.  The vest is the big one that needs to happen, that way I can get moving on the armor.

CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #8 on: Feb 06, 2012, 03:13 AM »
Now I'm looking at a belt.  I really want to find a 3" wide black leather belt that I can use as my base.  A standard belt is 1.5" wide so think double what you wear on a daily basis.  I'm going to go with trying to armor the belt, I'm pretty confidant I can pull it off without too much trouble.  The black color would just be so that any extra kind of disappears into the flight suit.

I found this belt that looks perfect, except tan.


I would wear it backwards with the buckle in the rear, and punch holes in it to mount everything to the belt as needed. 

So my idea is to get that belt, punch all the holes I need, and then dye it black.  It sounds simple enough to dye something leather like this, especially something that isn't dyed already.

Jesse Libarra


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #9 on: Feb 07, 2012, 12:27 AM »
looks nice! :)

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-Only a fool never feels fear. The difference between a brave man and a coward is the way he handles his fear.-

CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #10 on: Feb 07, 2012, 03:27 AM »
Thanks, a quick update.

I didn't expect to have something new here so soon, but sometimes we get lucky.  I was walking through home depot picking up some other things and walked past the tool belts and stopped to take a look.  I just happened to stumble upon pretty much exactly what I was looking for, I never found it on their website before.  I had to search the brand name to discover it now after the fact.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-202783849/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=dead%20on&storeId=10051

This is the belt on me (wearing it backwards of course so closure is in the rear).  I just threw it on in a t shirt and jeans to get an idea.



It did have a logo on it.


Not hard to remove as it was a solid rubber piece sewn on.


There is tons of excess though.  Most handymen aren't extremely skinny guys like me apparently.  I might even be punching a tighter set of holes to take the belt in a couple more inches, we'll see how it feels with the flight suit on.  I'll be trimming almost all of this off.



The good news there is that I am going to use all that excess for some leather straps in a few spots.  I definitely want to have some leather straps with a snap over my gun holster and blade sheath to hold the weapons in place.  This will be perfect.

Now I need to pick up a leather punch tool and some snaps/fasteners to work with.  If my plan works I'll have a belt like no other.  I haven't seen anyone else attempt an armored belt before.

« Last Edit: Feb 07, 2012, 03:31 AM by CaptainMorgan » Logged

CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #11 on: Feb 08, 2012, 12:13 AM »
Boots showed up today!





They are so awesome.  I am going to need to either shorten the laces or just go pick up ones the right length.  Other than that they rule.  The size seems to run a little big in the toe, but I'm ok with that.  I have a whole 1/4" difference at least in how much longer my left foot is than my right, so no matter what my right would have extra room in the toe.  The way these strap tight to your ankle and are shaped it just doesn't matter.  There is no wiggle at all and they feel fantastic. 

I also picked up a camelback water bladder to hide under my flight suit.


Here is a terrible shot of me holding it to my thigh in the back where I'm going to try to put it.  The point of the shot was to show that the size is pretty much perfect and it'll fit in between my butt and knee fine.  I'm not so sure you can actually get that from the picture.  If this works well enough I might even go ahead and get a second one for the other leg to balance out the costume, it'll just look like I have slightly beefier legs if anything (hopefully).  If it looks odd with this one I'll either scrap the idea or I'll just make the pouch for the bladder smaller and only fill it up half way.



Soft parts are coming together.

« Last Edit: Feb 08, 2012, 12:19 AM by CaptainMorgan » Logged

Kelan Ord


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #12 on: Feb 08, 2012, 09:13 AM »
Hum... With the bladder on the back of your thigh, you realize that you will not be able to sit...? And, I'm just curious, why do want a bladder underneath your flight suit?

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CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #13 on: Feb 08, 2012, 02:02 PM »
Hum... With the bladder on the back of your thigh, you realize that you will not be able to sit...? And, I'm just curious, why do want a bladder underneath your flight suit?

It's actually a little lower than it looks like from that picture, I think I'd be able to sit alright.

That is just a idea, not set on it.  I just don't think I could put it outside anywhere and have it look right, even in a well made pouch that fits stylistically.

I don't know what I'll really do with it, but I'm going to find a way to use it for DragonCon at least.

CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #14 on: Feb 09, 2012, 07:45 AM »
So the vest begins.

Picked up some marine vinyl from Joann's.  Then spent a few hours working on my patterns based on TDH tutorial for a Flak Vest.  I changed a couple minor things from the tutorial.  I made the top part of the arm hole on the back a slight curve like the front instead of straigh and just cut the material so that it will close on the sides.  I plan to have an overlap and some velcro to close it up tight when I put it on.  I can squeeze my naked head through the hole fine.

Here is a shot of my pattern drawn out.  The lines are hard to make out in the picture but in full size you can see them.  I didn't have pattern paper (lost my big drawing pad I was going to use too) so I just taped left over card stock pieces together.



Here are front and back shots of the vest on me.  Now all I did is pin the tops together, stuff my head through, and tape the sides closed for a fit check.  There are 5/8" seam allowances all around so it'll fit much better once those are sewn back.  This just let me know that I did a good enough job on measuring that it'll work.  The collar at the back of my neck flared out a bit, so I'll pull that in towards the outside just a tiny bit and it'll lay down right.  Having the seam allowances gives me enough room to play with spots like that.





I have no idea when I'll get around to sewing this up, I have to go over to my in laws or my buddy's girlfriend's house to use their machines and I'm in no huge rush.  I'll still be able to get this trimmed and pinned correctly and then use that to accurately size armor plates.

Kelan Ord


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #15 on: Feb 09, 2012, 08:49 AM »
Good job on that vest!! It's coming along awesome!!

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CaptainMorgan


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Re: My Soft Parts thread
« Reply #16 on: Feb 09, 2012, 02:14 PM »
Good job on that vest!! It's coming along awesome!!

Thank you, I spend several hours just drawing my pattern and it seems to have paid off.  I can't wait to get it all together.

 


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