Girth Belt Girth belt and armor help

Ok, I have some questions about the girth belt and the cod/kidney armor. First, where should the cod/kidney armor sit on the body? Should they sit on the waist line where you wear your pants or a little higher? How high should the girth belt sit and how much of the armor should it cover up? How big of a gap in the back for the girth belt? I could possibly be looking at getting my 3rd girth belt, and quite frankly I am tired of spending money on the stupid thing.
I know the 501st says 6-8 inches of space in the back for the girth belt, so how would I determine the correct legnth of it to get the required gap spacing? And depending on where the belt sits, along with where the armor sits, that could change the legnth I need for the belt to sit correctly.
Any ideas or pointer would be great, thanks.

I've bought two in my two years here on TDH myself. I lucked out with my second one, it seems to be just right. I knew how many inches I wanted to shave off of my old girth belt, so I told Woody to get me a girth belt that would measure xx inches from the tip of one buckle to the tip of the other buckle.

I think a good rule of thumb might be your pant waist 'size' = your girth belt measurement in inches. I now take a size 36 in the waist for pants, and my girth belt measures exactly 36 inches from buckle to buckle.

The lower portion wraps around and buckles over the cod/kidney armour, so it could have the 8" gap. The upper portion should sit above the cod/kidney armour, and can be cinched and buckled a little tighter, so it could have the 6" gap. Cinching the upper part more should prevent it from sliding down over the cod and kidney armour. The ammo belt wraps around the upper, narrower portion of the girth belt, thus preventing the ammo belt from slipping down as well.

As for where the cod/kidney is situated, mine wraps around my hips. I have it attached just to my flight suit with some snaps. However, it is starting to stretch and sag the flight suit. I am thinking of putting in a set of suspenders inside the flight suit that would attach to the cod and kidney assembly. The claws of the suspenders would reach through holes in the flight suit, and attach to plastic brackets inside both the cod and kidney armour. I could then wear the cod/kidney/girth belt/ammo belt/sidearm & holster without it hanging from and bagging out my flight suit.

Thoughts on this ideas, anyone? I know it is not movie accurate at all, but I am thinking of how to prevent sagging of the waist, legs, knees. I think most of us attach these parts directly to the flight suit somehow. I'm just spitballing ideas on how to get the most out of our flight suits before they need either tailoring, repairs, or replacement.

That's how I ordered mine too, measured with a tape to determine what the buckle to buckle length should be. If you're doing the dye/ straps yourself then I'd see by what size others have in relation to their waist/stomach size and calculate from there. Woodsy aren't cheap, but they look great AND they're done...

Necronaut said:

Thoughts on this ideas, anyone? I know it is not movie accurate at all, but I am thinking of how to prevent sagging of the waist, legs, knees. I think most of us attach these parts directly to the flight suit somehow. I'm just spitballing ideas on how to get the most out of our flight suits before they need either tailoring, repairs, or replacement.

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I am not sure how most people do it but I just made my kidney armor like a belt. I just attached adjustable straps to it and it fits nice and snug. And then I just velcro the cod piece on to it.

Furious said:

I am not sure how most people do it but I just made my kidney armor like a belt. I just attached adjustable straps to it and it fits nice and snug. And then I just velcro the cod piece on to it.
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Thats how mine is done, but I also attach the cod on the front of it and do up the clip at the side

Yeah, the girth belt sizing is tricky. You should have about a 6" gap in the back, but that's over the armor, so your actual waist measurements don't help too much. You've got to measure over the armor and then subtract for the gap and just hope that you get the right size.