Paintball Armor Update New Pics

Hey everyone. I managed to solve the vest issue. I went down to Walmart, and bought a standard grey sweatshirt. I bought one size smaller to make it a more "solid" fit. Also, I bought 5 feet of industrial strength velcro. I know many members are opposed to using velcro, as was I for awhile, but it seems right now to be a more practical way, and Im using it now as a trial-test run, and can adjust or change if need be. It turns out to be surprisingly stronger then I thought. My plan is to sew on, one side of the velcro (the cloth side) to the sweatshirt to make it stay on. The other side of the velcro, has a sticky side. Kinda funny, I tested it with my hand, and had trouble getting off of me. So as of right now, it seems sticky enough to stay on to the plastic pieces, however, I am not totally convinced how it is in heat and other elments. Well, here's a update pic



-tubachris

awesome start man...one problem-o though..its gonna sag on the cotton shirt- i tried that w/ my 1st set of armor...its just a mess....what u CAN do though is sew strips of nylon straps or any other material that doenst stretch going down the shirt (like vertical strips but from the inside). then it wont sag...nice start though...id love to play paintball w/ u w/ that baby on!

Well I thought of the sagging as well. My idea was I was going to get some more of that velcro, and make like tightining straps that are horizontal, on the sides that would be parallel to my rib section, so that I can adjust the tightness. Well I will have to see though once its done because, I feel I put enough velcro that It wont sagg too much.

-tubachris

dude.. how many of these threads are you gonna have? You have two here and one in the propbuilding section..

save some space for the rest of us..

Sorry man, Im a big guy, and big guys need space, or else the little guys would get squished. But seriously, This will be the last thread on it. I'll just update this one.

-tubachris

Ok, scratch the sweatshirt idea. Upon much thought and evaluation, I have came to the conclusion that the sweatshirt would result in sagging of the armor, due to being cotten and stretchable. Today, I went by a fabric store, and picked up 1 and a 1/2 yards of this fake leather stuff, which I plan on making a vest out of. I plan on doulbling the layers to make it thicker as well. I did see someone who posted a vest template, I'll have to search for it. But thats the latest.

-tubachris

Latest:

I was fortunate enough that awhile back, since I cancled the sweatshirt idea (because it would sag), that I bought a yard of "pleather" as I call it. Strong, heavy, and wont sag. I recieved a vest template to follow, and now I have most of it done. Yesterday, I spent the day with my g/f, and her grandmother, who happens to do this kind of thing and took classes on how to size/make patterns and templates So she measured me, and resized the whole pattern, and now I have the main portion of the vest complete. Im on the home stretch, only have to sew where the shoulders meet together with the back, and then sew the shoulder bell flaps on. After that, for securing the back, I will use several strips along side each other, so that they will be adjustable to fit well enough. All the cotton sides of the velcro will be sewn onto the vest itself. Its almost there. I will post pics of it later today.

-tubachris

C'mon man let's see the pics! My kids and I paintball, and we want to do the same thing. Next step is an approved Mando bucket.

Originally Posted by MandalorFett

C'mon man let's see the pics! My kids and I paintball, and we want to do the same thing. Next step is an approved Mando bucket.

Your anxious about seeing the armor progress? LMAO Im anxious about finishing it. Here's two pics of it. As you can see, the shoulder bell flaps and the shoulder meeting points arent connected yet. An approved-for-paintball mando bucket I think is far from me, but always though about modifying my rubies into something of the sort. Enjoy!





I know the plates look small in comparrison to the vest, but remeber this is going to wrap around me, and im like 6'6 and uh..265lbs.

-tubachris

Very cool Mr. Tuba! I think you're on to something w/ the pleather, although it might get pretty hot under there because that stuff doesn't breathe. Having a plastic surface makes sense for cleaning though (note: for those of you that actually get hit by paintballs, not me). Also, the pleather would kill some of the sting on close up shots (see earlier note). I think for a helmet to be safe, you could use a plain paintball mask and paint it up to look like a Mando. It wouldn't be accurate, but at least you wouldn't lose an eye just trying to look cool (again see earlier note). Good luck putting the vest together, and keep us posted!


BTW I get tagged all the time, I suck at paintball.

Well, I thought about the heat factor from wearing this material. I usually play wearing a long sleeve under armor shirt (lol..under amor), and think I will be wearing it with this vest when I play, and maybe a light t-shirt. Back to the helmet concept. I you made a practical use paintball helm based off a mando, it can either go two ways. First, you will have to be a kick *** player cause you'll look like a baffoon if you suck really bad, or second, if you suck really bad, dont take off the helmet, cause no one will know who the heck you are. I imagine that a mando helm in paintball if done right can give some serious head protection. I hate getting hit in the head. I have seen some masks out on sale that are full head covers, so I imagin you could do the same with a mando bucket. You also have to consider a good enough lens, that is hard to fog, as well as a good venting system cause it will get hot in that thing. Good luck, wouldnt mind seeing something like it being made.

-tubachris

i have been thinking about converting a mando helmet for paint ball for a while... looks like you might beat me too it.

Originally Posted by FlyingMonkeySith

i have been thinking about converting a mando helmet for paint ball for a while... looks like you might beat me too it.

LOL, Dont get your hopes up just yet, even as much as I would want to. I'd like to see someone one day try and make one, but for now, im just usin the armor. LOL, taking a costume/fictional armor, and making it practical. tactical to practical.

-tubachris

Very interesting concept, and good work!