Let's talk about upgrades

[Evan1701]

Alright folks. So I was approved today and I am already ready to hop on the bandwagon for upgrades.

1. Let's talk about how the back plate and collar plate attach. Right now I have my poor wife bolt them together every troop. I have the screws resin'd to the backplate, which feed through holes in the collar plate and into the studs. My issue is, we have at least one screw that breaks off every. single. time. Is there a better method of attaching the collar and backplate together along with the studs?

2. Jetpack harness. I have the Bigdane HHProps screen accurate version, but I feel like the 2 shoulder straps aren't doing squat. They just pop right off with any small movement. What's the best way to keep them nice and taught for every troop? Or is there a more "troop friendly" jetpack harness that isn't the traditional scuba frame?

3. Gauntlets. I have MoW ones that are pretty large, so I have them padded with a lot of foam. However, they still like to flip over while I'm trooping, especially my left one since I have a metal rocket. Any good methods for keeping them in place? I've considered wedging chunks of foam inside once I've put them on, as well as an elastic "bracelet".

I want to hear from you "shut up and troop" type of guys. I want my Fett to be an every weekend type of costume, but right now it's such a beast just suiting up and down it makes me only want to wear it once a month!

 

[Chris4321]

1. I am not sure what you mean by breaks off? I drilled my holes purposely small and tapped the screws through the backplate, this way they are held on by themselves. I then attach the collar over the screws and hand tight the studs. I have had no issues

2. The scuba frame harness from my understanding is really one of the better ways of attaching the JP and is one of the "coolest" (temperature wise) for the costume. You might want to post pictures on how your harness is setup? The two top straps should not be sliding off and are more then likely not properly cinched.

Hard Harness Strapping - Boba Fett ESB .

One of the best guides for the Scuba frame

3. If foam is not doing the trick, you would probably have to adapt the wrist bracelet. I think The Builder did this with his gauntlets, he would be a good go to for that. Personally, I have foam on my top and bottoms for my RKD gauntlets (known to be large) and they don't move.

 

[TK50175]

The traditional harness is defintly the best solution for trooping. Other solutions like a vest with attached straps dont sit that tight so they move and a vest is pretty hot. I did 8 hours without removing the backpack.

 

[Funkyred]

Your hooks may need adjusting on your jetpack or the straps shortening . The jetpack sits on the bar and thecsteaos pull it in towards the top.

There is only one way to attach neck and back armour and your present way is correct. Suiting up is a two man or in your case a woman's job.

Regarding gauntlets , RKD's were smaller than MOW and mite be a better fit.

 

[Builder]

Hi Evan

We went through some of the things you are concerned about. Check my thread for stabilizing the gauntlets. Our method
of a wrist strap worked out well for us.
The connection for the collar to back armor on ours is not using the studs at all but instead we went with Scotch Extreme fasteners. They
are plastic and say that they are 3X stronger than Velcro. I know they show up a little in a vest interior armor attachment photo on the thread. At any rate they work well.
The only collar stud we actually use is the one for the cape.On our shoulders the curve where the back and collar come together hide the connection.
Getting the straps to connect tight to the jet pack was tuff for us as well. I made the connection on the shoulders with Velcro for adjustment and bent the pack clips so the
strap rings just pass through the hooks. The main connection should be the bottom rail with hardly any weight on the straps themselves. The jet pack should set
vertical so as not to cause 'pullback' on the collar.
Ours move but not enough to come off. I did consider putting a small piece of black foam low down between pack and armor to gently push them apart and keep things tight
while trooping. It's a balancing act to make these things work.
Hope this helps.

 

[Evan1701]

Hi Evan

We went through some of the things you are concerned about. Check my thread for stabilizing the gauntlets. Our method
of a wrist strap worked out well for us.
The connection for the collar to back armor on ours is not using the studs at all but instead we went with Scotch Extreme fasteners. They
are plastic and say that they are 3X stronger than Velcro. I know they show up a little in a vest interior armor attachment photo on the thread. At any rate they work well.
The only collar stud we actually use is the one for the cape.On our shoulders the curve where the back and collar come together hide the connection.
Getting the straps to connect tight to the jet pack was tuff for us as well. I made the connection on the shoulders with Velcro for adjustment and bent the pack clips so the
strap rings just pass through the hooks. The main connection should be the bottom rail with hardly any weight on the straps themselves. The jet pack should set
vertical so as not to cause 'pullback' on the collar.
Ours move but not enough to come off. I did consider putting a small piece of black foam low down between pack and armor to gently push them apart and keep things tight
while trooping. It's a balancing act to make these things work.
Hope this helps.

This is awesome, thanks. Yeah I have almost no weight on the top straps which is part of my problem, they just fall right off the clips I have little adjusters on the straps but when my wife pulls the straps through the holes in the back plate, i think the adjusters are moving slightly and elongating the straps. I'm thinking about finding a good length and just stapling them so they don't move anymore.

 

[Funkyred]

This is awesome, thanks. Yeah I have almost no weight on the top straps which is part of my problem, they just fall right off the clips I have little adjusters on the straps but when my wife pulls the straps through the holes in the back plate, i think the adjusters are moving slightly and elongating the straps. I'm thinking about finding a good length and just stapling them so they don't move anymore.

Sounds like your hooks may need repositioning

 

[Evan1701]

Sounds like your hooks may need repositioning

Yeah, I had them really good at one point but the straps end up different lengths every troop. Plus I have some pretty severe scoliosis so they need to be very different lengths. It's really tough to get them the proper length so the jetpack doesn't sag, AND have both straps equally tight so one doesn't just full off. I've only just started trooping as Fett so I need to just keep wearing it and seeing what needs to be adjusted.

 

[Funkyred]

Yeah, I had them really good at one point but the straps end up different lengths every troop. Plus I have some pretty severe scoliosis so they need to be very different lengths. It's really tough to get them the proper length so the jetpack doesn't sag, AND have both straps equally tight so one doesn't just full off. I've only just started trooping as Fett so I need to just keep wearing it and seeing what needs to be adjusted.

You could attach webbing sliders onto the front of the shoulder strap . You could then have a longer strap that attaches to the jetpack and adjust each side to suit by pulling the strap from under the front of the flak vest

 

[Builder]

I know that it seems overly simple but for ease of adjustment we use good old Velcro and it has worked well.
It's hard to pull Velcro apart horizontally which is the direction of pull on the jet pack. Just use good size pieces
for plenty of contact. Once set it will be less parts to slip and less to mess with on future changes.
A few pics of our setup.

I know this is a minimal fix but there are a lot of ways to over think things and starting this simple worked for us.
Maybe for you to. Welcome to the 501st!