Shopping list:
Vinyl (heavy)fromm Joanns fabric $5.00 (Tip: take the pattern with you or you'll end up with more than you need. I bought 3/4 yard and had a ton left.)
1 inch styrofoam block Joanns $2.00
Contact cement Micheals (40% coupon) 1.50
Epoxy 1.00
velcro on sale 1.00
vinyl/leather brown spray local shoe store 5.00
Already owned a needle/thread:free
groumets from Joanns 2.00
1)Used the pattern from OBI' acadamy(alternat two part)
Cut the pattern out on the vinyl with the box component being one part and the overlying tab the second.
http://www.jedi-academy.com/fett_belt_tips_alternate.html
Cut a 6 inch strip to your demensions (waist, you will later fold this over on itself to make a 3" belt). I let mine verlap by about 10 inches anticipating some loss when its over the clothes.
2)Cut the styrofoam to the demensions recomended(with a steak knife, worked great).
3)Glue the block to the vinyl and creat the box as per the pattern. TIP: use the epoxy for this. contact cement melts styrofoam. also use 1 minute epoxy. I typically had 3-4 minutes to work before it set.
4)Once the blocks where completed I took them along with the seperate tab and belt and sprayed them brown. Some members have said spray paint will work for this also. It would make it cheaper but I've never used it. So at your own risk.
5)Find a weekend day and a marathon showing on SCI-fi take a sharpe and draw a line down the center of the belt on the inside. Take a look at your reference CD and decide what you think looks correct on the stitching. What I decided on 3/16th of an inch from the outside edge of top and bottom. Draw this line again on the inside half of the the belt. Also make sure you choose the half that will make the joined edge on the bottom when folded. You'll see what Im talking about when its laid out. For the back stitching detail split the diference and draw two additonal lines. These are the lines that the groumets go between. I made the length 10 1/2 inches for this detail. TIP: dont be afraid to take larger bites as this is not ading any strength. My stitch stroke were about 3/16th in legth on the belt. You'll see that the vinyl has a lot of repeating texture on the inside. Use this to keep it the same length. With my fabric it ended up being 4 little holes for each stitchon the belt. Last tip for belt: add a 1/16th of an inch to the top thread line. You'll loose this when its folded.
Coat the whole back side with the contact cement. It will take nearly the whole bottle. GET HELP and fold carefully.
Add groumets and done. TIP: dont hammer to hard or you'll cut right through the vinyl belt you just made. Its not leather.
6)Draw your same lines on the inside of the tabs (ammo flap) and stitch away. the stitch length was 1/8 th here. Srt in 1/8th. Again use the texture on the vinyl to keep you stitch length teh same. It comes out straight and looking machined. I also did not extend it all the way as the lower half becomes the back half of the belt.
7)Epoxy the two halves together of the ammo pouches. I made a 3" X 6" piece to simulate the belt and glued the two back pieces over this to make a snug costume fit. Put tape over your thread and touch up any missed parts on the bottom.
8)Add velcro (industrial) to back tabs and your done.
Two days to complete.
Let me know if you have any questions.