HOWTO: ukswrath's First Order Heavy Gunner (Flyye) Vest Modification

[ukswrath[Staff]]

In this tutorial I'll take a Flyee vest (Tactical Combat Chest Rig) and modify it to match the toy Heavy Gunner Trooper vest from Hottoys.com. For obvious reasons the details may change once the movie comes out.

 

Items needed:

 

1 Flyye Tactical Combat Chest Rig. Can be purchased from multiple vendors as supply lasts. I purchased mine from Ebay - Chest rig

1 yard of Denier Cordura 1000D fabric - Can be purchased from multiple vendors as supply lasts. I purchased mine from Ebay - Fabric

6" x 2" nylon webbing - 2" webbing

4' x 1" nylon webbing -  1" buckle

4x 2" buckle - 2" buckle

6-8 x 1" Tri Slide Guide - 1" tri slide guide

2-4 x 1" Flat Buckle - 1" flat buckle

4' x 2" Floor Runner material - I purchased a 2' x 36" section from Lowes - Runner Material

4' x 1-3/8"  Floor Runner material - I purchased a 2' x 36" section from Lowes - Runner Material

1" x 3" x 10" (x3) - Packing foam strips (vest ammo clip storage and drop box base)

1" x 3' x 5" (x2) - Packing foam strips (vest side pouches)

3x - Inner Drop Box sets from Kevin - http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/8638-for-sale-inner-drop-boxes/

6x - 1-/2" x 1/8" Machine screws and nuts

6x - 1/2" x 3mm x 10mm magnets (functional drop box only) 

2x - Custom resin & rubber slide buckle, belt straps, locks and slides - Chris Hale Facebook, chrishale6363@gmail.com

1x - 2' x 2' Sale sign 

 

Tools:

 

Knife

Scissors

Cutting Sheers 

Sand paper or Belt sander

Steel ruler

Angle

Pencil

Marker

Drill with 11/54" drill bit

Sewing Machine

 

 

Assembly Materials:

 

Zap-A-Gap (CA glue) & Zip Kicker

E6000

 

 

Assembly:

 

The Toy

 

 

 

Flyye vest

 

 

 

 

 

Disassemble:

 

1. Disassemble vest leaving the three front boxes, high tension storage belts and right buckle intact. Remove any threads and stray fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Sew fabric from center pouch to top of vest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Measure, fold and sew upper section to lower section.

 

The area above the clip pouches is occupied by what appears to be TK drop boxes. Drop boxes measuring 6cm wide and 11cm long appear to be most accurate in size in comparison to the clip pouches. 

 

With that said, from the top of the clip pouch measure 13cm, allowing for 1cm above and below the drop box for clearance. This should also be approximately 10" from the bottom of the vest to the fold.

 

Fold the upper fabric section over on the back at the measurement. 

 

 

 

Sew approximately 3/16" from fold edge.

 

 

 

 

4. Measure clip pouches for foam insert.

 

 

 

 

5. Measure and cut 3 foam blocks the same measurement of the clip pouches. A portion will slide into the pouches while the other half will extend to the top of the vest. The upper portion will be covered by fabric while the majority of the foam inside the clip will not. Why waste it right? 

 

 

 

6. Using the final (3rd layer) fabric section form the original vest fold it into thirds then cut into 3 sections. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Fold material around the foam blocks. Add enough material lengthwise so that approximately 1/2"  will tuck into the clip pouch. You should have plenty of room at the top of the block to fold over later.

 

 

 

8. Flip block and fabric over. The shiny (inner) side of the fabric should be facing upwards. Apply E6000 or other glue and fold material onto it and let set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once dry you should have something similar to this.

 

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Vest mod cont...

 

8. Fold and glue fabric to clip foam block. Cut out a small section the rear section. Using CA glue and zip kicker or other, glue th fabric lid down.

 

 

 

Test fit the blocks

 

 

 

To be cont....

[Pyrates[TK]]

Stellar work!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

This is going to save me a lot of time, thanks Tony, it was next on my to do list .

 

Great work as always

[Sly11[Admin]]

Too much time on your hands

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Thanks all

 

@Andrew, I just cant sit still lol 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Vest mod cont...

 

9. Center connections and straps

 

The toy vest center shoulder strap connections are mounted outside (to the left and right) of the outermost clip pouches in comparison to the Flyye vest that are almost mounted directly above the pouches as seen here.

 

Toy

 Flyye

 

 

The shoulder harness material and connections to the vest are also incorrect on the Flyye. The Flyye uses a release buckle attached to nylon shoulder straps and the toy utilizes a joiner to floor runner material.

 

Toy

 Flyye 

 

 

After endless searching for 2" connection joints I decided to make my own. Purchased a 10 pack on a good deal, and I'm sure I'll use the rest for something.

 

 

 

Discard the male clips.

 

 

 

Cut 4 remaining female clips down far enough so that the release indent is no longer seen. A belt sander works perfect for this as it gives both sides a perfect mating surface.

 

 

 

Test fit

 

 

 

Apply CA glue and clamp together. Let dry.

 

 

 

Finished

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Vest mod cont...

 

NOTE: Due to newly released images of the HGT vest the shoulder strap and greeblies appear to be incorrect or incorrectly assembled on the toy version. In the following section 10, the floor material is incorrectly installed in comparison to the canon vest. Skip this section and proceed to 10a. for accurate assembly and before continuing onto section 11.

 

10. Cut and sew in floor runner material to be used for upper shoulder harness. Cut and sew in new nylon webbing to be used for shoulder harness anchor.

 

Cut a 2" x 2' section of floor runner material. 

 

 

 

Loop it through one end of the 2" connector with the short side being on the back (unseen) then sew together.

 

 

 

Cut new 2" webbing, loop into other half of connector then sew to vest. 

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

11. Lower vest back fabric panel.

 

Before moving on we need to create and affix the vest lower back panel. Measure the exposed area. Using the Cordura fabric cut fabric leaving 1/2" extra for sewing edge.

Note: Measurements may differ

 

 

 

Fold and sew seems

 

 

 

Sew to upper back panel cover. This is what you should have afterwards. 

 

 

 

12. As you may notice since you've disassembled the vest it has no structure, this is where the for sale sign material comes in. I'll be sewing the plastic into the front a rear sections to giving the vest rigidity. At this stage we're only going to measure and test fit the plastic as it's not sew in until later.

 

Measure and cut  plastic accordingly. 

 

 

   

13. Mid vest connecting straps and buckles

 

Again with the toy the mid vest connections and positions differ from the Flyyee vest as seen here.

 

Toy 

  Flyye 

 

 

The Flyye vest only utilizes a adjusting slide where the toy uses a slide and a buckle. To better match the toy vest and keep things uniform throughout I purchased new 1" buckles, slides and 1" nylon

 

Cut and measured the nylon first. One section 5-1/2" and the other 10"

 

 

 

Loop the 10" section through the buckle then through the slide. Sew in the center with the joint on the underside (side opposite of buckle and slide top)

 

 

.

Loop the 5-1/2" section through the opposite side of the slide then sew it to the vest in the correct area which is on the side of the vest, just above the upper clip pouch level.

NOTE: When sewing this section start at the top of the vest fold and sew down the side of the vest essentially sewing in this anchor. Discontinue sewing approximately 2" from the bottom of the vest.

 

The new connecting strap should look similar to this.

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

14. Reattach the lower vest strap.

 

The lower strap and buckle were still usable except the buckle now no longer matches the new ones being used. I elected to replace it. 

 

The nylon was a bit different also but not enough to warrant replacing it.

 

Essentially, position the long nylon portion on the lower left side of vest and continue to sew it into the back cover. Using the existing nylon and the new buckle on the right side, sew them into place.

 

It should look like this afterwards

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

12a. Back to the plastic insert.

 

Note: The plastic can be substituted with card board or anything that will give the vest structure.

 

Now that the side and top seams have been completed let's finish. Install the plastic material previously cut then sew lower vest seam. The vest should look like this afterwards. 

 

[troopermaster]

The adjustable chest straps look a lot like these:

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Amazing, and I'm jealous. Pinning because this thread is definitive.

 

Hmmm...what it would it take to convince you to make a second?

[ukswrath[Staff]]

The adjustable chest straps look a lot like these:

 

Yea I know they're made by Tifco, finding a supplier that doesn't want to sell you 500 pieces is the problem. Do you know of a supplier?

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Amazing, and I'm jealous. Pinning because this thread is definitive.

 

Hmmm...what it would it take to convince you to make a second?

Thinking about it, let's see after the movie.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Continuing...

 

15. Side pouches.

 

In this section I'll be building two side pouches from the bulk Cordura fabric and foam.

 

The toy pouches

 

 

 

Starting with the same foam used for the clip pouches. Measurement and cut to shape. Measurements are...

 

30mm deep, 70mm wide, 120mm tall

 

 

 

Completely cover the entire foam with the Cordura fabric (smooth /shiny side towards foam). Use CA or E6000 to secure.

Note: perform all gluing at the back as the glue may bleed through.

 

 

 

Making the pouch lid. Using the dimension pictures provided create the lid and lid base. 

 

Lid. Measure and cut fabric.

 

 

 

Using the following measurements, fold and sew three edges.

 

 

 

Lid base. Using the following measurements, fold and sew two edges.

 

 

 

Glue lid base. Using the following measurements glue lid bast to front of block.

 

 

 

Glue Lid to base and block.

 

 

 

Finished

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

16. Drop box assembly.

 

Note: My drop boxes are being made to be functional.

 

Re-install drop box mount into clip pouch. 

 

 

 

Place drop box base on foam mount. Using the 11/64 drill bit drill through the base, foam mount and vest. 

Note: I suggest labeling boxes as you go along, but it's up to you.

 

 

 

Once the hole is drilled, from the back of the vest place the machine screw through the hole exiting out the drop box.

 

 

 

Align box, drill and install second screw and nuts.

 

 

 

Check alignment. If all is ok drill and install remaining boxes.

 

 

 

At this point you can install the covers using your own technique, or in my case my inner and outer drop boxes were the same size so I needed to remove the return edges leaving the base flat.

Using a band saw I ground away the return edges. 

 

 

 

Prepare the outer cover.

 

 

 

Mate the upper and lower pieces.

 

 

 

Reinstall base and recheck alignment.

 

 

 

And finally, making them functional. I planned on using magnets to hold the cover to the base. How I did that was add magnets to the lid. The magnets will connect to the protruding machine screws.

 

Using the following magnets, place the magnet on the end of the screw. Place the cover over the magnet and base. Ensure the magnets ate touching the outer cover. Remove cover and add E6000 to magnets. Reinstall cover and place something heavy on cover to maintain constant pressure. Let dry.

 

Note: Make sure your boxes are centered.

 

 

 

 

 

Finished.

Note: Place a small amount of E6000 on the bolt end and nut locking the two in place.

 

[BenjaminTheTK]

Great work sir. This is amazing.<br>

[T K[501st]]

The chest straps look like some straps I've used for scuba diving. If you have a dive shop near by it might be worth a look, though I can't guarantee anything, just a thought.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Great work sir. This is amazing.<br>

 

Thank you

 

The chest straps look like some straps I've used for scuba diving. If you have a dive shop near by it might be worth a look, though I can't guarantee anything, just a thought.

 

Yea it's just floor runner material basically. 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Sorry for the delay folks, waiting for additional parts to arrive so I can finish the shoulders

[camprandall]

That's pretty neat! I kinda envision a secret workshop where there are 4 Tonys but only one is ever allowed to go out in public at a time.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

That's pretty neat! I kinda envision a secret workshop where there are 4 Tonys but only one is ever allowed to go out in public at a time.

 

ah hahahaha 

 

Need oxygen! food, beer 

[HansDC[TK]]

WOW!

[TK-Sonic[TK]]

Looking at your thread, good work.

Time to figure mine out.

Looks like you used drop down TK ammo boxes?

When looking at them in person the boxes seem to small for the vest. an Upgrade might just be needed on mine.