Alternative way to attach Drop Boxes

[A.J. Hamler[TK]]

Hi Gang...

 

In virtually every build it's recommended that the Drop Boxes be attached with a length of elastic long enough to loop up and over the top of the fabric belt and back down to the back of the boxes.  Is it mandatory to do it this way?

 

It seems that this method puts the Drop Box elastic strap at odds with rivets or whatever attachment method is used to join the plastic and fabric belts.  I've seen some builds where the Drop Box elastic had to have a notch cut into it to keep it from interfering with rivets, snaps or whatever.

 

Instead, would it be "legal" to merely have a short tab of elastic strap, say maybe 1-1/4" in length, glued directly to the inner surface of the belt (the side that's up against the plastic)?  It seems that would not only eliminate the need to cut notches to accommodate rivets/snaps, but it would also keep the Drop Box from sliding to the side once you had it aligned with the end of the plastic belt.  Naturally, this would be a job for E6000 in case you ever needed to remove them for whatever reason.  Or, alternatively, the elastic "tab" could be top-stitched to the inner surface of the belt.

 

Either gluing or stitching would be invisible to the viewer from the outside of the armor -- the elastic strap would look "normal" -- and visible only on the underside of the belt.

 

What think you?

 

A.J.

 

[[Oops, I just realized I posted this in the ANH Build Thread section, and not the main ANH (Stunt and Hero) section as I'd intended.  Sorry.]]

Edited December 28, 2018 by A.J. Hamler
to insert "oops"

[TheSwede[TK]]

Hey A.J

It’s not mandatory at all, many do it because it’s screen accurate but how you choose to fasten them is totally up to you as long as it look the part from the outside, the sliding part is adressed in most builds by using a dab of glue

 

What do I think? - have at it

[tydirium1[TK]]

I run the rivet through the elastic for the drop boxes.

they always hang perfectly .

 Didn't always do that, but I have been recently. 

It works great.

[kman[TK]]

I'm not sure why some people feel the need to notch their elastic, but perhaps they're using thicker elastic than I did?

 

My drop boxes loop around, and are held in place with some E6000.  (or, were, see below)

 

 

That held them perfectly in place for 2+ years.  I recently removed the drop boxes to convert to HWT, but I'll be re-attaching them so I can switch back and forth.  I plan to use Velcro this time around, so the boxes stay put (in terms of sliding around) but can easily be removed and reattached as needed.  Just one 4" strip up the back of the belt, top to bottom, for maximum hold.

Edited December 28, 2018 by kman

[A.J. Hamler[TK]]

Thanks, guys!

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

2 hours ago, kman said:

I'm not sure why some people feel the need to notch their elastic, but perhaps they're using thicker elastic than I did?

For screen accuracy  

 

[kman[TK]]

7 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

For screen accuracy

 

That falls into "prop replication" category, for me. So no. LOL

 

If you're not using screen-accurate internal rigglng (the wire hoops... I prefer snaps), and not recreating every single little thing that happened with on-screen suits, visible or not, I don't see the point of that particular mod.

 

Your point is taken, though, because I certainly know people who try to do just that!

 

I suspect more are just hacking it out of the way, though, because they saw someone else do it that way, and don't even realize they're emulating an emulation of on-screen hackery.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

3 minutes ago, kman said:

I suspect more are just hacking it out of the way, though, because they saw someone else do it that way, and don't even realize they're emulating an emulation of on-screen hackery.

It actually depends on where your snaps are placed on the ab section and belt, if you use the more common measurements that can be found then the loops of elastic will sit over parts of the snaps, the elastic is cut out for this reason, they then help the boxes to stay in alignment with the end of the belt.

 

I have also added a little E6000 at the base of the loops on mine, just to make sure they stay in the correct spot while trooping