So, after much, much hassle with the nice guys at FedEx, the vest prototype is away to the makers so we can get the second prototype made. Here are a few rough photos to show the design we've come up with:
These photos lack any foam inside the vests - the vest itself as well as the upper arms all have pockets to put foam in, and are sealed with velcro for easy access. The belt loops and attachments are also a little rough, but I hope the "production" version will be somewhat neater. Also, excuse the belt gear - the only pouches I had to hand were from my screen-used Starship Troopers and Doom outfits, so I cobbled a webset together. Lastly, there's no back protector detailing yet - that will have to be hand-stitched by ourselves rather than the makers due to the increased production costs.
When the final vest arrives back from the makers and we start work on the actual armour plates, I will likely do a tutorial of a sort about the vests and how they attach to the armour (showing connection points, construction and so on). I am also hopeful we will be able to show the final "load out" for the Marines websets soon - though as you can see we're sticking with the desert uniforms.
