Question:
My question is if anyone knows where I can get some good lace up modern boots,
both leather "jump" style and "jungle" style. 21C Danner boots look alright,
but putting them on risks ankle breakage. I also want to be able to lace them
up tighter around the pants like the real deal. I like the idea of real
leather, but unfortunately they just look too ridiculous and misshapen. What
about Cots? I believe they make some lace ups. Anyone know where to buy?
Answer:
Here's a simple trick that I GUARANTEE will prevent breaking ankles putting
on the boots.
Nuke a mug of water to boiling.
Drop the boots in, one at a time--I use a clamping tweezers to hold on the
boot.
Count to 15.
Take out the boot, pour out the water, put the boot on.
The heat softens the vinyl enough to allow it to flex as much as you need.
Using this method allows you to put on ANY boot, even ones that may be too
tight.
A little vaseline makes it easy to get the boots on and off. This works well
for me.
Lee Digman showed me a very cool method of making 21st jungle boots look
better. Forgive me, Lee, if I get the details a little off:
carefully cut the 'tounge' of the boot along the sides (vertically), but not
the bottom. Leave the tounge there to barely show behind the laces. Use a
very small dremel bit to drill out lace holes. Lace with thick, sturdy thread.
You may also cut the tops of the boots to a more accurate length. The green on
these boots can also be darkened by various methods. I smudge black paint on
'em with my thumb.
Lee's boots looked great, I assume the method will work with other boots.
I bought one pair of Cots new lace-up jungle boots just to check 'em out.
Glad I only bought the one pair instead of a couple dozen like I had
orginally planned... Cots lace-up jungle boots are fit only for the clowns
in your organization - they are HUGE!!!! Way too big for Joe, SSAM, or any
1/6th scale figure. Too bad, too. The sculpting of the boots is excellent.
