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Welcome
To My Frank Laird Parachute Page.
This is how I fitted the DML Frank Laird parachute
to my figure, I made this page after I could not find out anywhere any
information on how it is worn. So hopefully this information may help someone
with their models. What confused me about the assembly of this parachute, was
that I thought that it fitted the same as the Jeb one. But this is a totally
different parachute, with how it is worn. Because this parachute is put on by
placing the arms through the loops, and then done up with the centre lock, not
placed over the head.
This tutorial also works with
the new Ricky Foster figure from DiD.
Update
Laird Parachute Lock Repair
This section came about after I had bought the
Soldat 3 DML figure, and I tried to fit the centre lock for the parachute
together. As I had put a lot of the equipment on the figure under the oversmock,
I found that the little pips inside the parachute centre lock would not hold the
strap ends in place. Also as I had tried to tighten up the top part of the lock,
the metal screw tore out the thread inside the lower part.
To say this annoyed me is an understatement, as I now had an expensive model
that I could not use the parachute with. As the lock would not hold the straps
in place, even if I tried to use it off the figure. So after leaving the figure
for a few days, I decided to have a look at altering the base of the lock, so
that it could hold the parachute end straps in place.
What I had to do was firstly cut off the little
pips, and then drill 4 small holes in their place. I the got some plastic rod I
had and cut off a small length of it to make the four pegs as shown below. Once
I had these I applied some heat to one end of the rod with a lighter, and when
it was soft I pushed it onto my workbench. This gave me a flattened end as shown
on the right, which I did for all four of the pegs.
Update: To make the plastic
pegs I used some plastic sprue which I stretched over a flame. This is explained
better with my Lift Dots
Repair page.
One they had cooled down, I then pushed them carefully through the holes I had
made in the bottom part of the parachute lock, as shown on the right.
I then pushed the peg back through a little bit, and placed some superglue on
the flattened ends, and pushed the end back against the lock to dry.
Again I did this for all four of the pegs, so that they are set in position to
hold the parachute ends in place.
When I was certain that the pegs and glue had dried, I cut them down so that I
could still close the top part of the lock onto the bottom half.
This is shown
in the picture below left, be careful cutting them down to size. Because if you
go too far down, you will not be able get it to hold the strap in place. The
second picture below centre shows the parachute end straps placed onto the pegs,
to test that the straps fit onto the pegs. The final picture below right shows
the top screwed onto the bottom half of the lock, trapping the strap ends in
place.
 This picture right shows the reverse of the
assembled lock, with the flattened ends of the pegs glued in place. I am going
to sand this down a bit, so the lock sits flatter against the uniform.
But be
careful doing this, as it can weaken the pegs if they are sanded down too much.
I have had to do this to two of my DML parachutes now (Soldat 3 and Frank
Laird), and I am not very impressed with the way that these are made.
Considering that these locks are made in metal by bbi. I have both the German
and RAF parachutes, and I have never had this problem with those parts. So I
cannot understand why DML cannot make them the same way?
Mae West Vest update 
Note: If you are using a Mae
West vest with the paratrooper figure, this goes on before the parachute and the
parachute harness straps go over the top of the Mae West vest.
I apologise for not adding this section before, but I was
informed incorrectly that the vest went over the parachute. And after it was
explained to me how the equipment was worn, I have had to change my figure
around. So that the Mae West vest is now under the parachute harness.
Plus I have also learnt from fellow modellers, that the straps
did indeed go over the vest. Because thinking of it after it had been explained
to me, you would want to ditch the rapidly waterlogging parachute as fast as you
can before it dragged you under. And at the same time try to inflate the vest as
well to try to keep you afloat, plus try to ditch all the heavy equipment that
you were carrying.
Parachute Assembly Instructions
 
The pictures above the first stages of the
assembly of the parachute on to the figure. Step 1
is the figure without the parachute, the Step 2
shows the arm placed through the right hand side loop, so it is just hanging on
the shoulder, the Step 3 shows the other arm
placed through the other loop.
Reserve Parachute Attachment Update
After adding the updates for the Jeb and Corbin
parachutes, I was wondering about an update for this figure's parachute.
Although with this figure I have not shown a reserve parachute fitted, I did
actually use one but I had not yet got around to updating these pictures.
The reserve parachute clips fit the same as the
other chutes onto the harness loops as shown on the right
A, and the belly band goes through the back of the reserve
parachute to hold it in place. Then it goes across as shown in the rest of the
tutorial, and then connects up with the buckle on the side. In the same picture
I have marked B, this is to show that the
rear reserve parachute loops have to go either side of the centre lock.
The information as supplied in this topic on the
Sixth Army Forum about how to connect a reserve parachute to a harness -
Hooking up
a parachute Made me look at the errors in my tutorial here, and it was in
that topic, that I got to thinking about this type of parachute with a reserve
fitted to it.
A very helpful piece of information in that post
came from USMCPrice, and I have copied it below. As I feel it explains
this much better than I ever could, about the reasons for connecting the reserve
chute to the belly band.
The pictures above show the belly band going through the spare
parachute loops and what it looks like finished.
He also explained in detail
about why the reserve chute is connected to the belly band.
I've never jumped a T5 but I have jumped a T7,
T10 and MC1-1 and they are all rigged with the belly band through loops on the
back of the reserve. I am sure the T5 would have had to be rigged this way also
because the two hooks connecting the reserve to the main parachute harness would
not be sufficiently strong to support the weight of the jumper and his
equipment. When the reserve is deployed it suspends the jumper from his abdomen,
belly up with his body parallel to the deck, without the belly band that's a lot
of weight and force placed upon two small hooks.
The pictures above show
Step 4, this is where the parachute has been pulled up onto the
shoulders, so the whole parachute hangs down the back including the seat strap.
Step 5 shows the belly band pulled around so
that it traps the straps underneath it. Note:
make sure the loop hangs down, as the leg straps go through this.
Step 6 shows the belly band brought over and
threaded through the buckle, again trapping the straps underneath on this side.
Note: See the update about the fitting of
the reserve chute above, as the strap has to go through the loops on the back of
the reserve.
 Step
7 shows the belly band done up and the top pair of straps brought
forward, the next picture just shows the parachute as it looks from behind.
Step 8 shows the rear leg straps brought
through between the legs, then threaded
through the loops I mentioned earlier.
Step 9 shows the straps connected and
adjusted to fit on the shoulders, with that the parachute is fitted to the
figure. The picture right, shows a close up of the lock assembly, plus the
buckle for the straps adjustment.
Note: I had a
problem with this parachute and the centre lock as made by DML, because when I
assembled my British para figure, it uses the same plastic lock for the straps.
And as soon as you put any of the straps under pressure, they keep coming
undone. Which will gradually wear out the little pips that are supposed to hold
the metal ends in place. Plus the top part of the lock with the metal thread,
will also eventually strip out the plastic thread in the hole on the bottom half
of the lock. Which will leave you the only choices of either glueing the parts
together, or doing as I did with my parachute lock at the top of the page.
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