#4968778
I just started my own slime blower build using JAnderson392's posted drawings to make my cuts, and looking very closely at KoCo's and gEkX's build threads.
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Last night the wife and I were frame by framin' the movie deciding how we're going to build the vest; And I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
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I can't quite tell from the movie if this black shape is plastic, metal or fabric, (But I'm leaning towards fabric), and I haven't seen it mentioned before on any plans or build threads.

Looking at gEkX's build thread I can he's using a wide back strap around the bottom of the vest, but I can't tell what it's attached to. Looking at this shot of Ernie it looks like the the top circle is the strap clearly shown in gEkX's thread, but I can't tell it it's attached to the ALICE frame, or just wrapping around the vest to hold it shut.... And I still can't account for what the bottom circle is. Is it another strap attached to the belt?
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#4968817
From what I can tell, at least from the photos you provided, it looks like the piece is possibly entirely made of cloth with a wood insert to give the cloth and screws something to hold on to as well as give a bit of shape to confuse the hell out of us. It wraps around the pack frame at the same place the normal strap attachment points would be, so you can't use them, possibly because of a malfunction risk in the move. They could've even attached that cloth to the lower belt to increase holding strength from the frame itself to the belt, or it served the same purpose as the kidney pads. I'd say go to the end of the movie as they get Ray up from being slimed and see if there's any way to see what's actually going on with that piece and where it goes.

EDIT: Something I just thought of after I posted this. It's entirely possible that the malfunction protection is the correct reason it's there just simply because there's no evidence of any moving strap attachment ring on the slime blower pack frame. They either cut the ring away by itself or cut off the ring and the attachment point and wanted to limit the edges the hose coming from that part of the blower interacted with. The cloth may only wrap around that section and attach to the back side of the part of the frame. I will try to explain myself better if asked as I'm not very good at explaining things and I haven't really had the time or money to build a pack or slime blower and I could just be talking out my ass.
#4968823
I think you're on to something when you say its an additional strap point for the belt BUT.....

I've framed by framed every shot with a slime blower in it more than once, but I still don't have a definitive answer. the entire belt assembly is already off at the beginning of the shot where they help Ray up.

And to add to the confusion: I noticed Dan Aykroyd just isn't wearing that belt in more than one shot. You can clearly seeing it hanging down his side in the wide shot where he's sliming the inside of the Statue of Liberty.... And yet that mystery black shape still appears to be under tension, making me wonder if its just attached to the vest, or maybe his flight suit. It's not easy to see, because he still has his repelling belt on, but I'm not sure if he ever has his ALICE belt strapped

I'm a 36 waist, and I have to wear the belt strap on my proton pack most of the way out. If they added more padding to the kidney pad that problem would just get worse. ...... I'll just come out and say it... I don't think Mr. Aykroyd was a 36 in 1989....
#4968935
Yea, I have to agree with you on that, he probably wasn't back then. And, upon watching just the slimeing of Lady Liberty scene, that strap is on both sides of the the pack frame, so it's possible that I'm wrong that it's for hose protection. It's possible that it's the attachment point for the lower part of the harness, that the 'd-rings' the pack frame had built into it were too small for the belt they were going to use and they removed them, and using the method you discovered, attached the belt to either side of the frame and possibly to the center strip of metal. I've re watched where they pick Ray up off the floor several times and can't see if that bottom belt is attached to the center bar or not. If you're curious about how I noticed that it was attached to the right side of the frame, if you look at Ray's slime blower in the same frame as your second picture, you can see the lower bolt and washer with the same black fabric at the same angle as the clearly visible left side. The hose coming from the right side obscures the upper bolt and washer.

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