you do have to loosen the stitches, as i have said (and by loosen, i mean pull the seam out). my point all along is that you don't
have to cut or damage the suit in any way to do this.
and i'll reiterate too: if it doesn't bother you to cut or damage the suit, the end results are the same. i just keep repeating this because some people seem scared to do this mod and there's nothing to be afraid of if you are careful with it. if the concern is about the integrity of the suit, the suit needn't be damaged.
i can try to take a better picture this weekend ~ it's just too dim in here and i have a lousy camera.
i loosened the seam down to the top of the first back panel and tied it off. you can re-stitch it or glue, but the armor covers it, so i left it open (also makes it easier to take the figure apart again after reconstructing it). since i don't know yet what i intend to do with the suit, i wanted to keep it flexible.