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It's a TM hero helmet that I built, so it exceeds all 501st requirements. The original mic tips have been replaced though. Some people just like a really low brow.

Another Sha Sha build thread! I know how meticulous you are, sister, so I expect great things from this! If I could make one small suggestion, it would be to list your height in the main post. The reasoning for this is that you have become one of the "in house experts" on making armor fit perfectly on smaller frames, and I'm sure that future FO TKs will appreciate your work. I'm sure this will be just as well built as your OT TK, and I can already see another set of Centurion level armor in your future!

Continuing the shoulder bell strapping these will attach the bells to the chest I measured about 5 inches of 1 inch elastic strapping and folded over over about 1 1/8 inch and sewed to give it some extra strength. I than stitched in the sewed in the male end of the sew in snaps that I purchased. I placed the strapping to be about 1 inch from the center of the snap to the edge of the bell Than glued in place with E6000 and magnets.

So moving on to the lenses, I ordered the TrooperBay lenses and installed per the instructions. Between the asymmetry of the helmet and my trimming the eyes (probably more to blame here, lol), there were some pretty noticeable gaps that I didn't like, mostly along the tops of the eyes. I did want some gap to prevent fogging but not like what I got. So I sat down with some T-Nuts (I can't remember which build thread I got the idea from, sorry in advance!), cut away some Plastidip circles, and glued them in place. I may add a third T-Nut to the bottoms of the eyes for retention's sake, but I haven't decided yet. Then I cut the lens in half to get two pieces and trimmed those to the eye shapes I wanted. Then I drilled the holes one at a time (drilled one hole, installed, and then marked for the second hole) to ensure a more precise fit and attached the lens to the helmet with socket cap screws and neoprene washers. The washers do a great job from keeping the screws from backing out. So I effectively closed the gaps at the top of the eye like I wanted but also allowed some gap in the bottom "corner" to allow hot air to vent up and out: The left lens isn't done yet. I had to Dremel some height off of one of the T-Nuts and it got too hot and popped off the helmet. Oops! So I peeled the E6000 off and now it's reglued and curing again. Once I get done with that lens, I'll clean the inside of the faceplate portion from all of the new dust, polish the lenses, cover the T-Nuts and surrounding area with some Plastidip, and glue the frown mesh in. Then it will be time for reassembly, and padding & electronics installation. Parts list from this post: TrooperBay Lenses T-Nuts - M4-.7 Socket Cap Screws (Black) - M4-.7 x 6mm Neoprene Washers - 5/32"

Winning is fun! I'll have your winnings in tomorrow's mail, Dave. Thanks for playing.

The thread may be dead but I saved the images. I'm working to get them into the Gallery.

Who likes cracked shoulder straps? No one? So let's reinforce some shoulder straps before installing them, shall we? A strip of stainless steel, 3/4" wide is measured for the strap first. One package is enough for two shoulder straps. e6000 glue applied to the ridges. Then the strip is cut to length and bent a little to conform to the shape of the shoulder strap. It's set on the e6000, and then covered with even more e6000. I cover that with some super thin white styrene. Here you can see how thin and flexible it is. Then all that's left is to sandwich things together really well with a mess of clamps and magnets, and voila! Reinforced shoulder strap that should be able to take an extreme beating.

I got my number!!!!!!!! TK-42715 Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

It's that time again! I bought a Standard Line Anovos TFA helmet a while back, and had been thinking of pulling the trigger on a KB FOTK kit for a while when I happened upon a garrison friend selling a KB kit and a bunch of accessories (blaster, pistol), so I jumped on it. I knew that it would be a much more challenging build for a short and slim trooper (I am 5' 3", 125 lbs) than the OTTK due to all of the molded-in details that I can't just chop off, so I let it sit in the box for quite a while, and instead did a lot of research, primarily studying Ruthar's and Anzo's fantastic KB build threads. I finally had some free time a few evenings ago and decided to stop procrastinating and just jump in. The first thing I did was take inventory of all the armor bits in the box. (Yo dawg, I heard you like boxes...): Everything looked complete, except my TD has the same trimming error that Anzo's did, where they accidentally cut out a big semicircular chunk of the top of the TD. I decided to just not worry about it, as I'm thinking of ordering the new KB resin TD anyway. Somehow having everything laid out like this actually made the build seem *less* intimidating than when it was all sitting in the box. I guess just seeing everything together makes me realize it really is a finite amount of work. Like my OTTK, I decided to start with the biceps and forearms. It actually took me a few minutes of staring at EIB and Centurion applications to make sure I'd picked the proper 4 pieces for the forearm, but eventually I rough trimmed and taped everything together for a test fit. Lolz. Somehow it looks semi-reasonable in photos, but in person, the bicep is RIDICULOUSLY large. Like...I could fit both my arms in it at once. I am not going to do any resizing until I have my gaskets, but it's clear I'm going to have to do some major work. The good thing about the overlap construction for the inner bicep seam is that it gives me quite a bit of flexibility in terms of resizing. My plan is to take the heat gun to the bicep pieces to give them a much tighter radius (I used the heat gun a ton with great success in my OTTK build), then do a lot of trimming from the rear piece to preserve the details in the front piece. The one thing I will need to be careful of is that the outer and inner seams don't get too asymmetric, as I'll be taking most/all off the rear piece. I'm also planning on trimming for length from the top, as the cut should be hidden by the shoulder bell. For the forearms, I don't think I'll be able to do much in the realm of resizing for width, but they're not as wide or long as I was fearing; I should be able to take my helmet off and on myself, especially if I add the 'Finn notch.' Also, the good thing about having tiny hands is that I'll be able to completely glue the forearm closed, instead of having to leave the wrist end unglued like most builders. I bought the kit with a set of FN gaskets that proved to be much much too large, so I have a set of Soulart's gaskets in order. But just for kicks, I tried the elbow gasket on with the bicep and forearm, and now I know how NASA astronauts feel in their super bulky space suits. Question for other FOTK builders - is it a mistake to do the build with E-6000? With the number of times I pried apart and reglued my OTTK parts, I'm nervous about using weld-on or whatever more permanent glues most folks use. Any thoughts? That's it for now! Hope to have more progress soon.

Hello everyone, So I have been an official member of the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club (MMCC #2001) since January 31st 2018. I live in Atlanta and have attended almost every DragonCon since the very first DragonCon in 1987. I have always wanted to do a TK build but never made the leap until now. I chose the RO TK because I loved the film and I prefer the look of the ROTKs. That said, this is my build thread and welcome all the suggestions and recommendations you guys can provide. White Armor is new to me and yes I have built a Mando but with mando armor, we have a lot of leeway in how we build our kits. This is not the case with a TK build and my end goal is level 3 501st, centurion here on FISD. For an idea of what I have done so far, here is my Mando kit form the Atlanta 2018 Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. If you are interested in the Mando build here is the link: http://mandalorianmercs.org/forum/index.php?topic=144162.0 And so it begins… Today I placed my order for a Jimmiroquai full kit (Armor, helmet, undersuit) and paid 40% down. I will most likely make some modifications that have been posted here with the armor but I need to see what I am getting into first. So, until the armor arrives, I cannot say what level of modification I will be doing. Recommendations and suggestions welcome. Other items I am sure I need are: Boots- considering Imperial Boots T7 (recommendations and suggestions needed????) I prefer comfortable boots, Im old and my feet hurt. Gloves- considering Imperial Boots Anthology Trooper Gloves (recommendations and suggestions needed????) E11 Blaster- Considering the S&T Full /Metal E11 Sterling. I plan on modifying the scope with this 1943 M38 replica. I know that the primary scope used in RO is the 1942 variant but I cannot find a metal replica of it and from what I have read, there were some 1943s used in RO. I do not want a resin replica and finding an actual one is way too expensive. Perhaps I can modify this replica to look like the 1943 version. I will also need to remove the scope rail off this E11 and fabricate a new one. I will need to evaluate the flashlight, rail, counter, and power cells to determine what is correct and what needs to be replaced or modified. I will also need to add new T-tracks I think. I did a cost comparison and buying all the parts and a base sterling vs buying this E11 replica and modifying it with parts and going this route will save me about 200.00; however I am interested in what you guys have to say about this. I already have helmet fans but I am also considering a voice changer system, recommendations welcome. So for you guys who have built this kit, please chime in. Also, what type of paint and clear cote did you guys use? I can use rattle cans, airbrush, and automotive paints and I am outfitted for all but I need to hear from you all to make a decision. So that is my plan as of now. I look forward to y’alls comments.

First half of mimic armor came in today Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Most abs now is UV protected. I to wonder what shipping will cost. Any OT shoppers want to share how much you paid for shipping?

How much did people pay for the OT Stormtrooper armor kit? I figure it'll be comparable...

"UV protected white plastic"... wonder if that means ABS paste is going to show sooner. I don't recall my ANH TK saying that in the spec sheet.

Ahh crap, I keep forgetting about that extra expense. I hope it isn’t a ton and as you may have guessed already I haven’t heard anything.

Anyone heard what shipping is going to run?

Hey Randy - thanks for all the leg work. Since this is pretty much the same as the ICN, I presume we should make the same changes to that one as well?

Moin Martin, bist du vllt in dem öffentlichen deutschen Forum aktiv (www.501.de). Dort findet du in der Kategorie "Dauerangebote" Holster, Stoffgürtel und auch Lüfter. Ich kann Danny aber nur zustimmen. Selbst machen geht meistens auch. Letzten Dezember hatte ich auch mal eine kleine Anleitung zum Lüfterbau gemacht (post #12 in dem link). Vllt hilft dir das ja weiter. http://www.501st.de/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=2940&pid=37003#post_37003 Gruß Ralf

Hahaha no pressure! Thanks for the suggestion - edited the thread title as well as put my height/weight info. I'll probably end up going for EIB, but I may not go for Centurion due to the requirement of rubber gaskets. But never say never.

Congratulations! Nice work!

Congrats, you look great! Welcome to the legion! Your build thread and results (+ Cricket's thread) makes me so excited to get started on mine when my BBB arrives - we're just about the exact same height and weight

Congrats!

Made some hooks for the biceps this past weekend. These will hook onto the shoulder bell strap and prevent the biceps from sliding down I started with some left over forearm/bicep coverstrips and cut them to 2 1/2 inches in length I than rounded one end and measured 1/2 from the rounded end to bend the ABS to create my hook. Placed my sealing iron slightly above the mark and held in place until it was heated just enough (20-30 seconds) Than I glued in place. Note the placement as these are centered on the biceps. Height may very based on body to body

Kidney to Abs strapping. After a fitment check I measured 3 1/2 inches of black 1 inch elastic I than folded this over 3/4 of an inch and sewed I then centered my snap rivet and hammered it together (sorry no pictures taken here) I than glued it in place. The placement was done by eyeball. I wanted to give it enough to stretch to and pull the Abs and kidney together without being overly tight. E6000 in and clamped in place and allowed to dry.

I added some mesh behind my bucket teeth. Found this screen repair kit at Home Depot. It has adhesive already coated on the back that you heat with a hair dryer or heat gun and it sticks. I lined it up and traced over where I wanted it to sit After heat gun

Cheers! No rush mate Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Yeey have fun with the build, still waiting on KB to ship mine so this build will be nice distraction (or quite possible make me more impatient to get it)

I'm declaring the helmet finished... Today I added some more clear gloss, the harness strapping and the tusks to this bucket. This post is pic heavy so I'll let those do the talking, I found it hard to get shots in good light as it's night now and I don't have natural light, so the gunmetal has a slightly blueish tint to it in these pics... A close up showing the lens - I used an old tinted, clear lampshade for the lens itself, then backed it with some mesh from computer parts, to block out the eyes. For the paint scheme, I referenced a LOT from online, as well as the Vader CRLs. The colours used are gloss gunmetal and gloss black. I sprayed the gunmetal all over, then after about 5 days I masked it off with blue painters tape to spray the black. This took about an hour to mask up, and once the black was painted, fixed up parts by touching up with a small brush... Similar to the screen buckets, the helmet uses a cylinder on top, in this case a pvc pipe, and has been attached to the mask with epoxy. The inside of the helmet has the corresponding housing to take it. No magnets used in this version. To keep the helmet from swinging side to side, thick foam padding is e6000'd to the inside of the helmet. Also took inspiration from the screen-used buckets with the harness strapping system...in this case I used 20mm nylon. Inside of that bucket has a thin layer of rondo (fibre resin and bondo mix), and has also been fibreglassed with fibre sheets. Then platidipped a gunmetal colour... It seemed to me that getting a front-on shot seemed to distort the helmet proportions when going up close with my camera, so I found that taking it from a bit of a distance seems to keep the helmet in proportion within the shot...the neck is based on a ROTS mask, however the build is OT-inspired. I'm keeping the larger, flared neck for now until I can do proper fitting tests with the full armour. It can always be reshaped as needed... Left side... And right... Close up of chin and mouth grill. The mouth also has a mesh backing behind the grill. I'd prefer not to do that for the chin one for now, pending how visible the wearer is, in order to keep as much ventilation available...took me a while to decide what colour the grills would be - silver or black, I keep seeing versions of both. In the end, settled on black for both, referencing the CRL as well as it seeming to sit better within the look of the rest of the bucket; silver looked to stand out too much, especially the mouth... Eye lens up close - the grill screen is pretty much not visible when worn. However I've seen this grill used in Vader helmets as well so went with it... Another bit that took a while for me to determine through research was the colours around the mouth piece, which in the end has been painted black like the screen helmets... Back of helmet... That's all for now, I need to finish one leg on the undersuit, then on to fitting it and adjusting from there...

Looking great. Best of luck on approvals!

Gotcha. Will see how it goes as is I think, and I'll know what to do if it needs altering! Cheers mate Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Superb, Tom. Excellent work. I think we’ll be seeing you at EI very soon. :-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking pretty good but I suspect that sniper knee is going to need addressing as the gap at the bottom shouldn’t be there.

As Brien mentioned, the OT TKs were right at the 5'10 mark, but I have seen Troopers ranging from 5' 4" to 6' 6" and from 100 lbs. to over 300. Some kits are designed for larger Troopers, (like AM) but can be effectively cut down to size. (I am 5'10 / 155 and my AM armor fits perfectly). Whatever size you are, we can help you reach your goal of joining the 501st and get you out there trooping! Just remember that becoming a TK will take some time... consider this a marathon, and not a sprint. "Hurry up and wait" is a phrase we sort of live by, but there are things you can do in the meantime that will help you get prepared for your BBB day. I suggest getting all the supplies you will need in order before your kit arrives. I have a list here that may help: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31404-supply-list-for-your-tk-build/ If you are looking to save some money, you can order a blaster kit from Doopydoos: http://www.doopydoos.com/stormtrooper-e-11-complete-anh-e-11-blaster-kit-offer-2685-p.asp The thing with them is that it may take 6-8 weeks to arrive, and their communication is awful, but you will receive it, and it can be built to Centurion level, especially with one of Tino's (T-Jay) awesome E-11 finishing kits, which will take it way beyond the "next level" of accuracy. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28444-fs-completion-sets-for-e-11-resin-kits-with-worldwide-tracked-shipping-and-paypal/ You can also purchase your undersuit, boots and such beforehand. If you need any sources for these just PM me.

Think that's all the shots! I've included the shots for Centurion too as I'll be going for that. Let me know if anything needs changing, if any shots are missing, or if any shots need retaking. Cheers troops! Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

Gloves, forearms (wrist end), should bridges (front), boots Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

FISD went down yesterday (along with IOC) and the admins did a repair of the database to get us back up. Many people are reporting that they cannot post via the web, but they can via Tapatalk. @Locitus and @Darth Aloha are on it and are troubleshooting. We tried clearing the cache and running diagnostics, but so far no smoking gun. Our apologies while this is ongoing.

Very sorry to hear about the broken parts in your BBB. There must have been some real rough treatment to that box during shipping process. Keeping fingers crossed for the replacements from RS now. For the gloves you could contact @justjoseph63 and check out his hand plates... Good progress on your blaster build. Already loving your trigger group with the aluminum inlays. Regarding the LOCK/FREE-screw in the grip: the screw in the completion set has the correct shape and size. The original screws are a bit smaller than the opening in the grip. Here is a link to the Blaster Reference. In the first posting you can find the "PDF Photo Compendium" full of reference pictures to refer to. Hope this helps.

Amazing job, Jeremy. Those gaps at the wrists look spot on now!! Otherwise, looks like you’re good to go!! Btw, love the lid. Frown paint looks in keeping with many stunt helmets. Looks spot on.

For those who are on Facebook and/or can figure out a way to get the footage over here independent of Facebook, here is some cool new footage -----------

All's good brother, it's just a suggestion. Great job and congrats again

That refers to the thickness of the ABS sheets used to pull the vacuum formed pieces. Thicker plastic is more durable but less flexible (in theory) and may also cause less detail in the pulls (as it is harder to suck the air out). I believe OT Stormtroopers were 5'10"ish. Height doesn't really matter in the 501st (I'm a little short for a stormtrooper, myself) but if you are taller/shorter than the "ideal" height it just means more work to get the armor to fit you right.

Thanks for all of the answers again. I'm guessing the difference in ABS 0.9 and 0.125 is the width of the armor? Or is it how the ABS is made? Also was there a standard official size for real Stormtroopers? I only keep thinking of the scene when Luke goes to release Leia from cell 2187 and her comments. I know we can all be a Stormtrooper since it's not real but I certainly wouldn't look intimidating as a short Vader! And looking at other troops (like the Deathtrooper) they were definitely large. But again, I'm not worried, I'm just wondering what the real specs were supposed to be. (Is there a page for that?) I have cancelled my eBay order as of now, thanks to all of your advice and answers. I will be contacting someone here (as suggested) for armor in the near future.

I just got assigned my number! I am TK-42715! Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Looking good so far! Great progress! For closing up the gap on the side. It looks like you have a lot of return edge on the pcs. Trimming them down a bit doesn't sound like much but you would be surprised. The gap on thigh: if you don't need to cut semi-circle notch in raised edge, I would take apart and reglue. It looks like coverstrip shifted anyway. Repainting frown: you should be nice and clean to repaint over but from the close up those teeth could use some cleaning of the flash in corners. Id remove mesh and clean them up with files if your going this far. The backplate on Anovos is cursed by that weird flare. I would trim dowm return edge on a taper to nothing at edge and draw a bath for it. We have a few members with cracks in that one spot. Flattening them down will help with comfort also. Keep up the great job. I follow but don't post often on all the treads. You're getting there!

No backs? Bummer, though the far left box doesn't have a back. Good news is if you use rubber for the backs on the center boxes it will be canon

Anovos is a decent set of armor, but as mentioned by Brien, though, it is a little on the thin side. The wait times have been up to a year, and because of this and communication problems it has been removed from the "vetted" seller's list that Dan provided the link for. If it's not too late, I would cancel that order. Unfortunately, it would require quite a bit of work to get it up to 501st requirements, and it is definitely a "recast" (copy) of someone else's armor. This is not a good thing. Your best bet would be to save up a bit more money and use on of the sellers suggested on that thread. They are tried and true, are known as reputable vendors, and their kits are 100% approvable when built to our standards. In the eBay listing I noticed this quote from that seller: (on ABS)... and if it cracked or damaged, repairs are difficult, costly, and rarely return the plastic to its original state. Fiberglass, however, is not only more durable than ABS, but repairs to it can also be easily completed by almost anyone. This is simply not true. Unless you have some experience working with fiberglass, repairs are not nearly as easy as working with ABS. Is fiberglass more durable? Yes, in some ways, but a good set of ABS armor will last you you for many, many years, and repairs are pretty easy (and VERY inexpensive). Plus you will have a ton of information here and hundreds of fine folks who may have had the same problems to help you out.

Just talked to Anovos. The kits haven't arrived stateside yet. Was also told I should be part of the first batches when they ship out, though.

Hey Paul Don`t let the dream die, we are here to help Looking at the fit you would however be better of sending it back for a refund and spend it on a kit to build yourself and that would be a lot easier than trying to modify what you already have. Whatever you decide to to I wish you best of luck

Almost forgot, as I mentioned last week, we were going to attend Florida Supercon this year. While we would have loved to have our builds done and approved for the event, we've still got a bit to go, but we still made sure to have some fun with a TK theme. Presenting the Hollywood Troopers - Dr. Who Trooper, Negan Trooper and Braveheart Trooper! Needless to say, we were able to break in our TK boots, as well as work out some kinks with our bucket fitting, so it was a worthwhile effort. We had a blast walking around and got stopped for pictures more times than we could count. And we of course had to stop by our Squad's booth to say hello and pose for a few pictures.