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Beta. Man this armor is crisp. Lines are very clean. Looks a bit different than TFA type and more like TLJ. The negative, sorry Anovos. As been expected the yoke (back and shoulders) are separate from the inner chest. That means filler and painting work will be needed, if you want to hit the higher levels of approval. Unless they have some hidden spec on how to assemble, this area the outer chest will not cover this seam I'm afraid. The positive, the FISD has a few build threads to guide the way

Hey, Kinda feel like we haven't gotten a straight answer from you yet. Are you trying to use this bucket for a complete costume, or purely a WIP to learn from? installing electronics in the bucket is kinda expensive (Hearing system will most likely be permanent, batteries installed, fans fixed). The reason im asking (and I don't know your financial situation) but I would hate to see you put all this work and effort, plus money, into this build only to not be approved in it. you wont get approved as an OT TK with that bucket. If this is your hope, I am begging you to contact your GML and talk to them. If your doing it just because then carry on. But again I am just concerned because I see this as a build that you are hoping to get approved, and we have seen tons of people drop out of builds due to unforeseen cost. The AM bucket is huge and will fit great. Really hope this doesn't come off the wrong way. I think the work your doing is cool, just hoping that I can save you some money in the long run if your end game is 501st approval in that bucket

In regards to the pic it’s a no! (Unless I don’t get what you mean) that’s only were to start cutting from that end, you will have to see how much to cut on the elbow end too....when you have made the sizing you will probably have an overlap and you mark the center on the part that goes over and the part that goes under on one end (wrist) then repeat for the other end of the armor part (elbow) then draw a line between the marks on both pieces (outer/inner half). the reason for trimming the back is because the armor has ridges molded in on the front and you will want to Keep those in order to look like the Troopers seen on screen. You should aim for the same size cover strips front and back even though most look at you from the front the back need to look the part as well. On screen accurate biceps there are no ridges so on those you trim equally from both halves/sides. Taper means that the piece is bigger on one end and then gradualy gets smaller/narrower. The forearm as an example is bigger at the elbow and smaller at the wrist, you don’t want it to be a square block on your arm, same goes for all the limbs, simply put the armor should follow the contour of the body And return edge, I would leave some on the outside half of the forearm and lower bicep as it gives the armor an illusion of thickess. And by some I mean a few mm. I start with roughly 5-7 mm and then trim it down to my liking in terms of fit, look and comfort. Just don’t be to quick to shave all of it off before testing how you like it - only place you do right of the bat is the wrist and bottom of shins And - I would recommend checking out the approved Centurions in the advanced tactics section to see how it can look like when finished and it will help you on your build

Dont worry about the pics, touse are just for us to help you. Post as needed

I've been told to leave it a little wider than that, for what it's worth. Add a millimeter to each side for instance, after dividing the appropriate cover strip width in half.

mounting holes fore the body and the plastic grip next up/

Hi Brett, welcome back and thank you for your Centurion application, so let's get to it, shall we? CRL and Centurion Application Requirements: All submission photos are present. Your armor displays all the necessary elements to qualify for Centurion, so on behalf of the D.O. Staff, congratulations Trooper! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: Thank you for making the requested shoulder bell/drop box repairs, and great job on trimming down those cover strips! The only thing I would suggest is that at some point you round out the sharp corners on your kidney plate bottom cut outs. The reason being is that when you have an angle that sharp it can tend to split right at that point.. A round needle file used right in the corner should do the trick. Alternatively, you can glue a couple of ABS scraps behind the corners for strength at those areas. Now get out there and make the NEG proud as it's newest Centurion!

If you're using the 20mm cover strip on the front you should be trimming to 10mm per side so the cover strip lines up as close to ridge ledge as possible. The rear will only be fixed on one side and should be marked at the 12.5mm splitting the difference of the 25mm for the back. Sent from my VK815 using Tapatalk

Offset or wonkiness we like to call it is normal, though I would tilt it forward just a bit to help prevent it from digging into your knee cap when trooping.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_(1985_film)

Time for yet another round of "What have I gotten myself into this time?" courtesy of Sharkbait (ooh ha ha!). After numerous people telling me I should do a Phasma, what the character could (and should) have been (don't get me started on TLJ), how awesome Gwendoline Christie is, and that Make-A-Wish troop I don't stop talking about ever where our then-Squad Leader pulled every favor he ever had and then some to get the Make-A-Wish little girl her favorite character, Phasma (at the time there were about 10 Phasmas in the entire Legion), and I got to troop my TK along side, I finally decided I was going to do Phasma. Armor: KB Props, in hand Helmet: JImmi - in hand (Thorsson, in hand- being relegated to battle damage Phasma prop) Neck seal: Geeky Pink's, in hand Gaskets: Geeky Pink's, in hand Fingers: Jim (Starbuckcylon) (resin), in hand Belt: Jessica's, in hand Undersuit: TK undersuit/Easbay compression shirt and pants, in hand Cloth belt pouches: TrooperBay, in hand Boots: In hand, random black boots found on clearance for $12. Ended up using Calto lifted shoes. Inserts: 4.4''. I estimate with my barefoot height (5' 11''), the boot heel (1''), the inserts (4.4'') and the dome on the helmet (1''), I'll stand at about 6' 4''. Using lifted shoes for total lift, not inserts, but height still remains the same- about 6'4'' in costume. Cape: Jessica's, In hand Blaster: Heston3DSolutions F-11D in hand, chromed Chroming: Current plan is one of two professional chromers for the armor, I will do the prop helmet and blasters myself to save on costs. Extras: Heston 3DSolutions SE-44C, in hand and chromed and JJ Industries quicksilver baton. Are either from TFA? No. Do I care? Obviously not. Haha- hence "extras." Majority of my events are non-canon, the public doesn't know the difference, and that baton is amazing and I knew I wanted to play with it regardless. Toys and photo props and talking pieces. I won't use them at every troop, just once in a while for the fun of it, and obviously they will stay at home for the few canon troops we get. Also Heston had another 50% off sale and I had been toying with grabbing a SE-44C anyway, so just take my money already. Goal Timeline: Finish by the release of Episode IX - December 20, 2019, so I can troop that premiere (locally). Well, that didn't happen. New goal is Fresno State Men's Basketball Star Wars Night, January 4, 2020. Submitted for the third time 09/10/20. Third time's the charm, right?

And probably thin as hell..

I wasn’t happy with mine so I gave it a little heat on both sides and twisted and held until it cooled. Heat is one of things you have to be careful with though. You can also cut a little notch under the front so it sits central over the cover strip. Definately use as much securing as you can, tape, magnets, clamps As Tony stated it’s perfectly acceptable to be a little wonky

Thank you. I have just got an email welcoming me to the garrison. Clearly a glitch somewhere

Actually, I used E-6000, Rudi. As for the Plasti-dip, it stinks to high Heaven for a day or so, but then the odor disappears completely. E-6000 actually smells worse, but also vanishes in about 48 hours. I have bronchitis and it didn't affect me if that helps. I've only actually worn that bucket twice (I usually go HWT) but had no problems, as I have a good fan system.

A good example is the OT armor. The original FX kits had a single back plate and came with silver tape. When we updated the CRL, they changed their mold. RT also changed his helmet from flat ear bumps to raised ones.

Progress.... came out OK. Upset with the gap on the left Thigh at the butt joint. Also... my fears came true... I think I’m headed to shim city on the right thigh. Oddly, the left one seems to fit. Need to think this over before adding the cover strips. Is the left thigh just a larger mold??? Same issue with the right shin... Good thing there is an armor party Saturday. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Many of us get so carried away in building that we forget to take some photos (except Tony of course)

The CRL’s can be updated when new references become available they don’t just stop because armor makers make armor a certain way Many makers have made updates to their products over the years to accomodate the changes. Be great if they could get on the forums and post photos of their progress

It won`t

Doing good Craig

Slightly off topic but, there's a build thread going on where the builder trimmed a bit too much off one side of his OTTK waist ammo belt. He was concerned that now it wouldn't be accurate enough. I encouraged him to trim the other side to match and continue to assemble the belt. Would it have looked better at the canon specs? Maybe. Are we going to hold him back from the higher levels of approval? So long as it's close enough, no. That said, Jeff brought up a good point (which I tried not to go into on my last few posts), as much as we'd like the CRL to be as Canon accurate as possible that's not what the FISD is about. At this point let's implement what's obvious and as time goes on we can adjust the CRL as necessary.

Shouldn’t need to paint it, Paul. Assuming you used white abs paste. Have you checked out other ABS paste repairs in other threads? Got any pictures?

Simple, trim the other side to match the shorter side. Taper the corners to meet the cloth belt edge. Assemble

Awesome, thanks! Yeah I did the initial trims even leaving some of the rough cutaway areas until my first taped fittings, just to make sure. Can always take off more, but putting something back after you've removed it is definitely something I don't want to mess with.

Hey guys, let me pop in with my thoughts on this stuff. I think we have sufficiently proven that the all limb joints are overlap and not butt joint. As to which side is overlapped, it seems like common sense the at all joints should look closed from the outside like the biceps pic posted above. I do not think that it needs to be spelled out in the CRLs except to say that all joints should be overlap and can have a butt joint appearance. Regardless, the cover strip or "simulated" cover strip cover the entire joint so it would never bee seen anyway. As for the hole on the back plate. I moved mine and re-drilled it but I then add a backing piece of polystyrene that was painted black. again, I do not see a need to specify that it is a hole or a depression, as long as it has the desired look. I understand many of us feel the need to be as accurate as possible but until someone can put their hands on an actual screen used set of armor, we are stuck with pictures and there is just too many issues with looking at pictures and gleaning anything further than what has already been discussed here. For example, are the inside of the HOVI mics black or white? I have looked at a ton of images since this question was first posed and honestly, I have found images that support both but none can confirm that its not a trick of lighting. I honestly feel that unless its something obvious and/ or integral to the armor design (ex. cut out vents that are backed with a blue material on the helmet) we should leave well enough alone. Just my 2 cents.

Small pictureless update: - Both shoulder bridges are glued in place, the second one will reach the targeted cure time tonight. - All of the shin magnets are glued & cured inside the shin cover strips. Back to the magnet covers, even after three days they were still not cured under the magnet, basically they were curing at the sides and sealing the wet, excess glue inside. The recesses are slightly domed instead of flat, this may be contributing to the problem, so last night I drilled a small hole in the center of the back of the covers and reglued. I think this might take care of the issue. We'll see. I have a backup plan if not. In the meantime I started playing with the sniper knee plate and after a bit more trimming of the remaining return edge I have a plan of attack for attaching it, so I'll be taking care of that within the next day or two. Running To-Do List: Drill/install snaps in ab for belt Build Belt Glue on Shoulder Bridges Glue Shoulder Bridge elastic in place Glue in snap plates for Shoulder Bell to Shoulder Strap connection Glue in snap plates for Shoulder Bell to Bicep connection Reposition Bicep Hooks Reshape Shins & Back Plate at Shoulders Glue in Shin Magnets and Covers Final thigh test fit for upper thigh trimming (Front done, rears to be done) Glue in snap plates for Thigh Garter System Glue on Silicone Hand Plates Install Sniper Knee Plate () Submit Application/Pictures to GML Submit Member Application Hopefully be able to sign up for 9/28 troop () Make any necessary changes & submit EIB Application Make any necessary changes & submit Centurion Application  Start next build 

Congratulations Brett!

Lovely job, Brett.

Congratulations Brett! I'm done with this one.....Next!

Congratulations trooper

Never heard of it sorry

Thank you Joseph I will serve the Empire well, with unquestionable loyalty.

Yea, nope. Never seen this lol

Congratulations Jeff

Your photos look a lot like mine when I did my first torso piece fittings. I heard that WTF chest pieces are the smallest out of any of the armors so you may not be able to do this, but I was able to get away with *not* trimming the bottom of the chest armor. I'd make that a last resort because although the return edge on the chest is not required, I think it looks a lot better with it, and recreating it is tough. * Like Luc said, trim the neck even more to bring the entire chest up. You should be able to trim the chest shoulder tabs as well if they're overlapping the back tabs too much after you trim the neck. * Your back piece is sitting too low. Do you see how the tabs are below the tops of your shoulders? They should be above it. Anovos shoulder tabs on the back piece come bent at a pretty severe angle. Most people end up heat bending them to be straighter (so the back sits lower), but them being so bent should work in your favor because it will bring the back piece higher. On my WTF kit I heat bent the back shoulder tabs more to bring the back up. The back is also wide on you - you can heat bend it in to wrap around you more. * Once the back is higher, the overlap on the back and kidney will be less severe, but you'll likely still need to trim it smaller. Trim from the bottom because that cut will be hidden by the belt. * Not sure what you mean about the cod and butt connecting - they don't need to touch - they're connected by an elastic strap. * The back/kidney/butt should *not* overlap at all. They all sit below each other. The torso is a bit of a puzzle because of the way things need to align - as you shift pieces around it affects the rest of how the torso needs to fit together. If you haven't already, take a look at this section of my build thread: I had a lot of the same challenges you did.

I know this.... um........ DAMN IT CAPTAIN!, I'm an armorer not a movie buff

Their complication had a complication... (kudos if you know the reference without Googling it)

nope

What do you mean by "taper on the parts"? Sounds good. I guess I'll start with all return edge on forearm and bicep, leave the return edge on shoulder bell and then see how the whole arm looks together.

Congratulations trooper

Today, I decided to work on the scope. Last week my ordered Tramp Mini Scope arrived so I am very excited how and if it will work as expected! Scope First step was to use my beloved carving tools again. It is always a pleasure to see the results :-) . To have enough space to hold the electronics, I sew the scope in two pieces. The small piece will hold the lenses that came with the Tramp Mini scope and the body of the scope will contain the electronics of the mini scope. To hold the lenses in place I added green stuff to it. Drilling the body of the scope Adding the electronics Finally, I added a mini switch to the scope to be able to enable and disable the targeting for the blaster.

Nice progress, James. That’s an interesting project with the R1 lid. As as been said above, you’ll be better to use your new AM lid when it arrives due to the many differences between R1 lids and ANH. Note specifically the eyes, frown, vocoder, brow, ears to name a few. Chances are, the colour of both will vary, too. You R1 lid is still an interesting project though. Look forward to seeing how it turns out. :-)

Approval photos sent in! Let me know if you notice anything that could hold me back from basic/EIB/Centurion I'll have to make the bracket/slot system for the kidney->ab sides to make them stay put. Also maybe lower forearms a bit I think.

Well....when starting to try it on it become clear that more magnets were needed...alot more....I used all 50 in this project, who would have thought I’m going to be a walking magnetic field so Keep your phones and other devices well clear anyway...couldn’t find much quality reference as to how high up to mount it other than this and there’s no way I have that much space to the TD...I think I got the hight close enough though. Mine look more like the toy in terms of spacing or lack there of to the TD And a front pic I shorten the straps to lift the vest up some more and here’s how it turned out, I would like it to sit more flush to the armor but with strapping alone this is as good as I could get it.

Where did you get the black artillery vest? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In this tutorial I'll be making the right two vertical belt boxes functional at the same time maintaining visual and mounting requirements NOTE: This is obviously optional, not mandatory. NOTE: Also, I suggest performing this procedure only after the boxes are ready to mount on the belt (fully assembled except for attaching front and rear sections) prior to painting. Objective: To create a inner bracket system securing the front box cover to the rear back plates allowing the boxes to become functional. Steps: 1. Measure the distance between the front box inner wall to the back plate inner wall. Subtract the front and rear section plastic thickness. 2. Subtract the thickness of the Velcro 3. Create brackets. 3b. Bend brackets (Velcro mount) 4. Cut and adhere Velcro to brackets and backplate 5. Test fit 6. Glue brackets to inner side of front box 7. Final check Material: 2"x5" Cover strip material (or similar) 2"x2" White Industrial Strength Velcro (or similar) CA glue & Zap-A-Gap Tools: PPE (Safety gloves & glasses) Exacto knife Steel Ruler Head gun Wood (or similar) These are the boxes that will be reconfigured 1. Start by measuring the overall depth of the small and large, right, vertical boxes (with or without the back plate, it doesn't matter). NOTE: Depending how you trim your boxes your measurements may vary from mine. The depth of my boxes are a couple mm short of the once molded return edge. 1a. Subtract the plastic thickness of the front boxes and rear back plates NOTE: The plastic thickness is about 1mm, maybe 1.5mm Small box measured 18mm (the camera is a bit off in the image). Subtracting the plastic thickness I ended up with a 16mm distance between the front box inner and back plate inner walls. Large Box measured. 31mm. If you assembled the top portion of the box you'll need to take into account the plastic thickness in that area, which could be 2-3mm. Subtract the 1mm for the back plate and you have approximately 28mm distance between the front box inner and back plate walls. 2. Measure Velcro thickness - Using Velcro brand, 2" wide, White, Industrial Strength the thickness was found to be 4mm. 2a. After subtracting the Velcro thickness (4mm) the brackets will need to be the following lengths: Small box bracket - 12-13mm Large box bracket - 23-24mm 3. Cutting the Brackets - NOTE: Take the overall length of the bracket (above) and add 7-9mm. We are going to heat and bent this section to be used for the Velcro mount. Using cover strip material or something similar in strength, measure and cut the brackets accordingly. Width - 50mm or 2" Length - Small box bracket - 13mm Large box bracket - 24mm 3a. Cut into sections. 3b. Bend brackets. In this section It is best to have a vise or bench clamp you will need both hands free. Using a straight edge scribe the plastic once with a exacto knife at the bend line. Though not absolutely need it will assist in the bending. Place plastic between two pieces of wood (preferably with 90 degree corners) exposing the 7mm section. Leave around 1mm above the woods edge. Evenly heat the exposed section for about 10-20 seconds, or until pliable. Note: Have a third block of wood or something similar ready to do the bending. Using the 3rd block of wood fold over. Hold for about 10-20 seconds. You should be left with this. Measure to ensure the overall length is correct. Small box 4. Measure, cut and adhere Velcro to back plate and bend on bracket. Cut Velcro to 10mm in length. 4a. Adhere hook side of Velcro to back plate. When installing the Velcro on small box it will be placed at the top and bottom sections edges near the return edge. When installing on the large box place the Velcro about 2-3mm from the return edge on the rear back plate to account for the step in the front box. It should look similar to this when finished. 4b. Adhere loop side to Velcro to Bracket 5. Test fit before gluing Test fit the assemblies prior to gluing especially since you don't have any extra boxes in case you mess something up, right? Attach brackets to back plate via the Velcro. Small box Assemble Large box NOTE: Remember to take in account for the front box step. Success! Moving forward. 6. Gluing Remove back cover. Apply CA glue to bracket base. NOTE: Ensure the glue is only on the bracket mounting edge. Anywhere else you may inadvertently glue the back plate to the box. Carefully assemble Spray Zap-A-Gap around edges to accelerate the cure times in case glue may be spreading to areas it shouldn't. Small box Large box After dry remove back plate. At this point I suggest applying more glue to the mount area. Finished!