Leaderboard

Always easier to build to the higher levels from the get go

Detachment Leader Executive Officer Pre Approval Forum CRL Updates 3D Section Costume Totals Legion News - Census, It's That Time Again Detachment Affiliation Hall of Fame Just For Laughs What's Your TKID? Trooping Trooping Opportunities Imperial Attaché Program EIB & Centurion: What do these terms mean? Advanced Tactics Awards EIB - The March To 1000 Merchandise Public Relations Follow FISD Like our stormtrooper namesakes, sometimes there is a lot of hurry up and wait. Then, after a pause, the big push. Not only are FO racer shirts in development, but also on the merch front we are closing in on getting a new order of coins made. Yup, I said coins and that includes a numbered gold version for all the EI's out there. Plus, patches are also starting to work though. Keep our fingers crossed and they'll be available by the start of the holiday season just in time for all those great gifts you want to give people, including yourself. CRL updates continue to move forward and we've updated the Stormtrooper Commander, ROTJ, and are getting close to launching The Last Jedi Phasma and also FN-2187. Pictures are progressing at a good clip and we hope to have both launched soon. The boards are humming along (thanks to an excellent server move by our webmasters) and it's still the best place to come and enjoy everything stormtrooper related. Do get some great pictures of your Halloween trooping - we can't wait to see what you guys and gals have been up to. Keep on trooping, With Unquestioned Loyalty Paul Hoeffer TK8020 “Daetrin” Detachment Leader Your command staff continue to busily work behind the scenes moving the Detachment towards 2018 goals and we plan to launch this final quarter of the year off on the right foot. As you may be aware, we are diving into a new shirt run with the highly anticipated First Order version of our beloved Detachment race shirt, so keep your eyes peeled for the run announcement and become part of FISD history while you can. Now shirt runs or any type of merch run just don’t happen without an able body to helm it, so I would like to thank on behalf of the membership Frank75139 (Frank) one of our attaches, for putting his hand up and volunteering to make this run a reality 3D Contributors award winner announcement It gives me great pleasure to announce our next award winner and our first recipient of the Silver star award for their contributions to our 3D community. Congratulations " Garbz" (Aaron) for the addition of some very useful trooping aids. These free to use files can be found here https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/202-3d-file-depository/ Keep up the outstanding work trooper Ongoing sales and Projects "Rules Update" To eliminate possible gray areas, and as always in the best interests of our membership, we have made some additions to this section of the forums. The new adds are common sense, in keeping with the values and fare play of the Detachment and will bring armour sales into alignment with the requirements already in place for the sale of other items. The new additions are highlighted in yellow and all rules are applicable to any and all items posted in this section Please Note now updated to include armor sales, all rules will apply. 1) This forum is for ongoing sales and project runs ONLY. If you have a one-off item please use the Personal Items For Sale are. 2) Sellers need to list the maker of their sale items if known. Misrepresenting the maker or source will result in barring the seller from the FISD Commissary. 3) Sellers need to include AT LEAST ONE photo of the item(s) for sale. 4) NO linking to Ebay auctions that are not your own. 5) The admin staff are NOT responsible for any transaction on this forum. We ARE here to mediate if there is a problem. 6) Keep your items current. If you have sold the item, please mark the thread as sold so people don't keep trying to buy an item that is not available. 7) NO WANT TO BUY armor/helmet threads. Sorry. 8) DO NOT hijack someone else's for sale thread. Start your own. 9) If you have negative comments about a seller or items being sold, do not hijack their thread. Start a new one of your own in the appropriate forum. 10) Merchandiseand or armor must be "in-hand" and ready to ship before accepting payment . Interest threads are allowed to determine selling order. 11) Sale items must be listed with an asking price. This does not exclude OBOs (Or Best Offer) and price negations, but no open priced sales. 12) No ongoing runs of armor/helmets are allowed in the imperial commissary. 13) Armor vendors must be on the vetted makers list and only the armorer can list their products. No agents 3rd party or shills. 14) Photos of armor kit or completed build are to be posted in the sales thread along with price and expected time frame for delivery. 15) Only armor relating directly to the Detachment can be advertised in this section, no costumes outside the FISD CRL's Please note when paying for any product and/or services: PayPal is always going to be a safe way to send any payment. However, you must understand NEVER to send any payment via the "Gift" option for any product, work or services. PayPal will not cover any transaction under the "Gift" option at all. Always use the "Goods and Services", option when sending payments so, that you have recourse through PayPal if any problems should arise during or after the transaction. NOTE: You have a 90 window with PayPal to file a dispute/claim. Never send cash and/or money orders. These can easily be lost and never the reach the proper person. Plus you have no record for any recourse. FISD Facebook group "Rules Update" The FISD Facebook groups are a great conduit back to our forums where all the juicy action and information takes place, therefore we would like to keep those groups for discussion on armour, builds and general advice directing potential new members back to our heartland, the forums. We hadn't formalized this before, but we are now making it official that "no" sales threads of any kind should be posted on the FISD FB groups. This information will be added to the Introduction section directing any sales threads back to the appropriate section of our official forums. In the event a sales thread is added, the poster will be asked via PM to remove said post, and directed to the appropriate sales. thread on our boards. Keep Trooping With Unquestioned Loyalty Andrew Franke TK-11469 "Sly11" Executive Officer The FISD is pleased to announce the addition of a new area in the Advanced Tactics forum dedicated to those ready to submit for basic 501st TK approval. This section will allow future Troopers the opportunity to submit photos of their completed build to be reviewed by the Staff, Imperial Attaches and others in preparation for forwarding it to their GML for approval. Any and all advice/suggestions given will be specific, constructive, helpful and respectful. Please note that this program will NOT take the place of your local GML, as Detachments are not chartered for costume approval and can not override a GMLs decision, but is instead a peer review program designed to help you look your best and offer guidance and positive feedback. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about your completed armor, weapons (if applicable), accessories, etc. and get accurate information from the experts here at the FISD.. the definitive home of TKs worldwide. For more information on this program, please visit the link here TKC - revisions have been discussed at length and updates have been made, you can find the updated CRL here ROTJ - revisions are being discussed and updates will be made very soon. Don't forget to check out the new 3D section, and please contribute where you can, also see the link at the bottom for the new Contributor award details Contributor Awards Main forum title: 3D Parts and Technical Sub topics: 3D Printer owners Your place to discuss what printer/s you own, recommendations, tech talk and the like, It’s a place to learn something new 3D CAD Designers Home of talented 3D cad designers, show off your 3D renders, of FISD related costume parts and accessories. Offer help and advice on programs, or offer to commission a piece for a fellow member 3D File Depository A home for 3D file sharing, Troopers helping Troopers is what this section is all about; yes a single location to keep any 3D files offered up by our extremely generous membership. This will be a 501st member’s only section and rules will apply to any usage of the content. I will be looking for content to get these new sections started so If you are interested in helping drive these new forums, then please send me a PM and let’s get the threads and the filament flowing. 3D printer heads will understand that last comment Here is a link to the New FISD 3D Contributor program. With Unquestioned Loyalty Andrew Franke TK-11469 "Sly11" Executive Officer According to the recent database (7/10/2018) there are 5620 Stormtroopers, which is 21.16% of all approved 501st costumes, here is the breakdown of those: Census, It's That Time Again 501st Legion Census begins on 1st October so if you haven't yet trooped in this census year (1st October 2017 - 30th September 2018) then you best get out there soon. Here's what the charter says about activity definitions: Operations Protocol/Membership An Active Member is defined as a member in good standing who meets the following requirements: Meets all 501st Membership Requirements (i.e. ownership of an approved costume, is over 18 years of age, etc). Has an approved membership record in the 501st Legion Membership Database Maintains active contact with their Garrison CO or GML. Active contact and participation will be confirmed during the annual Legion Census held each year during the month of October. Maintains contact information/membership record in the 501st Legion database either through their Garrison CO or GML. Participates in at least one Garrison or Legion activity per year while wearing an approved 501st costume owned by said member as recorded in the Legion Census. (One year is defined as the period from Legion Census to Legion Census). Examples of an activity include, but are not limited to conventions, charity events, or any activity designated as an official event by a coordinating administrative unit of the Legion. Members who serve in military branches are exempt from activity level requirements if their service renders them unable to meet these requirements. These Minimum Activity Level Requirements should be administered as justly and with as much common sense as possible. A member may retain active status, even if they do not meet all of the requirements listed above at the discretion of their unit Commanding Officer or Legion Command. Remember if you haven't trooped in this census year you may find yourself marked RESERVE, which will mean you will not be able to vote in the next election. From October 1st you can access the census here Note you must be registered on the main forums to participate in the census, register:here OK, it happens. You look at your Legion profile and it shows that your detachment affiliation to FISD is pending, or otherwise incorrect. Why does this happen, and what is detachment affiliation anyway, and what will FISD do about it? The answer is that detachment affiliation is only ever used once a year, and for one purpose. The only time the Legion ever uses it for anything is to determine who can run for DL and who can vote in detachment elections. That's it. Otherwise it is pretty much ignored and not used for anything. The process of validating detachment membership is cumbersome and time consuming because people use different email information between their Legion and detachment logins, and that there is no way to bulk update the rosters. For a small detachment it is not a big deal to do this manually, but for a detachment the size of FISD with hundreds and soon thousands of 501st members, it's impossible. Fortunately we have technical folk both on FISD and in the Legion web team. Once a year they take a feed from FISD's database and do a bulk update on the Legion database. This occurs right before the election cycle starts and is done once per year. Pro tips: 1) Ensure the email address you use on the Legion & FISD boards are the exact same. 2) Ensure that your FISD profile has the correct TKID. 3) If after the bulk update is complete and your profile is still not updated, and you are 100% sure your info is in sync between the two boards, then ask for to the Legion web team. They should get feedback on why this isn't working. 4) If all else fails, ping the FISD staff. Which basically means that we'll simply tell the 501st web team to bulk approve everyone To check detachment affiliation go to the 501st Mb database here then click Your Profile Data. Hope that answers everyone's questions! http://i.imgur.com/AsVHyev.jpg Every month it is really great privilege to read through and live vicariously through other Troopers field reports. This month join me in welcoming TK - 6306 Alan to the Stormtrooper Hall of Fame! With Unquestioned Loyalty Aaron Gibson TK99725 "Pyrates" Imperial Propaganda What does your TKID mean, if anything. This has come up a few times and it's always interesting to read through some of the reasons how a member came up with their TKID. You can have a read and comment in this thread Want Your Troop to be Included? Just a reminder if you would lie your troop added please post your troop report in the Field Training Exercises section here Those with troop logs please post a separate troop report as it is easier to link too. August - September ElstreeCon 2.0 More here By: Chris, "themaninthesuitcase", TK10911 MegaCon More here By: Mike, WhiteWalker, TK82666 Walk To End Alzheimers, Rutland Vermont More here By: Craig, CraigH, TK38046 RSPCA Happy Tails Collection Day More here By: Glen, gmrhodes13, TK85421 WASO A New Hope In Concert More here By: Glen, gmrhodes13, TK85421 Wedding Troop More here By: Glen, gmrhodes13, TK85421 RahCon More here By: Glen, gmrhodes13, TK85421 Video Ezy SOLO BluRay Pre-Release More here By: Glen, gmrhodes13, TK85421 Bendigo Bank Kids Carnival Promo More here By: Glen, gmrhodes13, TK85421 Retail Embargo Lift For most of the year we are under an embargo from LFL and can not attend retail locations unless prior approval has been given by them. At certain times of the year this embargo is lifted, generally around Blu-Ray / movie releases, May 4th and Force Friday, the recent correspondence from LFL outlines the lift of the embargo: "While there is currently a retail moratorium on character appearances in effect, it is being lifted for the week of September 24th - 30th for the SOLO Blu-Ray release and then again for the weeks between November 15th - December 31st to celebrate the holiday season. All fans, costumed or otherwise, can participate with retailers of their choice within these windows with the restriction that costumed appearances must not be used in the advertising for the event. Although these store appearances will be treated like an open invite, we’ll leave it to the fan groups to independently organize around these events as they see fit. LFL will not need to approve or coordinate these". "Please note that retail locations should not include restaurants, bars, or venues with no apparent reason to feature Star Wars characters. If the retail location does not stock Star Wars products you should NOT be attending." As always there are strict rules, please speak to your Garrison Commanding Officer, Squad Leader or if you have one Garrison Events Coordinator before organising any event. *REMEMBER* Always follow your garrison/squad's guidelines when in comes to organising Disney/LFL promotional troops, only command staff can deal direct with LFL. Serve proudly, ladies and gentlemen, and as Tim (Dark CMF) says: "Keep doing what it is that got you here"! Are you an approved TK that spends more time on the boards than the average Trooper? Do you enjoy using your knowledge to help out future and existing Troopers? If so, we would like to invite you to join the Imperial Attaché program! Members of the I.A. team are chosen to help out not only those here on the boards, but on a local level as well. Our aim is to have at least one in each and every Garrison, Squad and Outpost in the entire legion to be the eyes and ears of the FISD on a local level. A suggested level of EIB or above is preferred, as part of the duties include assisting those aiming for levels 2 and 3, but is not a requirement. Being active on the boards on a regular basis , welcoming new members and helping out where you can is, though. Some of the benefits: 1. Access to exclusive Attaché merch., including patches, etc. 2. Having the Imperial Attaché title under your name. 3. Being a part of the team that welcomes new and prospective members of the FISD. 4. Being the "go-to" person in your Garrison, Squad or Outpost. 5. Exclusive access to the Attaché HQ area, Imperial Propaganda Machine (newsletter) and merchandise discussions. We are currently in need of Attaches in many units, especially International Garrisons/Squads and Outposts. For more information on this program, please head here and if you should have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at any time. (Pretzel) For a complete list of Imperial Attaches, go here NEW ATTACHES! Please join me in welcoming our newest Imperial Attaches! 1. Ilan @TK-40996 reigns from the Belgian Garrison has decided to step up and serve. We are excited to see his continued contributions to the FISD and its members. 2. Jim @Rat hails from Portland Oregon at the Cloud City Garrison. He is knowledgeable of all things TK and we are happy to have him part of the team! Serve proudly, Gentlemen, and as Tim (Dark CMF) says: "Keep doing what it is that got you here"! IMPERIAL ATTACHE AWARD Imperial Attaché Award for those attaché's who have gone above and beyond [minimum 1 year of service] This newest recipient of this prestigious award is: Luc @lucnak of the Capital City Garrison! Luc has been on the frontlines from when I started here on the FISD and has been assisting new recruits for what seems to be forever. He is on the forefront giving great advice to all TK's and recently for the FO TK's We are honored to have him on our staff and is well deserving of this award. Please help me in congratulating him! You can find a list of prior recipients here ATTACHE MERCHANDISE Attaché Patch NOW AVAILABLE For those of you on the Imperial Attaché staff, I am pleased to announce that the official I.A. patches will soon be available... again! Here are the details.. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! Patches will be limited to TWO per person, and will only be sold to those who are current FISD Imperial Attaches. The cost will be $5.00 each for those in the U.S. and P.R. and $6.00 each for those outside the U.S Thank you to Joseph for taking the run on, you can find his thread here With Unquestioned Loyalty Preston Christman TK-91488 "Pretzel" Attaché Ambassador So what exactly are EIB (Expert Infantry Badge) and Centurion levels? These programs were designed for those who choose to take their armor above and beyond the minimum requirements for basic 501st Legion approval. It gives you the chance to show a level of dedication and pride that takes your armor closer to being as "screen accurate" as possible, without as much extra work as you may realize! It also works on giving a better look to the Legion as an entity, and you can bet others will take notice of your hard work. The 501st has a list of detailed requirements for Basic approval, (level 1), EIB, (level 2) and Centurion, (level 3) which can be found here in the Costume Reference Library, (CRL) http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:FISD_CRL Here are a few of the questions people may be wondering about: 1. "I am a (tall/short/heavy/thin) Trooper. Can I still apply? Of course! These programs are open and encouraged for all sizes of TKs, as long as the costume is correct and meets the guidelines. There are many specific build tutorials to every option, as well as a vast network of fellow TKs on the FISD to help you out and offer suggestions. 2. "How much extra will I have to pay for extra items"? The cost is actually quite reasonable, considering the few extra supplies you will need, which are listed in the requirements area. While it may run you a little more to implement these additions to your costume, they will go a long way to improving accuracy. All needed items can be found for sale on this thread: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/16-ongoing-sales-project-orders/ While blasters are not required for basic approval, for EIB and Centurion levels they are, and may need upgrades (also listed in the CRL). 3. "I haven't even got my kit yet, is it too early to start planning"? Actually, aiming for Centurion is easiest to do right out of the box. 4. "I have my basic TK approval, can I still get in these programs"? In a word... absolutely! 5. "Are there any "perks" to this extra work and cost"? Besides knowing that you have a great looking set of armor, the 501st and FISD believes you should be deservedly recognized for your achievement(s), and allows you to wear the appropriate embroidered "rocker" badge of rank (available for a very minimum cost) on your shirt, helmet bag, etc., as well as rank decals to put on your armor bin. You will also have access to select "challenge coin" runs, receive (free) a cool certificate for your new rank, and have your title posted below your name in your FISD signature. Plus, once you reach these levels, you will have the extra knowledge to help out those who are looking to apply as well. 6. "Is it hard to apply, and what happens then"? After basic approval, all you do is make sure your armor is up to the standards set forth in the CRL, post a thread with the required photos in the appropriate area (see below), and wait a bit for the D.O.s (Deployment Officers) to address it. (Hint: Studying other people's threads before you submit can be a GREAT help). These are also listed on the main page of the FISD site. While waiting for approval, you will get some comments from others who will offer suggestions and constructive advice to help you out. If you should need any changes, the DOs will let you know, so you can adjust accordingly. Don't be dismayed if you do need changes... it's all for your benefit! After you are approved for EIB, then you can submit for Centurion. EIB https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/19-request-expert-infantryman-status/ Centurion https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/72-request-centurion-status/ Just remember that the FISD is here to help you every step of the way with whatever other questions you may have, but if you can't seem to find what you are looking for in your research, just ask away here on the forums! With Unquestioned Loyalty Joseph Pedigo TK-10963 "justjoseph63" Deployment Officer This area lists all those who have gone above and beyond basic approval toward screen accuracy. FOR August - September the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate: Expert Infantry Badge Award: Nicole Anderton "FodiChan" TK 42715 EIB 852 Jim F. "Rat" TK 95970 EIB 853 Marcel Steffens "Darthmarses" TK 7332 EIB 854 Robert Rabey "Twosolitudes" TK 69103 EIB 855 Jim Lau "gijim" TK 28888 EIB 856 GREAT job on your approval, now on to Level 3! Request your free EIB certificate here Centurion Badge Award: http://www.whitearmor.net/eib/centurion_badge.png Dave Gimore "ATAUK" TK 73076 Centurion 411 Jeff "StrmTRPR85" TK 22706 Centurion 412 Brett Dellit ""Edgar Frogg" TK 92577 Centurion 413 Jose G. Garcia jr. "TK 71627" TK 71627 Centurion 414 Pawel Oortwijn "Xinx" TK 11131 Centurion 415 Outstanding job on reaching Centurion, Troopers! Request your free Centurion certificate here If you see any of these Troopers around your Garrison or Squad, be sure to congratulate them! As many of you are aware, the FISD is currently in our March to 1000 program. Our goal is to reach the one thousand mark of Troopers who have earned their Expert Infantry Badge, and although we are well on our way to this goal and have just passed the 850 mark! The amount of approved submissions is increasing (over 80 this year alone) thanks to the dedication of those willing to go the "extra mile" toward screen accuracy. Here is a brief description of EIB as written by Paul (Daetrin), our founder: "Expert Infantryman status is not required for members of this detachment. It should be viewed as an optional set of requirements for those who wish to take the accuracy of their costumes to the next level, and be recognized accordingly. We're a costuming club - think of it as an award for costuming excellence and you get the picture. The requirements will not replace or supersede 501st standards, but only serve as an inspiration for the level of accuracy that can be achieved. The standards are meant to be high but achievable..." Besides the added pride you will have in your armor, those reaching this level can purchase exclusive EIB gear (patches, decals, coins etc.) and get a free certificate for your accomplishment. If you are interested or would like more information about the program head here that will help. You can also contact myself "Pretzel" or any Imperial Attaché, and we will be more than happy to assist you! Interest Thread - FOTK version FISD Racing Shirt This one is something that many have been waiting for. This is an interest thread to gauge numbers, please post your interest in the thread here FISD Coffee Mugs - 2 Designs! $14 each + $5 shipping in the US + $10 shipped international Sales thread here Design One Design Two FISD Brothers in Arms Sticker 3.5 inch round stickers $4.00, shipping included Reference: Brothers in Arms Thread here paypal [email protected] Newsletter We are always on the look out for content, ideas, funny photos or even your TK adventure story so feel free to contact either Danny, Tim, Marcus, Preston or myself. With Unquestioned Loyalty Glen "Q" Rhodes TK85421 "gmrhodes13" PRO - Newsletter Facebook & Twitter With Unquestioned Loyalty Daniel Lauber TK55550 - "Ripper_L" PRO - Facebook Page Instagram With Unquestioned Loyalty Preston Christman TK-91488 "Pretzel" PRO - Instagram FISD Facebook Group With Unquestioned Loyalty Tim Waychoff TK-51878 "Dark CMF" PRO - Facebook Group With Unquestioned Loyalty Marcus Dohring TK-14057 “JODOKAST” PRO - Facebook Group Don't Forget We're on Facebook and Twitter! Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories! NEW Facebook Group: 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment (FISD) Official If you're on FB, stop by and say hi, ask questions, and share stories! Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st follow FISD on Twitter! Instagram: www.instagram.com/fisd501st On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff and the Imperial Propaganda Department

Congratulations trooper. Welcome aboard

If you want the paint to stay on then you will need to rough it first with some 400 sand paper, you can do this wet as the paper will last longer and not get clogged as quickly. Spray cans will work, I prefer automotive acrylic paint as it gives even thin coats which dries quickly. To be a little more cost effective you can buy automotive paint in larger cans 1, 2 and 4 litres, but you will need either a spray giun and compressor or have someone professionaly paint it for you.

Clean build ! Good job on that armor ! Goodluck with your EIB application!

Hey Joseph! Here you go

Ok thanks for the suggestion, I’ll make the change!

Quick update on shins. ... They're a pain! But there's progress. The right shin, which had too much of an overlap, I've managed to flatten the rear connection, and it fits perfectly. Forget the left one, it's dead to me. Obviously not true, but it needs more work. The rear connection needs more flattening, and it's shape needs to be more oval to fit the boot. Right now, it kind of slides around since it's too circular in shape (should be a bit more oval for the ankle and boot). Some pics: How they both look (cover strips installed): How they look worn (I decided try white industrial strength velcro for the calf closure): From the rear:

You can certainly have up to 16 stripes as you do now, but they should not extend quite that far forward as Greg mentioned. If it were me, I would remove the ones shown below. Reference image

Thanks for the photos, Chris! You will definitely need to trim off all the return edges as seen in the photo below, especially in the neck area and shoulder tabs. Doing this and then shortening the shoulder elastic will allow the chest piece, kidney and posterior to ride higher. There should be a gap between the tops of the thighs in the rear and the bottom of the butt plate as seen in the reference image I posted above. It would also help to look at some of the other ATA Stunt builds to give you a better idea. Reference image

His eBay page says his products ship from Manassas, Virginia. That’s Northern Virginia, specifically; my home state of Garrison Tyranus. I’ll look into it with my unit’s command staff.

Thanks Jim Rat After receiving a delivery of aluminium strips (thanks Jerry) TD clips are made. And fitted to TD with pan head screws (now black). Armor given a polish to get off any remaining glue residue. Drop box backs attached and glue drying. Next will be a trial fit of the strapping and make any adjustments needed.

Yep. No hard number for stripes. You can even have a different number of stripes on each side. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Giles. It’s awesome to see your application here! Looking good! You might want to lower your forearms a touch - perhaps just a dressing issue?

Here are some close up pics that you asked for. As well as strapping pictures. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Shins continued... Started with trimming the rough mold away from the ankles. You can likely see within the Pic, the pencil marks method for marking a cut line using the 90 degree angle between the shin surface and the return edge. I like having a visual line to cut from because the lighting and view angle on this ever so shiny white plastic can cause me to lose sight of the return edge and easily run astray. Here they are all rough trimmed along return edge. Note that any length trimming will wait until I've tape fitted them over boot (and likely finished thigh as well). No hurry on the length as yet since I can fit them over my boots and adjust as needed for circumference trimming. I found an old Protractor within the tools I inherited from my Father and used that with trusty pencil attached to define the cut-line/distance for trimming the upper shin, return edge. I had seen this method used within a few of the pinned build threads and it has served me well (versus trying to free-hand it in some of the more defined areas). Here's a pic of before (left) and after (right) trimming upper return on Shins. You can see I left about a 3/16, 1/4 inch return which is pretty consistent with the movie reference pics I've been able to find. Inserting a step I had forgotten. A note on this inserted step: It's important to start your measurements, fitment and cuts on the front of the shins first. Once you have your front cover strip - 'ramp' measured per the size of your cover strips (mine are the standard 20 mm) to include sizing for larger cover strips if you have to due to having a larger calf or to avoid making shims?, you can then tape up the front and size/measure and cut the rear. The reason is, most of the final sizing is best reserved for the back since that's where the most material is. Another note on the front shin cuts and sizing. You'll notice in the below picture, I have my score-line (trim line) going vertically down the 'cover strip 'ramp'. Yet, the return edges of this cover strip 'ramp' are not straight. Rather, they flare outward at the top and bottom. My approach to this was to center on the middle portion of the calf and make two equal measurements (about 3 to 4 inches apart - where the edge is the most narrow. I measured inward from that cover strip return edge about 1-2 mm and that mark was my outer edge for the cover strip, leaving a slight margin between the edge of the cover strip and the edge of the cover strip 'ramp'. I noticed some prefer to take the cover strip straight to the edge. My reasoning was, I thought it would look a little cleaner and more uniform to leave a bit of a margin on either side of the cover strips to more more or less match the upper and lower margin-appearance. After tape fitting sessions with my Wife being kind (and patient) enough to measure the overlap between top of shin and bottom of shin while I modeled them, I made my marks for cutting the circumference. The ankle I left fairly snug over my TK Boots (more on this problematic area later on). The top is a "snug but not too tight" fit so my calf can feel the armor but it's not overly pressing. The Pic shows a slight change in my clamping strategy. With previous parts such as the Biceps and Forearms, the length was short enough where I could clamp each piece directly to the table under my metal ruler and score (the cut line) in a very secure way. Not such with the Shin parts. Given their length and curve, there was too much stress on the plastic so I used yet another method learned from various build threads on this site and "floated" the ruler and clamps onto the plastic itself. This does not make for a very stable work area so be sure to follow the wealth of advise on FISD and make very slow - light cuts at first. I found that I needed to run about 4-6 score lines atop one another to achieve a decent score and snap of these curvy pieces. Additional note: For the upper ridge area, I used the Lexan scissors to cut around those edges (rather than attempting to score with knife). More to follow in the cover strips and gluing of the shins...

Good luck trooper.

Bastian, Take a look here, there is a logo in the signature pack: Cheers.

Jeff, Fantastic that your are thinking about EIB and Centurion. In my experience it is FAR easier to build with Centurion in mind that not - go for it! I do not (as of now) see anything major keeping you from getting the higher approval levels, but more photos would be great - refer to the CRL and anything you are unsure, post photos.

At some point I would like to try and go for the higher approvals for this build, as that's what I've been working towards with the way I've been assembling. It's likely putting the cart before the horse, but that's my ultimate goal. Any tips based on what you guys see currently that I should be thinking about for those? I have read through several EID and Centurion build threads so have a good idea of what will be asked.

I had some free minutes that i spent to go on with the scope electric. At the end, i found out that the LED i used is not bright enough :-(5mm, cristal clear). The reason for this is the current the battery has. It is operating on 3.7Volts but the LED has a range from 4-6Volts. Thought that it would be bright enough, but it is not. But check on your own... As everytime, thanks for reading and commenting! :-)

Hey congrats Arthur!

Good job on that armor bro !! Goodluck on your EIB application

Great job! You might want to bring your belt up a touch (about 5mm or so) so that it is overlapping the bottom of the button panel. Other nick-picky things are: the tube stripes on the left side seem to extend pretty far forward. I'm not sure if this will affect approval. Your back plate is over-riding your kidney plate a bit in some pictures - this is not a requirement for EIB (or even Centurion, necessarily) but just an area that might need a strapping adjustment. Trimming a little off the return edge at the bottom of your shoulder bells might bring them in a little - makes for less black space between the shoulders and chest. Nice work and good luck with approval!

Alright new front sides and back. Fixed: Shin back cover strips and opening to the inside instead of outside (Note: I had Achilles tendon surgery on my left side so that calf is in fact smaller than my right by a little) New Loop in Chest ABS connection that's larger and adjusted the pull strap so there's no gap. Adjusted forearm to bicep straps to have less wrist showing. Belt straight Thanks! Let me know. Hopefully nothing major left.

Put the thighs aside for a moment and started on the ab boxes. Here`s all the pieces laid ot and I managed to put the second from the left (as looking at it) upside down. The boxes need shaping so I´m using a contour tool for that. I eye-balled the thicknes of the boxes by looking att screen shots and the Crl and used the first box (when I was happy with it) as a guide for the others so they are consistent, had started the shaping when I remebered to take a pic so that`s way the biggest box is already finished. Here`s how they will be installed. Using a plastic screw and you drill a hole, insert the screw, put some glue on the head, put the box in place and then from the inside push the screw up to the box, I´m using super glue so hold for a few seconds and that`s it. Just in case I´ll be mixing some epoxy to cover the screw heads but not untill all boxes are done. And..some time later all boxes are trimmed, holes drilled and the screws in place. Using the method described one box at a time got done. Extra glue added, ready to install. Installed: Screws are obiously cut down on the inside unless you want to test your pain threshold

Personally I'd probably just trim the curled part off, glue with an inner cover strip, then fill the seam. (Caveat I do have a KB kit but haven't gotten to the ab section yet.)

Shout out to @zv288bot for the two challenge coins!! Thanks for helping to feed my coin addiction!! The patch came from a Kylo Ren in the GA garrison (IG21826) who actually lives in my neighborhood and we had no idea until Cricket's armor party. Haha! He made sure he gave me my first Georgia Garrison patch. This community is nothing short of awesome! Troop #2 yesterday went flawlessly and I had zero issues with the armor. As soon as I get some free time I'll be shooting my EIB application pictures.

Maybe once or twice Rat Just marking out spacing for the side rivets, will have to leave this until trial fit, see if any shims will be needed. Time to make some snap plates, I used to use abs plates but find the nylon conforms to the armor better and there is no need for any heat. You can never have enough magnets, clamps or tape, in fact I've ordered another 50 magnets Next start gluing them, a few pieces of scrap abs can help keep the nylon flat. Almost done.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice. My application was approved. With some additional research, advice, and time permitting it's time to work towards the next level.