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Thighs are painted so time for strapping, holster hardware is yet to come. And some assorted pics

Now that I have the right arm pieces assembled, I decided to try them on (with the proper gaskets and gloves as well.) I have to say that it doesn't look too bad in my opinion: And a test to see if I can touch my helmet Here's a side by side of now vs my initial fitting. I'm pretty happy with how I've managed to size things down, although the bicep is still pretty big: I also started work on the left arm pieces:

Here are some photos of a commission I just finished.

Put my last cover strip on the shin piece. I should be ready for a fitting tomorrow night to see what other fine tuning I need. So close! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You guys, this is the worst. Ears. They hate me. I hate them. I've spent hours on the right one alone. It's finally looking almost acceptable, but my goodness what a ridiculous lot of sanity I've lost to get it there. I'm going to try the compass trick to get the curve onto the left ear, but does anyone have any other groundbreaking tricks or tips on fitting the ears that they've been keeping under their buckets til now? Much obliged. Pictures once I hate the right ear less.

Congrats on your EIB!

My pleasure, sir. Although the single snap is good for that connection, I would highly recommend using 2 on the shoulder elastic to shoulder bell connection. I have seen more shoulder bells come unsnapped and slip down during troops than you can imagine. Although most troopers use single snaps on the majority of connections, I went with the double snap method on most others on all my armor. Yeah, it costs a bit more and takes longer to do, but in my opinion it is well worth it to know that none of my connections will ever fail. The larger picture is not my armor, but I have the same setup except for the Velcro on the sides, where I also have double snaps.

Using a single snap on each end for that connection should be just fine, Mark.

Ear trimming trick. Drill the screw holes in the ears. Mount the ears on the bucket sans ears with the long ends facing out. Slide the ear on the screws to check fit. This way, you're always checking the ear in the same position and not tilting in one direction or the other. Hope that little tip helps!

Congrats!

Congratulations trooper hope to see you at Centurion

I get asked questions by newer people in our garrison about building a TK for the first time and look for tips or helpful advice. Well it felt like I was repeating myself a lot so I threw together a blog post to cover a number of topics that I wish I had known more about going into the build for the first time. Some of the topics include commentary on the tools/supplies you'll need measuring trimming gluing armor strapping (a more hybrid approach with both snaps and velcro) shimming and working with ABS paste and painting And as an added bonus, none of the images are hosted on PhotoBucket https://michaeltangen.wordpress.com/2018/10/16/tips-to-make-that-first-stormtrooper-tk-armor-build-a-little-less-intimidating/

Perfect!

Congratulations! Welcome to the rank of EI.

Congratulations trooper

Hi D'Angelo, welcome and thank you for your EIB application. Let's have a look, shall we? CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All the required submission photos have been posted., your armour displays all necessary element as set out in the level 2 CRL, Congratulations on a job well done!. Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: In this section we review observations made by your fellow troopers and ourselves. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. If any suggestions affects any application, it will be listed below. One of the best overall builds I've seen in a while, sir. Your attention to detail is obvious, and I just have a few notes for ya' to tighten up your overall look. 1. The brow on your bucket could stand to be dropped a bit. Yes, there were higher ones on some ANH Troopers, but the vast majority had lower ones as seen blow in the reference image. Reference image 2. The bottoms of your ears could use a little trimming. Reference image 3. As mentioned in your post above, eliminating the extra tube stripes would make for a much better look. Reference image 4. Not a deal breaker by any means, but if you have some time on your hands and feel up to it, the ab button plates could be squared off and the small one reduced in size a bit, (AWESOME paint job, by the way)! Reference image 5. Not sure if you noticed, but your shoulder bells are on the wrong sides. In some kits they are interchangeable, but ATA's does have the distinctive screen accurate "swoop" at the bottoms, which should be facing forward. Reference image Centurion Suggestions:In this section we prepare you the best we can for Centurion. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Your right drop box needs to be moved out about half an inch to align with the outside edge of the ABS belt. A dab of CA glue or E-6000 on the back of the strap to hold it in place would make this perfect! Reference image As mentioned, a great build, brother, and I look forward to seeing your Centurion application soon!

Side rivet placement Cod butt plate rivet/snaps More snap plates glued Calve closures and inner cover strips added Inner cover strips on one side of thighs, forearms and biceps Inner strapping made, snaps added Harness made Waiting for glue to dry again, must buy more magnets, say that every build

So here's what happened: I fixed the shoulder bell elastic and was able to get the wayward shoulder straps under control. I also used the time to attach the biceps to the shoulder bells. Resubmitted the new photos, and was approved! You're now talking to TK-10668, Golden Gate Garrison! I've had a lot of fun so far, but have a feeling I'm just scratching the surface. Big ups to all of you here for your knowledge and patience! However, I started my new job literally yesterday, and will be out of town next week. So, have to miss a few possible first troop opportunities. Oh well, there'll be plenty more.

Looking good

Nice work, you could have received some feedback if you posted in the pre approval forum https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/193-request-tk-pre-approval/ A couple of things that stick out, looks like just some tweaking needed: Looks like your forearms are a little low and your biceps are a little high, you could bring them closer together. Your forearms also look a little on the large side, your left arm seems a lot bigger than the right. Drop boxes should align with the end of the belt. Normally you don't need a strap between the chest and back plates. Belt is a little high. Ab buttons could do with a little more pain. Hopefully you hear some good news soon, even if it's just some tweaking needed, good luck

Very nice, I added some veclro to my pauldron in case the magnets didn't hold, just folds under the neck Coming along nicely

QFT. First WonderCon I did in armor and the damn Chicago screw fell out on one side. Sour way to end a troop. Taught me to pack spares and thread lock them in

Hi Giles! Could you do me a quick favor and post up a pic of your gloves? Thanks!

Hi Cube, there was a discussion lately on replacement magazine for doopydoos - check it out: https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/45179-replacement-e-11-magazine/&share_tid=45179&share_fid=44557&share_type=t As for the end cap clip, you can check out shapeways.com for suitcase props, not sure about other options... Sent from my SM-G390W using Tapatalk

THE FORUMS ARE BACK THE FORUMS ARE BACK THE FORUMS ARE BAAACK! My goodness it's awful spending a day without them. Especially when I do something like this! Meet my flower child, Smudge. First I got his brow sorted out using just my exacto. I've taken to sorta whittling the plastic for general reshaping (wearing cutproof gloves) as it means I don't end up covered in white dust. I smoothed it a little more and then placed my brow trim. I marked the angle with a pencil and cut the trim with scissors while holding it spread open. Testing the trim... Thanks to gazmosis' tutorial I knew to trim the wearer's right side very generously to allow for overlap with the face plate. That does necessitate reshaping the side of the bucket to curve over the face properly. I used a heat gun (oh, the horror) and a thin canning jar. It took many patience, but I eventually got it lying along the face better. Nothin' a little ear can't cover up! I think. Positioning the face using magnets was super convenient and remarkably secure. Threw a few doubles along the brow and ears and adjusted away. When it got to looking good, I stacked a bunch more magnets on... ...checked the alignment a few dozen more times... ...and drilled a few holes to tack everything in place. It's looking pretty great to me!! More tomorrow. Ear work. Dun dun dunnn.

Took advantage of my family pictures today to sneak in some trooper ones. Submission pics this week!

Congratulations! Welcome to the 501st! Sent from my LGMS631 using Tapatalk

Great news, congratulations and welcome to the ranks trooper

TK 92217 reporting for duty! Just got the email! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk