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Well, I managed to get pretty much everything done that was on the "Things to fix before Centurion" list today, and with @justjoseph63's screws arriving just in time I can hand in my Centurion application at last! I hope I can get everything done tomorrow, but since I still have a room to stock that needed floor replacement I can't promise I will be able to stay on schedule. Well, thanks for reading as always! Freddy

Velcro is indeed a viable option for most troopers! I wrestled with deciding either hook/elastic or velcro for my closures, but neither appealed much to me. As a handler, I helped a fair amount of troopers close and re-close their shins (or adjust them) while out trooping. I didn't like how velcro could pop open and shift, then closing at odd angles on its own. I didn't like how screen-accurate hook/elastic/hole closures looked, either. Magnetic closures are a personal preference, really. For me, I wanted a super sleek and clean closure that was strong, and magnets were the way to go for that. Also, I don't like having to ask for assistance while kitting up. With magnetic shins, there is no need to ask for help or to struggle to get them closed- once on, they simply lock on their own, and never need to be adjusted once they are on. And they are also very fast to put on and take off. All that said, if velcro works for you, then velcro away! But for every trooper who has handled my magnetic shins, every one has said, "I really need to convert mine to this!".

NICE! Great job so far

Great progress so far!

Well done Centurion, go and make the empire proud!

Congratulations Trooper!

A bit more progress. Finished assembling the left forearm. It went a bit more smoothly than the right, but still had to do weird brackets. I'll likely need to add more, or I might use a bit of milliput to fill some of the seams and help hold things together. With all arm pieces together, I tried the arms on with the shoulder gaskets. It was all right, but I think I'll need to take in the shoulder gasket a bit, because my bicep piece circumference is pretty small. And a shoulder bell for good measure: Moving along, I decided to go ahead and assemble the back and yoke. (Forgot to take many photos.) It actually wasn't as bad as people had made it out to be. I'll definitely have to do some heavy seam/gap filling, but overall it was relatively straightforward. I started by gluing the yoke to the connector piece, let that dry overnight, then glued everything to the back. I know the chest/yoke/back is going to be one of the most challenging parts of the build because it is just *so* big. KB claims it's meant for average sized people, but it's really quite barrel chested. The first thing I did is trim off a bunch of excess material from the...wings? I don't know what they're called: Next up, a *lot* of heat bending with my trusty heat gun. My goal was to wrap the wings more tightly around me, and greatly reduce the width of the back and chest. As with my TK, I set the heat gun around 450F-500F and slowly heated up the areas I wanted to bend. When the ABS just starts to lose it's springiness, I'd turn off the heat gun. Incidentally, the KB kit is much thinner than my WTF original TK, so I had to be careful not to overheat. Back before: Back after: No individual photos of the chest, but here's everything on me: This whole build has been kind of a rollercoaster for me - I flip flop between feeling really encouraged and being totally convinced it's impossible to fit this kit to someone my size, especially with how tough my GML is. For now I'll soldier on.

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing how your build unfolds - following =) Sent from my SM-G390W using Tapatalk

Congrats !! And welcome !!!

Goodluck on your EIB application!

Congratulations and welcome to the ranks

From my pre-tk submission:

Got a troop and a few wears under my belt and time to go for EIB. I have been looking at other submissions and see a pattern with the AM helmet that builders should look for in matching up the face and helmet. Earlier in this build Joseph called out correctly that I had the left ear too close to the left eye, when I adjusted and accepted the wonkiness of the helmet my head actually fit a little better. On this submission, you see the builder has the same issue so I am thinking it has to do with the "feel" of the plastic when mating the two parts. Pulling it out didn't "feel right", but once done is obvious it is correct. Look at the plastic between the front of the ear and the distance to the eye, left side is too far forward. Hope this helps the next builder.