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Thanks, guys! Except for Frank. You rain cloud. See I was just gonna show up at Roddie's in armor and have him approve me on the spot... entirely kidding, of course. I'm not really worried about an approval deadline but I'd really, really like to have at least my bucket done by Sithmas. A Christmas TK just sounds so dreamy.

Slow down and take your time. I’ll tell you right now our garrison takes at least two weeks to review prior to approval. Even if you submitted today you would have to beg and plead to get it pushed and that’s if you don’t get dinged for anything. Sorry to be a pipe dream destroyer lol. If you want to make a goal I think you can have this done in time to troop in January of 2019. I got sent back twice to retake pics, that’s a month of waiting and pic taking between it all. Your making good progress and it’s looking good now that your back from your trip. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While there are a number of ways to attach the lenses inside your bucket, I found the easiest and fastest is to use a product called SUGRU. It is a kneadable glue, sort of like play-doh (plasticine) that is super easy to work with, and will hold forever. It does keep somewhat of a pliable consistency after drying, can be removed if you ever need to and does not emit heat during the curing process like CA or Epoxy glue. It is available online (like here on Amazon) and in many craft shops, usually in packets of 3. It comes in a variety of colors, but I suggest using the black. HINT: This can be done if you have already built your helmet, but it is easier if the face plate has not been attached. This whole process will take you less than 10 minutes to attach both lenses. Here is a photo of one of the individual packets, and the contents rolled into a ball. In this instance I am using 1 packet per lens. You will need a craft (popsicle) stick, sharpened at one end: Here is the trimmed eye opening from the inside: The next step is to roll the SUGRU into a small "snake" shape about 7 inches in length. (No longer). After that, you simply press it into the outside edges of the eye opening. Note that I left an open spot at the top. I recommend this for ventilation purposes. (Helps keep your lenses from fogging up). Place the lens evenly over the opening. Using a craft (popsicle) stick, push the glue firmly into place around the outside, making contact with both lens and helmet surface. Don't worry if it seeps through to the front. Hint: This glue is strong stuff. You don't need a crazy amount of contact surface. It will not come off unless you take it off. Turn the faceplate over, and any glue that has seeped through (see red circle) can be easily removed with the sharpened end of the craft stick. Allow 24 hours for it to dry, and you are DONE!

Better late then never - looks great

3 months later finally suited up and sent in my clearance pics... Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

I'm guessing they didn't have true VR in those helmets, else Luke wouldn't have said he can barely see a thing. Even in the clone wars they talked more about AR. Putting AR in your helmet is more likely the way to go. Ideally you'll want a helmet that has no wire going from it to your armor, as you can see when Luke/Han take off their helmets they are 100% self-contained. Hovi-mic speakers when set up correctly can be quite effective, and you could put a thumb switch inside your helmet to toggle between vox, FRS, or phone. Luke tapping his ear made it clear they had speakers in those guys too. It's not that far fetched - motorcycles have had this type of setup for years (I have one in my motorcycle helmet). The hard part actually is just trying to decide how to do the toggle, as on moto helmets it's an external switch. From there you could also have AR lens like HoloLens or GoogleGlass that projects a hud. Right now they are externally mounted if 3rd party like https://www.ridenuviz.com/ So all of this is certainly possible, e.g. 100% self-contained vox, audio, fans, even HUD. The trick it getting it all in the helmet and the weight associated with it. I'm guessing you'd want to reinforce that ABS bucket, which normally weighs nothing empty.

I haven't used Loctite putty, but being an epoxy type adhesive there will be a nasty smell for a while but it should work. The only thing is that they will be mounted permanently, but then again you really should never have to take them out. I used SUGRU to mount the lenses in all my buckets, as I prefer the color (black), no smell, and they are removable if you ever need to do that. I think it may be less messy as well, because if you get epoxy on the lenses while mounting them it may be difficult to remove. I have a tutorial that may help either way you do it: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44593-how-to-attach-lenses-using-sugru/

In general that's just an assembly difference. The face plate is pulled separately from the cap and back. Depending on how the brow was trimmed and bolted up (and how rushed the build was) you get a number of different looks. This is further exacerbated by the fact the left image is a hero helmet and the right a (sandtrooper) stunt and one well know for a large gap. The hero face plates are different, but I've heard multiple explanations as to why. As for which is right? All of them. If you're building a hero you'll want no gap, a "move along" sand trooper, a big and lopsided one. Generic TK? probably somewhere in the middle but really it's up to you.

Welcome to the FISD, you are indeed in the correct place. Personally I wouldn't purchase from that seller. There's a fair options available to you depending on budget and needs. Your best off reading through these two threads and then if you have any futher question you can ask them and be more specific.

Welcome and congrats on all 3 levels of approvals! Great job in the effort you put into it!

Starting with some organization

Nice fit, well done

Updated the kidney piece to make the shim longer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Glad to see this back up and running! The left ear is looking great, can't wait to see this finished helmet. Keep up the good work, and as Frank said, take your time. You don't want to make any mistakes, because that is just a pain, and will add a lot of time onto your build. Good luck on the road following!

Those ears look pretty good to me. Overall looking good Lorelei. Sent from my 5054N using Tapatalk

Done!

I actually like anime, and the style doesn't bother me. I would say I like the more "mainstream" animes, though (Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist, Escaflowne, Helsing, Outlaw Star, Witch Hunter Robin). Maybe because I've never seen those characters in anything but anime style, but here we have live action, semi-realistic computer generated animation, etc. I also didn't much like the style of the Clone Wars movie that much, but I still like it better than this. I guess if it's not the animation I used to watch on Saturday mornings when I was a kid then it's this newfangled stuff and y'all can get off my lawn.

Zeddy, I think the consensus is that the French blue material is painters tape or similar product and give the same color of blue. For my build, I found a blue breathable fabric at JoAnn’s that worked perfectly for me. As for the tears, on the Rogue One helmet, they are recessed. The cutout in the helmet has an insert panel then the lines are cut out of that panel. I have some fairly detailed pics in my build if you want to see how I did it.

You can always give it a tea/coffee bath as well.

Got it

Well if you buy recasted armor, you can certainly get it approved and join the 501st if it meets 501st standards. The reason why it is heavily frowned upon is because the vendors who provide legit armor to the masses have spent a ton of money and spent a ton of time perfecting their molds only to be copied by some slob looking to try and make a quick buck. If you study the armor tree, there are only a small handful of vendors who have bought molds that have touched a screen used suit. In order to provide a kit derived from the molds, it has cost that person a substantial amount of money. Those are the guys you want to support because they are hardworking honest people who share a lot of passion in what we do.

Hi Vlad. You have been given some great advice so far. I know it isn’t probably what you want to hear but Steve is right above. Maybe you should consider waiting just a little longer to make a purchase and save some more money. You have mentioned that you would like to get a nice looking set of armor. If you are indeed looking for that then you will be looking in the $650 range for a kit. Then you will have to purchase the materials and tools to assemble that kit and the other items like a neck seal, boots, holster, E-11, body suit, etc. I know it’s tough but it is very difficult to build one of the sets of armor for under $1000 unless you buy something second hand and get lucky. Please feel free to ask us any questions.

Excellent advice you have been given. MOT is a known recaster with a very poor product. Good luck on your journeys.