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Doopydoos certainly makes a great kit, Aine! I have built several, and there are hundreds of us who use them. I would highly suggest having your partner check out this thread, which will answer many of your questions: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/32111-fisd-e-11-blaster-reference/ I'm not sure how "screen accurate" your partner wants to get, but they can get really close depending on how much time you want to put into it. For a more realistic look, I can highly suggest picking up one of Tino's E-11 finishing kits. Well worth every penny! https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28444-fs-completion-sets-for-e-11-resin-kits-with-worldwide-tracked-shipping-and-paypal/ Once it is painted, I recommend adding "weathering" to it in certain places with a bit of silver paint, which gives it that realistic look. Below are a few pics of mine to give you an idea You can pretty much weather any area except the T-tracks (the little "fins" around the barrel) and the handle. The scope can be weathered using some brass colored paint. Here are a few pics of mine to give you an idea: Close up pic showing the small details (screws and such) that are included in Tino's kit: I wish your partner all the best on their build, and if they should have any questions we are here to help!

So I made this mistake. Bought armor that was trimmed but the problem is it was built for someone else. I had to do a lot of adjustments and even after that found it was not going to be approved unless I did a whole lot more to it. I paid $1200 for my first kit which included the helmet and everything. It was the older EFX helmet from 2001. Yea back then it was approved but not now. I ended up buying a whole new untrimmed kit and built it to my body. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! Please please please do yourself and your wallet a favor and buy from someone who we all know. I got mine from RTmod. He builds them for bigger guys like me. Best of luck.

After being asked a gazillion times about how I built my magnetic shin closures, I've finally compiled everything from my TK build and put it all in one post! Let me begin by stating that I followed the tutorial here for the most part when building these magnetic shins. However, I deviated from it in order to make the closures super strong by using a magnet-to-magnet closure rather than the magnet-to-steel method outlined in the tutorial. I have worn the magnetic shins I made for my RS Props TK out on over a dozen troops, and I have never had them come apart on me. I've only had to reglue magnets twice on these shins over a two-year period: a single magnet came off after being handled a lot (opened and closed dozens and dozens of times at an armor party by those who were trying to figure out how they work), and regluing a single magnet after trooping underwater for a few hours (well, not exactly underwater, but it was a parade where it rained for HOURS and I had to walk in the rain the entire time- for hours I tell you! My boots took days to dry out!). The small amount of maintenance I've had to do on these over 2 years of trooping is quite minimal. Once you get this mod on your kit, I swear you'll never go back to anything less than a magnetic closure on your shins. STEP 1: There are many steps necessary to build magnetic shins, so I begin with making a critical component for them: ABS buttons. The buttons are necessary to hold one half of the magnet assembly in place on the inside of the shin. I'm using 12mm x 3mm n50 magnets. You'll need a total of 20 magnets for the shins (10 on each shin). I strongly suggest buying more than 20, though. I've found that they can easily break, and you'll want backups on hand! You can find them in bulk- and cheap!- on eBay. First, I begin by making a template with a hole in it that is slightly larger than the magnets I will be using. I trace the magnet on a sheet of ABS. Here's what it looks like when done. Yeah, I know my hole isn't perfectly round. It's not terribly important for it to be perfect. I used two magnets to make each button. One on top to help me see where my hole template needed to go, and one underneath to form the button shape. Heat up one section of the ABS sheet using a heat gun on LOW until it gets slightly warpy. You can even leave the magnets attached to the ABS while you heat it up. Once the plastic is soft, quickly press it onto a flat surface, pressing the hole template around the exposed magnet. This is what it looks like on the top and underneath when you're done. And here's how it looks from the side so you can see how the magnets attach to the plastic. See how the bottom magnet sits flush in the new ABS button? I spent about forty minutes repeating the process until I ended up with 10 buttons. I will cut down and shape the buttons to fit each shin later. There will be five buttons installed on each shin. Still lots of work to do, but it's a pretty good start! STEP 2: Another step necessary for how I make my magnetic shin closures is to make sure that the backs of the shins meet up as perfectly as possible. This is to avoid any unnecessary strain on the magnets. This was acheived by some gentle shaping via a hot water bath. Before putting the shins in the water, since I don't have any cover strips installed on the outsides, I reinforce the closure with blue tape. The e6000 gets really soft when subjected to boiling water, and I don't want to weaken the join in the front. Blue tape holds up nicely for this application! Here's a before and after of my shins so you can see how the backs line up a bit better. I will be doing some further fine tuning on the lengths at the bottom later as I move along in my fitting. STEP 3: This stage involves making and securing the "holes" part of the closures for the magnets. I begin by cutting out two 3/4" x 12" strips of ABS. You should have this when you're done. Next make a lengthwise mark in the center of each strip to help keep your holes lined up in the middle. Then mark 3/4" in from each end. That will be the center point for the magnets on the end. I like using magnets with holes in the middle for this, so I can easily find the 'crosshairs'. Trace the magnet. I like to use extra magnets underneath to help keep it secure while I trace. Next, find and mark the center of the strip. It should be at the 6" point. From there, measure 2 5/8" from the center mark on either side. Mark and trace your magnets. When you're done, your plastic strips should look something like this: Next, I used my drill press and a step bit to drill out the holes. It went really quickly! When you're done, you should have two strips with holes in them that can easily fit the magnets. The next part is where people tend to get confused, so I took this photo to show what goes where. The "hole" strip will be glued to the inside half of the shin on the inside. It sounds kind of confusing, but it's not all that bad. Remember that the "hole" strip will be hidden! I begin with my left shin. I mark the center of each hole to assist when I line up the edge of the shin. Next, I test fit the strip on the shin to verify placement, clamping on both ends. Then I apply e6000 to the area of the strip that will be in contact with the shin, clamp and add magnets. This is what it looks like when glued together: Here's the right shin after gluing, but before I added the magnets. Here are both shins as the e6000 cures. I'll be allowing a few days for this to cure, which will give me ample time to get my ABS buttons ready for installation. STEP 4: Once the glue had cured on the hole strips inside the shins, I removed the magnets and clamps. With a light behind the shins, you can see how the hole strips are mounted, hidden inside. Using that light as my guide, I traced the approximate location of the holes with a pencil. This helps me to get a good idea of where my holes are going to be drilled. Yep. I'm going to make some Swiss cheese of my shins. Using a small Dremel sanding band, I carefully cut a notch out, just large enough for a magnet to fit through. Here's what it looks like at this stage when the shins are closed. I'm just focusing on drilling out the holes on the inside edge, following the holes of the hole strip that was glued in. I'm not ready to drill the outer half of the shins yet. Next to clean up my buttons that will hold my magnets. I rough trimmed them all to start. Then cleaned up the corners with a Dremel. I don't want anything poking at my legs! *Important!* If you want to make sure your magnets stay stuck on your shins, you must use e6000! CA glue will not keep the magnets stuck to the buttons; they will fail. I have heard this from several troopers when I have been contacted about their magnets not holding up. I repeat, use e6000 for this next step! I applied a liberal amount of e6000 to the inside of each button, then put the magnet inside to get all cozy. Make sure that you've got the polarity of all the magnets in the same orientation before gluing! Wipe away any excess glue from the top. To make sure that the magnets are firmly mounted in the buttons, I use the magnet intended on going on the opposite side of the shin to clamp it. In the pic below, you can see how I've got all the matched magnet buttons and magnets together as they cure. Back to the shins now. I like this ridge (where the pencil is pointing) to line up at the tops. For me, it makes the closure in the back look much cleaner if this is lined up. I tape it off there to make sure that the opposite side doesn't shift while I'm making my marks for completing the holes. I have an OttLite that fits nicely inside the shin to provide a clear light so I can make outlines for where I'm going to drill out the rest of the holes. Holes were already present on the left side in the photo below. I made sure that I drilled out the holes very conservatively as I went. I used an extra magnet to make sure that the hole was just the correct size for it to fit through. Now time to attach the outer cover strip! I use a 25mm cover strip on my shins for this. I taped off the edge of the inside half to keep any glue from transferring over. Then making sure that the cover strip was straight, I clamped the heck out of it. Praying to the TK gods that it doesn't shift!!!! Now time to wait for everything to cure really, really well. I am going to give these 3-4 days to fully cure just to be on the safe side! STEP 5: One shin is complete, with the outer rear 25mm cover strip glued into place. Woo! Here's a look from the inside, before magnets are installed. Be sure to clean up all excess glue from the inside edges in order to have a clean closure when you're done. If there's extra glue in there, it may not close correctly. I've tucked the outside cover strip to the inside so you can see how the magnets on the "cover strip" half are glued on. No magnets yet. I add a dab of e6000 to the magnet (be sure to check the polarization of the magnet before gluing!!!), and set it so that it fits inside the semi circle and on the outer cover strip. Like this: I wiped away the excess glue from the magnets and then positioned the inner "hole strip" over the magnets to ensure everything is lined up correctly as it dries. I tape the tops and bottoms of the shin to ensure it doesn't shift around during this stage. I'm not completely happy with how the inside cover strip is cooperating here. It sits flat on the top and bottom, but it pulls away in the middle a bit off to the right. I will have to heat bend this before installing the magnets onto the "hole strip". :/ Ideally, the inside cover strip should be sitting completely against the outside part of the shin, and it doesn't want to do that right now. This additional stress could cause the magnets to fail. It's annoying, but I'll need to address this before proceeding any further. Gah! Using the magnet buttons I created earlier, I clamp the magnets into place while the glue cures. Once the glue has fully cured, I'll reshape that inner strip to prepare it for the final magnet button installation. STEP 6: Now that the e6000 has had lots and lots of time to cure, it's time to attach the other halves of the magnets. Make sure that the halves are super clean and free of extra dried glue. It will prevent the shins from closing well. You can do this by touch. Rub all of it off where you feel it. Once everything is cleaned off, close the "hole" half over the "magnet" half. Your shin should be closing correctly at this point. The "holes" should lock around the magnets and prevent the shin from opening at all, even without the additional magnets at this point. If the "hole" strip is not fully engaged over the magnets, you won't have a very strong bond between the magnets to keep the shin locked. Easy part next! Apply e6000 around the prepared ABS button. No need to go crazy with the stuff. You don't want it oozing all around in there. And stick it on! This part goes really quickly. For additional strength, I add some extra magnets on top. Check those clean closures! Left shin. Right shin. I will open these up in a few hours just to make sure that there isn't any extra e6000 that has spilled out and might lock those shins closed where I don't want them locked. Now to allow several days to dry, and these shins will be good to go! Here's a short video so you can see them in action. Have you tried this on your own shins? Loved it? Hated it? Made a few mods of your own to improve this method? Comment below and let me know! Cheers- Cricket TK-10401

Snaps 'n' Straps -- Part II OK, back to work. All the snap plates are done, so let's start gluing them into the armor. For reversibility I'm going with E6000 all the way here. Yeah, it's slow to cure but I definitely want to be able to rework and relocate the snaps for whatever reason may arise. Like putting them in the wrong frakkin' place... which I did with one pair. Duh. No problem; just tugged them free, cleaned the plastic, and reset them with fresh glue where they belonged. I took a careful look inside the armor and did some measuring and marking in pencil to be sure that everything would go in evenly and symmetrically. (Symmetrically?!! Yeah, anti-canon, I know. But there you have it.) To make the snap plates easier to handle and to avoid getting E6000 all over my fingers, I used an extension magnet to hold them while I slathered on the glue. This is just one of those telescoping pick-up tools I use in my shop, but it works quite nicely to hold the plates while working and placing them. Yes, I'm still using the white E6000. I found that its holding power is no different than the clear version, and I've also come to like it better -- it's easier to see when applying to be sure you get it right where you want it in the right amounts. With the underside of the snap plate fully slathered, it was a simple matter to use the magnet to place it where I wanted it inside the armor, in this case at the top/center of the Kidney. I decided I wanted the snaps uniformly at 1" from any joining edges, so in the photo above you can see that I used a ruler to slide the plate around as needed to get it into position. (The sticker on the back of the ruler is 1" from the end, and it was easier to just use this side for placement rather than looking at tiny numbers with Old Fart eyes.) Once positioned and held in place with the ruler, I just pulled the magnet free, then used a small wooden stick to press the snap plate down securely and allowed the glue to set. Some thoughts on E6000 --- I think I noted before that even though you want to allow a minimum of a full 24 hours for it to be fully cured, the glue doesn't really take all that long to set. It's all slippery-slidey when you first put things in place, but they'll typically set in 15-20 minutes when gluing webbing. The fabric webbing allows some air movement right through it and unlike, say, gluing plastic-to-plastic, these webbing snap plates were fairly solid in short order. Still, take care not to push on them or they might still slide, but you can safely work with the armor in far less than the full 24-hour curing time. At this point, I just worked my way around the Kidney until all the snaps were in place and the glue set. Next up were the mating snap plates in the Butt. First, line everything up the way it'll be when worn, and slap some masking tape on the outside to keep it lined up. On the inside, I used a pair of small clamps to pinch the return edges between Kidney and Butt together, and glued the mating snap plates in place as before. While the glue is still slippery-slidey, use a straightedge to be sure the new snaps are in-line vertically with those glued in earlier, and adjust as needed. If the snaps aren't aligned vertically, the straps will want to pull the armor pieces out-of-line when snapped on. That would be a Bad Thing, so check that alignment now and be sure nothing moves until the glue has set (again, in about 20 minutes or so). Once all the snap plates were in place in the Butt, I put it aside and glued in the three snap plates at the bottom of the Back piece, and then put it, the Butt and the Kidney aside for a while to allow the glue some more setting-up time while I started with the connections for the left side of the armor between the Ab and the Kidney. If you've looked at the many builds here, you know that there are half a dozen ways of doing this. The one and only thing that has to be consistent is the fact that there must be rivets on the outside of these two pieces of armor, three evenly space in each. But what you do on the inside is up to you -- snaps and straps, glued straps, use the rivets through straps, etc. One of the things I liked that a number of folks here have done is to use a single wide piece of strapping that bridges the edge of that joint between the Ab and Kidney. This keeps things lined up nicely and prevents one piece or the other from shifting up and down, and I liked that idea. So I stole it. I also saw how several folks reinforced this strapping with strips of ABS, so I stole that, too. I combined both ideas to create a strapping "hinge" for that side of the armor. I used a piece of 2" black webbing, to which I glued 3/4" wide strips of ABS using Duco cement for a permanent, fast-curing bond. Next, I secured the left edge of the Ab to my worktable with some clamps, then measured out the locations for the rivets. If you haven't done this yet, it's pretty basic. Measure in 10mm from the edge and pencil in a line. Then, measure down about 20mm from the top edge of the Ab and mark, and 20mm up from the bottom edge of the Ab where the Cod starts, and mark again. Then, just split the difference between your marks and pencil in the center rivet location. Clamp the Ab side of the hinge in place securely with clamps, making sure everything is centered top-to-bottom and that the center of the hinge is right on the edge of the Ab. Now, using a 5/32" bit, just drill through the Ab on your marks and on through the hinge. You can't see it in the photo, but I also have a thin scrap of wood clamped with the hinge on the underside for support. This keeps everything pressed against the inside of the Ab for efficient drilling. With all three holes drilled, I removed the clamped hinge and used the tip of a soldering iron to seal the edges of the holes in the webbing. Now, it's just a matter of slipping in the rivets from the outside, putting the drilled side of the hinge in place, slipping on some washers and bending over the wings of the split rivets. I started this process on my worktable by using a large screwdriver to open the wings of the rivets just enough to hold everything in place, and then moved to the concrete floor. I placed a scrap of ABS underneath, then simply hammered the wings flat and flush with the washers. Keep in mind that even though the rivet wings are flush, they can (and will) snag and catch on your undersuit, so once I have everything done with the armor I'll put a dollop of silicone caulk on those wings, essentially creating a rubbery cap on top -- no snagging and catching. With the Ab side done, now on to the Kidney side. The glue on all the snap plates has set nicely, so I taped the Ab/Kidney assembly together, and then marked matching hole locations on the Kidney side. With the hole locations marked, I repeated the drilling steps as before by clamping the hinge and the wood scrap in place, and drilled right through to make the matching holes. Then just slip in the rivets, position the hinge, add the washers, bend open the rivet wings with my screwdriver, and then move to the concrete floor to hammer the rivets flat. At this point, there's just one more step to do and that's add the "Han snap" to the top right corner of the Ab. Like those rivets, this must be visible from the outside but it's not necessary for this snap to be functional. However, I decided to make it functional and use it as part of the closing straps on the inside (like they did originally). For this, I measured in 20mm from the top and 20mm from the edge, drilled a 5/32" hole, countersunk the hole from the outside to accommodate the male snap post, and then set the snap. OK, let's take a look. Not bad at all, if I do say so myself. (Spoiler alert: I just did.) I'm considering the lower half of the body armor done, ta-da! The Ab, Kidney and Butt are all trimmed and sized, and all snaps are in place. You'll notice in the above photo that I haven't yet done the snap plates at the shoulder extensions or on the lower inside of the Chest piece. There's a reason. When I start making the straps I'll need to make them in sets that match the fit of the lower half of the armor -- in fact, I'll be doing that in the next installment. From there, I'll work up across my back, and it's at that point that I'll decide how those shoulder extensions need to be trimmed to match my height and body shape. Not much you can do with the lower armor since it has to fit snug in the Nether Regions and around your abdomen; can't trim for height down there. You have to trim for height at the top. Wearing the abdomen assembly (Ab, Butt and Kidney), I'll hold the Back and Chest pieces in place, then mark and trim those shoulder extensions to size. That's when I'll add those snaps and straps at the shoulders. With that done, I'll see where the Chest piece falls in relation to the top of the Ab, then mark and add those final snap plates.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm a trained graphic artist for 25 years, so the printing part I should be able to get correct. I measured the tube several times after I posted this, just to be sure the outer diameter was correct. It was spot on! The inner wall thickness was roughly the intended thickness, being shy of just 0.1mm of what I can read is optimum. The size of the print should be correct, and so should all the holes on the print. It wasn't printet out of aspect either. In the end I just gave up on finding out what the issue was. And redrew everything in Adobe Illustrator. And got a print that wrapped perfectly. The tube has been cut, and the holes has been drilled. It is still in a very rough state, and will need to have burrs and cutting grease removed. I ran out of time yesterday. I appreciate all you suggestions, and have also tried out all those. But I apparently can't figure what I did wrong with the original print. I will soldier on, and post updates, and meltdowns as they occur!

Hiya Great link from Joseph, there. The FISD Blaster Reference guide was invaluable throughout my build, and many others. Tino’s kit is also worth the investment for a more detailed build, if required. I used the FISD E-11 Blaster Reference guide, along with a few other build threads, to get through my build. I specifically found the build threads of T-Jay (Tino) to be incredibly helpful for tips and tricks. He also goes into paint options. My own blaster (video and build thread links in my signature) used 4 different paints. Grey primer, silver undercoat, hammer black, Matt black top coat, brass for scope and part of counter. The application of these paints, and to which parts of the blaster in which order, are included in my build thread. Personally, I only used spray paints so brushes were not required. Glue - many parts are screwed to the tube. Glue can be used at the very end to add extra stability. Super glue for some parts. E6000 for others. A Dremel is also an E-11 blaster builder’s friend. Any other questions, do feel free to shout. Best wishes Dan

Not at all, appreciated the suggestion.

There is no such thing as a 501st approved seller, and this is obviously a recast. I like the line "No painting, cutting or sanding needed", yet it will "Fit someone 5'5"-6'2". Seriously? lol. I suggest avoiding this, spending a bit more and going with one of the vetted sellers on page one of this thread as Dan recommended.

Congratulations and welcome to the ranks trooper

Looks awesome Lorelei. Sent from my 5054N using Tapatalk

Helmet looks awesome! I'm leaving mine for last because I'm scared...

Jen tell your friend if it's covered by the ear it never happened. And I don't think those gloves will pass with that rubber stuff on fingertips. Have you looked at nomex? If your aiming for Centurion which I'm sure you are you'll need to find rubber gloves. The ears came out great BTW. Keep up the good work!

Now that´s one happy camper and understandable so and nice holster

Welcome and good luck on the build. I don't think I could have done it without the help I found here.

Sewing is such a helpful skill! I am envious of my Garrison mates who are nimble with that machine. Good luck on your build! Sounds like you have a great skill set for this!

Welcome! Glad to see more WTF kits popping up here. I'll be following your build!

Congrats and welcome! Building a TK is fun and challenging, and it seems that you're up for it! I'm also building a WTF kit, and it comes with its own set of quirks. I'm discovering them as I build. Looking forward to seeing your custom leather additions to your kit!

Its actually Tk Uk armor Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk

Since there are lots of discussions going on about TKUK atm - here and on facebook, I will tell you about my experiences with the armor and the makers. At first I want to set clear that TKarmor.com (AM) is not the same as TKarmour.com (TKUK) But TKarmour.com (alias TKUK) is the same as stormtroopercity.com To begin my story: Nearly 6 years ago, I purchased a TK ANH Stunt armor on eBay. Unfortunately I didn't know the FISD by then and I had no experience at all. So I made the mistake, bought it and later found out, that it was an armor FX recast. There was a print on the BBB, saying it comes from "stormtroopercity.com" After I discovered the 501st Legion (especially the German Garrison and the FISD), I got some help here'n'there to build my kit up to approval. (of course I had to get another helmet...) Here in the FISD I asked whether anyone knew the maker and Joseph from Stormtroopercity reported to me, that he and his friend David (Ashcroft) are making that armor. By then, they already had developed a new mold for the helmet and he was willing to send me one for free. Not only that - they were also making their own molds to improve the armor (that's what he told me). At that time, one of my friends ordered the Stormtroopercity/TKUK armor. It was a kind of "in between development version". I compared it to my Anovos kit and my old FX armor and I was impressed about the development. (FX - TKUK - Anovos) So I encouraged him to make more changes to make it a reputable, good looking armor. That's what they did. Unfortunately accuracy is still not top notch and quality got lost due to thinner material. Two other friends ordered the actual kit, TKUK is selling right now - The armor is looking good, but you can clearly feel the lack of quality. Pulls are not clean, some parts are too thin, so they easily crack and so on. I've heard people rumoring, this was an SDS recast (because of the long chest plate...) - what I have been told, it is not. It's an evolved FX kit with losing quality on the material, but gaining accuracy and for a cheap price. Here is a comparison of the 3 different abplates they've sold over the time: apart from the missing buttons it's hard to find similarities with the FX and the new armor So in my opinion it's not a rip off if you know what you buy: It's definitely not high quality, but cheap and to be honest - good enough for approval (Higher ranks are another topic....) Anyhow your goal should be a high end armor, so I personally would chose other makers nowadays. If anyone knows better about that armor or the makers, please let me know! I'm not the wisest man in the universe and I'm willing to learn. Here is a shoot of one of my friends in his TKUK armor. P.S. I'm not related to TKUK nore am I working for them - I didn't even meet them in person, we just messaged here on the FISD... But I've made my experiences (good and bad) and want to share them with you guys. Best regards, Danny TK-55550