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Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. (Flickr is back so photos added!) I basically have Johnny (@johnnycano) to thank for getting me started once again! I was stuck, frustrated, and super busy for a long time. Then I vowed that after my seven troops in four days/four on May 4th, I was again free to force myself to focus my efforts back on Phasma. I’d also managed to complete a bunch of little projects and wrap up another (non-Star Wars) costuming project, so I had basically run out of excuses to put her off any longer. The back/yoke is connected! The edge is a bit rough on the top. I’m going to sand it some more and then make it smooth with Bondo. Since it’s going to get painted and chromed, I’m turning to Bondo to help with minor imperfections without fear. It smells even worse than E6000 but it does the trick. As suggested by Johnny, since it is a flex-area, I’m going to make an ABS strip bridge to keep the movement out of that area, as Bondo is not flex-friendly. The pill holes in the chest really weren’t recessed enough to give them a good luck, so they have been drilled out. Thanks again, Johnny! I’ll put black tape or fabric behind there once chromed. The ab/back-kidney is together! I’m going for a side seam, since I think it will be easier to get in and out of with a split, and it just about fits perfectly that way. I opted for a side seam opening rather than splitting the back simply because the side was already open, while the back I would have to cut. Why make a cut if there’s already an opening? Plus I think side will be easier to get in and out of. I have magnets for closure already in hand. (Thank you Prime shipping!) The biceps were a bit wonky. There was a recessed strip on each, but on different halves. So I added a corresponding inner strip on the other sides, while gluing the other halves together. Once dry, I glued the other side to the inner strip. https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47927493178_13988659c3_o.jpg For the forearms, I probably trimmed a little more than I should have for the base plate, but it’s done and I can work with it. Also it came pre-trimmed, and it sort of necessitated a closer shave on that. That’s why I recommend getting a KB untrimmed, because I think sometimes they get production oriented and move a little quickly on trimming. Probably best to just take more time yourself but save yourself potential fixes or harder assembly later. Perhaps they’ve also already overcome this and it’s no longer an issue- this kit is from the middle/end of their rough patch some time ago, and they have proven to come back to full strength since. Anyway, I made inner strips and then heat-gunned them into roughly 90 degree angles using clamps, paint stir sticks and a work table. Clamp paint stir sticks to either side at approximately half of your strip, heat gun the hell out of it, and use the table to bend it, since it’s too hot to touch. It was then I realized I was an idiot and needed four, not two. So I repeated the process twice more. Gluing the inner strips to the forearms wasn’t overly tricky, it was gluing the inner plate to the strips that proved the challenge. There is a seam line present in the original, so I think I might actually be okay, but I’ll take a look once it’s cured. If need be, I’ll put a touch of Bondo in there. Next I turned to the ab boxes and the belt boxes. I actually made my goal of finishing these by the end of the week. I realized they were a lot smaller than I thought they were originally, so I had a lot of sanding down to do. Right now my biggest advice for this costume: invest in a belt sander. It can be a cheap one, I got mine from Harbor Freight. But honestly I have no idea how I would have survived this far without my belt sander. I love my Dremel (so much I’ve worn out three cheapies and finally invested in a real Dremel), but for all the curves and lots of plastic to be removed, belt sander is where it’s at. Especially with the boxes. So much easier to get even and quickly. And all the extra sanding I kept finding I needed to do. Didn’t I sand this already? How do I have this much more sanding to do? Didn’t I do this piece twice now? How do I still need to sand more? Why does this still have a catch? I swear I’ve sanded this piece at least three times now… I invested in a curve measure tool, which I've already forgotten the proper name of. I don't know what I would have done without it. Probably just trace and hope for the best. I found this one for under $10, so just buy one. Johnny also helped me with the shins and thighs, and the shins are ready for gluing, and the left thigh is ready for gluing. The right thigh needs trimming, and I have the curve template he made to use, then I can glue it. I'll post pictures of that process (unfortunately I didn't take a ton, but I also have my example suit to use as reference). Basically I intellectually understood the process, but as to actually doing it or explaining it... not so much. Once the shins are glued and dried, then I can finish the boot/shin spats- those are also wonky and need some heavy trimming/curving. More in the next post when I get to them hopefully this week. Needing a little finishing finesse and applicable greeblies, but otherwise done for this stage (pre-chroming stage): Chest plate Back/yoke Biceps Forearms Boot spats except over-shin pieces, need finish shins to fit them over them Shoulder bells (the first thing I finished) Cod piece Butt plate Knee plates Hand plates (main part- second wrist Phasma-specific piece coming from KB) Up next: Secondary hand plates (I can finish once received from KB) Glue shins Finish right thigh cuts and glue Attach all greeblies/boxes (forearms, thighs, shins) Finish off boot spats Clean up 3D print lines from blasters (I have a new technique to try from a Mando friend- acetone and a cotton pad and q-tip, carefully and slowly, just rub away at the lines, and clean up thoroughly between to prevent too-deep editing. He said they do on their stuff and blasters, so I figure why not?) Helmet: sanding, prepping, finishing off for painting/chroming. There’s still quite a lot of clean up to do on it. Maybe finish/assemble thermal detonator – optional for Phasma, I might have trimmed it a little close (CRL and photos I found did make it kinda similar, though), and it’d be one less thing to do, so we’ll see. I've so far not spit back, which it would cover, and also the cape will cover the whole area for the most part, so I'm just going to see what happens and how I feel about it and what needs to be done to it. What I’m coming to again and again is that the chroming is actually not the very last step- it’s in the second half, but it’s much earlier than I anticipated. I’m finding that I can’t finish off pieces by adding strapping, snaps, Velcro or elastics, because I’m leaving that until it’s chromed. (Ease for the person painting/chroming it, the inside can be black that way which I think will look better than white, etc.) So, I want to finish off the boot spats, or put the corresponding Velcro into the biceps and forearms for the gaskets, but I can’t, because that has to wait. Then I feel like I’m making less progress than I should. The same with adding black behind the chest pill holes, or other black details inside of other pill holes/recesses. I can’t put the boxes onto the belt yet. I can’t affix the knee plates to the gaskets. I can’t functionally do the attachments for the belt to ab, cod to ab, butt plate to kidney. I also can’t put the magnet attachments into the fingers (I guess I can sew them into the gloves). I also think I’ll hold off on installing the magnet closure of the ab/back side until after chroming. The less the chromers have to work around, the better. But I do have everything either in hand or on order that’s needed to complete her and that’s a fantastic feeling. I've also decided I'm going to chrome the blasters myself. There's just so many little picky details and what stays black, what doesn't, it's going to be a fun tape job, and two, for someone who's not a) a costumer, b) a 501st costumer, or c) being paid to professionally do this for me, I think it's just a bad combo to have someone else do it. Trying to ask a non-costumer/non-501st minded person to make sure these parts stay black (and there's a lot) but the rest gets champagne-tint chromed just doesn't sound that great. So actually I can move forward with that part whenever. I suppose worst case scenario and I can't get it professionally chromed, I'll have cut my teeth on the blasters before moving to the actual armor. My current extras: Baton This thing is machined aluminum, it’s no joke. It’s got some weight to it. It breaks down into two pieces of easy storage and transport, thankfully. I would recommend it to any TLJ Phasmas or just anyone who wants a badass Phasma baton. My only fear is learning how to pose with it without goosing anybody or whacking them in the face. It's by JJ Industries- I got in on their first run and I will say I am impressed. (They're on Facebook). It’s also Falcon approved. VIDEO0049 But then again everything is a toy to her. Everything. Thankfully she gets just as much enjoyment out of the toy mice I bought her as she does a leaf she found in the garage. A 3D printed SE-44C blaster pistol from Heston3DSolutions (same as my F-11D), ordered and should be here in a week or two. These are both TLJ Phasma components, but I knew I had to have that pike from the moment I saw it on screen, and Heston had another 50% off sale and I couldn't help myself. They can also be used as props on our tables at Cons, we pride ourselves on having great prop tables. Plus it's a nice addition to my collection of various levels of blasters- a hyperfirm E-11 (ESB), a Jawa Ion Blaster (resin, wood, heavy, fragile, really prop only though originally for my Jawa), a painted Rubies DL-44 (for my TIE), a converted airsoft MerrSonn Power 5 (for my Officers), and a hyperfirm DLT-19 (for my Shadow Scout).

First of all, Thank you all for the warm welcome, I'm honored to be working towards becoming a member of such a friendly group of people. Yes, RS informed me that my order will take eight weeks to build, it is a commission made to my measurements and specifications. I'm alright with waiting, it'll be worth the wait I'm sure. I am very much interested in qualifying for EIB and Centurion, I ordered not only the armor, but also the helmet, the blaster, the soft pieces, the body suit, and the strapping. I've been doing research into checklists for EIB and Centurion and I look forward to seeing my armor in person so I can evaluate the small details more closely. Thanks again everyone, I'll be in the forums preparing myself for BBB day! For the glory of The Empire!

Woot, woot!!! BBB day!! Finally after a year of lurking and learning on the FISD. That's the good thing. The downside is we are currently remodeling a kitchen in an old house we recently bought. So...that comes first - Stormtrooper comes after. Anywho, on with the good stuff! I gave TK-5107 a ride home from work so we took a preliminary look at the contents. TK-Kitty approves I'm terrible at following instructions It's amazing how well packed the kit is Later, at the house in need of immense TLC. The kit includes mesh, stickers and green lenses. Not sure how the stickers for the teeth work... Helmet cushion, S-trim, brow, hovi tips, hovi tip screens, and hardware You don't really appreciate the amount of parts and the enormity of the project until you un-box everything by hand... (and appreciate the cost). Oh, and my god are those thighs huge! I have a lot to trim off. But, better to trim than shim if possible. Hand guards by @justjoseph63 in there as well. (Purchased separately) Anticipation...It's making me wait. Would it be safe to assume that with all of the ESB extras include, if I bought another helmet I could have an ESB kit in addition to AHN? Not quite sure what the two bottom ab plates are. Guess I have more research to do. Holster already procured by Darman: Boots orderd from Imperial Boots. Soft goods still need to be purchased. Various other supplies still need to be gathered. Giddy and ready to join the Empire, Ray --Ninja edit: Aiming for L3. Please critique accordingly.

I was just recreating the cover to the user handbook for the Sterling and I thought this would be fun! I am not finished yet. As you can see the sterling needs scope, t-tracks and so forth. But I though y'all would like to see it.

Nice job! Everything looks great even the teeth in my opinion. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Today I’ve begun the assembly off the magazine. I’ve cut and sand the little parts of metal (scalpel and Dremel). I advise you to test the threads before assembly to remove the small pieces of metal (I’ve used WD40 to help). I’ve cleaned the aluminum parts with a toothbrush and washing-up liquid. I’ve cleaned the real steel magazine with WD40 and a toothbrush. Under the dirt I’ve found a little text. I was so happy ! I’m looking for something to remove the rust. I’ve assembled all the parts (I followed Chris tutorial here) There was just a little problem. The holes off this part were slightly misaligned, so the screw can’t be tight completely and the retention lever can’t move. I’ve decided not to tight to much in order to make the retention lever working. The mag catch makes a beautiful “clic” when you insert the magazine. Finally, the result is very good. I’m very satisfied with it.

Congratulations and welcome to the Legion Trooper

Hey guys so I worked out a solution for holding down the shins... I saddle-stitched a length of elastic with a rectangle of leather to the front of each boot with a little webbing grab loop and a snap. Super easy to snap into the front of my shins before I close the shins in back. So we took a bunch of photos - what's stopping me from putting this in for app? Thanks all!

Hooray, another AM build! I swear, we're taking over! A.J.

Hey Cameron and welcome to FISD But 8-12 weeks for a kit? They usually ship kits within days and a commission is said to take about 6 weeks...are you sure it wasn´t 8-12 days Anyhooo...great choice going with RS and as far as accuracy goes they have an original suit they copied so can´t go wrong there Building an RS suit is "easier" than most think, the original sculptors really nailed it and it comes together beautifully, I did not say symetrically Doing your research is an important step in becoming a Stormtrooper so be sure to browse the build section and look for the [RS] prefix and you will find great reference for when your kit arrives. Just some TK-Beauty to get the momentum going

Gap in posts for good reason. Around the time of my last post, our Garrison had a tragic loss. One of our members was murdered. She was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. The armor party I referenced earlier was at her house, and her TK husband. I've struggled with what to say about it other than sometimes life sucks. Her primary costume was TB, so a group in Star built scouts for our local con in her honor. Walt pulled them, so I was not focused on pestering him about my TK. But I got to a presentable TB and started pestering Walt, who encouraged me to do so until it was in mg hands. And then...... I'm at work and the doorbell rings..... Just in time for me to ALMOST finish remaking my totally too huge Scout soft goods! And so it begins.... Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Welcome to the forum and can't wait to see the build. RS is a very accurate and vetted set of armor, but might be a little harder to assemble because of its awkward construction. As other have said, keep doing research because no matter how much you think you know, there is always something that can be learned to improve your build and the experience. It would also make mistakes less likely to happen if your are certain about what you are trying to do. Also, do you plan on going for EIB or Centurion? RS armor is very fitting for such because of it's lineage and of you bought the strapping kit then you would have centurion level straps where they are needed. Just a little something to improve the overall look of your trooper and be proud of what you've done, but what ever you aspire towards is up to you and what you want from your set. Good luck on this whole process, and just enjoy the twisted ride that will likely ensue.

Hi there! Sorry I never saw your post, I must have missed the notification. I used spray-on Plasti-Dip to darken the helmet interior. it was four coats if I recall correctly. As for the lenses, mine screw in and out with chicago screws, so I was able to remove them entirely—if your lenses are mounted in permanently, though, I'm sure you can cover them with painter's tape or something similar! Plasti-Dip peels off really easily once dried, so even if some did get on your lenses I don't believe it would be a big deal. You may have already found these answers but I figured I'd pipe up anyway!

Not for all the costumes he offers (offered?). He was a reseller for Jimmiroquai's kits in Europe, but he was also offering for sale few costumes he of his making. Such as Imperial Ground Crew, Mudtrooper. Those costumes being among the worse quality products I've ever seen by the way.

Nope! Generally you just start your TKID with your first designation, then go in chronological order. And whenever you're in a given costume, then you're just That Prefix-ID that day. So I'm in my TK, I'm TK-29118, I'm in my TIE, TI-29118, etc. Most people keep it simple and just use the one, but I put all mine in signatures and stuff. If just asked my ID I'd just say TK-29118, as it was the first. Slightly envious of your Shoretrooper. They've always sort of been on the peripheral for me... thought they were wicked cool from the moment I saw them on screen.

The handle part was missing (coming later) so I finished what I could. The shield itself is not totally accurate but it’s still a cool add-on

Thanks, going for centurion now.

RS Armor will serve you well Cameron. I highly recommend checking out the “Advanced Tactics” section where you can see examples of those who have taken their armor to the next levels of screen accuracy (EIB and Centurion). I’d recommend that you aim to build to one of the certification levels, as TK’s look their best at these levels. It's really not hard to acquire EIB or Centurion, and it’s best to do during your build rather that after. If, and when, you’re looking for other bits –and-pieces, accessories, boots, blasters, electronics, etc., be sure to check out the “Imperial Commissary/PX” section for items for sale, project runs, and for other stuff that most of the troopers use. Also, make contact with your local Garrison. They’ll help guide you through the process of becoming a member of the 501st, and may have local Armor Parties in the works where you can get hands-on build advice and guidance, not to mention meet members of your future Garrison. All the best on your TK journey!

Welcome aboard Cameron. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Carmeron welcome to the FISD

For the shin velcro, if you use sticky back, I would also suggest using E6000 or similar glue for extra hold- the sticky back, even industrial strength, often doesn't hold up to our repeated stress of use. Also, if you live anywhere that gets hot, the glue can melt over time.

Welcome and good luck with the build, looking forward to the progress

Congrats on your purchase, Cameron! Take advantage of the wait time and research all you can. Check out the other builds for ideas and check out the Centurion application threads for examples of how to make your armour the best it can be. Good luck with the build! https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/72-request-centurion-status/

Hope you get your BBB sooner than later! As Brendan mentioned, now is a great time to start collecting your build supplies and your soft parts!

Welcome to FISD and congrats on placing the order! Now comes the hard part... waiting. There's a wealth of great threads and build advice to read on here in the mean time. You could also start collecting your soft pieces like neck seal, undersuit, etc. I'm not sure what all the RS kit comes with, but there's a great supply list here: Have a GREAT time!! Keep us posted and ask plenty of questions, even before BBB day. It'll be here before you know it!