Leaderboard

So, I started my journey back 2005. At the time my FX kit was considered one of the better kits. Everything was hush hush and very underground it seemed. I drove 3hrs to meet with Brendon TK-00191. He gave me a very in-depth history of group and different armors. A few month later I bought my kit and started to work on it. I was excited to get started, but there were little resources to go by as I stated earlier a lot of stuff was not to be published. Then life happened and then the economy tanked and it was put in a box not to see the light of day again for a very long time. Then in 2014, I was at an event somewhere and saw the 501st. I felt the bug hit me again and with encouragement from my wife, I pulled the parts out and started at it again. This time I had found the FISD website and Great Lakes garrison forum. There I made contact with Michael "Mayhem" May. He sent me a link to an event he was going to be at. There I talked to him after the event and even brought some of my armor pieces to discuss where I was struggling. He was patient and answered all my questions. So, did people on the forums. I made some progress, but quickly fizzled out. The biggest reason for fizzling out: I was afraid to mess something up. So, I fizzled out again. Then over Christmas 2018 like nearly every year, I made a resolution to get my armor done. This time I posted it on Facebook that I was going to do it. Then I told everyone I knew that I was going to do it by May 2017 for Motor City Comic con. This actually helped keep me motivated because someone was always asking me how it was going. So, I did not have the luxury to quietly fizzle out. I did not want to tell anyone the reason for quitting again. I quickly made a lot of progress, but then I plateaued. So, I watched how to videos and I read forum posts, and watched and read and watched and read and watched and read, telling myself i was working. I was procrastinating making that first irreparable cut to my armor. I had a lot of support from people here and on FISD facebook page. They showed me their armor and the mistakes they were able to hide and still have great looking armor. However, I think the biggest encouragement was from Al Tong TK-76239 who came over to a stranger's house to help him fit armor. He also brought his TK armor for me to review and see one up close and touch it and see what he did. He was also the one that gave me the verbal proverbial kick in the butt to just cut away. Al took time on a number of occasions to meet and review my armor with his. It sounds silly to type/say it now, but that cut to separate the butt from the kidney, was the second most stressful part of the whole thing. That first irreparable cut. The hardest one was drilling hole in the helmet for the ears. That I measured, marked, measure, verified, measured, verified, etc probably a dozen times or more before drilling the holes. Once I did that, everything else was cake. The belt took me like 30min to complete once I started. A funny story but not so much at the time, 1am the night before ComicCon I am putting the blue stripes on my helmet. I did the left side perfectly. So, I must have been feeling a little more confident for the other side. Well, I wasn't paying attention and put them on backwards. Now, I hadn't removed the backing for the sticker yet on the top side. I was about to have a panic attack, but resolved that I would have to redo it later. My wife took the helmet from me and emphatically told me that we are too close to being done. She said she thinks she can fix it. She slowly and carefully pulled at the backing and got the edge of the blue stripes exposed, then for the next 45 minuntes she took a fine needle from her sewing basket and carefully lifted every stripe back onto the backing perfectly. I was able to re-apply with no issue. There is a video on FISD facebook feed where she is gloating a little bit. So, my advice to anyone thinking about undertaking this process is: 1.) Get started now. Don't wait like I did. 2.) Don't be afraid to make a mistake. I came to realize that imperfections actually make things look better. I originally wanted perfection, but I put so many scratches and dings assembling my kit before I even wore it once. It still looks great. 3.) Do research to learn what you need to do. Just don't get stuck in the analysis. Don't get analysis paralysis like I did. I lost a lot of potential trooping time because of it. 4.) Nothing is truly irreparable. You may have to buy a new piece like I did with my TD, but there are ways to make it work. 5.) Ask for help when you need it. Just don't get stuck in having it to do it like someone else or a certain way. You may stumble on something better, easier, etc. Well, that is all I have for now. I am just excited to be a part of the group. Long live the Empire! Michael Rose

Hello Everyone! I just got received my ATA Works Kit in the mail today (Happy 10th Anniversary to them btw), and I am beyond overwhelmed! I’ve been looking into the forums and it’s been really confusing as it seems everyone does it different. I think the main thing I’m asking is: 1) Can someone point me in the direction of some really informative stunt builds? 2) What’s next? What and how much do I need to buy to make my building experience more enjoyable? (Rivets, buttons, velcro, magnets, etc.) Thanks for your help!

You can also try stuffing with bunched up wet newspaper an leave to dry, an oldie but a goodie. https://www.wikihow.com/Stretch-New-Shoes

Hi Eric, exciting times ahead of you so enjoy the journey, ask lots of questions and post lots of photos of your progress. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In addition to the above as you begin to install and check for fitment, before final gluing if you start to see cracking in the lower return edge corners you might want to remove all of it. Some armor material will crack in this area and removing all the lower return edge will help prevent that. Keep up the good work

So looking at your photos you could use a few adjustments if you're up for it. Besides reducing and tightening the gaps between sections here's a few more areas that need attention. Thighs are disproportionate to the calves, they're too large and could stand to be reduced. Also, the cover strips are supposed to stop at the lower return edge, not cover it. They're also supposed to cover any gaps between the halves, notably at the top. Shins - The sniper knee is too off center and positioned at a awkward angle, it could stand to be centered and more verticle. Lastly I don't see any cover strips on the back of your calves, are you still working on these? How are your biceps coming? I noticed in an earlier post they looked to be assembled with "overlap" construction instead of the correct "butt and strip" like the other areas. Anyway, just a few things to be aware of. Keep up the good work.

The 501st-only section is mainly for merch that is limited to 501st members and not allowed to be sold outside the club. That's why.

Well there’s no such thing as to many photos

Can do. Still trying to figure out how much is too much when sharing. :-) Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Oh, it would help if you include the photos in the thread rather than linking them

Happy BBB-dayThe extra ears are for those "oops-moments" As for the decals, don´t know if that should have been included, probably not as they weren´t. I recommend painting yourself for the great feeling you would get of painting your own helmet or you can get templets or decals at Trooperbay.com.

Hi Pam! Great to see you getting ready for Centurion. You shouldn't need to do any reshaping of the top of the knee. I did remove all of the bottom return edge on my sniper knee.

Hi, Pam . You did a great job with the botton edge. I think the top is ok. You would like to check this centurion thread , it's the same armor maker and similar in height as you. Good luck but I'm sure you don't need it. see you in Centurion.

Amazing Michael!! Congratulations and this is just the beginning, enjoy.

Eric, As far as a build goes we all do things a little different but you can look at any of @ukswrath build threads as most of us really consider his a step by step instruction manual. You can see his thread on ATA armor here!! And thanks to our Executive Office @justjoseph63 you can find a list of all the extras that you could think of here! Any other questions feel free to reach out as we're all here to help!