Leaderboard

I was approved on July 30th. Much thanks to Trooper Jason Clinansmith as well to all those who gave pointers.

re: Germain, I saw your reply and can assure you none of whatever models you put out for the pistol will be used in mine. There's actually some distinct differences here, such as I noticed they went with a glock 17 pattern grip rather than the g19, so your models wouldn't be terribly helpful anyways. So far the most detailed images Ive been able to get are the hot toys model youtube video gmrhodes linked a page or two back. Those have been incredibly helpful with my modeling, however a big problem occured to me. We've seen stuff in the past where models like these that are included with toys have several inaccuracies, and i'm noticing a few different details that are different between the blasters included in the hot toys model and the ones carried by the sith troopers at SDCC. I will say my current model is heavily based off of the toy replica since there's so much detail to be had off that version. Perhaps if I do a run of these blasters, I may consider releasing a version now that's as accurate as I think i can get between all the images from SDCC and the likes, and then later after december or whenever we can get some confirmed 100% accurate footage/images of the screen used props, I can go back and fix the model and re-release another version with the fixes. And I was kicking around the idea of giving the folks who order the pre-release version a 50% discount off the post-release version, this way there's somewhat of a 'psuedo-deposit', if you will, on the post release version. That way you can have the option of having something sooner thats as accurate as it gets, and then have something later that will hopefully match everything on screen. I've been spending literally every minute of free time I have (which these days is slim) on this model and I'm very happy with the progress i've been able to make. Definitely getting close, hopefully should have something to show within a week or so and when I do it'll be a physical 'prototype', not just the model.

For the First Order! It was a long wait with a short build time. I’m so excited to be an official 501st Stormtrooper! Thank you everyone for your support and build threads! In memory of FN-2199 (Nines) I received my TK# of 21999. I’ve also updated my user name from FirstOrderConcepts to NeoNines. Lets get trooping!

From a couple pics I've seen of the helmet interior, it looks to be a weird -- possibly unique -- hybrid of the Premiere and Standard. Fiberglass construction, but with a Standard style interior.

I think most people are in for well over $3k. More if you get a proper paint job (auto paint) which runs nearly a grand on its own.

Hi Jesus! Great to see another ESB application. For EIB, the crl says: Any gap between the abdomen and kidney armor is no more than 1/2" (12.5mm) wide. It appears your ab/kidney gap is too large. Can you post updated photos showing a smaller gap? I think it may just be that you can get there by tightening your belt, or tightening up some of the strapping connecting the ab and kidney. Thanks, Sha Sha

Hi!!!!! Updated with new photos of: -Lens color -Detail of thermal detonator If you need anything else for the evaluation do not hesitate to contact me. I will be happy to help.

Thank you guys amazing job. !!

Congratulations, looking awesome!

well, I gritted my teeth last night, unscrewed everything and went for it - I took 2-3mm off both ear caps, swapped in small screws into the original top holes of the ear caps so my visor would still hold in place, trimmed back as much of the ABS under the ear region as I could without disturbing the pop rivets, re-sited, drilled and remounted the ear caps as tilted and in-line with the back of the temple/traps as it would let me without revealing the pop-rivets. Only two bits of trauma - nearly drilled through a fan wire, and a small issue where the heat from cutting off the long bolts caused a screw on the bottom of the to pull through the ABS. But that's as 'Hopey' as I think I can get.

Thanks Dan! well, I gritted my teeth last night, unscrewed everything and went for it - I took 2-3mm off both ear caps, swapped in small screws into the original top holes of the ear caps so my visor would still hold in place, trimmed back as much of the ABS under the ear region as I could without disturbing the pop rivets, re-sited, drilled and remounted the ear caps as tilted and in-line with the back of the temple/traps as it would let me without revealing the pop-rivets. Only two bits of trauma - nearly drilled through a fan wire, and a small issue where the heat from cutting off the long bolts caused a screw on the bottom of the to pull through the ABS. But that's as 'Hopey' as I think I can get. (I'll take a look at those stripes and see what I can do though, thanks!)

Congratulations David, you look awesome!!

Welcome back, Tom. Whilst you could try adapting what you have, it’s worth noting that armour has come on a long way in the last 15 years. It might be worth taking a look at the thread that Brien (Harbinger) shared and consider the option of a new kit. :-)

We have a list that will get you started:

hahahaha super fast

Yes! Current scoresheet from one group: 4 x black 1 x red 1 x white Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hello world, A little more progress. This time, hovi tips. The resin is typically yellow in appearance so a couple of coats of white were applied. Then, satin black. Fitting them to the lid really gives it extra character. :-) Next up - tubestripes. :-)

I personally would echo the above opinions and go with ABS, which is what most of us have. It's not as hard to trim as you may think, and (depending on the thickness) it will hold up for a very, very long time. My Stunt and HWT armor are AM and I have put them though hell and back on countless troops with no cracks or issues. My Anovos (Hero) armor is a lot thinner, and even after a few troops it started developing cracks and splits which I had to patch/repair.

If it’s who I think Darren is referring to, those files are awesome, but there are a few out there currently. Hope you are successful in convincing him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

CGTrader has a number of files. I also know someone who has done a great job designing a set and trying to convince them to release them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

very nice job; how much was those cans compared to reg rusto

You are doing a great job, looking forward to seeing you fully kitted up and approved. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OK so I had the opportunity to test out the “new” product and hell yes! In the picture above you can see the version 1 (on the right) of the shoulder strap that connects the chest to the back armor. The side strap is to connect the shoulder bell and the soft Velcro is intended to adhere to the underside of the kit included fiberglass shoulder straps or the urethane shoulder straps I make. Version 2 is on the left and was made from the new elastic/Velcro webbing. I also decided to make a version 3 which is the same as version 2 but the shoulder bell elastic/ snap is velcroid rather than sewn on the shoulder strap. This allows the wearer to adjust it on the strap for best fit. Going forward I pan on making the strapping kits available for purchase at $110.00 shipped to CONUS and will include the version 3 straps in that kit. I am still working some of the details for the kit and will post a link to the sell them once I have ironed everything out. This also means that if you have are planning on buying the urethane shoulder straps you should order them with the hard Velcro on them is you also are considering buying the strapping kit once its available. Ok so here are some pictures of the version 3 straps in full kit. They performed even better than the version 1 straps. I will continue the tutorial and refine the cut list in the coming weeks. Thanks for the interest.

Congratulations trooper

Congratulations Simon, all the way now, you almost got this, good luck. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well done, Simes. Centurion is calling. :-)

Congratulations trooper, welcome to EIB.

Great Simon!!! , Welcome to EIB. Now, don't stop your way to Centurion.

Hi again Simon and thank you for your EIB application. (For those looking at this review for their own future application please be aware that this review is made in appliance to the previous CRL, meaning that there are elements in this review that are suggestions that will be manadatory for those beeing reviewed according to the current CRL as per regulations stipulated for when the changes would take affect, you can read about it in this NL https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/47339-june-fisd-newsletter-2019/) In this review I will ensure that your armor follows the requirements set out in the CRL L2 Expert Infantry Badge and also point out what I can to prepare you for Centurion, should you choose to apply. I hope you do! Let´s get started shall we! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All required submission photos have been posted and I am very pleased to announce your armor displays all the necessary elements to qualify for ANH Stunt Expert Infantry. On behalf of myself and the entire D.O.Team, Congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: In this section we review observations made by your fellow troopers and ourselves. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. As we navigate through this review we are going to start from the top and work our way down. We start with the helmet and although there are examples of brows in different positions we feel that the intended look is what´s seen below - a clear gap with the brow trim neatly installed. You have a nice looking gap but the trim itself is a bit wavy so we suggest you poke it in place. Next up we have the ears and as seen below on most Stunt helmets the ears had more of an angle to them. Yours are pretty close but could still be moved just a touch, so if you feel up to it we feel it would add even more to that ANH-feeling, another thing to consider would be to trim the ears a bit thinner. Moving on, we have the tube stripes and it´s another of those small details to consider for an uber ANH-look and as seen below the last/most forward stripe usually has a lean forward. An easy fix by simply add an extra stripe with a little lean to it. The mic tips are nice and white on the inside but could use some wear on the rims as seen below and if your hovis are "unpainted" resin you can just scuff them up. Turning our attention to the shoulder bridges they seem a bit long and a quick and easy fix would be to snip them off a bit shorter as seen in the reference image below. Just something to consider. Looking at your arms we noticed there´s a good amount of return edge and we suggest to remove all of it on the inside part as indicated by the blue lines. Original armor had very minimal if any return edge and that would make it a bit more comfortable as well. Looking at the belt we suggest you give it a shave ones in a while to stay sharp on patrols. Your TD is looking good but if you want all out accuracy the clips were butted up to the control panel and the ends had little bends on them as seen in the reference images below. The posterior plate seem to have gone Rogue on you so here we advise you to thighten the strapping. It also appears that the thighs might be a culprit in pushing on the plate, lowering them or trimming is what we suggest if that´s the case. Last on our suggestion list is also a comfort thing by removing some more return edge on the lower cod. We will also just finish off by mentioning that we saw other areas that would benefit some light sanding to keep you more comfortable when wearing the suit. Overall you did a very fine build and we just want you to enjoy it as much as possible - hey! who are we kidding! It´s s Stromtrooper suit, it will be enjoyable even if there were barb wire for the edges...sorry, got a little carried away there - as you were Trooper Let´s move on to the next step! Centurion Requirements: In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested in the future that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustment etc. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all we can from what is seen but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. Below you will find areas that will need to be adressed for a future succesfull Centurion Application. As per L3 there should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest and back plate so we need you to close that gap some more and based on your build thread this seem to be a simple dressing issue and if not there´s still some lower return edge at the bells that can be trimmed. The sides should be together nice and thight and some tighter strapping should have this sorted. Last item on your road to Centurion would be to lift the belt and going by your build thread ones again you had the belt position down to point so this most certainly is a dressing matter. And that´s it - just some small tweeks to do so we expect that Centurion application momentarily During that breef transition time - head on out as a proud Expert Infantry man for the Empire

Plainsrunner, you hit on the point I was trying to make in the previous post. I permanently closed off the front side of the legs and arms and used Velcro to close the back seam and this has caused stress cracks. My suggestion was to experiment and see if its possible to keep the two halves of the armor separate and close both the front and back with Velcro. I can not do this since I have already welded the two halves together on the front seam on my armor but you or others can try the suggested method and see if it works before going the route I did. Before we get started I wanted to add some helpful information. I recommend you use a hot glue gun when folding the webbing before stitching. Also, I recommend you use a soldering iron to melt the holes in the webbing for the snaps. First, I need to cover a few quick notes. I do not know what level of sewing you (the reader) have so lets hit some basics. Start and end all stiches with a lock stitch. That is when you run a line for 3-5 stitches then reverse over the 3-5 stitches, then resume the stitch going back over the 3-5 stitches. All sewing machines have a reverse level or button, and this is what it is meant for. This ensures the stitch is locked in place and will not pull out. Next, when possible (meaning if you have the available area) do a box stitch. This is where you stitch a rectangle then two crisscross stitches in the center. In the pictures below, look at how I sewed the Velcro, that is a box stitch. Lastly, the 4 part #24 snaps can be a bit confusing if you have not worked with them before. In the picture above from left to right you can see the 1-cap, 2-socket, 3-eyelet, 4-stud. To the left of these 4 parts is a cap and socket correctly assembled but not struck, and right of that is a eyelet and stud correctly assembled but not struck. It is entirely possible to mix these up and assemble the snap incorrectly. Also, note below the snaps are the two tool you will need the two sided anvil (seen here with the cap side up) and the punch. The next picture shows the anvil with the eyelet side up. Ok, so today I will try to explain how I made the two primary shoulder straps for the abdominal armor and the two back straps that close-up the abdominal armor. The sole purpose of the shoulder straps are to support the abdominal armor. On my armor I made these straps out of 1” wide nylon webbing but in this tutorial, I recommend you use 1.5” wide nylon webbing. I honestly do not know if it will make a difference, but I believe it would be more comfortable. My 1” straps are not uncomfortable but if I am doing this again, may as well do it right. If you do your strapping like I did you will end up having three sets of straps on your shoulders. Base layer is the straps I will demonstrate today. The next layer is the shoulder straps that connect the chest and back armor and support the shoulders. The top layer is the exposed shoulder straps that come with the armor and are made of fiberglass or the urethane rubber straps I make. If you look at the list above, you see we will need the following for the Abdominal shoulder straps: Quantity Length Width Use 2 31” 1.5” Nylon Webbing Abdominal Shoulder Straps 2 #24 4 part snaps Abdominal Shoulder Straps 2 1.5” Plastic loop Abdominal Shoulder Straps 2 4” 1.5” Velcro (both sides) Abdominal Shoulder Straps 2 5” 1.5” Nylon Webbing Abdominal Shoulder Straps After cutting all the materials this is what I have. Note: I did not have any black plastic loops in 1.5” so they are green in this picture. Next, I fold the two 5”x 1.5” nylon straps over one end of the plastic loop and use hot glue to hold the nylon closed. Also, I expose the sticky back of the Velcro and apply a 3” hard piece at the end of the 31”x1.5 nylon webbing. I space (the white chalk X) 1” then apply the 4” soft Velcro. Next I sew the Velcro on the 31” straps using a box stitch. I sew the 5” strips closed; however, I do not use a box stitch because we will be punching a hole inside the sewn rectangle for the snap. Next using soldering iron, I melt holes in the 5” nylon webbing. Next I mount the cap and socket set of snaps to the 5” straps. I use a drill to make the holes in the armor and mount the eyelet and stud set of snaps. You will want to be careful to not crack the armor when doing this. I placed the armor around a board I suspended with a vice and hammered the eyelet/stud set closed. The two holes for these snaps need to be on the front of the armor close to where I have them in the first picture of this thread (my armor hanging). Next, I run the 31” straps through the loops and you should have two assembled straps like this. The Velcro we sewed on the front end of the 31” straps allows me to adjust the straps a few inches to get the best fit. The back end of the 31” straps are adhered to the inside of the abdominal armor along the back opening. How you adhere the straps is up to you and you should test fit them and cut any unneeded length of the 31” straps from the back end before finalizing how you mount them. Once the back end of the straps are adhered to the armor, the front side should snap like this. The straps should crisscross in the back. So I hope that was somewhat clear… Next, we will make the two straps that close-up the back of the abdominal. For these straps you will need the following: Quantity Length Width Use 2 7” 5/8” Nylon Webbing Abdominal Back Closure 2 5” 5/8” Nylon Webbing Abdominal Back Closure 2 5/8” Plastic side release buckles After everything is cut you should have a set of parts like in the top of this picture. The bottom strap is a completed strap. There are two sides for plastic side release buckles and some buckles are slightly curved to fit a contour. These 5/8” buckles are curved so how I sew them is important but most of the time any logo or residue mold marks are on the back side. I wrap the 5”x5/8” strap around the female side of the buckle and fold it in half. Again, I use hot glue to hold the webbing closed for easy stitching. On the 7” strap I fold one end twice and run a stitch the width of it. This creates a finger hold to better tighten the strap down and it also prevents the strap from coming out of the male end of the buckle. Note how the strap is threaded. If you thread it incorrectly it will not hold tight when you cinch it down. These two straps are mounted to the inside back of the abdominal armor and should look like this. I made sure I could reach behind and access them so I could put my armor on and take it off myself but it does make life easier if you have someone help you put the armor on. How you adhere these two straps inside the armor is up to you. I permanently adhered these straps and given how tight I cinch these straps, I do not recommend using Velcro. Since the back plate covers this area, you could consider rivets but I felt that would stress the fiberglass. I used PC-7 putty to adhere my straps. See my build for more details on the PC-7 method. Well, I hope this is a good start. Please let me know if this tutorial is unclear or requires more detailed pictures, etc… I have more webbing and Velcro on order so it will be next week before I continue this. As always, thanks for the interest.

Hello and welcome back, here are the current CRL (costume reference library) requirements: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_anh_stunt have a read through those will give what has changed over time. One thing your boots look a little too cream compared to the amor, you may need to dye them a little whiter. Also check with your GML (garrison membership liaison) as it is ultimately he or she who will be approving your armor. Good luck

Awesome! Keep us up to date on the outcome, and if there are any issues we can help ya' take care of them!

Good Luck Kevin. !!

Good luck and hope to see you approved very soon

Besides what has been mentioned, Kevin, 2 things that may affect basic approval are: 1. As per the CRL, the shoulder bridges "..shall be securely mounted in the front"... Not sure about the right side, but the left one needs to be glued down. Easy fix! 2. In the back, the bridges extend too far over the tabs and look to be a bit wide. The bridge should not overlap the tabs at the top of the back plate. You can also trim down the sides of them if this helps. The backs of the straps should be parallel (or close to it). This can be done by measuring when gluing them down. Nice job overall on this, sir, and best of luck on your submission!

Nice work, future squad-mate! I don't have anything to contribute that hasn't already been said. Slide the dropboxes outwards a little, maybe shorten your forearms a bit (cut away from the elbow end, if needed). I'm also seeing some overlap with your buttplate and your thigh—you may want to trim the buttplate back, or the thigh edge down, to prevent pinching. The backplate does look elongated - maybe you could trim some off of the top/shoulder section and bring the whole piece up a little. It shouldn't overlap with your kidney plate—which, speaking of, is also much taller than necessary. I can't see from your photos - how does it align with your ab plate? The two should line up, ideally. Trimming some off of the ab plate will also probably help mobility and prevent armour bites! Here is a photo of mine for reference. Good luck! I look forward to trooping with you.

Weekends tend to be a little quieter- we're out on troops, we're out of town (sometimes out of town on troops), etc. Here's what jumps out at me: eBay? I would guess it's an AM 1.0- the chest really looks like 1.0 to me. Belt boxes to line up with the end of the plastic belt Move biceps up about an inch or so. This should help them pushing into the forearms, which are then hitting the hand guards. If not, you may need to trim the forearms a bit shorter. Turn the thighs a bit so the cover strip is more centered to the leg, this will also help them line up with the cover strips on the shins. Shoulder bridges don't look affixed in the front- they should be flush with the chest plate. The back plate looks rather elongated and large, with a lot of overlap on the kidney. If you were significantly shorter this wouldn't surprise me as much, but being as tall as you are, how big is the kit? The kidney seems to come up very high on the torso. The det could be moved over just a smidgen to be centered (this is totally nit picky but might as well get used to getting it centered), The cover strip on the thigh stops at the bottom ridge, and doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the piece.

Hi Kevin, Good work. I've had a quick look and here's what I see: . your drop boxes should be moved out towards the end of the ABS belt. They should be aligned with the end of the belt. . it looks like one of your shoulder straps is coming off. Also, your shoulder straps should come down further on your chest plate . your backplate is overlapping your kidney plate . it's hard to tell, but your forearms might be long. They shouldn't overlap your handplates. Maybe its a strapping issue? . it might be a shadow, but your right thigh cover strip looks too wide, which might also be impacting the positioning of your thigh ammo belt. Please check the CRL.