Leaderboard

Hi folks, We are nearly there now. All construction and painting is complete. I’ve started applying some light weathering using an off cut from my s-trim. Hard to capture on camera but it’s currently looking like natural wear and tear. There is one natural paint crack under the chin from applying the s-trim. At this stage, I don’t yet have the courage to add any more chips.

Hi again James and thank you for your EIB application. 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. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions As we navigate through this review we are going to start from the top and work our way down. Starting with the helmet we suggest giving it a poke so it sits a bit more straight. Next up we have the posterior plate and some tighter strapping should keep it in check. The thigh ammo pack rivet appears to be a tad big and a bit to close to the corner compared to screen used suits, not a big deal but worth to mention for those striving for screen accuracy. Moving on to the shins we just like to mention that the ends of the sniper knee were trimmed with more of a straight line. Let´s move on! 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. Starting with the shoulder bells we need you to close that gap to a minimum and by the looks of things it should be as easy as just keeping your shoulders neutral. Moving on we have the Han-snap and it should be in the top corner, currently yours is to far in and needs to be moved. Rivets are to be painted white so some touching up is in order. The bracket screws could also use some paint while you´re at it, not mandatory though, just a suggestion keeping you looking sharp. Moving on to the belt is should come up just a smidgen for a crisp Centurion look. While looking at the cloth postion of the belt it´s suprising to see an RS belt crease like that, none the less it´s a no go for Centurion, as per L3: canvas belt must be firm/sturdy in appearance. No creasing or sagging. Lastly we have the dropboxes and a strategic dab of glue should do the trick in holding them were they need to be - at the end of the ammo belt. And that´s it, some small tweeks and it´s off to Centurion but first, enjoy beeing the newest Expert Infantry Man for the Empire

Hi Jesus! Thanks for your patience. Your armor is in review and since we all discuss every application together, it sometimes takes a few days for us to get all the feedback. I appreciate your enthusiasm! We will be with you soon.

Also try to get the thigh armor as close as possible to your torso to lessen the gap as well as give your knees more space to bend so you can walk somewhat normally. And it's difficult to tell for sure with only one thigh armor on, but to me, the bottom section of it seems like it could be trimmed and brought in closer to your leg to give it a better fit and shape. I had to do the same for mine during my approval process.

Big News! I just got Basic Approval!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am now officially TK-98695. Thanks to everyone for their help. I'll be asking and posting more as I work towards Expert Level now LOL

Congrats and welcome to EIB!

Cheers Greg. :-) Yeah, I’d recommend this process to anyone. It is oozing ANH in the flesh. Plus, it’s REALLY fun. :-)

Impressive. Most impressive. I sure like the look of a painted bucket.

Thanks guys. I'll be diving into my adjustments for Centurion next week. I'll have a few questions. I think I'll ask them in my build thread.

Had some help haha

I see you already found it

Thank you so much! This is amazing news, will be looking to meet the Centurion specs in the near future I really appreciate the time FISD lot have taken to review the armour and VMax for taking the armour shots and helping with kit up Is there any merch I can attain just as a memento? Mainly a patch or certificate?

Congratulation Andrew, welcome to EI, great job

Congrats James welcome to EI. Great job on your build

Will do. Just doing the last couple of prints for my FO Snowie and then I'll be tackling the lid, which I feel is going to be the hardest part

Well done James Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Congratulations James!!! Welcome to EIB. !! Just minor adjustment and go the next Step. Centurion!!

I haven't looked there. Thanks for the tip.

Congratulations Trooper, Welcome to EIB. !! jus minor adjustment for the Next Step, Centurion !!!

Thank you.

An SDS blaster would not be my first choice, (it's missing the charging handle and I'm not sure if it has a D-ring). For the same money you could get one from Quest Design, which is a lot more realistic looking: https://www.questdesigncanada.com/collections/frontpage/products/star-wars-stormtrooper-e-11-blaster-prop-replica-stormtrooper-v3 If you want to make it even more screen accurate, I would suggest one of Tino's E-11 finishing kits. They are AWESOME! https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28444-fs-completion-sets-for-e-11-resin-kits-with-worldwide-tracked-shipping-and-paypal/ If you enjoy building things yourself you can also go with a resin Doopydoos kit. Be advised that delivery may take a month or so, but they are awesome and can be customized like crazy. https://www.doopydoos.com/stormtrooper-e-11-complete-anh-e-11-blaster-kit-offer-2685-p.asp

Well done, Andrew! :-)

The emperor is proud of you well done and serve with pride

Couldnt find a 150L toolbox in New Zealand. Have bought a cricket bag with wheels. Separate compartment for the helmet and the armour fits perfectly.

Woot! It's an honour to make EIB. Thanks to everyone for helping me get there. You've done a very thorough job of evaluating my armour and the tips on bringing it to the next level are very much appreciated. I will make the necessary changes before sending in my Centurion application. Thanks.

Congratulations, Welcome to EIB.

Congratulations trooper

Hi Andrew, Thanks for your application for EIB. It's always great to see fellow troopers taken that extra step to bring their Armor that much closer to screen accurate. CRL and EIB Application Requirements All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. On behalf of the DO team and myself, many congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions I like to start with the helmet and work my way down, ready lets begin. Great job on fixing the frown so our first stop are your ears. You can see in the reference photos how the screws align with the front trap and it follows the same line down to the bottom screw as well. Reference Image Last thing on your helmet is your Vocoder, although the paint job itself is awesome... nice clean lines... the paint on the vocoder could definitely stand to come up a bit. If you notice the ridges, the paint does not go all the way to the top. It may just be me, but it looks odd. EASY fix! Next I'm going to call attention to the bicep, it looks as if you could bring them up just a bit. I honestly think this is from moving around while taken pictures but it is something to be aware of. You can see in the shot from behind how high up they wore them. 10 bonus points for wearing the thumb print on the left bicep.... Reference Photo Next we'll move to the butt plate. 99.9% of the time this a strapping issue. If your using elastic strap try switching the outside edge straps to nylon so you have no give on those points and that should give you the nice straight lines...notice a theme... Reference Image The last suggestion I'll give be fore moving onto Centurion requirements is a quick fix that'll make a big difference and that's your cover strips on the shins. The right one in particular extends past the armor. Take a look at the CRL photos and it shows what you should be aiming for. its trimmed just shy of the bottom with the edges 45 degree angles cut to help things from getting caught up on. Reference Photo 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 adjustments. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items to pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what is seen, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. Per CRL "There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates." While yours are close I'd like to see them a little closer. I think once you adjust the biceps from the suggestion above this will take care if the problem. You can also cut the rest of the return edge from the bottom on the bell and that should bring it in tight. Reference Photo Next will be your Ab Button Details. Per the CRL: "Abdomen armor buttons are integrated and painted directly on the armor. Ab button paint shall not extend beyond the bottom of the actual raised button. Reference Photos Onto your Kidney/Abdomen section. Per the CRL "Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Abdominal and Kidney Plate align horizontally at top. A single visible seam line is present." Yours are extremely close and again I think its from moving prior to your photos but it is something that needs to be addressed before Centurion but its a really easy fix. . I looks as if you use Nylon strapping as the base of your snaps but I'm not sure if you use the same material for the top of the strapping. Switching the top strapping to nylon will get rid of the flexibility that allow this. Reference Photos Lastly I'm going to request that you adjust your Thermal Detonator Looking at the reference photos you can see the details molded into the thermal detonator are more prominent and also has a lot less gray showing on the bottom. The best way I can describe to you would be to picture it as a clock and then move it forward 15 min or 45 deg. I think the easiest way to achieve this would be to re-bend your brackets so the screws are pointing to the ground and the detail piece resembles the reference photos or you could trim the bracket tabs and drill new holes in the bracket and reuse the hole in the pipe. This will leave you three sets of holes but the brackets will cover them and no one will know any better. (In other words fix the orientation of the thermal detonator and I wont see the holes left once the brackets are reinstalled.) Reference Photo I know it seems like a lot of "little things" but you've shown your willingness to take your fellow Troopers suggestions and improved your armor that much closer to screen accurate. From all of us at FISD Deployment Office - congrats, see you at Centurion, etc

Well that was quicker than expected: I got approved. No further questions from the GMO. Also had my first troop as a stormtrooper on Saturday which was pretty great. I now know where I need to do some minor adjustments for comfort. And my first repair because the snap of my left Shoulderbell came loose. I was really surprised how good the ventilation is in a TK compared to my TS. guess I’ll wear it more often now.

Once finished, you need to do a little video clip to show it in action.

Today i spent some more time in assembling the blaster and some minor details, like adding more realistic letters on the scope with a wax crayon... on the back of the barrel you can see my TK ID , 24717, hammered into the resin with hammering letters, sorry for the wording, but i cannot find the correct translation. The number 4 i have to do again, as the wax is not remaining inside. Now it looks more and more like a blaster and i am getting happier and happier when i see the result :-) :-) :-) A detailed pictore of the charging and programming port... in the end cap clip you can see the speaker, which had to be replaced twice already... meanwhile i know the reason why it blew up twice :-) Here you can see the main switch, placed in between two magnets of the completion kit from Tino. Only if this switch is switched on, the blaster can be activated. More pictures are following once everything has been checked and if it is working properly. Have a anice evening guys!

Okay, so we took a few minutes today and took submission pics. We were all ready to submit the form, when Mr. Cricket suddenly realized that he needed to choose a TKID. Annnd now things grind to a halt until he has time to look over that huuuuge list. *sigh* So while I'm waiting, here are the pics! As I was taking the photos, we realized that we had attracted a small crowd of moms with small children on the street. The kids were thrilled to spot a stormtrooper in the neighborhood! Okay, so for self-criticism here... the shoulder bells are really giving me a headache. Well, that and hubby's undershirt is too big on him. The shirt issue can be easily fixed (thanks, Amazon!). I don't have a ton of experience building suits for normal-sized troopers. If I was evaluating this for EIB/Centurion, I would suggest shortening the elastic on the bells. There is still room for the bells to come in at the top. So I'm going to tackle that first. The other issue with the bells is that they are really 'pinchy' on him, which is adding to the bells wanting to shift out of place. I'll be getting them into a quick hot water bath to see if I can loosen them up somewhat. Honestly, I think I might have overtrimmed the bells a little too much at the top. I mean, it's not a submission deal-breaker by any means, but still... I know that there are many TKs in my own garrison that have much, much larger black space at the chest/bell area, but I think I could do better for sure. So technically, I'm done with this kit, but in reality, I've got more work to do.

Thanks! And specifically thank you for your help and patience with questions. More may be incoming as I start work for Expert Making plans for Fanexpo this month as well.

Hi folks, Another step closer today. Benefits of being up at 5:30 with the baby is getting a head start on things!! Lol I used the Trooperbay Dave M style templates and a ‘special’ vintage shade of blue (thank you again, P). I was a little nervous about applying the templates in case they damaged the top coat / thankfully, they peeled off perfectly in the end. Just one coat here, carefully applied, using the paint sparingly. As you’d expect, a little bleed here and there but nothing that a gently scrape with a cocktail stick/wooden toothpick wouldn’t fix. Also, added the hovi tip mesh (although I don’t think this is overly accurate) and added the acetate lenses. Apart from the s-trim for the neck, were pretty nearly there. Please feel free to comment on the hovi mesh. Note the orientation of the stripes - see here for more information; https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/44755-tube-stripes-anh-stunt-dave-m/ Tubestripes approx a pencil width from the cheeks. Lightly and carefully applied just one coat of paint, trying to avoid too much pressure which could force bleed under the template; Pre-toothpick Post-toothpick

So Dan, the issue you are having is called paint fry, and there are a few reasons why this could have happened. 1. You got a bad batch of paint, yeah sometimes that happens. 2. The undercoat was still de-gassing when you applied the top coat and caused the reaction to occur. Even if you leave it a few days this can still occur with some paints and the de-gassing process changes time with ambient temperature. 3. it is simply a reaction between the top coat and undercoat or undercoat and primer when the top coat was applied. Unfortunately the only way to fully fix it is to strip the helmet back and re start the process. you could try and sand it back lightly then hit it with the old wet n dry and try and reapply the top coat in the hopes it doesn't Fry again. Its just a minor set back so push on as this will be a spectacular helmet once completed.

Front sight guard finished. It was difficult to trim it : I didn't want to remove to much material but I wanted to keep accuracy. Not perfect but I'm pretty happy. Paint will mask the excess of material. And the front sight guard is stronger.

It's the ESB MKII version that has the pop rivets. These were suits that were meant to be used in ESB but were not finished in time for filming (although one did make an appearance in the carbon freezing chamber scene). These suits are almost identical to ROTJ armour with a few minor differences but the strapping method was completely different inside. From all the reference material I have they show single cap rivets on ROTJ armour and pop rivets on the ESB MKII and on tour suits. I'm not sure if the particular style of rivet is an issue for whatever levels but I wanted to let you guys know about what was used on the original props.