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Congrats, Trooper. Great job. (@msouza - are you able to add his EIB number to his thread title?)

funnily enough when i saw the drawing and tee that's what popped into my head as well... Loving the Sith Trooper, not a fan of the Jet trooper.... the plate that sticks out on the chest would look aerodynamic and would line up with the bucket I would have thought....

Brian George TK-10770 Armoredfist5 Garrison Titan armor - AM bucket - AM blaster - Praetorian Blasters holster - Trooper Bay canvas belt - Imperial Issue neck seal - Geeky Pinks electronics - UKSWRATH/Henry’s helmet fans photos

Ops, I had forgotten to link them, I updated the post Thank you

I've only worn my HWT to a couple of events, standards for the pack changed plus I have back and neck problems so the extra weight is not helpful. Like Tony I used a charcoal dust which was easy to polish off. I think you'll find the public see a HWT as a clean Sandy and really don't notice it's a different costume. Most of the time event hosts want to see shinny whites but on the odd occasion they want to be dirty

Nice work trooper, another photo the DO's like to see is the inside fixing of the rivets on knee ammp plate. Good luck with approval

Wouldn't know DV, but baiting fellow members is just another term for bullying

I don't I go back and forth, though it's been a while since I've gone HWT. When I did I used charcoal dust, it's perfect for temporary weathering, and quickly wipes off.

What skills he has using Photoshop he lacks in 3D scanning, not to mention Photoshopping is far more creative

All done! My left thigh is a tad high in the pictures, but its on an adjustable strap system so easily taken care of. Moving around in it is a huge difference than my ANH TK. Inalso tried on my pack and it sits better, and with the rubber straps, it helps keep the back pack straps from sliding off to the side and getting vaught under the shoulder bell. The extended/larger back also helps alleviate the weight by pushing the pack into a better vertical position. Overall I learned a lot of new things with this build. My only complaint is the belt. The all plastic construction is a pain to deal with, and I hate the notches at the top of the belt. Because of the softer details of the abs pull and how far back the bottom lip sits, it was difficult construction wise to get them in as well as I could. Sent from my SM-T597P using Tapatalk

Good job, buddy. Looking great! :-)

Congrats!

All black now! Just need to get the inner bolt and spring in and pop the end on and put the stickers on the scope and I'm done! Can't wait to make a start on the helmet now. Look out for the build thread! Thanks so much for your help Dan, I'll be copying from your TK build too along with the RWA videos

Congratulations Trooper and welcome to the ranks.

Congratulations Trooper, welcome to the Legion.

Oh damn, that sounds bad, i didn't hear anything about that hurricane...good luck with that! I'll wait as much as needed, hope everything goes well!

Hola Rodrigo good to see you going for Centurion!! I'll be with you shortly but living in Florida I have to deal with this crazy Hurricane that doesn't know what way it wants to go..... Hang in there trooper. Gracias

Jose, the effort to do things well will be rewarded. Look excelent your armor, get lucky

Thank you very much for your comments and encouragement, they help me to cheer up for all the time and work done and keep trying to reach the next level

Welcome Trooper!! Go ahead, reach your goal EIB and beyond!!

Thank you!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Angling the ears forward from the bottom will reduce the gap, have a play in different positions and see if the gap closes up, some kits just won't give the "ideal screen angle" due to how they were formed. I found ears to be the most diabolical part of trimming the whole kit. Some great threads on trimming ears, which may explain the process a little more. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29238-my-helmet-ear-tutorial/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/27375-howto-draw-an-approximate-ear-trim-line-with-no-gaps/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/41250-ear-trimming-made-easy/

Thanks man good to hear from you! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Christian glad to see you have started a build thread, and Yes, you are in good hands. Keep on doing a great job and hope to see your TK ID soon.

Cool trooper!! Welcome to EIB. Now, next goal in just few steps, Centurion.

Congratulations and welcome to EI trooper. If I may a couple of other things you could improve on. You could also trim your smaller ab plate a little more You may also want to clean off some excess glue Also clean/trim the sides of your ab/kidney, can see the plates behind You could also reduce the size of angled corners of the belt as they are a little large, trimming the ends would achieve this, from the CRL: The corners of the plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle that that meets the outer edge of the cloth belt For your centurion photos make sure your ab/kidney tops meet For fixing the butt plate gap I came up with a V tab, a strip of ABS bent and glued on one inside. Personally I would also bring your brow trim up a little, the lower brow trim is seen more on the Hero version. Looking forward to seeing your Centurion application, good luck trooper

Wow thank you so much Mike!! This was worth the wait! I really appreciate the feedback and can’t wait to get started on them. Thanks to everyone else who had a hand in this build! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Derek Thanks for your application for EIB and helping us get that much closer to our March to 1000. Always great to see a fellow Makaze member go for higher ranks as well. 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! With all reviews we like to start at the Helmet and work our way down, keep in mind that whatever we point out are suggestions that we feel will make your armor look better. Some take them and go through them like a task list to complete them all and some do not, its entirely up to you. Lets get started shall we? 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 Great job on the frown fix that Mario has pointed out. And while your deploying the toothpick eraser trick to your frown area it looks as if you can also apply it to your vocoder. In my opinion this is probably the the hardest thing to paint cleanly by hand. I found it hard to get a steady hand position and had to do the same. A little elbow grease and a drop of mineral spirits goes a long way, I actually outlined mine with a permanent black marker to get the clean outline then just painted in the lines. Reference Photo Next up would be your ear placement. This is by far one of the most overlooked area on the helmet and I believe its because everyone is worried about the fit. Most tend to put them in a vertical position when they should follow the live given by the Trap on the temple area. I would consider this an intermediate fix because it will probably require ABS paste to fill the holes. But hey you've built this set of armor so I have all the confidence that you can do it. Reference Photo Next we'll move onto your Mid section, First thing to look out for will be the thermo detonator location as this is more of a alignment issue. Try to keep in mind that this armor was built to show off its clean and simplistic line. It's a;ways good practice to have a clan member or handler give a visual to make sure everything in in its place. Use the raised area as a guide and try to feel the ends of the thermo det are in line with them up with them. Reference Photo Next I want to draw attention to your butt plate, I think this is a combination of your COD strapping being a bit to long and the strap on the far right being long or could need to be moved a to the right a bit more to help keep it in the proper position. By shoring up that cod strap it'll help pull that in the correct position as well. 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. First adjustment would be your shoulder. Per the CRL: There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates. I would start by trimming off the return edge and check the fit before adjusting the straps Reference Photo Next I will require that you clean up the ab buttons and make them a bit smaller Per the CRL; Ab button paint shall not extend beyond the bottom of the actual raised button. You can pick up a stencil at any craft store and use it to mark out the correct sizing prior to cleaning up. Reference Photo These are the two major issues that would keep you from reaching Centurion but like I said earlier you built this armor so I have all the confidence that you can achieve it with a little more work. It may seem overwhelming but I like to print the list and go through them one by one checking them off so I can visually see what required. From all of us here in the Deployment Office at FISD Welcome Trooper & Great Job

Congrats and Welcome to the group, Brian!

Congratulations and welcome to the rank.

Thanks for your input! and I ended up getting low profile velcro on amazon

Congratulations trooper and welcome to the ranks, good luck with EIB

Straight out of the game into real life, awesome!

Very neat. :-)

Congratulations Txutxi!!!! Hail the ESB Centurion boy! see you around!

There are still some issues to be resolved especially with paint details, but I'm pretty happy to present you my blaster. Still don't know if I'll do weathering. It was a fabulous journey and I want to thank you all for your support and advices.

Congratulations on making CNT, welcome to the ranks.

Okay I spent some time attempting to improve these teeth. Please let me know if these are acceptable or else I can attend to them a little more. Thank you! I took a pic with flash and without to show a contrast. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For everyone with a Husky armor box..., lets make a more usable workspace. This build will explain how to easily add shelving to your armor box, giving you more staging room when you’re suiting up for a troop. First let’s start by removing the 2 plugs on the opposite side of the handle. Same location, opposite side, of where the handle slides into the box, there are 2 plugs that need to be removed. From the underside of the ledge, push the locking-foot up and start working the plug out. For me one plug just popped out and the other was very difficult to remove. To make it easier, you can drill a screw into the face of the plug, then clamp vice-grips to the screw, making it easier to pull the plug out. Don’t forget to push the locking-foot up. Removed? Great! Next you’ll need 2 each, 1/2” pvc 90s and some 1/2” pvc pipe. 1 piece roughly 19” long and 2 pieces roughly 15” long. Leave the lengths a hair long just to make sure you get the best fit. You can trim them down as needed. The 19” piece of pipe is your center and the 15” pieces are the legs. Connect the pipe with the 90s to make a U. Now take your U of pvc and slip each leg into the Box where you removed the plugs. Take your Tote that came with the Box and set it in the pvc U and mark the pipe, near the Box, so you know what the maximum distance the pipe needs to be extended to hold the Tote. As long as you’re happy with the fit, go ahead and glue that pipe to the 90s to make your U solid. To hold the U in place while in travel I used a Velcro cord wrap. I drilled 3 small holes side-by-side and trimmed between the holes to shape a slot. Then I feed the Velcro strap through the slot and secure the U. NOTE - Do not use the U, secured or extended, as a handle to lift your box. Lid shelf frame - You’ll need some 3/16” steel rod which should be available at any hardware store. I bought 36” lengths for my small shelf frame. Measure the distance apart of the eye ports on the underside of the lid. Mine measured about 12” apart. That will be the width of your shelf. Next decide the depth of your shelf. I went with 10”. Now take your 3/16” steel rod and measure the depth first (again, mine was 10”). Bend there 90 degrees. From that bend measure the width (again, mine was 12”). Bend another 90 degrees making a U. Now the last leg will be to long and will need to be cut. Hacksaw, bolt cutters or I used a copper pipe wheel cutter. Cut the last leg the same length as the first leg. WARNING - CUT EDGES ARE SHARP! Use a file, grinder, stone or concrete to round off and smooth out the cut edges. Take your steel rod U and test fit it to your lid. If it’s angled up to high, remove the U and bend the last inch or so of each leg down a little, then reinstall. Repeat until you get the angle you like. Like magic, you made a shelf frame. Repeat to make an additional shelf frame if needed. Next you need a shelf platform for your pvc U and your steel U. I used fabric for mine. Basically you’ll need a piece like a pillowcase that will slip over the frame you made. With that said, it’s possible a pillowcase might work for the pvc U. But an even easier option would be a tee shirt ab section. Take an old tee shirt you don’t mind cutting up, see if the opening securely slides on the pvc. If so, trim it down, cutting straight across from armpit to armpit. For the steel shelf frame find yourself an infants tee shirt and do the same thing. You can always make your own if you, or someone you know, is handy with a sewing machine. That’s it! Now you have more room to set out and access your armor for a troop. Upon closing up your Box, pack up your armor, return your Tote to its position, remove the fabric platforms and toss them in the Tote. Next remove the steel frame U and turn it legs-down, over your Tote, against one of the inside walls, it will just hang there. Slide in the pvc U and secure it with the Velcro. Happy Trooping!

That moment when you realize you don't know what you don't know. I see I can take a bunch off of the front sides of the chest plate (leaving the bottom alone as it seems that rivets are mounted underneath. I found myself stuck, so I paused to find a number of great threads on what to trim next, and I think I know how to proceed with the ab plate, kidney, posterior, and codpiece. I can see that after trying on the kidney and ab plate, it looks like I"m in for some shimming :-/ and I am looking for the best tutorial - this one (by MoSc0ut, also with WTF armor) seems quite complete. I am also looking ahead to snaps and strapping, and found some good stuff on strapping, and snap placement. And since have have pieces of this project running in parallel, I'm checking to see if this spray paint works for the thermal detonator. And I was considering sourcing TD clips, though I see they can be made with 1" aluminum strip. (Referenced here.)

Some updates! This may be a long one... Realized that I don't think I ever posted my helmet... but here it is! Arrived safe and sound. The detail is impressive and while it is decently sturdy and very lightweight, I will definitely be reinforcing it - I don't think it would take impact or a fall from any height well. I also mentioned having had my undersuit tailored... well, here's some pics of that too! It fits much better now that a lot of the slack was taken out. It's still a bit loose so I have good mobility, but we'll see if I end up needing to have it taken in more once there's armor on top. I'm wearing a black t-shirt underneath so you can't see where the mesh is that well, but the internet didn't need to see my back and stomach lol I also went and dug around until I found the velcro-based strapping kit that I pulled out of my Anovos suit when I switched to snaps. I will likely use it to help start mocking up fitment for the suit. Sure, I'll waste some Velcro, but I think it'll be worth it to learn and size the kit properly. I will also likely let any of the other group build members try mine on so they can adjust and mark theirs for trimming, if needed. Mine may need some off the top of the barrel, and I will likely be splitting the back of the thighs at the cover strip to overlap them and size them down a bit. The kitten's name is Zero and at 10 weeks old, he was terribly curious about what was going on. I also started playing around with coatings and ended up spraying the back of one of my handguards with Flex Seal to test it out. I was pretty pleased with the finish and it stopped the itchiness that the armor still caused, even after a thorough washing with a red Brillo pad. I'll probably be spraying the entire inside of my kit with this stuff after I have reinforced it (still figuring out how to do so). I was also pleased to see that industrial Velcro still stuck to the finish and was able to attach the handguard to my Endor Finders gloves securely. The gloves are awesome and the lining is very comfortable, if likely a bit warm for us out here in CA. Finally, I started trying to mock up and assemble the forearms and biceps - it's been a topic of much debate how we want to end up attaching the pieces together, but I decided to give 1", regular (non-industrial) Velcro a try. I wasn't super stoked on how it came out - it's pretty visible, though mostly from the back. I may try to reposition it further from the edge and see if that does anything. The thickness is also somewhat concerning, but we need to be able to get these apart, as I confirmed that there's no way my hand will fit through the hole at the wrist without opening them up. I'm hesitant to use glue pretty much anywhere on the suit as a result. There's some discussion of Boba-gauntlet-style magnets, but we'll get to that. Can anyone also confirm that this is how the pieces are supposed to sit? Feels kind of awkward for sure. From the elbow down: And from the wrist down: I also realized that when we distributing all the pieces after the bulk shipping, I ended up with two of the same outside bicep, when I need with a cover strip on each side for it to assemble properly. Gotta figure out which of the 7 other guys has the same problem and switch with them! D'oh! Anyways, more test fitting with some assistance coming soon. I mocked up the chest how it should assemble (except the shoulder straps will go UNDER the chest plate - I just couldn't get it to sit like that for the photo), but I think I'm going to hang the cod, then use that to help position the barrel, then fit the chest OVER that. Gonna need some extra hands though, so not today. Aaaand finally, I was able to take the kit to my paint guy Andrew "Bondo" Babish with Paint by Bondo - he quoted $500 flat to surface prep, prime, and paint the whole kit with flexible automotive quality paint, handpainted color details on the helmet and ab, and clear coat on top. Not too shabby and this is likely the route I'll go. Just for fun, he sent me a pic of a helmet he painted for the big 501st TK Helmet art exhibit they had a while back. At the time, he was painting for West Coast Choppers, so there's Jesse James next to him if anyone remembers that guy. Pretty cool. Plain white paint and a couple helmet details should be no problem for him, I daresay. More updates soon, but things are moving and we're problem solving as we go!

Progress

I’m a big fan of the leaf blower and hedge trimmers. Great gardening tools! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Well I'm a bit biased but I love mine lol

Pre Assembly If you have any questions along the way ask. Nothing is worse than making a huge mistake because of pride. Everyone has a different skill level so take your time and enjoy the journey, it's not a race. "Measure twice, cut once" 1b. Forearms In this section I'll be making fitment measurements and further trimming of the armor at the butt connection locations prior to final assembly. The butt connection is the location where the two halves of the armor come together. Later on and a strip pf plastic (cover strip) will be glued in place connecting the two. Starting with the left forearm (#16 outer section, #18 inner section) front butt and strip section. Note: You should have been supplied with three different cover strip widths, 15mm are for the arms (front and back), 20mm are for the front of the legs (thigh and shin) and rear of the thigh, and finally 25mm for the rear calf. When I refer to a section as upper or lower visualize yourself standing, there's an upper or lower side to everything. When I refer to front and back well, you get the point . From time to time I will make reference to something called a return edge. The return edge is where the plastic makes a heavy or very sharp turn from a relatively flat or contoured area. Return edges not a requirement. Most, but not all butt connections locations have a heavy or minor return edge. Areas like this will be needed to perform a task. Other return edges, like at the upper and lower sections of the forearm for example, where the plastic curves towards your skin, give the armor the look of thickness. Return edges may be removed to increase the space between your body and the armor. Continuing on.. The front forearm butt connection was pretty close to the width of where it needed to be after the initial trimming which is around 15mm. I made a fitment check by wrapping the armor around my arm and holding it together with painter's tape. After the fitment I trimmed the armor a bit more using a exacto knife, and later fine tuned it with my belt sander. The area doesn't have to be perfect, the cover strip will hide most imperfections however, the neater the better. After trimming I rechecked the butt connection location. Important notes: It is encouraged you put on your under armor before taking any fitment measurements so that they'll be more accurate. Whether you have you under armor or not give yourself a minimum 1/2" of clearance between your body and the armor. If you don't have a 1/2", as long as it's close you still should be ok. If you have "0" clearance you might want to try removing the upper return edge material (the areas closest to your elbow), the lower will be completely removed for L3 approval anyways. If you've removed the upper return edge material and it's still to tight you may have to consider adding shims. Everyone's body structure is different. Your arms as well as other body parts may be larger or smaller than anyone else. To be perfectly clear, return edges are NOT required anywhere, but some areas can really benefit from them. If you want to go Centurion (L3) there must be NO return edge on the wrist or (lower shin) ankle. Another note: When trimming inner and outer butt connection sides of a section it is a good rule to align the upper edges of the armor first as illustrated here. In this particular section (forearms) if you have to remove any return edge material at the upper/lower ends of the armor, or add shims, do it now before you make any butt connection location cuts. The goal here is to have the front of the armor as accurate as possible. using the rear as the area to add any shims if needed. Note: The procedure just described will be a common throughout the build. Everyone's skill set is different, you can continue to follow along or skip ahead at any time. A. Fitment check B. Checking the front return edge butt connection measurements. Ready for assembly C. If the armor fits you comfortably measure the outer circumference of the forearm armor. Using fabric tape measure the upper, middle and lower sections. These measurements will be used to assist in setting up the right forearm, which by the way is shaped slightly different then the left. Upper Middle Lower Left forearm, rear butt connection area. Ready for assembly D. Right side (sections #17 outer & #19 inner). The front butt connection on the right arm is considerably different than the left arm. Trimming will require a slightly different approach. I suggest you do a fitment check first to ensure you have enough room to make the butt connection area 15mm. If you have larger forearms you may have to go a bit wider in the front butt connection area. Result of my fitment, I had plenty of room to make the required cuts at the front butt connection location. With the two haves side by side I measured the area to be cut. E. using a steel ruler as a straight edge cut along the ruler (green line) F. Remove the cut section After... After cutting both inner and outer sides this was my result. Right forearm, front butt connection location ready for assembly G. As with the left side, measure the right. Top, middle and right. Once you have the measurements you can make any cuts at the rear butt strip connection (if needed) If you notice by my measurements I needed to take off approximately 1/2" to 1/8" from top to bottom. Measured and marked the armor then cut off the excess. Rechecked fitment. Right forearm is now ready to be assembled. to be cont...