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I had a window of drier weather today, so I took the leap and decided to get things painted. I moved our cars out of the garage, turned on the new shop lights, and also turned on a fan because it was still about 90 degrees. But with the humidity at just 50%, I knew that I could get a lot done. The fan mostly helped to keep the overspray out of the garage itself. Here are all the parts on their hangers. I still had a few pieces to prime before painting. This was the "dry zone". Out of frame, and to the right, is another garage door opening. That's where I did my painting to keep the other parts free from overspray. After almost 3 hours, I suddenly heard thunder, and I checked my local weather radar. A huge storm cloud was headed my way! Luckily, all the parts had been covered with white gloss, and I was just waiting for things to gas off enough for the 2k clear coat. So everything went onto garage hanging storage at the back wall of our garage until the weather cleared up. I was pretty happy with how things looked at this point. The armor looked nice, and if I wasn't such a perfectionist, I could have called the armor "done" for white paint. I ran some errands after this, and noticed that the rain never happened. Realizing that I still had about an hour of time left to paint, I pulled out all the parts again, popped the 2K Gloss, and began to apply the final clear coat. And while I thought the gloss white was shiny on its own, the 2K Gloss was blindingly glossy! This stuff is remarkably gorgeous. In the pic below of the back plate with the 2K Gloss applied, you can see the reflection of my car. Shiiiineeeeyyyyyy!!!! And the chest is also just as glossy. Swoon. The pics don't really do justice to the shine on these parts, so you'll just have to take my word for it. I used 2 cans to cover most of the parts in 2K Gloss. I have two more, thankfully. I still have to fix some paint hiccups on the ab, belt boxes, and thermal detonator. One can should be more than enough for those. And I'll have an extra can on hand for future touch-ups. Now to wait for a week or so for things to cure really well. Then it'll be time to polish. I am thrilled to be done with the bulk of this part of the build!

Congratulations trooper and welcome to the EI ranks

Lo primero enhorabuena Chamu, ahora vas a tener que dedicar un poquito de tiempo pero ya tienes el centurion al alcance de la mano. Bravissimo Chamu. First of all congratulations Chamu, now you are going to have to spend a little time but you already have the centurion at your fingertips. Bravissimo Chamu.

Hi Dani, and thank you for your EIB application! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: Todas la fotos solicitadas han sido aportadas, y en nombre de todo D.O. Team, nos complace darte la bienvenida al rango de Experto de Infantería. Felicitaciones!! All required photos have been submitted, and on behalf of the entire D.O. staff we are pleased to welcome you to the rank of Expert Infantry. 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 armour. *************************************************** Has hecho un excelente trabajo en tu armadura Dani, la primera vez que se construye una armadura, el proceso es algo intimidante , pero a medida avanzas vas tomando confianza. Siempre hay detalles que se nos escapan, así que a continuación te damos sugerencias para que tu armadura se vea mejor Empecemos desde arriba Let's start from top. 1-Las lineas de rango están muy delgadas y la zona gris es un poco mas rectangular, unos cuantos minutos con pintura y pincel y estas listo. The black rank bar paint is very thin on your ear bumps and the gray zone on the left ear bar is a little rounded. This should be a simple fix - just a few minutes paint and brush. Reference Images 2-Las "Cejas" de tu casco , como puedes ver en las fotos de referencia van un poco más cortas, este es un ajuste muy fácil y rápido, nada más ten cuidado de hacerlo poco a poco para no cortar de más. The brow trim of your helmet, as you can see in the reference photos should be a little shorter, this is a very easy and fast adjustment, just be careful to do it little by little so as not to cut too much. Reference Images 3-La pintura del Trap trasero derecho necesita recortarse un poquito para que quede como el izquierdo, que esta perfecto. Fácil arreglo, puedes usar un palillo de dientes y algún removedor de pintura , que NO sea Acetona. The rear right trap paint needs to be removed a little to get the correct shape as the left one. Easy fix! just a toothpick and some paint remover, Non Acetone. Reference Images 4- Tu armadura posterior (Trasero) parece estar a punto de sobreponerse a los muslos, puede ser solamente un asunto de ajuste al ponerte la armadura. Your posterior armor appears to be at a point of overlapping your thighs, it may just be a matter of fit when putting on the armor. 5-El Rivet de la faja de munición de la pierna , conforme a las referencias debería ir más centrado, no es algo que te afecte para nivel Centurión pero se hace notar para tu conocimiento. Your Thigh ammo pack rivet is a little off according to the references, This is not affecting you for level 3 but for a more screen accuracy we notice and let you know it. Reference Images 6-Parece que el cierre de tus pantorrillas está desalineado, esto puede ser simplemente un ajuste cuando te pones la armadura , es cuestión de ponerle atención para futuros trooping y fotos This looks just like a dressing issue, your claves closure looks misaligned a bit, check this out next time you put on your armor for future trooping and photos. Reference Images 7-Continuamos, en tu Sniper Knee, para tener un mejor look , recomendamos recortar el borde derecho para que esté alineado con el borde interior, muy fácil ! Going ahead, your Sniper Knee needs, for more accuracy look , we recommend a little trimming to the return edge. so easy! Reference Images *************************************************** Centurion Requirements; In this section we prepare you for Centurion. Because Centurion photos show more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here and additional photos may be required. We try to point out all that we can from what we see, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. En esta sección vamos a ver qué te hace falta para aplicar para nivel Centurión, que si bien es cierto es más riguroso, estamos seguros que puedes alcanzarlo, recuerda que en el FISD estamos para ayudarte a lograrlo. In this section, we are going to see what you need to apply for the Centurion level, although it is more rigorous, we are sure that you can achieve it, remember that in FISD we are here to help you achieve it. Let's start: 1-CR: Ear screws shall be slotted, flat topped, countersunk and painted white. El tornillo del lado inferior derecho está un poco salido y en angulo, alinearlo un poco y un par de vueltas con el destornillador solucionan ese punto. The ear screw on the lower right side is slightly out and at an angle, some re-alignment and a couple of turns with the screwdriver solve that point. Reference Images 2-CRL: No return edge on the inside of the front of the forearm is allowed. El extremo de tu antebrazo derecho parece ideal, el área de "elevada" en la muñeca izquierda parece necesitar que se quite el borde , dale una revisada. Although the one on his right looks ideal, the "hump" area on the left wrist appears to need the return edge removed, Reference Images 3-CRL: There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates. Para nivel Centurion, no debe haber espacio entre las campanas de los hombros y la armadura de pecho, en tu caso parece que es cuestión de acortar los elásticos de la conexión entre estos For Centurion level, there should be no space between the shoulder bells and the chest armor, in your case it seems that it is a matter of shortening the elastics of the connection between these Reference Images Reference Images 4-CRL: The plastic shoulder straps need to be held down in the back via a white elastic band to the white fabric that connects/bridges the chest and back piece. Quizás sea efecto de la luz o la distancia pero parece ser que no tienes la tira elástica que conecta los puentes de los hombros con la tira de tela que conecta la armadura del pecho con la espalda. Puedes usar una tira elástica blanca de 5 mm. Perhaps it is the effect of light or distance but it seems that you do not have the elastic strap that connects the shoulder bridges with the fabric strap that connects the chest armor with the back. You can use a 5mm. white elastic strip. Reference Images 5-CRL: Rivets are equally spaced along the depth of the armor and about 10mm from the edge. Los Rivets del costado izquierdo deben estar espaciados tomando en cuenta aprox. 20mm desde el borde superior de la placa abdominal como ves en la imagen de referencia. Este punto parece el más complicado , pero por experiencia te aseguro que se puede hacer. Tendrías que remover los Rivets superiores en ambas placas , rellenar los orificios con pasta ABS, lijar bien y hacer los nuevos a la distancia correcta. de la misma forma, en el FISD podemos ayudarte. The Ab/Kidney rivets must be spaced taking into account approx. 20mm from the upper edge of the abdominal plate as you see in the reference image. This point seems the most difficult , but from my own experience I assure you that it can be done. You would have to remove the upper Rivets on both plates, fill the holes with ABS paste, sand well and make the new ones at the correct distance. As I told you before, we are here to help you. Reference Images 6-CRL: The top of the ABS ammo belt should sit at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical abdomen button panels Tu cinturón debe subir un poquito para estar perfecto, un truco muy utilizado es poner un par de piezas de velcro detrás y de esta forma evitar que se baje al frente. Your belt needs to go up a little to be perfectly, a widely used trick is to place a couple of small strips of Velcro behind belt to ensure it doesn't sag in the front Reference Images 7-Tu Detonador Térmico está un poco arriba del cinturón y para verte mucho mejor debe ir alineado con este . Probablemente sea solo revisar el ajuste en los ganchos y bajarlo hasta nivel del cinturón y listo. Your TD is riding quite high a little over the belt, for a better look it should be in line with it. It could be just a dressing issue, just check the metal clips adjustment or try pushing it down farther on to the belt. Reference Images 8- Finalmente, un detalle en tu Blaster E11. El Contador de munición Hengstler está colocado muy atrás, hey que moverlo un poco. En algunos casos basta con despegar y volver a colocar en la posición correcta, verifica si en tu caso es factible. The Hengstler counter on his E-11 is sitting way too far back and needs to be moved up. In some cases it is enough to take off and re-position the screws that attach it to the scope rail to get it into in the correct position, check if it is feasible in your case. Reference Photos Eso es todo , aunque parece mucho trabajo, confiamos en que puedes hacer los cambios y alcanzar el siguiente nivel .Centurion. De nuevo, FELICITACIONES TROOPER !! That's all,, Although it seems like a lot of work, we are confident that you can make the changes and reach the next level. Centurion. Again, Congratulations Trooper !!

But once you crossed into the 501st or cosplay territory and learned the details you cannot unsee that. your vision gets recalibrated massively once you end up on forums like this. One year ago stormtroopers were all the same for me, too.

I think I personally am more comfortable just going with a bigger heat sealing iron- I have the patience and prefer the control of the area rather than a heat gun. I don’t have the materials to make a jig. As long as that’s okay and it’s doable, I think I’m gonna go with that, but I definitely admire the way you did yours- it’s super impressive!

APPROVED! I need to hike the biceps up a little and they're happy Edit, I meant biceps, not shoulders

Hello all, so happy to be here after about 5 months of waiting for my BBB day! Yesterday I finally received my kit from Walt's Trooper Factory and I'm ready to go. I have had all the tools necessary from https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31404-supply-list-for-your-ot-tk-build/ and I am ready to go! I am using other build threads and am watching https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeDunMes3e0wQn8_ns-ma4g to help with the building process. I have never done anything that has required such creativity before, so this may take awhile but I am excited. Going for centurion out of the gate! Wish me luck :).

Hola Fernando, me alegra ver que te has animado ya a presentarte a Eib, sigue las instrucciones y pon atención en los detalles de colocación porque la armadura y el trabajo en ella se le ve muy bien. Sube las fotos que te faltan y mucha suerte, tómate las opiniones como mejoras importantes para mejorar la armadura y lo que necesites recuerda: Trooper helping Troopers !! Pregunta que estamos para ayudarnos Hello Fernando, I am glad to see that you have already decided to introduce yourself to Eib, follow the instructions and pay attention to the placement details because the armor and the work on it looks very good. Upload the missing photos and good luck, take the opinions as important improvements to improve the armor and what you need remember: Trooper helping Troopers !! Asking if you need any help

Hecho.Espero que sirvan gracias

Thank you very much!! Let's go for centurion !!

Enhorabuena Chamu... Tienes el centurión al alcance de la mano!!! Congratulations Chamu, you have the centurion at your fingertips !!!

Thank you very much for all your time and advice. I take note of everything you have told me and I will begin little by little to put them into practice. I hope soon to be able to apply for the centurion level. Thank you very much!!!

Butt snaps installed and made the shape of the butt match the kidney a bit better: My velcro strapping system for my kidney to ab was not a good idea. You had to be exact everytime you strapped it on and the velcro still gave "play" when you applied pressure to tighten the torso, the kidney plate sides would easily overlap the ab plate sides. So i decided to make a snap closure system (the split rivets lost paint during the hammering process): Since I cut new "notches" on the kidney plate, I will have to cut the sides of the buttplate to make it match. Also, everyone meet the little guy that's slowed down my build LOL!

first I will make the armor , maybe i need to improve / change something

Always good to see progress regardless of how long it takes . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gazmosis Photos fully restored. Firebladejedi photos fully restored. Roguetrooper Photos fully restored. Roguetrooper Archived as replacment already exists. Mcdnet photos fully restored. First post all complete.

Nice work, trooper. Just a little tip for you - if you take your photos from around 6 feet back (perhaps with 2x zoom) the proportions will appear better. Theo’s is handy for those trying to give advice on your build. :-) Keep up the good work. :-)

Alright, I think I'm done for today. Still need to make the right ear flush. Made a few mistakes, but I kind of expected that for a first time build. I'll think of some ways to hide them tomorrow (not like you can tell anyway.

Great, I did the same with mine.

That's what I'm doing tonight, double checking my armor and comparing it to the CRL. I've also reviewed a few EIB submissions and will look at a few more tomorrow before suiting up to make sure I have all the pictures I need.

Hey Caleb, great to read you're applying so soon!! I if I can give a tip, I would like to recommend you to take a quick view in some of the approved EIB applications so you can see the required photos and the most common adjustment requested. This can make you review to go fast. Cheers

Got the left ear done. I'm not sure I can get it any closer than this to be honest.

Congratulations Caleb!!!...And now, EIB and Centurion!!!!

Great Caleb !!! Congratulations.

Great work, looks like an easy pass

Hey Emma, Oh, yeah, we've all been there! Some of us know failure a LOT more than others (*cough! cough!, and I don't mean in the COVID way... *). Don't get discouraged. It's a learning experience, that's all. Makes you a better builder. My heat sealing iron is a lot bigger than yours. A larger one will be much better for this task for sure. And for rebuilding returns on the kidney, I found that a heat gun with a jig to support the new return is much more effective, faster, and produces a cleaner result. I liked using a heat sealing iron for creating small curvy returns on my thighs and other areas where I didn't like the "flat cut" look. Not for the big returns on the kidney/back/butt plates so much. As long as you can cover the areas that you don't want to melt, and work slowly, you should make good progress with a heat gun. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/38416-crickets-rs-stunt-build-for-the-vertically-challenged/?do=findComment&comment=534063

Copy that! I definitely have a lot to consider haha. Good thing I have time to decide since I'm still building my armor

From the CRL: with the rim of the mic and the inside white or painted white. Yes I would paint the front rim. Here are a couple of references.

Great news, rock on

Decided to spray the black before I go back for gray and white touch ups. I taped off the brow. Light coats, a few minutes apart, and it worked! If it weren't for the failed PlastiDip, then it would've been awesome how this turned out right on the first try... I'll tape off and paint the neck seal tomorrow.

Hello, I attach new photos, I hope they are well. Thanks and best regards!

Hey everyone! It's been a bit, got a bit distracted with other stuff, but now I bring good news! KB shipped out my remaining parts and I received them yesterday! So here we go! Helmet I received the TFA resin KB helmet and it looks great! Mine had a small crack on the bottom that was easily repaired with some glue. I also received a TLJ/TROS helmet (which was ordered before I had gotten a great deal on the Anovos helmet), so I might do something unique to the helmet, like turn it into Commander Pyre or Captain Cardinal, guess we'll see I also began cutting the eyes out, I used a Dremel with the cutting wheel to make some initial cuts, and the sanding drum to finish it. I also used sandpaper and needle files to get in the space between the eyes. Resin Parts The resin TD and chest clips also arrived, and they look great, the TD fits really nicely on the plastic part of the TD. The chest clips also look great, looking forward to working with these parts! And that's pretty much it! More to come soon

For Centurion level, the requirements for the E-11 are listed towards the bottom of the CRL page here, Luke. When deciding on which type you prefer, it comes down to a few things: 1. Rubber- Good points: Basically indestructible, and many (but not all) are approvable at Centurion level. A nice choice when you want to let someone hold it for a photo. Bad points: Not as screen accurate/realistic. (But then again, 99% of the public won't notice) . Can cost several hundred dollars for a quality one. 2. Doopydoos- Good points: Fairly inexpensive and can be modified to look incredibly realistic with some attention to detail and replacement parts. Great for those with mild OCD (like myself) and a lot of time on their hands to do this. Bad points: Being made of resin, they need to be handled a little more carefully. I personally never let anyone hold my weapons, saying something along the lines of "The Emperor/Lord Vader forbids it" or "It's against Imperial regulations" when they ask. I have built and trooped with several DD resin E-11's through the years and never had a breakage issue. Long wait times for delivery (often out of stock). 3. 3D print- Good points: Relatively inexpensive. Can be very accurate depending on the designer and can be modified in certain cases for a more realistic appearance. Bad points: Can be somewhat fragile (like the resin type). Also, depending on the printing method there can/will be a LOT (think hours and hours) of sanding/filling involved to smooth out all the print lines, a requirement for Centurion level. A lot of it also depends on your budget. Being a little lot on the OCD side,I modified the heck out of my last DD build using a real Sterling magazine (modified) link here. I also used this same seller to replace the resin folding stock, rear cap, cocking handle, magazine well, front sight assembly and a bunch of other items with metal ones. This may seem a little extreme, but being an accuracy nut it was worth it. And, of course, I personally would never do a DD build without one of Tino's crazy-accurate E-11 finishing kits.

Great work on the E-11, you will have no problems building armour with those kind of skills.

This E-11 is all pepakura made? Wooooow, your skills are very impressive!

Hello and welcome aboard, good luck with the research, also check out the Gallery Section for references for your build

Looking great, nice work

Friend's almost done sanding and priming. Just needs to print the chin piece then it's off to me

A little more progress Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Centered looks better and I think it could be better to wait when you put it on and look the alignment.

Hi Caleb, Great work mate! your wife is an artist For your consideration about the Cut-out notches at the bottom of right and left sides of the Kidney Armor for Level 3. CRL states they are optional but: If present, each notch is approximately 22 mm tall and the back of the notch ideally is aligned with the front edges of the Posterior Armor plate.. It looks like in your case could be just an alignment and center issue, mainly in your left side, but you may want to check this out. Pura Vida!

Working in my nerd room today, and Cameron decided to wander in, pick up some armor bits and try things on. And he let me take photos of him!!! He is typically shy when it comes to photos, except when he's got a helmet or mask on. So, yeah, it's a big deal today. I don't have the chest and back plates strapped in yet, so he's holding things together loosely on his own. I even got the boy to crack a smile for me!!! He adores that blaster. Question for those of you who have strapped the FOTK... does the waist belt inside simply cinch around the waist? Or is it attached to the inside of the ab? I'm trying to wrap my mind around how it fits. I get the suspenders part, but I'm seeing that the suspenders are attached to the ab and a belt. Any tips or guidance is appreciated! EDIT: nevermind about the belt question. I think I figured it out.

Nice work David, looking really clean! For reinforcing the edges of your chest piece, what kind of tape are you using (looks like drywall tape to me)? I'm planning on lining the neck and sides with ABS strips, like you, but I haven't seen anyone use tape like that before and I like the idea.

I know that anyone that's tracking my thread is just waiting for me to move on, and I've got good news: I think I'm done with white (again)!! This has been a huge learning experience for me that will hopefully payoff big when I paint the armor. After fully sanding to 400 and cleaning yesterday, I wiped it down and left it in the sun for a little bit today. I sprayed light coats, quickly swiping back and forth while keeping my distance. I set a repeating timer for 5 minutes, and kept applying until I no longer spots that needed white. There is one spot with minor wrinkling under the chin, but I don't think it'll need fixing. I'm not doing clear over this gloss white, so it should be done! When I apply the black and gray, I'll tape them off, spray, and remove the tape to hopefully prevent bleeding over. Then I'll wait 20-30, so it's semi-dry, and retape to apply another coat. This should get me crisp lines. PLEASE let me know if anyone has a better method! I think this is how I need to do Rustoleum spray: all in one sitting, applying coats within an hour. Much easier than trying to apply more after a day, or two, or three, and then fixing the bad chemical reactions.

Yup, there are some excellent photos in the Gallery section. Both JoeR and TKCaleb have albums on there, and the RS Suit images are also screen-used. I link to a couple image sources in my resource thread below.

Thanks for the kind words, friends! My hope is that other new builders (or perhaps veterans too) will find this a helpful resource for their TK journey. It represents much of the information that I've compiled for my own build, and I thought I'd pass it along! Aspiring Troopers helping aspiring Troopers!

Well, TBH it's the usual suspects who cause all the churn. 90% of the Legion is actually pretty good people trying to do the right thing. Like any group, there are always bad apples.