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Hi Everyone So very excited to be part of the Legion!! Looking forward to meeting and chatting with so many of you from Aus and around the world Imperial Dan

Man, there are some impressive lists on here! Currently only have an approved ANH ID. I have way too many in progress though: Star Wars: ESB TK -85% done ROTJ TR - 90% done Muftak - 90% done ESB IN Generic Jedi Other: Whiterun guard from Skyrim Mugen from Samurai Champloo - was complete, but needs fixing. ...and then there are a whole bunch on my wishlist that I have to actively work to stop myself from buying bits for. I might need help

Hello and welcome aboard, good luck on this journey, it can be a very rewarding one.

Definitely check out Tony’s (Ukswrath) Anovos build for guidance; it’s a LEGENDARY thread. I don’t have a direct link to it right now, but I’ve included it on my All-In-One resources thread which is linked in my signature. He has a section on adjusting the Anovos thermal detonator. Depending on the overall width of your current detonator, you may try shortening it to get more overlap between the clips and the control panel. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

By the way, I figure as a shorter trooper I can stand next to a fair sized Wookiee in cuffs for a scaled Photo-op.

This forum is to highlight and capture the list of recipients of the FISD Achievement Awards, which was launched with this thread : http://whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7551 Each time a batch of recipients are announced, their names and citations will be posted here to provide transparency, history, and ease of discovery. The award program was created in July of 2009 as follows: Award Recipients 10/11/2009 - Bobby TK8786 "Gundamzeppelin" = "bobby fletcher" - New York: Garrison Excelsior 10/11/2009 - Richard TK1845 "Dargas" - Costa Rita Garrison 10/11/2009 - Tony TK4063 "Stomper" - Cloud City Garrison 10/11/2009 - Paul TK???? "troopermaster" - UK Garrison 10/11/2009 - John TK8456 "john danter" - UK Garrison 10/11/2009 - Chris TK2052 "Smitty" - Alabama Garrison 10/11/2009 - Brian TK2918 "tkrestonva" - Garrison Tyranus 10/11/2009 - Doug TK7185 "dougefresh"- Mountain Garrison 10/11/2009 - Joey TK2126 "TK-2126_MD" - Bolivia Garrison 10/11/2009 - Pete TK2165 "stukatrooper" - UK Garrison 10/11/2009 - Mike TK4510 "TK-4510"- ISG 10/11/2009 - Nathan TK9135 "Runnriottt"- Japanese Garrison 10/11/2009 - Russ TK???? "Ruf Terrain" - Texas 10/11/2009 - Pablo TK8377 "TKDUEUNO" - Italica Garrison 10/11/2009 - John TK???? "Stormtrooper" - UK Garrison 10/11/2009 - Bernard TK8280 "TK8280" - Golden Gate Garrison 10/11/2009 - Thayne TK5401 "ThayNerd" - Central California Garrison 10/11/2009 Steven TK???? "nothingrecorded" - Alpine Garrison 10/11/2009 - Jonathan TK4379 "ForlornHope" - SoCal Garrison 10/11/2009 - Carlos TK4999 "Exodus" - Golden Gate Garrison 10/19/2009 - Bill TK1650 "Billhag" - UK Garrison 12/17/2009 - Terry TK2886 "pandatrooper" - Outer Rim Garrison 02/09/2010 - Tom TK5940 "RogueTrooper" - Carolina Garrison 02/01/2010 - Damian TK7388 "Dmian" - Spanish Garrison 06/03/2010 - Mark TK8993 "firebladejedi" - UK Garrison 10/27/2010 - Mason TK4603 "dashrazor" - New England Garrison 10/27/2010 - Karin TK????? "Sonnenschein" - Austrian 06/05/2013 - Glen TK854211 "gmrhodes13" - Desert Scorpion Garrison 09/02/2013 - Pete TK2165 "stukatrooper" - UK Garrison 09/02/2013 - Bill TK1650 "Billhag" - UK Garrison (2nd Award) 09/02/2013 - Steve TK7270 "SW1" - UK Garrison 09/02/2013 - Gary TK2739 "89Batman" - UK Garrison 09/02/2013 - Kevin TK812 "kwdesigns" - Southern California Garrison 09/11/2015 - Clint TK61281 "camprandall" - Dune Sea Garrison 12/05/2015 - Germain TK14492 "The5thHorseman" - French Garrison 05/09/2016 - Tony TK10116 "ukswrath" - Golden Gate Garrison 10/08/2017 - Jim TK82480 "jimmiroquai" - Philippine Garrison 12/14/2018 - Mathias TK2595 "Locitus" - Swedish Garrison 09/10/2020 - Anthony TK10666 "Redforce" - Northeast Remnant 07/06/2021 - Glen TK854211 "gmrhodes13" - Desert Scorpion Garrison (2nd Award) 01/24/2022 - Joseph TK10963 "justjoseph63" - Florida Garrison 01/16/2023 - Caleb TK73692 "MaskedVengeance" - Midsouth Garrison (Note Caleb had not been legion approved at the time of receiving the award)

Hello all. Yesterday the BBB came. Pics are here, and I have of course suited up to see how things fit. I do have some questions. I will start with the unboxing. Fedex came promptly 2 hrs and 15 mins later than predicted. You can imagine my anxiousness for that time, wondering where the truck was being robbed. A few posed pictures and I immediately went into opening it. And the money shot is here.. What a manchild. lol!!

...and then there were these! https://www.homedepot.com/p/Plasticolor-Star-Wars-Stormtrooper-Heavy-Duty-2-Piece-27-in-x-18-in-Vinyl-Car-Mats-001482R01/207163461?

Funny thing happened on my way to the Death Star.... I started down this path over three years ago, and its been a long, weird journey. Full disclosure, ever since I was a tween, I repeatedly and annoyingly told my parents that the only thing I wanted for any type of present for my birthday/holiday/whatever was a Stormtrooper suit. I continued to do this into my adolescent adulthood with no success, and eventually I gave up on the idea. But, for some reason, when I saw the trailer for Inferno Squadron in the Battlefront II, I was taken right back to being 10. I researched everything I could find, thinking there was a way to hand build this myself. The further I dug, I suddenly came to realize that my original desire to be a character from my childhood was not only possible, but semi-affordable. So I took the plunge. There were several issues I chose to ignore. 1) I'm 6'3-6'4" not 5'10" as the original troopers were; 2) I'd never worked with plastics in this manner; 3) I didn't know a soul who'd built one before; 4) finding someone who made taller trooper armor at that time was very, very difficult. Finally settling on a kit from the UK (DA Props) which had a strong following and a host of taller troopers in the UK garrison advising me the kit would work, I purchased. The fact that I'd never done anything like this did not dissuade me from convincing myself I could assemble my armor in record time and be ready to trick or treat with my kids two months away. Obviously, this did not go as I optimistically planned. From the outset I made error after error, miss-cut after miss-cut and eventually convinced myself that I'd flushed too much money down the armor rabbit hole. There were starts and stops as work and family put the kit on the back burner. But I kept at it and the wonderful folks on this board kept giving advice and support for my build. When Celebration finally came to my hometown of Chicago, that finally pushed my to complete my armor. Now I'm fearless with a heat gun, aggressive with CA glue, unafraid of ABS paste, and don't even blink at the prospect of too much sanding. In short, I'm still as dumb as I was at the outset, but now I've got "experience" on my side. While it's not yet perfect, and I've got mods I need to accomplish to satisfy my own OCD, my Stunt TK was approved for trooping by the Midwest Garrison and I was approved a TK number. As an aside, I still can't believe "Bullseye" wasn't ironically taken as a handle. My thanks to everyone for their help. Look forward to trooping with you soon. Dave TK 84098 "Bullseye" (Troopin' with my boys this Halloween)

Best update my list again: Approved: TK - ANH Stunt L3 TK - ANH Hero L3 TK - ESB L3 TK - Heavy Weapons Trooper TK - TFA L3 TK - TLJ L3 TK - TLJ-E L3 ID - Officer ANH L3, Lt Tanbris L2, Lt Jir L2, Lt Childsen L2, 2nd Lt L2, Lt Com Praji L2, Lt Treidum L2 ID - Warrant ANH L2, ROTJ L3, Maj Hewex L2, Joff L2, Col Dyer L2 DZ - Jawa ANH DZ - Tusken ANH TB - Biker Scout Lancer L2 IC - Crewman ANH L3, ESB L3, ROTJ L3 IC - Mechanical Crew L3 TI - Reserve Pilot IG - Gunner TR - Guard ROTJ IN - Navy Trooper ANH L3, ESB L3, ROTJ L3 IN - Navy Dress Uniform ESB L2, ROTJ L2, Sgt Bean L2 ID - Line Officer - Olive ID - Grand Moff Tarkin CT - Clone Trooper RETIRED TD - Sandtrooper ID - Social Officer Black ID - Social Officer Olive Waiting on CRL and approval: TX - Sith Trooper TK - The Force Unleashed Stormtrooper TK - Stormtrooper Commander 80% TB - The Force Unleashed Bikerscout 75% TB - Treadspeeder rider 35% Yes I have issues

You are making great progress David, nice work. Best advice I can give you is this. Take your time. You are getting plenty of fantastic advise from those here who really know what they are talking about but take your time. Don’t feel rushed or pressured. This is an exciting time in your journey, one that involves you to learn new skills and prove that you can do a fantastic job. Savior it as much as you can specially if it is the first accurate costume you have built. Keep posting plenty of photos, ask loads of questions and keep up the great work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That depends on your GML. I’m a GML and I would allow it with a suggestion to remove some material. As Glen mentioned it’s a bit twisted due to the material pushing outward. Please excuse the wonky illustration but it will give you an idea on how to adjust

Nicely done, Shawn! Congrats on finishing both sets of armor. Two good looking Troopers!

Yeah definitely listen to Glen on this, especially since you’re already at 7.5” length. Good to go. Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Oh my god that's some good news because I was trying my hardest to pop the ends off right now and they stuck like chuck.i even did the air hole trick still stuck on there really good.im gonna put it together.thanks alot.

The holes are fine as they are for now, it's just my OCD

Thanks Glenn I appreciate the feedback from you n all, honestly. I know it’s not exactly right, so I’m gonna work on it this weekend once I have some time to focus. I was too excited to suit up I didn’t even notice the gun on the wrong side. Lol!!! I was totally focusing on those drop boxes and seams tho Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking good, holes could be closer to the end of the brackets but not a deal breaker for basic approval , also don't round of the corners

Just remember, too, that the return edges (where the plastic bends to give the appearance of thickness) provide structure and will therefore limit the possible bending. If pieces with return edges are bent TOO far in one direction, the plastic can buckle, and too far in the other direction can result in cracking (as shown in one of Glen’s screen-used photos). Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Yea I probably just have to pull straps tighter I'm thinking so it's up higher.my gf sucks at helping me put it on correctly.

If you do need to modify the sides, some of us use heat guns for shaping ABS plastic BUT this comes after A LOT of practice, ABS plastic can go from soft to molten mess in the blink of an eye. Some have had success shaping pieces with a hot water bath A few threads on heating armor

The back of the thigh

Great news on receiving your BBB looking great, just swap that holster over to your other side It's one of those things with commission builds, they are not always perfect fit the first time, it's better to have slightly larger than too small. Removing coverstrips then trimming down your thighs and perhaps your shins will fit you better. Many of us skinny folk still need some foam in places, you can't always trim completely to your frame as pieces would then look too small. I have foam behind my chest, in my thighs and forearms. Bit hard to tell without a full arms down front image but appears your shoulder bells may be a little large too. A few tweaks and you'll be approved in not time.

I agree. I would expect them to provide you with the materials needed for the adjustment, if they haven't included any already, and possibly something else to make the trouble worthwhile. They have a great reputation, so I don't doubt they will work to make it right.

OP (MV) Post #34: Kittell Belt & Supplies Not Previously Documented Not any actual progress here, but I just wanted to further document several build supplies which I had not previously photographed and posted in the past several months. I've probably said this a million times, but my hope is that this thread can be a resource to future builders. Thus I've tried to thoroughly document every aspect of the build, whether it be images of raw armor, visuals of every cut into the shiny plastic, or purchase links to the tools I use. In that vein, here are some additional acquisition notes: TK canvas belt from Rob Kittell (Imperial Issue). This appears to be of excellent quality, and came highly recommended by many troopers of FISD. As stated on the Imperial Issue webpage, when sizing always take your waist measurement with your ab and kidney armor on, and do not add in any breathing room to your number. Rob already takes that into account. I generally wear a US size 34 pants, and my armor-on measurement was just shy of 41 inches (104cm). Also, Rob's logo and slogan are awesome! Humbrol French Blue #14 enamel paint. As discussed in a previous post, I initially had a hard time sourcing the French Blue enamel, and couldn't even decide if I wanted to use that or the Mediterranean Blue, but I finally broke down and got the FB from Trooperbay on eBay. Testors Semi-Gloss Black enamel paint (Hobby Lobby). For the longest time I was unable to find this in-stock at my local Hobby Lobby or Michael's stores, especially since all the bottles were always mixed up and never in their correct bays, but I eventually got lucky. I had initially planned on painting my vocoder and mix tips with a matte black, to add contrast to all the other shininess, but it turns out that's really actually an ROTJ style. Superfine White Milliput (Hobby Lobby). This may not seem like a standard ABS TK build item, but my plan has been to use it on the inside of the helmet to reinforce the mix tip wells. The ABS is super thin there, due to the extreme stretching in that area during the pulling process, and I didn't want to rely solely on a larger washer. I've also considered using it on the interior of the ears (either that or a piece of ABS) to reinforce where the countersunk screws will be drilled. Purchase tip: Never shop at Hobby Lobby without a minimum 40% off coupon. White adhesive velcro (Walmart). I found this in my office supplies/mounting box and figured I would use the soft (loop) half on the back of the thermal detonator clips to keep them from scuffing up the torso armor behind the belt. Industrial strength is unnecessary; the cheapest option with an adequate adhesive will do. Rust-Oleum Black Truck Bed Coating Spray (Amazon). Chalk this one up to @TheRascalKing, who swears by it. This is intended for the interior of the helmet, and unlike plasti-dip, apparently it can accommodate adhesives for velco padding, fans, etc. It will be a nice way to black-out the interior and avoid the peeling that plasti-dip is also susceptible to. Plus the texture looks awesome (on the builds I've seen). And that's all for now. If any builders want a complete index of my tools, supplies, and parts, I have documented them on my Table of Contents on Page 1 of this thread, and they are even better-presented, with purchase links, at the beginning of my PDF compilation of this thread. MV Printable/downloadable PDF of my entire build thread to this point contained in [THIS SHARED FOLDER]. The PDF will be updated within a few hours of my own new posts and will note sequential version numbers and revision dates.

Thanks for the advice and tips on where to find the various threads and all that, I'll definitely check out those build tips and *certainly* start my own build thread once I start on my own set! p.s love the dancing stormtrooper you got XD

Here is the front and back of the belt:

Working on storm trooper currently. I have deadpool and kylo ren.

For my first foray into the TK world, 6 of us did an amazing patrol Halloween night in downtown Culver City. Keep the area Rebel free and handed out 2500 pieces of candy. you can see a video of the patrol on my FB page (KC Grim) and on the SCG FB page. Had a ton of fun and only discovered one pinch point that I have already taken care of. Looking forward to officially TK trooping. Was a bit less comfortable than my Scout, but definitely doable.

Congrats on finishing the Trooper duel! Exciting to have that second TK number around the corner! Looking great there with Mando as well! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Great work

Well, my plans to closely document my son's build did not go as planned. After school started back I found myself trying to squeeze in a few minutes here and a few there to get his kit done. He was also back to FSU, so we were only able to work on fitment when he was home on the occasional weekend. That being said, I did manage to get him finished up in time to submit before our Halloween troop. We're still have a few adjustments to make, but he was looking sharp this weekend. We hope to have his TK ID this week.

Brian's scopes are the best!

OP (MV) Post #32: Thermal Detonator Part 2 In my previous post (Part 1) I began my thermal detonator, and in this post I will continue with painting the tube and installing the control panel and end caps. But first, a little twist to start us off. As I began to look ahead towards altering my universal-sized clips to fit my 2-inch (50.8mm inner diameter) tube I felt the need to study screen-captures of all the TDs in ANH. Essentially I wanted to get a good sense of TD height placement relative to the belt, as well as gauge the angle at which the control panel points. While the FISD Gallery has excellent content, for my purposes the 1,059 screen images captured chronologically by Jeklynhyde in this post provided the easiest access. I sifted through that image bank, along with Gallery albums from @Darth Aloha and @Locitus and all 119 pages (21,248 images in case you're wondering) of 4K ANH caps from starwarsscreencaps (hereafter referred to as SWSC) and saved 129 images to this google drive folder (yeah, I went a bit Han-boring-conversation-anyway heavy) to compile into a RogueTrooper-frown-like thermal detonator collages shown at the top of this post. Though my initial intention had been to capture detonator-belt height alignment, I also included images which documented other details of TDs, such as mounting clips and screw placement. The photos shown at the top of this post are actually downsized versions semi-optimized for viewing at 1,000 x 750px on the FISD web-platform, but if you click on the images they should link to the full 2,000 x 1,500px versions which contain un-scaled captures from the 1,920 x 1,080 (really 1,920 x 817 at the 2.35:1 anamorphic screen ratio) source imagery from @Jeklynhyde. The un-scaled snips from SWSC are from their 3,840 x 1,600 native resolution. Jeklyn was also kind enough to provide me with additional screen grabs upon request, on multiple occasions! Of the 129 images kept, 27 came from SWSC and 18 came from the FISD Gallery; none of the Gallery images were used in my final compilations. I used a transparent background on the images so that they would display cleanly in Tapatalk and in the current and future color schemes of the whitearmor site, and every individual image snippet is ordered chronologically by appearance in the film horizontally across the two master compilation images. The eight images below are quarter slices of the two master comp images, should any of you want to view the full-resolution content in-line/thread. HERE IS A LINK to my google drive folder which contains all eight of the above quadrant photos, as well as the master compilations. Contained in the master folder of copies of the versions of the images with three background colors—transparent, FISD gray, and white. While sifting through the 22,000+ ANH captures I tagged some for future projects, such as compilations of other parts of ANH TKs. The sniper plate, knee ammo belt, shoulder bridges, drop box alignment, and mobility cuts immediately come to mind. I've already developed a magnifying bubble overlay system that I'm going to use, and perhaps the images might be a helpful addition to some of the "Specific Parts" sections of the Gallery. In case anybody is interested, below is a Google drive folder which contains every SWSC capture I retained from the original image bank. These 3,688 images include every instance in which even part of a TK (and TD Sandie) are visible, whether it be part of a helmet peeking out from behind another character, a knee-pack barely above the trash compactor water, or Luke wearing TK-421's belt. Those with an extremely keen eye might notice some sequenced images missing, and that's because 45 images in the SWSC bank were repeat frames (which I excluded), likely due to capture, upload, or database errors. EVERY ANH TK from SWSC (3,688 images) Staring at all those images for hours (days) is now making me want to get a UK/metric-sized TD, but for now I'll have to make due without (anybody have a spare?). Seems I'm getting caught up in the finer details like our good friend @CableGuy. Lest any readers get bogged down in the next three sections (Painting, Re-Squaring, ABS Installation) of this post, I'd like to draw particular attention to the last section at the end, related to modifying my belt clips. I have diagrammed a couple options and would LOVE some feedback. Painting In continuing with Tony's documented paint process, I taped up my tube in order to cover a space the size of the control panel. To perfectly center the panel, I took the total length of my tube (7.25 inches or 184.15mm) and subtracted the width of my control panel (122mm), which left me with roughly 62mm. Since this represented the total remainder width, I divided it by two, and thus my guide marks were made 31mm from each end. Keep in mind that, if you're following my posts as a guide, your measurements will vary based on the figures you cut your tube and panel to. I then used my actual finished panel as a straightedge to guide my ballpoint PEN as I traced the border. I emphasize using a PEN because, even though I know pencil wipes off ABS, I wanted to avoid marking the edges of my control panel. This would have likely happened with pencil lead, but did not occur with my ballpoint pen. Do not worry about getting a perfectly straight line since the actual cut line will be inside of this original rough border. Once I finished the outer border I measured 1/8-inch (per Tony's recommendation) inside of it and drew an inner rectangle, again using my panel as a straightedge. This interior line will serve as my cut line guide for trimming off the excess tape. To guide my Xacto knife I used leftover pieces from my end cap trimming, despite the fact that achieving a straight line is not necessary for this step. I'm a bit of a perfectionist; perhaps @justjoseph63 understands. Haha. The rationale behind cutting the shape of the blue tape down to a size smaller than the actual control panel is to ensure proper spray paint coverage, which will just barely (1/8-inch on all side) overlap with the panel. Not having this overlap could result in a sliver of unpainted pipe showing next to one or two of the edges of the panel. Once I had my control panel tape cut and the excess peeled off I masked off the edges of the tube which would be covered by the end caps. I wanted to leave 1cm of unpainted pipe on each end in case I later decide to glue to caps on, since the glue would best adhere to the sanded pipe rather than a painted surface. I used my handy pencil-in-clamp technique to mark an unnecessarily-straight line, knowing that there would once again be overlap with my painted surface and the end caps. Recall that I tapered the ends (with sandpaper; see photo towards end of that post) of my tube and I wanted to ensure the painted surface extended into the tapered area to combat possible paint-scraping when finally sliding on the end caps. With acceptable weather conditions (51% humidity, 70s f indoor temp) I set up in my garage and sprayed two coats of Model Master Custom Spray Enamel 1923 Gunship Gray FS 36118 with some drying time in between. I might have gone a bit thick, and got some orange peel, but only if you look really closely and with certain light. Nobody at a troop would be able to notice it. I let it dry for several hours then removed the tape on the panel area and ends, and set it aside to further cure overnight. EDIT: Later in my build I discovered that Model Master 1923 Gunship Gray is too dark for the Thermal Detonator, and more appropriate sprays are Testors 1237 Semi-Gloss Primer or Testors 1238 Gloss Gray. Here are some photos of the completed paint job, including photos which shows the amount of overlap that the panel and end caps will have once positioned properly for my 7.5 inch (190.5mm) wide TD. Control Panel Re-Squaring While test fitting my control panel onto the tube I discovered that somehow my panel was no longer perfectly squared, which means my previous sanding guides must have been off. The image below shows the arc length difference between the two ends of the panel, indicated by the two pencil marks a few mm apart at the bottom. The photo depicts the short end of the panel, while the other longer side extended to that outer pencil mark. Thus I proceeded to mark off the sliver on each side which needed to be sanded. To do so I evenly split the length difference I needed to make up so the result would be a very small amount coming off on both ends of the arc. It took several attempts, but I finally managed to lay down the tape in straight lines, checked by looking down the tape line in a fashion similar to taking aim with an E-11 Rebel blaster. The tape would obviously serve as a visual guide while sanding but I decided to add a second layer of tape in hopes that it might create a bit of a barrier to keep me from over-sanding. It's always a good idea to use proper PPE (shown above) when sanding ABS, as even sanding small amounts at a time can add up over the course of a build. Save your lungs (and eyes and fingers) people! I was happy with my final results after measuring the arc lengths again on my spare PVC pipe, so ONWARD! Control Panel & End Cap Installation With the spray paint having had a couple days (excessive) to fully cure I set out to install the control panel and end caps on my tube. However, I first wanted to drill a couple air relief holes into my tube in the same fashion that AJ Hamler did on his build. These holes would theoretically make it easier to install the snug-fit end caps, but since the plan was to install the control panel first, it's unclear if the holes would end up being sealed off anyway. I guess that depends on how tight I get the panel adhered down onto the tube. I marked dots where I wanted to two holes to be drilled, which would be situated beneath the raised areas of the control panel (buttons and round washer style detail). I first drilled pilot holes with a 5/64 bit then graduated up to and ended with a 3/16 bit. It was my first time drilling into PVC and I was surprised to find that drilling the holes did not result in PVC dust, but instead several curly-Q shards of plastic. Fine by me, as it made cleanup a breeze. After-the-fact-tip: Once again I over-engineered another aspect—the relief hole cutout—though I only realized it after the next step of gluing the panel down. Another perfectly suitable location, and less likely to fail due to glue sealing, is to drill the relief hole beneath where the TD clips will be seated. So basically the hole would be covered by the clip. Alternately, if you plan on using clip screws rather than bolts with nuts, you could actually use a clip screw hole itself for air relief and attach both end caps before driving in the final clip screw. I measured and remarked the previously-determined 31mm (from tube ends) guidelines with blue tape to ensure proper centering of the control panel, and also added a few pieces of tape on the top and bottom long edges of the panel to help align it vertically. I then sanded the underside of the panel with 120 grit sandpaper, but kept away from the tips of the edges so as not to create any rough ridges which might later be visible (via magnifying glass, haha). And then came my first time use of the glorified E-6000, and my amateurism showed. My goal had been to keep the glue away from the panel edges to avoid any seepage out from beneath the panel, because though I knew that E6000 can simply be rubbed/picked off of plain ABS, but I wasn't sure how it would react to the paint and didn't want to risk peeling some of it off. I attempted to create some gaps in my glue lines in order to maintain the functionality of the air relief holes, but who knows if it will have all filled in once the glue is compressed. Below are some photos of my E6000 application, and it quickly became apparent that I used far too much, as it seeped out on the sides. Tip: As seen in the second photo, I used a metal ruler pressed against the edge of my TD tube to ensure that I had the control panel level, and then I taped it down to keep it from sliding around. You want to make sure to position it perfectly parallel and perpendicular relative to the form of the tube, since you don't want your panel to be twisted on the tube and look crooked. In another first, I finally put my magnet sachets (creation thread) to use in conjunction with a couple clamps, as shown above. I then set the TD aside for the E-6000 to cure for several days, and proceeded to work out my TD clips, described in the last section of this post. Several things I learned during the E6000 application process: E6000 is as slippery as they say. Combat this by having adequate guidelines/marks so proper alignment can be maintained. Also use tape to keep pieces stationary in their intended locations before applying clamps and magnets. E6000 will react to at least some paints. This is perhaps what worried me the most while I waited for the glue to cure. The seeping glue immediately absorbed the color of the spray paint so I was left with what appeared like a wet paint mess. NEVER BE IN A HURRY. I repeat, NEVER. In an effort to get the control panel installed prior to heading into work, I did not allow myself enough time and I rushed through the glue application. The eye test should have informed me that I used too much glue based on the applied volume and available surface area. Consider your build a marathon, not a sprint. And actually—just completely forego the competition metaphor altogether. This is a work of art, and art takes time. With curing complete it was time to remove the clamps, magnets, and tape, and hopefully clean off the excess E6000. The moment of truth. Would everything be ok with only minimal paint imperfections, or would the paint peel and require me to start over... Looks ok so far... but... Sure enough, my paint job was affected, though at least it didn't peel off, perhaps due to the two-coat application. Honestly it's probably Legion-passable, but it's definitely not Caleb-passable. I'm not yet sure what I'll do, but I see two options: Order new ABS parts and hone my TD assembly skills. Use extra PVC but purchase more spray paint. Yes, I previously over-sprayed. Sand down the blemished parts, mask off the ABS parts and re-spray over the problem areas. I'm leaning towards option #1, especially since it'd be nice to keep my blemished TD as a memento, but I'll need to decide whether to spend the $30-40 from my nonexistent budget. Since this is my first completed armor component of my build, and despite my errors, I've been excited to finally see a real-life (sorta) TD on my desk! Moving along. Though the photos above show the TD with end caps installed, at this point in the process, with the blemished paint dried, the next thing I did was measure the exact distance each end cap would need to be pressed onto the tube to achieve the 7.5-inch (190.5mm) wide detonator. Since I had cut my PVC tube to 7.25 inches (184.15mm) I knew that each cap had to extend 1/8-inch (3.175mm) beyond the end of the tube. With 20mm end caps, simple math left me with 16.825mm of tubing needing to be covered by the caps on each end. I measured and placed blue tape just beyond that amount on both ends, which would serve as end-stops for my caps. My plan had been to proceed with Tony's hot water bath technique, boiling the caps for 30 seconds each and then sliding the caps onto the tube, but I decided to skip that step with my already-blemished TD. When going the cap-bathing route, always remember to wear appropriate PPE. Below I have my imperfect but nearly-completed thermal detonator with clips mock-mounted. Clips Modification Options This is where the real fun begins, and where I am seeking additional guidance from seasoned veterans. As mentioned in Part 1 of my TD build, Tony's TD clips require a slight modification in order to get them to properly cradle my 2-inch (50.8mm ID) pipe. @ukswrath constructs his clips with universal sizing in order to fit both 2-inch and 68mm (screen-accurate OD) pipe, and below is the process he sent me to adjust them to fit my TD. Completely assemble the TD as normal. Install the clip and screw closest to the control panel. Putting pressure on the clip and screw (not to rip out the screw) form the remainder of the clip around the tube (the material is pliable). Afterwards mark, drill and install the second screw. Reshape the belt clip portion as/if needed. That seems simple enough, but a thought occurred to me upon assessing the procedure. There are actually two routes I could take while tightening the wrap-around of the clips which would result in two different final forms. Below are some diagrams I created to provide a visual reference for the two routes I will need to choose from. In the first photo below, Tony's clips are shown in their current unaltered state with the two versions (2-inch and 68mm) of pipe overlaid. The second photo shows the unaltered clips with 68mm pipe and two orientation options with altered clips and 2-inch pipe (moving/transitioning gif). Option #1 has an elevated tube and Option #2 features a lower position. For simplicity's sake, following the images are notes on the differences between the two options. Note: The images above were designed at 100% scale (printable), though the clips were thickened for clarity. The profile of the 68mm clip was a trace of one I received from Tony, and the profile of the control panel was rough traced and scaled from photos of my ATA panel. Option #1: Raised Increased/lengthened clip wrap-around. Essentially a more enclosed cradle. Clip end closest to control panel sits higher (y-axis) on the tube, and is therefore more visible. Control panel points steeper/higher vertically. The top of the 2-inch TD sits level with top the 68mm on the y-axis (vertical position relative to the belt) Option #2: Lowered Standard ratio amount of clip wrap-around/cradle. Clip end is positioned as intended on the tube's y-axis Control panel points at the appropriate outward/upward angle The bottom of the 2-inch TD sits lower vertically on the y-axis relative to the belt, barely below the typical bottom of the 68mm tube. The vertical portion of the clips between the tube and the belt will be a bit more visible than usual. Personally, I'm more attracted to Option #2 (lowed) since I believe the slight drop in the position of the TD relative to the belt will be mostly unnoticeable, or at least less so than additional surface area on the TD being wrapped by the clips and the control panel facing more upwards. That, plus it seems that many troopers seem to set their TDs too high on their belts anyway, perhaps to match some film anomalies, or simply due to dressing challenges. Then again, if TDs were ever not in level alignment with belts in ANH, they were always elevated rather than lowered, so what to do, what to do. I suppose there might be an Option #3 of splitting the difference between the first two, or perhaps even trimming the end off from where the screw hole is. But I'm not sure I have the tools for that plus the new mounting holes I'd have to drill would be too close to the other holes. SIDE NOTE [beware of math ahead]: Regarding trimming the clips relative to the reduced circumference of smaller pipe. The outer diameter of 2-inch (ID) pipe is about 60.3mm, which equates to a pipe circumference of 189.44mm. The circumference of 68mm (OD) pipe is 213.63mm, so the reduction of 24.19mm down to the smaller pipe represents an 11.32% decrease. Based on eyeballing (I don't have proper clips AND pipe to measure) it appears that clips are intended to cradle/surround roughly 40% of the TD pipe, so on the 68mm pipe that would be an arc length of roughly 85.45mm. For a consistent pipe-to-clip ratio while maintaining the standard height and angle of the control panel, I would therefore want to reduce the 85.45mm clip length by the previously-calculated 11.32%, or 9.67mm. Trimming the nearly 1cm off would bring the new end in barely past the current pre-drilled holes as expected, requiring new ones to be added. So Troopers, what say you? [Since I'm shameless / "this is my most desperate hour", in addition to the Troopers already mentioned throughout this post, I'm also tagging @TKSpartan, @Sly11, and @gmrhodes13 to harness their expertise.] Apparently this two-part thermal detonator series has now stretched into a proper trilogy. Seems appropriate. I will proceed with Part 3 based on the feedback I receive. Thanks in advance! For reference, below are two photos of my clips which I had included in an earlier post, as well as information for confirmed TD pipe sizes for various armor makers. @TheRascalKing was kind enough (as always) to measure and photograph his ANOVOS TD for me, and other than RS (which we can safety assume is 68mm), I heard back directly from all the makers. ATA: 2-inch not included (USA) AP: 2-inch included (Canada) RS: 68mm included (UK) RWA: 68mm pipe included (UK) T/MC / FAC: 68-69mm metal pipe included (USA) WTF: 2-inch included (USA) RT-Mod: 2-inch included (Canada) AM / DDD: 66-67mm (est.) plastic pipe included (USA) CfO: 68mm included (UK) TM: 68mm included (UK) MTK / TB: 2-inch included (USA) ANOVOS: 67mm included (USA) Printable/downloadable PDF of my entire build thread to this point will be updated within a few hours of my own new posts and will note sequential version numbers and revision dates. NOW AVAILABLE HERE NOTE: Some of this post's content is displaying incorrectly in Tapatalk, with entire paragraphs of text emboldened and miscolored, and at least one entire sentence of text missing. Images have been, as they always are, optimized for web viewing on FISD.

Those Td clips are way to wide and you can make frown hole on helmet bigger

Looking good! Your attention to detail is remarkable. I can tell you are as OCD as I am, although I feel as much as I try, I am never pleased with my attempts at perfection. That’s my character flaw.

I've seen a few people how have scaled down the chest and needed a new return edge make a plug, a wooden piece cut to the curve of the chest and held it behind then use more heat and mold to it. The problem with heating ABS is that it can revert to it's natural state the more heat you use, especially when not using a mold. Using a small block of wood to hold on the other side too is a good idea to help push onto the mold Here is Christine's build she modified a few pieces so may be worth a look A couple of examples

I have a Facebook page that has some photos and videos on it. It's called " Traveling Helmet Museum" look it up https://www.facebook.com/groups/2201053330208373/?ref=share

I use a heat gun but after A LOT of practice, ABS plastic is a very strange animal to heat and because it's under stress as it has been heated and pulled it can easily let go and revert back to it's former shape. A lol of people use hot water bath's which is a little kinder but still you have to be careful especially with pieces that are curved and under stress. Practice with scrap pieced of ABS plastic is a must for the uninitiated

You can do it. In some cases it is the best bet, but in others you will want to use a hot water bath. Larger or more gentle re-shaping is tough to do with the heat gun as it is very easy to overheat one spot on the armour (and then you will have trouble). For most reshaping I recommend putting the plastic in boiling hot water for a minute or so, taking it out and bend into shape, and then run the plastic under cold water.

I have completed: TK - ANH Stunt TA - AT-AT Driver (build: http://forum.armoredcavalry.net/index.php?/topic/2414-daryls-at-at-driver-build-wip/) I am working on: TS - Snowtrooper (build: http://thebhg.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=4301) BH - ESB Dengar (build: http://www.blizzardforce.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=5787)

JULY 2009 RESULTS After compiling the records and discussing it with staff, I'm awarding the initial batch of 20 to the following folks: Chazz (Gundamzeppelin) - pushed fabric belts early on Commander Dragas - helping out many new folks Tony (Stomper) - promoting correct hovis with speakers Paul (T M) - numerous contributions in terms of information regarding costumes John Danter - first Space Trooper, among many achievements Chris (Smitty) - contributions too numerous, helping out many new folks tkrestonva - always helping out new folks with comments, contributing more than many staff dougefresh - numerous posts helping and encouraging new members Joey (TK 2126 MD) - enthusiasm and tenacity in *being* Outpost Bolivia Pete (Stukatrooper) - awesome tutorials that help out many troopers Mike (TK-4510) - ground breaking tutorials on helmets Nathan (TK-9135) - helping out new folks, adding to esprit de corp with his spirit of giving Russ (Ruf Terrain) - pioneering the accurate ab buttons in tutorial and sales back when the FISD was brand new TKDueno - for showing us what a real E-11 looks like Stormtrooper - first to bring us latext hand plates TK-8280 - first ROTJ EIB ThayNerd - first ANH/ESB EIB nothingrecorded - hours of dedication in getting the visual requirements for the TK commander nailed down ForlornHope - for pushing almost single handedly at times to get the TK commander details worked out Also, prior staff : Carlos, Scott M., Exodus, TK4999 all for their service. Wow, that seems like a lot, huh? Perhaps in light of the fact that we have 5,839 registered members, and about 500 detachment members (that's 501st AND TK), this is less than 5% of our detachment membership. That's an even more select group than our EIB members (about 80 so far). Congrats to the recipients. Thank you so much for your dedication to the detachment. As Synaptyx says as our unofficial motto: Troopers Helping Troopers! That's what FISD is all about.