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After years of making excuses to not join the 501st I've finally decided to take on the challenge. Life long Star Wars fan so mixing that with doing charity work is too much to pass up. I've decided to go with ATA ANH Stunt armor and am on the waiting list now. I've been going through the different guides and am stocking up on all of the recommended supplies and tools that I should need to make everything happen. I'm lucky enough to have an unused bedroom in the house that I will be setting up as a work area. Hoping to have the build done and approved in time for the world to open up again. Huge thank you to everyone that has worked to put all of the guides and links together. Without all this information I wouldn't have the courage to even attempt a build like this!

That ^^

Yeah I was struggling with this for a while. I started figuring this out late into the glue process haha. If I have to rip them apart for some reason I'm definitely trying that. I've put it off for a while now, but I'm feeling brave enough to start on my bucket. I found a few good guides listed below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqpMGao2_xw So here is my is my bucket so far after I've trimmed and sanded everything: The left side of where the brow sits is a little forward set due to the mold, but also looking at some references, a lot of buckets seemed to be uneven with where the brow trim ended. I think I will leave it as is.

Truly wonderful news Justin, I am so happy for you. Here's to it staying gone.

Finally making some progress on the helmet - I have been procrastinating out of fear of messing it up, and just haven't been feeling my best if I'm being honest (more on that at the end, but also GOOD NEWS!)... But I made some big strides this week, so let's go over the details! I started masking and painting the final bits on the helmet and thermal detonator, using a Tamiya brand tape I'd seen recommended a couple of places - it worked great and gave me super clean lines, while still being able to mask curves pretty efficiently. I would usually lay down my line with this, then add a couple inches of masking with thicker tape behind it! I did the Thermal Detonator first to give the tape a try and to get my technique down. I actually learned that it was best to be a teeny bit sloppy with my masking, then go back and remove any of the slight overspray from the rattlecan using a small awl to find the corner, then gently scrape any excess. On the TD you can see a few spots where paint didn't actually get all the way to the edge since I masked TOO close. I learned and did better on the helmet, but mayyy go back and touch up the TD before final mounting. Still, not bad! I also in hindsight should have sprayed the gray, then masked IT before spraying the white, which might have been more efficient than taping off the white... Next up was masking off the helmet to do the gray details on the tears, traps, ears, and frown. I taped all around each of them, then covered the helmet with a garbage bag, cutting holes for the areas I wanted color on, then taping around them. I did about 4 light coats, 5-10min apart of RustOleum Painter's Touch 2x Satin Granite gray. I haven't been the best about documenting, but you can see the masking underneath after I removed the plastic bag. I actually got very little overspray and didn't need to do much cleanup. It's worth it to take the time to mask properly! And finally with all the masking removed! It was a LOT! I went in with my awl again and lightly scraped off any overspray - the 2K clear is hard and smooth enough that the awl would remove the gray paint, but not noticeably scratch the white. I then went around with a Q-tip and some polish to clean anything left up. This let me get even smoother, cleaner lines than I probably could have achieved with masking alone. Again, in hindsight... using a white tape on a white helmet probably wasn't best. The frown was hardest to mask, but cleaned up pretty well too! Next I tried to go in and do the black outlines with a fine marker, which worked okay at first, but when I touched them several HOURS later, still smudged... I gave it overnight to dry, but it was still wet the next day. Upon closer inspection, the pens I was using were water based and probably not bonding to the paint and drying properly. I ended up just wiping as much of the black outlines off as possible, and ordered myself an Extra Fine Oil-Based Sharpie that should arrive this weekend, then I'll give it another go. Next up was the neck seal trim. Didn't take photos, but same deal - masked with the Tamiya, some thicker masking tape, then a plastic garbage bag and a piece of adhesive foam sheet to block the head hole, similar to when I did the white paint. Again, cleaned up with the awl and polish for a respectably smooth line. I used RustOleum Painter's Touch 2X Flat Black for this to simulate rubber and am pleased. I used the same flat black and masking technique - this time with some spare newspaper instead of the plastic bag - to do the brow trim. Once I removed the masking, I went ahead and installed the blacked-out mic tips from Ukswrath (after painting the interior stem, nut, and washer with some flat black) - they look great! Of course, I'm sort of a perfectionist and took the time to make sure they were straight, as was the mesh in them (it was a pain). I set the helmet in such a way that it would stay in place overnight, then used some Gorilla Glue to attach the vocoder as well. I ended up having to heat it with some HOT water and bend it slightly to get it to connect at the top, and at the bottom near the neck seal - it previously had about a 1/4" gap. I also used my Dremel to rough the surface up slightly where it contacts to give it a better physical bond (hopefully if it ever comes off, it doesn't take a bunch of my clear coat with it......). That dried very securely, and brings us to where I'm currently at... all done with paint and just a few items left to assemble! I'll be finishing any final cleanup around the frown tonight, then using some strips of black 3M VHB tape to attach my frown mesh, and some velcro to install the lens (I like it easily removable for cleaning). I'll likely use the VHB to secure some fabric under the tube stripe vents as well. I also added some "airsoft helmet"-style padding from Amazon, but haven't dialed the fit in just yet (pics when I do) - it's a pretty room-y helmet. Which brings me to one of the last major hurdle left - trimming the thigh tops. I started trying to mock up my cut line with some tape... let me know what you guys think! Going way deeper on the inside of the leg for comfort after seeing the mortar trooper shot above... I have an E-11 on order from Hellhounds Props - the very first Rogue One style he's produced apparently - and it should be ready in the next week or two. I'm super excited and have been extremely impressed by the quality of Daniel's work - notably the separate metal scope rails and quality of the rubber casting. I also ordered a repro mini scout light for it, which should be neat! I think that's it for now! Final helmet assembly, thermal detonator mounting, and thigh trimming hopefully this weekend and in my next post! Finally feeling the motivation to get this thing DONE and submitted! Anyone still interested in hearing health news, I have good news - my PET scan ($1,800 out of pocket since it's a new year and new deductible... OOF) results came back and... I AM OFFICIALLY, FULLY IN REMISSION FROM CANCER! So that's cool haha The scan showed no signs of cancer activity, so all I need to do is get scanned again in another 6 months, then a year after that... then a year after that... and then they technically can call me "cured"! So that's amazing news and I'm truly blessed and grateful. It's been a helluva journey. On the slightly negative side, I ended up carrying a lot of anxiety into the new year between waiting on that result, the insanity surrounding the US inauguration, COVID-19 still being fully out of control in Southern California, and changing job roles (not by choice) at work... I kept telling myself that things would get better in the new year, and though it rolled around and they mostly did, I still have been struggling with a good deal of anxiety and have not been sleeping very well. I'm getting things back under control, but wasn't feeling my best the last several weeks and didn't have a ton of motivation or energy to work on armor. Once I finally just committed and YOLO'ed the paint, and it mostly went well, it just kept me going on the next thing and the next, and now I'm nearly done. This armor has been an incredible pain in my butt, but I've learned a ton and it has helped keep my mind off things as well. I'll be proud as hell of it when it's done. Almost there. Thanks for stopping by!

So finally kicking off the build of my ATA ANH stunt kit. My plan is to build this to Centurion level specs. I'm planning to build this over the winter, so it's not a rush project. And I like to take my time and get it right the first time. So here is the kit unboxed. Everything looks great. Helmet kit. I'm going to start the with the helmet. Here are some close ups. The front is gorgeous! The back is a little bumpy towards the sides, but from what I have read, that is expected. Some more

Hello everyone my name is Alejandro Ossa and i´m from the garrison Colombia, i´m a graphic designer and i´m so glad to be a new member of this amazing grup!!!

Att all our 501st Detachment members! We mentioned we would hit the ground running so here is our first official initiatives for the new term. It give me great pleasure to announce the opening of a couple of new Sub forums today. These can be found in the Detachment Merchandise area in the 501st section of FISD. Before I get into the details, I would like to thank @starsaber25 (Steve) TK-10466, not only for this fantastic idea, but for putting these sections together and accurately compiling their content. This is the first time we have made this information so easily accessible, and possible we are the first detachment to create this style of initiatives in house. FISD Coin and Patch repository We have one each set up for coins and patches currently which contain all FISD coins, and patches. These have been made easily accessible to all 501st detachment members to peruse without having to log into the Legion collectors database looking for FISD specific merch items. These will be updated every time another run is done so you will have a quick reference archive at your finger tips, where in the past we only kept basic archives in the background. TK Trading Post Want to trade or sell 501st approved merch without the cut throat masses that exist in the social media trading groups, well here is your latest opportunity. We have created FISD's own "in house" trading platform, the "TK Trading post", open and ready for action as of today. This forum has a strict set of rules, so we please ask that if you wish to participate in the sale or trade of legion merch, that you read and adhere to them. They do follow the Legion guideline, and the forum will be moderated to keep it a safe and honest platform. Keeping it on a smaller scale and in house than what currently exists should be great for our community and newer members whether you are just setting out on your first collection or looking to complete and existing one. Yet another reason to visit FISD and become a member of the legions largest detachment. We hope you enjoy these latest additions to the FISD forums. These new areas can be found here. Direct links Coin and Patch repository TK Trading Post

Great, thank you for the help!

[Edit November 20, 2020] This thread was initially created to document my experiments with molding and casting a M38 scope, but it has now expanded and I did not want to create another thread when this one would suffice. I had hoped to finish with this whole project this summer (2020), but when Covid hit I did not have to opportunity to work on it as much as I would like to. I am not the best at keeping my threads up to date so I'll post below where I am now. I am a college student and I don't really have the space or tools for this project so most of this work was done when I visited my parents home or received help from a friend. Oh, lastly it is important to know that my welding skills are almost non-existent, so show some mercy. ______________________________________________ Hello everybody! I recently purchased real M38 scope off ebay for a good price. As I learn more about this hobby I know that the best way to get better is through practice. Therefore I decided I would try my hand at molding and casting replicas of the scope. Here is the scope: It is a 1943 version and it is in very good nick. I began by cleaning the scope and building a little box for it out of foam core. Then I used my pottery knowledge from middle school It wasn't the smoothest, but it'll work. One thing I wish I did was add escapes for air bubbles at this point, but I didn't think about that until after I cast. Here are some pics. The mold itself is not the prettiest, but the detail of the scope was great! One thing that always bugged me about resin copies of scopes is that to make them believable you had to drill and clean the insides out and then add lenses. I have seen others here do this wonderfully, but I lacked the skill and patience when I first started out here. Tino will remember this. So what I decided to do in this case was to cast in clear resin. This way all you have to do is mask the lenses before painting and then pull them off afterwards. Here is the first cast: This is where I learned I needed to cut in some escapes for air and whatnot. But to prove this concept I painted this scope today to see how it would look. Note I didn't bother cleaning this casting up much as it was so defective. Here are the pictures: Let me know what you think! For my first ever silicone mold I am pretty happy, but I will probably make a new one eventually. Cheers!

Definitely at the right place and good luck with your build.

Welcome to FISD Steven. Looking forward to seeing your build thread soon!

Welcome to the forum, Steven! I’m just a little to the east of you, in northwest GA, right outside Chattanooga. Great to see another ATA Trooper I the making, as I’ve been on the same journey myself. Check out my build thread if you like, as well as my All-In-One TK resource, which has a TON of ATA threads in the second half of the post. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/49412-all-in-one-tk-anh-stunt-index-of-resources-by-maskedvengeance/ I look forward to following your progress! Sent via Imperial Tapatalk Comms

Hi Steven , great to have you here, welcome to FISD! Looking forward for your BBB day photos soon .

That ^^^ Key word here is "cut resistant", that said, if the gloves are too thick you'll have difficulty holding essential tools like your knife, ruler or pencil. It's best if you go to a hardware store in your area and try on different versions. Go grab a ruler and knife and hold them with the gloves on. The gloves are there to prevent you from performing unwanted surgery on yourself but if you can't hold items comfortably then you might be asking for trouble there also. Here's a set from Home Depot for example - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-Large-Red-Nitrile-Level-3-Cut-Resistant-Dipped-Work-Gloves-48-22-8932/303635936

Except for the sniper knee, return edges are not required. Return edge gives the armor the illusion of thickness that's all, remove as necessary. Also, if it comes done to it you can even cut out the back as seen here in this reference photo. Regarding the back (opening), I would only remove the flare in the plastic and leave the rest. The muscles in that portion of your leg tend to flex the most so trust me when I say you'll want room to move around in. You can always add fabric foam to stabilize the interior if needed.

My camera lens is kinda screwing with the perspective/proportions, but my bucket is assembled even after what I thought might be a couple of fatal errors! Turned out far better than last time, even if it’s far from perfect. Just aiming for basic approval, though. I’d rather build my TIE chest box over again 10 times before shaping another ear. As I wait for my new canisters of paint and some accessories to arrive, I’ll get started on the chest and back!

That's absolutely FANTASTIC news!!! Super congratz, and here's to a LONG future of trooping

Hello there to all! I'm from Venezuela...

Looks good

Taking a break from the forearms, I painted the teeth on the bucket. I may try to clean them up a bit later. next is to paint the vocoder I traced where I believe the edges should be. Does this look correct?

Right Thigh Ammo Belt secured with two single cap rivets and E6000 at 3 joints to keep it in place. 6" welding C clamp vice grips used to secure the rivets. Awaiting 24 hour cure of the E6000. Not sure the accuracy here as the ammo belt seems to have an ever so slight upward curvature. Not sure if that's canon or not.

Really did make it pop.

Beautiful news Justin

Split rivet repair has begun. All holes are filled with abs paste and focusing on the bottom kidney hole first. Looks like I'll need to apply another latter or two of paste to eventually fill up the little air holes in the dried paste. Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

Hello Trooper, good to know about you. Feel free to navigate the forum.

I was looking at the more secure, 501st only for sale section. Didnt scan far enough down to see the open one. Thanks!

Hovi mic tips I had trouble getting the ears to fit on the overlapping helmet parts. Because the ears are trimmed flat and the helmet is curved. I found in a build thread about sanding the ears with a notch cut into it for a better flush fit. I was very nervous about doing this because the helmet is the most important part of the build and I so afraid of screwing it up. But, I took my time gradually trimming a curve shape on the tops of the ears and a notch for the overlap, and found this to work out well. They fit in much better now and the ear screws are aligned with the trap line. Now I paint the inside of the helmet. S-trim ''Thank you Trooperbay'' Here is the result, and it's been well worth it. There are probably some details that need fixing which I might have overlooked. Please let me know if any adjustments are required, I am open to all suggestions.

I can't be the only one to join! That ruins the contest part! COME ON PEOPLE, JOIN!