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TK-99237 approved! Second 501st approved kit!

Hi Richard, If I can make a suggestion . Consider a clamps change so you can apply less pressure and if possible use more clamps to have an uniform pressure to the sniper knee. As we say here, "You never have enough clamps and magnets" Here you can see what I usually do to attach the sniper knee. 48 or more hours later Keep on doing a great work !!

I just want to take a minute here to express my appreciation. I started this build over a year ago, right before covid shut everything down. When I have the time to work on it, it's been a great project to help take my mind off all the craziness. I'm really thankful for the support and help everyone here has provided. This is a great community here and I'm really excited to become part of it. (hopefully very soon lol). Thanks again everyone. Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

Meanwhile... New (standard size) back and butt pieces arrived today. Already trimmed and poppers being glued. Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Thanks for this. I think I made things harder for myself by removing too much from the sides, meaning I had less material to clamp on to, and had to try and bend the abs more to make contact (hence the more aggressive clamps). 'You only learn when things go wrong' definitely applies here [emoji1] Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Pretty much. Nice kit by the way @TheSwede

Ad the Armor = problem solved

Now am dreading doing the sniper knee again on my new build.

It’s a really smart decision and should definitely help. It’ll still be tough, the sniper knee always is but thinner should be easier. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The thinner material has gotta help, right!? [emoji106] Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Man I put this bucket on and it is so much bigger then the TK ones. I feel like a bobble head.

Hi Darren As I am unsure exactly what you know about us and the 501st, here is some further information to help you along the way. If you are keen to join the 501st, the UK Garrison is your home location. www.ukgarrison.co.uk These guys are able to assist you with meeting other troopers, help you with building or modifying your armour and ultimately responsible for approving your costume to the minimum 501st standard. We have created help guides called CRL's or Costume reference library's that give you all the info you need to be able to build or modify to a degree, your armour at basic entry, level 2 called Expert Infantry and lvl 3 the highest level of accuracy we have called Centurion. Not all Stormtroopers are the same, so there are separate CRL's for each version from the original trilogy of movies. ANH Stunt ANH Hero ESB RotJ Take a look at this link for the CRL's https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:FISD_CRL If of course you are not planning to join the 501st, then most of this will be irrelevant to you, but we are certainly here to help you look as authentic as possible and realise your dream. Welcome to FISD

I had the hard hat type plastic in mine and found it dug into my head after a long troop so promptly removed it and add some velcro and soft foam, a ring of foam goes around the temple and a thin piece of foam inside the top, pretty inexpensive upgrade but a lot more comfortable, for me anyway.

Looks ok, there are some issues of castings remains which would need to be removed and a few holes you cold fill. The counter should be further forward and a little lower

Good idea to order a 1.5mm sniper knee!!! I used cyanoacrylate with a drying accelerator(ready in 3 seconds, and only at the 3 main points of contact with the shin). Then I reinforced the rest of the joint with a glue similar to the e6000. Very good work. Congratulations !!!

No hassle, Brother! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah that wording still confuses me. I went with the 1/2" diameter circle for the template. I don't know if my buttons are just bigger than the ones used on screen but the 7/16" was way too small. Even after I removed the tape and cleaned up the paint a little bit it still seemed like the painted area was too small. Also it was still pretty messy. So I just went back over it by hand without a template and I think it looks pretty good. Not perfect but pretty good?

The dreaded sniper knee [emoji33] Was (like everyone) struggling with how to do this. Method I'm halfway through is to glue the centre of the knee first. Did that on Fri and left for 72 hours. Now that is stuck solid I'm gluing 'the wings' and holding them firm with welders c clamps, using cut offs of cover strip for protection. So far, so good. The glue in the centre is holding under the strain, and the clamps are strong enough to hold the sides down. May get a hair dryer to soften where it's bending to lessen the strain a little (now, and for after the glue has set). Using gorilla glue clear contact adhesive for everything now, as the e6000 plus is frankly very poor and I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole (just my opinion).

Shoulder bridges complete

Congratulations on being the #501st Centurion! Welcome to the ranks! Awesome work!

No actual measurements but here are some references

Are you actually building the Mudtrooper? https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TX_-_Mudtrooper If so, (and even if your focus is the Army Trooper) you should check out the SpecOps forum, home of both the Mudtrooper and Imperial Army Trooper. The folks there will be able to provide you with more info and accurate vendor recommendations. https://forum.specops501st.com/ FISD (where you are at) is the home of the clean Stormtroopers! There are many other "detachments" that are home to the different costumes.

Sounds like you are well on your way, here is a setup a lot of troopers use for the strapping For holding up the thighs some just use a belt, I came up with a bracket adjuster for the thighs and over shoulder straps to take some weight of the belt There is also the screen accurate bracket system

Yeah, Aaron, we’d love to see photos! Perhaps start a build thread and get us all caught up on your progress! I, too, have been working on my first ATA kit.