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Thanks so much for the advice @gmrhodes13and @fragarock. Greatly appreciated. I have decided to take both of your guidance. RS Props is sending me another belt and I've started color matching some ABS scraps. By finding the right color paint this will allow me to paint the ammo belt I already have from another armor maker. Between these two options, hopefully I'll end up with a nice backup belt. https://imgur.com/a/0ZkCQyu

There are also other types of products available, we have one here called Goo Gone, removes sticky residue, labels and also works on print from PVC pipe. I did try a little solvent once but it melted the pipe a little. With sanding any paint you want to be careful not to scratch the area too much, it's hard work but using fine sandpaper is best, here is a general guide to polishing paint, you can also find a lot of videos on the subject on youtube. https://www.wikihow.com/Wet-Sand-a-Car

I would try using the corner of a soft cloth dipped in mineral spirits. BUT, if you do end up having to sand it I would use a super fine grit paper. If it leaves a light scratched looking area I wouldn't worry too much, as that area is not visible when wearing it and I wouldn't ding that for higher levels.

Just a suggestion (won't affect any level of clearance, I think)... Pop a bit of Velcro (the soft side) of the back of your td clips. It'll stop the metal scratching your plastic armour. Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Looking forward to reading you EIB and Centurian applications Damo! [emoji106] Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Once approved you can request higher access here On your forum you should be issued higher access too which should allow you to see member only sections and trooping/event info. You can also sign up on the legion forums, lots to read there, merch does come up from time to time to, although levels have dramatically dropped since LFL restrictions. https://www.501st.com/forum/index.php Troopers Survival Guide is also a good read https://databank.501st.com/databank/TrooperSurvivalGuide Then GET OUT AND TROOP, well when you can do it safely Read up on the EIB and Centurion requirements and have a think about aiming for those levels of clearance. Most importantly have fun, try not to be pulled into legion politics, a downhill slide that can be HAVE FUN and MAKE PEOPLE SMILE, not hard to do.

Attention all members and loyal citizens, Ask not what your detachment can do for you but what you can do for your detachment! Right, now I hopefully have your attention, we got a real easy way that any member can be part of the forum clean up crew, and help out making this place a tiny bit better by doing what many of you already do and that's simply peruse the forums. The task we have is monumental for any one person, but together, many hands make light work and you can feel confident that you played a part in the 2020 FISD term. Here's all you need to do. Find a post while surfing the forums with any of the following, please post a link to it in this thread. and that's it. Job done. What am I looking for? Photobuket water marks across images in a post. Watermarks in general that cover an Image that is advertising in nature. (Members are allowed to watermark photos and images they themselves have taken as long as they don't obstruct the image) Post where the images no longer work or just have info like 12034056.jpeg and nothing else. Broken links in a post that go no where, usually found in older post from years gone by. These generally don't help anyone so may be considered no use or obsolete. Please note we do not require links from anything already residing in the Archive or Trash compactor sections at the bottom of the forum. What happens once you have posted a link here to the thread with the issues. A member of the clean up crew ie. a staff member, will take a look at your link and see if we can rectify the situation by correcting the image, re-instate the broken link, or consider archive the post or thread. We are not in the practice of deleting but rather preserving our history. Once a staff member has attended to the links in question that hopefully will start populating this thread, they will respond to make all aware your post has been attended to. If you have any questions regarding the process, you can also ask those in this new thread. Happy forum surfing

I'm Diana. I've never wanted to be Princess Leia. I always wanted to be the stormtrooper that shot Princess Leia. The two big brown boxes arrive at the beginning of November. I gazed adoringly at my new armor, but couldn't start building. I had shoulder surgery at the beginning of November, so in the beginning, I simply peek at the armor and spend a great deal of time on FISD reading. Well, there it is. All nicely packed. It sits in a box for weeks. Husband is away traveling in Europe, Europe and a few more places in Europe. He promises to help with the build when he gets home. Husband finally arrives home. And, brings chocolate. It's very sweet. He always is. But, I don't want chocolate. I want to build armor. My son happily takes all of his chocolate and mine, too. We finally unpack the boxes. There is no packing list. Sigh. We stare at everything in confusion trying to figure out all these mysterious pieces. Did we get everything we ordered? Well, there is no way of knowing. We ordered... armor. We got... a whole bunch of... pieces. RS emails to say my neckseal and bodysuit are on backorder. They later email to say the ears are missing. (And, by later, I mean, much later. Beginning of January.) Again, packing list. Is there a paper shortage? I'll send them some. We might lack water in California, but we do have paper. From the time I placed the order to the time it arrived on my doorstep in Gilroy, it took four weeks. Not bad at all. Oddly enough, they accidentally included the molds for the hand guards with the gloves. (You can see the in the picture.) Eh, OK. Thanks? Of all of the pieces, the holster is my favorite. It has this amazing leather smell. The gloves are... a cross between something you would wash dishes in and use to clean up a disaster at Chernobyl. They are sized for Chewbacca, and flop around on my hands like a useless extra appendage. And, despite how huge they are, somehow, they immediately began to make my hands sweat. Ghastly awful things. Screen-accurate, though. The boots look nice. But, they are also much too big on me. Wish they did fit. They're beautiful boots. I bought the "strapping kit." It seems crazy expensive at the time, but so was the kit. It made sense to not have to spend time running around having to find these pieces and focus on building. As it is, there are a ton of little pieces. I double-bag everything so nothing gets lost. The kit comes with "plastic adhesive.", I read hear on the boards the stuff is useless. I toss it out. Oddly enough, the ab buttons come pre-painted. I open up the next box.... Ugggh. The helmet. I was expecting something different. Not liking the helmet. It feels like it can snap in my hands. I expected the material to be heavier and more substantial. I put it back in the box. I'll deal with it later. I feel... overwhelmed. We have no basement, (it is California, after all.) Our garage is husband's manly man gym, so most building will be done in the kitchen and family room (center of activity in the house.) In between work sessions, the armor needs a safe home. After reading the threads on storage, I decide upon the 55-gallon Stanley chest. It's huge. You can't fault the storage capacity. Despite how big the box is, I'm not sure how to get all of the armor pieces to fit in there. It all seems like a huge jigsaw puzzle and I don't know how they go together. I'm so afraid the armor is going to break if I handle it the wrong way. However, after more research, I decide to put the smaller arm pieces inside the bigger arm pieces, and then the same with the legs, etc. Everything fits easily. Day One of Building. First step was figuring out right and left forearm pieces. It helped to know the right outer forearm has 12 dimples and the left forearm has 11 dimples. Although, I don't get why they can't actually just label these pieces. Me and my crazy ideas. That is my husband, in the photo. The buff, swarthy one. Using the Exacto-blade was frustrating, so we switch over to the curved Lexan scissors. By "we" I mean that I make helpful suggestions and my husband is doing all the work. I'm right-handed and my right arm is still out-of-commission since the surgery. However, I'm full of it. Er, full of helpful suggestions. So, I do all the research and he does the heavy lifting. Cut faster, honey. You're doing a great job. (Actually, it's frustrating not being able to do any of this yet, but I'm grateful my husband is willing to step in and get the armor started. Without him, the pieces would still simply be sitting there.) We finish quickly and moved on to trimming the biceps. Questions: Why is the bottom piece on the right forearm so excessively long? Also, what is a "return edge?"

Hi everyone, I’m about to commence a build of my RS ESB kit and I’m looking forward to getting started. I’ll admit it’s a bit of a daunting task so I’ll be asking some questions! But to start, is there a thread specifically for RS builds? I’m not sure how much trimming is needed for each part of armour? Does anyone go into specifics with photos etc? Many thanks everyone!

Can be, I found with the brackets it limits movement as well as you can get cracking between the screws. I added adjuster clips to the chest area so I could get it sitting just right

Looks much better

Carved out the eyes and teeth more, also got the brow pretty close to where I want it. Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

Sound advice if I've ever heard it! Thanks so much, Rob! My husband has been trying to convince it's time to retire the armor and get another set. But, I do love this armor. It just looks so amazing when I wear it. Thanks again.

Nice one Joseph, thanks for the feedback. I'll have a bit of a practice on an offcut with some really fine paper first, see how it looks. I've got plenty to be getting on with before that anway. Appreciate all this help guys.

Exactly.

Can't speak from experience as I didn't need to remove any print on mine. But, I suspect any grade of sandpaper is going to leave scratches that are going to be a [emoji2959] to remove. Hopefully someone with experience can say more, but I'm thinking either something like t-cut (gently) or a solvent like white spirit to see if it dissolves the print, maybe even gently with brasso(?). Whatever you do go gently and sparingly!!! As with anything, test on a small, not visible section first, an offcut would be perfect, and ideally hang on to see if anyone else has ideas first. Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Thanks @justjoseph63! Definitely don’t want to cut the trim too much, but I’ll give it a little paring down. Maybe a little bit idealized?

Lets look at the wording for the ANH E-11 in the CRL Based on a real or replica Sterling sub-machine gun, scratch-built, or a modified commercial toy Stormtrooper blaster. This does not change for EI as nothing is mentioned., Toy Stormtrooper blasters are not accurate in themselves and probably less accurate than your S & T. At Centurion it is clear that we don't accept modified toys or Bapty's as they are not accurate to ANH sterling, so that would also cover any blaster not accurate to the ANH Sterling which unfortunately also would cover any blaster S & T or otherwise with incorrect parts. Bapty-style, Hasbro and Rubies blasters are not allowed, even conversions. I think the CRL currently explains itself well enough, but I have no problem in adding additional items to the centurion list. We didn't have these available to members when this section of the CRL was written so not possible to exclude something that hadn't previously existed. I would certainly be adverse to requesting anyone modify an expensive Airsoft to a point it is no longer usable, therefor my recommendation would be to not use it in our high level approval.

Hello All- I wasn't sure whether to post this under my original thread or under the "Belts and Other Soft Parts forum." But, I am having issues with the bendy bendy parts of my armor as my RS Props armor is getting older. Over the past three years, I've been developing cracks in my shoulder straps, belt and smaller ones in my butt and beloved cod piece. The belt seems to have taken the worst of it as this is the piece that gets snapped on and off repeatedly. The belt has developed numerous little cracks that I have shimmed and added ABS paste to again and again. But, I'm worried the whole thing is going to cave in like a sink hole. So, I contacted RS Props to ask them to send me a new ammo belt thinking it would be as easy as trimming it, popping off the old and adding in the new one. Eh, not so fast there. Here was the response. >>You purchased from RS originally? This may be a problem, with it being from so long ago we cannot guarantee the ABS will match as it does change over the years. It will be a slightly different colour. Ah, now while I'm disappointed, I'm not too surprised. A garrison mate gave me their spare ammo belt a year or two ago, but I haven't figured out a way to use it yet as it it a different shade of ABS. https://imgur.com/s41lCbR Any ideas? I know I'll eventually have to replace the whole kit, but other than the micro cracks, I still like the look of the whole kit.

Not to worry, I think many of us do this, lol. (I know I still do even after all these years). Excellent progress by the way, Garrett! Depending on how screen accurate you want to get, you may want to think about trimming the brow trim back a tad on the ends. Although the screen-used versions were a LOT farther back (I think due to the fact that the rubber shrank in the years between filming ANH and ESB) but I wouldn't go as far back as the reference images. ESB reference images

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Thank you SO much!!!! (It's 2am here, and I keep waking to check my phone!) Thank you to all the D.O. team (and beyond) for your help and guidance. You've all been so warm and welcoming the whole process has been a pleasure, and I'm actually sad that it's come to a close. Huge thanks to Dan again, my UK armourer (sp? [emoji6]). Without him launching me on this path I would've been lost. Finally (this has become an Oscars speech!), I need to thank my wife. Aside from being a fantastic photographer, she's been not only supportive and understanding of my various man child hobbies, but also extremely tolerant of the time and money I've spent on them! [emoji1] Again, thank you all, and I will do all I can to assist anyone up and coming where I'm able. Thank you x Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

Thank you!! I’m so stoked. Keep catching myself just staring at it

I had a crack there too.. In that area the plastic is very "thin" . Maybe this can help you. ...

Well that depends on what armor you have, there is quite a big difference in color from one maker to another depending on their local supply of ABS, comparing them together can look as different as stark white to cream. Personally I eye color match the paint, I have an air brush so mix my own paint for touch ups.

I finally made the decision and put in my order for a set of RS armor! I am super excited and can't wait for it all to arrive. While it is daunting and already a bit overwhelming, I would like to shoot for centurion right off the bat. This is my first time doing anything like this and will need to order pretty much everything tools wise. I have already had so much help in another thread when I was trying to decide which armor to get and am very thankful. I have a link to a post from justjoseph63 that shows all the tools I will need and am going to start ordering pretty much everything on that list. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31404-supply-list-for-your-ot-tk-build/ I did order the RS strap pack and am wondering if anyone knows if that comes with the rivets (is that the right word?) needed to reach centurion or if I need to look at ordering others from that list? I had seen a picture of a strap pack but think it may have changed a bit since. Also wondering if anyone can recommend a good build thread, or couple, to follow of someone with RS that went centurion from the start. I saw Diana's RS build pinned and have looked through that and it seems to be very good. I am going to order by boots from Imperial Boots and will order my undersuit probably from someone like underamrour that has something that could help with heat. Neck seal, Gloves, Holster, and canvas belt are all coming from RS also. I do need to get an E-11 still. I see that certain makers are no longer in production and am looking to probably just get a pre-built blaster that will pass centurion. I would like one that I don't mind giving to someone and not having to worry they can break it. Hopefully that BBB comes soon and I can make my official build thread! Any other tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Matthew

Heat gun is possible but I find using hot water and a small iron be more controlling. Here is an example of a WTF left bicep before hot water reshaping and after hot water reshaping: Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

ABS is normally heated to around 176 (Fahrenheit) for molding (like TK armor) and melts at about 370. Heat guns can reach temperatures of 1200 degrees, just shy of what it takes to melt aluminum. Not a chance I suggest taking unless you are well versed in how to use one. Hot water baths are much more forgiving, but since water boils at 212 it still pays to be very, very careful and work in small increments. Once a piece is warped it's next to impossible to fix, so as mentioned above using scraps to practice with will serve you well.

The moral of this story is, heat guns can be very dangerous to ABS and very quickly. Plenty of practice is always best before unleashing the heat on your hard earned armour kit. Someone well versed on using a heat gun can tend to make it look very easy but different thicknesses react at varying times and the ambient temperature when using them also plays a part in hpw long is too long before you end up with a floppy melted piece of plastic.

It is an interesting watch. As a new builder, I can tell you the horror of using the heat gun. I destroyed several pieces of ABS trying to learn how to use it. As with most building tools, experience is key. Test and practice on scrap. I found the hot water bath method works in most cases with the ABS.

I had good luck using the hot water method on my Anovos ANH build. Here is my build thread: https://imgur.com/VLfUU7r

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