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Thank you very much! I’ll get these issues sorted ASAP and I’ll see you at Centurion level, thank you thank you. Thank you, happy to add this one to the ranks! Looking forward to making this one a level higher! Thank you brother!

Hi Jacob, and thank you for your EIB application! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: 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. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions. Looking to your back pack , it looks a little high , if you notice in the reference images it rides at level or or a little down of the helmet's bottom. Reference Images Moving down, we have the ammo pouches on the hips ,ideally for more accuracy , we suggest to lower them down at level the canvas belt as the reference images. 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. For Centurion level, and we are sure you will take the step , we need you to fix a few issues on your Pauldron and Ammo pouches. There's a noticeable gap in the neck section of your Pauldron . This could/should be easily remedied by simply shifting the neck part toward the back an inch or two so that it is not noticeable. We are also requesting that you paint the silver snap covers black".. Hint: Sanding down the tops beforehand will help the paint adhere better! Finally brother, we'll need you to move the shoulder's ammo pouch towards the center (closer to the Pauldron's neck section). Reference Images Congratulations for your HWT EIB Trooper!! and hope to see your Centurion submission soon. 

While you have that in hand I'm heading over to the EU build areas, noticed a lot of images missing while doing some research. Costuming and Builds - EU (501st Approved) - TO BE CHECKED, a lot of build threads need moving because of missing images Heavy Weapons Trooper - Glen Page 7 complete - gmrhodes13 Page 6 complete - gmrhodes13 Page 5 complete - gmrhodes13

It does take some practice, clamping small areas after heating will definitely help, good on you for taking the plunge, looking forward to seeing your progress

My build is progressing in fits and starts. In resolving a problem with the left & right sides of my ab plate not being the same length (thread here: I’ve shortened my kidney plate, butt plate and back plate to better fit my 5’8” frame. Shortening the back plate was terrifying as I knew I wanted to keep some return edge on it. I needed to take just over half an inch off it, as indicated in the markings below. The lower pencil line was my cut line. The upper line was where I wanted to create new return edge using a heating iron. Given the extreme curve of this piece, I was expecting a lot of buckling as I folded the material under. And the result was every bit as disastrous as I feared, with pronounced buckling all along the curve. Despite the horror show above, I’m still confident I can save it now that I have the basic shape I wanted. (Btw, the overall fit is so much better now. The straps no longer stick up over my shoulders.) After letting it rest for a day or two, my first approach will be to heat it up again, small portion at a time and try to flatten each part with a clamp before moving along. If that doesn’t work, I will let it rest again and try plan B: making small cuts so that i can fold the layers slightly over each other (like tabs in paper engineering) and again try to flatten them by squishing them together with clamps. Plan C is to fill the hollows with ABS paste and grind it all out for a nice smooth curve. The only thing part I’m really concerned about is the “dent” about 1/4 of the way along from the left, where I folded the material too high up. I’m hoping to correct this very slowly in a few passes, pressing against a round buck that I have.

Congratulations! Awesome work mate

Congratulations Jacob!!!

Thanks guys! I'm sure I'll enjoy it a lot!

You have a good plan with plenty of detail so you wont go wrong. The tough part is indeed removing as many blemishes, cracks scratches and dents as possible so you have a great surface to apply that super shiny finish. Some things will be well hidden due to reflections others will stand out , so spend as much time as possible getting those gaps filled and nice and smooth. keep up the great work Brit.

I need to try the padding for the sniper knee lol. Actually, a lot of the upgrades you speak of are stuff I can apply to my own kit. I've been trooping without my glasses which hasn't led to anything awful so far, but I will keep the front padding in mind!

Hey all! While I was at my build party, some folks helped me piece together my belt. I think we got them all in the right order, but an extra set of eyes would be nice. I finished cleaning them up, but not sure if they’re supposed to be stacked like this? Does anyone have a good guide to TLJ belt assembly? Next, I think I’ve finally solved an issue with cracking on my abs join. Note this top photo has a nasty seam I used a combo of green stuff and support for behind the join, hopefully that keeps it from cracking any further. Finally, after another coat of primer/paint: I know it needs a few more layers of filler, but not too shabby!

SIDE EXTENSIONS PART 1 So, I decided that for ease of reference, I'm going to start each post with a title. This should help others as they go scrolling through the WIP later on. The second part of the ROTK/ Anthology armor that can be a bit of a hassle is the side extensions. When I built the 3d print ROTK, I was fortunate in that I could scale the piece to fit however I wanted. However, now that I'm playing with a "real" kit, or at least a more accurate kit, I need to figure out a way to get this to fit better. Let me first post a pic that I robbed off @TheRascalKing's build thread: When Justin posted this pic, his attention was drawn to the "notch" that's taken out of the top of the abdominal armor. The way it swoops down appears to be there to keep the top of the abdominal sides below the actual side connectors. My thoughts are that this Flametrooper may have received a one-off or it was possibly cut for the individual wearer. Regardless of how the armor's cut, the theme seems to be that we need to aim to keep the top of the abdominal sides as close to the side connectors as possible. Optimally, I think the abdominal armor won't be seen behind the side extensions while the wearer is stationary. However, these screen caps show that it can't be entirely avoided, especially when moving around. The first pic is a shiny Anthology kit, so it's easier to see, but I lightened the Remnant TK pics just to show how the abdominal armor can't be hidden entirely. They're kind of difficult to see, but they're definitely visible. So, from these pics the "swoop" appears to exist throughout, but in the later costumes it doesn't seem to be as pronounced as the Flametrooper. However, regarding Remnant TKs... this last guy's not even wearing side extensions. I'm definitely not going that far, but since this will eventually be a Remnant TK, it's fair to point out the things that makes these characters unique. So back to my armor. The Jimmiroquai armor does have a little swoop from the front to the side, but it's not nearly as pronounced as the screen used props. This definitely doesn't make it wrong by any means, but it may have to be trimmed if the abdominal armor sits too high. I actually think Jimi hooked us up by making the armor a little tall; it gives the wearer the option to custom fit it. Additionally, I've got a slightly longer torso so for people like me the design is brilliant. However, I've decided that if I do trim it, I'll probably do something similar to the Flametrooper, but that will require a lot of test fitting in order to make that determination and ensure I don't chop too much off. Since I titled this post "Side Extensions Part 1," I'll be covering the test fitting tonight. If trimming is indeed needed, I'll do it when I fasten the extensions this weekend. Unfortunately I already prepped and primed the armor, but I think I can get a clean cut and not really mess things up. A little touch-up might be needed, but that's not uncommon. I started off by getting the abdominal where I'll be wearing the finished armor. I've said before that I feel like the abdomen is the base of the armor, so it's important to get this right. Again, I think the majority of my height is in my upper body, so the armor may seem a little high, but it feels great. This is also where I'm glad I made the "Roman Belt" cuts. The additional flex in the belt backing really makes this extremely comfortable. Also, I'm kind of using Mr. No Side Extension as my model: Now everyone's getting to see the apartment. Lol. One more month. Anyways, at first I was using tiny clamps to hold everything down, but I realized that I had the chest and back so tight against the abdomen that I couldn't fit the kidney plat under the back. For fitting purposes, I used the larger clamps to hold the extensions in place, this created just enough of a gap to get the plate in there comfortably. For my first side pic, I've got a ton of abdominal armor showing. Based off this alone, I definitely feel like I need to trim the kit. However, I said earlier that as the costumer moves, things change. Here's another pic: And now it's gone. I am lifting my arms a little higher like in a submission photo, but this isn't how I'd typically be standing during a troop. This is: Of course I'm holding an E-22. Did anyone notice the SE-14R in the previous Remnant pics? Lol. We've gone down that route before. Also, please don't judge me on my daughter's show playing in the background. Regardless, based off the fit and these side poses, I feel that I could get away with not trimming the abdominal armor, but it would probably be better if I did. So, the test fitting is done. Also, after working with the clamps, I've decided that I'm going to permanently mount the side extensions to the back armor rather than use Velcro, magnets, or something else. Additionally, since I'm keeping the top of the extension flush with the top of the back armor "swoop" painting this shouldn't be an issue or something I need to do prior to mounting. Anyways, I'll finish off the extensions and get everything prepped this weekend. Tomorrow I'll start working on the arms. All this prep may seem like a lot of nothing going on, but it's all a necessary evil. Bear with me, the fun stuff is coming. Thanks again for viewing.

Congratulations on your TK approval Luca

Congratulations Luca!! Enjoy being a Bad Guy Doing Good!!

Please add me! https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=33436