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Hi Eli! Purchasing a set of quality armor can be an expensive undertaking. Even a used set can often run $800.00 or more, and it needs to be fitted to the wearer, plus there is the cost of boots, under-suit, etc. My advice would be to head over to the Galactic Academy (link here), which is part of the 501st Legion and a safe place for Star Wars fans under 18 to get lots of info. about costuming Since you still have a lot of growing to do I wouldn't sink a lot of money on anything right now as you will outgrow it, but you can start saving up, future Stormtrooper!

Well, I've been delayed almost a whole month due to COVID - family is healthy and happy again, but really did put a huge stoppage on work proceeding. Meanwhile, we bought automotive paint, and supplies needed to start applying a glossy black to our pieces. And today, built a spray booth: I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. We also re-sanded all our pieces up to 2000 grit, and washed a bunch of parts that are ready for spraying. Once we get a nice result on the glossy black, we'll be ready to start testing with... Alsa Easy Chrome Yes, we've decided to try our own hand at Chroming, despite most folks sending it out to Vegas. Here's our rational (as i'm sure many folks will have opinions): - We've been doing our research on many Mirror Chrome options, this seems to have the best final result - Many of the good results we've seen with this particular product were from automotive shops, hence the setup - Many of the bad results we've seen with this particular product were due to not following the prescribed steps - This is not a Gilding Processes - it's still a two-part basecoat/topcoat combo using paint gun - While still expensive ($140 for 2oz?!) i'm willing to try it out initially to see what results we get, and if they seem not so promising, we aren't out THAT much. We can still sent out for professional chroming. - A lot of the work is in the prep, which we've spent many hours accomplishing. So, that's where we're at. We're on final Black Glossy coat, we'll get those looking flawless, then try out the Easy Chrome process, hopefully in a few weeks. I might actually buy the hobby kit after my next paycheck!

For accuracy, I would get them from Tony @ukswrath. I know you are in the UK, but they can be sent in a regular envelope and the extra postage would only be about 65 cents. Here is a link to his sales thread:

New to the group just wanted to pop in and say thanks for having me. Chris

I hope you don't mind my chiming in with a few comments. I also very recently received a fully commissioned RS Propmaster ANH stunt and love it. I got through basic approval with only some minor strapping issues but I have plenty of more things I am addressing. I notice from your pictures that your kit has some of the exact same issues mine did/does. Thigh strapping was much too long. I had to shorten mine by several inches. I used a stapler to temporarily close off the loop (easy to remove the staple) while I sized it up to see exactly what length was best for where the belt was comfortable. Shoulder bell to chest straps were too long. I shortened mine so that unstretched it comes out to just under the bell. Sew in snaps for the shoulder bells had issues. One popped off the 2nd time I suited up. I've replaced them with hammer in snaps, much easier since I needed to shorten the shoulder bell straps. Left shoulder bell to bicep strap was too long. This makes it harder for the bicep to stay under the shoulder bell band and also messes up the bicep to forearm spacing. Looks like you have the same issue. Right arm was fine as delivered. Belt sag at the waist. Easily fixed with a small piece of velcro under the button panel connected to the belt. Makes dressing out easier, also. Forearm band could use rotating. Might not bother you too much, but I think it looks very sharp when the cover strips on the bicep and forearm line up. With the way the band connecting the forearms to biceps is placed, it forces the cover strip on the forearm to rotate to the outside. I've made a few other adjustments to mine, also, but these are the ones I think would benefit you based on your pictures. Hopefully this helps and good luck! The armor really is beautiful!

Greetings Imperial Citizens! TK 15122, AKA Vapor, reporting in. I just got my official acceptance into the Legion this morning as an ESB Stormtrooper. I'm currently serving with the Rancor Raiders in the Mississippi Garrison. I'm 34 years old, currently serving in the U.S. Air Force. I've been on Active Duty for 13 years now, and am currently stationed in Mississippi. In my free time, I enjoy cosplaying (in and outside of the 501st) all kinds of comic, video game, and anime characters at conventions, video games (specifically RPG and FPS), podcasting (hosted a few and worked as a narrator on The NoSleep Podcast), taking long road trips around the country, hanging out with my buddies, and encapsulating myself in 80s/vaporwave culture, aesthetic, and music. I've wanted to be a Stormtrooper since I was a little kid, and it probably played into me joining the military in some aspect. Getting the big brown box was a dream come true. I'm really looking forward to hopefully trooping with you guys in the future or meeting up at conventions. Vapor / TK 15122

It will be difficult to tell how the left shin will sit compared to the thigh until you get the sniper plate glued to it, but right now it looks pretty darned good! Right now they sit perfectly on the boots, so depending on how the thigh length is you may be in good shape. You have some "wiggle room" in the gap. In looking at the top, you have a little bit more of the ridge on the inside than the outside (blue arrows). No the biggest of deals by any means, but don't trim any more off of that area. The cover strip should sit in the center. The bottoms are a tiny bit flared out (see yellow arrow in the first pic above), but when you pull them together they should be fine. The rear edges should ideally be parallel. If you have the room, I would suggest trimming the outside piece (second photo) to achieve that. It would also bring in the bottoms a bit Keep up the great work, sir, and keep those photos coming!

NEW Detachment Leader Merchandise Hall of Fame Just For Laughs Update Your Build Threads Around the Detachment Competition INFORMATION & AWARD PROGRAMS Common FISD Acronyms and TK Glossary Pre Approval Forum 3D Section Field Exercise Award Imperial Attaché Program Fire Teams EIB & Centurion: What do these terms mean? Advanced Tactics Awards Public Relations Staff List 2020 Follow FISD Greetings Troopers, we have another info packed newsletter for you again this month, I hope you find something interesting or new. I'd like to start by thanking gmrhodes13 (Glen) for the effort he continually puts into updating the content and keeping our newsletters fresh, packed with detachment info, and a good read for everyone. Let's get down to business. Yep it's November and we have a lot of exciting stuff to get through as holiday season approaches. It's been a busy year thus far and it's not about to stop with several plans we need to drive into action to have time up our sleeves before Chinese new year, Feb elections and Celebration in May. justjoseph63 (Joseph) has launched a design competition for the official FISD Celebration 2022 patch. If you are feeling creative, please post your designs in the thread as soon as possible. Full details further on in this edition. The Legion merch team have also announced they will start approving celebration merch as of 1st Dec so the quicker we can get something together the sooner we can seek approval and get the run going. We always offer up free merch to the winner and of course kudos, and some great bragging rights. We want more merch I hear you say!! The FISD detachment shirt run will kick off things going to plan in early January. If we want shirts in troopers hands before May we need to strike, but before we can get there, a couple of things need to fall in place. 1. Design. Due to time restraints we have a small window to decide on our standard design as per the last run, or a design that includes something about our 15th anniversary. 2. We need a volunteer to helm the run. If we can hit those marks early, we can get the shirt approved before December is out, and indeed get the shirt run underway on time in early Jan. Are you ready to step up to the plate and help your fellow troopers? Other projects. Tri fold brochures are on the agenda, and the timing is right. We are bringing the famous FISD Tri fold back with a thread currently open in the forums and designs being discussed and samples posted. The originals were done back in 2012 so an update is certainly due, specially with more and more troops and conventions firing up, these brochures are an awesome tool for recruiting and bringing new people onto the forums and into our garrisons. If you would like to join the conversation, you can find it Here in the 501st members section here FISD special anniversary project. Not the official announcement quite yet, but we are moving closer to the reveal. There are still a couple of hops to jump through, but I really hope to have something for you all very soon. In the mean time we thank you for your patience. With Unquestioned Loyalty Andrew Franke TK11469 "Sly11" Detachment Lead Expert Infantry Coin (15th Anniversary Version) OPEN (Only a few coins Remaining) The time has come for the new run of EIB gold challenge coins! The 15th Anniversary gold EIB coins are available now. PLEASE NOTE: You must be an Expert Infantry member to purchase one of these coins. If you've ever purchased an Expert Infantry gold coin before, from any run, you cannot purchase another one. These are once per EI! You can find the sales thread here Happy Halloween Troopers!Being my favourite time of year I always enjoy trying to find the best Halloween themed photo for this month to induct into the Stormtrooper Hall of Fame.This year please welcome this fine gem of a photo that I’ve captioned “Nice Kitty”Congratulations TK - 17032 Gary and welcome!https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/47593-10-tk-17032s-troop-log/?do=findComment&comment=728884 With Unquestioned Loyalty Aaron Gibson TK-99725 "Pyrates" Curator Hall of Fame "FISD Memes" Thank you to Luca "Morgi" TK66744 for starting a FISD specific meme thread, hope to see more of these in the future not only by you but by others as well. You can find the thread here WE NEED YOU TO UPDATE YOUR BUILD THREADS As most would be aware we are diligently working through the forums updating watermarked images, missing images and broken links, this has taken over a year so far and has been a monumental task but there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Members build threads are one of the biggest areas of watermarked/missing images and we are asking you the membership to help and update your build threads yourselves as this is just too big a task for staff. Build threads requiring updates are being moved over to this area https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/241-build-threads-requireing-maintenance/ Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Hasbro Black Series TLJ Comparison For anyone looking at the TLJ Black Series helmets as an option Chris themaninthesuitcase TK10911 has spent some time comparing one to a screen used helmet, yu can find the thread here Also if you would like to upgrade/convert your Black Series for approval here is a great thread from Eric Ericnathan811 TK64001 OK Troopers, it's time for our annual patch design contest for Celebration! For those of you who have a creative mind and mad design skills, it's time to step up to the plate and possibly have your original artwork used as the official logo by the FISD to commemorate the biggest SW convention in the world in Anaheim, CA. next year! We are starting this contest early (in case there are delays in shipping) as we want to get these in your hands in time for the big weekend next May! The winning entry will be made into a patch, which will be worn and traded by hundreds (and seen by thousands) at this event. So how do you enter? Glad you asked! Here is the low-down: How to enter and more information here Competition Closes November 30th INFORMATION & AWARD PROGRAMS For a full list of FISD awards head here Are you new to the FISD and wondering what the heck all those abbreviations and strange sounding terms mean? To help you @justjoseph63 has started a list of the most commonly used ones that will give you some insight. If you have ANY questions about a particular term that is not listed or suggestions for new ones please contact Joseph. You can find the list here Pre Approval Forum allows future Troopers the opportunity to submit photos of their completed build to be reviewed by the Staff, Imperial Attaches and others in preparation for forwarding it to their GML for approval. Any and all advice/suggestions given will be specific, constructive, helpful and respectful. Please note that this program will NOT take the place of your local GML, as Detachments are not chartered for costume approval and can not override a GMLs decision, but is instead a peer review program designed to help you look your best and offer guidance and positive feedback. For more information on this program, please visit the link here Don't forget to visit our 3D section when next surfing the FISD forums, there is plenty of useful information to potentially help you on your next TK adventure. You might be feeling may generous and share with our community a new TK related 3D file and maybe win yourself a 3D contributors award so check out the details below and be part of the in house 3D community. Here is a link to the FISD 3D Contributor program. Don't forget to create a troop log here on FISD and get awarded for your adventures The list of accomplished troopers keeps growing, so get on board and register your troops today Simply start (or update!) your troop log, keep the running total in the title, and post (at least!) a date and name for the official 501st event where you wore your TK! Once you've hit a milestone count, go over to the "Field Exercise Awards -- Post your milestones here" thread to request your profile be updated! Simple, right? Award Recipients October - November TK17032 "Wompet" Gary - TK37423 "GoofTrooper" Eric - TK75392 "dak" Angela - Are you an approved TK that spends more time on the boards than the average Trooper? Do you enjoy using your knowledge to help out future and existing Troopers? If so, we would like to invite you to join the Imperial Attaché program! Members of the I.A. team are chosen to help out not only those here on the boards, but on a local level as well. Our aim is to have at least one in each and every Garrison, Squad and Outpost in the entire legion to be the eyes and ears of the FISD on a local level. For a complete list of Imperial Attaches, go here Some of the benefits: Access to exclusive Attaché merch., including patches, IA patch , IA Rocker For a complete list of Imperial Attaches, go here You may also be in the running for an Imperial Attaché Award Imperial Attaché Award for those attaché's who have gone above and beyond [minimum 1 year of service]. You can find a list of prior recipients here Want to setup a "Fire Team? the Fire Team program is completely optional, and is intended to help form a common identity and spirit of camaraderie among 501st Legion Stormtroopers in the same geographic area/garrison that troop together. Fire Teams are not officially recognized by the 501st Legion nor the FISD, although they will be able to access a Fire Team sub-forum on the detachment website. You can find more information here So what exactly are and levels? These programs were designed for those who choose to take their armor above and beyond the minimum requirements for basic 501st Legion approval. It gives you the chance to show a level of dedication and pride that takes your armor closer to being as "screen accurate" as possible, without as much extra work as you may realize! You can find more information on the programs here This area lists all those who have gone above and beyond basic approval toward screen accuracy and obtained EIB or Centurion or both. FOR October - November the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate the following. Also a special congratulations to our first duel digit EIB and Centurion award recipient Glen "gmrhodes13" TK85421, who has just reached 10 awards, outstanding effort trooper Expert Infantry Badge Award: Glen "gmrhodes13" TK85421 EIB DTH - 10th Award Sam "TK51085" TK51085 EIB 1033 Dan "KaiserintheHood" TK80419 EIB 1034 GREAT job on your approval, now on to Level 3! Request your free EIB certificate here You can find a list of multiple award recipients here --------------------------------------------------------------- Centurion Badge Award: Glen "gmrhodes13" TK85421 Centurion DTH - 10th Award Outstanding job on reaching Centurion, Troopers! Request your free Centurion certificate here You can find a list of multiple award recipients here If you see any of these Troopers around your Garrison or Squad, be sure to congratulate them! Newsletter If you have any interesting stories or photos or something you think newsworthy please send them to me via pm. For anyone interested in having a look through any of the older newsletter they have now been moved to a new archive sub forum which you can find Here With Unquestioned Loyalty Glen "Q" Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" PRO Newsletter Staff List 2021 Detachment Leader (DL): Andrew Franke (Sly11) TK11469 Executive Officer (DXO): Tim Waychoff (Dark CMF) Chief Deployment Officer (DCA): Joseph Pedigo (justjoseph63) TK-10963 Deployment Officer: (DCA): Mario E RT (TKSpartan) TK-48117 Deployment Officer: (DCA): Jose Maria Sanchez (Chemi) TK-30173 Lead Provost Marshal (DCOG): Steven Sheades (starsaber25) TK-10466 Provost Marshal (DCOG): Chris Pearson (themaninthesuitcase) TK-10911 Provost Marshal (DCOG): Dan Branton (CableGuy) TK-42911 Personnel Officer (PER): AC (Novatie) TK-5597 Fire Team Relations (PRO): Mark Ryner (Captsafe66) TK-4584 Content Editor At Large (PRO): Christoph (Danny) Lauber (Ripper_L) TK-55550 Content Editor Support (PRO): Tony Jobe (ukswrath) TK-10116 Content Editor Awards (PRO): This will be handled by the XO Newsletter Publisher (PRO): Glen Rhodes (gmrhodes13) TK-85421 HOF Director (PRO): Aaron (Bronx) Gibson (Pyrates) TK-99725 Attaché Ambassador (PRO) Frank Peranteau (Frank75139) TK-75139 Social Media Relations (PRO): Teresa Nuthall (Soulart) TK-41307 Social Media Relations (PRO): Jim Ferrell (Rat) TK-95970 Systems Administrator (DWM): Eric Brager (Darth Aloha) TK-9674 Systems Administrator (DWM): Mathias (Locitus) TK-2959 Detachment Founder (DF): Paul (Daetrin) TK-8020 Trading Cards Content Support (IPM): Eric Ho (Hoda) TK 77520 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Brien Edick (Harbinger) TK 92802 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Jeff Salt (wingnut) TK 50297 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM): Richard Tibbitts (CallMeMrTibbles) TK 46116 Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor Facebook Group: 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment (FISD) Official Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st Instagram: www.instagram.com/fisd501st On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff and the Imperial Propaganda Department

Super job Richard as always. look forward to seeing it in action.

Probably my last update for these. Found that the usb problem was actually the cable I was using to connect to my laptop. Used a different cable and can charge and transfer files no problem. Yay! Also, accidently discovered that if the macro power is off I can access it as storage, but if the macro power is on it acts as a USB speaker. Result! Fitted a couple of small, cheap ebay lenses to the eyepieces, and it looks a lot more 'finished', even without the el plate lit up. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PMMA-Plano-convex-Acrylic-condenser-Lens-for-Zoom-LED-Flashlight-Bike-head-lamp-/184929977095?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 Finally, removed the Life Day Song, as figured it was never going to get played, and replaced it with the music from Battlefront 2. Kinda in keeping with my HWT (I know my HWT is from Battlefront 1, but the music isn't as good). So, that's it. Thanks for following [emoji106]

I am in need of some. I'm also 13. I have been in a star wars parade and love star wars a lot. I am wanting armor bigger than my current size (5' 7")?

Hello and welcome aboard, this isn't a cheap hobby and old armor doesn't come up too often, many turn their old armor into Sandtroopers or Deathtroopers. Your height would be an issue for already built armor, you don't see many come up for sale of that height. Here are some great build threads showing modifications for shorter troopers. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/42868-sha-shas-wtf-anh-stunt-build-complete/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/38416-crickets-rs-stunt-build-for-the-vertically-challenged/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/38842-fragarocks-rs-stunt-build-not-to-scale/ Here is a great all in one resource thread for everything needed to build a Stormtrooepr Research is the key, good luck you have some reading ahead of you

If you're really willing to sink some money and time, I would buy from a good vendor that may also sell you by the part later in the future. You might be able to build a suit that fits you now, and as you grow, update the suit by modding or purchasing a new piece. Just be aware that sometimes the plastics may differ in color, usually not by much if from the same vendor. I would start off reading these stickied posts: Feel free to ask questions; there's a lot to take in on this site, sometimes it might just take a person to point you to the right areas to discover more info.

Sounds like it's definitely being trapped behind occlusion, being muffled by the armor. Kind of like talking while smothered by a pillow. I don't think there's an easy way to fix this since there aren't many places you can hide a large speaker on a TK. If I absolutely had to have the speaker on my body rather than my helmet, depending on the speaker size, I would try to hide it in my thermal det or in my ab plate. I would find a place that has the most room away from my body to place it. I might as go as far as to drill holes in the armor, cover the holes from the rear with white fabric, and then place the speaker behind that- but this obviously depends on how comfortable you are with your own work and CRLs/accuracy. If that's too much work, you can use an @ukswrath hovi tip mic system. It's pretty tinny since it's exposed and comes from your helmet. This is what I use. I use a different mic that comes with the system so I can mount it to the helmet, so I had to make modifications to reduce feedback. But the mic that comes with it works great with the system as is. If you're currently using an AKER, the TRAMP wouldn't help you as it's basically the same output hardware/speaker. from what I know, the TRAMP just has extra sound and volume, but muffled sound is still going to sound muffled.

Congratulations. Armor looks awesome

Congratulations Trooper !! Welcome to the Legion and the FISD

Welcome on board! I like the ESB TK! ;-)

Congratulations Trooper, Welcome to the Legion.

Chest pieces printed out today...So will see how this all fits out tomorrow Fingers totally crossed that I measured this right after making that change to the ab section

Thanks! Not sure how I got the bend off the detonator clip backwards, but I've fixed it now!

A lot of people use metal kitchen strainers

What an amazing day, congratulations! I'm sure this will be a day long remembered One thing that you could improve, would be to lift your thighs a bit, so you can get your shin armor out from underneath them and gain a bit of mobility

So the day finally came... Got my BBB and learned that whew you need to watch some videos just just get in/out of this thing lol RS Props did a great job and now I'm figuring I need to do some minor tweaks. Seems the belt needs a little tlc as it's fraying a bit and those snaps are hard to keep snapped. I wonder if some velcro might be a better option? I just added some glamour shots from the back yard. Thanks to my wife who's been helping me along the way. She's a trooper... pun intended I think I'm getting pretty close. I just ordered all the parts to customize the interior of my helmet. iComm system is in hand and just waiting on my fans from Troopacoola!

I had my first troop today!!! It was a comic store opening. A pretty low-key event, but still a lot of fun. There were about a dozen of us in attendance. Two TKs. I'm the shiny in the middle above. The armor performed flawlessly. Everything stayed connected, buttoned, and aligned throughout the ~2.5 hour troop. It was comfortable and easy to move around in. I have no complaints at all. When test-fitting, the armor felt pretty tight around the neck, but it didn't feel bad or bother me while trooping. My bucket was also very comfy. The @ukswrath comm system worked perfectly and everyone could actually hear me. I kept one fan running and stayed cool the whole time. I'm looking forward to adding the SHA and seeing if it'll all fit inside with the big headphones I chose to hack up. Visibility was also amazingly good after removing a bit of padding and shifting electronics around. A+ experience!!! Will troop again.

This set image from Kenobi proves they are R1 style TK's

Been out of it for a bit and not really working on much but my workmate Andrew has finished the v2 moulds. Excited to try these out on the former and see how they go together. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Yeah I'm seeing what you mean, I can drop the teeth back maybe another Mil as there's already a distance there. Maybe the chamfer is making it look a lot smaller too, will play around with that. Yeah I agree, the brow does make a big difference! I forgot to add the shell modifier so thats why the teeth look so thin, it's currently got 0 thickness. Will post up some pics tomorrow. Sleep time I thinks. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Finally, at long last- SHE'S APPROVED!!! My beautiful shiny girl is finally ready for some trooping! Now to wait for a troop that's longer than it takes me to suit up in her...

Well… as you might have guessed by my dropping off the radar for the past few months that things didn’t go as planned. She wasn’t approved. The paint was deemed “too aluminum.” The fit, it was remarked, was perfect, it was just the paint. “Just.” 2020- the gift that keeps on giving. Seriously, so many things, worldwide, state-wide, local and personal, first the world imploded around me and then my life imploded. Just ugh. Screw. This. Year. I wrote at least five drafts of an update, edited them heavily, and deleted them without posting. I really struggled with what to say and how to say it. I even drafted a sales post for her, but I deleted that, too. The moral of this story and the tl;dr version is this: You have to shell out for the spray chrome: it’s the price of entry. Know this from the beginning, budget it in from the start and you’ll go far. I’ve come to the conclusion based on others’ experiences that Al-Clad is not great for longevity and will likely need to be re-done as much as once a year. For that reason, I don’t recommend it. (If a Shiny Sister or Brother in the future cracks this code and makes it work, then by all means, disregard this, but as of now, and my own experiences and knowledge, I don’t actively recommend it). I ended up sending her to Chrome Factory, LLC in Las Vegas. I couldn’t let her beat me. I’m just too stubborn. Never underestimate how stubborn I am. I am mostly happy with CF. I am a bit hesitant to recommend them based on my experience, but I haven’t written them off completely. I would perhaps look into the spray chrome place back East (I forget the name, but other Phasmas have used them). The Good: The spray chrome is beautiful. It’s incredibly reflective, it’s chrome, it’s pretty durable- fingerprints and smudges aren’t automatic and rub off very easily, light scoots across the hardwood floors don’t scratch it up, scraping away dried liquid latex with various household brushes, fingers, and fingernails didn’t do anything to the chrome underneath (speaking of the blasters here, more on those later). The price was reasonable ($1.5k for spray chrome (plus $200 for old paint removal/prep) which is from my research, a good price if not the industry standard). He’s done several other Phasmas before and also Cylons from Battlestar Galactica. He knows his way around costumes and the lingo and unique challenges that goes with them. The Bad: I felt a few parts were bit sloppy and two sets of pieces were completely missed (yet they were wrapped up meticulously in plastic wrap like all the other parts, so it should have been noticed. I admit I have high standards. (Photos of all this below). Despite me telling him about four or five times (in writing, we were conversing via e-mail) that parts of the blasters were to remain black- they returned entirely chromed. The communication was good in the beginning, but broke down later (which, at this point, I’m just convinced in a prerequisite to be a 501st level vendor as I hear it like a broken record so often across the board with rare exceptions). I am mostly willing to blame COVID for a lot of the following issues: It was supposed to be a timeline of 4 – 6 weeks. I was fully excepting and okay with 6 – 10 weeks. After the six week mark, I started messaging him asking for status. It was always “done and ready to go” and was going to go out that Friday/that Monday/within a few days. We did this about three times, but no BBB on my doorstep and no tracking. The last time I asked if there was tracking for that last “I shipped it,” I never got a reply, but about four days later I had my BBB on my doorstep. Like I said, I’m mostly willing to blame COVID as this was all happening in late March/April when things really started going down. He was unable to work and tired to, got caught, kicked out of the shop for a while, there was a gap before he could get back in, etc. I wouldn’t worry too much about this if you send it in in the future, assuming we don’t go on full on lockdown again. The riffle also arrived to him broke, he fixed it, and it was broken again upon return to me. I stuck a dowel in it and re-glued it and I think that will do the trick now that it’s not being shipped anymore. (I believe this is a design issue, not the fault of CF). Toes and knees were missed, but will probably blend overall (laying it all out on the floor together they seem to kind of meld in). Smudge/scrape on bottom of inner shin. On the inside, so I’m not worried. Drip on the front of the shin. You can really see the reflectiveness of the chrome here, considering you can nearly make out my phone case. (It says “I am SHERLOCKED” in case you were wondering, for all my fellow BBC Sherlock fans). Underside of the helmet not chrome. Further changes, updates, and projects for completion: I fixed the riffle as I said, with the dowel down the body shaft and into the butt stock. I punched a hole for the dowel with my soldering iron and used a combo of E6000 and CA Glue to glue it back together. I used liquid latex again to mask off all the blaster parts to remain chrome and hit them with a coat of sandable primer and then glossy black. Liquid latex still sucks to get off even if it’s not weeks later. Which, by the way, don’t wait weeks, it’s a damn nightmare. Though waiting just long enough for the paint to dry (in 100+ F degree heat) and then trying to peel it off was only marginally better, so… just know you’re in for a challenge, thumbs rubbed raw and you’ll need patience. I also found a scrub brush like for the kitchen sink worked decently well in loosening and taking up the last bits. You do have to put muscle into it regardless. I’ll be touching up any black parts that scratched off/got missed with some black acrylic paint. Riffle mostly done, still some more latex to clean off. That stuff is stubborn, as you can see by the large pile of tiny scraps. Pistol is also mostly done, looking a bit better than the rifle, probably because it’s smaller and had less to deal with. I tightened the neck opening on the cape, just added an extra fold and sewed it down (it was just slightly big and showing a bit more shoulder than was ideal). I really love this cape. I tightened one shoulder connection. I added a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (which I keep around for Jawa masks) into the front of each ankle spat for stabilization. I added the lens back in the helmet (I removed it for chroming purposes). I re-added a couple of Velcro connections I had removed for chroming- back to chest, yoke to chest. E6000 does not really like the chrome, so I roughed up the connection to help it adhere. I’m not entirely sure the yoke/chest connection will work or hold, so I might end up with a snap set up. We’ll see. If I were doing it from the start again, I’d probably just work out a snap set up and be done from the start. A couple of the Velcro connections for the gaskets inside a bicep came loose, so I re-glued it with a combo of E6000 and CA Glue. I also think I’ll try and remove the gaskets only when I have to. Less stress on the Velcro connections plus easier to get on and off. I ditched my second set of gloves (Nomex) and swapped them for stretchy compression ones (like we use for Jawas now), because the Nomex were just a bit large in the fingers and were too tight under the armor. They were kind of painful and putting my hands to sleep. I re-added the Velcro attachment to the palm for the fingers. I was smart this time, and split the seam to better access the palm. The fingertips still want to pop off, so I think I might need to add a bit of Velcro or try a stronger magnet on the outside of the glove. The magnets are still in the inside of the fingers from the first failed attempt. I also fixed a crack in the side of the abs. Third Time’s the Charm Approval Photos: Wish me luck, again! It’s 2020 so we can all use all the luck we can get.

Aw yeah!!! Finally!!! It's really me under there. I'm about 6'4'' - 6'5'' in all. I can't actually bend my arms enough to put the bucket on myself, so I now I get to tell a handler, "Bucket me!" when getting ready. Still needs minor tweaks, but they're dwindling, at long last. I need to tighten the elastic connections on a couple of the boot spats, glue a spacer in the left ankle spat (left and right are the same size, yet left wants to rattle and is loose), take in/tighten glove fingers so the finger armor fits better and the fabric doesn't bunch up and generally be too tight because of the bunching, the bottom chest plate to bottom back plate doesn't close and therefore connect fully- it's just not big enough, so I need to adjust the velcro attachment and maybe shim it. Thankfully it will be hidden. I might need to take in the gaskets a little bit, as I've lost weight since I measured for them, but that's just taking in a seam. And then those damn blasters. I have to pick away at the liquid latex and get it off, then I basically start over on paint: fillable primer over the entire thing, black glossy coat, mask off parts to stay black, then champagne mix Alclad it. I'm going to be disassembling my air brush to see if there's a blockage somewhere that's preventing paint. That wouldn't make a lot of sense since it's never had paint run through it before and has actually never been used beyond hooking up the compressor and checking air flow, but it's all we could come up with. I would love to finish them before the debut troop so I can have a blaster (I feel so awkward without one in full armor- I'm missing something), but between the weather and the effort and time it's going to take to even get them cleaned up to where I can fillable primer and black coat them, I have no idea if I'll have time. It's a Con so I'll probably just cheat with the pike if I have nothing else. Anything goes at Cons. New photos sent for approval, now we just wait and cross our fingers! I'm feeling so much better about her now- everyone at the build party loved her, the neighbors driving by were slowing down and checking us out, and she went on a whole lot easier this round. The sunlight did wonders. We had a total of five app picks taken that day- our Squad's newest ESB Boba, myself, and three new Mandos!