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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/03/2022 in Posts

  1. Greetings all. Recently we concluded the Polls for some updates to the OT TK CRL's. I would like to thank all those members who took the time to read through them, possibly the linked discussions around them, and placed a vote on the proposals. These proposal passed by majority vote and have now been enacted on the CRL's they affected. ANH Stunt, and Hero, ESB and RotJ Most were only miner changes to refine detail, add some approximate measurements but all designed to get our troopers looking a touch more accurate. Most only for level 3 centurion, and a small change for basic level, which the LMO team agreed were satisfactory. Anyone currently with an application in need not be concerned of these, as you are in before the changes take effect. We always offer a grace period in all fairness to everyone, which can run up to 3 months for major changes that would certainly impact basic approvals. We now continue the discussion threads on our FO TK CRL's which will have several proposals to update these with better language and detail, some additional items that were not available at the time they were written, and more weapons as accessories for some of the CRL's We again will set up Polls for the membership to take part in and vote how they see fit.
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  2. LOL A couple of useful threads A lot of helpful links here: And when in doubt you can always check our gallery area https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/ Once again good luck
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  3. Looks great, crayon, chalk or liquid paper all work well, just depends what you have handing. Going over with a coat of satin clear will help protect the white from coming off easily
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  4. Thank you both so much for your responses! I figured this might just be a dead post, but I really appreciate your help! I definitely know now what you mean about noisy power now lol. I rewired everything to run off my 4.8v green pack. And while it all "worked" I was getting a ton of feedback if I switched the fans on. But your absolutely right with the two batteries, I think that's probably really the best way to go. I got my fan on the power bank, and I bought a separate battery for the velleman, after testing the system. It only 3.7v 500 mah so I guess we'll see how long it lasts, during a troop. Lol P.S. 3.7v should be plenty right? The kit came with 3 AA so I figured it'd be fine. Somehow I got it all to fit in my helmet, I have the velleman piped out in to some headphones, and also piggybacked my radio comes into the same speakers. And let me tell you.. coolest part is hearing your mates over a com channel, instantly makes you think you're really in star wars Then I got my fan and voice amp mic, plus a ppt button for the radio in there. As you can see, this one is going in my Mando helmet Again I really appreciate yours guys help! Very awesome of you!
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  5. You could try a warm water bath, a lot of plastics will give when warm. If not automotive electrical wire covering is usually pretty soft
    1 point
  6. Okay okay, I'm overdue for an update, and even then I don't have TOO much for you... but quite a few photos I might as well share! A big part of why things are moving slow is that I keep chasing small cracks in the armor. Just in general, kind of all over. I'm doing my very best to address any that are large or in highly noticeable areas like these on the chest plate (which is now otherwise veryvery smooth) but I think I'm just going to have to accept them. They're almost entirely superficial, as they are only in the very top layer of the gel coat/resin and the piece is structurally sound... or it could be the primer that was used before I got the armor. I try not to ever sand down to the fiberglass directly, as it opens up tiny pinholes/air bubbles, so there is mystery primer under there from the previous paint job that may be cracking. If I were to start over completely, I would just do like a red scotch bright scuff with soapy water on the raw parts as received from Jim, then hit them with a decently thick couple coats of a flexible primer, flexible filler where needed, then a white primer, a white 2K gloss topcoat, and done. Most parts honestly don't ever need to be sanded above 200 either, maybe just the chest and back for maximum shine. Doing my best to balance between my desire for a perfect finish and actually getting this done. If anyone has suggestions for how to best address these type of cracks, I'm all ears! Despite those issues in general, I'm plugging along and a little over half of the parts (ignore those R1TK thighs) are in the final stages of white primer and nearly ready for final 2K topcoat. Once I have enough little pieces, I'll crack one of the ($30!) cans of 2K gloss white and spray them to test, before committing to the rest of the whole suit. Can't decide if I'll do it in my garage again (huge mess, lots of prep), in the yard (risk of bugs/dust), or maybe I'll buy one of those little popup painting tents. Decisions, decisions... You'll also notice in the background there that I've taken to wearing a full on moon suit while working on this thing... especially for stuff like this next bit. I always wear a respirator and gloves, but was getting sanding dust and fiberglass all over my arms and clothes. The suit helps significantly, but without being too hot since it's cloth in the back. I was also getting all kinds of bumps and ingrown hairs on my forearms - likely from the dust/paint mist blocking pores. Anyways, would recommend. Was this next bit a good idea? I don't know. Did I try anyways? Yup. I wanted to add the shoulder bell support tabs to my back yoke, and figured modifying a set of Tony's aluminum tabs might work... still yet to be seen, but I'm optimistic. I started by marking both sides as symmetrically as I could, then drilling some holes through the side. Then I got out the rotary tool and a grinding bit and just went to town. I smoothed the oval holes out some with an emery board (such an underrated shop tool - go buy a variety pack, trust me) and bent the brackets little by little until the tab would poke through and the bracket would sit pretty flush inside the yoke. I did need to grind off the little upright sections on the corners of the bracket, and grind a bit of the fiberglass out, as it just barely sits in there. I want to do a little bit more tinkering and planning as to how I want to actually glue these in (thinking just a medium coat of 2-ton epoxy on the glass and bracket, then a piece of aluminum foil on top, and then clamp it with slide clamps overnight. It makes me nervous so I haven't committed yet, but I made some progress. I don't think I'm going to run the shoulder bell connecting straps THROUGH the yoke though - probably not worth messing with more holes. Anyways, it'll look something like that when done! Okay, moving on to more metal bits, and also some serious accuracy updates - including this metal holster from @R2Dan! So, loooooooong story short, I find myself with a bunch of FOTK bits from various makers and of various quality levels and thought I would just share a comparison of some of the stuff that's floating around out there. The stuff on the far left is what I received along with the original armor I bought off of @Dynamic1 , that he got from Jim a while back. The clips aren't the worst, but aren't accurate, and the holster top plate is metal but body is one piece of resin. It at least had the more accurate hardware. The middle holster/clip is from (what was billed as) a 'complete FOTK' kit by a Garrison mate but honestly ended up being more of an Anovos/KB spare parts bin (and I'll likely be parting it out for sale later). The holster is 4 metal layers, but is slightly undersized, too thin (maybe with a resin block) and had incorrect hardware. It also came with the middle clips, which were pretty inaccurate, but at least were a high quality resin print and I liked that they were curved. And on the right is the R2Dan holster I recently got from @Harbinger. To my knowledge, it is the most accurate and high quality available, and you can see the difference from the other two when compared. It also came with a bag of all of the accurate hardware, including the bearing. It is 3 metal layers and included an angled resin block and the metal bracket to add to the side of my F-11D (more on that below). Pretty stoked on it, and it is what I'll be using. You'll also notice the significantly more accurate V1 of the FOTK greeblie clip that I've been working with @MrPoopie to model and very likely provide to the community. Here is a comparison of the 3 different clips: A comparison of our V1 (bottom) to a screen used TFA clip (top): And a preview of the V2 with a few additional updates pending as well before a final test print: I've got a whole thread over here if this type of thing interests you, but the point is that I'm shooting for maximum accuracy in as many little details as possible! I couldn't find an accurate clip that was available and easily accessible... so I'm doing my best to help make one! Okay, moving on to soft goods - we do have some problems to address there. The pants are RATHER snug, which isn't a problem since the shiny shorts on top should be too, but the center of the knee gaskets (and snap for attaching the knee armor) ended up sitting about 2" below my actual knee cap (that I'm pointing at). Especially when I add the stirrups (visible on the other leg) to help keep them tucked into my boots, it looks like the gaskets will need to be cut and reattached higher up with 2" cut off the pant leg. Not the end of the world, but I'm going to let my tailor sort it out when they're taking the suit in at a couple other areas too. I'm going to continue to invest the time and money to have these tailored to fit perfect, since I believe they'll be my most comfortable option when dialed in... but I'm also strongly considering picking up a set of gaskets from Eadu Armory to try out as well - at their current price point, it might be worth it, and @equuspolo spoke very highly of his. And I daresay that guy knows a thing or two about FOTKs at this point I also grabbed a new set of Jimmiroquai-specific decals from @TrooperBay while I was at it, and I'm going to try some of this self-adhesive white felt to pad some areas that will potentially rub, instead of the EVA foam I tried with the ROTK with mixed results. Another little goodie that came in that spare parts pin was this decent 3D-printed SE-44C. It needs better hardware, some sanding, a respray, and its muzzle repaired, but I think it's salvageable and will look plenty good holstered. Speaking of blasters, figured I'd share some additional pics of my newer one. I do love metal bits. Is it Centurion approvable? Nope, and I don't plan or have the ability to add lights to it. But is it sturdy and will it look darn good for trooping? Oh yea. We'll deal with Centurion if we decide to go there. I think that's all I have for now as far as FOTK updates! But what else have I been up to, you ask...? I did almost completely finish the SE-14R I've been working on for MONTHS, and am generally pretty pleased with it! Just a couple finishing touches left. I also helped a friend Charles build an entire shadowtrooper kit (my 2nd) and join the club if I haven't shared! We'll probably get him over here in white armor at some point too... I also built myself a new PC recently (I've got C2-B5 in there in case anything breaks...) and when it lights up, the " O II " in black and white from the liquid cooling pump and RAM looks oddly familiar, but I can't quite place it... And finally, another reminder to myself and everyone else to not stress about your armor projects and to get out and have some fun when you can! I was fortunate enough to make it out to Batuu (West) over the weekend with several of my Legion/FISD brothers for the first time in two years (after getting my booster recently and as COVID numbers finally start to decline) and I snagged this nice little shot as the sun was going down. Stay safe out there everyone and I'll have more updates in the future!
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  7. You definitely want to try and reinforce certain pieces on the Anovos armor. Having done several troops in Anovos Armor. The parts that seem to need reinforcement in my opinion are the Shoulder Straps. Even though they are not supposed to bear a load . They are supposed to free float without actually attaching to the back armor. These are still too thin and rigid, they really need to be reinforced. Very easy to crack. Other areas, Butt, Shoulders, and Front of Chest and Top Back piece. All very small stress cracks, but definitely worth looking at. I had a feeling the shoulder straps would crack easily. I preemptively reinforced the straps with extra abs. Here is a picture. The other small cracks I have just put a dab of SuperGlue behind them and it has seemed to fix the problem. The Butt plate is the part that I'm having the most problem with. It has cracked in several places. I will be reinforcing mine very soon with some sort of epoxy and fabric tape combination. Lastly the Helmet does have some really thin areas. I went ahead and reinforced parts with extra ABS. I'll try to post some pics. Shoulder Straps - Reinforced To make this - Cut paper to fit inside the straps. Use the paper as templates for the ABS pieces to fit inside the straps. Then heat up the ABS reinforcement strip in boiling water and bend to the same shape as the shoulder straps. Once you are happy with the shape and fit. Glue with E6000 into the shoulder strap.
    1 point
  8. It's just foam and felt really, along with black crafting foam lining the inside [emoji2] Marc
    1 point
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