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And one to sum it up, before I start listing every piece of advice given

Regarding the E-11: Well after a long day of reading the German Garrisons experiences with E-11 imports I´m back to where I started. Importing a fully build one is certainly going to get confiscated by customs or will result in even worse garbage.... So if I want to be approved for Centurion I will have to build one myself. As posted before 3D-printing one myself (or by a friend) isn´t an option. I heard about different suppliers for self building kits which I´m currently looking into. I will keep you updated.

A little late in jumping in here, but if needed you can trim the tops of the thighs to raise them up if needed. It looks to be sitting pretty close to your... uhh. "nether regions", which is something you want to avoid. The reason being is that if they sit snug, you will get chafing. The side view looks like you have a fantastic fit, but remember that the circumference will change if you trim the tops so keep that in mind. Note in the reference images how much room there is between the cod and thigh tops. If the thighs are too high you will get clicking noises when you walk from the cod being too close. Also note that extra room should be allowed in the rear as well (last photo). Personally, I would wait on trimming the tops until you get the ab plate fitted and figure out what the final position of the cod will be and adjust from there.

I would like to propose the following OPTIONAL blaster for the CRL: Since this is the same trooper used for both The Mandalorian and Solo, I believe there should be some optional accessories from those that can be chosen from as well. Shown here are stormtroopers in the Mandalorian armed with E-22B blasters, typically used more for Shoretroopers, but as you can see TK's have them as well. Also of note is this Hot Toys commander with the same blaster: I propose we use the blaster requirements from the Shoretrooper CRL, and simply copy and paste for now unless a clearer distinction is found.

I'm sure that the fine folks in the German Garrison will have many possible blaster solutions! As you continue to progress through you helmet trimming build, just remember that you can always re-trim, so be conservative with your cuts. This will be most relevant as you work on your ears!

Right, so far I've not an issue with the canvas belt coming unsnapped from the armor as it's preferred to have it tight in back w/velcro. Ok, I'm going to do this then. Just a couple pieces of information on what size rivet/washers work best. I think I've got this handled on my FB page. Not sure why my inner mid elastic snap has started unsnapping. But I think as the clamshell pulls in/weight loss- that will ease tension on it. It's the bending over that does all this.

Thanks, Glen. Yeah, I've been really focused on keeping them rounded and looking over the photos further up in this thread, seem to be okay but I'll take your word on that.

Didn't even think about ALDI. Thank you

Good to know. Thank you.

I also have an old FX kit that is severely yellowed that I plan to try this on. I will post up how it turns out as well.

No issues with riveting between belt and canvas, if you really wanted to you could actually mount it all directly to the ab plate, I did this with my TKC as the belt is a little longer and I felt it would catch on things on the sides. Just make sure you have it all positioned correctly before riveting, no adjusting after that modification, although I guess you could slot the holes to adjust. I used a generic snap I found on Aliexpress, much cheaper than local suppliers, you can find with different makes that some aren't as strong as others, I had to replace all on a commission build as everything kept coming loose, never encountered that with snaps before, the clasp ring inside the snap was just too loose. Personally I don't like using superglue on much as it's hard to make adjustments, E6000 is more forgiving and will stick quite well, just make sure you rough plastic surfaces.

Very cool idea! I'm a little bit obsessed with thermal detonators (see here and here), and I may need to try this storage idea out someday.

I love it!!!

According to the database you are not currently active and have a "classified record" you may want to check with your garrison command team, GML (garrison membership liaison) should be able to help Member search link: https://www.501st.com/holocron/member/search

Every time I get to update something in here I keep thinking it'll be the final build thread update. And then I get to do another small something to my armor. One of the four TD screws came free by itself... amazingly in my storage bin! So I didn't need to find a new screw, but I did have a very rattly Thermal Detonator due to the loose nut inside. No matter what I did, I could not get one of the end caps off to fix the screw. I boiled. I pried. I twisted. I spent two days not getting anywhere... so I sliced off the white plate and cut an access hole. And I made the hole big and pretty, because why not? I got the screw re-installed and applied some E6000 to all four of the inner nuts and threads. Should have used loctite in the beginning... I sent the above pic to @Scimitar and he was replied "close that up with some magnets and turn it into storage." BRILLIANT. Two days later, amazon brought me magnets. These are 60x10x3 mm bar magnets from FINDMAG. 12 came in the pack. Really nice quality! Pleasantly strong and they came with some foam double sided tape. They are almost precisely the size of my AP TD cover plate. A little too precisely. A little less wide seemed best to keep all modifications hidden. Fortunately, they are easy to trim with some wire snips. I hollowed out the magnet recess with a dremel sanding drum. Inner magnets are held on with the foam tape. There's about 1 mm or less wall thickness left in this hollowed area to separate the magnets. I just sanded till the magnet was flush with the top surface. E6000 applied. Cover plate carefully aligned. Rubber bands added. And a day later I got to take this photo! The magnets were indeed flush enough with the surface to glue to the cover plate. I added an elastic retainer and E6000'd that in place for the next day. This provides a sort of hinge for the cover plate and also keeps it from being able to get knocked off while trooping. And it doesn't keep the lid from closing. WIN! I also brushed on a little grey paint in the recess. Because why not? FINISHED! The cover plate actually fits more snugly than before with the magnets. No gap anywhere. There's no way to tell this got modified at all. The magnets are STRONG. It's probably possible to knock the cover off by backing into something hard, but the elastic will keep it from going anywhere. You basically can't pull the cover straight off, but it hinges nicely. And inside? STUFF!!! I'm calling this the Thermal Detonator of Happiness. A 2" wide sticker fits perfect. I drew up and printed about 100 of these little chibi troopers. I guess it was originally a silver coin from New Zealand? I drew up something close to the original with a little nicer helmet and blaster proportions. I thought it would make a fun sticker to hand out at events with little ones. There's also room for a couple tiny toys to give to upset younglings. And a challenge coin, complete with protector wedges nicely into the end. Honestly, I could fit twice this amount in there, but I can easily retrieve any of these with gloves on. With the TD packed more tightly it gets hard to fish out what I want. Maybe that's the final update on my TK build?

There we go, flipped the rear sight to 200 and it is straight now. Thanks Bryan, that was easier than shimming it.

Finally finished. Please let me know if there are any obvious issues that will affect my applications for EI and centurion. thank you so much to Bryan @trooper96 for the amazing 3D print files. Your work is incredible. I don’t know how many times I shoved parts in my wife’s face and said “look at this, look at the detail, it actually works”.

So while I am waiting for my BBB to arrive, I decided to jump into the 3D printing world and take my new printer for a spin and start the E-11 blaster project. After about a week of printing, I have 3/4 of the parts printed. Yesterday I spent most of the day sanding and started the basic assembly. The photos are post Bondo and pre Bondo sanding. Tonight I will be smoothing with the XTC 3d print coating. This is such a satisfying hobby. I must admit there were a few pew pew moments last night chasing the pets around the house.