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Just getting the BBB picture out of the way. I had been thinking about getting a Rogue One kit after finishing up a couple of other works in progress, but some unplanned weight loss has made my ANH-S TK a little loose, and this kit came up for sale on the 501st boards, so ... Armor: 850 Armorworks Helmet: 850, but I'll be doing a Black Series conversion (trust me, it will look better) Boots: Imperial Boots Gloves: Imperial Boots Neck seal: Imperial Boots, but will be replaced with one that fits better ... Undersuit: Still need to confirm Blaster: Came with an Imperial Arms kit, but I have a @trooper96 kit I plan on using instead I haven't done much with it yet. It's already been rough trimmed, which is good - for the most part. The original owner trimmed all of the teeth off of the front belt, so that required a replacement. They also had the forearms and biceps completely glued, which required some disassembly and reassembly on my part to install the velcro. And the shins ... well, see for yourself: At first I thought "Oh, both sets of shins open to the right - I'll have to fix that." Then I realized that they had glued the inner shins together as one set, and the outer shins together as the other. This has been fixed. What else - the cover strips have been added to the biceps and forearms (sorry, no pictures at the moment). I ordered shoulder straps from @BigJasoni's Etsy shop to replace the 850 ones, and bought a couple of ab closure kits as well (more on that later). And one last set of photos from an armor party (my first attending) earlier this month: A little ugly, but I was just getting a rough idea of where everything should sit. Hopefully I won't have to trim anything off of the ab/kidney. And one last thing for this first post - I would like to thank @11b30b4, @BigJasoni, @TheRascalKing, @TerribleBen, @Twelveravens, and @Imperial Valour . The detail that you guys put into your build threads has already been a lot of help.

Navajo Bros build of the 2.0 suit looks like it will be the most help so far. I think Dave changed the helmet from a 3 piece to a 2 piece recently but I'm sure it's almost the same build.

Wooow... most nerve-wracking half-hour of my life, but I did it, got myself the 4-Day Ticket I'm looking forward to meeting you outside of a screen

Just bought a freshie today actually. The Pro version's elastic is of higher quality and didn't wear out like my last regular one. You could get away with the dust type filters for the fiberglass, but the P100 and Paint filters are pretty multi-purpose and the Pro seals well around your face. Anything is better than paper masks/nothing. https://a.co/d/0f1OgYx

Gonna try it

What you have there is the right link, the URL mentioned in that page is for your own personal Web page if you had one not your membership profile. Your access will be upgraded once A.C. is back on the forum. Happy to be of help, troopers helping troopers.

Whooooaaaahhhh Buddy! I've been slacking, but have officially returned to this build and I couldn't be happier. So basically, it goes something like this: Lol. Long post coming. Here's my timeline so far: 1: October-November; Beg wife for Jimi's kit 2: November; Get kit 3: November-December; Celebrate receiving kit and don't start working on it, because it was supposed to be a Christmas gift 4: December; Watches The Mandalorian Season 2 Episodes 6 and 7 (More on this in #9 below and biceps later) 5: January; Fiddle around with it a little, but don't dive in. Post a few things in the thread 6: February; Open online store making Star Wars costume accessories 7: Also February: Fellow Garrison Tyranus Squad member, @minimo buys kit from Jimi for his Minbam Stormtrooper project 8: February- March; Get too busy making Mandalorian cummerbunds and aprons. Answer friend's questions about the ROTK, but ignore my own. 9: March: Become obsessed with ICAT Driver costume after rewatching episode 7 and seeing pictures of friend's costume. 10: April: Weather starts to get good in norther Virginia. Blow off the dust and get working on these three guys simultaneously, but the TK definitely has priority 11: Today: @minimosends me this picture and I'm disgusted with my myself for slacking off. I got to watch his entire build and didn't realize how fast he had built the same stinking costume I have until he sprayed his gloss white a few days ago. Broke my heart a little to see it get muddied, but I think we can all appreciate this outstanding kit. Unbelievable, and great job Joe! Ok. So that gets us caught up a little bit, so let me dive back into my build. A lot of this may seem like little progress, but trust me, it's been a ton of research and adjustments to get to where I'm at. So, with that said, I've been asking around about the "petals" on the bottom of the abdominal, or what I've since learned is referred to as the "Roman Belt" by our FOTK brethren. Please see the pic I posted previously of Mr. Paul's shoretrooper. From speaking with guys a lot smarter than myself on these matters, I've learned that the "petals" were used to fasten the abdominal section to the original harness on the FOTK, but were later switched over to the suspender system. Not definitive, but it's assumed that this system was also used for the ROTK, but then traded out for something a little more practical. Regardless, I'm not building a harness for my kit, but rather sticking to the tried and true. However, valuable lesson: DON'T GET STRETCHY SUSPENDERS After a solid review, here's what I chose https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GSYTS6P/ So, I started getting everything set up. First things first, I followed the advise of @TheRascalKing and washed the fiberglass with soapy water and purple Scotch Brite. After that, I tried it on and realized that after losing 40lbs since October it was rather big. I know I've posted this pic before, but it kind of showcases the size of this armor and it's flexibility So, the one thing I fear is cutting up expensive things, but fortunately there's enough people on the FISD who have shown how to do this, so it makes me a little more comfortable. Additionally, I used to tear apart the President's helicopter and put it back together, so this is nothing. After a lot of careful measurements, I determined that in order to have approximately 4" gap in the back that I would have to take off nearly 4" on both sides of the ab section. So I scored the fiberglass with the blade, then busted out the Dremel and started taking off small segments: The idea was to get the abdominal to wrap around my waist and have a perfect butt joint in the back. Once I got there, I measured 2" on either side and made a final cut. This left me with a near-perfect 4" gap that I immediately filled with another zipper enclosure: Lol. I call this one the "Gold Edition." Really, I don't care since it'll never be seen, but the ones I sell in the Etsy store are all black. I also posted a tutorial on how to make them on page 4 of the 3D print ROTK build thread found here: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/49826-the-bigjasonis-rotk-3d-print-build-thread/page/4/ Here's some that are a little more "subdued" I've cleaned up my process a little bit since posting that thread, but overall most of the walkthrough remains the same. This was the first trial fit after cutting it up. Next, I sprayed the abdominal down with filler-sandable in order to get a good view of any pin holes and imperfections. Surprisingly, this one's pretty clean. Following this step I started fitting the abdominal with the suspenders. First of all, these things are strong and have little to no flex. They're made out of poly webbing and come with these cool fasteners for a duty belt: I carefully removed the fasteners and was left with this: What's especially cool about these fasteners is that they're outfitted with heavy duty snaps (don't ask me what size) and backed up with Velcro. Once I had the suspenders adjusted to the correct length, I was able to sew one side of the fastener to the straps and E6000 the other side to the abdomen: Notice the placement of the front harness. This, according to references, is the correct placement of the suspenders which I initially doubted until I held up the chest armor and saw how the straps fit perfectly under the shoulders. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of this, but I was pretty surprised at how well they fit. Again, it'll never be seen, but if this keeps the suspenders from making an appearance once the shoulder bells are connected, than I'll take it. Also, after looking at this pic, I decided to lower the abdominal section just a little bit. With the suspenders, the only thing I wasn't particularly fond of was how they bunched up a little bit in the back when I raised my arms. This was due to the added trapezoid portion in the middle of the back, but I also like that thing because it keeps the suspenders from spreading. So, those pics were taken last month. Yesterday I had some sanding to do and realized that I lost a little more around my midsection. I'll get to the helmet in a few minutes, but I had to make a few adjustments and refit the ab section. Also, I lowered the ab a little more as I stated previously. So, here's my first question for the community. Do you think I'm going to have to trim anything down on the sides of the abdominal armor. Keep in mind that when I put on the side extensions you shouldn't be able to see any white "peeking" over the top of those gloss black sections. I really don't feel like cutting any more, but will if you think it's needed. Also, I like how the helmet's sitting, but do you guys think it's up too high? I.e. do I have too much neck showing? If I do have it like this, my DSC shirt's neck seal isn't tall enough to cover the skin and it doesn't look right trying to cover other stuff up with the balaclava. I'll finish this up after I get some feedback. Ok, so this is something I've been looking forward to. As I stated previously, episode 6 and 7 of The Mandalorian season 2 changed a lot for me. Let me put this pic up again: Yeah buddy. Did I ever mention that this was the bane of my existence with the other TK costume? I couldn't keep the bicep and shoulder together. So, to illustrate what we're working with, here's another picture courtesy of Paul Prentice. His stuff is phenomenal and can be found here: https://www.mrpaulsshoretrooperbuild.co.uk/ I really need to do a better job at citing people's photos. My apologies if I've failed to do so in the past. Regardless, to avoid the difficulties I experienced last time, I got out the drill, some nippers, a blade and my files, and I got to work. I started by taking measurements from my ICAT bicep armor and discovered that the TK bicep fit perfectly inside the ICAT. Lol. So I traced the shape and started cutting: And there we go. I think I spoke to Jeff @11b30b4 about this previously, but opted not to go through with it last time. Plus cutting 3d print plastic is not worth it. This is much better to work with and I'm starting to feel spoiled. For those who are nervous that the J hook will be seen while I'm suited up (I was initially) this is what it looks like while I'm wearing it: Pretty freaking happy. Ok. So one of the things, actually, the only thing I don't like about this kit so far is the shoulder straps. This is nothing against Jimi's design; every system I've seen is the same or similar. I've got pretty bony shoulders and having hard straps just doesn't seem natural. I also have a set of Jeff's flexible straps, but even though they're great, they're a little different from what I'm after. I mentioned a while ago that I've started experimenting with Fusion 360, so I've decided to model my own flexible straps that match the contours and dimensions of Jimi's kit. I started by gathering measurements and then just got to work trying to figure out this program Lol. I need to invest in a better set of dial calipers. After pulling a couple references from other TKs, I came up with this: I then went back to my old friend TPU and printed out a test of my new model, and I'm pretty happy. Here's how it turned out: And side by side with Jimi's. You can see where I got a little impatient with the printer and decided to turn the speed up to 125%. Whatever, this was just a test. Eventually I'm going to get around to buying some supplies and casting this in rubber. They have come out with some good gloss white TPU now, so I could try that if I can't figure out how to cast stuff in rubber, but I'd rather go the other route. Any advise would be appreciated. Finally, since the weather was forecasted to be great this week, I jumped on Amazon and grabbed some supplies: After reading some good reviews, I decided to go with Rustoleum 2X Gloss paint. I tossed around a bunch of different ideas, brands, and techniques, but ultimately decided this will suit me best in a few short weeks. But since I got a hold of my paint, I decided I needed to start making progress on some other stuff. Charging straight ahead, I decided to give my bucket a nice little squint in order to bring it up to centurion standards. I started by masking off the eyes and making a little dam for my Bondo resin to sit in. I filled that bad boy up and let it cure overnight which left me with this: I then got out the files and sandpaper and just started having fun Love it!!! However, while I was sanding down the bump, I remembered a discussion a few of us had over on a Facebook group a few weeks ago about the pointy Black Series eyes. After I left a subtle squared off edge on the right eye (left as your looking at it), I taped off the corner of the left eye and repeated the process: After some filing and sanding, I was left with this: I then busted out the drill and files and got to work on the teeth and tubes: For those of you who endured my ramblings in the 3D print thread, you probably recall that I'm not a fan of this part. However, other than getting dust and itchiness everywhere, Jimi's fiberglass is a joy to work with. Since there's a ton of sunlight shining in the garage, I took the bucket outside and sprayed it with some filler sandable, which left me with this: Lol. I posted this to the FISD page on FB with the name "Springtrooper" and a few of you hit me up. I appreciate the feedback and kind words. Yes, this is gray primer, I just took the picture right after spraying while it was extraordinarily sunny. The bucket had a few pin holes, so I brought it back inside and brought out my old 3D print filler of choice, Bondo Glazing and Spot putty. I call it Chicken Poxtrooper or CPT for short. So, CPT lasted less than a day, because I felt bad covering that beautiful bucket up with the red stuff. After some sanding and a little TLC, CPT was ready for another coat of filler sandable Wasn't as sunny as the day before, but I still love how this looks. Also, I used 2 coats of the filler sandable just to ensure the pinholes would be gone; it worked like a charm. Ok. So that gets us caught up for now. For those of you curious, because I've received a lot of questions via PM lately, I have not abandoned 3D printing. On the contrary, I've begun working it into other projects and actually stepped up my game a little. I love the first pic because it shows how massive the CR-10 Max is compared to a CR-10s. As a reminder, the CR-10s has a 300x300 platform and is considered a large printer. But, that's an entire ICAT chest printing in one piece and I just printed off an entire Shoretrooper abdominal section for a friend without slicing the file. Also, that chest piece is PETG printing at 120mm/sec, so I've got that figured out as well. Finally, this is the other thing that has been taking up a lot of my time: With all the cummerbunds, aprons, and flight suits I've been sewing, I had to step up to an industrial machine. I know most will look at this and think "what does sewing have to do with TK building?" but let me show you a tiny sample: This doesn't look like much, actually, it looks pretty sloppy and I would never use this color combination, but this was a 5 minute trial to see if I can make ribbed fabric as per the CRL standard as well as neck seals (I haven't forgotten, just needed the new machine) . This will lead into a future part of the build, but in the meantime, I just got my fabric and thread for ICAT tunics... I'll stop talking about ICATs. Thanks as always for viewing.