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At long last…this will be a day long remembered….

This helmet is nearing completion! I kept the helmet in three pieces for as long as possible, to make installing the elements easier. I installed my Vocoder tubes I built in a previous post. I had to trim down the smaller rods to only about 1cm long after the bend (or else the bottom of the rod showed as a slight kink), and discovered that I could bend it at the full 90° and use some graphite powder squirted into the tube to help get the tube slid over the bend. No need to hammer them in the tube, which ruined the tube a few times. Once these were inserted and carefully aligned, I glued them in place with CA glue, and then trimmed them. I carefully put a tiny bit of CA glue behind the three longer tubes to fuse them to each other to make them one stronger unit like the originals are. I installed frown screen and used blue self adhesive craft foam for the blue tube stripe vents (and added CA glue to ensure they stayed). The green lenses in the original helmet are way too transparent, so I cut some Hobart welding shield pieces to add behind, glued them at the edges with CA glue and accelerant (careful with CA glue and transparent pieces, it will fog them in a permanent way, so accelerant can speed up the cure and avoid it), and installed the lens piece. The brow strip was from Trooper Bay (exact right length, with just a little stretch to get it the last few mm to the end). Because the brow was lowered, a thin strip of white was visible. I taped off and airbrushed that top edge black. The brow was glued on with E6000, with a dot of CA glue on the ends to help keep it in place while that cured. Face finished, I glued the helmet back together. I had removed most of the internal liner pieces, keeping only the top ring ledge that screwed into the top, and cut it in places to allow the vent backer plates to fit. I added some overlapping seam strips to help secure it those butted joints in places (not pictured). I glued in my black backer plates (some have the mesh, and are more like frames). There were two light-leak gaps at the top traps, so I fabricated a fitted piece of plastic to glue in as a backer (I had thrown out the original inside plate, a perfect piece probably could have been cut from that). Lower black gasket: I tried a pressure cooker gasket that someone recommended, but at least on the one I ordered from Amazon, the edges curled away from the edge rather than toward it. It was just looking like it would catch on everything, and I would also have to glue it somehow. I remembered I had some black truck edge trim from another project, which was self gluing, and it looked perfect. I had just enough, with just a few centimeters cut off at the end. Once this is on, the helmet lower edge also feels much more sturdy. I glued in the grey vent pieces, carefully aligning them before spritzing with my CA glue accelerant. This helmet now has airflow through the vents! I discarded the old inaccurate Hovi tips, and ordered New Hovi tips from Trooper Bay. Compare the new to the old, as well as the updated vocoder piece: Here you can see my standard Black Series helmet, and the updated one. I put a light inside, showing the newly tinted lenses, and also how the old one sort of glowed compared to the painted one. Here you can see the extended "jaw" line: Final step is weathering to match the Kenobi troopers. I did a test this morning with some airbrush paint, rubbed off with an alcohol rag. I have some very close up images from my contact (apologies, I was asked not to share), which show a mix of fine airbrush color, and some spattered droplets like happen when liquid paint is on gloss, so I will be replicating that. These helmets also have what look like a few dark dry brush marks in spots like Movie Clone Trooper armor has. I was glad to learn a few things on these test pieces, so I can try and do it all in one go on the helmet. Nearly done!!

I have just gotten my TK ANH stunt approved . I am now known as TK19210 of the Outer Rim Garrison. So happy to be apart of this great club

Hi Troopers, Just checking in with some more build progress. I've finally installed the elastics on my forearm/biceps...now, it took me some time to commit to the position, but in the end i decided i would go with something in-between the seam line and the position Dan (cableguy) suggested in one of his videos. Sort of a happy medium. I also had the pleasure of meeting with my Armorer (Brian) from my local Garrison (ISG) at a comic con at the weekend. I spoke with Brian for a lengthy time and he helped to advise me to lose the return edges on my forearms at the wrists. Another job ticked from my to do list.

Pouch cover before: Pouch cover after: Knee before: Knee after: Hand plate before: Hand plate after:

Hi troopers, After a lot of searching, finding a good quality SE-14R appears to be very difficult. As there are a few versions, including R1 Death Trooper, Lando from Solo era, computer game version, Promo TK etc., getting just the right one is not easy. So, I decided to dust off the 3D printer and go that route. Trying Thingiverse, there are a couple of different models. None fitted the exact version I needed, but, I decided to start printing with the aim of making heavy modifications to the printed parts. To start, I was using a rather generic model. This one was made of many different parts. Here’s some of the parts that I’d printed: Although it was “okay”, it has lots of differences to the version I’m going for - the “LFL Promo Trooper” version. As I’m all about details, this wasn’t up to my nerdy/fussy requirements. Based on what I’ve seen, I believe that the Promo Trooper version was a studio made model, rather than modifying an original Remix-Favor sub machine gun. I believe this as the main barrel is at the wrong angle, as well as many parts being “filled”, unlike an original. I assume they cast from original parts, then made a Frankenstein version of it. So, I did some more asking around and, the lovely Colin Adams (OddViking) suggested Droid Division on Etsy. I checked out this version and WOW - it’s fantastic!! They do a couple of versions, including the different body for the Promo Version. Here’s some pictures of my progress with the Droid Division version: The parts are really well thought out, and, as you’ll see, many parts are printed together. Great for stability of the finished product. Here’s a couple of comparisons against the Promo Trooper version: For reference, I’m printing this with PLA on a Creality CR-10S5: More to come as I carry on sanding and prepping. Best wishes Dan

Hot water bath may help to bend it into position. I'd wait until you are kitted up and see if it's even an issue

I certify that Justin “TheRascalKing” Reed has served as my armorer and has spent at least 30 minutes providing hands on help trimming, building and fitting my armour that was Just awarded Expert Infantry status.

@TheRascalKing I certify that you have served as my armorer for my new kit and spent well over 30 minutes on it for providing not only hands on help for building, trimming, and fitting my armor for both Expert Infantry and Centurion status, but for also providing me the knowledge for how to maintain my armor to its best possible condition. On top of this, I certify that you also repaired, whitened, and made some upgrades to my original suit that Jeff Leone, @Oztrooper, built for me many years ago (Love you, Jeff ❤) Very grateful and thankful for your time, more than words can even say!

I certify you have served as my armorer and have spent at least 30 minutes providing hands-on help, trimming, building, and/or fitting of my armor that was awarded Expert Infantry status.

@JHowe102 (for two separate EIB-awarded suits), @Ninety-Nine, @Dsposato0, and @Gh0stxxiv - please certify that I served as your Armorer and have spent at least 30 minutes providing hands-on help trimming, building, and/or fitting your armor that was awarded Expert Infantry status, as above. Thank you!

Hi Michael, 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 armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions. You did a fast and great job with the requested fixes Michael thank you. Now let start with your review. Starting from top, your brow trim seems to be a little low , principally in the center. I have seen this in a couple of Anovos Helmets and with a tab of E6000 or AC Glue you can get that EP4 look. Reference Images Ideally, the ear screws should go aligned with the rear edge of the Traps so we strongly suggest to move them. Reference Images The paint on your vocoder looks pretty good, but it should be more symmetrical with more definition on the tops of the raised ridges. Easy fix!! Reference Images Looking at your Shoulder Bridges, the right one looks misaligned causing it to raise a little. A hot water bath could do the job. Reference Images Your TD is sitting quite high, so you might see if you can push it down further, or possibly 'unroll' the clips so it sits lower. Reference Images Even thought it is not mentioned in the CRL, the Thermal detonator's metal clips should be squared (not rounded) on the control panel side and the screws going near the end. Reference Image This is not mentioned specifically into the crl, but again, ideally the rivets of the thigh ammo pack should go a little higher as per the references. Reference Images Looking at your lower back area, for confort and to avoid "armor bite" you may want to cut down the tops of the thighs in the rear. Reference Images This is all in the suggestions section. *************************************************** 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. CRL: Ear screws shall be slotted, flat topped, countersunk The ear screws are very tight and cause them to deform a bit and the screw that goes down the other side is a little out. This is easy to fix in less than a minute with a screwdriver. Just give it a little left turn to loosen them a little and a right to the bottom one and it will be perfect Reference Images Moving on, your ABS Belt looks misaligned with respect to the center of the ab plate, this looks like a dressing issue cause in other photos it looks ok. something to check every time you put on you armor. CRL L3: Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box. This is a common issue and an easy one to fix. Moving them outward and then applying a dab of E-6000 on the rear of the strap will take care of this and keep it from wandering. Reference Images CRL Requirements for all 501st costumes are proportional to the wearer in scale, fit and size. Your arm armor is very large compared to your arm size. We absolutely welcome troopers of all different body types, but we do expect that for our highest level of approval, the armor is sized appropriately to the wearer's body. From the side the arm armor looks the good, but from the front and rear, they're quite large. We've noticed this a lot recently with Anovos armor so it may be a matter of how the arm pieces are shaped. In order to size down the biceps and forearms, you'd need to carefully remove the cover strips, trim back the pieces some, and re-glue them. A hot water bath may also be helpful in re-shaping the curve. Reference Images The small Ab Plate looks to have some return edge (border). As you can see in the references it goes flat. a little more trimming and you're ready. Reference Images Crl: Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Abdominal and Kidney Plate align horizontally at top. A possible solution I would suggest to fix this is try to raise the abdominal area a little, it seems that you still have space, to close that gap. You could also lower the back plate a bit from the shoulders connection. Although it may seem like there is a lot of work ahead, most are small adjustments and some more complicated and can take more time to do but not so difficult. Congratulations again Trooper, we are we are confident that you will do the next step to Centurion Level and we are here to help you if you need.

Looks similar to the profile on mine. I have large thighs too from them squats

I have an AP kit as well and have fairly large thighs. I bought the untrimmed kit and was able to do the thighs with minimal shimming. The only issue you may run into is the cover strip width will be different between the thighs and the shins. May need to redo the shin cover strips, so likely would want some cover strip material as well.

Coming along nicely

Amazing rebuild.

Someday, if I ever become a master craftsman like you, Colin, I’d love to give this a shot on my BS bucket. Excellent work here, and documentation!

Today's fun.

Split rivets do not need to be functional

Looking good Dan.

Nice work Dan, I do have a copy of a SE14R which was on Thingiverse but was taken down some time ago, I've passed the files on to a few people, you are welcome to check the details to see if it's anymore accurate https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qMlwHXWp-Yh_Mgch63Xk6ryk5kYE5xFs/view?usp=sharing

When in doubt refer to the gallery sections

more work on my Black Series Stormtrooper helmet accuracy modifications: Looking at the close up photos of the Rogue One style helmets (the modern Stormtrooper suits used in The Mandalorian, Kenobi, any current shows), the gray traps and vents all appear to be a separate piece of grey, placed into a cutout in the helmet, with a black backer. [UPDATE: I was able to verify from someone who has had personal knowledge of these helmet props that not only are the grey pieces seperate, with a recessed area rather than a painted border, the vent ones actually go through the helmet and are backed with black mesh fabric, to allow for air flow. I have seen photos, but am unable to publicly share that reference]. The Black Series helmet is more like the original trilogy helmets, painted with a black border (and some slight texture). I searched for a file for these, but I couldn’t find those pieces alone. So I built them! Took photos of the Black Series helmet vents, and then made those precise shapes in vector. I imported those into Blender and scaled them to the exact size, and then extruded them. I added them to Thingiverse for the next builder doing this. Thingiverse stl files for the vents and traps Printed in resin, and then I cut out the helmet vents (cutting just inside the grey with a Dremel, to leave room to file out the final precise shape). I used those cutouts as shape bucks, and slowly heated each vent with a heat gun, and held them to the curve so they would fit. The cheek vents have almost a propeller twist, so keeping by those cutouts as a guide was vital. I slowly filed the cutouts until they just fit the new pieces [UPDATE: Based on some new reference, I plan to sand my grey inserts a bit more so that there is a bit more of a gap between them and the helmet) I also cut out the tube vents like the modern helmets have: I also "lowered" the brow base by adding to the bottom with Magic Sculpt. I did a few more filling and sanding passes on the back battery cover, which took five total treatments to eliminate those lines. Finally, for the Vocoder, I found what I thought was some ideal material, satellite cable, but my satellite cable was 1/32” too wide, when I added it up, 7 of them side by side would be about 1/4” too wide overall. Luckily I had some 1/4” irrigation tubing, which appears to be a perfect match to the screen used props. Next up: Adding some steel rod inside the vocoder tubes to help make that sharp curve at the top (without kinking), priming and painting the helmet, fabric covered backer plates for the grey plates.

Got my Anovos / DN FOTK kit yesterday from my order from 2016! Kit looks pretty much exactly like the one pictured above. A bit overwhelmed and not sure where to start. Had given up on ever seeing it and couldn't afford to chase after other armor kits so I had given up on 501st and have been out of the loop since maybe 2018 or 2019. Which film CRL are these kits best suited for (I know it will have to be adjusted to fit any of them, just curious which one I should go for)? Back when I order the kit, they were still working on the first FOTK CRL and I have been out of the forums so long I don't have any idea what the difference is. Excited to start getting back into this, but the timing is kinda awful as we just moved 2000 miles across the country last month so might be a while before I have time to build the kit. Just glad I reached out to them with our new address when we moved on the off chance they would actually send something.