Leaderboard

Discord is a platform that features user-friendly text, voice, and video chat in public or private servers. And as of today, one of these servers is for us. I’m proud to announce that we can finally launch this project for all of us: FISD Discord If you’re looking for a casual and relaxed space to chat with your fellow TK’s, this is for you. Yes, even if you’re new to the Forums. We would be honored if you would join us. And here’s a quick DISCORD FAQ What is Discord? Discord is a free communications app, most similar to popular apps like Skype, Microsoft Teams, Slack, and TeamSpeak. It features user-friendly text, voice, and video chat in public or private servers. Is Discord meant to replace the Forum? No, it is not! It is simply another form of communications for all of us to stay in contact with the FISD and be an active part of our community. What is the goal of the FISD Discord? Our goal is to offer a space for chatting and communication beyond what the forum can offer, such as voice/video chat, a space for troop pictures that did not fit into the troop log and general talk about our armors. Oh – and there’s our #spoilers channel to discuss the latest Star Wars News. Essentially an extension of the FISD. If we start with Discord, will the Forums still be relevant? Of course! The forums are and always will be the heart of the FISD. We have our pictures, our build threads, our references, and our programs all over here. That won’t change, nor would we want it to. Do I have to get Discord and be active on there? No. Discord is an extra, you won’t miss out on anything by not joining in. (Well, except for some fun conversations.) Should anything that’s relevant to the FISD Forum come up, it will get shared on the forums as well. We already have staff on there who are ready to take care of the Discord server and will do their best to make sure nothing too relevant goes on over there. Do any other Detachments already have this? Not to our knowledge. However, there are some Garrisons/Squads/Outposts out there who are already utilizing Discord with varying success. Who is allowed to join the server? All FISD Members, age 18 and older, who are in good standing are allowed to join the Server. 501st Membership is not a requirement. Who’s in charge of the Server? As of now we have two Admins (names in Green on the Server) -- @Daetrin and @revlimiter. Additionally, many of our Detachment Staff are on there as well, easy to recognize by the yellow names. All of Staff are using their forum names as usernames, such as “Morgi (DPRO)”, with the role on Staff in brackets behind the name. For easier communication, we recommend that you too change your server name to your FISD forums name. Do you have any other questions? If so, please feel free to let us know! On the Server itself you can find our Staff in yellow or green, so do not hesitate to contact any of us. Additionally, there’s a #help-general channel, where we will get back to you as soon as possible. Once you join, please also take a minute to look through our Server Rules. By using the Server, you agree to comply with the Server Rules. Please note that this Discord server may contain images and information on member built non-functioning prop weapons as seen in the Star Wars films. These weapons look real enough. Because of this, the FISD Discord server is meant for age 18+ only. Use of this Discord server indicates acceptance of this 18+ age limit. We're looking forward to seeing you on there!

Another platform on which to discuss shiny white plastic!!

Can't wait to chat with everyone!!! Click/tap/smash the FISD Discord Invite to come chat.

Great to see this officially launched! Great work team.

Tiffany Sze-Nga Wong TK-92230 EIB A4 TKSpartan Another EI for the HKG! https://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/92230-eib.png

"@justjoseph63 hopefully will be impressed with the lack of return edge on the wrist! Man, this AM armor really is for the bigger guys! So much extra to cut off". Impressed I am! Looking awesome, Terry. One thing to consider is taking a bit more off of this area: The reason I mention that is because we spend a lot of time with our arms bent while holding a blaster. If it's even a little tight in that area it will start to chafe/cut into your actual bicep. Ouch.

On to the ears! For some, this is a stressful stage of an OT helemt build as you want to find a good fit. Over trimming is probably the biggest cause for concern, so i take the mind set of A little is a lot when shaping the ears to a good fit. Again with the trusty pencil, mark out a trim line that sits away from the mold lines. I use the tin sheers to take this excess off as the ABS is 2 mm thick. These make it easy going to remove what isn't needed. Note they are trimmed still away from those pencil lines. Lexan scissors with a curved blade are ideal for cutting around the shape of TK ears, they are slower going, but simple to carefully trim right up to the pencil marks I've now marked the ears with pencil lines following just below the mold /actual ear shape. Again, leave room to refine these as you begin to test fit, mark and readjust your trimming to get those ears fitting nicely to the sides of the helmet. This is where the process slows down. I shall take my time removing material and going through that test fit stage i mentioned before. More to come soon.

Registering for “Master Armorer Program” Trooper assisted / items : 1) TK-28888 Jim - general fitting during assembly - fine tuning in preparation for EIB

So at my last con I trooped at, Hacksmith Industries was there (known for producing the first real working lightsaber). I picked up one of their mini sabres and have been using it to seal the cut edges of the nylon and elastic straps. This makes my wife happy because I no longer have to steal her butane torch and I am very happy because it is just fun to turn this little guy on.

A trick when using masking tape is to paint white first, that way if there is any bleed only white shows

Thanks Mario. I’m honoured to join. Such a good feeling!

Thank you Jonatan.

Already mentioned it on fb, but congrats on here is also in order! Welcome to the ranks! Now on to your higher level submissions!

Recently I received a BBB (Big brown Box) from CTPG Chris the Prop guy. This is from Anon molds which for those unaware have have lineage back to original. This is the cleaned up version modified to Hero from the Stunt molds Chris now owns. Obligatory BBB Image. Inside, on inspection all parts accounted for and in perfect shape.

Congratulations Trooper!! Welcome to the FISD ranks.

Congrats TK 22826 and WELCOME!!! You certainly have shown your dedication here and attention to details! The armor really looks like it fits you like a glove! Superb! EIB and Centurion next?

Congratulations trooper and welcome to Expert Infantry and the EI Honor Gallery

Dave Bristol 17278 EIB A4 Chemi Way to go DAVE! https://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/17278-eib.png

7) TK-92230 / Tiffany Wong - Initial kit build support / trim & fitting / HKG application - Parts exchange / procurement required for EIB application - Fitting / Photo in preparation for EIB application

Just got word that I’ve been approved! Thank you all for your bottomless patience and invaluable help. So proud to finally be a member. Now on to the higher levels…

Confirm

6) TK-28823 / Galton Ho - Parts exchange / procurement required for EIB application - Fitting / Fine tuning / Photo in preparation for EIB application

Hi Mark, Thank you for sharing this here on FISD! Sure looks shiny and white now, and best of luck for your daughter joining us in the 501st. Make sure she joins in on our newly formed womens forum here called Vaders Valkyries, we would love to have her onboard.

Slowly working my way to shaping the eyes and teeth. need to trim more away and round the top right corner of the right eye and i have plenty of material there still to remove and accomplish this. Also allowed extra material on the teeth to further refine those. Sunday afternoon sun shines in making the helmet look cream in colour.

I always like to have some reference available when working on a project. As you can see on the monitor, i used our FISD Gallery to peruse several Hero helmets and look for the details I liked the best. Personally I find it a great way to start, specially when looking to mark out pencil trim lines. Here the teeth have had single holes drilled so I can get in there with the tip of the scalpel and trim enough out to then use the files. I do also sand the back of these areas, which on the inside of the face plate are high points. Just enough to make the material thinner and it makes your first cuts easier. This is slow and careful work of course. The other material you see the below image is excess material trimmed off from the sides of the face plate. Helpful hint: Keep your scraps of ABS, it may come in hand to do minor repairs on your armour or helmet build if you intend to troop in them. It can be used as backing reinforcement or trimmed into small scraps to make ABS past to repair potential cracks in thin areas or even the minor mishap during your build. Moving on to the eye sockets, you can drill a series of holes around the inside of the socket, making sure to stay away from your pencil marks. The idea is to use those marks as your safe zone, stay inside of them and that also give you the room to then replicate a specific look if you decide to base your build on a helmet seen on screen that you really like. Take note of the scalpel cuts and how they are purposely angled inwards away from the pencil lines. This prevents you slipping into an area you don't wish to cut/damage so always cut away from those surfaces. You will only cut into the material you are removing and feel much more confident in doing so. Trimmed with plenty of material left for shaping. I used the scalpel to shave away excess, and filed any sharp bits to get to this point. Once i get closer to my pencil lines it will be time to sand with 120 and 200 grit. When close to finishing I'll change to a fine grade paper.

Some of the basic tools I will be using for this build. Now I do have a Dremel which I may use for some of the larger areas and quick sanding, but I like to do most of the work manually and take my time. Things one can't do without. 1. 2B lead pencil, good for marking cut lines, easy to see easy to rub off when done. 2.Various sized drill bits but generally I run with a 2 or 2.5mm bit. I can fit these into the handle of my scalpel and gently drill by hand in areas that are tight, or add it to my Dremel to speed up when needed. 3. A good heavy duty box cutter, sharp blades are a must, this particular one has a lock off knob on the back side so the blades wont slip. 4. My trusty scalpel, would not be without this and spare blades as it is great for close to the line minor trimming work. 5. Lexan scissors, these have a curved blade which I find comes in very handy for curve work. They cut through ABS easily even the thicker 2mm sheets. 6. Mini or needle file kit. Lots of small different shaped files for tight spot detail work, an absolute must. As you can see my pouch is full of ABS dust lol, these get used quite a bit on various projects. 7. Optional but great for large area rough trimming. stay away from your cut lines if you are inexperienced cutting ABS, you don't want to over trim or risk cutting into something you don't want to.

Snaps and straps today. Getting ready to strap the upper body. I've been using Tandy Leather Line Snaps (matte black line 20) and Line 20 Snap Setter. Learned quickly that I needed enough material between the two snap pieces so the center post wouldn't lean while I was setting it. Doubled the thickness of my nylon for that reason, and I'm using thinker scraps of armor when I use those. I also learned to be mindful of not applying J&B near the center of the snaps. If too much is used, it oozes up and interferes with the inside of the snap. After making the male and female snaps, I tested them all before applying them to the pieces of armor. I'll be working on the chest and back next. Need to get it test fitted and marked up, and then I'll be setting the snaps for the shoulder straps. The T shaped nylon (picture above) will attach the back and chest and the perpendicular strap will attach to the shoulder armor. I saw a few other builds like that and I'm going to do the same. Thank you to all those that did this before me.

Hello and welcome to the forum and Happy New Year, Dave's Darkside Depot (originally known as AM) is on our vetted sellers list but as Steve said it suits the larger trooper, height and width. Here's a great thread full of helpful info to get you on your way

Dave is a great guy with great service. He offers AM kits which are generally geared toward the trooper with more girth. However it can be sized down to a more slender trooper. You can’t go wrong if this is what your looking for.

5) TK-28228 / Peter Lee - Parts repaired in preparation for EIB application - Fine tuning in preparation for EIB application

Only one more before you get you badge, Arthur. Keep up the great work!!

4) TK-12762/ Henry NG - Assemble advice during building stage - Extra parts sourcing in preparation for EIB application - Fine tuning in preparation for EIB application

3) TK-71814 Billy Au-Yeung - Assemble advice since initial build - Extra parts sourcing in preparation for EIB application - Fine tuning in preparation for EIB application

I confirm

Trooper assisted / items : 2) TK-36036 Grave Wong - Assemble advice since initial build - Fine trimming / General fitting during assembly - Fine tuning in preparation for EIB application