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BIG BROWN BOX DAY!

Hi Paolo, Welcome to the FISD. I am only an hour away from you and am more than happy to help with anything you need. ‘Looking forward to trooping with you in the future.

The forum only allows a certain amount of attachments, many of us use a free online image hosting service (I use Imgur), upload images there then copy the links into your posts here.

Congratulations Christian and welcome to the ranks!!!

Enjoy your new banner @TK21698!

You better look twice... imperial greetings and thanks for welcoming me here to you all! A great Troop, I am proud to be a member!

Hey there Paolo, Yeah there’s lots of information here. My recommendation is determine which version/costume you will like the most. Most troopers tend to go ANH Stunt because it’s the most iconic look of the stormtrooper, but there still are many who have affinities to R1, ESB and RotJ. But if you choose based on what you like most, you’ll be happiest with your end result. Hero/Stunt troopers with ANH don’t have a lot of differences, but they exist, so definitely worth understanding them as you make your choice. Look forward to your build and progress.

Having made the AM armor myself, I trimmed the shoulder straps with roughly 2mm of margin around the bumps. I trimmed the back large bump away as well. I did also do some reinforcement and heating to bend them down a bit. I’ll have to do a small bit more bend in the back. But it worked out well. (The more curved part is the rear, the straight part in the front was done that way to glue it under the chest tabs)

You may find as you kit up that the elastic could be too loose. I know on the straps from my kidney to the back I actually doubled up the elastic so it held it closer to the kidney, but I also made sure there was no space between the plastic edges and then determined where to glue the nylon.

Don't think I've ever seen an actual width for the holes, I did mine at 10mm

Hello Paolo! Welcome to the FISD and congratulations on taking your first steps towards becoming a Stormtrooper! When I was at your stage early last year, I looked everywhere, on YouTube and on this forum (mainly Expert Infantry and Centurion threads) to see which makers I thought looked the part! With your height, I don't see an issue with pretty much any maker, but a fellow Garrison member that is a little taller, he went with TM (Troopermaster on Facebook) as he can offer taller legs if that is something you're a little worried about! What makers people choose tend to vary mostly based on the "width" of a person from what I've seen so far, and in the "width" department most if not all the vetted vendors offers good solutions on this, maybe except from the ROTJ armor makers as the armor itself isn't really made with shims in mind, but I'm sure that this isn't any issue for you! As for the Hero and Stunt, it is of course based off of your own personal preference! When I ordered my kit from RS Prop Masters I couldn't decide on which one I wanted. I loved the Stunt but in my mind the Hero had etched into my memory as what the Stormtrooper should look like, since when I was a little tiny boy - I looked through (and pretended to read) the book "Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary" a whole lot! Since the difference between the Hero and the Stunt is simply just the helmet and the belt, I decided to spend a little extra to get the Stunt too (I have yet to troop in it), it just felt awesome to be able to have the same helmet as most people wear, if I ever wanted to! If you are into accessories, the Stunt and Hero have different accessories available to them and that could also influence your decision! Glory to the Empire!

Hello and welcome aboard, good luck with the research

Welcome to the FISD, Paolo! As you have probably realized, there is a LOT of research and many decisions to make. The differences between Stunt and Hero are pretty minimal, but even with your height either are fine (Mark Hamill was only 5' 9" but Harrison Ford was 6' 1"). The most important thing after choosing your costume is deciding which armorer to go with. I would avoid ebay or the like (see this link) and stick with one of our "vetted" (tried and true) vendors which you can find here. It Lastly, know that we are here to help every step of the way on your journey to become a white plastic spaceman, lol. Always feel free to ask as many questions as you like, and we look forward to answering them!

@chris788, when the time comes, I can speak with your GML's regarding the CRL and your helmet. I'm personal friends with your GCO Andy and have already started to discuss things with him so you will be fine with the helmet you have.

Personally I prefer not using the bracket system, you can get cracks between the bolt holes as well as the adjustment is limited. I have seen some just add brackets without elastic so it appears original. That said there are no requirements all the way up to L3 to use brackets so many don't even bother and go for a general strapping

Very excited to see new stuff coming to FISD. I need to repair my Shock Trooper and get back out there .

Hold on to your butts as I trimmed the posterior and added the snaps. Snaps are placed 15 mm & 35 mm (to center of snap) from the edge of the posterior.

Thanks @gmrhodes13 for the references, I've trimmed the ears and managed to get it attached to the bucket

Filling in those areas will be a bit of work, Alex, but it's not nearly as hard as you think. What I suggest is to sand down the areas (shown by Mario) and using Bondo Glazing /Spot putty. This is miracle stuff. Unlike regular Bondo which requires mixing, it is a paste that you can simply apply with your fingers or a craft stick. It fills fine to medium lines like magic, dries hard in less than 20-30 minutes or less and is SUPER easy to sand! Just don't go too heavy. I build a lot of resin/3D items and would not do one without it. A couple of coats of paint after final sanding and you will be golden!

It's amazing how much knowledge you can take away from an armor workshop, very hard to stop and take photos when you are deep down the rabbit hole.