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Well… I guess this is where I start. As a joke with my wife, I told her that if she bought me a 3D printer for Christmas, the first thing I’d print would be a Stormtrooper helmet. That joke quickly escalated into finding more accurate files than the free ones available on Printables and Thingiverse, which then even more quickly evolved into, “Well, I may as well make a suit while I’m at it.” And so began the never-ending chain of “while I’m at it’s” that ultimately landed me here, officially starting a build thread and aiming—at a minimum—for Level One 501st approval, with my sights firmly set on Level Two down the road. To keep myself accountable, I’ve set a goal of having this suit wearable for my office Halloween party on October 29, 2026. Which sounds extremely reasonable and optimistic, right? Wrong. I travel for work fairly often, so if I manage to hit that deadline, I’ll consider it a major win. After spending a lot of time reading through the FISD forums, I quickly stumbled across @BigJasoni's 3D-printed Rogue One TK build. That was the moment I thought, “Okay… maybe this impossible thing is at least technically possible.” I fully understand—and accept—that printing a full suit is wildly impractical. Jason himself has warned many people not to do this. But if you asked my wife, she’d tell you that once I decide to do something, stopping simply isn’t part of the plan...so here we are. For reference, I should also mention I'm printing on an Elegoo Centauri Carbon (256×256×256), which… yes, adds an extra layer of challenge to an already questionable project. I originally started with Nico Henderson’s Rogue One TK helmet files, and I want to be very clear here: the issues I ran into were entirely self-inflicted. Mid-print, and then in it's most current state. In recently rewatching Rogue One, Solo, and several of the Disney-era shows, I realized just how sharp and defined the chin geometry on the helmet really is (amongst other concerns). Unfortunately, early print issues led me to weld the chin to the faceplate and unintentionally round over some of those critical edges. Once I saw it, I couldn’t un-see it. That realization officially forced my first major reset. I also got a bit ahead of myself in thinking that my primer/sanding jobs were better than they truly were before laying some base coat down... and now we're back to some camo variant. You can clearly see where I've unintentionally rounded the sharp edges. As of last night, I’ve started over on the helmet using @TKModder421's updated files—and I’m taking a much slower, more deliberate approach this time with accuracy as the priority. Greg, if you’re reading this: thank you again. The updates are genuinely excellent, and the difference is immediately noticeable. So far, I have the dome (pictured), vocoder, tears, teeth, ventbacks, ear greebiles, and back greebiles (pictured) printed, and currently getting the hovmic's printed as we speak write. For the rest of the armor, I initially went with the well-known Akira Yuming files from CGTrader, which—like many others—I found through BigJasoni’s build. I knew going in that they weren’t perfect, but they felt like a reasonable stepping stone. And they have been… interesting. I’ve printed essentially the entire Akira kit in SUNLU white PETG, mostly because I live in Florida and heat resistance matters (even though, somehow, we’re apparently expecting snow in the Tampa Bay area as I write this?). Currently, all that seemed to remain are the belt ammo boxes (planning to print Jason's), shoulder straps (just received my white TPU), and the rear portion of the belt (which I have concerns about, see below.) (Yes, I see it now—plastic-welding on the front of my pieces like the chest plate and abdomen were a mistake. Let this stand as proof that sometimes the best lessons are learned after the damage is already done.) That said, I’ve already run into several of the commonly discussed issues, like the abdomen fitment: Belt geometry that simply doesn’t work as-is Proportions that feel “close enough” until you really start comparing to screen references (like the thighs) This has led me to a bit of a crossroads: Follow the path others have taken and fabricate a belt from HIPS or similar material, abandoning the idea of a fully 3D-printed suit Continue hunting for (or investing in) more accurate files that solve these issues cleanly I’ve seriously considered dropping the ~$200 USD on MPSB files for the more accurate arms and thighs, but I’m trying to be intentional about where I throw money after already printing (wasting) so much plastic. I also picked up PPCDigital’s files on Etsy (regretting this), which at first glance seemed more accurate—but I’m now realizing that several parts being merged together (like the kidney plate fused to the back plate) introduces a whole different set of challenges, especially when accuracy and mobility are the goal. At this point, I’ve accepted that this project will involve reprinting more than I originally planned—possibly a lot more. What began as an office Halloween costume has officially turned into a full-blown screen-accuracy obsession. My immediate goal is still Level One approval, but I’m absolutely building with Level Two in mind for the future—once I convince my wife that a proper flight suit, boots, gloves, and all the other “small” details are completely reasonable purchases. I’ll start dropping photos and progress updates below, beginning with: • Current helmet reprint progress using TKModder’s updated files • Printed Akira armor laid out for fit and comparison • Notes on what I’m likely to reprint vs. salvage Thanks to everyone who’s paved the way before me—and especially to those who’ve documented what not to do. I’m fully aware this is a long uphill battle, but I’m committed to doing it right. Onward. Also, if you have suggestions... I'm all ears. (Anyone know if MPSB abdomen is the "same" at the new-ERA TK's? asking for a friend...)