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Greetings from RT-MOD!For the past year and a half, I have been collaborating with Pandatrooper (of Panda Props and Costumes) on the fabrication of RT-MOD armor. Not only has he helped produce armor in his own shop and delivered to my high standards, but he has has helped upgrade many of the molds and bucks to create a more accurate version of the RT-MOD armor. Many elements within the costume have been updated for more accuracy or have been improved in terms of quality, comfort or wearability. Everything is still being fan-made from scratch based on photo references, and scaled up slightly to match the proportions of the current RT-MOD armor.But the time has come for me to officially pass the torch. Going forward, Pandatrooper will be the main contact and fabricator for RT-MOD armor. There will be a new contact email and updates on the latest version of the armor and helmet will be posted soon. As well, there will be some cool upgrades we think you will like! I would like to say I could not have asked for a better, more dedicated individual and have full confidence in Pandatrooper and his skills in carrying the RT-MOD torch. I believe he has a unique skill and dedication that will show in maintaining a high level of quality, care, attention to detail and craftsmanship. Please give him some time for the transition, as well as restocking supplies and also allow him to catch up on some back orders.Keep in mind that RT-MOD has and will be made for fans and hobbyists as time allows. We all have lives and need to take care of that first.From simple beginnings in 2002 to here now in 2019 it has been my pleasure to be able to outfit the bigger trooper candidates with high quality, accurate gear and have enjoyed the fandom and camaraderie of those who partake in the hobby. I want to thank everyone in this community for their support over the years. RT-MOD would not be around without you!

I've ordered AP armor and I hope to join the 501st, but I do have this already. I built it last year. It's made from PVC pipe with a 3D printed grip.

Hello everyone!!! I am starting the process of recording my journey for my first ever build. First off I purchased an ATA kit in mid February 2019 after being on a wait list for 2 weeks. Price was awesome and the quality of the armor was fantastic. Not just from my standards (since I could have been sent crap and probably still thought it was great) but confirming with some local members that the quality of the armor was great. Second, this being my first build I chose to go for a Centurion ESB TK. Why? From my research, mostly because I like that the holster is on the right hand side of the trooper. And ESB is my favorite movie...... = ) I think the extra work and eye for detail to achieve Centurion is well worth the effort as well. If I am going to be poring 60+ hours on this build it may as well be as good as I can make it. So after BBB day, I looked and held the chest plate up to my chest at least 20 times, and then waited....... and waited....... and waited...... Where to start? Should I just start hacking away at plastic, cross my fingers and see what happens in a few months? NOPE! I did my research and learned terms like "return edge, and butt join, and had to brush up on the metric system." Then my prayers were answered... an armor party! I attended a semi local armor part near Peachtree City, south of Atl, and had an amazing time. I rolled in my 52 gallon husky tote with my shiny white armor, bag full of tools, two 2 liters of diet cola, Kroger brand potato chips, french onion dip and some celery and met some amazing people. Lee (Cricket) was an awesome host, and got my on my journey with my project. I spent about 5 hours "cutting off the ugly" on my plastic. Guess who did not own a pair of lexan scissors (This guy). Luckily the young lady who I shared a table with came prepared and gladly shared her tools as well as knowledge. If you have made it down to reading this part, you can tell that my mind goes from idea to idea with very little flow or continuity. Good luck following this build thread. This is the first thing I have written in a "forums". So if I am posting something out of topic or in the wrong location please feel free to delete or move. Also please forgive me of bad grammar or spelling mistakes. My wife is an English major and so far nothing has rubbed off on me from her skills. So why start now right? I plan to post pictures of my progress and give shout outs to those who have help me along this journey. I hope to make this thread in a form that is in my head. So I will make jokes when they come up, and give you way to much information on something as simple as cutting a piece of plastic 22mm in length. (Side note, I tried to spell check "lexan scissors" and one of the options was "Texan Scissors". 1.) Those would be some big over the top 100% cast iron cattle scissors that have to be carried in a Ford F250 Monday - Saturday (closed on Sundays). 2.) had a room mate in college that was from Texas (good guy), but made me hate every sports team from the state. Go Falcons btw. These are things to expect from this build. You will not learn anything new, you may even have a few points shaved off your IQ while reading this, but I hope it to be a fun read, and very realistic representation of a complete noob to this awesome world that is the 501st. I will share my story of how I first heard about this group and those who helped me get to the point of cutting plastic. That being said, my hands have finally healed from last weeks armor party (yes this is a dangerous walk of life, I have a blister to prove it, and the numbness in my hands and thumb has finally subsided.) It is not time for me to make pretty some of the ugly cuts on my shins. Note to self (Thighs front and back 20mm strips with 2mm overhang, Shins 20mm, Calves 25mm, and arms 15mm front and back.) Thanks everyone, I am looking forward to working on this literal dream of mine, and making some new friends during the process. May the Force be with us. -Shawn

Also at this stage have a think if you would like to keep anything inside the tube, having a removable end cap can be handy, I added an angle piece of abs to the insides of the caps, glued elastic to one, then on the other end added Velcro to the elastic and plastic angle, can now pull the cap off and remove the elastic via the Velcro. Just somewhere to keep items, trading cards, wrist bands, working with children card (we need them locally) that sort of thing.

Correct but 7 years of trooping and I've never dropped a resin/plastic blaster Rubber is great but doesn't allow all the bells and whistles and the younglings do like a light and sound show

That is the plan but there are some outstanding CRL updates still to be completed so we don't want to start too many projects before these are done

Nice work trooper, Imgur is the way to go with posting photos, once you upload just copy the "direct link" straight into your post. Just a couple of things to really make your build stand out: Could bring your forearms up a little, they are touching your handguards. Ridges on forearms not matching, rotate the right arm to match the left. Shoulder bells could come in more at the top, reduce the strapping length. Adjust position of shoulder straps at the back so they are aligned better to back plate. Thigh cover strips should stop before the lower ridge. Drop boxes should align with the end of the plastic belt, you may need to add a dap of glue to the straps to help them stay in the same position. Ab button paint could be a little smaller, the smaller ab plate could be trimmed a little more, also the plates do not have rounded corners There are also a few images the DO's will want to see which I don't see in your application (perhaps they are in the links) Blaster both sides and D ring Thigh strip rivets, inside and out. Sniper plate from front and directly side on to show sniper plate to shin alignment. Butt/cod rivet/snaps. TD screws (and should be "pan head") S trim Green lenses Helmet screws top and bottoms. A few tweaks and I'm sure you will be fine, good luck

Well the first question I like to ask is, what's you budget? I personally use a Praetorian. Extremely high detailed yet made of rubber and a bit expensive, but worth every penny in my opinion. Then you have what you've already mentioned right up to actual metal replicas. Pick your poison. Here's my Praetorian.

Hi Josh! Thanks for making all of these changes, but they aren't actually required for EIB approval. (Although your armor looks great!) Mike was super eager to jump into reviews but hasn't yet been familiarized with our process. We will get this sorted out. Thanks, Sha Sha

Can vary but usually ends and is covered by the TD is pretty normal

I would say about the width of the detonator. Don’t know if their are exact measurements but I’m sure if there is it’ll be in the next CRL Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The new photos of the TD with new screws . Thanks for all. Enviado desde mi Aquaris X Pro mediante Tapatalk

If you want to play it safe with the screws then just PM Joseph (justjoseph63) and he’ll sort you out (I’m guessing you’re US-based?) As for the blaster, you can use it as the CRL don’t specifically rule out baptys and although it has clear differences to the CRL image it was decided to allow it for now. Just paint it black to cover the excessive weathering on the grip and you’re good to go

One of the areas I was looking at when the update was begin discussed, belt is the same, both could do to be a little longer BUT at present at least most armors can be used to create a TKC

I'm probably in the minority..but I still prefer the TFA lid. Must be the ROTJ TK fan in me- love a nice fat black frown! Sent from my SM-J320FN using Tapatalk

Wow this is crazy awesome

Nice progress, Jesse. Good to see you’re still plugging away at it. :-)

The unit maps are updated periodically, but aren't up to the minute, so it's very likely whoever updates the maps just hasn't been able to update it yet. I would reach out to whomever your local 501st members are, be it an Outpost, Garrison, or Squad- they're all official units and should be able to offer local assistance. Outposts are smaller units, Garrisons are 25+ people, Squads are subsets of Garrisons with 15+ people.

Welcome aboard! Yes, these costumes can get addictive. I myself only wanted one and am on my fourth.

Yes, Praetorian are approvable all the way to Centurion. I believe actually Hyperfirm are no longer made, and one of the Hyperfirm founders now owns Praetorian.

The Empire secures another strategic location - thank you very kindly for sharing Trooper!

Your best bet is to speak to TM. He will know his armour better than anyone.