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Greetings troopers, We inch forward! We have now raised just over 57% of our years funding. If you have found this forum useful and can spare even $1 it would help move us closer to our funding goal!

In my efforts to hit arbitrary deadlines and a burnout from school work I decided to spend a couple hours on the TK. Helmet is nearing its final tweaks and hopefully can show it off soon but wanted to show where armour is at. Its missing a few details but all the main forms are complete. Let me know what you think!

Support sent!

We are up to 45 members that have donated. We still need roughly $392 to meet our goal.

I got the word from my GML that my costume was approved today! Is this the longest WIP between start and approval in FISD history? I started the journey in February 2009 and was approved today. Over 17 years. Since my last post I’ve been making all the changes @gmrhodes13 (Glen) suggested. Little by little getting more accurate. I doubt I’ll ever make it to centurion or anything above basic approval, but I’m absolutely happy and grateful for all the help I’ve received here at the FISD on this costume over the (MANY) years. Thanks everyone for the help in getting this costume approved. While I have other costumes (I’m the ROTJ Vader in the CRL pics), stormtroopers have always been my favorite costume ever since I was little watching A New Hope for the first time in May of 1977. I never call a costume “finished”. There is always room for improvement. I am so happy to finally get to call myself TK-38421 and join the ranks of TK’s all around the world. Time to get back to work. Approval is only one point in the quest for accuracy. :)

All grey:

I have no plans to make a R1TK but I love this build thread. The very definition of "well that escalated..." :)

Just donated, I forgot to put what it's for though but I put my forum name (sorry for the headache Pete).

All donations are welcome, if you feel we've helped you and would like to help out then please go ahead!

I know I'm a tad late and I'm not an approved member (yet), but am I still able to donate? Really want to support this forum it's given me a lot of help.

I can attest. This looks amazing in person. A fine job! You are way more patient than I am!

Welcome Yonatan, This hobby is expensive when you get it right, even worse if you get it wrong so the advice above is very important. This group is founded on research and 1000's of members putting in time searching, questioning and learning from each other. Take that experience and leverage it as much as possible. We are here to help in every way we can and get you to the finish line.

I was thinking I was pretty close to the painting stage, so I went ahead and sanded all the ABS parts to get rid of the gloss and get a nice consistent surface. I did a pass with 120 grit, then 220 grit, then washed them. However, after trying on upper body again, I really think I will need to shorten the biceps because I feel like the kid from The Christmas Story who can't put his arms down: I am thinking that if I were to shorten the biceps from the top, they'll still hit the chest but not as badly. The thickness of the 3D print vs a vacuumformed chest is a big disadvantage here. In order to test out my theory, I made a bicep piece out of paper and trimmed it shorter: Taking a look at other builds, it doesn't seem to look ridiculous. When I was looking at my bicep pieces, I also saw the clip sits high compared to other people's builds, so I think I should be able to trim from the bottom as well, which should allow me to drop the entire bicep lower, and make it so I don't have to trim as much from the top. I like having the biceps high because it gives me a lot more arm mobility but this might be an area I'll just need to compromise. I've marked in tape where I think I'll trim. (The upper trim is at the top of the tape): As is the way of things, when I was pulling the back armor off, it split at the middle seam: I realized I'd only glued that seam, though, so I went ahead and 'welded' the entire seam together with a soldering iron, as well as backed it with a thick piece of ABS. I welded from both the inside and outside so that will make finishing a bit of a pain, but probably good that I reinforced the seam as the back armor gets a ton of flex when I put it on and take it off. Edited to add a photo of the welded back piece. Obviously it will take a lot more work to hide the seam:

Welcome to the FISD, start by reading and asking questions. Mistakes can be expensive and are usually easily avoided with a couple of question.

BONUS: electroprod - good for troops where blasters aren't allowed, but big sticks are acceptable :) All 3D-printed parts over a PVC pipe core. I debuted the electroprod after flying to MegaCon: packed all of the pieces into a checked bag, then made a trip to Home Depot after we landed to buy a piece of PVC. Just take a pipe cutter tool with you on the trip, and voila!

CRL (2025): https://crls.501st.com/fisd/captain-cardinal CRL thread (2025): https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/57907-captain-cardinal-crl-2025 First step: lots of research and note-taking! Part 1: What did *not* work This project was a labor of love. I started with a used Jim Trippon V1 kit that was made of a flexible fiberglass cast. It had been painted up like Cardinal by heartstopper85, but he also bought it used from someone else, so it had years of use and plenty of wear and tear. After many, many hours of sanding off the many, many layers of paint, I started building it back up with lots of primer and bondo. But as I was progressing through my layers of sandable primer, red primer, and then red gloss, the new paint was frequently cracking. I spent some time trying to stiffen the fiberglass pieces by reinforcing with Epsilon Pro. This was not successful. After a few rounds and attempts, I decided to give up on those pieces with cracking paint and replace them with 3D-printed parts. …this evolved into replacing almost the entire Jim fiberglass kit with a new 3D printed kit. Sanding the original parts: Repair attempts: It became a TON of work, but it was the best choice for longevity and shininess of the armor, plus better sizing for my proportions (these armor kits are just not intended for 5’3” female stormtroopers). Part 2: What *did* work Files printed: FOTK files from https://www.etsy.com/shop/Die3DSchmiede Printed in black PETG New hotness: Paints and clear coat used: Upol Expert Sandable Filler Primer (AutoZone) Transtar 2in1 Primer: Red Oxide 4623 (JB Tools) Dupli-Color Perfect Match Cardinal Red (AutoZone) USC SprayMax 2K Glamour High Gloss (Amazon) The chest and back were printed in multiple pieces (due to print volume size), so I needed to first weld them together. The process I used: Clean printed surfaces with IPA so that the tape will stick Tape the two pieces together (painter’s tape is fine) Weld with stapler: heat, insert, and then twist Clip off the leads after everything has cooled Reinforce the back of the armor with Epsilon Pro Sand the front to knock down the edges at the seam Use poly filler to fill in the front seam Reused parts from the previous kit: Abdomen section Spats - two sets: KB (the lighter ones) and Dino (the heavier ones) Boots: Gio boots (KeepTrooping also sells them) Cape from Geeky Pink: https://www.facebook.com/GeekyPinksPhantasticGaskets/ Gaskets from Geeky Pink: https://www.facebook.com/GeekyPinksPhantasticGaskets/ Gloves from: ? (originally white and had been painted as red before I got them) New things: Newly printed and painted: helmet, chest plate, back/yoke, thermal detonator, shoulder bells, biceps, forearms, handplates, codpiece, posterior armor, thighs, knee plates, shins, Neck seal handmade by @royal.blue.retta 1 year later of printing, sanding, and painting... and ta-da - a new CRL! Next on my list: Printing and resizing a few armor pieces (you learn a lot from the first 5 troops) My friend Megan combined the 3D Schmiede front and back thigh files into a single STL for printing. This made it SO much easier to finish the parts cleanly, because I didn’t have to deal with heat-shaping the front and back edges for perfect alignment, which introduced bubbling that was difficult to smooth out. The front and back edges are also not a perfect match, so it took hours of finangling to get the seam even. With the combined file, it was a piece of cake! Adding an F11D Heavy blaster to the CRL

Have been knocking off items from my TODO list. First I decided to add straps and buckles to the gaskets to keep the biceps in place: They work well to keep the biceps up and not hitting the forearms: It did remind me, though, that when my biceps are in place, I can't put my arms fully down because they hit the sides of the chest. I think if I cut the inside of the biceps lower I could make it slightly better, but it's hard to say unless I actually do it, and then if I change my mind it would certainly be a pain to fix. Since the biceps now pull a bit at the shoulders of the gaskets, I added a higher chest strap to keep things in place: The next project was to add elastic to the bottoms of my knee gaskets, attached to (cut up) ankle sleeves in order to keep the knee gaskets from riding up. It actually works decently well, so I was happy my idea worked out. I don't think I'll be able to 100% keep the knee gaskets from bunching up but it's a lot better. As a reminder, this is necessary in my build because my calves are glued shut, and I need to slip my feet into the calf armor/boots. You'll also noticed that I decided to rotate the knee gaskets by 90 degrees so the seam is on the inside of my knee. I found that having it on the back of my knees really made the bunching worse. This means I had to remove and reposition the knee armor velcro as well.

Hello and welcome, I would stay off Etsy. Finding a costume comes with a lot of research, these threads will help you on your way You can also take a look at others builds, great to see how things are put together https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/31-costuming-and-builds-original-trilogy-and-anthology501st-approved/

Thank you so much, this is a lot of useful information and it’s really going to help me out. When looking at screen used helmets, I noticed that they were slightly translucent so I figured that they were from a cast or mold. For the clear coat, I’m not sure whether you’re talking about 2K SprayMax or Rust-Oleum, but I’m leaning more towards Rust-Oleum because I have it in hand. I’ve had the Rust-Oleum gloss give some orange peel before (or it might have just been the flat white I used) so I think my plan will be the spray the gloss white, spray the gloss clear, then lightly sand down the gloss clear with some super fine grit. Like I said, I don’t need a mirror finish, so having it more smooth than shiny is actually better for me. I understand that yellowing is inevitable, but it’s not the end of the world to me. I’ll pick up some satin granite and satin black the next time I’m at Home Depot (along with materials for my DLT-19 build) and starts working on that when I can, thanks again for everyone’s help.

I think you're off to a really solid start with the paint! As several members pointed out to me during my own build—and based on my subsequent research—these new-era suits weren't actually painted white. That glossy sheen comes directly from the molds the armor was produced from. Achieving that exact factory shine is a bit tricky to replicate, but it's definitely doable. A 1K clear coat will probably get you closest, but to your point about yellowing: it won't entirely prevent it. The chemical compound in 1K clear isn't nearly as robust as a 2K clear, but it should hold off yellowing for a few years. Sun exposure will certainly expedite the process, but even if the armor sits in a plastic tote in your attic, it will inevitably yellow over time. Regarding sanding: the higher the grit you use, the more orange peel you'll remove, but you need to work up through the grits in steps. Since the screen-used suits weren't painted, they don't have true orange peel, though they do have small mold imperfections that resemble it. Normally, wet sanding is followed by a heavy compound and a fine polish. However, if you do a pass with something like 1500-grit and follow it with a lighter, "poor" polish, you’ll likely get closest to the screen-accurate finish you're aiming for. From the SWC22 references, it’s clear this specific helmet was resprayed prior to the show (you can see the overspray on the cheek vents), which actually gives us some great insight into the paint details: Vocoder & Ear Greebles: The vocoder has a slight sheen to it, which I’d argue is a satin finish. Similarly, looking at the lower angles and the shots of the ear greebles, those are also a satin grey (which is why myself and others have used Satin Granite). Forehead Trim: On the screen-used suits, this is technically a matte rubber. However, I think a dusted coat of satin paint mimics the look of real rubber much better than a true flat matte paint. Flat matte is also highly prone to scuffing and scratches. Because of this, some troopers advocate for Plasti Dip here to get that rubberized texture. (I’m currently working with someone to source an accurate rubber trim, as the one TKModder used to import from the UK is no longer available in the States). Hovi Mic Tips: You could probably get away with a matte finish on these, but I opted for a satin coat on my last helmet to tie them into the vocoder. I might switch it up on my next one and try matte just to see how it compares. From this angle, you can clearly see the orange peel on the helmet from the rush respray, which is entirely absent on the chest plate. Because the helmet refresh was done in a hurry, the blue on the vents is a much lighter shade than what we've seen on other reference suits. The Brilliant Blue you're using should get you pretty close. That said, if it's meant to match the blue seen lower on the abdomen armor, it might need to be a shade darker. Technically, the blue section on the screen-used helmets is actually a breathable mesh fabric (as seen in some Kenobi BTS shots), so it’s always going to be tough to perfectly mimic that "texture" on a solid piece of painted plastic. You're doing a fantastic job so far—keep it up!

Yeah it was hard to stop as I really wanted that kit to work. Yet, as we now have more images of them and a Hott Toys figure, it is good I waited due to better accuracy for this new kit...well I hope I'm really looking forward to this kit from WTF... it's one that I totally want to rock at Celebration. It all just depends on when the kits are sent out. I picked up a helmet from Skygunbro-Customs but still printing one out.

Hillo my Brothers & Sisters here of the FISD ! Just a few thoughts while I'm Off Duty .. Firstly, Did You Know ... The Legion Has an Official Podcast ? ReStarted this year ! 👇 https://m.youtube.com/@501stcastpod or 👇 & ANYWHERE you can find SW podcasts! Legion aside, I've been a Long Time listened of So Many Audio SW pods, What or Who's are Yours ? A Few of my daily listens, - CantinaCast - FanthaTracks - Holonet Marauders - Generation Xwing (501st) Who are You Listing to ??

Please add your user ID, example below Please add both TKID and the User ID to your request, you can find this in the legion Holocron

Thank you! For the modeling side of things, I’m absolutely using Centurion/Level 3 as the benchmark. If I’m going to spend the time modeling parts, I figure I might as well aim for the highest level of accuracy I can reasonably achieve. In the meantime, I’m still utilizing a good amount of Mr. Paul’s files for areas I haven’t tackled myself yet, and given the quality of those pieces, I don’t think Centurion is an unrealistic goal at all. Originally, my personal sights were set on basic approval, followed by Expert Infantry down the road. But the deeper I’ve gotten into the references, and with the help of several phenomenal members of the community providing reference photos and feedback, I honestly don’t see a reason not to aim for Centurion from the start. I’ve already ordered all of my soft parts from KeepTrooping (flight suit, boots, gloves, and neck seal), and my E-11 is fully printed and just waiting for assembly and paint, so a lot of the major boxes are already "checked". Similar to what Paul accomplished with the Shoretrooper, my goal is to hopefully create the most accurate 3D-printed Non-Saga/Rogue One TK that I can. Those are some incredibly big shoes to fill, but I think it’s a worthwhile goal—and even if I fall short, the armor will be significantly better than where I started five months ago. At a bare minimum, I feel very confident about reaching Expert Infantry. Centurion is the real target, though, and if all goes according to plan, I’d love to be one of the relatively small number of members who have achieved it with this particular armor variant. Schedule permitting, I’m hoping to submit for Legion approval as late as mid September. We’ll see how many side quests I create for myself between now and then...

That’s looking great, keep it up. I understand the balance between work, life, and modeling, but I think you’re making great progress. I know you mentioned basic approval on there, but are you planning on making this armor reach level 2 or level 3 accuracy? Keep it up.

Good question! From my last update, I actually ended up completely scrapping the original chest bridges/side wings and remodeling them from the ground up. I’m much happier with where these landed in the long run: As for what’s next, my primary focus right now is the thighs. That’s the biggest piece standing between me and getting my own armor to a point where I can pursue basic approval, so it’s been getting the majority of my attention over the last week and a half. I haven’t modeled the rear cover strip yet, but I wrapped up the front strip last night. Once the rear is finished, I’ll move on to determining exactly how the parts should be split and assembled. The goal is for the front cover strip to function as the overlap piece for the lap joint. While not entirely screen accurate, I also plan to incorporate slots for magnets to aid with alignment during assembly and wear. The rear will follow a similar approach to what we see on screen, with the excess material wrapping behind the rear cover strip and securing with Velcro or a similar fastening method. There’s also strong evidence to suggest the lower trim strip was originally manufactured as a separate component, but very little evidence that it was intended to be removable. For my own sanity—and because I eventually have to wear this thing—I plan to attach that section with magnets as well to simplify alignment and dressing. Current roadmap looks something like this: Finish thigh assembly and rear cover strip Design lower right thigh ammo boxes (and mounting system) Cod armor Posterior armor Shoulder straps 90% complete, but need to tweak them for mounting options Potentially revisit the belt/ammo boxes BigJasoni has some awesome free files available, but I want to address some of the assembly of them Long-term, I also want to revisit the arms, abdomen, and shins. I already have files that work extremely well for those areas, but I have some ideas for improving printability and wearability that will likely become their own separate project down the road. Overall, I feel like things are progressing pretty well. The next couple of weeks are going to be a bit hectic between work and life, so my modeling time is about to take a hit, but I think I’m finally at the point where I can see the finish line—at least for this first round of armor!

What part are you going to be working on next? Just wondering if you have a plan or agenda on what's next. I have zero modeling skills but if there's any way I can help out I'd love to, I think this a great project and I can't wait to see the progress.

I started printing in PETG and the prints are coming out okay, I'm planning on printing the details and small parts in PLA to keep some of the detail, but since I'm sanding over them and filling them it might look the same regardless. I might make a YouTube video on the whole process but for now I'm just focusing on finishing the printing section. Thankfully my printer is just big enough to print everything without struggle and I'm done with all my current orders.

This is my biggest concern, if I'm going to have the patience to finish mine.

You're quite welcome, and well deserved. JB or Devcon (what I used). Most are quite similar and will definately help with the support. In some areas (with the highest amount of stress) an inner coverstrip with plastic welder might also be a good idea.

In this photo the biceps aren't strapped at all so they're sitting pretty low. And actually last night I went ahead and trimmed one of the biceps 😅. It was slightly impulsive so hopefully they're not too short haha

Welcome back Kevin

Wow, outstanding work with the mods Sha Sha. Ingenuity at its finest. A little helpful hint. Every seam, including those you had to create to accommodate for sizing, will stress and flex, especially when installing and removing the armor. Naturally this will have an adverse effect on your paint job. Cracking seams/paint is a very big issue with this armor. May I suggest you follow up the non factory seams with plastic welder, at least on the inside of the armor. Its strong, somewhat flexible and it's sandable. I love seeing all your hard work and dedication. It reminds me of Diana's TK. Keep up the great work.

This is an awesome photo, great work. Regardless of lore or not, that prod looks very cool too.

Nice work trooper

Seems the Etsy is dead, but found their Cults. Thank you!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NDVCKG4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 Ordered this neck trim and it fit PERFECTLY (thank you for showing me that gmrhodes). Gonna start working on the chest and back soon. Additionally, I ordered a Rogue One style orange pauldron (I love pauldrons) so I will update with photos when it arrives.

BONUS: hidden beetle

Looking good.

Very nice work

You may not get a response as James has not been on the forum since January 2025. You can find the template and references here A very nice build here And here Lots of files out there, try a Google search https://www.google.com/search?q=t-21+blaster+stl&sca_esv=91d57c56ebe7dce1&sxsrf=ANbL-n6us9THuVJUBmu4po3_x9upnLST1Q%3A1780264719479&source=hp&ei=D68catSNG4_bseMPyZjvwQE&iflsig=AFdpzrgAAAAAahy9H_I3WYg7j2QzdUDqRVAOo2Lq5cy5&ved=0ahUKEwiU0dXxwuSUAxWPbWwGHUnMOxgQ4dUDCCc&uact=5&oq=t-21+blaster+stl&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IhB0LTIxIGJsYXN0ZXIgc3RsMgYQABgWGB4yBRAAGO8FMggQABiABBiiBDIIEAAYgAQYogRIwiBQAFikHXAAeACQAQCYAdMBoAHYF6oBBjAuMTQuMrgBA8gBAPgBAZgCEKACjxjCAgQQIxgnwgILEAAYgAQYkQIYigXCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAhEQLhiABBixAxjRAxiDARjHAcICCxAuGIAEGNEDGMcBwgIQEC4YgAQY0QMYQxjHARiKBcICChAuGIAEGEMYigXCAgoQABiABBgUGIcCwgIFEAAYgATCAggQABgWGAoYHpgDAJIHBjAuMTMuM6AH33GyBwYwLjEzLjO4B48YwgcGMC4xMy4zyAclgAgA&sclient=gws-wiz https://www.printables.com/model/23594-sw-blastech-t21

Helmet Update After careful observations I was able to just see several inaccuracies after the other that I could not just fix with sculpting tools proportional editing tools and boolean modifiers I have just determined it was best to ditch Nico's helmet and just create my own. I need that control of topology at its most privative form so that i am able to control how sharp or smooth an edge is also be able to control the tangent of a curved surface without affecting any straight lines. After all that I have landed on something like this... I am still not done, I still have to add some thickness to it and I'm hoping to make it a little thicker to make it a little more durable just slightly. I really wanted all the organic curves especially on the chin caved in holes where the mics go, it is what I find aesthetically pleasing and its organic/hand sculpted nature is paramount to giving slight asymmetric shape to the chin piece. The biggest thing going into this that I wanted to fix was the cheek, on nico's it was to far inset inward.

Look great Sha Sha. Nice progress

I decided to add a few more pictures so you can see the size difference between the 102% and 107%. 102% is about 5mm bigger than 100% would have been, so hardly noticeable. Please forgive the pictures. Its hard to do with the helmet in pieces and with only one functioning arm.

Thanks to some help from @Sayless I can now post pictures. As mentioned before, I started with 102% on @TKModder421's modified Niko files. After trying a few test cuts I thought that would work but I learned my mistake was not taking into account the flange where the dome and the back meet. With my head pressed up against that flange my glasses still rub the lenses and would have put holes in them. I looked into options to help me put the helmet on better because I couldn't even get it on without my glasses off. I'm blind as a bat without them so I needed to change things. I reprinted at 107% which may have been a little more than I needed but at only about 15 millimeters taller, wider, and longer than 102% it was hardly noticeable visually. And now I have room for padding in the back and my glasses clear when I put the helmet on and wear it. Below are some pictures I've taken of my progress so far. My printer is 256 by 256 and I'm new to it so in my first attempt at printing the helmet I cut the back right down the middle. This made the most sense to me but I learned that ABS warps when there's not a lot of structure so after 4 attempts I gave up and changed my plan. The first photo shows where I cut it the next time and how I used a piece of one of the failed prints as a backer for strength (picture 2). This worked pretty well because the majority of the seam would be hidden by the ear. Because I'm using ABS and I'm bonding things together with acetone I think the joint would have been pretty strong without the backer but I used it for Peace of Mind. That worked out well other than being too small. I resized the files and used the measuring tool in my slicer to figure out which percentage would work well with what I had learned and the 107% looked like it would so I did a test cut. That fit pretty well so I went ahead and printed the bulk of the helmet. I haven't printed the chin yet but I think I'll be able to get this one on even with my glasses on. But if I run in to the same issue I had with the 102% I'll go back to my original idea of using magnets to hold the chin on. Putting the face and back together I can set this on now and not have my head touching the back and still have room for my glasses. I think I'm happy with it. You can see the 102% and the 107% side by side in picture 3. Because the back wouldn't fit still I knew I needed to cut it. I rotated it and decided that cutting off multiple small pieces to bond back on would be better than trying to line up two larger pieces. I also ended up needing to cut a little bit off of the face. Pictures 4&5 show the small pieces I clipped off. By cliping small pieces the larger pieces kept their shape and didn't warp so the small ones fit up perfectly. The acetone bonding should be simple and the majority of these seams will be hidden behind the ears too. The last picture shows some damage to the vent on one side of the face. I had a layer shift that was in the worst possible spot. I'm going to try and fix it with the file but I might end up reprinting this piece. I have to do some maintenance on my printer first. As mentioned above, I'm new to 3D printing, this printer is new and has 400 hours on it now, and is due for some maintenance. So far I'm happy with the progress. I was afraid the 107% helmet would look clownishly large but side by side to the smaller one and looking at myself in the mirror I think it will be just fine. Once its all bonded together I will post a picture for your opinions.

With more items ticked off, I decided to do another suit up today. These are stills from a video so the image quality isn't amazing, and I dressed myself so there are a number of dressing issues, but I'm happy with how everything is coming together. Still TODO from from the fitting/assembly/strapping point of view: - I still need a way to keep the biceps up. I've been considering various methods such as strapping them to the shoulder bells (the same thing I did with my OTTK), or possibly adding some kind of strap with a snap or buckle to attach them to the shoulder gaskets. - There is also nothing keeping the spats in place on the shin, so I'll add some Velcro. - I have an idea to attach elastic to ankle sleeves, and attach them to the bottom of the knee gaskets in order to keep them from riding/bunching up. This is particularly necessary since my shin armor is fixed and I have to slip my legs/feet in vs closing the armor around my shins. - The inside point of the shin armor really digs into the inside of my knee (the top of my tibia) so I am planning on cutting them down some. Looking at the Anovos/Denuo Novo armor, the inside point is quite a bit shorter than the outside so I'm assuming this is fine. - Finally, one danger of taking 8 years to build a set of hard armor is accounting for body size changes. I have been lifting weights consistently for the last 6 years, so my arms and legs are bigger than they were when I first started this project. I already made the biceps slightly bigger, and I am considering doing the same for the thighs. After all the strapping and fitting it will be endless sanding and painting, but I do feel like the end is in sight!

I connected mine to my inner suspension harness. Very similar to how the movie armor was done. Though this option is obviously not required.

Dude! This is looking killer. The open mouth on the helmet seems to be a popular trend and is actually a thing in the book if you haven't read it. That's what I did with my TK. Can't wait to see how yours turns out!

The elastic is both brown AND black. The way it is fixed to SU costume is with the brown side facing downwards and black side facing up. That applies to the DT, ST, TK and fair to assume Tanker and ATACT.