gazmosis

Like Mathias said, I would pop off that left ear and take that down a little bit. You have plenty of material left. You did a great job on trimming out the ears so it shouldn't be too difficult. Trimming it will bring the top down a little further so that it sits below the brow trim, and it will sharpen up those wavy edges at the front. Great job on the painting!

just how skinny are we talking here? Have you already bought the armor? If not, you may want to consider AP or TM.

Gotta LOVE the box full of plastic!!!! Can't wait to see your progress!!!

It is always best to err on the side of caution and test it in an unsaeen area of your armor like under the crotch snap.

another reason one might consider canvas is that with a belt made entirely of plastic, there is a lot of flexing on the front ammo belt. This WILL lead to it cracking eventually. With canvas, it will be attached to the ab/cod and never be subject to flexing agin.

I am surprised that no one mentioned a rotary tool (Dremel) with the sanding drum attachment. It gives precision control at almost any speed and sands round; just like the inside of the ear curves

Sadly, ABS does not NOT come in one color. Some is whiter than others. Layers of paint over layers of paint tend to look shoddy. I would slowly and carefully use paint thinner of the same make as the paint you used and gently remove it little by little. Paint thinners in general will not harm the ABS. Just go slow.

You need to put some pants on your mannequin.....that's obscene!!!

I just thought I would post a pic of what I did after the re-adjustment of the temp. I needed to re-align the top of the bicep joint line.Before After

Many more photos added over the last couple days!!

Update.....I dialed down the iron from a 2 3/4 setting to a 2 1/4 setting plus I removed the "sock" and that seemed to be the ticket. It bent the plastic without leaving any marks!!! Thanks again to all!!!

I also may have the temp too high... I will try a couple different approaches on some scrap. Thanks to all who chimed in!!!

I have found that a sealing/hobby iron is an invaluable tool to recreate returns, match halves, and fabricate parts to a certain extent. However, I have also fond that the iron will stick to the plastic if kept in the same place too long. I tried a "sock" for the iron's surface, but now I get left with an imprint of the fabric melted into the plastic. Will spraying a non-stick cooking spray like "pam" onto the surface help the iron not stick to the plastic?

I have an ATA build going and I did what troopermaster said about slightly widening the cover strips. Question: Di you need to trim your joint lines or did they come ready to assemble?

Is there any way someone could move this post over to ANH stormtrooper builds please?

My big brown box arrived with its shiny, ABS bits inside. I will be constructing the armor first and the helmet last.....I love helmet builds. I will attach my photobucket link. Here are some teasers. Please note: In the photobucket folder I have the pictures numbered in order. I have descriptions on each picture.http://s807.photobuc...2012/?start=all Please comment and offer thoughts on how I can ROCK this build!!!! Enjoy!

Very nice. Amazing ,in fact, for a first timer!!! Well done. Make sure you dab those ear screws with white paint.

Wow!!!!

For quality and accuracy ATA ranks up there in the top. As for ease of assembly, it all depends on what skills and the amount of patience you have. ATA's molds are crisp and everything pretty much lines up, however, ANY armor you buy requires a certain amount of trimming and tweeking. NO armor is one size fits all. With you being 130, you will need to trim. Price seems fair. The main suggestion is view the build forums and ask questions. Do not just start cutting willy nilly. This is an investment in your time and money but with a little skill, patience and a lot of questions, you can make yourself a wicked set of armor.

Alright Paul! A PM is coming your way!!!! How sweet is that!

I am beginning my ATA build and decided to trim up the ammo belt. I was looking at the snap covers(3) and there really is no gluing surface on the underside of the snap cover. What's everyone doing for this? Gluing to the snap itself? I know Vern, Don't use E6000 on metal to plastic bonds it will melt the plastic. Great tip, though!!!

The jury will always be out on whether or not to paint the inside of the buckets. For me, two factors came into play: #1 a tricked out bucket interior is just bad a**!!! #2 when on a troop, kids look up and I would rather a fan NOT see the white inside of the helmet. To me, it provides a more authentic experience for the kids. Ultimately, the dicision is yours.

Nice armor, Brother!!! I have my ATA kit on its way. Your armor is getting me STOKED!!! In regards to those drop boxes, they should not be moveable at all. They should be fixed in position lining up with the outside edge of the ammo belt.

Nice recovery on that ear!!!!!