Locitus

Your side rivets are gigantic. Try replacing them with something smaller and paint them white.

Adding snaps to lock it to the ab plate.

Seems plausible.

Well you can't go wrong with RS at least. I'll be visiting them tomorrow and make sure things are up to snuff.

Don't do that. It's an easy mod. Just take it slow and read some of the build threads of other people. It's the same process you'll be doing.

Make sure you have a wide (2-3" or so) elastic between forearm and bicep and positioned correctly. The elastic saves you from the armour bites by getting in the way at the inside of the elbow. That's why the elastic is glued in off center on the originals. Because the center of the the parts is not where your elbow ends up when you bend it in relation to the armour.

That's up to your GML in the UKG to decide. Knowing their take on accuracy I'd say your chances are slim. But they might surprise me too.

Those velcro gaps are a bit large. If you can glue them and still get your limbs through them, I'd recommend that route.

Don't hang your biceps and forearms from the shoulder bell? You don't need to, and the original suits didn't have that connection either. Only the bicep and forearms were connected to each other.

Very nice!

Fully closed means no gaps yes. But gluing them fully shut is preferred both from an accuracy aspect, and to keep them strong enough to withstand trooping.

Level 2 yeah. 3, maybe. I guess it mainly depends on how good or bad it's looking. Gluing them on will always be your better option. It's not like you ever really need them to come off from the gloves anyway.

You'll need two armours if you're going shadowtrooper and you'll probably store them in separate bins too. If you have separate pairs of gloves you don't risk finding out when you're already at the troop that you forgot the gloves with the other armour.

I do all my troops with rubber gloves. The trick is to use glove liners. Also, just get two sets of gloves and glue the guards on. Better to have two nice pairs than two poor.

You can talk to Sskunky of CfO. He's in the UK.

Since there is no set-in-stone procedure we can contradict each other and we all go by our gut feeling here. And if it makes you feel any better, I'm both former DO and DL so I've been involved with quite a few applications. The current procedure does usually include a link to your EIB application. But it does not require it to be the same armour. It's just assumed that it is, because it's such a rare occurrence that someone applies for EIB, waits around for a few years, and then builds a new armour to use. The norm is to apply for both EIB and Centurion in rather short succession.