TK6237

I did it because a) I think it looks cool, and I feel it helps my eyes focus on what´s outside the helmet, when I don´t have the white insides of the bucket in my peripheral vision all the time. Word of advice: After you´ve finished with the black (I used a satin variant), you might wanna seal it with a couple of layers of clear coat...I didn´t, and on my first troop, after I took my helmet off, I looked like I just crawled out of a coal cellar. When I did my second helmet, I emptied a whole spray can of clear coat into it, just to make sure.

Picked up a tip somewhere about using bright orange earplugs for this purpose. Thankfully, Norwegian laws are pretty lax when it comes to carrying replica weapons with a costume, so I´ve never really tried this myself, but it does sound like a good idea. They´re inexpensive, quick and easy to install, and impermanent.

Huh, that´s very strange. Everything should be working fine now, checked it like 2 minutes ago. I also noticed we had a couple of new posts from non-501st members, so it should be working for you as well. Still having trouble?

Power outage killed the server. Up and running again now.

That would be the MiniMag PTL: http://www.starwars.com/databank/technolog...imag/index.html <--- SW Databank http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/MiniMag_PTL_missile_launcher <--- Wookieepedia

Neither could I, so I used some large rare-earth/neodymium magnets. Worked really great for me. Sold at most hardware stores, I think.

It´s maybe a bit too late to fix this now, as I see your sniper knee plate is riveted in place, but the problem of having it rubbing against your knee can be solved by angling it a little bit forward, instead of having it sit flush with the leg piece. But that would mean you would have to drill out the rivets, fill the holes with some putty, make new holes a few millimeters more to the front, and rivet the sniper knee plate in place there...Bit of an operation, but if it´s really bugging you, it might be worth it. I´ve trimmed the cod piece on the sides, where it meets the thigh pieces, as well as the "lip" on the underside, reaching back towards the butt plate. I found it lots more comfortable. I never bothered with installing fans, but it does get hot in there, and the amount of time you can keep the helmet on really is what limits how long you can troop without a break. For me, that´s a maximum of two hours. So I wouldn´t say it´s a must, but I´m sure it helps, also with keeping your lenses from fogging up (however, I suggest going to a store where they sell glasses, motorcycle helmets or diving equipment, and ask if they sell anti-fog liquid). For the foam, I would suggest using velcro, so you can change it once it starts to smell a bit funky... Best of luck getting your Legion ID#, and with your first troop! I´m sure the other guys and gals in the Garrison will take good care of you! Oh, and remember to bring a Trooper First-Aid Kit; pack some super glue, extra velcro, white electrician´s tape, gaffer´s tape, a multitool (like a Swiss army knife or a Leatherman), extra batteries (if you have a sound system or decide on installing fans), band-aid for blisters (like Compeed) and a couple of energy bars and a water bottle...That should pretty much cover most of the accidents and situations I can think of.

Thanks Pablo! No, I glued them in place with E6000. It would probably work with other types of clay or putty as well, but the good thing about Fimo is 1. You an get it in all kinds of different colors (I bought the black variant, to match the painted inside of my helmet), and 2. It doesn´t change shape after baking it in the oven. Also, it gets really hard after heating it, but not so hard that it´ll crack when you drill into it or put a screw through it.

I just fixed my lenses this weekend. I´ve never been happy with just having them stuck in there with gaffer´s tape, and wanted a solution where I could change the lenses if and when they became all scratched up. What I did, was to buy a pack of black Fimo modeling clay: ---------- This stuff is soft like Play-Doh, but turns rock hard after half an hour in the oven at a 110 centigrades. I made six barrel shapes, fitted three around each eye, baked them in the oven and then, after they chilled, glued them in there with E6000. After the glue had cured, I drilled a hole in each of the fixtures: ---------- ...To fit the smallest screws I could find at the local hardware store. I also bought some of those rubber thingys people put under the chair legs to keep them from chafing their hard wood floors. This keeps the screw head from scratching the lens, and also gives the screw a bit more surface to hold the lens: After that, I drilled small holes in the lenses, and, using the screws with the rubber thingy on, fastened the lenses to the fixtures. This is the end result: I later trimmed the lenses a bit, and sanded the edges nice and smooth. A pretty quick and easy mod, and cheap, too. ...Next on my list is getting rid of that horrible gaffer´s tape around the frown. Ugh.

Congrats Eirik, well done! One nice looking armor, looking forward to trooping with you this weekend! ...Although your status says "ANH Elite". Sure someone will correct that to "ESB" in a jiffy.

I didn´t have the guts to drill large holes in my helmet, also, the aerator area on my AP is pretty thin. So instead, I drilled a hole in the back of the aerators, about 0,5 cm deep and just wide enough to push the back of a machine screw in there, then filled the rest of the hole with 5 min. epoxy. And voilá, you have an attachment screw. I then drilled a small hole in the helmet, pushed the screw in and attached it with a washer and nut on the inside. Oh, and I also put some rubber washers on both the in- and outside to help dampen and absorb any shock to the aerators. Works great for me!

@Ladyscout: Here´s Stukatrooper´s excellent tutorial on adding snaps to your suit: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=5829

Did you remember to wait at least 6 hours between the first and second coat? If you don´t do that the second coat will make the first one all runny again, and everything goes to hey... Think I did 3-4 thin coats on mine, still had to touch up a few spots after it had dried for a couple of days.

If you want to use the holster that came with the FX, it is possible to convert it from right-to-left. All you need is to turn it inside-out: -------- ...And do the thingy with the belt straps, of course.

I use the snap system with tabs as well, and the only time I´ve had a snap come off, was one where I made the plastic tab too small. The plastic weld type glue does nothing for the metal backing on the snaps, only the surrounding plastic tab gets welded to the suit. So if you´re using plastic weld, make sure the tabs are big enough to have enough surface to really bond well with the armor parts.

I´ve got Caboots as well, and the odors seems mainly to be given off from something inside the shoes. So when you stuff your foot in it, nobody can smell them. Also, airing them outside for a few days (or, preferably, weeks, or better yet, months) seems to get rid of the worst of it. I would, however, advice you to always bring a fresh pair of socks when trooping in them...Oh the horror! The horror! Also, if you keep you gear in a suitcase or anything with a closed lid, I suggest taking the Caboots out before storing your gear for the next troop. I speak from bitter experience.

It´s just a minor detail, but I´d cover the back of the rivets on the thigh boxes and the sniper knee plate with some white stuff. If you don´t want to use paint, Tippex or other types of correction fluid works great for this. If you spill any on your armor, you can just scratch it off with your fingernail.

Well done Lisa, congratulations!

First thing I´d do, is register over at Jolly Rogers Squadron: http://www.jrsdetachment501st.org/ ...The 501st has a number of so called Detachments, each dedicated to a specific costume, or a selection of related costumes. FISD (where you are now) is the 501st Detachment dedicated to researching and improving the white stormtrooper costume from episodes IV, V and VI - while Jolly Rogers Squadron is the Detachment for TIE pilots, so that´s where you´ll find the very best info on the Imperial Pilots. I suggest you head over there, register on the forums, take a minute to introduce yourself, and then fire away with questions. Best of luck!

Got the same problem. I did the inside of my helmet last winter, outside, in about zero degrees centigrades (about 32F), using a brand of rattle can spray paint called "Quick Spray". The result was quite interesting...The surface got kind of a matt, frosted look to it, with lots of tiny, tiny bumps. Which was actually kinda cool for the insides of the helmet. It looked a bit like technical paint, the type one would use to stop corrosion on metal surfaces, so I think I´m gonna try it again on one of my Hasbro blasters. But certainly not a good idea for the surface of a TK helmet!

He he...That´s our eagle eyed GML for you! I guess the problem is, as you add parts and details, going towards screen accuracy, you increase the potential for both failure and success. With a basic FX kit, there really isn´t much you can do wrong (well, yes, there are a few things, but for the sake of argument...). However, successfully implementing those last few finishing touches required for FISD Elite, you´ll end up with a much better looking costume - but at the same time, more parts and more details leave more room to err. Also, I think our GML is great at not only approving costumes according to the 501st guidelines, but also at recognizing the level of achievement the applicant is aiming for. If you want to go that extra mile, great - but the won´t let you cut any corners...If you wanna narrow the eye, he´ll make sure it´s harder for you to squeeze through! (And with that in mind, I second what Missingpieces said about the drop boxes. Not only would they look better if raised a centimeter or so, but hanging them closer to the belt would mean having them bouncing and flopping around less, too.) All in all, I think you´ve done a terrific job of fitting the armor, and I salute you for taking the harder road. Hang in there Thomas! With the new fixes, I bet you´ll have your TKID in no time, and with a FISD Elite Status to boot!

I used Humbrol #21, glossy. I went by TK300´s research into this subject: http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/stres.html

Yeah, I´ve got one of those, so does about 10-15 other NG troopers. Never tried it, though, couldn´t get it to work...Problem for me was finding a voice activated PMR radio, where you would cue the radio transmission when activating the Troopercom and speaking into the mike. All the radios I´ve found so far (and I´ve looked at a lot of radios!) operate by PTT (Push To Talk), which means you have to push a button sitting on the microphone/headset wire to transmit, something that kind of beats the purpose with the sexy magnetic switch...I worked hard at trying to come up with a solution to this for quite some time, but with little or no technical skills (and no hearing back from the maker, after emailing him repeatedly), I more or less gave up in the end. If somebody has suggestions for how to set it up, or even better, has a working Troopercom themselves, me and 10-15 other NG troopers would love to hear from you!

when securing the sniper knee plate, you might wanna consider tilting it forwards, just a little bit, so that it stands out from the shin piece at an angle (but only like 2-3 degrees). That way, you avoid having the plate rubbing against your knee when you walk. I riveted both the sniper knee and the thigh boxes. Practical and screen accurate. If you can´t find white rivets, you can just cover the rivet head with some Tipp-Ex.

Make sure you drink enough water. If your mouth feels dry, take a break to drink and cool off. Start off slow. Take care of yourself and your fellow troopers. Oh yeah, and bring a trooper´s first aid kit; if you haven´t trooped your armor before, you´re about to find out what you did right and wrong when you built it...Being out in the world, wearing your armor for hours at a stretch will be very different from walking around in your living room! In addition to some band aid and blister plasters (like Compeed), I´ve got extra batteries for the voice changer, super glue, anti-fog liquid, gaffer tape, a multi tool (like Leatherman), some extra velcro, some tissue paper (to clean lenses and wipe off sweat), a tin of Tip-Ex and a black marker (in case of paint peeling off)...I think that´s about it for me. If you´re a clean TK, wanting to stay that way, you might wanna bring a magic eraser, to remove scuff marks. Try to team up with more experienced troopers, learn by example. Hang back and observe the others, until you feel you get the gist of it. But most important of all: Have fun! Best of luck trooper, may your first troop be a memorable one!