darthyagi

It's not just you that has issues with gaps between your chest plate and your shoulder bells. That was a really common comment that I got when I was getting mine ready, and I have AM armor. So I think it's a universal problem. What I ended up doing was putting the snaps just a little bit further forward and shortening the straps. . . a lot. I have the snaps coming off the shoulder bells with only about 1/8" of elastic tab. Elastic makes it so that it can move with your shoulders, but it does tend to let the snap slip out. Don't know if that helps, as you look great already. Food for thought!

Where would you put the tape? I would be worried about the tape leaving sticky crap all over. My experience is that duct tape and plastic don't always get along. On the other hand, masking tape or painter's tape tends to leave less stickiness . . . EDIT: altered wording.

Requesting TK Status, Sir. http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=12987

I tried making it so that my belt was detachable for storage, too. However, I found that there was a problem with the belt actually coming apart. It may be easier for you to just find a way to fold it up when you store it. But I guess that's my "I am sick of doing this" attitude.

My wife was the same way . . . Your progress is looking good! On the shins: I've seen quite a few people do what you mentioned. They glue a strip to the inside so they can get the velcro in, then put the loop on the covering layer. You may have heard this before, but try to make sure that any seams you have (i.e. velcro seams) are towards the center of your body. So on the left shin, the "outboard" half of the shin is coming over and velcroing closed. That way, civilians won't notice any seams at all.

I'll echo what's been said. I'm tall, so the AM kit was perfect for me. But since you're the right height and build for a stormtrooper, ATA would probably be best. The AM armor really does feel and look solid, but even with the way I'm built it took a lot of work. Maybe it's because I'm not talented. I can't really speak to how the ATA feels, because . . . well . . . I don't use it. Basically though, you're going to really want to make sure that you take your time and do it right. I rushed on a couple of parts, and they ended up causing me a lot of trouble. Have fun!!

First off, let me thank everybody for your input! The first thing I'll try is to move them down a little on the chest plate. It sounds the easiest, but I think the problem lies in the curvature of the straps. I'll try the hairdryer after that. I'll keep all y'all posted!

I have a question for the hive-mind here. I've got my TK finished, and all the fun stuff, but I had a question about the plastic straps that go from the chest plate to the back plate. The way they are now, they come up above my shoulders by a couple of inches. This makes it so that they pull off quite easily, and my helmet rests on them. So I've been wondering what the best way to heat them up is so that I can bend them. I've heard that a heat gun is really the best way that you can do this, but I don't have a heat gun. That's the problem. Is there another way that I can heat them up so they can be bent?

Yeah. That's kind of what I meant, too. Sorry if there was any confusion. It really all comes down to personal preference. I have the AM kit, and all of those parts came with a certain amount of return edge, so maybe I'm biased. Or too lazy to sit and trim all of the return edge off. Some places look good with them on, I think. But do what you think looks best. I don't think CRL has anything to say about it.

Yeah. Heroes taking away the thunder of those brave stunt folks!! The way I see it, having a return edge makes it seem like more than just a piece of plastic, almost like there is more to it. However, you may have the issue of the return edge rubbing against the bicep plate. If you sand the edge a little though, this isn't much of an issue.

I feel kind of dumb now. That fixed it! Much appreciated, sirs!

I actually haven't used the PM system. I have recieved two, but I can't access the PM system at all. Maybe this will help. When I try to get into the messages recieved, I get this: "[#10227] You are not allowed to use the private messaging system." Does it have anything to do with the stupid post I started out with? And if that's the case, would there be anything else the I should be watching out for that could be a problem?

A while back I was stupid and posted a "want-to-buy" thread. Stupid!! Anyway, since that day, I've been unable to use the PM system. That was my first day (first post, actually.), so I don't know if it was an issue with my account from the beginning or not. It's not a problem with my hardware, because the same thing is happening on my wife's Mac. The technology gods hate me. I hope that you can help appease them!!