FIVE

Congratulations man!! I have ordered mine, put it together, and gotten my TK ID all in the last 3 months, and I feel your excitement! There is nothing like donning that armor for the first time... well, unless it's seeing pictures of yourself in your armor for the first time... you're just like, "WOW!! I look like a Stormtrooper!" And Tim, I'd say don't stress too much over your first set of armor. I have an FX kit and could not be happier! I will probably "upgrade" someday... like 3 or 4 or 10 years from now... but I love my armor and it's the "least accurate" kit out there. I even love my bucket... which looks correctly sized on my wide shouldered frame. Like I said, having your armor, no matter the kit, seems to wash away any doubts or fears or worries that you had about which one to buy. At least it did for me. Congrats again Jon! Can't wait to see pictures of you in it!

Or at least let all of us see it. I've been asking this same question, and yes, it seems they're looking for a distributor... that's what I found out too.

I already have access... but thought I'd post on here just to be within the rules. I've got my ID. May I please have access. Thanks!

It is FINALLY on there where you can watch it!

It is uploaded guys. It's not "converted" yet... but it's there and so now it's just up to when it converts. Since it's 2 hours it might take a while, so keep reloading! Here's the link.

Congrats man! It's a great feeling huh?!

It's converting... it was 2 hours, so it's taking a while. I will have it online probably tomorrow night. Gonna put it on http://blip.tv (not YouTube or anything else).

I don't know if they mentioned it or not... it's still on where I am... but someone told me they were / are in fact the Garrison that encompasses California. They were good... and I don't think just any normal "actors" could wear the suits that long. I thought Vader was good... just small hands (sorry if you read this Vader)... and yeah, kitschy lines. haha

Absolutely. I'm planning on putting it online somewhere for the 501st as a whole.

I'm going to record this on my computer and have available digitally for anyone who needs / wants it.

Yep, we're all ready for it here. It's amazing the amount of people who have called and emailed me about this asking if "I" am one of the Stormtroopers on the commercial. "No... but I think it's 501st members." Anyone know if it is? Maybe they'll mention us!

Very cool!

Looks really good! First time I've known of someone to introduce themselves on a first post and already have a great set of armor to show. Usually they're asking how to get started. haha Great to have you! And yeah, what is on your belt?

Duly noted.

Does anyone have any old FX calf pieces they'd be willing to part with? My calves are shimmed to the Nth degree, and I was just thinking if I could get a hold of a couple of extra calf pieces I could cut them and, since they are curved, they would work / fit better than the flat pieces I currently have on the backs of my calves. PM me if you do!

Soooo very true!

Yeah, everyone I know, including Alex, is MUCH thinner than I am, and the armor looks really good on me, and really good on them! It's just a really good armor for just about any body type I think!

I want to make sure everyone knows I agree with the original trilogy first... I just have thought about the other way a lot in lieu of possibly having kids one day. But, I really think I would end up showing them in the original order I saw them and then, after ROTJ saying, "Now we'll get to see how Darth Vader became Darth Vader!!"

I've actually thought a lot about this recently, but not with showing to friends who have never seen them, but thinking about if we are ever blessed with children one day showing them. Of course my gut instinct, knee jerk reaction is to show them in the order I saw them... ANH, ESB, ROTJ, then TPM, AOTC, and finally ROTS... but... the more I hear interviews with Uncle George and read things about how the movies really are Vader's saga, the more I think I might show them to "my kids" in episode order instead. I can just picture showing TPM first and talking up Anakin... and waiting a year, or more, to show them AOTC... and then our kids talking about how Anakin gets angry and so on and so on... and finally, with ROTS our kids would freak out and not believe he fell to the "dark side" (of course I'd explain the Empire is in fact good for the galaxy). Then, when that first scene opens on ANH and Vader comes in the impact of WHO he is and the power of his story would be so powerful! Just my current thoughts...

I used tin snips. I first marked a line the same distance (about 1/4 of an inch or less) around the top of the thigh pieces. Then just cut into it. Started small like that so I could cut more off if need be... cause, of course, you can NOT add more back on! Like I said, it worked great!

I totally agree! It made me happy to see these pics and hear how flimsy it is. It is also sad... sad for the people who spent time and money producing this... sad for the people who will buy it hoping to get into 501st (or worse, gain elite status)... and sad for all of us who spend good time and money on making really good stuff and then end up seeing people wearing this. But, really I don't think we have much to worry about. There will always be people who don't know what they're buying and think because it costs a lot it is worth it.

Oh yeah, I've had to make plenty already, and even had to rethink and redo some things in the last week. Finally wearing the armor around (which I'm doing every day to "test" it) reveals plenty that needs to be changed or fixed or whatever... which always forces you to make another decision. You really have to think things out though... taking your time and doing it right is sooo much better than wishing you had!

I ended up cutting the tops down, AND trimming the points off the backs. MUCH better!!! Ahhhh... relief! I can go down stairs now!

Thanks! Yes... I'm thinking no one would ever notice if I cut them... people just don't look "there" on the suit. Sort of like I shaved my goatee 2 nights ago... then, yesterday morning showed my mother-in-law my armor. Took my helmet off, talked about it for a while. Later I said Celeste, my wife, "I don't think your mom noticed I shaved." She said, "You had Stormtrooper armor on... I don't think anyone would've noticed."

Here's where they are rubbing. Keep in mind this pic was taken prior to me gluing the backs... and / or making them fit tighter at the bottom. They are much less "tubes" now and more "cones" (narrower at the bottom) as they should be.