FIVE

BTW all... Rolf's TM is the first armor to be deployed as an MEPD S.W.A.T. officer! http://www.mepd.net/swat/252/ Congratulations Rolf!!!

I cut these legs down after they were glued together...---

I thought this might be fun... One half of my company sign (Park East) from Missouri. It hangs on the inside of the shed door... and I still own the company, just in NM now. Star Wars bobble heads that my 19 month old daughter, Scottlyn, plays with while I'm working on armor. My new AKER amp and iCOMM static burst box. My first sandtrooper pack (what's left of it) built by Rick "DIrty Boy" Bates. He agrees, it wasn't very good... but back then (1+ years ago) we thought it was AWESOME! The white epoxy appliance paint I used to paint my TE2 armor. Rubbery goodness! Box my canvas belts (one of which I'm wearing in the pic) from TKittell. One of the many random stormtrooper toys people have given me that I have hidden through-out the shed. The hanging straps of my current sandtrooper back-pack... which IS, in fact, very awesome! It hangs next to the mirror. The unattached straps which attach my chest plate to my ab plate. My stormtrooper iPhone case... curtosey of my beautiful and wonderful wife, Celeste.

Yes!

Notch out the back of the thighs. Look at the trooper on the right (and compare it to the one on the left) in this scene from ESB. The right guy is shorter. -------- Notches are the way to start... if that's not enough trimming some off the top of the thighs is the next step.

You were right, Paul. If I wore my belt tight I could close the gaps. I like it lose... I like "that much" of a gap. It's more comfortable too. (again, sorry for the "in-the-dirty-shed-mirror with-the-iPhone" photos)

Even though he's not deployed as S.W.A.T. just yet, AND even though it's on the MEPD, Rolf's submission for our "elite +" program is just about dead on perfect for submission pics. I would guess it's the same for here... basically every major point that is a difference between "Legion," "EIB" and "Centurion" will be photographed.

I trim the fronts, glue them, then do finishing on the backs.

Looks like acid splash from killing ALIENS.

I wondered about that... Thanks again!

Thanks bro!

I wear a 32 waist in US jeans. I weigh 195 lbs right now. That's the thing too... I've gone from 260 to 195, so in another year I'll probably be at 185 (at least) and will fit it even better. All the more reason not to shim. And all the other parts fit me amazingly!!! The legs, trimmed to "spec" and arms, and all. The TE2 armor I have is opposite. The ab and kidney close without a problem, but the legs and arms (biceps is what I mean by "arms") needed some shimming to fit. Hope that helps.

GOOD! Thanks for the replies guys! Glad I waited for answers before convincing my "late-night-sleepy-self" that it really did need shims. I've learned over 4 sets of armor to put that guy to bed and let "wide-awake-cognitive-self" read the forums to see what's actually reasonable. Thanks too Paul on the button plate. That's an easy fix! (thank you E-6000)

And to answer this... yes, the 501st talk with Lucas and Lucasfilm LTD. all the time. We're his preferred costuming group. He even flew 300 of us to the Rose Bowl parade a few years back you know.

Is the 501st a part of Lucasfilm? While recognized by the inclusion of the 501st name in official Star Wars material such as books and video games, the 501st is not affiliated with Lucasfilm nor do we rely on the company for bookings, event coordination, compensation, or costuming materials. The 501st Legion is a volunteer fan organization. From here... http://www.501st.com/faqs.php#q5 Does that answer the question?

I actually know that. I know most of the EU stuff from the complete encyclopedia... which I have to read to keep up with questions 5 and 6 year olds ask me on troops. "You know that one blue drop ship that transported the droids from..." Okay... sorry to derail, back to your awesome build now, John.

Or read any EU so I know what any of this is.

Okay guys... build is going great, and fitting is going really well (I'm so glad how well it all fits together, AND fits me!) That being said... need opinions. First question... Do you think I should shim the sides at all so there's no gap? Or should I leave it as is? Sorry for the crappy ("I should take pictures of this") iPhone pictures. I'm not making it super tight (I could strap it without elastic and close the gaps) I want it to be comfortable — which it is — but also look accurate. If I DO shim it I'm going to shim from the back and make it seamless so that it doesn't look shimmed. Honestly I'm happy/fine with the gap, but want to hear everyone's thoughts.. Second question... Does the four button plate completely cover the "fork" on the ab plate, or should I cut it down a bit more to show the "fork" a bit?

I agree with John on this too. Like I just said over on the MEPD — and keep in mind ours is already up and going and we're still having questions — if it's an OBVIOUS anomaly, we shouldn't hold someone to it. Radio dials painted black on the "move along" trooper's pack was something the prop guys did on purpose. The duct tape on the shoulder bell of the same trooper wasn't "on purpose"... it was just something that happened. As for shoulder bells and such, I say we have to go with the idea of, "if there had been a variety of heights and weights of TKs in the film, what would have fit in with the 'obvious' and 'intentional' rule?"

Like I said on the MEPD... this is beautiful! This is what to do (imho) with eFX buckets!

Oh yeah, for sanding it's too slow. I use it for cutting and "detail" work. I'm very adept at Dremeling out little corners and such with a Dremel. Of course I can also cut sheets of foam-core into a perfectly smooth sphere with an X-ACTO... so fastidious isn't strong enough of a word.

Yeah, Scottlyn does that too! Thanks.

Looking good so far!!

Glad it helped! It really is the best way to do it that I've found. Plus, you can easily go pack, pouch... pouch, no pack... pack, no pouch... no pack, no pouch... and never have an issue with configuration.

I do... curved "model" scissors for the "bulk" trimming. Dremel with sanding bit for the detailing. Score and snap for some straight edges. X-ACTO for very detailed stuff if needed. So it's a mix. You'll get your sea-legs soon enough on it! Oh, start with the forearms!