James

I'll post some pics of mine in a bit, the pics above are from an EIB app where the trooper stated they were AM --------. Yes, mine is second hand.

My (second hand) AM armor shins have no return edge on the top where the shins meet the knee. I've looked through some EIB application photos of AM armor and they seem to have a return edge. Mine do not look like they were cut, is there an earlier version of AM that had no such edge? Same question applies to the thighs (at the top & bottom). Here's a couple images of these edges from TK-7586's application.

As posted on the 501st forums in the same thread ....

That is pretty slick looking. Looks like it was just offloaded from an Imperial Shuttle.

Welcome Rosh and thanks for your service. The link above from TK-3425 is the best place to start, then pour over the tutorials on the main page and the wealth of info in the FISD forums. Folks here are very helpful. Make sure and check in with your Garrison too as I'm sure they will be of great help as my Garrison mates were in my initial search. Good luck trooper!

I'm using this one. I chose it because it won't leak and I carry my armor in the back of my pickup so I didn't want to worry about getting caught in the rain. It's very sturdy, you can easily sit on it as a bench. I can also fit my helmet inside if I break down my torso armor. Only downside is that it does not have an extended or telescoping handle but I plan to add something soon. It does have eyelets for a lock on both ends though they are a ring of plastic about 1/2 inch at most in thickness. Ok to secure it so the lid doesn't come off but as an actual security feature it's sort of laughable since you could cut the plastic with a box cutter in about 1 sec. One could drill holes into the lip of the cover to add locks if desired. It doesn't have a hinge on the cover like the Stanley which I could see as a plus. So far I'm really happy with it though. --------

Looks like Bono was quite the sport.

Top Man! Looks great Ricky.

+1

SW1 is right. There are always little things you will notice but remember everyone else just sees a frikkin' Stormtrooper!

Congrats man! I had a blast on my first troop (just in October). My unsolicited tip - bring a little repair kit. I brought very small quantities of duct tape, zip ties, super glue, Velcro, scissors, etc. and it turned out I needed it for a couple small tweaks. On my second troop (a parade) I put about three, four inch strips of black gaffer's tape around my left wrist right over my glove and that came in handy when one of my drop boxes decided to pop off it's snap plate! For your troop if you just keep a little kit with your gear you should be good. Have fun and post some pics afterwards!

I appreciate the input. I don't quite get the observation about the flat vs. bumpy frown though? Can you expand on that a bit?

heh .. I'm afraid I feel a fever coming on ... One big concern is the finish. I don't want the lid to look like spare parts with the AM/FX armor.

HOLY CRAP that really illustrates the difference. Thanks! I've heard AP is one of if not the smallest. Is it comparable to the Don Post?

Anyone have side by side images of RT-MOD / FX helmets for comparison? Thinking of replacing my FX with one and would like to size them up. Thanks!

Thanks Julie. I just sent a note to Rob requesting more info.

How do you have your VIO mounted?

My kit is a second hand AM that I completely re-sized to fit my frame. Previous owner was a bit shorter and had about 50-60 lbs on me. I'm happy with all of the hard armor components (though I will continue tweaking) aside from the thighs. They were cut a little short on the top for my taste. In fact my cod/butt/abs/kidney plate can all move up a bit and I'd like take a bit off the bottom of my chest plate for a better overall fit. I can't really do that until I address the thighs. AM does not seem to carry these as separate parts and there's no telling when and if he will. So I'm looking for some suggestions on another armor brand that would work with AM. I'd like to get as close to the same finish as possible without having to paint or anything. Thanks!

If you're going nerd you gotta go all the way. Black elastic strap FTW!

Easy!

I'd worry about the warps last if at all. Wait and see how it all comes together first.

Congrats! Really great armor!

The canister is grey as pictured, the white is in the caps and the panel as you have it. I also got great utility out of a fabric measuring tape as well as a metal ruler with cork on the back available at office depot. It helped as it bends a bit to the contours but the cork gripped pretty well.

heh .. I used snaps throughout. I was able to make my O2 / TD canister in a way that allowed me to store stuff inside. I opted for a pouch around my neck for $$ and ID etc so I ended up making the canister a trooper medical kit. I packed it with a small pair of scissors, duct tape rolled around a small dowel, black and white velcro (adhesive and non), some black cord and super glue. Turned out on my first troop I needed it as my back plate to kidney plate snaps were failing like crazy. I super glued the ones that were, then I had one plate blow out the snap came right off. Another patch with velcro and I was a-ok for the next three hours. I agree snaps are best in the long term, but having some spare velcro around ain't a bad idea.

I highly recommend a couple pairs of heavy duty scissors from home depot rather than the x-acto for many of your cuts. I used these, ----------- I use a dremel as well as x-acto or box-cutters regularly, but the thought of the OH CRAP moment with the armor made me opt for these scissors. They worked really really well and you can totally control what you're doing. Also for me anyway, measure twice cut once didn't work. I measured and measured, re-checking every single cut until I was certain I'd thought of everything. Many, many test fits with blue tape holding things together. So far .. not oh crap moments .. knock on ABS. Hope that helps, good luck!