LadyInWhite

Hello, Mike! It is always nice to hear the enthusiasm for good accuracy and good fit! Before you can really jump into all that stuff, a few more questions. Are you 220 football build, or is your 220 distributed differently? Are your shoulders very broad, or girthy? Are parts of your body disproportionately (or non-average) longer or shorter than others? I've found while helping troopers solve unique "body type" problems that there isn't really a way to do a one-size-fits-you approach to building a TK unless you are a supermodel. Which few of us are, so that's why we build, adjust, build, adjust. Doing most of that work yourself is not only a great source of pride but the necessary skills to continue to tweak it for more accuracy, better fit, better troopability, and whatever your goals are. You can get a pre-trimmed suit and it does take more time and a little more money, but unless the builder is in your hometown there's little chance it's going to arrive to you absolutely perfect - so you'll likely be doing a few tweaks, possibly even un-building and rebuilding parts. I think most people want pre-trimmed or pre-built because they're scared poopless of ruining something, but once you start doing it you realize it's not that bad or hard at all, and you start to enjoy building armor... I know I'm addicted now! You can, I think, get one of several people to build your bucket for you. But you might need to order parts (like the internal fan kit) from other people, and have them shipped to you. Why not just do that yourself? I was most afraid to ruin my helmet but it turned out not only to be the most fun part but the piece I'm most proud of and the part with the least problems like polishing and repairs. For your question about which movie style, that's entirely personal preference. What is your favorite Stormtrooper scene in the original trilogy? That often starts you down that path. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best! At least you're here at FISD to get yourself started, so enjoy reading up on the how-tos and what-nots, and check out some of the build threads to see what you'll be getting into (or missing out on) depending on what you end up doing. If you think you have 10 months to complete it, you can absolutely do it yourself, a little at a time, and you'll be glad you did And join your local garrison - always loads of help from your local experts!

I've experienced "isolated incidents" in the paypal crossover but nothing particular on the site. And it might have been PayPal. I contacted him about it with the error message, and he got back to me quickly, but by then it had already resolved itself anyway.

Keith, you've done such a great job getting the edges flush so far - I have faith in your skill to trim a tiny bit more off and still have it be even more perfect. The ears don't quite line up so it's a little tweak here, tweak there... best you can...

I'm 5'11" and it's perfect.

Hi, Chelsea, Girlfriend Extraordinaire! Two things to note here: 1. Contact every armoror and ask what their wait time for a trimmed suit is. They'll give you all sorts of information about cost and accessories it comes with. Don't speculate, make your decision after contacting them all. 2. Many armorers currently have wait lists through December. An un-trimmed kit he builds himself is likely to come sooner. Building is not a pain in the __, it's actually quite fun and addicting! It does take time and patience, but we can all do it I like AM just fine, but I don't recommend it for your bf as he is of a smaller frame. AP, TM, RS, ATA should be right on - less trimming. At worst, what if you just got him a helmet and blaster for Xmas, and then gift him the rest of the money so he can choose his own and not have to be rushed for xmas?

I honestly think my TKBoots are the best/most comfy boots I own, and they happen to be costume boots - go figure! With insoles I can troop for so far up to 11 hours. I bought some engineer style riding boots for my IN and I absolutely H A T E them. I wish TKBoots made INBoots!!!

Paint the main PVC pipe primer gray (closely matching the ab button gray color). Also try to space the center plate evenly between the two end-caps. People have occasionally been finding plain money clips on Amazon but also you can use 3/4" wide aluminum strips or banker's clips and just trim 'em so they're not so long. I got some from my very local mom-n-pop hobby store but they're totally out of them now. Once you have clips, you can screw or rivet them into the PVC (where there's no back plate). Don't fix your end caps until after you've done this. You'll need to drill holes in both and align them. You can bend open the clip to an "L" shape to do this, then fold it back down. Remember the bottom picture is correct for positioning - with the little solo bump at the top right. Be careful not to put your clips on upside-down.

Oxyclean?

When you trim the armor piece from its original plate, there is usually a little curve to it. It curves inward a teeny bit (toward the inside of the armor). It is less than the flashing (what's left between the armor and the plate, usually rough-looking), and it simply gives the edge a more "finished" look, and in some cases a "thicker" look, than a straight-cut, hard edge. This is a terrible example as it's a photo of my unfinished mistake, but you can see the inward curve at the edge of the forearm piece, particularly in the horseshoe area. (ignore my red circle) -----------

Hi, Matt, I feel your pain. There are two things to know ahead of time: 1. when you "break in" your greaves they will start to align better; the velcro I use in the back has really helped to hold its shape while wearing and it seems to be less wonky now. 2. it's okay for the sniper plate to be a little bit crooked, apparently. Originally I had put it on straight, such that the outside was not aligned with the top edge of the shin. Even then it would not hold. So I riveted it. For Centurion I had to remove and fill the rivet holes and glue it, and the powers that be said it was okay for it to be crooked if that meant it aligned properly with the tops of the shins. It is now glued, and it also has stayed on so far. I did a lot of "shaving down" of the corners to help them sit more flatly on that molded ridge with less pressure. The butt-joining really does also help give you more flexibility in aligning the two pieces. You can use a slight angle on it to twist the outside slightly so it lines up better at the top. Instead of | | perfectly parallel, you can cheat a little with | \ by maybe a millimeter or two. That's about all I have to contribute - moral support and brute force! It is a truly challenging piece. However, your AP is going to look awesome.

You can look for cheap ($6) banker's money clips on Amazon, too. Basically a thin, narrow (1/2-3/4" width) strip of aluminum or metal you can fold as needed.

I dunno, Death Troopers have standards too!

Very nice! And fun, too! I love painting.

Don't seal your eye lenses all the way around. Allow a little room for them to get air flow under the curve, especially on the bottom. And don't use too thick a mesh on the teeth holes so your moist breath can vent properly. Fans. Fans. Fans.

Ha! Funny title for this thread. I fully expected you to have photos of some very bad builds. You're going to look great, so maybe you should change it to "SOON TO BE AMAZING" instead!

This is really exciting!

Awesome

Yep yep yep, Ralf. Probably a whole FX suit? But who cares, he's got a fun job! I wonder if there's LFL data in those banks...

Those are some big-a$$ drop boxes. And they all look backward.

Greg, you are sooooo lucky to be in good hands!

Doesn't need a return edge on the parts that hide underneath other parts (top edge). The cut line is mainly for the buck. The bottom edges are up to you. Just make sure it doesn't pinch Isn't trimming so much fun? Builds hand strength.

{{{{ GROUP HUG!!!! }}}}

I use both the thin strap in front (from strapping to strapping, not attached to the bell itself) which sits nicely under my neck seal bib, and the rotated forward "cheat" in which my snap is actually BACK of center. This kind of forces it forward. I have also considered the V strap... since it's black and technically shouldn't be seen under the bell anyway, you attach the two ends to the bridge canvas and the apex (point) to the shoulder bell. Then it can't move back and forth.

Derek looks awesome

Noooooooooooooooooooooo do not zap if this is your first armor. e6000. It is incredibly messy but incredibly forgiving. It holds VERY well (though I admit to a few snap plate incidents, but I fixed that with larger snap plates) and it is easy enough to take apart if you have to adjust something. The slow cure gives you time to adjust and finalize your clamps before you are committed to an unfixable problem. If you're worried about your investment, definitely e6000 all the way.