TK Keith

Great idea. I was trying to think of a place to store trading cards. Do you happen to have a pic?

Congrats- its an exciting feeling! Best of luck on your build.

Congrats on EIB Jeremy!

Great job on this build Andy. Congrats!

Voted!

I always enjoy reading the newsletter, and it was cool to see myself in this one. Now I am even more inspired to get my builds moving!

Keith 5376 2013 Challenge Updates At the suggestion of LadyInWhite, I am starting a thread where I can share my progress on my 2013 goals. My current goals are: 1) finish my Imperial Officer (Staff) build 2) finish my Sith Acolyte build My staff officer is coming together well. It has been a very different experience than my ATA TK build last year because I am not doing the sewing myself. Most of my time has been spent on research and then waiting anxiously for pieces to arrive. Within the past month my uniform has arrived along with my rank bar and code cylinders. I had to return the boots I ordered because they weren't tall enough, but the pair I ordered to replace them are on their way. The main part of the costume was assembled and fitted by Steve and Debbie at warpdonline in Florida. They did a great job! I know I would be hopelessly lost if I had to sit down in front of a sewing machine. The cody cylinders were done by Vincent Sanchez and I think they turned out great! My mom helped me build the holster. My daughter Michaela has been giving me plenty of encouragement. My Sith Acolyte build has slowed down considerably in recent months. I spent a lot of time last summer on my TK and so I've been trying not to spend so much time out in the garage. My plan is to work on it a little bit here and there, but I am sure I will be spending a lot of time on it this summer. Here's a pic with my mask and robe. The mask was done by Mynock and my mom and I (mostly my mom) made the robe ourselves.

Thanks for the rank badges link! For my boots, I went with the Derby/Cottage PVC boots. I may buy some leather ones later on, but I've spent a lot on costumes recently and owe my wife another band on her wedding ring before I spend too much money. http://www.horseloverz.com/Tall-Boots/278030-DerbyCottage-Mens-Boot.html

Thanks for checking in with us! My imperial officer is coming along. I just need my boots (ordered yesterday) and the correct rank badge. Then I will be ready to go!

LOL- awesome translation!

I agree. That TM looks great. Congrats trooper!

Nice build, and congrats on being EIB 300. That's cool!

Nice job on the build Chris. Welcome to EIB!

I agree that it is great to have someone giving you a helping hand, but I can suit up by myself if needed. Without electronics I can do it in about 10 minutes. With electronics it takes a bit longer because I have less practice with the different cables, so maybe around 15 minutes?

Great looking build. Nice job!

I use a 45 gallon tub with the armor stored exactly as you do. However my helmet is in the tub with the armor. I like your set up because with mine, things are a bit tight. Maybe I will try a suitcase and just carry the helmet separately. Another benefit of your method is that the suitcase will be easier to lug around than the plastic storage tub.

I am a thin guy and I think my ATA looks really sharp on me. I really enjoy its clean lines, and the price point was nice too!

Good point. Maybe we can start a new petition!

I guess they have different priorities.

I had this issue. I simply added a new snap directly forward of the old snap on the white elastic that held my shoulder bell in place. This fixed the problem for me. No more worrying about the shoulder bell rotating back!

I agree with many of the comments posted... like being older means this hobby may be easier to afford, and that we are all young at heart. I am still fairly young (31) and I hope to troop for decades to come!

Trimmed or untrimmed is ultimately up to you. Untrimmed takes more time, but I've heard that people often have to trim armor to fit them even though they bought it "trimmed." That would probably depend on your body size and the body type the armor best fits. I am not a very hands on person, but I bought an untrimmed set and was proud to spend the time working on it. You should email the armor makers directly. Some of them have waiting lists, so as soon as you decide on armor you should contact the maker. EI and Centurion are awards that you can earn by meeting mroe detailed armor requirements. These requirements may take more time or more specific materials, but I am really proud that I made my recent ATA build to EI level. The CRL's include what your armor needs to have for Entry Level, EI, and Centurion. I hope this helps you some. Best of luck!

This is a good looking build! I think people have already mentioned the small fixes that you could work on, but nice job! Good luck on your EIB. On another note, I like all the diagrams that people are sharing. All of these images and pics are really helpful to troopers during builds.

Your helmet looks good! I think I may have also gotten a few spares in my ATA kit.

Very cool!