theisaac

almost forgot Moose. Do not get the AM helmet. I went with ATA and I love it. RT-Mod makes a larger scale helmet. Can I say "don't get the helmet?". How about, "you will be much happier if you avoid the AM helmet"?.

I have AM and I like it and I enjoyed the build. Im 6 foot and 240 lbs. The AM kit has the reputation of being the "newbie" kit or the "big guy" kit. It is also not as accurate as the others. When I made my choice I just wanted to be a Stormtrooper and had no idea about EIB or Centurion. I ordered my kit because I could afford it and they had fast turn around. It was not an easy build but it was not difficult either. You will find frustration in any kit you build. I built it as accurate as I could and got EIB with it and I'm now bothered by the chest and how it looks. You will probably go from "I want to be a Stormtrooper", to "I want to be an accurate Stormtrooper", if you spend time on here. You just will. The other "big guy" armor is RT-Mod. Rob can take a few days with email so don't worry about that, he is cool and will answer your email if you sent him one. If I could do it all over again, I would have saved up a little more and waited for the RT-Mod suit personally. I have also talked with Troopermaster and found out that his armor could possibly fit someone a little bigger so check him out too. I would send your measurements to the vendors on your short list and ask them what they think. These guys want to make sure you look good in their kits and will be honest with you. Good luck with whatever you decide on and we will be here to help you along the way. Its what we do.

Hey Q, I'd be glad to help you as well. Come out to the armor party in a few weeks and hang out if you're not working. I'll hit ya up on FB too.

Trooperbay is legit. Mike has great customer service and has it all. I know a lot of people use his belts and neckseals so don't hesitate to check them out. I've ordered twice from trooperbay and felt they went above and beyond what I expected. I have Darman's so I can tell you I'm happy with them.

if you have access to Brian then take advantage. He's hands down the master of the AM builds. I would not have finished mine without his keen eye.

Darman's wife makes really good neck seals and he makes holsters too. one shop.. two parts down. Check him out. For the belt, you can make it with a sewing machine. There are a few threads on here of people doing it. I went down to walmart and got some off white canvas for 5 bucks. Then just cut a piece of plastic and slide that inside the belt on the left side to help support the holster and weight of the blaster. You'll see what I mean when you see the belt thread. Almost there buddy!

Almost there! looking forward to the next fitting update.

Looking good sir! I have the same build (am/ata). You'll eventually cut the sides of the chest down so they look less like wrap around wings and the back armor is more square. If you search for some screen captures in regards to this you'll see where you need to trim. For mine It was about 2-3 inches off the sides of the front of the chest. You will also get a better fit if you trim the tops off the chest and back armor (the flaps that go over your shoulders). You will have webbing that connects those together and gets covered by the shoulder straps. Here is a pic where you can see the sides of the back and chest a little better. Sorry about the short little notes but I wanted to get you some feedback while the wife is yelling to come eat dinner. Hope this helps buddy!

Wait to trim the shins until you are all suited up with your boots on. I can tell you what I did for my shims for my gut.... Took the extra ABS that was for the belt in my AM kit and cut them for the shims. Glued them to the kidney on each side and boom.. done. Left side has the snap rivets to be screen accurate and the right side is open and clam shells together with a row of three snaps and webbing. The fitting process feels like it took as long as the build in terms of time. Don't hesitate to take a ton of pics and put them up here for help. If the FISD can get me fitted right, they can help anyone. good luck and keep going, almost there!

any updates on your build buddy?

I can say from my own experience that this place is why I was approved for my TK in the first place. I started my research here and used it as a resource to complete my build. The willingness to help and more importantly challenge newbies like myself are what its about in my book. I have watched threads where pride and ego can push people's buttons but for the most part its in the name of accuracy and wanting to see the best the person can do. I'll be honest, there was a time when I posted a topic asking if anyone was selling an e-11 and Vern's reply rubbed me wrong. Then I took the time to research what he builds and saw his passion for his art and I now appreciate and respect his craftsmanship and knowledge of them (still trying to buy one Vern.. hint hint) . If he comments on a build and its about the blaster, you can take it to the bank that he's right. If it wasn't for people like Vern and the rest of the "locals", I know my suit would not look as good as it does and I'm thankful for that. Troopers helping troopers is more than a motto its really what makes this place special. So thanks again to everyone here that makes this community what it is for newbs like myself. You guys are building up the next generation of trooper and motivating us to build better suits than we thought we could when we found FISD.

Duck tape for the frown is a genius idea.

zap-a-gap would do the trick. You can pick it up a hobby shops or Trooperbay

Congrats buddy! Its a great feeling isn't it!

Today I had a chance to fix the knee ammo belt and lower it. I know I had already passed but I still wanted to move forward and make my suit as accurate as possible. The knee ammo belt was one of the comments.

BOOM! Grats on the Centurion badge as well!

Got approved for EIB as well! Thanks everyone who helped me though this project and anyone who posted feedback.

Good work buddy! Congrats

I had that issue with snap plates as well. What I did was stopped using the little circle thing that comes with the snap kits. I just put the bottom rivet part through the plastic.. placed the snap part over the plastic and lined them up. Used the cement floor instead of the circle thing and hammered the metal pin/rod thing on the snap. Not a technical way to describe it I know... I noticed the circle/round part that comes with snap kits leaves a gap and doesn't make the snap come flush with the plastic. If you use a flat bottom like cement then the metal pin that you hammer down and makes the bottom fold back over the snap and holds it in place will also pull the bottom of the snap up flush with plastic every time. If this doesn't make sense then I can post pics of what Im talking about. Either way the e6000 doesn't cause the same heat that ABS cement does so you don't need to worry about warping. Or just go the other route and use webbing like Brian suggested. He's the AM expert and knows what hes talking about.

I cant thank the FISD community enough for getting this far with my build. I started out just wanting to be a part of the 501st. I never thought I would even fit in a TK. "They dont make them to fit anyone my size...." "It wont work unless you are 150lbs...." "You're gonna mess it up and ruin it..." (and I did more than once but the FISD came to the rescue). These were the reasons I did'nt want to try. Then I looked at threads and saw other builds. Learned about armor vendors. I went with AM based off of the size alone. I did'nt know TM could make armor that might fit with some shims that I had to use anyway. Its not the most accurate suit but Im really proud of it. When I do it again, I will know what pitfalls to avoid. I started with the goal of EIB but wasnt sure I could pull that off. I wanted so badly, SO BADLY... to be part of the 300 goal for this year with EIB status. Just thinking about submitting for approval was cause for anxiety. I had the same fears. "They are going to think I suck..." "They are going to hate my build because its AM..." "You'll get laughed at..." I went for it and made it. barely... but made it. Mike TK1636 from the DSG, you were a huge help and I cant thank you enough. Tim from the DSG, your help at the armor party was clutch. Brian TKRESTONVA, your build thread and your posts saved me more times than I can count. Thank you Everyone who commented on my build thread, thank you for your insight, feedback, and encouragement. I hope that thread helps others avoid the mistakes I made. The FISD as a whole, I hope I can give back and help the next guy coming up who thinks they can't do it. We did it! -Isaac

Took some more pics after getting adjustments done today. Lifted the thighs up so they sit higher Showing the rivet that I added today left side out of habit. Showing the cut off wings/flaps from chest thanking YOU for taking time to even look at this post. Also showing the flaps/wings cut from the chest Showing the new calves with the cover strips open on the insides. I have to wait for the glue to fully cure before trying to rub off the goo from peeling off the velcro so its still a little dirty. You get the idea though I hope. Note the chunk missing from cutting off the cover strip on the left shin. shouldnt be an issue though.

I have also trimmed down the chest flaps on the sides 3 inches at the suggestion of another EIB trooper so they look less like wings. Im happy to suit up again after the glue dries on the shins and it cools off a bit. Its 117 degrees today in Phoenix Rob, Thank you. Its the spirit of being as accurate as possible that drives us all here.

I believe I have the correct sides placed together. I went over that shin tutorial 100 times. If you look at the photos above you will see that the AM shins have a shelf on one side and a long piece of non moulded ABS on the other. Mine look like the corrected pictures shown in the tutorial. I may be missing something so please correct me if I am wrong. It looks like I had the cover strips glued on the wrong side and I have removed them and switched it. They are drying now. See pics below. I have also returned from the hardware store with the cap rivets installed and painted them. I wanted to make these fixes regardless of the shins removing my EIB qualification. I want my suit to be as accurate as possible regardless of the status title. I respect what those before me have done with their builds and I admire their dedication to the FISD and costuming as a whole. I have cap riveted the knee ammo belt and I believe my shins are correct with the cover strips on the correct sides now facing the inside.

Thank you Mathias. Do you mean just glue the cover strips on the other side of the calves? That is something I can do. If not then I would have to replace the calves and I'll respectfully resign the request as I cant afford new calves.

1. Thank you all for looking at my build. This is for those who check it out and especially those who take a moment to comment. I have followed many of your builds as I waited for my armor to arrive so to have feedback from you is important to me. 2. Im off to the hardware store for those rivets for the knee ammo belt. Thank you for that feedback. 3. The blaster. sigh.... I know its a hasbro. I feel the same way about it. I am looking at other options and it is important to me as well.