theisaac

Now I want some FISD shirts! lol

Ive had some great times with them during the build. They like to sneak out into the garage when im at work and "help". once they spray painted a black streak down a thigh... it buffed out lol. they told me "Dad, I love you because you make the best stormtroopers". or "dad, are you making more bad guys"? i hope its something they remember for years. even the wife is in on it. she can spot the difference between hero and stunt and ANH and ESB tk's lol.

TK 9492 requesting 501st access. http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=14742 thanks for all your help getting here! -Isaac

TK9492..... We did it!

Ya Mike! I'll take all the help I can get with getting it fitted perfect buddy! Bring those tube stripe stencils too!

You'll eventually want to either heat the tops of chest armor or cut those tabs way down. If you look at your side facing pics, your chest armor "floats" out in front of your body. Its because the tops of the chest armor are lifting and pushing the chest up and out. I ended up cutting mine way down and that moved the chest in tighter so I fit better. You can see what Im talking about in my build thread. Brian is right though. Work outside in, arms and legs to chest and cod. The calves were actually pretty easy if you follow the thread here for matching the halves up right. I marked each one A and B and they were easy. Get a spotter for the fittings though. Cant suggest that enough. Ask lots of questions. Brian is a pro at the AM builds and hes got a lot of advice to help you avoid many of the mistakes that most of us 1st time builders make.

thanks Jenny! I appreciate the feedback as well. I see what you mean aboit the belt being high in the back. I dont know if thats how it usually sits or if my wife just pulled it too high when she secured it. Ill mark it somehow to make sure its in the right spot if someone helps me get suited up. do you see anything else I missed? it looks like the right thigh is sitting lower so i raised that as much as i could after looking at the pics

I filled out a form on our garrison website then sent pics and a link to this thread to my GML. Is there more to do usually to get your TK ID? Isaac

I think I'm done. Here are the pics I took today and sent over to my GML.

Is Jesse still making clips? I thought I saw a post saying he was not doing them anymore. I ask because thats the last thing I need to finish my build. Isaac

Thats awesome buddy!!!!

Boots arrived today! Neckseal from Darman's wife Holster is done. Then I realize I forgot the TD clips... SO CLOSE!

I cut mine to go at an angle but I have popeye forearms. I left enough room at the wrist to get my hand through if I fold my thumb in pretty tight but they fit well and dont move around too much and I have enough room to still bend my arms to take off my helmet. Do what feels comfortable and add foam if you need to. Just avoid a big gap at the elbow.

YA buddy! Well played sir!

grab a friend and have them tape them while you fold the top over the bottom. I dont know how I would have got my AM arm parts done without a spotter. Isaac

I cut foam out of a batting helmet I got for 10 bucks. Velcro's inside and keeps everything snug. I like it because it has holes already cut for my ears and I can still hear while wearing it. Check out the link above though and see what others did and pick one that fits your needs and budget the best. Isaac

Any more updates? post em up buddy!

AM is great for bigger body's. You can take a look at my build and see how it fits my 230lb frame. You can also learn a lot from the mistakes I made in my build http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=18965&st=80 Side note to bigger troopers is that Troopermaster kits will fit a larger body as well. I didnt know that when I got my kit. If you want the most accurate for a big body then look up TM. Its expensive because its from the UK but it looks a lot better than the AM. RT-Mod is great as well. That being said... I am happy with my AM kit and its great for a 1st build because its easy to assemble and your local garrison and everyone here will be with you every step of the way! Isaac PS - Brian's build http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=11333&hl=*am&st=0 is a great build thread as well. He's top notch

I have the same lid. What I did for padding was go down to a sports store and got a cheap batting helmet and pulled out the soft foam inside and used velcro to hold it inside the lid. It already has holes for ears cut into the foam so you can wear it and still get some air flow. If you need pics I can post some but its pretty basic and works great. I think the batting helmet I got was 12 bucks. I got the Jr size since I just needed the foam from it. Isaac

VERY nice weathering! Im seriously thinking about doing a TD now. I weathered a helmet and LOVED it.

I was so frustrated by the thighs that I ended up buying some old thighs, calves, and biceps from a buddy. Pulled them apart and Im gonna try to get those to fit better.

Thats fantastic! Take your time and ask a ton of questions. You'll get lots of help from the people here. Take more pictures than you think you'll need and from all kinds of angles and post them with your questions. You have a whole community backing you through your build! Isaac

Good save on those thighs buddy! For my belt I went to lowes and they had some snaps that were male and had a screw in the middle. I glued an extra piece of ABS on the inside for support and screwed it in. Then I used a rivet to hold the female snap through the squares on the belt through the canvas. This has been holding pretty well so far. Havent got a holster yet so I dont know what its gonna do when its load bearing though.

I see both sides of this debate. Im a fan of the zero gap ears as well. But as a newbie there are a few people who are vocal on the boards and I expect to see perfection with their gear. Especially with someone like yourself who puts painstaking detail into those blasters. I thought you would have just sanded down the ears so the cutlines are not visable and painted them. That way you keep the shape you want but remove the bevel that everyone is commenting on. Then again I think Im still under 50 posts so I dont count

If I redo the straps and its still popping out and floating then im gonna try that shim idea. Makes sense in theory.