gmrhodes13

Congratulations and welcome to the ranks trooper

It is tough going, I use wet and dry with water and a few drops of dish soap, helps the sandpaper to glide and not get clogged as much. You can also use a rougher sandpaper, then use another coat of slurry and sand with a finer sandpaper. Colour can depend on how your scraps are trimmed, are they all perfectly clean, also different solvents can affect drying time which can change the color, as well as thickness of layers, the thicker you go the more air bubbles you can get. I found only one acetone here that would melt ABS scraps so I was stuck there, we mush have low quality ones locally. I have found I needed another very thin wet coat after all the sanding was done, which dried a lot closer to the original color, less final sanding too, sand wet 1500 and 2000 then compound polish. A helpful thread on wet sanding It's a very time consuming job, but stick with it, you'll get there eventually (or fill and paint like most of us did in the Alpha/Beta/Charlie days)

One problem you will find with a lot of boots is the ankle heights, proper TK boots have a higher ankle, this prevents them coming outside of the shins when walking. Compare with screen used boots, note the height of the boot Also should not have ridges in sole From the CRL: Boots Boots are above ankle height and made of white leather or leather-like material. Small U-shaped elastic sections on both sides of the ankle. Flat sole with a short heel. No buckles or laces. Jodhpur/ Chelsea-type boots or an equivalent style is acceptable. Elvis or Mariachi boots are not allowed. Ultimately it is your GML (garrison membership liaison) who looks after basic approval so you could reach out the he/she/they/them as to their thoughts

NEW In Memoriam Detachment Leader Executive Officer Merchandise Officer Hall of Fame FISD Meme's Around the Detachment Trooping Opportunity Celebration Challenge Coins INFORMATION & AWARD PROGRAMS FISD Tri-Fold Brochure Common FISD Acronyms and TK Glossary Pre Approval Forum 3D Section Field Exercise Award Imperial Attaché Program Master Armorer Award Fire Teams EIB & Centurion: What do these terms mean? Need Help Ask the Deployment Officers Advance to 1500 Advanced Tactics Awards Newsletter Editor Staff List 2024 Follow FISD Clive Revill, the legendary actor who brought us our first on-screen appearance of Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars has passed away at the age of 94. It’s reported that the actor passed away in a care facility in Sherman Oaks on 11 March, with the news coming from his daughter Kate Revill. Clive Revill leaves behind an incredible career, appearing in series such as Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), The Legend of Hell House (1973), and even provided the voice of Alffred Pennyworth in Batman: The Animated Series. One of Revill’s most famous roles though is that of The Emperor in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Condolences to his family and friends "Buckets Off" Greetings troopers, This month I've been struck down by a bad case of Darth real life. Hopefully coming out the far end of it now but I'm not quite there yet. Whilst this means I've not spent anything like as much time here as I would have liked to that doesn't mean nothing has happened. The Night Trooper CRL has seen a bit of action. A member has come forward with a good looking build which is all that was really needed for this exciting CRL. These photos still need to be fully reviewed but we also took this opportunity to look over the CRL text, and align it with both the pending Enoch CRL as well as a small change that was made to the Rogue One CRL. There's still a couple of minor text changes to make but this one is looking good for later in the year. Speaking of Enoch, we should have all of the images for this one now they just need to be prepared. There's also a minor alignment of the text to do as during the Night Trooper revamp a change was made to make it easier to understand some of the weathering and cracking details. There's no change to the requirements just how they are worded. I hope to find the time over the next month to get all of the above done and try get Enoch over to LMO for approval. I will mention though that there is an issue with the CRL platform which would possibly prevent the CRL going live right away once approved. This is being worked on and news should be coming soon. We are also now only days away from Celebration Japan. I am very jealous of those of you who are able to attend. Japan has been a bucket list destination for me for a long time. I hope you all have a great time and I look forward to seeing the photos and hearing the stories when you return. This month we will also see the first episode of the new season of Andor. I have been looking forward to this and having been recently lucky enough to meet B2EMO and team being the droid, it reminded me just how excellent the first season was. With Unquestioned Loyalty Chris Pearson TK-10991 "themaninthesuitcase" Detachment Leader Wishing all those on their way to celebration Japan a wonderful experience and safe travel. Would love to have been able to make it there myself, but unfortunately couldn't make my planets align. I hope everyone liked our little April Fools rouse that turned out to be something real. It's been a long time since we did a Dual Det coin with MEPD, so this was high on the agenda to make happen for this term. See you next edition With Unquestioned Loyalty Andrew Franke TK-11469 "Sly11" Executive Officer Greetings Troopers! Can you believe it is already April! Wow the calendar is really flying this year. I hope all those that were able to attend Celebration had a great time. I'm looking forward to seeing FISD meetup pictures. And I'm not ashamed to tell you all how jealous I am! The Merch has been a bit slow to start this term as we are trying to finish up runs from the previous term, but we do have one new item that is already open, and a couple more getting ready to be submitted to LMBO for approval. But as always, let's cover the old business first! Old Business "FISD EIB Coins" EI coins are still available. I'm down to 14 left. If you are eligible, please look into it. In order to buy one, you have to have an approved EI costume and you can not have ever bought an EIB coin from any pervious runs. EIB coins are a once and done coin. If you have this one and would prefer one of the older versions, I may have an option for you so please dm me. EIB v11 coin run is open "Advance to 1500 Keyring/Zipper pull" All items except those for the UK members have been shipped. We are working with the vendor to resolve the shipping issue. More information can be found here. "FISD Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025 patch" I hope those that were able to attend Celebration had a great time! All items except those for the UK members have been shipped. We are working with the vendor to resolve the shipping issue. More information for the run can be found here. "FISD Stepping Out Challenge Coin" The coin art was rejected initially, but has finally been approved. Above is the sample photo. Coins went into production on 8 April 2025. Production time is 10-15 days and then they will under go QC and then they will ship to the regional distributors. Hopefully we will start mailing them to members by early/mid May. Additional information about this run can be found here. Merch Poll for 2025 is still up. You can find the poll thread here. New Business Thank you fur indulging us with our little April Fools prank. But the FISD/MEPD Dual Detachment Spinner coin run is currently open. You can learn more about the run here As always, questions, comments, thoughts, suggestions, please feel free to reach out With Unquestioned Loyalty James Silvius TK-12953 "jsilvius" Merchandise & Branding Officer Nothing can stop the Empire! Please welcome, TK-76221 to the Stormtrooper Hall of Fame, March 2025! @Daar Drashaar Troop log can be found here. Brilliant pic! Great work trooper! With Unquestioned Loyalty Jonatan Östling TK-23592 "Nairy" Attaché Ambassador You can find the full meme thread here Blast-A-Trooper Finally after many years of asking the Blast A Trooper files have been shared on the legion forum, sharing here for anyone who may have been looking for them https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_W3-wBM3Gsp5EN_juDwPSCVYhLcpv_MD *NOTE* unfortunately for those of you Down Under due to our PLI (public liability insurance) restrictions we are not able to run Blast A Trooper events as the insurer do not allow the firing of projectiles at our members (I know right, foam darts, ouch ) Thread here Request Edited Signature Banners/Profile pics/Fire Team Logos Troopers! I want to help out the community and the people that doesn't have the time or have the necessary tools or skills to create a cool Signature banner or have the background of your Action Photo removed, or even if you have a request for a certain Profile picture! I don't know how popular this will be, or what requirements I will need, but we will learn as we go and if it turns out to be popular and it gets too much for me - I'm sure that we can find a few more that are willing to help out! Thread here With Unquestioned Loyalty Jonatan Östling TK-23592 "Nairy" Attaché Ambassador Trading Card Archives For those with FISD detachment trading cards please consider sending two to Paul @Daetrin keeper of our detachment archives. Address and more info here With Unquestioned Loyalty Paul Hoeffer TK-8020 "Daetrin" Detachment Founder Keeper of Archives LFL Retail Moratorium Lift May 4th & Revenge of the Sith While there is currently a retail moratorium on character appearances in effect, it is being lifted May 1-7 at retailers selling Star Wars Related merchandise during the May the 4th fan holiday. We are also happy to allow appearances at theaters screening Revenge of the Sith. (edited to include dates of April 25 - May 1 for MOVIE re-release only) All fans, costumed or otherwise, can participate with venues of their choice within these windows with the restriction that costumed appearances must not be used in the advertising for the event. Although these appearances will be treated like an open invite, we’ll leave it to the fan groups to independently organize around these events as they see fit. LFL will not need to approve or coordinate these. Please note that retail locations should not include restaurants, bars, or venues with no apparent reason to feature Star Wars characters. Costumed fans should not pose in front of any brands or logos and should not pose holding any merchandise. In the coming weeks, we may send out a list of ‘preferred’ retailers and theaters who would welcome fans to participate at their venues within these event windows, but you are all still welcome to make plans with appropriate retailers or venue hosts of your choice regardless of whether or not they appear on the list. NOTE: We have been asked to keep track of all retail appearances in Latin America. Please have local clubs send retail appearances in Latin America to [email protected] so we can add the appearance to our tracker. I will be reaching out to the groups in Latin America to notify them of this request. Thank you, Alex Vargas Fan Relations Lucasfilm Ltd. *REMEMBER* Always follow your garrison/squad/outpost guidelines when in comes to organizing Disney/LFL promotional troops, only command staff should deal directly with LFL. You can find the FISD event thread for STAR WARS celebration here: Any upcoming questions or missing information can be posted there. For those of you traveling to Star Wars Celebration Japan this year, here are the FISD appointments: THURSDAY - from 9.00PM on: FISD Meet & Greet We got invited by the Japanese Garrison to join their meet&greet for our detachment meetup: The location is the HUB bar and in walking distance from the venue: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qz5yF7sKg8ekNHRr9 It will be scheduled for 9.00PM. Feel free to bring family and friends! I will also bring the FISD banner and some sharpies, so all attending TKs will be able to sign it. Don't forget to wear your racing shirt! FRIDAY - 10.15AM to 11.00AM The 501st Legion Panel The 501st Legion - Bad Guys doing Good; Past, Present & Future panel is taking place at Galactic Senate stage. https://www.starwarscelebration.com/en-us/explore-the-event/panels.html#/event/the-501st-legion-bad-guys-doing-good-past-present-future FRIDAY - 7.00PM to 10.00PM Multiclub Patch Trade Event We're looking forward to seeing you at the TKP Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall to join all the other legionnaires at the multiclub patch trade event. Good luck hunting those unicorns and don't forget to bring your FISD swag! SATURDAY - 6.30PM to 9.30 PM Bash This year the BASH will take place at TKP Tokyo Bay Makuhari Hall. Any detailed information for those of you who got a ticket on time can be found under https://www.onegalaxy.info/bash2025/ SUNDAY - 10.00AM to 10.15AM Japanese Garrison Panel Japanese Garrison's 25th anniversary in the 501st legion panel. A look back, at the present and beyond. Taking place on Galactic Senate stage - don't miss this short panel! https://www.starwarscelebration.com/en-us/explore-the-event/panels.html#/event/the-japanese-garrison-celebrating-25-years-in-the-501st-legion SUNDAY - 1.30PM FISD Group Photo This will be another chance to sign the FISD banner. The group photo takes place right before the legion photo and at the same location. Of course we would be happy to see you in full armor, but it is also understandable some are unable to bring the full kit to Japan. That's why we will also do a photo including all members wearing FISD (racing) shirts. SUNDAY - 2.00PM 501st Legion Photo The legion photo will take place right after the FISD group photo and at the very same location. The group photo area is outside (location A), so no ticket/badge is required. However, if you are wearing a costume, it is likely that the changing room is inside the venue, so you will need a ticket/badge to get in and re-entry, unless you're changing at a hotel in walking distance. Reminder: Wearing costumes in public transport is frowned upon in Japan! Further Information about the legion's group photo can be found in this thread on the legion board: https://www.501st.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=309&t=115335&sid=746ba8aeeb3e6672627aa01042b1f7cc For any general information about STAR WARS CELEBRATION please refer to the official website: https://www.starwarscelebration.com/ Looking forward to seeing everyone's photos With Unquestioned Loyalty Danny Lauber TK-55550 "Ripper_L" PRO, FISD Diplomat Challenge Coin Rules INFORMATION & AWARD PROGRAMS For a full list of FISD awards programs head here. *Now Available in Swedish* Want to spread the word about FISD?, you can with our FISD Tri-Fold Brochure. Originally these were done in a limited run by the member who created them, but nowadays, we have moved this to a print your own service making them accessible to all countries around the globe. Files are available to all full 501st members on request by contacting our DL Chris @themaninthesuitcase you can find more info here Currently Available languages: English - Spanish - German - Swedish Are you new to the FISD and wondering what the heck all those abbreviations and strange sounding terms mean? To help you @justjoseph63 has started a list of the most commonly used ones that will give you some insight. If you have ANY questions about a particular term that is not listed or suggestions for new ones please contact Joseph. You can find the list here. Pre Approval Forum allows future Troopers the opportunity to submit photos of their completed build to be reviewed by the Staff, Imperial Attaches and others in preparation for forwarding it to their GML for approval. Any and all advice/suggestions given will be specific, constructive, helpful and respectful. Please note that this program will NOT take the place of your local GML, as Detachments are not chartered for costume approval and can not override a GMLs decision, but is instead a peer review program designed to help you look your best and offer guidance and positive feedback. For more information on this program, please visit the link here. Don't forget to visit our 3D section when next surfing the FISD forums, there is plenty of useful information to potentially help you on your next TK adventure. You might be feeling may generous and share with our community a new TK related 3D file and maybe win yourself a 3D contributors award so check out the details below and be part of the in house 3D community. Here is a link to the FISD 3D Contributor program. Don't forget to create a troop log here on FISD and get awarded for your adventures The list of accomplished troopers keeps growing, so get on board and register your troops today Simply start (or update!) your troop log, keep the running total in the title, and post (at least!) a date and name for the official 501st event where you wore your TK! Once you've hit a milestone count, go over to the "Field Exercise Awards -- Post your milestones here" thread to request your profile be updated! Simple, right? Also if you would like your troop photos shared on our social media channels please add the following to the first post of your FISD troop log: I give permission for FISD to repost my photos on social media in an appropriate fashion. Award Recipients March - April TK-91973 "ocmano" Aaron - - - - - - TK-23108 "BAZINGA" Bart - - - - - - TK-89400 "revlimiter" Adam - - - - - - TK-18910 "Tee-Kay Fisto" Brian - - - - - - Are you an approved TK that spends more time on the boards than the average Trooper? Do you enjoy using your knowledge to help out future and existing Troopers? If so, we would like to invite you to join the Imperial Attaché program! Members of the I.A. team are chosen to help out not only those here on the boards, but on a local level as well. Our aim is to have at least one in each and every Garrison, Squad and Outpost in the entire legion to be the eyes and ears of the FISD on a local level. If you are a 501st approved Trooper who wishes to join the ranks of the Attachés, please get in touch with me and/or visit: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/15252-fisd-attaché-program/ For a complete list of Imperial Attaches, go here. Some of the benefits include: Access to exclusive Attaché merch, including patches. You may also be in the running for an Imperial Attaché Award. An award for those attaché's who have gone above and beyond [minimum 1 year of service]. You can find a list of prior recipients here. Imperial Attaché Outstanding Achievement Award Is the Attaché position vacant for your Squad/Garrison/Outpost? Interested in becoming an Attaché? Contact me by PM or apply in the thread below: With Unquestioned Loyalty Jonatan Östling TK-23592 "Nairy" Attaché Ambassador Master Armorer Program FISD has many wonderful programs to help members build and submit costumes for our detachment, whether it be a classic Stormtrooper, a First Order Stormtrooper, or even one of the new Imperial Armored Commandos. While our Expect Infantry and Centurion programs get most of the attention, FISD staff wants to relaunch the Armorer Program (Currently called the Master Armorer Program). What is the Armorer Program you ask? Well, it is a program designed to recognize those troopers that go above and beyond to assist themselves and others in getting costumes built, submitted, and approved. One of the goals of all the detachments in the 501st Legion is to help members build and submit costumes that meet and hopefully exceed the minimum requirements of the Legion’s CRLs. Currently the Master Armorer program has the requirement of helping a minimum of 5 members achieve Expert Infantry status. The member must have spent at least 30min physically helping another member with cutting, gluing, sizing, etc, just because they want to help (no money exchanged). There are 3 levels of the award, FISD Armorer, FISD Senior Armorer and FISD Master Armorer. The new program will add a 4th level at the beginning called the Apprentice Armorer. The point scale will be as follows. 5 points - Apprentice Armorer 10 points - Armorer 20 points - Senior Armorer 30 points - Master Armorer If you love building armorer and love helping fellow members get their costumes built, then this is the program you’ve been searching for. We look forward to awarding more members with this award as we know how much we all love Troopers helping Troopers. More information can be found here Armorer Rocker Patches Rocker patches are now available for the Armorer Program, there is currently just the one patch, and members are eligible to receive two of them once they reach Level 2, "Armorer". More information can be found here Want to setup a "Fire Team? the Fire Team program is completely optional, and is intended to help form a common identity and spirit of camaraderie among 501st Legion Stormtroopers in the same geographic area/garrison that troop together. Fire Teams are not officially recognized by the 501st Legion nor the FISD, although they will be able to access a Fire Team sub-forum on the detachment website. You can find more information here. For those interested here is the original discussion on the creation of Fire teams here With Unquestioned Loyalty Mark Ryner TK-4584 "captsafe66" Fire Team Relations So what exactly are and levels? These programs were designed for those who choose to take their armor above and beyond the minimum requirements for basic 501st Legion approval. It gives you the chance to show a level of dedication and pride that takes your armor closer to being as "screen accurate" as possible, without as much extra work as you may realize! You can find more information on the programs here. For those unaware it is possible to achieve extra awards at Expert Infantry for each additional version costume you have approved, additional awards are not issued with another Expert Infantry number (you are only issued 1 Expert Infantry number) but you will see a star above the award on your profile and the thread title will show [APPROVED] 2nd, [APPROVED] 3rd, [APPROVED] 4th and so on. Multiple EIB award recipients and info here NOTE If you are approved with a "2nd Version" of a particular costume that you are already approved with you do not receive an additional award, there is only 1 award issued for each costume version ie: only 1 x Hero, 1 x Stunt, 1 x HWT, 1 x ESB, 1 x TFA and so on. If you have a second/additional version costume approved you will see "2nd Version" and [APPROVED] added to the thread title, no additional profile stars (more info on profile awards here) For those of you who have a particular issue (or issues) before or after submitting for Expert Infantry / Centurion level approval, in order to get you an answer faster you can now privately contact the entire Deployment Officer team at one time! Questions about fitting, repairs, CRL standards/requirements or anything pertaining to reaching Levels 2 and 3 are not only welcomed, but encouraged. Keep in mind that no question is too small, and that your queries will only be seen by the D.O. Staff. We are here to help in any way we can, so please feel free to send us a message by clicking on this link: @Deployment Officer Team and we will get back to you A.S.A.P.! More info here This area lists all those who have gone above and beyond basic approval toward screen accuracy and obtained EIB or Centurion or both. FOR March - April the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment would like to congratulate the following. Expert Infantry Badge Award: Hanson "CloseTheBlastDoor" TK47826 EIB 1089 GREAT job on your approval, now on to Level 3! Request your free EIB certificate here. You can find a list of multiple award recipients here. Multiple EIB award info here Expert Infantry Honor Gallery here --------------------------------------------------------------- Centurion Badge Award: Riddick "Riddick322" TK31022 Centurion 540 Outstanding job on reaching Centurion, Troopers! Request your free Centurion certificate here. You can find a list of multiple award recipients here. If you see any of these Troopers around your Garrison or Squad, be sure to congratulate them! As always if you have any interesting stories or photos please send me a PM. Looking forward to seeing everyone's photos, post them if you have them With Unquestioned Loyalty Glen "Q" Rhodes TK-85421 "gmrhodes13" PRO, Newsletter Detachment Leader (DL) Chris Pearson (themaninthesuitcase) TK-10911 Detachment Executive Officer (DXO) Andrew Franke (Sly11) TK-11469 Chief Deployment Officer (DCA) Mario Reyes (TKSpartan) TK-48117 Deployment Officer (DCA) José Mª Sánchez (Chemi) TK-30173 Deployment Officer (DCA) Gerald J Gyorffy (Doggydoc) TK-96004 Provost Marshall (DCoG) Steven Sheades (starsaber25) TK-10466 Provost Marshall (DCoG) Caleb Mask (MaskedVengeance) TK-73692 Provost Marshall (DCoG) Arthur Wong (giskard8) TK-39093 FISD Diplomat (DPRO) Tony Jobe (ukswrath) TK-10116 FISD Diplomat (DPRO) Tim Waychoff (Dark PMF) TK-51878 FISD Diplomat (DPRO) Christoph (Danny) Lauber (Ripper_L) TK-55550 Fire Team Relations (DCoG ) Mark Ryner (captsafe66) TK-4584 Merchandise and Brand Officer (DMBO) James Silvius (jsilvius) TK-12953 Trading Card Specialist (DPRO) Eric Ho (Hoda) TK-77520 Newsletter Publisher (DPRO) Glen Rhodes (gmrhodes13) TK-85421 Social Media Relations (DPRO) Luca Hahn (Morgi) TK-66744 Content Editor Support (DPRO) Adam Wolf (Revlimiter) TK-89400 Content Editor Support (DPRO) Vicky Mandlmaier (Vicky_Velocipanda) TK-50893 Content Editor Support (DPRO) Jeff Salt (Wingnut65) TK-50297 Attaché Ambassador (DPRO) Jonatan Östling (Nairy) TK-23592 Personnel Officer (DPER) AC (NoVATie) TK-5597 Systems Administrator (DWM) Mathias Rodstedt (Locitus) TK-2959 Systems Administrator (DWM) Eric Brager (Darth Aloha) TK-9674 Systems Administrator/Detachment Founder (DF) Paul Hoeffer (Daetrin) TK-8020 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM) Brian Long (Tilheyra) TK-47933 Imperial Propaganda Machine (IPM) Torben Sobierey (Tall_Trooper) TK-19525 Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitearmor - - - Facebook Group: 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment (FISD) Official Twitter: www.twitter.com/FISD501st or @FISD501st - - - Instagram: www.instagram.com/fisd501st Discord: https://discord.gg/FmQZ2qW8gx - - - Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fisd501st.bsky.social On behalf of the 1st Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment Command Staff and the Imperial Propaganda Department

Moved your post to the E-11 Blaster area, here is a list of E-11 suppliers, it's from last year so may need updating, not sure if there area any Canada based

Nice work

Pretty much they are all over the place, some low, some high, also the position of the boxes References

Yes I think the chest could come up a touch, will be easier to manage once you have the shoulder straps attached. Note the gap between the ab plate and chest The gap on Luke was a lot closer due to his height

No that's your forum profile, your membership profile is this one https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=37381&costumeID=124

Nice work, I wouldn't go any further or you will risk interference with the middle circle. In references they are pretty straight on the sides and no rounding off.

Unfortunately can happen, depending on maker of armor, Anovos didn't consider a lot of details, like having four connection points on the belt for the holster that's for a Hero version not Stunt. Always check our galleries if unsure

The curved lower corners aren't quite as full as you have trimmed it but I doubt it will be an issue for base approval Reference

Please read instructions in first post, you need to add a link to your legion membership profile

Look fine, many armors won't accommodate this but screen references show 1 large tab and 4 1/2 to 5 small tabs, my ATA only accommodates 2 1/2 tabs, there is no requirement. When adding glue I places chest/back strapped over a box and align the fronts so the rear covers the backplate. Also not a requirement but you can cut off (or in half) the big tab on the rear, screen suits didn't have them From the DO's guide: "NOTE: As seen in the photos below, there are no large tabs on the rear of the shoulder bridges. This is not specifically mentioned in the CRL, but removing them is highly recommended if possible." Also "Level 3, they shall free float in the back, be glued in the front and need to be held down in the back via a white elastic band to the white fabric/elastic chest/back connection."

Nice work, looking good

With detachment affiliation it is only used for election purposes, this is an automatic process before each election, to remain "active" you must log into these forums at least once per election cycle year. Hopefully someone will be along soon to see about your forum access issues

Make sure you check out the First Order Battle Group area, lots of helpful info and links, like this one

I have put two AP kits together, I find they fit the thinner frame but also some with a little girth. Definitely don't get pre trimmed and they can then be a little small in places. I wouldn't hesitate putting another AP together

Belt definitely needs some stiffener, especially if you want to holster your weapon, nothing worse than see a scrunched-up belt on the side.

Nice work

It is also a good idea to add a support piece under the shoulder straps, they can crack over time so adding the support will prevent that.

To stay active you have to log into the forum at least once every elections calendar year. Detachment affiliation is only used for elections, no other reason, you still have TK access here on the forum and access to those areas and merchandise. Detachment affiliation is an automatic process and it is run each year just before the start of the election cycle.

Definitely some heat, just take care, hot water bath is very gentle, DON"T risk using a heat gun without A LOT of practice, you can go to pliable to molten mess in the blink of an eye

Do you have photos of the problem, may help us best solve your issue

Grey shoulder strap guy I've seen others with wraps around the shoulder straps but no color variations