gmrhodes13

I found it easier to paint before trimming and assembling, at least you don't have to tape up eyes and teeth only the outsides of the helmet pieces

A lot of people use either large hardware type tubs with wheels or just suitcases, I have both types but find the suitcase to be an easier one to get around with, helmet is in a separate in a helmet bag. I do have a towel I wrap around the armor inside the case and that's about it. I was caught out with my 150ltr Stanley crate, went to an event we had to climb 3 sets of stairs, was hard work lugging that up Most pieces of a OTTK will fit inside each other if you build the clamshell way, so it all compacts down quite well. But with my First Order armor as it's painted and I have separate fabric pouches I've made for every pieces so even when pieces fit inside they have cloth in between, saves the paint You'll find a few threads about transporting options around, here is how I pack mine https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/22787-how-to-pack-up-and-carry-your-armor/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/47673-storing-and-transporting-armour/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34962-tk-armor-transportation/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/33505-my-transport-bin/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/9945-armor-transport/

Another thing to keep in mind when deciding on a purchase is to think about accuracy and longevity which is more important or are you happy for just a little of both. I know some armor is great for a few troops a year but others if you troop hard will crack pretty quickly, but I'm talking about 50 or more troops a year Mine for instance is ATA, one of the thickest armors but not one of the most accurate, but it's lasted 7 years and I've just swapped it out for another set of ATA as it was getting pretty scratched just from everyday wear and tear (oh and a couple of cracks in the backplate from heavy handed luggage handlers) Going through some of the build threads of different types of armor is a good idea, most are in the header of members builds, you can compare some of those images to those in the gallery section and that should give you a better idea of what you will be getting. Also think about your size and what size the armor with fit, again going through the build threads will help you there. We all get excited when start this journey but it does pay to do what your doing and do the research, I'm sure you'll be happy which ever armor you decide on .

Epic

Make sure you have a look through the gallery section, some areas won't need return edges. You may find this info useful: 1. Replace the plastic belt with a fabric one. 2. Affix the holster via rivets vs. using the loops. 3. Cut the cod off the back 4. Remove the silver tape from the TD and mount it using banker clips (or similar) 5. Replace the ab plate buttons So, about $50 or so and a few hours of your time. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37234-fx-armor/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/12478-howto-easily-make-your-fx-armor-eib-acceptable/ Make sure you also check the CRL as it has just undergone some updates can find them here http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:FISD_CRL Good luck with the build, looking forward to the progress.

Great build, feedback posted, good luck with approval, hope you have some good news soon

I've said it before but here we go again, very nice build. A few tweaks you could address mainly for higher levels: Belt could sit higher at the back and lower at the front, just wants to sit just under the last ab button, yours appears to sit on top of the button. TD could come down a touch too. Belt ends usually end either under the TD or just next too so you could trim off a tad. You could also have less elastic on the drop boxes, only need a few mm's to allow movement, it will help them stay in line with the end of the belt. Also for your approval shots don't have the blaster in the holster, although the holster looks great it does look a little floppy with blaster in Try make sure your thighs rotate to the front fully, although it could be a bit hard with your cod being so close, you may be able to bring the ab/cod up a tweak more. Kidney sides are open a little, some tighter strapping or maybe some strips of ABS behind to stop it opening Buttons could have a touch less paint Could also straighten a few of your black lines on your helmet (cheeks) with a permanent marker, easy to use than shaky hand paint as I found Also noticed the left side of your plastic belt appears to be sticking out a little, you may want to bend it a little so it doesn't catch on your arms There is still some excess material you could trim off the sides of the cod Great fix on the shoulder straps Nice looking boots BTW you might want to trim the lower cover strips and use some fine sandpaper to finish so they don't dig into your boots. I would also suggest maybe trimming the bottoms of your shins so they come down a little more, or bring your ab/cod and thighs up, you can see in the above image your shin is under the knee ammo plate and it will catch. Adding some foam in places to hold pieces forward can also help. If you could also bring in your shoulder bells a little more, I know they like that for L3 Great work, I'd address the belt right now and the others before EIB. Good luck, hope to see you approved very soon

Looking forward to seeing the progress, good luck

Congratulations and welcome to the ranks

Congratulations and welcome to the ranks trooper

The DO's split the workload between themselves and also confer on each submission so everyone is involved, if one DO is unavailable the submission can take a little longer. Please be patient and remember real life comes first

I use snaps to secure my plastic section to the belt, easy to swap out when I convert to my Hero having different soft belts

Great news and so glad it fits you well, some guys have had problems with sizing. Looking forward to seeing more, when you can stop smiling at yourself

It's better now but earlier it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW

Nice work trooper I don't see anything glaring that should hold you up for basic (dependant on your GML of course ) A couple of things that could use a tweak for higher approval: You could drop your biceps a little to reduce the black at your elbows. Helmet tube stripes ideally are a pencil width along the cheek. Could also even the paint on your helmet vocoder so both sides match. Remove any excess paint on the gum area, just looks a little wide on the end of the teeth too, the tips > I would advise to put some foam behind your sniper plate, it is under your thigh in one photo and may catch when walking You could bring your brow trim up a bit, you normally see the lower brow on Hero's not Stunt's, it's a tad wonky too, just a tad May want to bend the ends of your plastic belt a little too so it conforms to the fabric belt, as they are sticking out and you may catch on things. You could also use a heated water bath to help close your shins a little better too, so they lay flat. Try to bring your things around a little more to the front so the covers strips are centered. Great work and good luck with approval.

Great news. Don't forget to look at those shoulder straps I mentioned a few posts up before pre approval shots

Hello and welcome aboard trooper

Looking forward to the progress

I know this is an old thread but just came up while I was doing a search and looking at that black shoulder again, is that a reflection or could it actually be a silver FO cog, the black does look matt!

Very nice, I haven't had an OT blaster build for a while, I may foresee one of these in my future

Personally I have not seen any builds here, but as you say it's not a 501st costume so many may not have wanted to post a build thread. It does appear to be very similar in the way it is put together as a First Order armor is, I guess that's why people have suggested to have a look at other armor builds. Have you tried reaching out to Kevin, after all it is his design and he may have knowledge of some builds or give advice https://imperialsurplus.com/product/fem7-armor/

Hasbro with a Doopy's kit was my first blaster, nice and light, has sounds and lights, fit an external jack and you can run a cable to the Aker Amp, nice and load at con's I have also put together a couple of Doopy's full resin kits, a little heavier and not as much room to add electronics, although it can be done. You could also have a go at scratch building, lots of great templates can be found, I use that blaster for cannon events but it's not as durable as a Hasbro and I hold on tight to it.

I believe Erick is waiting on boots