gmrhodes13

Thoughts and prayers to you and your garrison, family and friends. Buckets off.

There have not been much in the way of accurate files, this one has seen at least one person approved in the legion https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-print-models/art/other/star-wars-tlj-storm-trooperhelmet-chest-shoulder-armour-ep8

Coming along nicely

Congratulations trooper and welcome to Expert Infantry and the EI Honor Gallery

Looking good, just need a couple of small tweaks to really take it to the next level Helmet is tilted and not central to the armor I would try to even out the gaps between elbow/bicep and the front of the forearms, just makes for a better appearance. Try to get your cover strips straight front on. Looks like you may be rotating your arms in, perhaps to reduce the gap at the shoulder bells, this pushes the shoulder bells away at the top of the shoulders, may need some tighter strapping, many double over elastic. Back, helmet on slant and not central. You could trim the extra belt material if you wished to. There doesn't seem to be much overlap from the shoulder straps to the backplate, your GML may ask for closer photos. Closure of calves not quite straight and small gap between (more for EIB) For EIB make sure your ab/kidney align at the top, they will move when you move but you can adjust between photos. You also have your belt/holster caught up on the left side On the helmet side, tube stripes for L2: Ideally, the tube stripes are positioned approximately a pencil width from the side of the cheek. Yours appear to have a bigger gap at the back. A few things for L2 on the rear traps, they are a little more rounded on your helmet than references. Also the stripes sit a little lower and not quite as long. Did you countersink your ear screws?, they just look to be pulling an a little high For L2 make sure there is no paint on the gums and try to straighten the tops of the vocoder You could bring up your belt just a touch (I know you've adjusted it a couple of times ) The top of the ABS belt shall sit at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical ab button panels. A slight overlap is suggested, but not required. Can't remember if we talked about your large ab plate previously, can't see from your images but you may have over trimmed the base, should have a flat area at the base. Also try to have well lit photos, a few areas a little hard to see like the bottom of vocoder and hovi's. GML's (GWL's) love a contrasting background I don't think you will have much trouble for base approval but that's dependent on your GML, for higher levels definitely a few tweaks

Really depends how it would look after you filled and sanded. ABS paste can take some time to look just right, many layers of sanding and polishing, only apply thin coasts as air bubbles can form if too thick. The other issue with ABS paste is the color can change once it is sanded and you may need to touch up with paint. Personally I would try to trim the ear a little more, it is a time consuming job and many find the ears the worst of their builds. At the end of the day it is entirely up to your GML (garrison membership liaison) as to what they will accept for base approval, you can check with them

A few references of ear gaps

Reducing that gap will be difficult with what you have, but worth a try. I would trim the top of the ear first and see how that looks. It may also have to come down on the sides a little, elongating the ear holes is not a problem if you need to.

Easiest thing to remember is wherever it is touching you will need to trim to close up the gaps in other areas.

Congratulations trooper and welcome to Expert Infantry and the EI Honor Gallery

You are very welcome, was great to help you one your journey, troopers helping troopers. I'll definitely take you up when I finally get to the US, have a lot of places on my to do list, same goes for if you make it down here

Awesome news , congratulations and welcome to the ranks, once you have your TKID issued request TK access here

No they are also known as Jedi Robe, you can find lots of mentions in this thread, they are NOT able to be 501st approved.

Now that it is pieced together do you think the center grey area (or central panel) may be a touch too wide? Grey area appears narrower and higher on the pauldron. May be too much of a gap between the red panels. Tried to get these images roughly the same size, reference is slightly on an angle though. It's pretty darn close and if you are happy with it leave it as is

I find using a larger drill bit and screwing by hand gives me the best result, anything too fast either grabs or melts. Any progress is good progress, great to see you trying before applying to the ears Ears are the worst for many, tedious, small amounts of sanding and trial fitting, we all go through it, have a read through those couple of threads I previously posted, the step to the top of the ear makes all the difference

Spot (blade) putty is great for small scratches but can causes issues once paint is applied, too thick and it doesn't fully cure and the thinners can eat into it, I use automotive filler for bigger areas.

Glove liners are what I use, I take multiple pairs to a troop, every time you take off your gloves for a break you have sweat soaked inner gloves, a fresh pair can make all the difference. I have two fans in most of my helmets, although I normally only use one and the other as backup. Feeling air across your face tricks your mind in to how hot you really are. 39deg C was my hottest troop, sweat ran from everywhere and whenever there was a little breath of wind the sweat soaked under suit would feel cooler. For really cold troops I use a cotton shirt and pants under my compression shirt and pants. Some troopers have used a vest cooler, I tried one once and found it too cold, I don't have much tolerance for temperature changes, 1-2deg and I'm either too hot or too cold. Lots of different designs out there A towel is worth carrying, nice to wipe the sweat off. I added my padding in the helmet with velcro so I could remove and wash, amazing how much sweat can build up in the helmet. Don't get a shock when you take of your armor and find trickles of sweat here and there LOL. Any drinks with electrolytes can also help on those long hot troops, I first drank water but found I needed the little extra from energy troops. Last and most importantly, don't carry on if you are too hot, I did for one event, we had a line of younglings waiting for photos and I just pushed it a little too hard but should have stopped. I thought I was ok to go on another 5 minutes but nearly didn't' make it to the change area, cold wet towel and another energy drink and I was ok.

Try not to leave too much room under the brow, it wants to pinch on the rubber trim so it doesn't come loose. Also keep an eye on the opening, you want to make sure you can get your head in comfortably. FYI you put the helmet on sideways first, drop over your nose then turn straight.

Thank you, added to first post

Nice work

You may want to adjust your thighs, try to bring them up a little as they are hitting your knees, you could add some foam behind the sniper plate to push it further forward away from your thigh. I would also try to bring your ab/cod up higher which would give you more room. Also doesn't look like you have elastic on your shoulder bells, may just be the image?

Looking forward to seeing more soon

Nice work trooper, could you please add an action photo with a blank background

Nice work on the chest/back, many of us have painted and if you are careful it can last a long time (9 years so far ) Many of us did similar to Tony's build, a hook at the top and I went for two pieces of elastic at the bottom and snaps I think you have listed everything in the two version differences No issues trimming the front as long as it is not seen from the outside, early Anovos this area was actually open but I still get cracking around the top of the chest/back over the shoulders, plastic will only flex so much so many times

Any progress is good progress The angle of the ears is an "Ideal" position and not all makes of helmets will allow for it, don't stress if yours doesn't align 100% there, just do your best