gmrhodes13

Shepperton Design does need a little work to bring it up to CRL specs You will find a lot of info on SDS armor and updates in Dave's threads:

As mentioned before some armor makes won't allow the full amount of ridges on the plate due to the chest raised areas. You should not be penalized for having what you have in that image That is quite a large area on both sides, some EIB WTF. You can see in this image (even though it's from the back) the armor has been trimmed to match the shoulder straps And here This one appears to have trimmed the inner neck area as there is still some return edge on the sides. You could have a look at these troopers build threads to see how they have positioned their straps, or other WTF build threads Kris B MintImperial Adianu Having extra material on the sides of your shoulder straps is perfectly fine

Definitely a difficult product to apply, I've used it in the past and ended up picking up little pieces of gold leaf for months

Won't know for sure until the CRL is finalized, there has been little input there to date, but I would think it would be L2 or L3 and not required for basic.

I would match angle cuts (first option), should straps normally follow the angle of the tops You can setup both chest and back plate against a box, about your width, tape or clamp in place and then you can test what curve you will need of the shoulder straps and if they need any twist.

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Coming a long nicely, you can trim off half the larger tab on the rear (if you wish). Elastic loop is added on the rear to help keep strap down 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. As for radius of the straps, it changes person to person, give it a rough curve and check it lays flat on the backplate when worn (and glued on the front) Most armor will allow 1 larger tab and 4 1/2 to 5 smaller tabs glued to the chest

Great to see you at this point, nice work, almost there. I do have a couple of areas you may want to address: First thing your images are a little bit small so hard to zoom in on details, make sure you try a bigger resolution/size when sending to your GML Chest / back plates appear to be sitting quite high, note the step down to shoulders Gap between forearm and bicep, you may be able to adjust playing with the strapping biceps down a little, forearms up a little, it may just be your height and arm length, don't stress too much about his area Shin sniper plate appears to be leaning forward, may just be the photo Sniper plates do look a little odd on the ROTK You may want to adjust the rear top ridges, trim the angled ends, compare with the reference below they are straight. Just comparing the sides between ab and kidney, looks like your right black area is curved top and bottom, the left is straight. Small gap between TD plate and back Belt open on left I think that's about it but I'm no ROTK expert, hopefully more will chime in.

Armor workshops are usually held by some garrisons, you will need to check with your local garrison if they have one anytime soon. Although the armor may have been 501st approved does not guarantee it may be again as CRL items may have changed over the years, please check the ANH Stunt CRL against what you will be purchasing https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_anh_stunt Costume Approval is also carried out by your garrison GML (garrison membership liaison)

Very nice, could you share the info of the voice changer for those who may be looking for one

I find that padding to be very firm and can give me a headache after a while. I went with yellow foam, 10 mm piece on the top and 2 x 2" pieces on the sides, once on it keeps the helmet from moving, but what ever works for you, there is no right way (unless you want to go screen accurate) 1. Should I add more padding around the sides or maybe find a hard hat bracket for the interior? I find a block of foam on the sides stops the helmet from moving and you can bend without it tilling. 2. I have a power source and the IComm, is it better to store that in the back of the helmet (maybe even out the weight) or on the interior of the chest piece? Depends what room you have in the helmet. I have my aker and icomm behind my chest because I have neck issues and can't have the extra weight in the helmet 3. I noticed it is pretty hard to hear in the helmet. Is a hearing assist module worth the cost? If so, what type of headphones do people use with theirs? I tried it for a convention then ripped it out, it picked up so much background noise I found it was better without hearing assist but some swear by it, comes down to personal choice. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/525724448/9v-hearing-assist-system-sha?click_key=5f58302ac0aa60a1c48f034aed75f6b451343f39%3A525724448&click_sum=fc01c65c&ref=shop_home_feat_1&sts=1

It's definitely an area many have to play with, appears you have the width in the sides/wings and also the neck.

This may be helpful There is no standard size for the piping in the CRL. References;

It is quite an old thread, 2010, moved to outdated section of the forum, copy and pasted below: HOWTO: Make your FX armor Expert Infantry I get this question asked a lot so figured now was a prime time to write it up. Obviously the helmet has to go in toto, but since that's an all-out replacement and usually taken care of in one fell swoop, and the fact that most already have swapped out their helmet, Id like to focus solely on the armor. Despite what people may say, making your FX armor EIB acceptable actually takes little effort, money, and time. You can pretty much buy everything you need for $60 and an hours worth of work, or if you have time can do it for about $20 and an afternoon. Lets break it down! 1. Replace the ab plate buttons The ab plate buttons that came with the FX kits are the wrong size and color and need to be replaced. Fortunately this is pretty easy on the FX kit and you have several routes you can choose from: 1. Easiest way buy them completed. You could contact other armor makers and buy pieces separately 2. Next Easiest - buy plain buttons and use decals You can buy plain buttons from Tandy. They need to be 7/16" in diameter. You can then buy decals from TK-4510 instead of painting them for $3 Button Decals : https://trooperbay.com/trooper-abdominal-plate-decals 3. Least Easiest - buy plain buttons and paint yourself As above, you can buy a set of 9 buttons from Tandy and paint them yourself. Painting guide: http://whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8117 Where to buy paints: trooperbay https://trooperbay.com/costuming-supplies/painting/humbrol Maximum cost : $20 Effort : 10 minutes to 30, depending if you buy or build 2. Replace the plastic belt Like the ab plate buttons, this is a pretty straightforward fix if you buy a belt or you can save some money and make your own. Making a Belt HOWTO: A guide to making a canvas belt : http://whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=665 Maximum cost : $40 Effort : 20 minutes or more, depending if you buy or build 3. Correctly mounting your holster While most holsters have full straps, in A New Hope (which most troopers do) the belts are actually fastened from behind using rivets. This is a very cheap mod and you there are many ways to achieve this look. If you are doing an ESB trooper, simply wear it on the right instead of the left ($0 cost and time). If you are doing an A New Hope trooper this look can be achieved by simply cutting off the outside strap (free, 5 minutes) and then fastening the holster to the belt like shown in the picture below as a guide: You can use rivets, Chicago screws, or even snaps. The rivets need only be seen on the outside, and you can even use velcro if you wish on the inside to make it more secure. Maximum cost : < $5 in materials Effort : 10 minutes or less Pretty easy so far So far it's been pretty easy and the above steps will instantly make any FX based stormtrooper look more accurate and impressive. Some choose to stop there, but there are two more mods that will need to be done to make that FX kit Expert Infantry. 4. Cutting the butt plate While the cheapest mod to do, this is really the only one people hesitate on and it often takes two people to get it to hang correctly. While there is a seam line on the back of the FX back plate, it's too high and the cut should actually be lower down, about 1/4 to 1/2" below the belt. You can see this in several shots. http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv261/pbpicsandvids/TK-RightSide.jpg http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s58/kwdesigns2/NEW TK Build/KevsEIB7.jpg While the pictures above only show the strapping for the kidney to the butt plate, some people (including myself) also use a strap that goes around the front of the waist to keep the sides from flaring out. Ideally one could use a heat gun to properly shape it, but a strap works well too. Also depending on your body type you may have to put a little bit if padding in the butt plate to get it to sit correctly (OK, maybe just me and my small butt :-)). Regardless of whichever route you go, this is an inexpensive mod in that the cost is just those pieces of velcro or strapping that you use to secure it. The time is the biggest factor, as while cutting it only takes 5 minutes it can take up to 30 to get it to sit correctly. 5. Shimming the side gaps Of all the armor makes, the FX has the largest gap between the ab plate and the back plate. Fortunately this is pretty easy to solve with some extra plastic sheets. While clones advocate a seamless join, FISD is not so picky and simply using a plastic shim is acceptable. There are several routes that people use: 1. Buy spare ABS/HIPS from whomever made their kit (guaranteed to match the armor) 2. Buy spare ABS/HIPS from a plastics store (perhaps cheaper) 3. Use spare ABS/HIPS that they have laying around. The plastic belt that gets replaced by using a fabric belt is often an ideal candidate for this. 4. Buy a cheap plastic sign from a home improvement store and paint it to match Here is a simple fix that a person used as a starting point. Remember it just needs to look good from the outside though it's always a good idea to make these changes more robust as time and budget allow. Conclusion And that's it! It may seem a lot at first, but after going through it you'll wonder what all the fuss was about. Whether you decide to buy everything you need or create all the pieces from scratch, these changes will really make your FX armor kit pop and breath new life in to it, allowing for many more years of enjoyable trooping to come. Where to go next I'd like to encourage those that haven't taken the plunge to make these changes to do so. Making your FX Expert Infantryman qualified actually is relatively inexpensive and not that hard. Not enough you say? Yes, there is even *more* you can do to pimp out that FX kit, from adding side snaps on the ab/kidney to adding return edges to the chest and other parts, but these aren't required for EIB. What do you think? Everyone - we on FISD staff would love to hear what you think of the above. Was it easy to follow? Did you like the changes once done? Let us know!

A few threads which may be of interest, some items may have changed due to CRL updates, we don't see many FX builds these days, best to check them against what you have in your hands, CRL's here https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:FISD_CRL This thread will help you find accessories and build info Thread on using 3d party host for images due to forum attachment restrictions

You could reach out to your local garrison, most garrison events are listed on their forums although not everyone can see on some as they are only open for members to attend, really depends what garrison rules you have. https://www.501st.com/members/displayUnits.php Some allow wranglers and recruits to attend events (some don't). Here, lots of research, LOTS OF RESEARCH, research is the key to this hobby

Hello and welcome aboard, note one post is all you need as they are normally answered quite quickly posting many of the same can get cofusing. Good luck with the research, hope to see you with a build thread soon

If the tube stripes are stickers you could carefully lift and pull off the front ones and lean forward (from the top) a little more. I have used tape in the past to help pull the stickers off to move. You do have big gaps to the ear so I would add a few more stipes, note the first reference below has 16 stripes. DO reference guide: Ideally at Level 2 tube stripes are approximately 1 cm (5/16ths) away from the cheek, and should also lean toward the front.

You may want to try before you decide, having some give in some areas is a good idea, especially ones that move, keeping armor in particular lengths apart may cause armor bites once you move.

Nice work, looks great

If you reference the ROTK images you can tell it's outside over inside, it's pretty much the same with most costumes (same as the thighs) Note position of the cover strips too, closer to the outside

DO's references For Level 3, three domed head bifurcated (split) rivets approximately 5/16" (8mm) in diameter are present on the left side of the abdomen and kidney and are equally spaced along the depth of the armor and are painted white. Note that the measurements are from the center of the rivet. Rivets on both kidney and ab should line up horizontally.

Double snaps everywhere, even on limbs. I will have to order more snaps! I do just to be safe but others are fine with only one snap, my main area I've had snaps fail was shoulders and having the spare meant I could keep trooping Nylon is used on the armor side, elastic for connections Correct, in some areas double over the elastic for strength, shoulder strap chest-backplate, also abdomen-kidney Nylon looks like it's 1" wide and 2" long. I've seen people use ABS instead, or sandwiched ABS inside nylon. Seems like if the armor is thick enough, and I'm using authentic E-6000 glue, I should be good to go with just nylon. I just find nylon conforms to the armor better and you don't need to recess the snap but you do with plastic snap plates, but either way works fine. I do have small pieces of ABS strips I use on both sides of the nylon to clamp down so it stays flat when drying. Elastic is 2" wide, and its length will depend on what sections are being mated. Using discretion, place female snaps 5mm shorter than where they should be when the elastic is relaxed Elastic sizing info here From the Supply List: -. Elastic- 1 inch wide black for shoulder bells, etc. (4 ft.) 2 inch wide white for ab/back plate shoulder connection (1 ft.), 1 inch wide white for drop boxes, (1 ft.) 1/4 inch wide white** (1 ft.) for shoulder straps. -. Nylon strapping- 1 inch wide black, at least 6 to 8 ft. long. 2 inch wide black (48 inches) for high tension areas if you are using the double snap method. (NP) Double over ends of elastic so snaps go through more material = strength. Some areas you can but depends on your snaps, some have shorter posts and you can't double over the material Make a jig with two holes in it to ensure that snap spacing is the same everywhere. Burn holes with soldering iron using this jig. Also, using the iron, seal the edges of the nylon and elastic so fraying is prevented. Just makes life a little easier using a jig, in case you make any too short or long you can use in other places. Sound OK? Is there any strapping that goes between the thighs and shins to maintain that gap? Otherwise it seems like the shins could droop quite a bit. Not between the thighs and shins, the shins sit on top of the boot, thighs are held up with belt/harness. Some add a loop of elastic or velcro in the top front loop of the boot which connects to the inside of the shin to stop them coming upwards or rotating. I have mine on the front, some add them to the back I think that's everything

I prefer using snaps, it's easy to swap them out if any elastic stretches over time, also easy to swap out if you need to shorten or lengthen the elastic. I found using nylon was the easiest for snaps as the nylon conforms to the armor and does not need recessing, unlike snap plates that take a little more work. Here's a full set I made for another members build Most elastic I shorten the position of snaps by 5 mm, gives a little extra pull when wearing. I also have some snaps added to a strip of elastic in a few places so I can trial the length and change position to work out the best length. I also like to double snap, not everyone does but I found it saved me at a troop once when my shoulder straps snap failed and I had the spare one These may be of help Rivet Setting 101 by justjoseph63 (Print PDF) Snap Setting 101 by justjoseph63 (Print PDF) Snap Placement Snap Setting Hardware Solutions by TheRascalKing E6000 and Snaps Discussion by Harbinger, Snap Options by ukswrath Snaps with Rivet Heads by TheSwede