Dday

Yes, exactly why I am so pissed that they are selling out of multi day passes. I'd like to buy my tickets now as well, but I can't guarantee I can actually go until a shortly before the event.

Don't get your hopes up, they are selling out of tickets already. 3 days pases are sold out, so not you have to feed the beast and pay an extra 35GBP for 3 days passes by buying 3 individual day passes. It's BS really.

Once you see the real pieces in detail, you never look at other parts the same

I'd be interested to see what your next iteration looks like. I think using the AM as your muse is the wrong way and you should base your shape purely off of screen grabs and photos of a screen suit.. Not because of the whole "recasting" debate and what classifies as recasting and all that (not my point here) but if you use an armos such as AM to base your molds from, you're going to end up way off. You were right in your notes that AM shape is wrong and I can see that come of the boxyness that are present in AM is also present in your mold. Use the photo gallery from the RS Suit since it's one of the best photographed screen used suit available. Check these shots of the backplate, you can see the difference in shape. There are a ton of more shots in the album I linked above that will give you the right path for your own sculpts so that when you are finished you have a set of armor thats really nice, vs just a boxy poor attempt.

Thats why we're all here, to help others and bring up the entire community in doing so

Markus, staying true to the prop, the tracks were plastic already so there should be no weathering. But in the universe, the tracks would likely be metal and the weathering looks good. I really like how you put the rusting on the areas where you overheated the tracks, the bubbling there really lends itself perfectly to a rusting spot.

Nice one! You're pretty close now. Now, it's too late to say anything but I've never found the need to paint the tracks, unpainted they match the colors of the blaster really well. Hey, you had no problem with the paint sticking to them, so it's all good. I've heard people complain that paint doesn't stick well to them.

There is none. post away, pic away. As long as you want and it's all a nice contribution to the community.

The more watts, the louder the speaker, but also the thicker the box. Most have found that the VB1506 is the best in terms of sound and size for a TK so it can fit under the chest piece without making the chest armor stick up.

Looking much better

Since you have a good line already, following the contour, I would just cut it down all around, following this same contour. I think you could easily cut off 2mm all around and you'd be perfect

You can use a pair of wood clamps if they have a straight edge, or a pair of vicegrips with a cloth between the part the the tool, to keep from damaging the part. Also, keep in mind that you have to be very very careful with bending alu, it has a tendency to break if you bend it too fast. Also I haven't heard anything good about if you score/cut the backside to make bending easier. The last person I saw who did this this ended in a broken rail. Alu bends really easy on its own.

Great job, looking good! If you want to nitpick, I would trim down the ears more. There is still a flashing/return edge where the ear meets the helmet that should be removed. However, if you're happy as it is, leave it, We're probably the only people who will notice.

The SDS armors aren't too terrible. They are a recasting of the TE armor molds (I believe). He is a great thermoformer, with a great marketing campaign, but an inferior product compared to the suits that are sold through vetted armor makers for a similar price. There is nothing holding the SDS armor back, when built right, from obtaining 501st approval.

Markus, I would suggest that you shave the feet of the scope more. There is still the pour area on the bottom of the feet. When trimmed down right, the bottom of the fat end of the scope should almost touch the rail. Also, The M19 scope should be located much further back. A bad zoom on a screen cap: Shows the first thing I mentioned about the height of the scope, plus in the photo the scope looks to be more placed to the back vs the front. So just a little back from the middle... meaning I'd move your scope back about 2-3CM if you want to go through the trouble. It will look good without it, but definitely trim down the feet

I'm sure it took them at least a day or 2! [emoji41]

The vast majority of people troop with resin blasters. Stuff happens and parts can break. If they do, follow Josephs advice, mark it up as battle damage. If the break is too much, it's always repairable. Contact the kit maker, or someone who makes kits, like me, and ask about replacement pieces. Just like replacement TK parts, it's usually easy enough to cast up some small parts at a very reasonable price.

I'm pretty sure you mean T-Jay You will need to PM a site admin to update the thread title.

The hook and little edges are the way the original sterling stock sits on the tube. It doesn't really translate well when you want to use the screw to hold it in. I left the stock as original and let people decide if they want to use the hook to hold the piece in place, or the screw. The hook, when placed will give proper positioning for the stock, and when you place the pivot on the back, this hook will work to hold the front of the stock well in place, with no need for a screw. I know the gap seems unsightly but what is often overlooked is that when the tracks are in place, this gap is much less noticeable. Both ways work. I left the parts there so people can pick

The powercell plate is a very thin piece and hard to get just right when trimming down. I'll have to be much more careful when I do the rough trimming of the part and leave a little more of the pouring area to give some added strength. I think Brandon's option is great. You won't even notice this once you do it. Or even if you left the part like it is, you will have no problem with approval, it's a minor detail that is barely noticeable on a built blaster.

I'm not sure there is any "best" blaster to troop with. People troop with all types of blasters from resin, to real. A rubber blaster will give you the most peace that nothing can happen to it. Painting the tips and adding things to blasters varies state to state and event to event. Be sure to ask about the policy for troops. Generally the troop organizer will post this information. Instead of painting, some people will get some orange tape on the tip, this way it can be removed later.

Markus, Yes, you'll need to either drill holes in the tube to fit those stubs on the locking clip, or to sand them off. I think the next tubes will have these holes predrilled in the tube. This photo shows the long silver bolt cut down, and the next ones shows you where to put it. Just glue it in place in the hole. It doesn't need to screw into anything or hold anything up. I believe you have 2 extra small gold wood screws in your kit. They won't be used. I put 6 in there but the ESB only needs 4.

The seam line on the grip is a part of the originals as well, so try to not sand it to much away. This looks like it's still there so thats good. The front sight, you really have to use a cutting wheel to clean the pour area out. I need to remold this part because this pour area is really unsatisfactory and leaves a lot of extra material that is hard to clean up. If you can't get it back together, let me know and I can send you a new one. I expect more people will sand off these guide pins in a fit of sanding rage, but those who don't will find it's a great to to ensure the right position and extra grip for the glue. also to mention, the broken locking ring is no problem. Once it glues down you'll never know and it won't change the functionality. You can glue this part down whenever you like since it will not change how the internal parts are inserted, being that it sits on the outside of the tube. At this rate of completion, you'll be done in no time!

Completely understand this! 3D files aren't free to develop, especially ones as detailed as these.