jmm7375

Traps are done...Now I just have to replace the frown screen and install my s-trim and I should be good to go. Now I can treat myself to electronics, static burst here I come! Decal/stencil in place... Finished rear traps...

Almost there... So, I am really close to being done with painting my bucket. All I have left to do is the rear traps with the lines. I had a bunch of time this weekend to get the tears, ear bumps and side traps done. After I finish, I'll reward myself and get my electronics ordered. I'll get some new pictures taken then apply for EIB and then Centurion. I am optimistic with the feedback I've gotten here I shouldn't have any problems with those applications. Right side done Left side done I've been using my decals as stencils along with the model mask which is awesome (very little, if any bleed through). I used some old labels from staples and cut the fine lines out with an exacto blade. I'll put the stencil on the back traps, paint my lines and then touch up anywhere needed. You can see the model mask on the bucket on the rear traps. I left the black line, which I will remove and paint the exposed white portion. It is key to use a sharp exacto blade (new is best) with very little pressure to cut through the model mask and the decals. Takes a bit of getting used to, but works great.

Well, it has been a heck of a heat wave here in NY. So, I haven't spent too much time in my garage without AC to paint. I did get the other tube stripes done and I'm prepping the tears and traps as we speak. Hopefully the heat wave will break soon and I'll get more work done.

Eric - thanks for the compliment on the vocoder. I hope my first shot at the tube stripes are up to expectations. I have a pretty meticulous eye, and going from decals to hand painting I am trying to get things as perfect as I can. Trying to start with the easy stuff in my opinion. I think the tears and rear traps are really going to test my skills. Those thin rectangular lines are going to mess with my head, but having the paint markers really has made things easier. I wish the marker came in french blue though Here are the tube stripes... Eric and Sean - I like both ideas with regard to the shoulder bridges. I think my main problem wasn't only the lack of a solid connection, but unnecessary stress from carrying the armor by the shoulders and my thin elastic holding the bridges down was too tight. I plan on trying to go a little looser, and perhaps affix the thin elastic to the shoulder elastic to keep them in place, but not wrenched down so tight. If they fail on me again, I might go with webbing or canvas underneath. Perhaps even boil them in water to give them more of a bend down on the back plate. I feel like I've given them a solid redo with plenty of E6000, but like Eric said, there is not a lot of surface area to adhere to the chest plate to begin with. We shall see after the next photo shoot and future troops.

I am really diggin' these paint markers I got. I never took an art class, let alone painted anything besides a wall and I am pretty happy so far. This model mask stuff I got seems pretty good with very little if any bleed through. I only wish I tried it on my ab buttons, but those are pretty easy to touch up. Bids CD sticker tip is pretty hard to pass up too, and I happen to get the CD labels rather easily. Here is a shot of the finished frown and vocoder. Plus prep work for the tube stripes. I model masked the decals, removed (painstakingly I might add) the model mask and decals with a very sharp exacto blade (very little pressure, but sharp is key so you don't dig into the plastic) Then a little white paint so hopefully after drying the blue tube stripes come out looking sharp and tight.

Change of plans... Well, as I was about to take more pictures for EIB, my right side shoulder bridge came off the chest plate. So, I am in the process of putting a heck of a lot of E6000 on it so that doesn't happen again. Plus, I want to give it a good 48hrs. to cure to make sure it stays put. I think the added stress of carrying the entire armor from the shoulders with the elastic holding it down in the back was a little too stressful. Anyway, I started to paint my bucket. I'm trying this masking film I picked up at a hobby store. You brush it on and it dries. I am gently scoring along the sides of the decals, then I plan on removing the decals and painting the leftover space. We shall see how it goes.

My first concern would be movement or armor bite if you don't trim the top of the cod. If you have no intention of shortening the waist belt, then you should have no issues with the sides of the cod like I did. I like your idea about trimming the top of the ab plate, but quite honestly I've never seen anyone do that. Doesn't mean it won't work for you, I've just seen many more examples of the cod being cut from the ab section or shortened which it seems like you can do. I toyed with the idea of dramatically trimming the top of the cod, but in hindsight I'm glad I didn't. Being 6'3" I needed the coverage and couldn't go much lower with the ab and kidney plate. I hope others with more experience chime in here.

Jesse. Thanks for the compliment To answer your question: You are talking about the kidney plate and I struggled with which was the top and which was the bottom. I found no noticeable difference either way, so I just put an up arrow on the inside to stop struggling with the decision. It also helped tremendously as I created snaps and attached the other pieces to avoid confusion or unnecessary debate in my head. Essentially I flipped a coin and went with it. I'm not sure if there is a definitive top or bottom to the kidney plate with other armor types, this is just my experience with RT-Mod armor. Ivan. Unfortunately I've never heard of troopergear or a helmet that has 3 piece construction. I even did a google search and found nothing. Maybe you can raise the issue under the hard armor forum. Sorry

Ok. Cod sides trimmed and snap plates relocated. Now I just need to suit up to get some updated pics, and I will submit for EIB. Then I'll start painting my bucket and go for Centurion.

You look like a slender guy and if your ab/kidney plates overlapped (I had same issue) then there is a good chance you'll have to trim the sides of the cod piece. You'll especially need to trim the cod if you modify your belt (shorten the sides) like I did. I shortened my belt, therefore my drop boxes moved and exposed the sides of the cod. Your snap plates look like they are far enough from the edge. Mine were right up against it so I had to pull plates and redo it. I'll post a pic in my build showing the change I made. Keep it going, looking good!

Thanks for the help Frank! I've been helping people as I've been going along through my build, and answered quite a few PM's along the way. I am an educator so I love helping people to begin with...so combine what I naturally do for a living and my love of Star Wars and that is a great combo. So many here on FISD have helped me and my work is really an accumulation of their help and effort. You have to pay it forward to others, it just makes sense. "Troopers helping Troopers" is a great motto. I'm working on trimming my cod side piece, then I'll suit up again and go for EIB

Thanks for the congrats Tony and Charles I really appreciate the support. I really love the 501st access too, so many cool things going on that I had no clue about! I felt really guilty about my mistakes initially especially since people may look at my build to guide there own. In hindsight, I'm glad both of the corrections are relatively easy and shouldn't cause anyone major grief. I sincerely want to thank Frank again for pointing out these corrections, and give a really big thanks to Billhag for the original template. I know I've used other Billhag guides, this is another great one. Main waist belt redo Measured my new cut lines to trim off a half inch corner, and viola!, much better.

Well, soon turned out to be real fast 'cause this guy has a TK# now It's hard to put into words how excited I was when I got the e-mail confirming my first choice: TK 81720 and I was so pumped up I felt like I didn't sleep at all last night. Plus I really wanted to correct the thigh ammo pack, the belt and I'm contemplating trimming the cod on the side so you can't see it wrap around. I'm afraid to cut "swoops" up both sides of the cod right now, and it is hard for me to imagine if it would look good or not. So, since I wanted to get some sleep tonight...I got started on the corrections so my mind doesn't race so much and I get some shut eye. Thigh ammo pack redo I remember reading about this tip a while ago, but I didn't use it since the thigh ammo pack was rounded when it arrived (just not enough though) I can see the difference, hope you can too. First I grabbed a can of my wife's hairspray LIned it up on the thigh ammo pack to get a nicer curve Traced it Cut, sanded smooth then repeat Ok, time for bed. Hopefully I'll get to the belt tomorrow, then I'll worry about the cod.

TK-81720 Requesting 501st access, sir. http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=15955 Thank you. Lee

Frank - Thank you for the trim information. I will get to work on those corrections, it is nice to have the measurements, I wish I found them when I was doing my work on that portion of my build. Regardless, and easy fix. I will make the radius on the thigh ammo pack more pronounced. Honestly the maker who trimmed the kit for me rounded them, so I did not touch them. The corners of the waist belt can be trimmed back easily, a few simple measurements and that should be a piece of cake. Lou - I totally understand what you are pointing out with the cod. I'm not sure if I can fix it the way that you suggest. The RT-MOD belt originally is very exaggerated for the waist belt. So, in an effort to be more accurate I trimmed down it's length. This unfortunately shows the cod wrapping around the sides, and the "swoops don't go right to the belt . I have seen screen captures that vary in the height of the cod and the center line bump, so I feel like I have some room to play with there.. I have also seen a centurion application that was approved with the same cod, but an unmodified belt that hid the sides wrapping around very well along with the drop box placement. I can easily trim the pieces that protrude out to the side, but I am very hesitant to trim and raise the cod piece, since I would have to lower the belt to cover the gap to the point where I think it would be unacceptable. The belt is as high as it can go and it just covers the split between the ab and cod. I've seen so many applications that were held up by improper belt height, I really paid attention to it in my build. I'm not sure how to proceed with the cod at this point. I'll post corrections to the thigh ammo pack and waist belt when I get to them

Thanks for the feedback Frank. It may be difficult to see on your phone, but I did round the bottom of the thigh ammo pack, just not sure how much more to go. Also, I did trim the corners of the waist belt 45 degrees (holster attachment shows it), but not drastically since I wanted the trimmed corners to match the width of the canvas belt. When you get a moment, take a look on your computer just to be sure. Should be relatively easy to make those changes if need be.

Thanks for the tip and the pictures for reference Frank. After trying on the armor for the first time, getting dressed and undressed, I will definitely modify my forearms openings to make life a little easier getting them on and off. I always end up squeezing them to the shape you referenced to help remove my hands anyway. Now what I've been waiting for...suit up time! Armor Photos Full body front Full body back Full right Full left Right side detail Left side detail Armor details Gloves and hand guards Shoulder bridge backs Thigh pack attachment Sniper plate Drop box back Cod and butt attachment No return edge on forearm Helmet details Front Left side Right side Back Hovi mic detail Lens color Blaster details Right Left D-ring Accessories details Neck seal Thermal detonator back Holster attachment Action shots Interior strapping So, that's what I've got so far. I'm in the process of getting my application going to be an official member of the 501st and get my TK#. Please don't hesitate to chime in with feedback. I already plan on making some minor comfort adjustments that shouldn't impact the look at all (foam in forearms to prevent wrist bite, left thigh needs some foam too). I've got my "bucket" list ready so I can paint it and get it ready for Centurion status. Definitely need some fans in the bucket, and I am working on electronics as well.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!

Where does everyone get their S-trim from here in the U.S.? Is Trooperbay the only place? Any help/advice where to look is appreciated.

good question. I was wondering myself where people get the s-trim from besides trooperbay

TD complete I feel like I gave birth to this thing. I really am happy with it since I started it in November and now it is finally done. It took me a bunch of tries to get the aluminum clips right, get the pipe down to size, paint it, get the faceplate/control panel to sit correctly etc. The endcap on one side is a little wonky, but if you are looking at it, it is totally fine (I think). I must have angled one side better than another since one endcap sits evenly all the way around and the other just would not. I also had several trips to hardware stores to find pan head screws that ultimately I had to paint black. For chicago screws and pan head screws locally in the U.S. I totally recommend Lowes. I always struck out at HD and Ace which of course were much closer to me geographically.

So, I don't have pics of the disaster, but I had to remove the face plate for my TD and redo it. I couldn't find a way to get the ends to sit flush, and I killed a lot of time scraping E6000, re-painting, and rethinking. I should have test fit everything, but I didn't. Plus, the paint added some thickness to the end where the caps go on, and some more sanding was needed to get everything to fit right. So, with the use of some magnets to hold the face plate in position and some clamps for more pressures, I used my little workbench that can act as a vice to get the ends to sit flush. I'm giving it the full 24 hrs. to cure since I don't want to risk another re-do. I'll take my time with the end caps, but I will have to drill some holes for the hooks I made and attach those before I affix the end caps. Since I had some time on my hands, and my wife decided to take the kids to the movies (no crotch fitting today ) I went ahead and added some snaps to the chest and back plate for the shoulders. I've never trooped before, but in hindsight it seemed like a good idea to have some extra snaps here. Placement may be a bit unusual, but I didn't want to rip and re-do, just reinforce.

Thanks for the positive feedback! Yeah, I should have mentioned that I no longer rip the skin off my hand. It still is a bit tight, but no skin loss is a big plus I want to get my TD done next, then I have to convince the wife to help me size up my shoulder straps, and the crotch strap. She always gives me a look when I ask her to help me with my crotch...I wonder why?

Call me obsessed, ambitious or psychotic, but I hate to do things wrong. So I know I would have lost sleep if I had not corrected the returned edges I accidentally left on the front of the forearms. Fix was easy using some sandpaper, circular motions and a dremel sanding bit to get those hard to reach areas. To get an even edge I tried to work with gravity and essentially use my work table as a sanding block. I used slow circular motions to remove the return edge by putting gentle pressure downward at first and then increasing pressure as needed. I used fine grit sandpaper (sorry I don't know the #) so I wouldn't take off too much. Thankfully I lined things up pretty good initially, so I got what I think is a nice clean edge with no return.

Thanks for all the encouraging words guys! I was really unsure if I wanted to do a build thread at first, but now I can't imagine not. It really is a lot of fun and a great challenge. Intimidating at times, but with such fantastic support from so many people all over the globe on this forum, it is truly inspirational. I hope to work on those return edges on the forearms tonight a bit, definitely by the weekend. Jesse: I originally considered the AB buttons myself, but once I decided I wanted to go for Centurion and I would need to paint the helmet, I saw no reason not to paint on the buttons, which you can see above. I was fortunate enough to get a hold of some CD labels that I could cut up, but I'm sure you can use the bottom of a marker or some kind of cap to get a good circle for a masking tape template.