DarthDyer76

Anyone have a source for extra s-trim? I know trooperbay has some, but I wanted to find another option, if possible...

Very close to it.. I went over it once with Novus 2 and it really popped... everyone has said how shiny it looks.. hopefully I can keep it that way... lol Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

Just realized I never updated this thread with the finished product... we got everything done a couple weekends ago, and I got approval within a couple days... already trooped twice in my shiny black armor! LOL

So after trooping a couple times in armor, I've realized very quick that basic things like stairs become quite a problem when it comes to flexing your knees... some of the other shorter guys like me (I'm around 5-8) have said they trimmed the back of their thighs at the knee into a moon-type shape to allow better movement at that point, but I haven't been able to see any of those guys in armor to see for myself... I've done thread searches and can't immediately find what I'm looking for... Just want to see some photos so I don't butcher anything when I go to cut... it's going to happen, I just need some reference... LOL

This looks fantastic!! Great job! Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks, Jim.. posted this on our board as well.. I think Ed and I are planning to finish this weekend, so I will post results! Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

Ed and Julie are awesome! Love those guys...

Ed said we could put snaps on the ab plate to help hold the belt in place... more secure and less likely to shift around... Snaps on the belt to connect to the ab plate... The joint where the two leather belts come together... overlapped and riveted... Drilling holes for the rivets on the ends of the belt... One more session, and we should be ready to go... just some polishing and approval here we come!

More work photos, after an impromptu and short visit with Ed on Sunday... we should be getting pretty close.. he did some more gluing of the legs and arms, and got all the snap plates glued on... the only issue was with one of the biceps, which was dramatically different than the other... when assembled, the one bicep had a very narrow opening, so it would be impossible to get my arm through... he used some CA glue and accelerant to reinforce it and took the heat gun to it... we were able to bend it enough to get it closer to the right shape, so it should be fine now... I keep telling him the imperfections and asymmetrical nature of the armor are both cool and weird at the same time... as long as it works, it doesn't matter to me... LOL I hate my camera phone, so some of these pictures suck... I apologize in advance... LOL The corrected bicep... I didn't get a side by side shot of how different they were, but picture the correct one with a horizontal opening, and the other with a vertical egg-shaped opening... pretty crazy... just glad we got it fixed... Completed thigh... we didn't have to do much sizing, because it fit me just right... guess I'm the perfect size for a stormtrooper... Strapping done to connect front and back... Sizing for shoulder straps... Next up was the belt... because I'm going for Specialist, I got a patent leather woman's belt off eBay... by some mistake, they sent me two belts, but it didn't matter because using both proved to be the best method to mount the plastic belt... we riveted the belt to the plastic in the center...

Update on progress... this is from a few weeks back... Got some more work done today on the kit... did lots of sanding/smoothing of pieces and started to glue the cover strips (most of which we cut last weekend)... Ed started making the snap plates and glued a few of those on... it's starting to come together... hoping to make some more progress next weekend!

According to the Spec Ops guys, you can go with either silver or gray for the frown... I like the silver better because I used silver lenses for the helmet... then flat black stripes and left the rest the gloss black of the plastic without painting... the less painting, the better IMO... the stripes were annoying enough... LOL

After drooling over the contents of my brown box, I hooked up with a Garrison buddy over the weekend to get started with more of my TX build... the ATA armor is very sturdy and thicker than some other kits, so I felt most comfortable using the dremel to do the rough cuts... I completed the thermal detonator and cut a couple other pieces at home, but I will post pics of that later.. I did most of the rough cutting, then measured for Ed while he did some of the detail cutting... We got everything rough cut, now it's a matter of sanding and starting to glue pieces together... but it's a good start!

I recently got my black TX kit from ATA (after an 8-month wait!), but needless to say I was ecstatic. I already finished my helmet back in the summer, so the focus could solely be on the armor...

I'm about to get my kit and start working on my black ATA TX trooper armor, and I was wondering about the strapping system... I've got friends who have assembled without using snaps on their armor, using velcro instead... does anyone else have experience with this? Just trying to weigh my options... I'm not totally opposed to snaps, but if all velcro is possible, that sounds pretty good to me...

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