Shin

I appreciate the kind offer to help, the truth is this year has not been kind to my family and the money and time spent on this is better spent going towards medical expenses. It's unfortunate but that is the reality. Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

Well.. This is going to be hard. As much as it pains me to have come this far and end up like this I will be selling this armor. Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

I went slightly smaller after this photo was taken, I think it's about as small as I want to go. I took the upward curve (leftover from the flat edge) off of the back half. Once they're together it will round out and be much better I think. Next thing I may do is actually shorten them. I may cut off just after the first divet at the wrist. More research needed and I want to try to find some photos from someone that has done this. If I don't, I feel like the half guard will collide with the forearms and look silly. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I've decided to give it a try... It's just a test fit but I think it's getting somewhere... I could probably even go smaller on the forearms. This is with all the flat edge taken off of both halves in the back. What do you think, smaller? Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

In this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkOjG0eoFWA) TK1636 talks about resizing the forearms by removing all of the flat return edge from the back side of the forearm. Is there any further information on that somewhere? I have small forearms and I'll have "popeye" arms if I don't do something about it before I start gluing. From the sounds of it he used the standard 15mm cover strip and possibly bent the back side of the forearms to make a new flat piece to adhere to?

What do you plan to do about getting the butt plate lifted? Building an ATA now myself...

Thanks ukswrath, is trimming of the length ever necessary to get them to fit? I read somewhere that someone was trimming length and the only reason I could see that being necessary is trimming the excess off of the wrist side after lining up the top?

Alright I've taken some time to read and re-read some material about fitting the forearms. I'm a pretty small guy so the left forearm is troublesome where the right one is the better one. Some/most other people have the reverse issue. I've had to leave quite a bit of return edge on the left forearm in order to get it to fit like the right one. This won't be noticeable when worn, and it bothered me at first but I don't think it's a huge issue. As long as it fits on both sides I'm happy with it and I'll glue this weekend.

Thanks, part the problem I have with the build threads is so many of them are using RS or another manufacturer that comes with cut lines. In that case most people, tutorials or what have you usually say "now cut along the lines." No lines here, at least none terribly defined. That being said I'm planning to use double snap method so I'm not going to need the edge for the brackets. More cutting tonight, thanks guys!

It's taken me a while to get back to this but I've started trimming and I'm having trouble finding definitive info on return edges.... it seems like it's not a very strict guideline. Here's my forearm and bicep trimming. I have not sanded and smoothed the edges yet, I'm waiting to decide if I'm going to take more off or not. Any thoughts on this? I'm also drawing in my cut lines on the torso pieces. I'm just starting to do some research on how all of the return edges should be cut.

Where is this Joseph's equipment list? I'm starting a build soon, as soon as I can gather all of the components but the strapping and snaps are really sending me for a loop, no idea what to buy yet. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

That is an amazingly helpful offer! I have some work obligations over the next week to 2 weeks. I'll PM you and we can set up some time. I don't plan to do any cutting yet anyway, until I have all the materials and items I need. Thanks a bunch! Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

The armor from ATA arrived yesterday and it feels surreal to finally be doing this. It's been a long road of starts and stops and life getting in the way to finally get to this point! Everything laid out, looks like it's all here. I'm still trying to decide on ANH hero or stunt. I'm doing some research on the differences and how they relate to an ANH sandtrooper. I want to be a TK for a while and then switch it up to TD when I feel the need for a change. Any suggestions on hero vs stunt would be appreciated. I'm also doing a bit of reading, looking at reference photos a d youtube videos on best ways to trim and measure. I'll post my check list and supplies list soon. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I am without a doubt building straight to EIB/Centurion. I don't have a long enough attention span to go back and have the initiative to fix it later.

Alright, so I'm on the 6 month or so waiting list for ATA armor but I'm going to start documenting this process as I go starting now. I have made some great connections through this process already, even though it is still very early in my build, most of all Solcar23 / TK-5924 / Carlos has been exceptionally helpful. He took it upon himself to send me 10 split rivets that I will need for my Centurion build along with some extra goodies; a 501st patch, a Midwest Garrison sticker and of course, trading cards with his mugshot on them! Thanks so much Carlos! It's attitudes like this that will keep me interested in moving forward at a decent clip. Next, the boots.. A couple of weeks ago I was doing research on boots and decided to start from the boots and work my way up until the armor arrived. I was very disappointed that tkboots.com was having supplier issues and was not looking forward to the dye process. Out of desperation I emailed tkboots.com and asked if just by CHANCE he had my size sitting on a shelf somewhere, I wear a fairly small, uncommon boot size. To my complete astonishment he DID!!!! I was so excited to get these boots... However, I did not try them on and "action pose" in the mirror, that would have been ridiculous for a grown man to do. Next, I'm selling off some old nerdy stuff (as Carlos calls it) to fund this new project. I have some TK budget money coming in soon and will purchase my next piece. I'm considering breaking the "boots up" rule and buying the lid. Will keep everyone posted.

7 months at the moment...

I'll go for the white rubber. Durability is almost as important as accuracy to me. That's what ... she... said?

Well, I've got hands like a girl so they would probably be huge on me if they're big to you. I've seen posts about the "Queen of Hand Plates" or whatever on here, I'll probably use her as long as the white of my armor is similar to the white on her hand guards. Great! Bookmarked that...I hope to start spending my hard earned cash on this stuff in the next month or so.

This is excellent news. I'll use him for these things then. Though I think the ATA kit comes with mic tips? now I'm wondering... Anyway.. I didn't see a lens on Trooperbay for the ANH. (Green) I only see the mirrored finish. You bought green lenses for your ANH from him?

I'm on about a 7 month waiting list for my ATA armor and I have a couple of concerns/questions that I can't seem to answer by searching. I'm sure it's there somewhere but there are a LOT of threads to sift through to find it. It looks like Trooperbay has a lot of the accessories like flexible hand guards, holster, gloves, canvas belt and blue/gray paint. I'm looking to build for centurion and I want to make sure that "screen accurate" is really what it says. What is the verdict on this vendor?

Please do share. I'm just piecing together my first kit and I was going to start from the boots up and this is my first snag. Not really sure what to do now...

As a newbie, doing research for a new kit and just beginning to learn about different vendors, thinking about starting to buy some soft bits, etc... This is an absolute nightmare. If you don't want the "how do I get approved" question every time someone registers for the forums then you need to be as accurate as possible in your CRL. If I start my build and follow the CRL perfectly, then I'm told to change it to be approved.. that will just cause confusion. Also, Locitus has it right... if the military is handing out flak jackets to everyone, you get the same size as your friend next to you regardless of how tall you are.

Oh thank god... I was about to start making armor out of painted cardboard... Not quite so lost now