tkrestonva

Even with upgraded gaskets and such, I personally don't know of a single TFA trooper that can suit up unassisted. I'm also not sure what advantage using rare earth magnets will provide you over Velcro to, say for instance, close the shins. Once I'm in kit it's relatively comfortable and I can certainly get out of it by myself if I need to. But getting into it (at least without looking like I got dressed in the dark) is pretty much out of the question.

Yep. People like myself and Kalani who are often on that group do our best to steer them in the right direction (which often means referring them back here), but (1) we can't catch everything, (2) anyone can chime in on a 5000+ members public FB group and make themselves sound good regardless of their actual level of expertise, (3) given FB's always-on, instant-gratification nature, people seem to have gotten lazy in terms of doing their due diligence - I've seen a lot of things over there that made me cringe (one kid put his kit together with RIVETS!!!) and that could have been easily avoided.

We would definitely need to see what the armor looks like on you right now in order to advise you, as opposed to how it looked before you started trimming. Also, have you looked into contacting the local 501st members? They can offer hands-on help.

Well done.

Are these the guys with the (mostly) cloth backpacks, or do they have backpacks that resemble ANH sandtroopers?

Welcome. Have you found this section of the forum yet? http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/38-getting-started-read-this-first/ Also, be sure to reach out to your local 501st garrison, as that should allow you to see examples of several different kits up close. Where are you located?

In that case, you'll want to move that shoulder-to-shoulder connecting strap as far forward as you can. You may even need to move it so that it crosses your collarbone instead of your traps.

Now that I see a full suit-up from the front and back, I'll tell you that the single biggest thing you can do to close the gaps at the shoulders is bring the attach point on the white elastic that connects the chest to the back under the shoulder bridges forward. It's intuitive to put the attach point midway between the front and back, but that results in the shoulders being rolled back - as can be seen by the fact that you have much less of a gap in the back than in the front. If you move the attach point to about halfway between the midpoint and the front while keeping everything else the same, it will help even out the gap. I'm not surprised that you are having problems with the throat mic. Others have tried that approach, but I don't recall a single case where they were completely successful in using one.

Well done. Love the husband-wife trooping teams. Question for you - did your wife get any "oh my gosh ... that one is a GIRL!" moments?

It's been said that ROTJ-style stormtroopers was the perfecting of the stormtrooper in George Lucas' eyes. Hence, much of what you see post-ROTJ (especially in the video games) is based on ROTJ armor - that includes the armor seen in TFU. And like Caleb said, the CRL for TKC is based on the character as seen in TFU.

A couple of quick mods later with an LED flashlight, a carry strap, a drill, and some hot glue ... and voila! Not so much worried about the small details - for now, this will do.

Done.

I like this. I wonder if I have enough time to add a flashlight and carry strap to my DLT-19?

Doing good so far. I agree with using the stickers as much as possible given the time constraints. You want to do as good a job as possible, but a Centurion-level build isn't a requirement for a 14 year old who won't know the difference. Have you decided on the internal padding yet? If not, I suggest foregoing the hard hat system (if that's what came with the kit) and getting a set of ACH pads via Amazon Prime.

Yes, an ANH TK neckseal will work for a TFA TK.

Quoting a fellow trooper and garrison member: "It's a classic tk in high def. It's like we've been looking through a smudged glass all these years that was finally wiped clean. I love my classic tks but this is a believably functional suit of space armor."

I would say yes, that gap under the sniper plate is acceptable since no one is ever going to see it.

Nice progress with the kit (including the tightened-up forearms), and VERY impressive job on the diet and exercise routine. At 6'1" and 220lbs, I'd like to drop back down to my fighting weight of 205lbs - not to mention drop 2-3" off of my current size 36 waist. I'm fine with 2x/day workouts, but a 1200 calorie/day diet would be torture.

The major downside of the current generation AM helmet is that it comes as a separate cap and back. It makes it easier to make insofar as forming plastic goes, but more difficult to assemble once you get it. It also leaves an inaccurate seam in the back (that can be filled if you choose to go that route). The screen-accurate helmets have a single cap/back. Earlier generations of the AM helmet were based on the oversized and oddly shaped FX helmet - that's probably what you were seeing when it was recommended to get the kit minus helmet (i.e. AM Lite). The current generation of AM helmets - separate cap and back aside - are much improved over the old FX-style helmets. So if I was buying a new AM kit, I'd personally get the complete AM package - IMO the perfectly color-matched helmet (it's the same plastic after all) is worth the extra bother of a more complicated assembly.

You might be able to have Rob Kittell make you one. He's the best in the business. http://www.imperialissue.com

I clock in at 6'1" and 220lbs. Had I not jumped on the Star Wars Celebration Anaheim Anovos pre-order deal back in April/May 2015 when they were selling dirt cheap ($350 for the OT TK kit) and/or not been able to make it work for my body (which I did), I'd definitely go with the AM 2.0 kit. These are the same guys that brought the venerable FX kit to the Legion. They have really listened to the fan base and made great strides in the accuracy of their product since the days of AM 1.0 and later on the NE - all while maintaining that sturdy feel that many other kits (such as Anovos) lack. Plus it comes pretrimmed - which saves you a TON of work over pretty much every other kit out there. Once my newly-built Anovos kit wears out (and I'm already seeing some cracking of the plastic), I'll be going back to an AM kit.

Done.

That's pretty cool. I assume the Legacy (Jes Gistang) trooper is your significant other?

Posting photos would help us figure out the problem and offer potential solutions.

I hear you, man. I love my FOTK. All I have to do is swap accessories between basic trooper, FN-2187, Riot Control, and Heavy Gunner (with or without the megablaster), and it's almost like having four different costumes.