tkrestonva

Most definitely. I'd say that one of the biggest differences between the two services is that the Navy is very tradition-bound, as you would expect from a service with such deep roots. The Air Force, being the newest armed service (formed in 1947) is much less so and tends to have a real love affair with advanced technology. Both offer vocational training and educational opportunities that are easily applicable to the civilian sector should you choose not to stay in for a career. If there is one piece of advice I would give anyone going to see a recruiter, it's this: know what you want to do in the service as a vocation. Have a "top three choices" in mind before you sit down with him/her. The worst thing you can do is say "I'll do whatever" because you will guaranteed be put in the hardest-to-fill, least desirable billet.

Getting discouraged at some point is perfectly natural, especially if it's your first build. It can be difficult to keep the end result in mind when you're surrounded by piles of plastic, but its important to do so nonetheless. When the discouragement comes, then it's time to step away for a while, do some research, get some hands-on help, help out with some troops as a handler, watch the movies a few times - basically whatever it takes for you to get inspired again. Better to take a break to relight the fire than doing something out of frustration that you will regret later. With the return edges, best approach is an incremental one - take a little off, tape them together, try them on, and see how they look/feel. If needed, repeat the process until you reach the right level of trimming for you. As far as the shin assembly goes it's hard to tell with the way you have them laid out in the photo. Just follow Tom's AM shin assembly guide - you can't go wrong with it.

Looks like your thighs need to be rotated inward some, especially the right thigh. Also, bring up the belt in the back so that it sits right above your butt plate - not covering it like you show now.

At 5'10", close to 250lbs, and with an essentially barrel-shaped upper body, AM seems like the best choice. Not the most accurate (duh!), but of the available options it will probably fit your body the best. Be sure to go with the "lite" kit. since you'll want a better helmet than what comes with the "full" kit.

The answer is really as much as you feel comfortable with and/or need to get the shins to close properly. That's a LOT of return edge, and I ended up taking about half of it off my AM shins.

Unless it's been updated since the last time I viewed it, the Dave's Garage series of vids is geared toward the assembly of FX armor, which is signifcantly different from AP.

Agreed. As much as we would all LOVE to be able to wear TM, RS, or CfO (and do so properly), IMO you're better off getting a costume that is better suited to your proportions as opposed to attempting to wedge yourself into a balls-on accurate kit that doesn't work for you. At the very least, it will make wearing it for long periods of time (and troops can go for many hours) a physically uncomfortable experience. The trick is taking that better-suited kit and, through skill, knowledge, and assistance, making it as accurate as is possible. There are plenty of armour experts in the UKG that can help you with that.

I'm going to have to get myself a Sith robe and start doing that myself.

Not sure what you're asking in that first question, but pretty much any helmet will do.

Take some photos, upload them to an online photo hosting site (Flickr, Photobucket, etc.) and post some links.

Here are a couple of options: --------- As for the helmet, I have no idea what a "EBay medeoker styrene kit" is, although I'd be interested in seeing some photos and/or a link to the auction.

That is quite nice.The hidden storage is a great thing, and the lights are actually quite useful in finding said trooper in a dense crowd or in dark conditions. QM's packs seem to get better and better with each build.

I tend to agree.

What kind of helmet do you have?

Looks like that first pic was from Wondercon 2012 this month in Anaheim, CA. http://www.flickr.com/photos/briekalan/sets/72157629260085798/with/6852879006/

You'll also do well with a set of rare earth magnets for keeping the long seams together while your glue dries. I'd say 24 at an absolute minimum, plus spares when some of them decide to spontaneously fly together and shatter upon impact.

Wow - it's like you opened up a time capsule.

Based on the timeframe it's probably an FX, but photos would of course help.

The thermal detonator mod has been done and there is a thread here describing it. Still, the best place to store your keys and other valuables while trooping is either in your secured armor bin or in your handler's pocketbook. If you're are going to stuff fans and other electronics inside your helmet, I would keep in mind that all of that adds weight and may affect the balance of the helmet. If not properly balanced they could cause it to list to one side or another. With past helmets I found fans useful to prevent lens fogging, but I don't use them in my current helmets due to the weight/balance issue, and the added noise may interfere with my Aker/iComm functionality. Like Mathias, as long as I can move around it's usually not a problem. Other options for non-prop accurate but functional (and uber-cool) accessories are a video camera, and a short-range radio comm system. "TrooperTim" actually records troops via his helmet cam and posts them on his YouTube channel. The UKG used to use something they called "Troopercomm", and I have my own homemade (and fully removable) two-way radio comm system installed in my armor. As far as bio breaks, I don't take them while in armor. Even for long periods (over 4 hours) in armor, I've learned to regulate my fluid intake such that I can get enough to remain hydrated even in hot weather, but not so much as to have to pee in the middle of the troop. I also avoid caffeine for obvious reasons.

Yes, on the bicep remove the part you have shaded red, then use the butt-join and cover strip method (with an internal shim) to assemble the bicep. Just like you described. For the forearms, you can cut away the part you have marked in red if it helps your mobility - it's actually a modification many people make. Take enough off so that you can reach up and get your helmet on/off without help. If you still have any return edge at the elbow end of the outer forearms (the part with the divots) you can remove that completely to give yourself more room - in fact I would do that first and see how it feels before trimming the inner forearm. Happy to help - that's what we do here (along with trooping, talking shop, etc.)

19" flexed - impressive. You're a big dude. Screen-accurate stormtroopers are short and skinny by today's standards, and you'll find there are advantages to being a super-sized stormtrooper when you're out in the public eye. Here's the method most people use when they need to do shims, except you use glue to put the shim in permanently instead of using velcro. It applies not just to the calves, but to pretty much any part that needs shimming: http://www.tonybarne....com/shims.html In doing the bicep assembly I would first cut off the raised overlap part and assemble the bicep using the butt join & cover strip method (look at the photo I posted). Not only is it screen-accurate, in the AM kit it actually makes the bicep come together easier. Same advice applies to the forearms, shins, and thighs. Like you said, I also would position the two halves such that the gap on either side is equal before permanently putting in shims, that way it's not lopsided and ill-fitting. For the shims themselves, I would first take a piece of scrap plastic (a lot of troopers will buy a thin white plastic "For Sale" sign and cut it up), cut out two pieces to the same length as the bicep and with enough width to close the gaps, and glue them in place using E6000. Glue the shims on the inside like you show in your photo. Once the glue is dry, verify that the biceps fit properly. The beauty of E6000 is that it's very forgiving, and if you find the shims are too small (or too big for that matter) you can carefully slice through the glue with a razor or simply pry off the shim with a thin-bladed screwdriver, remove the shim, clean up the residue (Goo Gone is safe and works well), and start over. After the shim is in place, use one of the plastic "belt strips" (there will be 4 of them and you will NOT use them to make the belt - despite what the instruction book says) that came with the kit, cut it to the length of the bicep and width needed to cover the gap, and glue it in place on the outside of the bicep. Be careful with those strips, they are a limited resource and you want to make the best use possible out of them. That's why you'll use throwaway plastic for the hidden internal shim, and save the nice plastic for the external cover strip that will be seen.

Keep in mind you don't need an extreme amount of pull strength, you are simply gluing a couple of pieces of plastic together. I can't answer you question about precisely how magnetic strength increases in proportion to thickness (other than it definitely does increase), but it seems simpler to just go with the single thicker magnet as opposed to stacking thinner magnets. You would eventually need to separate the stacked magnets (no mean feat), and there is always the risk of the magnets colliding with each other and shattering.

Better to have the forearms completely glued together if possible, as opposed to one side glue and the other velcro. As far as shimming the biceps, seeing some photos showing how they currently fit you would be helpful. How big around are your flexed upper arms? Mine are about 17.5 inches cold (i.e. no post-workout pump). By my estimate, if you take off all the return edge they should be able to fit up to 18" biceps without shimming.

Yes, it's fine to take off the bicep return edges.

Just like the small photo in the upper right. Take all of that off. You could also take the return off at the elbow end (larger photo), if that suits you. Personally, I'd at least trim it down a bit.