tkrestonva

Unfortunately, FX parts are very tough to come by nowadays. Your best shot at scoring spare parts may be, ironically enough, eBay. On the other hand, depending on the adhesive used on the thighs you may be able to pull them apart, narrow them down, and reglue them. Also, depending on how you attached the knee power pack you may be able to remove it and reattach it slightly lower on the thigh. When you are able to, close up photos would definity help.

FX with an AM lid.

Congrats on the new arrival! As for your questions: 1. I'd start with good ol' fashioned sandpaper 2. Looks fine to me. It's hard to tell, but if that's the elbow-side of the forearms then you can have return edge (in varying amounts at that) still and be accurate.

RT Mod was sculpted specifically for bigger guys (according to his website, Rob used himself as the body cast model - and he is in the 6'+, 200lb+ range), so it would definitely be the biggest of the three.

About time. So will we be seeing this costume next year at C6 and/or DragonCon?

If you decide to go with the RT Mod chest/back (and it sounds like you have), I would also get a set of RT Mod shoulder bridges since the AM bridges are quite different and obviously made for the AM parts.

I like to use ABS paste to fill holes. You can make your own using acetone (used as nail polish remover) and shavings from scrap plastic trimmings. Fill, let dry, light sanding, then polish with Novus.

Photo?

And right in time for that last-minute suprise Christmas gift . . . to myself!

Just noticing this - the RT chest and ATA back looks great! A real improvement to the AM kit (along with fixing the shins) that I do hope more AM wearers decide to adopt.

It would be easier to host your photos on a third-party site (Flickr, Photobucket, etc.) and use the image tool. That way, one doesn't have to click on the photo and be taken off the forum page to see it in detail But getting to the question at hand, two things I would suggest is (1) replace the black straps on your drop boxes with white straps (you already know that), and (2) taper down the right thigh. FX kits are notorious for having barrel-shaped thighs, especially the right thigh. What kind of boots are those? They look like "Elvis" style mariarchi boots, which are not approvable. Do you have a close-up picture?

RT sells spare parts. It may take a while, but you'll get them. Send him an email. EDIT - Hey, 3000 posts!

Answering your ABS question, if that is the RT MOD lid you were talking about in another thread (and judging by the ears I'm all but certain it is), then it's made of 0.08 glossy ABS - that's the only material Rob uses.

I imagine as more people start to view the BluRay release, we'll get more small details coming out. Always more to learn, there is.

Absolutely - except for the fact that per TKC EI requirements you'll need to fuse the kidney and butt plate. To my knowledege, RT Mod kits have them separated, ANH/ESB style. You would have the exact same issue with AM.

If you are going to do a TKC, then assuming you are the right size (which you may not be) CfO is by far the better bet. Most EU trooper armor is based on ROTJ, but with an ANH helmet. In fact, if you have your sights set on Centurion you will need to ROTJ-ify any armor kit you get (door trim, inverted ab buttons, etc.), so you might as well start off already in that state.

The password is available on the appropriate thread on the main Legion board - the very first entry: http://www.501st.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=64067 Yes, assuming rooms are still available it entitles you to a discount as part of the 501st / RL block of rooms.

Looks good so far. Best thing to do for determing how much to trim off the sides of the chest and upper back is to take a look at actual screen shots. There is actually a lot of gap there, although some troopers here prefer the fully-enclosed look of the two parts touching. As for the cod & crotch not lining up, it's perfectly normal. For additional comfort, you may want to cut off the flat part extending from the butt plate, or what I used to call "the plastic wedgie". Your inner thighs (and other parts) will thank you.

CA = cyanoacrylic glue. Also called Super Glue, Krazy Glue, etc. The specific formulations vary from brand to brand, but it's essentially all the same stuff. You can get it at any local drugstore, hobbystore, home improvement store, department store (e.g. WalMart), etc.

Thank you for the rundown, I was wondering how this compared to the Aker amps. I was especially wondering if this unit is small enough to fit under my chestplate like my MR1506 does. I do like the onboard memory feature, though. Still, I'm looking forward to a field test report.

And congrats on the approval.

I'll likely buy my copy right after our release troop this weekend - I'm hoping for an Imperial employee discount. Based on what has already been leaked, I've set my expectations appropriately. At this point, I'm just buying it for the deleted scenes and other goodies.

Cover strips look fine to me. As for the torso, it can be difficult (at least it was for me) to properly judge which way is up for the kidney plate. I think you've got it right, but better to wait for a second/third opinion. Once you do decide, however, be sure to mark it appropriately - I have a "T" written via Sharpie on the inside near the top edge. It doesn't look like you need to trim the ab plate at all. The cut line on the kidney plate shouldn't be slanted like that, it should be vertical. It looks like you are not properly lined up on the right side (as shown by your left side, the tops of the ab and kidney should line up), hence the slant. Also, if you leave yourself more room in the waist (making the waist a bit roomier than it needs to be), the butt should hang straighter. You can always add internal padding to the waist to get it snug. Helmets look awesome - both of them.

Great job, and an excellent alternative to the TKBoots backlog. I'm looking forward to seeing how they wear over time.

Ah, the benefits of living near the entertainment capital of the world. As usual, the face characters (Vader, Fett, Chewie) were LFL-supplied professional actors, yes? Great job, guys.