tkrestonva

Ah yes, good choice. "ELP" has an efx helmet & AM armor - it looks like a pretty close match from what I can tell.

Jim, is there a minimum distance you need to keep between the RomFX board and Aker speaker/amp to avoid feedback? I currently own a Aker MR1506 (love it!), and I'm considering buying a RomFX and pairing the two. I have my Aker amp mounted inside the chestplate with the speaker facing forward, and I'd like to mount the RomFX next to it. Since I tend to go back and forth between ANH and ESB, mounting the RomFX inside the helmet isn't the best solution for me, and I don't want to have to buy two of them.

Man, I am soooooo tempted to pick up one of the black AM kits for myself. What bucket will you be using with this beauty?

Pretty much everything you listed can be found in the Ongoing Sales & Project Orders section: ---- Why not have a look around?

For screen-accuracy, the biceps don't have a return edge either. Still, much of it is personal preference. For example, AM comes with return edges on virtually every piece - something I personally like. If you look at and copy some of the newer TM builds, they match what was seen on screen down to the smallest details - return edges included. Which kit do you have coming?

I've also noticed that the AM shins seem to have more width than depth, I suspect that's the reason why I can't seem to keep mine from wanting to rotate. Still, I don't have any problem keeping them closed, and I don't quite know what you mean by you not being able to get it over your shoe. Terry (Pandatrooper) is good at figuring out solutions to problems like this, hopefully he'll weigh in soon.

Congrats, Damian, and thanks for all you've done for the FISD and the membership. Looking forward to the next 1K posts.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 45th B-day Gary! Here's hoping the anecdotes about getting shorter every year after a certain age aren't true - otherwise, we may have to get you a set of TM's child-sized armor. j/k, of course. Happy Birthday, old man. Hopefully you can make it back over here to the States sometime soon.

1. Use rare earth magnets to hold the long seams closed (thighs, shins, forearms, and biceps). You won't regret it. I got mine from ---- they have a wide selection and have consistently delivered my product orders within 2 working days. However, I understand that ---- is cheaper and have an equally wide assortment to choose from. 2. E6000 is the hands-down preferred choice. It's easy to work with, dries clear and flexible, and if you make a mistake (even if you don't discover it until after the glue has dried), you can gently pry apart the parts, remove the glue residue, and start over with a clean seam. It's also readily available - you can find it in the Crafts section at WalMart. ABS cement, being specifically engineered for ABS plastic, forms a chemical bond between the two parts to be joined and is (at least in theory) stronger, but it's also a lot less forgiving. If you make a mistake, you are for the most part stuck (no pun intended), as in my experience you won't be able to separate the parts without damaging one or both. My personal technique is to use ABS cement for the internal snap plates (where I want maximum strength and can hide any mistakes), and use E6000 for the seams, joins, and any other areas that are either externally visible or where I want some flexibility in the seam. FYI - both of these issues have already been addressed in other threads: ----

Pretty much says it all.

I wear glasses and have a large head, but I have to take off my glasses in ordet to get my helmet on. I primarily wear a TM, but it was the same when RT Mod was my trooping helmet. If you can wear contact, that's the best solution. While the FX/AM helmet offers plenty of room, it's also horribly inaccurate and quickly falling out of favor. Best to start off with a better bucket than having to upgrade later. Alternatively, you can have TK lenses ground to your prescription. Any optician that makes prescription sunglasses should be able to do it, although you'll probably need to bring in your helmet so that they get the size/shape of the lenses correct. It's also an expensive option - and you'll probably get some "reactions" when you explain why you want this - but it's doable. I see this is your first post. How about an introduction in the New Member Introductions section?

Definitely not FX, but that raises the question (at least in my mind): What/who is it - SDS, perhaps?

Nice job overall. What kind of kit is that? The chest is riding up on top of the ab piece. I recommend you use some chest-to-ab internal strapping to keep in properly in place. You already noted the neckseal and belt - where is your thermal detonator? How about an introduction over in the New Member Introductions section?

A few people have done it, but heavy weathering and/or battle damage isn't considered movie-canon. However, the "lived-in" look, i.e. light weathering, is acceptable as that's what was seen on-screen. Still, Brian summed it up nicely. Dirt is for sandtroopers.

The fact that you're buying your husband a TK kit - and are here doing the research to find the right kit for him - gets you a "Spouse of the Year" award in my book. As far as AM vs ATA, I agree - go with ATA. Just tell him not to play full-contact football in his kit.

Quick update: As the veterans here can attest to, you're never really finished with a build. Even though I "completed" it months ago and was approved for EIB with zero comments, there are always improvements that can be made. Most of what I've done since then has been strapping adjustments, but the biggest improvement has been to correct for the incorrectly-moulded shins. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, poisonfox's build - and Roguetrooper's illustration - really did a nice job in explaining the problem: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=12804 Here are my uncorrected shins, with Post-It-Notes labeling how they should be: Making the correction was a three-step process: 1. Cut off the moulded-in overlap strips in the back 2. Replace them with ANH-style cover strips 3. Switch the sniper plate to the other shin Voila! Both looks and fits better. I don't like it when they flop open, so I use velcro to hold them closed - I'm aware of the screen-accurate hook closure method, but for this kit I'm not worried about having all the hidden details correct. Thanks to TM, R2Dan, and others for initially pointing this out, and big thanks to Roguetrooper for the illustration that finally made it clear - even to me. And of course, thanks to Pandatrooper for leading the way in showing how to squeeze as much accuracy as possible out of the AM kit.

Off the top, I see the following: 1. The positioning of the ribbed plastic shoulder bridges needs to be adjusted. You already mentioned the right side had popped off. Can you bring both of them further down the chest plate? 2. The shoulder bells need to be brought forward and up closer in towards your body. That is basically a internal strapping adjustment. 3. The upper back needs to be raised higher on your body. That will also help with both the shoulder bells and the positioning of the ribbed shoulder bridges (allows them to be positioned further down the chest). 4. The utility belt should be fixed to the ab piece, snaps are the screen-accurate way to do this. If you want a picture, take a look at my build thread. 5. Trim the corners off the belt, so that you have 45 degree angles as opposed to the squared-off corners you have now. An easy fix. 6. The belt should be positioned above the gap between the kidney and butt armor as seen from the back. A good initial attempt, basically you need to tune the fitting.

Check the thread in this section (Armor Builds) immediately below this one, and you'll find your answer for the tools question.

My garrison is going to try out our own version of Troopercom today at Air & Scare, our HUGE annual Halloween troop at the National Air & Space Museum. It's not as elegant as the UKG's system, but it's cheap (less than $50 per setup), easy to install, and can be moved between costumes. It's based on my personal setup: It's worked well in the limited tests I've done so far, but today is the real test. I'll post something in the Field Training Exercises section within a couple of days letting everyone know how well it worked.

One more thing - your eyes are visible from the outside. Kind of takes away from the appearance. I'd pick up and install some dark lenses or lens material - TK4510 sells them at his trooper supply webstore.

Yes, I've done it and it works. The water has to be near-boiling, though, and you have to work quickly since the ABS cools quickly.

You seem to have the right solution already in hand - use a butt-join with cover strip, with elastic hooks to keep the calves closed.

Deckard (i.e. tupperwareTK) was selling machined Al mic tips this time last year. If you do a search, you should be able to find the thread. The thread has been dead for about a year, so I doubt he still has any. But it might be worth sending him an email.

100% agree. No one should expect special privileges, but if your garrison is there at the event organizer's request - AND expects you to pay to get in - that's out of bounds. If you were simply going as another group of fans, then of course you pay. If you're going as part of the show and to (indirectly) bring more paying guests to the event - again at the event coordinator's request - asking you to foot the bill for his profit is an insult. You already "work" for free. What's next - mopping the floors afterward?