mikedwelle94

I originally wanted to be a shiny Magma Trooper, so I got a nice red ABS plastic kit from ATA. I messed up a few of the parts during the build, but instead of replacing them, I coated everything in white and made it into a Death Trooper. Pretty much the LAST costume I'd ever want is a clean, plain white Stormtrooper. Stormtroopers are great, but I like to be the special snowflake that sticks out in that sea of white. My next one will be the new ROTJ-style Battlefront Shock Trooper with the red stripes. If I was going to build another Stormtrooper in a future, I would get a black TM ROTJ kit and try to make the Shadowtrooper from Battlefront - the one with the Imperial cog on the chest plate.

Following. This is gonna be fun to watch.

TK-80494 requesting 501st access. Thank you! http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=20552

Well it feels GREAT to finally step my foot in the door of the 501st, but I don't think my costume is done yet. My kidney and butt plates are still a bit large on me, and I'm thinking about adding some zombie flesh behind some of the holes. And maybe later on, I'll modify the suit for EIB. For now, I'm more than happy to have just made base approval. Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

Welp, it finally happened. 2 and a half years later, this same set of red ABS ATA armor that I had so much trouble with, finally got approved. My top choices for my TK number have been sent in this morning. I picked TK-80494 first, as that's my birthday. How long can I expect it to take for the LMO to assign my ID? Am I cleared for trooping as of now? I am completely excited to get my feet wet with the whole trooping thing.

There are other great options that aren't on the forum's list of recommended armorers. A few good options are CAP-W, WTF, and MTK, which are comparable in price to ATA. Contact Scootch for CAP-W HIPS armor. https://www.facebook.com/Scootchs-Custom-Fab-Shop-213924908786578/?fref=ts Or Trooperbay for MTK ABS armor. ---------- Walt from Walt's Trooper Factory (WTF) https://www.facebook.com/groups/612005498911674/

Sent in my second set of pictures for my GML to review. Here's a few:

Thanks again for chiming in with that link. I'd probably still be scratching my head in confusion if it wasn't for that!

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Solved the boot/shin problem on both costumes and took out that ugly shim! Thank the maker for Velcro One-Wrap. 12625654_10204183647631460_1561067316_n 12625622_10204183647591459_395538777_n

Yeah, my first app got turned down. The shins didn't fit over the tops of my boots and the blood looked too fresh. I've made these changes and will be submitting a new set of pictures later today.

IT WORKED. Holy sh--...I can't post pictures until tomorrow, but wowww. I just needed to express how excited this makes me. Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

I may learn to get along with the shinies eventually. I prefer to run with those who look like they've seen a little action. But seriously, what excites me above all is the inevitably large influx of new troopers thanks to these kits being put out. A TK is a TK, marked up or not. Good luck with your build man.

Hell yeah, I'd love to watch that happen! My eyes will be glued to your build thread.

Although watching this kit become a clean TK would be cool, I'm more excited about everything else people could turn these kits into. Death Troopers, Novatrooper Medics/Elites/Sentinels, Shock Troopers, etc. Let's see some variety come out of this new bunch of troopers!

Hey Jeff, I've been having the same exact problem with my Bass boots on both of my TK costumes. Someone linked your thread to my question and I'm really excited that I'm going to make this work. This glitch with my boots/shins is the only thing holding my Death Trooper back from approval. Thank you for posting all these pictures and explanations - it's all immensely helpful.

Found it in his thread(page 5 on laptop), thank you so much for showing me that! That will be immensely helpful. I just realized I also have a bit of a return edge on the bottoms of my shins on both my TKs which I will be removing. Hopefully these methods work. Just need to apply this fix to my Death Trooper and it's DONE. My TK number is so close, I can pretty much taste it.

Yeah I'm sure they would, given their bigger size. Should've learned that lesson from my Death Trooper and gone for those instead of ATA. I would like to try something that won't cost any extra money first. I spent too much on these two trooper costumes already The urge to cut into these boots is growing ever stronger.

You're right, these boots are pretty big. I have another pair of these on my Death Trooper kit and I'm having the same problem. I can afford to replace one pair, but not two... Anyone have any advice? Could I cut into these and try to reduce the size of the opening? I figure it won't be seen since the shins will cover it up. Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

Does the first time I needed to use the bathroom during a convention count as a horror story? It had a happy ending, but I figured out the wrong way to strap a Stormtrooper suit together.

Hey. So I had to insert this strip of ABS in the back of my left shin order for it to fit over the top of my boot. The shin armor is ATA (assembled with overlap) and the boots are Bass Amsterdams. I just need to know if this is an acceptable way for the back of it to look. Looking through all these other ROTJ threads, I haven't seen that anyone else needed to do this. Don't mind the red, this is supposed to be for an Imperial Shock Trooper which is structurally the same as ROTJ. I haven't shimmed the right shin yet, and you can see that it *just* barely doesn't close all the way over the boot. DSC03430 DSC03431 12571341_10204176788259980_590621176_n

Had the day off (after errands n' stuff) to paint. The chilly weather today didn't seem to mess with anything. Calling both shoulder bells and biceps done. One bicep is black CAP-W HIPS painted white, and the other is unpainted ATA ABS. Both shoulder bells are CAP-W HIPS. I kind of wish my whole suit was black to begin with, because sanding away some of the white paint makes for a cool weathering effect. 12596097_10204176788579988_259970465_n Also did a bang up job (in my opinion ) on this left shin armor. I think I'll finish the right shin tomorrow if I have time before class. I have no doubt I can hit level 2 certification with all this ATA and CAP-W stuff. Assembled with overlaps, I think it certainly looks the part. 12576189_10204176787419959_1908836563_n I'm really happy I'm able to get it to fit over my boot with the rear shim installed. Still not sure if the way it looks is going to be acceptable. Probably going to post in the ROTJ section about it if a ROTJ expert doesn't chime in here. 12571341_10204176788259980_590621176_n 12607369_10204176788059975_880186977_n That's all for now. My drop boxes from Trooperbay arrived recently, so I'll have that to work on. Payment has been sent to Troopermaster for his ROTJ helmet kit, which is being shipped with my kidney/butt and the correct ROTJ belt material. Should have most everything else done by the time the TM stuff arrives!

Yup, I know your situation. At least you don't live in Maine. There's like, one or two other 501st Stormtroopers in this entire state that I know of. It's quite isolated up here, with most of the NEG members being based in Massachusetts. So it would be impossible to get involved with things like armor parties unless I drive a six hour round trip, which isn't happening. ...There's more Mando Mercs here than 501st.... At least you have the forums. People here are really good about providing helpful answers to questions and they really want to see you make it in this hobby. And once people around you see what you're doing, they'll probably want to follow suit.

Ask around for some broken or B-grade parts and make a Death Trooper costume.

Cool, thanks for the clarification.