Sheik Yerbouti

It doesn't show too well, but the finisher adds a nice glossiness. And a try on, I need to work on the shins and they are riding high cause I could not wait for the finisher to fully dry to see how it all looked.

Soren, did you put the finisher on the elastic inserts on your or just the leather parts?

I'm thinking so, have the finisher ready but plan on checking how they look with my armor shins. The size is 11.5 US. I have a wide food so usually wear an 11 EE, but Bass has no wide sizes for this boot, but the 11.5 fits my wide flat foot really well.

Coat 6

It seems like they might pass for centurion but not sure. Honestly not really a concern for me right now. It looks like most centurions have TKBoots and since that isn't really an option right now... I'll likely go for centurion at some point but right now I just want to get trooping.

Thanks Soren! I am thinking Scott means my handle, it is the title of a Frank Zappa album. Everyone knows people that listen to Zappa are a little off

Coat 5

Coat 4

After coat 2 And after coat 3

Agreed with Soren, I am 3 coats in and have used maybe 1/4 of the 4 oz bottle at most but I expect I'll need at least 3 more coats

Hi Ryan, I recently bought the Bass boots myself. I have a wide flat foot and usually wear an 11 Wide in both dress shoes and tennis shoes. I went with 11.5 for the bass and they fit really well, almost a little too loose. If your are a normal size D or M, IE not wide or narrow, I'd go with the 10.5. If you foot is a bit wide then the 11s will likely be good for you.Also if you go through Amazon, or Zappos as they have them too, you can always send them back for an exchange if you wear them around the house and they don't feel right.

I went with the Fitbit Flex instead of the fuel, my work had a deal with them so we got them half price...still trying to figure out how to take full advantage of it though, only had it a week or so.

I hope mine turn out half as good as yours, I'd be happy with that

Beautiful work!

Using a brush, I saw in some of the posts there were concerns with the paint bubbling so i figured I would go with a smaller brush and worry less about bubbling.

Yeah the face change can be amazing. I was surprised at the first thing I had to change though...my watch strap. I never thought there was fat in my wrists but there was. I took the weight loss challenge almost as a game as well MFP tracks how many days you are on like achievements and I viewed the drop in the scale as achievements as well...along with raising the treadmill, going faster and longer, etc. It really helped change my mindset and stick with it. I totally believe anyone can do it, they just need to find what works for them. It may not be what you or I did but there is something they can take and make their own. When our armor is done I hope we get a chance to troop together and trade some tips since I am not that far away from you, I'm in San Jose.

Thanks Soren, trying to go with a light hand but was surprised at how far a little dab of Angelus goes. And for good measure "Up the Irons!"

Inspired by Soren's excellent threads showing his great work converting boots I figured I'd share my own progress. Probably will pale in comparison to his Before working on these I wore them for 2 days to break them in and partially create the wear creases. I have a wide flat foot and usually wear a, US, 11 Wide. Bass has no wides for the Amsterdam but the 11.5 fits really well, no tightness across the foot at all. In general these are really comfortable boots for less than $80, I could see maybe adding an insole for added cushion but after standing in them for most of a day my feet felt fine. Hopefully they are durable too. Anyway started last night, here are the shots: Stock before the Acetone treatment Here is one done and one not, you can see how the shine is gone for a nice matte look Here are both stripped down Now with tape And finally the 1st coat is on, I think I may have gone a bit heavy on coat one so hopefully I have not boned anything

Here are some of my before and after shots The wife says the suit does not do justice to the weight loss but as George Zimmer used to say "I'm gonna like the way I look." In this one I lost not only the weight but the kid too.

Congrats Ben! Armor was one of my goals for weight loss as well. Last year I clocked in at 261 lbs and at 6'0" that was a bit too much. I did not want to join and hear the inevitable "Aren't you a little fat for a stormtrooper." Over the course of the last year I have gotten down to 185 with a goal of 175. What worked for me was calorie counting via MyFitnessPal, 1800 calories per day and no adding to that even if I had a higher balance due to exercise. I got in some treadmill time when I could, long commute to work limited it to about 3 days a week, on top of that playing hockey once a week. I also went to a stand up desk which seemed to help as well...also helped me sleep better. Now feeling better about how I look as soon as my helmet gets here I am good to go. And Brian, excellent job man! I am proud of my 76 pound drop but you are amazing man good on you!

I was lurking a bit too, makes total sense to me. On the plus side making the PMs work from the get go was great as I was able to reach out to some makers for bits I needed as I get my armor together.

You rock that bikini!