Dark CMF

DON'T JINX IT!!!

To clarify the paint situation for the helmets, the frown really should be cleaned up, as Tony said earlier. As for the tube stripes (the blue ones) the question about them is whether they are too far from the face, not too close to the face. The standard is approximately a standard #2 pencil's width away from the cheeks and the ANOVOS helmets have them nearly twice that far away from the cheeks/face.

Truthfully David, I'm aware of both situations, as I've seen them first hand, and have seen others ask questions about them also. But... As I don't actually have one of the kits, I can't comfortably try to answer your question(s). If you could post pictures, it would greatly help us in assisting you.

Totally need to get a spandex type undersuit. If you can dance like that now, you'll have the moves like Jagger with spandex. You won't be as hot, and you'll have a better fit over all. Looking good though!

Having handled an ANOVOS Kit, seen a few TM kits, and having built an RT-Mod or three, I'll say that he doesn't need calipers. He's spot on in his assessment.

Well, even in the movies, the 501st had blue striping and details on the armor. Screen accuracy and all that. The yellow looks a bit garish in my opinion.

Stop it. Now it's YOU making ME blush. Thank you Steve.

In a word, yes. My afternoon went insanely hectic after Paul and I got off of the phone earlier, and in a very rare turn of events... I've been at a loss for words for the bulk of the afternoon/evening and I wanted to leave some time for everyone to have the chance to say their piece to Paul before I made any posts. (then the Blackhawks got whipped at home by Dallas, and I'm all ornery now. LoL) Thank you everyone. Truly. I'm honored, flattered, humbled, and excited about being blessed with this opportunity to serve and have begun my preparatory work already, but my thoughts are - as I alluded to earlier here - scattered a bit. More to follow Thank you, again. Troopers Helping Troopers!

Hey there Jefferson! Not to worry, as Spencer mentioned above, it will come apart fairly easily. If you want a little bit of extra assurance when taking it apart, leave it in the freezer overnight before you attempt to take it apart.

Jared, there are many, many things that I'd say should be considered in that regard. For starters, which costume do you truly like better? If it is the OT, then consider that not only has ANOVOS recently released 300 more costume kits for sale, but there are many other options for that costume here as well. If it is the First Order Stormtrooper that you like better, it gets a little more complex. For starters, it is (talking about the ANOVOS kit that will eventually see a sales thread on their site) a far more complex build, and will likely be far more expensive and incur far more waiting for you, as it is not even offered for sale to the public as of yet. As for what to expect... You can expect that if you build either of them properly - and if you hang out here, you know that we won't let you fail with a TK build of any kind - you will have the potential to literally change people's lives with it. No exaggeration, no messing around here. People (kids and adults alike) love to see these costumes, and the smiles and the joy that it brings to them in so many cases will change your life. They're that kind of powerful. Also, you can win a lot of costume contests at Halloween. Until your co-workers boycott you coming back in it again the following year because it just isn't fair.

Both Ian and I may perhaps be slightly partial to the link that he provided, but that link is indeed a pretty solid reference for blaster builders.

Congratulations Mark!! That photo is indeed epic beyond all epicness! I'm with Joseph though - you'd better share a photo of that prize! LoL

To clarify a little, Eric is 6'5" "bigger."

Slip it some of the bourbon. Hahaha

Those did appear to be very nicely trimmed on the kit that I saw. Perhaps after assembling the belts, and trimming the TDs, they ran out of bourbon.

They spent a lot of time assembling those belts. That meant they couldn't trim some of the parts.

Those are one of those things that I'll say "is controlled by your personal preference." If they bother you so much that all you see when you look at your bucket is the fact that they're uneven, then by all means, do as Rob suggested above to correct them. I agree with his assessment regarding how they would be addressed on your helmet. However... They are perfectly fine as they are. Pretty much nobody else will ever notice that they're not perfectly aligned, and on top of that, the area where those are mounted is notoriously thin plastic so it is an area that is potentially very easy to do more damage in attempting to correct it.

As a general rule there is no such thing as 501st ready. While it will likely be very close, it will also likely require some tweaking of the strapping to ensure a proper fit in accordance with the CRL. Think about this, anything that is being addressed as "good to change" or "in need of alteration/change" on the kits that have been mailed out, is going to be assembled as-is in their assembled costumes. The belt will be the same one. Four Chicago Screws instead of two. The eyes will have the same degree of trim/untrimmed finish around them. The frown will be the same as we've already seen. The Velcro strapping system, which many people are ditching in favor of the Legion's tried and true methods of Original Brackets or Snaps and Straps will be installed. Finally, no pieces will be cut to fit the wearer during assembly, so any of the armor bite areas will need to be addressed by the buyer, but they won't have built the costume, so they won't likely be comfortable with that idea. These are reasons why we typically encourage people (even those with no belief that they can build armor) to buy and build their own armor.

Good to see that you made it here, Hunter!! Slow and steady will get you there without a doubt

From all accounts so far, the consensus is that it is CA Glue of some type, and most everyone has had some pretty simple success in removing them.

Sixty days from now, we'll have access to all of the information we could ever want.

Nice work, Daryl and Chris! Keep at it guys!

While I cannot add to the discussion in terms of offering anything more than what you've been told, I did want to give you some kudos for doing your research before jumping on anything. Keep at it!

I'd say that you should be perfectly fine, Phil. It sounds like you've been doing your research, and have a solid grasp on what lies ahead of you. I received my kit in early/mid-June, publicly wore my armor for the first time on July 20th, and was approved by the Legion on August 2nd. <br><br> I worked on it for 2-3 hours per night, when I was able to work on it, which was more nights than not during that time.<br><br> My blaster build was a far more intense project, I worked on that for probably twic as long as the armor, start to finish.<br><br> Best of luck to you, it sounds like you've got a very good timeline, with a very worthwhile goal in sight! We've got your back!!

While it is not 100% certain, the article that the photo was originally published in states that it is the TFA Dressing Room: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-11/18/star-wars-force-awakens-stormtrooper-dressing-room/viewgallery/621538