AsBlondeAsLuke

I'd have to agree with Morten on this one. It's one thing to wear the armor just for a few minutes for a fitting and be OK with it. It doesn't pinch just standing there. It's different when you have to wear for a couple of hours for a troop and that's when edges and lips start to dig in and leave "armor bite." Might want to start wearing the armor for longer periods of time around the house to truly get a feel if those pieces are going to dig in. Great progress, though. Enjoying watching your build!

Grow up? Never! Spent the past two days helping another woman work on her armor for the first time, (a generic clone.) We did as much laughing as we did working, but managed to get a great deal accomplished in the end. Having fun definitely helps the process along.

Thanks, Joey! Very proud to become the first female Centurion in our garrison. Hoping there will be many, many more after me.

Thank you, Steve, Germain, and Adam. Adam, I love that you were able to work in a final cod joke. I think that is very fitting. Speaking of fitting, here is a "before" and "after" picture just to thank everyone for standing behind me every step of the way.

Tim, what's the issue with the notch?

As promised, here's a compilation of what I learned from the time the brown box arrived to when I finally achieved my end goal of becoming Centurion. It took nine months from beginning to end. Yes, it just hit me that's the same time it takes to create a baby. (Er, not create one, but you know what I mean.) Top Ten Things I've Learned From Building My Armor by TK-95020 10. There are no stupid questions. 9. Research, research, research. 8. Take the time to do a build thread. You can’t rush building armor. 7. Admit when you've make a mistake. Take pictures of it, so you can get help fixing it. Odds are somebody did the same thing. Or worse. 6. Armor disasters aren't armageddon, (although it feels like it at the time.) Go to bed. Sleep on it. Start again. 5. Armor doesn’t come with instructions. It’s not furniture from Ikea, (although it is equally as frustrating to assemble.) 4. Your body is different from everybody else. You need to get creative to make the armor fit the body that is uniquely and beautifully you. 3. Take your time. Do not rush what is supposed to a very enjoyable process. This is like remodeling your kitchen. It will take three times as long and cost three times as much as you think. 2. Pick the easiest first troop you can to test out your armor. It will be glitchy and nothing at all like walking around your house. 1. Your armor is never done.

Thank you, Todd, Adam, Germain. So happy to make Centurion. I received so much encouragement, help and advise that allowed me to get here. But, the best part is it taught me to look at the armor and always want to make it better.

Ah, you are referring to my right shin which popped open? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpmdVAQzXQI&list=UUKHteoghaTkXe0KrfAA4DGQ Yes, on one of the two times over the past two months when I resized the shins, I took out the hook system my engineer invented and replaced it with Velcro. With the thigh pieces on, I simply couldn't achieve the body contortions required to bend down, reach around backwards get both sets of hooks to slide in with the manner he'd so cleverly designed. So, I cut them out and replaced them with Velcro. Ah, Velcro. Smush it together in one simple move and you're good. However, after rewatching my video a few times and scowling at my uncooperative right shin, I started thinking... (Always a dangerous thing, mind you...) Standard hooks and holes (like you have on your armor) might actually hold better than Velcro. So, even discounting the C-3PO factor, it might provide a superior solution for all that stair climbing I plan on doing in the future. After all, somebody has to push your stiff-legged butt up the stairs.

Thank you Glen, Steve, Steve, Eric, Kyle. (Steve, I am still trying to rid my brain of that image of you in pink you have placed there. Thanks for that.)

So, today after I adjusted the rivets on the left side of my armor, it made everything fit better. Here's a few pics on PhotoBucket showing the changes I made from beginning to end to move the rivets. It was the first time I Dremeled on my own. It was fun. I looked it up on YouTube. I decided I like the Dremel. Very much. http://s974.photobucket.com/user/dianawolftorres/library/FIXING%20RIVETS%20ON%20THE%20LEFT%20SIDE Ah, but just as much fun as Dremeling, was testing out the armor to see how the strapping fit. I headed upstairs to look in the full length mirror, and suddenly realized, I could easily walk up stairs. So, I decided to do a stairs test in the armor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpmdVAQzXQI&list=UUKHteoghaTkXe0KrfAA4DGQ It became more of an exercise in trying not to trip over the dog in armor, but this was a good and valid test of stormtrooper skill, too.

OK, just doubled over laughing. Although, I seriously don't know where I'm going to put that new Aker system. I am either going to have to stick it in the backplate or return it. (I haven't tried it in the cod, but judging from what I can remember from my high school geometry, the two shapes aren't going to work.)

Thank you, Eric. Actually, getting more ladies to join is a goal of mine. I would especially love to see more lady TKs in my garrison. At the moment, I'm the only one and it gets a bit lonely.

Thanks, Steve! Getting this standard-sized suit trimmed down did present a... uh... small challenge. So, thank you to everyone who helped over the past six months as we agonized over every last trim, nip, cut and cod reduction. It was truly a team effort.

I did want to suggest that perhaps you take the pressure off yourself and work with a much looser deadline. It makes the build a lot more enjoyable. I'm looking to finish mine in time for Celebration Anaheim. Are you going? We could troop together. I was hoping we could get all the femme troopers together into a squad on one of the days and troop around. You in?

Hi Jenny, thanks so much for sharing and absolutely you are entitled to throw a good fit when the armor doesn't do what you want it to do. It is very frustrating. We set goals for ourselves, and the armor has another agenda.

Thanks! Ever since I saw a TK last year at Celebration Europe scaling the stairs with ease (and I was IMPRESSED), I made stairs a final end goal.

As per my conversation with Steve this morning, I finished the corrections on the left side, aligning the rivets to the top instead of the bottom. Steve said there was no need to post a new photo, but I was curious to see how it all fit with the these new adjustments. Steve happened to ask if the armor would fit differently with this new alignment and thought it would fit better. The answers are yes, and yes. I walked upstairs to the full-length mirror in my son's room to make sure I had all the pieces before I took the new picture. It wasn't until I was halfway back down the stairs that I realized: "Wait. Since when I can easily scale stairs?" I use to walk up and down them like C-3PO. Just this one small adjustment made everything suddenly shift into place, and the C-3PO factor went away. Here's the before picture: And, the new picture. (Sorry for the less than optimal lighting.)

Ah, well, if my cell phone rings...

It is a shame to let all of that unused storage space go to waste. There are so precious few places to stash something on a TK suit. I mean, you can't really fit a pair of keys or a cellphone in one of the drop boxes.

Thank you, Steve. Ah, yes, in a perfect world, we'd all be able to wear those pieces uncut so they line up properly. As you and I discussed, since I had to trim so much off, they line up at the bottom, but not at the top. (A note to all the newbies reading this, they need to line up at the top, since the belt covers up the bottom.) And, of course, this does provide a delightful excuse to mix up another batch of ABS paste. Gooey plastic playdough. Love the stuff. And, thank you, for the input and the insight on helping make my armor the best it can possibly be.

Thank you, Jonathan. The building was the fun part, but making new friends as part of the process was even better.

Ah, you'd be amazed how blinding that gold scope can be. If not for the shielding of my helmet and the tinted green of the visor, I'd be as sightless as a Miralukan by now.

Thank you, Todd.

Sigh. Always wished I was taller. But, I did manage to pack on three pounds of muscle over the summer. My husband goes to the gym so he can surf better. I go to look better in armor. To each his own. Figured a bit of extra muscle would help with those long troops and schlepping armor bins across bumpy parking lots. And tracking down Rebel scum, of course. All love for the love and glory of the Empire. Thanks for the compliment on the suit! I can't wait to build another one.