Barcoder

Your build is coming along nicely! Good job. And yes, you do not cut out that 5th indent; only 4 teeth per side for stunt. My helmet also has that "5th tooth" on the left side. (I'm guessing it's common on many types of armour.)

Hmmm, I see your dilemma... I do think the ears are a little large but have zero experience to offer you. Hopefully a seasoned pro will step in with words of wisdom? However, I think you have a ways to go before the top is too thin. You have a bit of meat there to work with... (I am VERY nervous about starting my ears.... I'll be watching you closely to see how it goes.)

I think it's looks friggin' awesome Martin! Good job buddy!

Happy to report the Thermal Detonator is finally finished. The required more effort than I thought... But in the end, I am happy how it turned out. ...and that basically finishes up the build! The armour is done. All that is left is continuous tweaking, mods, refinement & polishing. lol Now, it's time for the helmet... WOOHOO!

Lookin' good! I would let the black dry overnight, just to be safe... I love the inside of the helmet painted black! I think I will tackle that this weekend.

Good job! Nice lines around the ear bumps.

Thank you for the compliment & advice Germain! I really appreciate it. I completely agree with your suggestions; I knew the back plate had to come down. Once that is done, I can assess the should strap length; there is a chance it may be ok. I plan on painting the rivets last, just so they don't get banged around while doing last minute adjustments. And yes, the neck seal does cover the logo - but I plan on removing it with paint thinner to be sure. No worries on the chest plate choking issue. I had already dealt with that. (I have two snap positions on the chest for adjustment.) Thanks again.

Thanks so much Martin! The end is in sight; I can't wait to start the helmet. The ears make me nervous.... (I think I'm might change my mind about the shin hooks - they are a pain. Velcro would be SO easier... lol)

Alrighty, picture time. All suited up for final adjustments & fit... So. Freaking. Cool!!!! After viewing the pics, there are a few things I noticed... -Shoulder straps need to be re-glued to sit lower on the chest. Too much overhang on the back section. (Need to add the elastic too.) -Back section maybe needs to be lowered? -Need to add bicep straps. Biceps keep slipping out... -It's VERY interesting walking up/down stairs. Any issues I may not be aware of?

Thanks Jason; I am quite happy with how it's turning out. Trust me, I was VERY tempted to leave the TD canister the original brushed steel. I thought it looked perfect, but it must be all grey.

Thanks buddy! I understand not being able to do a new return edge. I was debating on trying to give the top of my thighs the ANH "notches"...but I'd need to do a return edge.... Maybe one day... I hear ya on having 20 tabs open. lol So MUCH research. But yes, it certainly pays off.

It's been slow progress lately... I am nearing the end of the armour build, so maybe I am savoring the last steps. lol Thermal Detonator is in progress... Just finished the first coat of Testors 1138. Shoulder straps have been glued on. (Some heat bending might help them lay flatter on the back section.) Ab buttons are glued on. The ab section is now completely finished. All closed up! Time to suit up again for the final fit & adjustments. I am itching to get started on the helmet!!

Looking great! I am interested to see the strapping system as well... How's the fit with the ab/cod section? Do the thighs fit well? It looks like the thighs might butt up really close to the cod... Good job on the buttons.

I ended up using the bottom of a spray paint can to get the correct radius for the battery pack/knee thingy (that's my word for it.) I had seen a few people use that in their builds. Your thighs turned out awesome! Good job.

....and on to the Thermal Detonator..... I had expected some issues, and I was right.... Trimmed the end caps with the Dremel, using the cut-off discs. (Worked pretty good.) Since this armour is re-cast, the end caps are quite big/wide. They do not fit a 2 inch pipe..at all. They are WAY to big for a 2 inch pipe, and just a little too small for a 3 inch pipe. (I needed something around 2 3/4".) What to do? I thought about buying one, pre-made... I thought about trying to make my own end caps.. (That went horribly wrong. lol) What I ended up doing was hunting through various stores looking for anything that might work... Plastic bottles, tubes, cardboard tubes, containers, etc... In the end, I found a plain stainless steel water bottle that fit the end caps perfectly! All I had to do was cut the bottle down to size... (Cut-off discs worked great-a little smelly & smoky-but great.) I had never cut steel with my Dremel before...so it was a little nerve wracking at first. ...did a test fit with the front panel & BANG! A Thermal Detonator. All I have to do is make some clips & attach, paint the tube grey & glue.

So, I finished the harness/garter for the thighs... (Glad to put that project to bed! Took forever!) (I think I will be adding a white imperial cog to the front of buckle - just for looks.) Here's a close up of the V section with the ABS strip glued in for reinforcement.

Thanks for the compliment Steve! I was a little nervous but am pleased my hard work & research is paying off. I had spent so much time reviewing Centurion builds to make sure I got them correct. As for the garter.... Yes, that is a concern of mine too. My plan is just to have a single elastic visible. (I made the V section short so that it hides perfectly under the ab/cod section.)

Thanks guys. Research is paying off!

I have also made some progress on the thigh harness... Using nylon, I made a V section with 2 loops...the elastic & snaps will attach to the bottom of the V. (Once I make them.) Side note - I also glued in a thin panel of ABS in between the loops..that will give some stability on the belt & allow for smoother adjustment on the belt. (I'll post pics tomorrow.)

Today I also tackled the dreaded split rivets to finally close the Ab section. It went better than I had thought, but it was as much work as I had expected it would be. (Bending the split rivets was easier than I thought-the claw of a hammer worked pretty good. After they were bent I just flattened them with a few hits with the hammer.) I chose to use strips of ABS, instead of plates, to reinforce the rivets...saw it on a few builds & liked the way it looks. I have one set of snaps gluing on the other side-I hope to use that & the belt to close off the clam shell... However, I am not sure it will be enough. Tomorrow's test fit will decide...

Alrighty...back on track after the holidays. Attached the battery pack to the thigh, using cap rivets. (Instead of a washer on the inside I used a piece of ABS-worked well.) I will be painting them white I think... Cod strap is attached via split rivet & snaps are in place. Building up some depth on the shoulder straps so there will more surface area to attach them... Attached the straps to the holster & the belt. (Holster hangs 1 inch below belt.)

YAY! Thanks guys! I appreciate the feedback.

Upon my return from holidays, 4 surprises awaited me... ...Split & Cap rivets via Echo. (Yipee! I can finally close the Ab section & attach the ammo belt.) ...Nomex flight gloves arrived & fit perfectly! (Great deal at camouflage.ca) ...unassembled holster via Darman. (Looks awesome!) ...& my E11 kit from DoopyDoo's finally made it from the UK. (No damage/all intact.) I am really looking forward to building my own blaster! More progress soon!

Thanks to Christmas holidays, there was little done on my build lately.... However, I did squeeze in a few things.... Started gluing the strips on the inside of the thighs. (Now I can finally get the snaps in place for the harness.) Did some bending on my ammo knee belt with the heat gun. (Less anxiety this time around.) I was able to get a pretty close match to the shape. Again, the brown packing tape came in handy to help hold the shape while it cooled off. I do believe I won my battle against the sniper plate.....barely. I am not 100% happy with it, but I will deal with it later. Due to re-cast, the thicker ABS of the sniper plate is a pain to work with...

....and the Millennium Falcon is finally finished & ready to make the run. Now, back to my build!