Daetrin

Awesome pix!

Wow - you look awesome! Some day I hope to look as good. Probably the best ANH Hero I think we've seen to date.

I know you guys archived off a lot of threads and see them in the archive forum. Is there any objection to me bringing them back? It's unclear to me why they were removed - there can be much to gain from seeing the history of how things have developed over time and we've lost much in their removal for many items.

These are the skins. There used to be a ton of threads that showed paint guides and the actual artists render from LFL. Where did they go? Many threads are missing

This is correct. Since there are differences in renders from platform to platform we fall back on the renders provided by LFL, which clearly show grey drop boxes.

As Paul alludes, it could have been assembled small. I've had TE2 helmets that were roomy enough for glasses and have had others that were very hard to get my head in to at all. I'm 6'0" fwiw. You can totally make an ATA or TE2 roomier if you assemble it as such. I'd give that a go first before moving to RT, as I've also had TE2 helmets that felt bigger than RT.

Just remember that post count doesn't always mean much. If you really want to see the positive impact people have, check out their awards.

Last night I trooped to help provide a Halloween experience for kids who are chronically ill. Many are in wheelchairs and are not able to experience a normal Halloween like other kids. What price do you put on that? Of all the virtues, charity is the most precious. This is true in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. I think it a basic human motivation to give to others less fortunate, and this is just one way to combine a hobby with charity. It's why I do 501st costuming instead of other types.

All kits can be converted to be ROTJ based, it's just that some will take more work than others. Most notable is ensuring that you detail it correctly as you build it which isn't really that much more work. In the end since you're doing a TKC the key detail points are the ab plate button/details, the door trim on the armor parts, and the narrower belt. Since you're doing a TKC these mods really aren't that much more work when you're starting from scratch, so the maker isn't as big a deal compared to doing a clean white ROTJ.

That is the ideal, but it then means that there are 3 seam lines. What we need is a good way to shim the ab/kidney without a seam line. This was very easy in HIPS as you painted it anyway, so you could make it nice just like a clone does. This is why I'm thinking the armor maker can just put a spacer under their buck and make the part taller, but then as I thought about it the problem is air holes. You know, FISD members are _quite_ resourceful and I bet putting our heads together we'll figure this out

Hi Frank - as Mathias noted there is a path to Centurion using shims. At this time it's not feasible to require that Centurion be so exact, and even if we did change that standard it would take a vote of FISD to make it so. Another path is to reach out to your preferred armor vendor and see if they can make the buck taller. I know RT can do this a bit, not sure about ATA but he may be able to make this work too. It would be simple enough to - just add a block underneath the existing mold for those that need it.

Certainly for EI. It used to work for Centurion too, but perhaps not now. Mathias or Tom will have final word.

Great news! Rob is an awesome guy and his quality is top shelf. You'll be a happy trooper

As of about a year ago (?), we allow up to a 1/2" gap IIRC. This was due to the fact that some troopers did indeed have a small gap from time to time, and also allows a little wiggle room without saying it's OK to have a 4" or even 6" gap.

For EI we've been allowing something as simple as having a piece of ABS that wraps around the inside. Not ideal, but it can look good depending on how done. Heck, in the early days people just used the back of a sign they got at home depot. Going this route today, you can even put a flush shim in there rather than simply behind the ab/kidney. For HIPS armor - since they used to be painted one could do seamless shims like you do on a clone as you'll paint over it anyway. I think a better route is to push the armor makers to increase the size of their bucks if possible, but failing this it would seem a flush shim of the same size of the gap would be the next ideal. The reason we call this out is if you look at stormtroopers in ANH especially but also in ESB (as these are the only two affected), there is minimal black exposed. The back plate butts to the kidney, the biceps usually sit right along the edge of the shoulder bells. The cut away the backs of the shins just enough to allow them to crouch. So aesthetically the goal is to minimize the amount of black showing. Every action figure and other representation of stormtroopers show them with closed sides too.

These should not be accepted for base 501st acceptance. In the past the front stitching was allowed by the Legion because: 1. TKboots were not available. Mark Cheng boots were available, then weren't. 2. Buying and dying white chelsea boots was hard to do, no tutorials or good sources 3. CABoots were easy to come buy. 4. Many FX vendors sold the "mariachi boots", with a zipper However since those days TKBoots has emerged as the go-to source and that they are cheaper than the less accurate alternatives. Also, there are good sources and tutorials for painting boots. Thus, zippers and extra lacing are no longer allowed even on base 501st standards, though older suits are grandfathered. Does this help?

the short answer of why it's not in the CRL is because it seemed self-evident. The CRL says ab plate. We never call out on any other part that people can't do modifications that are not visible. If no one can tell, why bother calling it out. This is why we never make notes of non-visible strapping, etc.

At a regular troop - no way. At a convention, they can be fun but are very much frowned upon. I'd suggest if you really want to wear a pauldron as a TK you pick up some ammo pouches, get a pack and simply go as an Heavy Weapons Trooper.

The CRL has never said explicitly that the ab plate need be one part - however we always do enforce that any cut be behind the belt. We also enforce that the cod can't bow out either, as I see frequently with cut cod plates. I always recommend people not cut the cod unless they've trooped awhile and know what they are doing and really need it. I've had to as GML several times ask people to add a shim to their cut cod so that it doesn't stick out like you have a boner and/or so that it doesn't slide around. Rather than saying "don't cut the cod", I'd rather our language be to how it appears - e.g. no visible cut line and that the plane of the ab plate needs to be vertical. Does that make sense?

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Actually there is no gray. The colors kinda mean rank but George Lucas just stuck people in the shot that looked good. I think a better way would be to put a removable decal on your pauldron that indicates you speak sign.

I'm sure you'll be shocking. ;0

I know several folks have investigated this but am not sure where they are in the process. I'll let them chime in themselves, as I'm not sure what their timeframes are, or even if they are still active in this area.

Here is what I see as being the perfect helmet. I wonder if it's even possible: 1. No wires - everything is 100% contained in the bucket or else there is Bluetooth/wireless. 2. Has fans, and a way to turn them on/off without taking your bucket off. 3. Can toggle my vox so I can either: A. Receive a phone call (voice doesn't go to speakers) B. External, e.g. I talk and it goes to my external speakers C. FRS: I can go to my FRS and chat with my fellow troopers without the need for external speakers -- All of the above can be toggled without removing my helmet, though touching my ear to cycle through the series is fine. 4. Has a helmet cam I can turn on/off without having to remove my helmet (touch ab button, helmet toggle?) 5. Wouldn't it be cool if I could take still pictures too? Maybe a trigger on my blaster? This is my ultimate dream helmet anyway. I'm sure it's all do-able, but not sure how much time/money it would cost to get there.

John Danter made ears with switches. This would be pretty cool too to toggle an FRS or a cell phone, or even mp3 player.