Daetrin

You guys are doing the Detachment PROUD! Well done - well done! Awesome how this turned out - and way to lead the way for other FX owners to "pimp out their rides". I salute you folks!

Fascinating! Yeah - which is your favorite?

In hindsight, I'd say do it all at once. Else, do the bucket first and armor later. My $.02...

Dang Mike - those look so good...you really know how to bring out the best in MCRE's!

In the last pix the kidney rests against you at an angle. You could put a little padding in the small of your back to make it more perpendicular. It's a very minor nit on an otherwise fantastic job.

All set everyone! Terry - you have more than 501st access - you have detachment access (501st + TK)

Awesome! You're build is really good

Maybe adjust the kidney plate, but otherwise is fantastic. Will be an easy pass with detail pix

They are whatever you want them to be. Uncle George never worried about it until much later with EU back story. People have settled on them to mean one thing or another, but I say your interpretation is as good as theirs. Wear what looks good to you - that's how he organized the troops anyway - to what looked good on film.

Hard to say w/o seeing the whole kit together. I get armor bites all the time. There is a trade-off between accuracy and comfort to some degree.

I agree that the details look a bit soft which leads me to believe he's selling recast kit. Also his accessories aren't the best. This is why only Ward is selling FX on FISD - he's been the only reliable seller of good quality FX kits that we've seen. Kerry and for you other guys - don't sweat it too much. With a bit of work it should be a good first kit. The easy list is: 1) Chuck the helmet and get something else, e.g. MRCE, AP, TE2 2) Replace the ab plate buttons with correct ones 3) Replace the belt with a canvas one Other that that, the FX armor is a solid base. There are some pretty amazing ways one can pimp out FX and it can be made to look really good.

Looks good to me. Personally I'd prefer seeing the straps that go around your biceps and also that connect your chest/back (on the sides) to be black instead of white. There's no requirement, but I think it looks better (and black on the biceps is what they used). Once you get your TKID, as Scott says Elite is an easy yes.

All set Bill! Glad to have you among the ranks

When we have 200 - 300 Elite perhaps we can tighten up the standards to reflect the number of rivets on a belt. For now, I think the goal is to get as many folks Elite as possible with what's currently in place. So - you're fine bro!

It's also possible to use the facilities w/o the mod. It's different for every individual.

You and me both. Please, someone buy my IN helmet & DH-17! Me needs the cash!

Not always. Maybe it's that my garrison is smaller, but spotters can be a luxury, not a default.

Check out my reply from 2006 http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=380

All set guys!

John Danter is the craftsman who makes ear caps with both momentary and toggle switches. Very, very cool. I'm in the same boat as the rest - I have funds but no time/skills to put something like this in my bucket, even if I had instructions. There was a guy in FL who offered to pimp out my bucket - I bought all the parts then he backed out on me. So...honestly I'll wait until there's an easy kit like Skullworx or the TCI that I can install easily.

If you do this, try to find a paint that matches at least ;-)

Nope. The last I heard he was re-doing the helmet to make it more accurate but that was over a year ago I think. I guess it wasn't as good as the MCRE, and he couldn't match the price, so the project went away. Ward may have better info, but this is the last I heard.

Ah, idealism! I've heard of such but never seen them in the flesh, nor seen an ideal set for sale. Nirvana is having chin switches that let you toggle between vox, FRS radio, and cellphone - all in the bucket but FRS & cell which are bluetooth and hidden elsewhere in your armor, or at least a toggle using your ab plate buttons.

Excellent - send pix when you have them. I think this is the #1 pain behind improperly fitted thighs.

Be who you are and like yourself. That's the #1 thing. You will never be happy being someone who you aren't. Listen to us old folks (I'm 40) - we've all made the mistake of trying to please others ahead of being who we are, and it never works in the long run. The real key is just figuring out who you are and what you want. Sure, I'd love to have 10 costumes but I love having my kids in first class daycare more than I love having 10 costumes, so I get by with what I can and don't sweat the rest. Life is far too short to have regrets. May seem that 40 is forever and away, but looking from my perspective it goes by in a blink.