Daetrin

Yeah, they can extend pretty far back. Mine almost touch the box in the back plate. Seems like they go far on most screen caps.

Actually for Elite the ESB standard just says it needs to be mounted on the right. I guess specifying how will be part of the clean up language next time we revise them.

Done!

We almost moved down to Mountain View recently. We thought Seattle was pricey, but our house in that area would cost about $300,000 more than what we have, but the jobs don't pay enough additionally to cover the extra mortgage. Nuts! Tony - ugh you kill my "move to Hawaii" dream too

So really it's just the belt & holster. Mmmm...two brothers on the board can fix that ;-) Gluing the backs of the straps is not an issue - there is no requirement that they have to free float.

The only thing sick is that you look better in armor than I do. Where's your Elite status thread? ;-)

That's a nice setup you got there Graeme! The only detail is on the blaster - there should be two greeblies towards the clip-side rear. They're pretty hard to come by, so if you find a source pls let the boards know. I'm surprised someone hasn't just made a mold yet for these as ad-on pieces (nudge nudge to someone).

All set Tom - that's a great Star Corps you got there.

I'm 6'0" 185lbs and my TE2 fits just as well as my FX. You guys are in a sweet spot where you can pretty much wear whatever you want.

It can certainly be done. All clones are painted for instance and I've heard about some folks painting with a black coat first and then white on top of that, so that as the armor is scuffed it naturally "weathers". Krylon seems to be the paint of choice - gloss white with a clear coat on top of that. Others who have done it can give precise steps. Good luck

There certainly is a difference. How much depends on the thickness of each and what you want to do. Here is my experience as someone who's owned FX (ABS) and TE2 (HIPS), as I'm presuming we're taking about typical thicknesses. DURABILITY ABS will stand up to a lot of abuse. You can squish stuff together in the bin, drop it as much as you like, do stunts. I've even done a few downs of football in mine. It would take an extreme amount or stress abuse to hurt it. HIPS will stand up easily to normal trooping - I've been wearing my exclusively this year (aside from the Rose Parade). It's lighter and IMHO more comfortable to wear. So far no problems at all and it easily takes the wear of trooping, and I toss it in my bin just like I do my ABS armor. That said I don't believe it will stand up to doing stunts or extreme stress like ABS. ASSEMBLY 1. ABS is harder to trim than HIPS, but I think not by that much as the TE2 is thick. 2. Both kits come untrimmed. 3. TE2 requires painting. More work for some, but for others it's a plus. Can certainly be made to look glossy like ABS by using a combination of gloss white + a layer of clear. CONCLUSION If you want something that will stand up to a lot of abuse, go with ABS. If you will just be doing regular trooping, then a good thickness of HIPS (like TE2 is) will be fine. AP vs. TE2 Because this is really what we're talking about, as TE2 is the only HIPS armor. Both are great kit. After seeing an AP in person and comparing it to my TE2, the AP is defiantly not an "ABS version of TE2". The legs and arms are noticeably different, though other parts not so much. TE2 can claim a closer linage to screen used, so that's typically one reason to favor TE2. When kiyote finishes his kit we'll take some side by side pix. That's it off the top of my head. Would love to hear from others who've worn HIPS and can chime in with their thoughts. EDIT: seems Mike H. posted just before me. I 100% agree with his assessment that there is no one "perfect" armor.

Gotcher Chris - thanks for the nudge

Damn. Guy's been in the 501st 24 hours and already applying for Elite. Way to go Burge Bernard - excellent feedback.

Considering I just approved your TK as your GML, I don't think I have much choice, eh? ;-) You did a great job with that RT - can't wait to see your Elite application soon as well!

Pera! A huge welcome to FISD from one (former) red ARC to another I thought mine was good, but you took yours to a higher level. Sorry if I missed a previous request.

I'll add him to the roster later tonight. Well done sir!

Rockin' boss! I dig the white straps for the shoulder bells

All set Michael

I'd like to see another patch run by the end of the year myself.

On my FX the thighs are connected via 1" wide elastic straps (using snaps) to the cod area of my ab plate. I've been using this system for years and it's even what I used for the Rose Parade troop (~ five miles of marching). It works very well but I've had issues on some longer troops where the thighs pull the ab plate down a bit, so for the TORP I wore my "suspenders" pretty tight and was fine. For my TE2, I'm using the garter belt method + velcro per TK4205. I'd rate it about the same effectiveness so far. There is no issue of pulling down the cod but of the garter slides (e.g. I'm losing a bit of weight) then so do the thighs. I think adding straps over the shoulders could alleviate this some, but you'd then run into the same issue of the elastic loosening up over time. I'm eventually going to change from velcro to snaps. My $.02...

Wow - outstanding details! Having owned FX, AP, and TE2, and having seen RT in person, I can say that TE2 is my favorite of them all as well.

Aaron - we used to try to do a batch run to flip members based to 501st & 501st TK status, but it's problematic in that the email addresses people use in the 501st records don't match well with what they use on the boards. This is why you may see a bunch of people with less status there than they should, or that they are here when they probably no longer should be. Having the Legion census move to the 501st Forums over time will alleviate this, as people will be able to - in the future - indicate which detachments they are members of and we can better sync the records. Kieran - I need the link to your membership on 501st.com if you would please.

All set Aaron!

Yes, I did misunderstand. Gotchit now - thanks for clarifying. I think I was just overly sensitive after that looooooong and heated thread we just had about FX helmets (to ban or not to ban). It can be hard at times to gauge correctly tones in these posts. My apologies for making a mountain out of what was in retrospect a molehill.

Mine TE2 is butt-fit (I'm skinny enough) and I just use use velcro to hold the sides together. I've not had any movement issues at all. I initially tried to permanently fix two of the sides together and found it disastrous. Storage being one problem, the other being the amount of stress on that joint started to rip out the strip of plastic I'd glued to the insides. I like the ABS shim the best as it matches the closest. I think using elastic or velcro to affix it allows it enough flex. Paul has some great suggestions above. That's pretty much what I'm going to do on my FX, except I'll try to butt fit it in - using rivets on one side and velcro on the other.