Daetrin

Paul/Troopermaster has it correct, and we've never really made any hard & fast rule on the number of bumps in front, e.g. if it looks right, flies right, and would be different for different folks. One option I've seen taller folks do is add a shim to the kidney plate as the seam will be behind the belt anyway and not visible. At some point though, you may want to bite the bullet & get a new chest. Another reason why for new members I suggest using Velcro for nearly everything until they have trooped a time or to, as what works in your garage may not quite look right/hold up during some troops. Also, don't worry! We've all been there and you are not the first/last to make these kinds of mistakes. Welcome to costuming

Wow, you've done really well. The action figure it's a burnished grey or else a flat silver it seems to me.

Do check out the Phasma CRL & the Phasma Build threads. They are the single best places to figure out how to get started. Good luck!

Sweet! I've take the liberty of updating your membership level. You'll see the rest of the forums now.

To be clear it's all about the end result. You can get 501st acceptance with Rubies too, but you have to replace the helmet, chest, back, bodysuit, and put so much work in to it to get it there that for many its not worth the effort. You can take a TM, RS, or CFO kit and do a build so bad it's entirely 501st rejectable (rivets all over, anyone?). Heck, even ANOVOS needs some minor fixes to get acceptable. So yeah, nearly any kit *can* be made acceptable, what we are clarifying is how much. Looking at the pix with my GML eye, I'd fail several parts of the armor from what I'm seeing, just like Dave. If a candidate thinks making those changes is in their time/pocketbook, good on them. But, we are failing it our duty if we don't as GMLs and as a detachment provide clear information about the potential pitfalls to people *before* they buy, just like we do with every other armor maker. Hope that makes sense.

Oh, and two more things: I know you never ask a lady her weight, but if you could on the first post put your height, I think that would be helpful for new people reading this. And, having the index on the first post is *brilliant*

Awesome! Can't wait for your EI app next. I know it was a ton of work - sweat, tears, and probably blood too. However you're paving the way for other ladies your size, e.g. if you can do it, so can they.

Can't wait!!!!!

FWIW, we only post maker's contact information that they provide and want us to post, which is why some have email addresses and some not.

Drag and drop image support will come with the new version, as will copy/paste images. I mean, you can take a scree cap and paste it directly in the forums. We can actually do push notifications on reply now, so am not sure what's not working for you there? I haven't played with event reminders - it will be interesting to see what the new version has in that capacity. I do get the mobile bit though, so I guess we'll just have to see. Thanks so much for the feedback, anything we can do to make these boards easier for the community is 100% in our charter to do.

Creating subforums as noted creates a lot of clutter. I love the idea of tagging, as you can then search by tags. If you think about it, this is what you do in Gmail - you label things. Then you can look at build threads and filter by make. We can also archive off any build thread that hasn't been commented on in say 3 years to an archive folder (so you can go back), and use either pins, or a label to highlight more current ones. This way you can: * Find the most relevant, recent threads for the armor you are looking to build * Do a deeper search in the archives for any problem not covered You can even create labels/tags for perhaps build issues as well. FYI my concept isn't 100% baked, but I do think using labels & uncluttering them is a good idea.

This is a salient point. It's been the case repeatedly that since they have to get photos/copy to the publishers before the movie comes out. Thus the Visual Guide while *usually* very good, isn't always the best reference. Just an FYI in case people were unsure. I'll echo Tim's comment on anything MEPD/FISD related. If there's not a forum post that supports the thought, then there is no way to verify what was said. Is there a link that bears this out?

Man, what a great newsletter. Is this the best detachment in the 501st or what? They newsletter team never fails to disappoint

Entirely up to you. In a way it's just like your costume. When you are at an official 501st troop you have to follow all 501st guidelines, but what you do as Joe the Private Trooper in a stormtrooper costume is 100% up to you as long as it is clear you are acting as yourself and not representing the Legion in any way. Looking at the Legion boards, FB groups (and thus 501st members) only really get in to trouble when... 1. They start posting or discussing internal 501st business 2. They are perceived as "representing the 501st", or that comments made are representing the 501st Otherwise, you can pretty much do what you want, and is equivalent to making a "Heavy Weapons Trooper Forum", which you could do again as long as it's clear it's not a 501st forum, and you are not discussing Legion business. Hope that makes sense? Sorry if I am coming off as a square, but I've seen too many people forget and then run in to problems at the Legion level, and I care about you guys.

Thanks!

Thanks. One question if I may: what is the advantage to using FB instead of just using the forums? Just curious...

Wow - looking really nice

Thanks - I think that would help much. FWIW, I'm not against you doing it, just want to ensure it doesn't become like the other groups.

And I dig that, but there have been an awful lot of problems with FB groups lately, not just for TK costumes but for others as well, that people have created (some 501st, some not), which end up in the same state: advice given that may not be accurate and thus issues when those people apply, or people thinking the advice is from "the 501st" when it's not. I dig that FB is really popular (heck, I use it myself), but for what we do it's actually counter-productive much of the time.

Well...if you want, you can read through the pages of posts on this very topic, it's pretty neat reading. The TL/DR is that the CRL was written after much research and investigation, including that render, and the result is what you see in the CRL. Even more short: no, you need a white kidney else you can't make base approval.

Definitely looks much better. Sorry it's been a slot, but the end result looks worth it.

I prefer that the L1 be pretty accessible. If you look at clones, those early Glover suits we had weren't fully accurate, but were pretty much all we had at the time. Kinda like how FX was for us - the backbone of the Legion until better came along. I think getting people to a good likeness so they can troop and putting in tighter items for L2/L3 will also give the prop making community time to up their game.

Normally, I'd agree but I've seen too many instances as a GML where people read some advice on a FB group page, then apply to the 501st, find out it's not right, etc. You may know it's not a 501st FB group, but that may not be obvious to new folk.

FYI, that is not an official 501st group, and thus any advice dispensed thereon may or may not comply with 501st standards.

Glad it's working out. Can't wait to see a suited up pix of the before/after.