cm325i

Forearms trimmed and inner strip glued. Will add the outer strip at lunch today. Shin fronts have both inner and outer strips. I started to trim/fit the biceps last night, but am having an issue. If they fit my bicep correctly, then I can't slide them over my forearm. I remember a build that someone posted a pic of Popeye. I need to find that...

Yes sir, That's the plan. I have everything mapped out w drawings of my own and from FISD in a reference binder for my build.

So, last night I literally jumped in feet first. I trimmed and glued the front of the left shin. I did that since I knew what the cover strip needed to be and where to trim based on the ridge at the front of the shin. I think it will be easier to test fit and trim the back now, then add the back cover strip. I did the other shin front on my lunch break today. Maybe some arm parts tonight...

Unwrapped everything and labeled some of the R and L parts. I have that "where do I even begin" feeling. Sent from my ComLink

My goal is ANH Stunt EIB. I'll be busy getting this thing assembled so I'm not sure how much detail this build thread will have, but... Obligatory brown box photo... and contents... more to come later when I can think clearly through all this excitement!

Regarding the mic tip question above... Are the tips shown in the application images the same as supplied with the MTK kit? Were they modified or replaced? Armor looks fantastic! Congrats!

Great photos! The one w R2 is perfect.

You can see my first and second attempts at the left ear here. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28434-small-brown-box-arrived-mtk-bucket-content/

I personally prefer the hand painted look as they were used on screen. It's just a preference. As for the ears, the shape of the right ear lends itself to trimming and fitting easily. The cast of the left ear is very different and much care should be taken to trim small amounts for fitting. I managed to over do it.

I second the brushing over spraying paint. Be very careful with that left ear on MTK's kit (I had to order a new one). It took some fine tuning and many swear words, but overall I'm happy w mine. I'm looking to upgrade the lenses and hovi mics over what was provided. Paint reference: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/8117-helmet-ab-paint-detail-reference-guide/

I must have ESPN! Looking forward to the build!

TM armor is my guess

Thanks Steve! Yes, it's very sturdy. When I picked up the helmet to put on or work on, it creaked and the face would shift ever so slightly. After reinforcing the face seam and now with this plastidip treatment, its like a rock. I even like the extra bit of weight added. Here's a link to Gaz's helmet build with more details about the interior treatment... http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28633-howto-ata-helmet-build-hand-painted-details-pic-heavy/

So I had originally painted the interior black, but it got all scratched up on the final assembly. I also had glued in a hardhat liner, but it was very uncomfortable. Earlier this week I saw a post (Gaz I think) did this Plastidip/cheesecloth interior treatment. It looked awesome so I went for it. Pulled out the liner, scraped and sanded the interior, and applied much cheese cloth and Plastidip. It smells awful!!!! but looks so cool! I also hot glued over the screw posts and the face/back seam. This thing is SOLID! before... after...

Thanks for the positive feed back gentlemen!

Your dedication is inspiring!

actually, yes Mr. Tim (100th post!) .... I wasn't happy with the eye openings. I know screen accurate is to have a rough edge or irregular trimming, but my OCD wouldn't let that happen (anymore than I can control). Therefore, I took a file/sandpaper/Novus polish to the eyes... before (mostly the top edges)... after (I did leave the "stye" in the right eye per Mr. Berbs)... Next is to deal with the eye lenses. I have the one piece green plastic with a nose piece cut out and rubber tubing as a nose bridge cushion. It's very uncomfortable. I've seen some alternative lens applications on here that I'm going to explore.

ok, so AM comes with 2 belts and the one with recessed squares is not to be used?

looks kinda like a lightsaber

I don't follow, why is that the wrong belt?

My GF is totally into SW and is considering a build in the future herself (she wants to see how my TK project goes first though). I currently have 2 buckets and a third on the way. There are at least 2 others from different makers that I'm also interested in, and pretty sure she won't bat an eye.

Worked on a new left ear yesterday. This one turned out way better than the first one. I painted the gray last night and pinstriped the black and the rank bar this morning. still contemplating some fine tuning of the eye openings.

I think I also need to work on the eye openings some.

Actually, I decided that the S-trim should cover that little ridge you see at the back of the neck. I made the opening a little large and had to order longer S-trim. I've also ordered new ears since I was so disgusted w they way the left ear turned out. I'm a little nervous to cut the new ones though as I may just over do it like before. :-/

Lookin good man!