[501st Trooper Status Requests (Include link to your 501st profile in your request!)]

TK-61455 with the Midwest Garrison requesting 501st access.

 

http://501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=24903&costumeID=124

 

Thanks

[Story behind your nickname]

In addition to Star Wars, I am a big fan of The Legend of Zelda.  In Zelda II, there is an NPC who simply states "I AM ERROR".  I took the name so that I could introduce myself the same way on Zelda forums, and decided to keep it here.

[ERROR's Rise to the Ranks ANH Stunt [AP]]

Progress is moving slowly.  Mostly because I am uncertain of how things are supposed to fit.  Living by ones self also doesn't help the issue.  In the process of putting together a meeting with Master Gazmosis, and that should help with many things.

I visited some friends this weekend.  They are getting married this May, and hope their best man (yours truly) can be all in white (armor) for the rehearsal.  As such they were willing to tape me up and take some photos.  (It is the bride to be holding on my helmet.)  It was good to feel the armor as a whole, even if it didn't fit very well.








I still don't have my boots, so socks will have to do.


I realize the posterior is sagging really badly in this photo...


...So we taped it better and took another

An observation: With everything on and pulled tight via tape, I'm not so sure I'll need to shim it.  I dunno.  Future fittings will help.

Also these photos reveal many more things that need doing:
The bottom of the chest plate needs more trimming
The forearms are too big (and liked to slide down my arms)
Need to take off all the return edge by the wrists
The biceps might be too big?
Gonna have to trim some off the tops of the thighs? (It was hard to tell. There wasn't a real good way to keep them up)
Have to separate the kidney from the posterior.
Have to separate the ab from the cod
Overlap on the thighs and shins show that more trimming is required.
and more I'm sure I didn't notice.

Does anything blatantly stick out to you?

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[ERROR's Rise to the Ranks ANH Stunt [AP]]

Two readers have replied, now 3. You must be special!

Now five! I feel special. 

 

@Sly11:  Thanks for the the shin instruction.  Proper fitting is going to have to wait until my boots come in.  I contacted TKboots back in November, and it seems like they are just getting ready to get ready to ship out in the next week or so.  So it'll be a little while still.

 

@Dark CMF: You are absolutely right about needing TWO (2) shims. I had the correct picture in my head, but made a semantic ERROR.  Thanks for keeping me on my toes.

 

@TuskenRTT: Thanks for the link to your tutorial!  I hope mine turn out as well as yours.

 

As for the shins shims, I contacted Mr. Mark from AP, and got a response. Apparently he only has 3 inch strips, and not sheets. I am going to try and go for these, as I think 3 inches (76 mm) will give me plenty of wiggle room to shim with.  Even so, shimming will probably have to wait for warmer weather.  Snowy ground does not lend it self well to opening a window and venting acetone fumes.

 

 

 

[ERROR's Rise to the Ranks ANH Stunt [AP]]

I've been trimming away the past few days, and have gotten the basic trimming done on most of the major components. (with the exception of the biceps)  I hoped this would help solve the shin problem (It did! I can match the shins and can tell right and left from the fit; as foretold by gmrhodes13. ) but it revealed another shin issue.

On the left shin, when I match up the front, there is an offset of about 1/4" (6.5 mm) in the back.  Is this typical? Can this be solved with the shin's strapping? Or does this require one of those boiling water baths I've read about?


Front of shin lined up correctly.


The offset at both top and bottom is about 1/4"  (6.5 mm)


Another thing I've discovered is that I'm going to need a shim. (please excuse the awkward picture.)  From my quasi-rough measurement, the shim will need to be about 1 3/4" (44.5 mm) to 2" (51 mm).  Where would I get this shim material from? Do I re-contact Mark from AP? Are there other methods to shimming that don't involve ABS paste?

I think this is an awkward picture. But perhaps you think differently.

 

Also, very soon I will need to be sanding the edges of my parts. I read here that I'll need 350 and 600 grit sandpaper. (And some finer still for polishing. But that's a long ways off yet)  What sorts of sandpaper have other people (That means you! The reader!) used?  What works and doesn't work?

Thanks again.

END OF LINE
 

[Joblesspunk's Ap Stormtrooper Build]

Another AP! Huzzah!

Good luck on the build, friend.

[ERROR's Rise to the Ranks ANH Stunt [AP]]

Thanks for the help with the thighs. I can see that the thighs dip to fit around the cod.
Still not sure about the shins though. Are any of the shin peices supposed to be identical?  Shins C and G seem to be the same, and are able to nest inside each other. (D and H don't have this issue)

I'm glad my neck seal turned out all right!  If the logo becomes an issue at submission time, I'll try the sharpie technique.  Thanks for your input, Tony.

[Diana's RS Props Build- ANH Stunt]

 Holy bukets! This thread!
Being very noobish, must admit to feeling slightly daunted, both at the amount of work I see you put into your armor, and the brown box that recently arrived at my doorstep.

 

then I read this post:

 

In the beginning, LadyinWhite advised me to "throw up, and then get trimming." So, feeling a bit overwhelmed just makes you like everybody else.

 

And I smiled and got trimming.

 

Thank you for shareing your journey, friend.

[Mutter's NE ANH Stunt Build]

I just noticed that we started our build threads on the same day! I look forward to seeing your progress. Good luck, friend.

[ERROR's Rise to the Ranks ANH Stunt [AP]]

Hello friends!

 

So I've been lurking, reading, researching, posting a little; but finally the day has come!

AP Untrimmed kit! (not quite) Straight from Canada!

 

I may have stalked the UPS truck to get this... Needless to say, the white helmet elicited a variety of responses from my coworkers, ranging from "Wow, that's really cool!" to "Why on earth would you do this?" accompanied by utter confusion.  But perhaps I get ahead of myself.

Even before the coming of the brown box, I decided to get a jump on the gun by making a neck seal! Luckily the lady in my life owns and knows her way around a sewing machine.  By following Pandatrooper's neck seal tutorial, she and I were able to finish it without too much difficulty. However, mine differs from the tutorial in two main ways: first, I cut the fabric a little too long, so I use an overlap joint rather than a butt joint.  I hope this is not too much of an issue.  Second, I opted to sacrifice a T-Shirt to the cause, rather then cut my own bib, so my bib proudly delcares "Columbia" though this should be hid by the armor.

(Apple shown for size)

 

After laying everything out, it all seems to be in order, though it's slightly thinner then I imagined.  But thin-ness makes it light and light is good for wearing. Another thing I noticed is the armor isn't perfectly smooth.  There are dimples and slight bumps (So slight, they don't show up in photos well) that one can see upon close examination.  Is this a part of screen accuracy? Or just a remnant of the sculpting process? Both?

 

(Wii fit balance board in upper right. Thermal Detonator tube not pictured)

 

I can identify most of the parts, but I'm having trouble figuring my limbs left from right.

How do I tell the inner and outer shin/thigh peices? Do the arm peices have left and right? How would I tell them apart?

 

 

Can you tell which peices are left/right/front/back from the pictures above? How can you tell?

From here, gonna trim lots of the larger flash, and probably take a shot at the O2 tank details. Lexan scissors and rare earth magnets in the mail.  Any tidbits and words of wisdom would require much thanks.  Looking forward to trooping with you all!

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[ERROR's Rise to the Ranks ANH Stunt [AP]]

Parts Complete
Neck Seal

 

Under Construction

Chest Plate  -Trimmed-

Ab Plate/Cod -Trimmed-

Back Plate -Trimmed-

Kidney Plate/Posterior -Trimmed-

Shoulder Bells -Trimmed-

Biceps -Trimmed-

Forearms -Trimmed-

Thighs -Trimmed

Shins -Trimmed-

All the little things -Untrimmed-

 

Tools/Materials Utilized

Headliner Material

T-Shirt (sacrificed)

Sewing Machine (borrowed)
Lexan Scissors (for trimming)

Pencil (for marking trim lines)

Blue masking tape (for labeling pieces, and holding things together)

 

Useful Links

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/8402-howto-create-a-neckseal  (Pandatrooper's Neckseal tutorial)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IS7jqceqOfOQ9KqkM3fH0DaqDSp2TIWQ_q-npSSBy4o/edit (LadyInWhite's build guide)

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/29077-adding-the-kidney-shim-not-bad-but/ (TuskenRTT's Shimming thread)

 

Personal Stats

5"10' (177.8 cm)

170 lb (756 N) ish

waist size 34

[A little help getting started ^_^]

Another AP!?

I shall be watching for your build thread with due diligence.

[Pros and Cons: AP vs CFO]

I've gotten email responses from Mark within minutes.

Now I've just gotta wait for that brown box on the doorstep!

[Deciding which to buy...]

I wear a size 33 or 34 waist size. (Usually 34)

[Deciding which to buy...]

I've ordered AP, so now I'm just wating for that brown box. ^__^  I will definately put up a build thread when the tme comes. 

 

My stats are as follows:

170 lbs (756 N)
5'10" (177 mm)

[Deciding which to buy...]

Since the consensus seems to be start from the bottom, I guess I'll start from the bottom! AP untrimmed it is. Thanks for the input.

 

Could someone point me to a thorough AP tutorial? I've found a few, but they're not quite as step-by-step as my lack-of-experience requires.

[Deciding which to buy...]

So I have been reading, and emailing different armor makers, and trying to weigh which armor to buy.

 

I want it delivered soon enough so that I can have it ready to wear by May, so that cancels some of the choices.

 

I've never done costuming of this caliber before, so pre-trimmed and ready out-of-the-box helmets sound appealing to me.

 

RT can come with assembled helmet, but I also that armor is for bigger body types. I'm average size (170 lb and 5"10') Would this be too big for me?

 

 

T/MC can also come with a completed helmet. Any comments on this choice?

The last choice seems to be AP, which has the fastest delivery time, but no completed helmet. Does being fully trimmed make it easier to assemble?

What makes an armor easier or harder to assemble? Which of these are easier/harder?
Could I be pointed to some tutorials for these armors?

 

[Greetings from IL]

Hello!
 

I am a fresh graduate, and have recently landed my first job! I will soon be moving to La Grange, IL. I have been keeping an eye on the 501st for a while now, and I love what you guys do. I would be interested in doing a TK build, though I've never done any costuming on this level before. Any advice would be apreciated. ^__^