wingnut65

^^What jj63 said! Only one clarification... The TD screws should be pan-head screws that are standard (straight slot), not Phillips (x tip), not flat-head screws. This spec is not clearly noted on the CLR, but will be requested to be included for higher level certifications to be screen accurate

Exactly. These ideas are so creative! Never thought of a Santa Pauldron, suspenders or Stocking Holster. And the red bow buttons are so easy and look so great! Keep the pix coming, Troopers!

Well, I wish I needed to carry a sign in the parade. The closest signs to where we were standing said 'No Parking', but the Jawas kept taking those... This is at the Clermont Christmas Parade. We were the few non-nutcracker TK's. Tay_Dame is in the middle, I'm on the right carrying my HWT Candy Cane!

Congrats, Taylor! Well Done! For the mic tips, try sandpaper. Also, Duke really needs an Imperial bandana if he is going to supporting the Empire!

Glad it can help, Dave! When I did my research, there were some pieces of the puzzle that I just could not find and I included those details in my build, just to make sure it is covered. Thanks, Paul! My TK Adventure has been amazing and I hope this build can help others on their path into the World of FISD! Since I play architect in my other life, I am a very graphic oriented person and I spend my whole day drawing pictures and writing narratives to tell contractors how to build things. Creating a well detailed build thread, is the same process. I am thrilled that this has helped so many Troopers along in their build process. I've even seen a few times this build was linked on the Anovos FB build page. Troopers Helping Troopers is what this is all about. Glad you had the vision from the beginning! I will pass along the message to Carlos when I have the opportunity!

Congrats, Sean! It sure feels good to read those words and know that others appreciate the hard work you put into your build. I'm glad you are truly enjoying your trooping experiences. It only gets better!

Great looking photos! Glad to see you aiming for the top!

You're in! Well Done Trooper!!!

Congrats! Welcome to EIB! See ya at the top!

Can't wait to troop with you! Congrats, Mike!

Nice build! The paint details on the stripes and bucket look great! Good Luck, Toni!

Are those two of your bucket?? It should be easy to remove excess paint using a Q-tip and mineral spirits. The goal is to just have the ribs of the vocorder painted. These last two pictures are getting closer.

Great photos, Brenden! And CONGRATS on that EIB!!! Glad to see your daughter taking it all in and thinking it is perfectly normal to be walking with a Stormtrooper! Awesome!

Thanks for sharing, Tim. Hope that first troop was all that you had imagined and got you thirsty for many more! There is a lot of information here and knowing how to search for it is not easy, And. being a newbie, we don't always know just what something is called to be able to search. Many troopers start build threads to document their progress as well as to ask all those questions. Instead of going and looking for the answers, other Troopers come by and offer guidance. As Tim said, several of us are on the FB build group to answer questions and offer guidance. Many times, links posted are coming right back here to other FISD posts and build threads. Now that you have made it through the build and approval process, you have many answers that others are asking. Great idea on the tape tab on the magnets. Maybe you could take a few pictures and post it in the 'Tips and How-To's' section. Good Luck and have fun on your Shadow build!

Congrats, Brenden, Welcome to EIB!

Ooops! My Bad! You are right. When I looked a the title, I guess I was looking at the wrong thread. Please disregard comments on ears and holster. I'll edit those...

Those thighs look much better, Theo. A couple thoughts on the blaster issue... I bought a DoopyDoos kit on eBay and they shipped it a couple month's later when they had them in stock. I had a confirmed purchase that they had to fill before they listed available open stock on their website, which lasted a few minutes. For trooping, would you be allowed to use a toy? I mean a plastic Nerf blaster painted black but still with a big orange tip? If you can, then get a DD's kit (or borrow a blaster) for your formal pix and then put the blaster on the shelf. Use a toy blaster for trooping with the orange tip. This is the Rebels E-11 I bought, painted it black and used it for my basic photos. I trooped with this for a couple months before I purchased a better on. Just a thought! Good Luck, Theo! We're pulling for you!

Looking good, Pete. But, I do see a couple things that management will need to have addressed to match the CRL. The button colors should have 3 blue and 6 gray buttons. There are two different colors of gray on your buttons and it is hard to tell the shade of the blue. It is definitely not French Blue. Technically, your gray buttons are all gray. I don't know if they will recommend they all be the same shades of gray. For EIB, the ears need to have 3 screws, not just 2. Shoulder bells should be closer and almost touching the shoulder bridge. Your left boot and shin need to get back on speaking terms. I had the same issue and I attached elastic and Velcro inside the front of the boot to hold the shin down. The holster should only have 2 fasteners into the belt, not 4. It is the Hero CRL that calls for 4 fasteners. The Anovos kit comes that was also and many have taken a piece of belt fabric from the back to cover the upper holes. To me, there are many locations where it looks like the armor pieces were not completely trimmed. There are visible curves that are still left on the return edges - right hand plate, bottom of the biceps, back plate left side and around the top. It isn't much, maybe 1-2 mm, but the difference will be difference will be wonders. This can be done with sandpaper or sanding blocks. Other than those, the suit looks nice. It fits well and the cover plates all align. You are on the way to EIB! Edited to remove Stunt-specific comments that won't apply to Pete's Hero build! Sorry!

I forgot to mention... I almost got a demerit for not obeying the posted Library rules, even though I was quiet all day! Sorry, Boss!

The Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library system invited The 501st Legion to participate in their First Annual Tampa Bay LibCon. It was held at the Jimmie B. Keel Library in Tampa, on Saturday, May 7, 2015. Besides being my 22nd Wedding Anniversary and the day before Mother's Day, it was also Free Comic Book Day and our squad had 12 different events scattered across four counties. Therefore, I ended up being the only representative of the Empire for the morning shift. The afternoon shift had an X-Wing pilot and Clone Trooper. I felt compelled to troop this alone because our invite was because I TK'd a Library troop for TFA release back in December with mkjava as an officer. My daughter handled and photographed. Here's how the day went... Since the closet wasn't cramped with other troopers getting ready, I actually was ready 5 minutes early and had to wait for the doors to open! I monitored the entry line and found this sweetheart. I loved her smile! Walking around, I found our Boss. I tried to look so formal, but he didn't even notice me. Vader just wasn't himself that day. I wandered around maintaining order and I found a droid. But it wasn't the droid I was looking for! I even found an imposter... If the stripes were blue, it would be hard to tell us apart! I volunteered at the Help Desk, but I was actually using their computer to look for the droids! More surveillance and I found a local citizen Then, right in the middle of the Library, this thing just appeared out of nowhere! Hey! How do you start this thing? Hey, this is pretty big inside! Vader was being very cordial for photos with locals. I even tried to be a Super Hero! But, I don't think red is my color... I tried everything I could do to make people smile. I think that is #2 on this mission, after being loyal in representing the Empire! No, I don't know Who that guy was! TK-50297 proudly reports that everything was under control at this deployment! Thanks for looking! Now, let see... Where should I go next? What's this? All future travel excursions to Alderaan are cancelled indefinitely?? Oh Well...

I unsnap and slide my forearm into my bicep/shoulder. I slide them all into the shin and then into the thigh. I can slide the end of my blaster into the end of the open forearm and set the whole thing on the bottom of my bin. I put the other group of pieces next to the first, but in reverse direction. Over top, I place my butt plate, curving the sides between the thighs and the side of my bin. Then comes the Ab plate, a towel to protect the button paint, then my back piece and finally the chest piece, being very careful of the shoulder bridges. At the end of the bin, above the blaster, I put my shoes, TD, Zip-lock back of repair kit stuff and a stuff bag that I have all my soft pieces, gloves and hand guards. Across the top and into the side comes my belt and holster. Now that I am writing this, I really need to take pix and post a process. I can fit all my suit, minus bucket, into the smaller Sterilite 23-gallon foot locker.

For the tiny cracks still visible between the pieces, try adding a piece of scrap ABS across that joint as a reinforcement. Since it is white and not black, it will blend in with the rest of the armor, making that seam to almost disappear! EDIT: Put the reinforcing strip on the inside of the pieces!

Congrats, Ryan! Welcome to EIB!

Nice work. That looks much better! Got my fingers crossed!

Nice looking suit, Jaime. The only thing I see that could be improved is the top edge of your left eye. There is a little bit of a return edge still visible. You can see it when compared to the right eye.<br><br> Also the top outer corners of both the eyes have sharp corners. Those points could lead to stress cracks starting there. If you can, sand those corners out to give a rounded edge at those corners.<br><br> Good Luck!