68Brick

Nice! If you've got some Goo-Gone, try it on the Under Armor logo. It might come off and save you from buying another undersuit.

Armor pinch (or armor bites) happens to everyone. You won't know where you'll get bit until you're all kitted up and moving around for an hour plus. You might not even feel them happening until you undress and notice red marks, scrapes, or blood. The more you wear your armor (and the more you fine trim and/or pad it), the less bites you'll get. For me, I have foam strategically placed in my armor. Some for looks (making the armor sit right), and come for comfort. Ensuring all your armor peices have no rough edges or pointy bits/protrusions will lessen your chances of getting bit. Sand everything! Also, make sure your electronics are placed so they don't poke you. As for how often people troop, it's very dependant on the trooper and his/her personal life. Some troopers are out there every weekend ( ), and some you'll only see once a year. The longest I've spent in armour was 4 hours. I'm planning on attending longer events this year, and I wouldn't be suprised to see 6-8 hours coming up.

Congrats!

Maybe a cheap video baby monitor? I say cheap because the cheap ones are black and white and have a small screen. Making it run on 12volts or something...I don't know.

Whoa!

We've got kinders in every grocery store and Walmart. Even the big ones. PM if you want some.

Looks Good. What kind of black s-trim did you use for your helmet; it looks quite chunky (oversized)?

E6000. It's a troopers best friend.

Your button plates look a little "tacked-on". The edges could be trimmed ever-so-slightly while rounding the corners to make them fit better over the ab piece. Looking good though! How wide are your shin cover strips?

The strength in smell does not equate to the level of toxicity. If you're using E6000, you need ventilation. You're wise to be cautious, especially with a baby around. Warmer weather is on it's way ... eventually.

Looking Good! Is there a reason you removed the return edge on the knee plate?

I use a re-purposed passport holder velcro'd to my backplate to hold my wallet and cell phone. Both are in a ziploc bag for anti-sweat. I keep them on me just incase I get smoked by a speeder bike or something. I don't have a medical condition, but thought it best to have my ID and emerg contacts on my person.

Looks Great! Killer paint job on your helmet! Some picky details that I might address ( for Centurion or just to have your kit look it's best, as you're kit is looking to be) could include moving your shoulder bells towards your shoulder straps, heat forming your shoulder straps so that they lay flat on your back plate, shortening your drop box straps, replacing your cod strap with black elastic, replaceing your TD screws with pan-head common screws (no square socket (robertson)), and painting the screws on yout TD black. Note ... These are not all required for Centurion. Good Job though!

It could be that through shooting, the wires came loose? In that screen grab, it's hard to tell what is going where. Those HD gate springs look a little on the heavy side. You'll probably have to visit a store to measure the real outside diameter of a spring and compare it to the inside diameter of your blaster pipe/opening. And then see if the guage of the wire used looks OK.

Have a look at your local or big box hardware store for screen door return springs, or a misc. springs bin or drawer. I found a premade spring and re-purposed it. Or take some wire and make your own as previously suggested. As for the wires from the cylinders to the counter ... I don't beleive they are required, but they do look really cool. I did mine for the cool factor. 2-4 coils is all you need. The wires go from the back of the cylinders to the fromt of the counter. Drilling the counter is a sketchy task, so be careful if you do. Here's a pic of my setup.

Velcro on the front of of the upper part of the boot works really well. It keeps your shins from lifting and turning. Put the fuzzy side of the velcro on the inside of your shin, and put the other half (hook) side on your boot. Industrial Velcro of course. Zero Issues.

I've used Zap in the Hobby world, and it is awesome stuff, but it's also VERY unforgiving. I'd stick with the E6000. It provides some play-time for lining up pieces, and leaves your fingerprints intact.

No Worries Angie, there are plenty more troops coming. We ended up having a better than expected turnout in Brampton, with 6 TK's, a Vader, 2 Royal Guards, a Tuskin, an R2, and 2 handlers.

PSN ... Brad_Bird Battlefront Update Yesterday!

Yup, that's him. Oh, and the other stuff, Various off-the-shelf paints will work for painting the inside of your bucket. Nothing industrial or commercial grade, as they may be strong enough to eat the abs. You never know what solvents etc are in those. I used acrylic satin black paint and it covered well. Brushed it on. If I scrape it bad enough it will come off, but it's easy to touch up. Some go the plastidip route, and others do spray paint. Fans ... start with one kit like Echo's. If you find you need more ventilation, make a supplementary fan kit yourself, or purchase another kit of somekind. For placement, you want to ensure you've got air movement across your lenses or they will fog up. I think Echo's is set up to do just that so it would work fine. Voice Amp ... this can wait as your budget allows, especially with our dollar as it is. you can get along pretty good with hand signals and speaking loudly through your bucket. That being said, you'll want to reserve some room in your chest plate for the electronic boxes and speaker that are required for these setups if you're going to get one eventually. I have to say though, these systems do add an extra level of coolness when you talk to the public in a stormtrooper kind of voice with a static burst. The smiles get even larger (inside and outside the bucket) Blaster paint ... again, off-the-shelf paint works great. Michaels has it all. E6000 glue works well for sticking stuff on. It sticks well and remains somewhat flexible for some "give". You'll probably have at least 3 tubes of it anyways for armor assembly. I'm still looking for lenses for my E-11, but i've heard lenses from dollar store binoculars etc (or broken toys with lenses) work well. I'd weather your speed tape with some different shades of "metal" look paint from Michaels. I have a feeling this thread is going to go "Hot" faster that any other I've seen.

There's also Skyminers Environmental Audio Systems. He's in Ontario (CDN $) and his system works well. I use buds with mine.

The cover strips (not shims ) should be the spec'd dimension when viewing the armor from the front. The cover strips on the back of the shins and thighs can be thicker to accommodate different sized people. The biceps and forearms should be kept to the spec'd dimensions if possible. So for your shins, for example, make your front cover strip, check your alignment on the front of the shins to make sure they fit and have a consistant reveal against the pre-formed ridge, and then measure how wide of a shim you would need on the back in order to close the shin (with overlap on both halfs of the back of the shin). I think this sentence makes sense.

Or tape some sanding paper on a board and sand away. I agree, sand those edges! It will look a ton better.

Hey Angie, just to clarify, my passport holder is in my backplate. Not saying you couldn't put yours there though. I kept my chestplaet for electronics. As for painting the inside of the bucket ... I say go for it. It makes the innards of the bucket less visible, and will help prying eyes from seeing your face. You're going for a full balaclava inside your bucket so that won't be an issue. But in the chance you find it too hot in the bucket with your clava on, the black interior paint will work for you. There is no grey effect, as the abs is thick enough that there is no transfer or bleed through.

Another source for strong rare earth magnets is Lee Valley. I don't know if you've got one up there, but there is one in Burlington. You'll need these magnets for your binders, and for assemby for use as clamps. As for the bucket ... it's personal preference. Some use foam for padding, some get helmet padding from a army surplus store or motorcycle shop (or ebay), or some get the hard-hat-liner type. They're probably pro's and con to all of them. I don't have a chin strap on my bucket so I can't speak to it's value. I think it would be hard to close when the bucket and gloves are on. 2 cents.