andylah

Mine sat there for what felt like ages but was only 3 months and as soon as it was done and I was approved I was at a lot loss of what to do next!!! Everyone was asking what was next up and I had no idea, now it makes sense

Loving watching this build come together. It's the first rt-mod I've noticed since I finished mine and is just bringing back good memories of armour building Looking good

That is cool Ian.

Wow that is stunning

new boots arrived today to replace the Dublins - the constant repainting the chipped paint was getting expensive and a pain in the an impolite person... enter Imperial Boots (http://www.imperialboots.com/) as they are ~always~ in stock vs TK Boots who seem to be on eternal back order... Ordered on the 14th of October and arrived this morning; so less than a month which is good... Have thrown one on so far but will give them a wear tonight and see how we go...

quick update... Since approval I have been wearing my TK suit as often as possible. 2 days at Oz Comicon, 4 days at EB Expo for Star Wars Battlefront, Birthday parties, TV appearances, and more... its been on more than my normal work clothes I think... No major issues or gripes after a solid month and a half of being TK42542 i haven't had any major issues. the odd snap ungluing here and there but all is well... I can take my bucket off without ripping my face off which is a plus and can get dressed by myself (minus belt) and can pee half dressed ! i only got biting in a few places and am working on addressing that, namely the left back of knee where shin/thigh pinches so want to cut a but more off the shins to let them lower a bit... I might also take some more off the forearm so i am not thinking about it.. but overall this Stormtrooper is a very very happy camper

And done.

congratulations man... looks awesome

So got notice I was approved. excellent.... Now the plan is to troop the poodoo out of it!

Greetings, can someone please enable access as required. TK-42542 http://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=17904&costumeID=124 thanks Andy

well its been a busy few weeks since the glue finally arrived and I haven't updated this thread in a minute... Back side strapping: Front side strapping (temporary until I got shims happy to make sure it was right heights and the like Shims created to fill the gut gaps... (these in the end got made smaller as well as when pulled tight only about 1" was seen) and open and close side via velcro.. (also added velcro to the other side as well to give maximum flexability) and inside: highly technical velcro installation. this was final fitting before gluing and from the back the back plate keeps riding up like that, will look at tomorrow as well.. dad seemed to think it was how i was standing but couldn't elaborate... So glued up the thighs and they are e6000ering now... hooray. Also added the shoulder bells elastic to the chest plates (which caused the ribbed strap to pop off so that is gluing too... Previously the chest and ab pieces were only connected via elastic and velcro, so this was attaching snaps properly once the glue had arrived: Ended up moving that centre snap down an inch and attached via elastic to ensure it pulls the chest down tight to fit better and and (of course at this stage I have worked out, i don't like how i did my snaps and immediately want to re do them all) So before the approval photos were taken some final work happened with the help of the garrison! Thighs were trimmed about 1cm all around, then further indent where the cod piece joins was made and ammo plate was attached, marked the hole. drilled the hole, used rivets from trooper bay and painted.... added glue in the centre for extra staying power. and then this happened: A. FRONT – Head to Toe B. BACK – Head to Toe C. BOTH SIDES – Head to Toe and D. WAIST UP E. WAIST UP WITH BUCKET OFF ACTION SHOT and the equal parts excitement and sadness its all over combined with the Linc awaiting approval emails now... still have a few clean up comfort tasks I want to do - attach and pad out the forearms and even out the new thigh gap... but happy days

I'm in the same boat and when I spoke to my GML they advised not cut off the top for the moment but cut out a notch in the back to enable mobility which is allowed.... im aiming for something similar to the guy on the left.... congrats on losing so much weight too buddy! I know when my kit was ordered I actually had motivation to lose weight and get into my kit.... that being said motivation has wained over aussie winter so side ships have still been deemed necessary!

Cut another chunk off the belt as per Ian's advice and the picture, also made sure it was equal length this time... then got motivated enough to attach the holster with some screws I got from Tandy (https://www.tandyleather.com.au/en-aud/search/searchresults/1296-02.aspx) also glued on the shoulder straps to the chest plate... to do list: 1. Thighs.... I know I need to cut at least an inch off, if not more.... will leave to the end... 2. shoulders attached to chest plate. (need to redo the elastic as I found better) 3. Back plate connects to kidney...( haven't done that yet) 4. chest piece attached to ab plate.... (elastic bits) 6. snaps into armour (top single one and two for belt - this scares me) 7. fit. work out if i need side shims (i know i will) 8. make side shims 9. pose for pics and send off for approval. 10. Approval

haha! its all i seem to be doing at the moment. if i don't smell e6000 or melting elastic/webbing i feel like i'm missing something... mom keeps asking me if i have pissed off my other friends as i am not going out at all.... so half day at work has come and gone and i got some stuff done.... fitting of bits and pieces and attaching the cod piece elastic.. then test measuring for the shoulder straps (apparently they looked better and i moved and they slid down, but dad reckons once snapped will sit properly also with it not attached properly i am holding it with my shoulders or something? same time i did the side on poses to work out issues there, and the kidney plate seems to pull out towards the top; again with the back bits not attached properly, i think that will go away... concerned about the gap... seems to shrink and grow in size and i cant get the top edge to line up properly i moved on to attaching the shoulder straps; for some reason i am over engineering them and have four snaps each end to avoid it twisting... easy.... i snapped them all on and then went to pull them off to do the other end, when i learned not all elastics are born equally... yeah ripped straight thru the elastic... so binned them ... and went to spot light where surprisingly they had exactly what i was after, within 30 seconds of looking... also learned my beard looks totally lopsided here.... so despite working for 4 hours solidly ive crossing nothing off the list... lol today's another day so will see what i can figure out... hooray. i think i will bring the thighs to bowling to see what the consensus is with cutting them down....

well lots of work was done over the weekend, and with it an abundance of fail... what could go wrong did. lets not talk about it any further... but importantly i recovered... Test fitting chest piece with bucket and undersuit, pretty happy with where it sits... the reality of running out of webbing cause you messed up one too many times and have to run to spotlight, but spotlight didn't have it.... So seeing the front looked reasonable I started working out attaching the back plate... then I got all the back sections lined up and attached them together, when I test fitted the back plate the distance to kidney seemed to go between a cm when i looked to 4 inches when mom looked for me, so the top most snaps aren't attached... Shoulder bell elastic fitted - havent attached to chest strap bit yet... shoulder connected to bicep.... forearm still free floating for the time being until i work out if I need to cut any more.. finally put on boots and shins to work out if I needed to cut any off the shin, the blue tape is the top of my knee for reference, i was able to walk fine and sit with out too dram so am happy So still to do: 1. Thighs.... I know I need to cut at least an inch off, if not more.... will leave to the end... add snaps to garter arrangement. 2. Chest plate straps glued on Chest plate elastic snapped on to back plate shoulders attached to chest plate. 3. Back plate connects to everything in the back and then elastics to cod piece. 4. chest piece attached to ab plate.... (which is then connected to everything else. 5. holster on to belt 6. snaps into armour (top single one and two for belt) 7. fit. work out if i need side shims (i think i will) 8. make side shims 9. pose for pics and send off for approval. 10. get rejected. that's the plan at least... I have a half day tomorrow so might try and jam some stuff in then... then have this weekend... that was my self imposed goal as the week after I am in New Zealand and thats Brick Expo (which is the actual deadline i set myself).... tick tick tick.... Mom really wants her dining room table back... @veers show your mum this so she knows shes not the only one dealing with this...

thanks for that Jason, just read through it and hadn't even thought of doing it that way; yours are nice and clean...

had four different non star wars people have a look at the kidney and all agreed the way i had it seemed to line up the better of the two ways; so went with it.... in theory i just flip it if its wrong at this stage.... another good day was had... drilled and set the two buttock snaps... that was scary drilling into armour freaking out the whole time but done none the less... Then moved on to a nice visit to spotlight for some supplies; namely matching widths to make the thigh garter thingie... mom sewed them up good, and I think they will work... This show shows them attached to the belt and dangling over my shorts.. so velcro the height of the belt, 13" of elastic with a chunk of wedding at the bottom to attach snaps to snap them to the thigh; logic being the belt will be a consistant height. at this stage my sister was confused what I was doing and demanded I get dressed; sure why not... (I think i can drop the chest plate a bit) and First time getting that dressed up and I now know I need to lose an inch or so at the top of the thighs, and another inch at the bottom of the shins, and maybe some work/padding on the cod piece... Used the time to work out any of the kinks; one of which is the shims i might need on the sides: and at least they look fairly even and will probably shrink in size as well when everything else is on properly; I still havent fitted the kidney or back plates at this stage.... thats my sister; she called me Anal. i laughed... but anyway, first time donning the whole arm in one go and am reasonably happy. I later hit the bicep returns some more to try and move it further up my arm, but think i need to cut some off the end of the forearm some more... said resized forearm.... lastly did the last of the snap gluing for the back sections... (also has the two buttock snaps in shot) also bought supplies to do the shoulder straps... so productive weekend was productive and I did a whole lot from my to do list which is a good feeling....

cut the belt ends, and angles, and glued the last couple of buttons. fun task of the day was asking my sister to assist with measuring how much elastic i needed for the cod piece/buttock join then added split rivet goodness to impale myself. Left the buttock snaps for confirmation the snaps I have are allowed (they are darker than silver) and added some webbing n snaps to the top of the buttock piece to hopefully attach to the kidney ( QUESTION - is there a right way up for this?) So the plan is still achievable at this stage in the day... my sewing skills are lacking so am dependent on mom being able to attach the velcro to the elastic to make thigh loop thingies.....

getting excited now and I don't think i'm actually scared any more... well within reason belt attached and tight for once and the abs are snapped to the cod piece. internal snaps to attach cod / ab plate... the one of the left likes to twist a bit as it doesnt seem to fit flush.... i lowered the ab down a bit to make it fit better... snaps and elastic for the shoulder bells... not sure I like this as I think the snaps will run, but easy to rip out if needed... next steps: 1. belt... finish it off - cut the edges off (i think at the tape line) cut the 45 degree angle and attach the buttons. I really want to make one of the boxes usable but cant think how easily 1a. add the Gazmosis holster to the belt. 2. cod snaps and rivet 3. look at back pieces to start lining them up to work out the chest piece to work out if i need shims in ab plate and how high the chest needs to be 4. velcro/elastic/snap combo to attach to the weight belt thing I have... in theory its snaps to some elastic with a length of velco as high as the belt so they are always in a fixed position I can see reaching a point of needing actual assistance for decent fitting and final cuts before doing approval stuff soon... I cant seem to get any of the family to actually take the photo i want/need...

began the weekend again with lots of motivation.... ended the weekend in a alcohol induced paralytic state that stopped all my good intentions... started with me doing the linc. Boots have like 7 coats of white on them and look good... ( i peeled off the tape off the soles shortly after this pic was taken) Did some more trial fitting with the aim of getting cod piece attached to Ab plate... hand plates suck. these suckas just dont want to glue on properly - do i want to glue them on to the dish washing gloves given they suck to troop in? Now the elephant in the room.... Shims. Do I need them or not... when i got test dressed up and had dad measure them i need 7.5 cm shims to join the ab and kidney plates. When i got properly dressed and threw the belt on it was 4.5cm... In theory I will build them like that temporarily to see what is needed... reading the rules I might not need too? My stupid brain wants me to close the gaps and i would prefer them? gave up moved on to the belt... all riveted together now, just need to lop off the edges and cut the 45 degree angles and then attach the holster... good times. ended the day with attaching some of the snap buttons to the ab plate to try and get it attached... my plan was to haev all plates built and ready for gluing this week after work... that didnt happen...

after moving forward and then two steps back I reread Dark CMF's build and this looks much better stuck the cod piece up behind the abs still just temporary but a relief none the less then some more gluing last night got me excited again: Sniper Plate and fronts of both of the thighs

so with a anew self imposed threat / goal in my head I got into it tonight and achieved nothing really lol Ab buttons are french blue arbitrarily stuck the shoulder straps on just to have a look see which lead to taping armour to me to see whats what... take away points. my torso is really short, so need to hack and slash some length off the lot... and the cod piece is a separate piece to abs? is that normal @chris seemed to think it was odd... (would top of cod be logical place to shave some space) - RT Mod has a line drawn over it that says belt line so maybe not? in which case do I cut the bottom of the abs off to the bottom of the chest... actually proper scared about that now.... finally moved on to thighs... my previous guestimate was close, but I loosened a bit given comments by others and they feel much better... ive taped/magetneted and clamped them up overnight to try and get some shape out of them as they dont feel the right shape... hopefully then I can glue the fronts and make proper adjustments to the sizing and possibly shave some more height from the tops... (I need to even out the backs as its lopsided and has a edge that sticks out right front: right back (excuse half undone shin, photographer didnt mention until after and I couldn't see it left front left back so again what I hoped would be a productive night has turned meh once I have reviewed the photos again....

yeah that is the plan... and a girdle, suck gut in, push this out, and then also give me (in theory) a fixed point to strap thighs too....

So progress is progressing: Shins, forearms and TD are glued and good to go: (other shin is some where else) just work on fitting the forearms properly and making them a tad shorter possibly still... And the Echo Fan setup I ordered arrived and is in place now.. still need to attach slightly more permanently.. I opted for the custom name and numbers which I think adds to the badass level and makes it feel like mine! Now the helmet feels really small; have to pay attention putting it on and pulling off with fans; but I haven't tried with the balaclava on.... (that will solve the beard getting sucked into the fan problem at least) Weekend is looking at thighs and running away, hopefully painting the ab buttons, and I think looking at the belt to try and get that progressing although I have missed buying a holster.... whats a good holster???? -------------- epic troop on Saturday helping out and I managed to get another good look at some TK kits and progress was had.. First go round at painting dots - the cd label stickers I had weren't quite right so I free handed them, i did them again and they look better Second go: Armbourboy big an impolite person storage box arrived Then on to the belt: Some rivet goodness - 1/8" from bunnings Then some push buttons. Feeling more confident with these now, ready to start strapping soon too i think both done, woot. and almost done - still have to stick the cover buttons on, and work out if the flappy bits at the ends are too long. Left it warmed up around a bike tyre to get some good curve happening Next step is connecting the drop boxes and looping with elastic over belt, and attach the still hasnt been purchased holster.... New found motivation tonight I want to hit the sniper plate, and the should straps I think; and hopefully look at the beginning of strapping to try and get some of the body fitted up.

fairly productive day thanks to Chris788 and hansdc in Melbourne for answering countless silly questions! made the first cuts with the assistance of Clone Wars, some epic strong coffee and Tamiya lexcan scissors... (these things rule) Chopped off the ends of the forearms and got them ready for gluing.... ( they need some cleaning up and sanding) broke out the e6000 and did some gluing of the forearms and shins and got the TD good to go So half the forearms are setting now, will look how they are going tomorrow. Both shins are now glued with velcro in the back so that is a bonus... TD needed its clips shortened so also did that. Tomorrow I hope to finish the TD. Look at the thighs some more and see whats needed there. look at the chest bits, kidney, ab plates etc etc to see whats next... good day overall, actually feels like I achieved something...