sharkbait

Here's the update link, it should be shared publicly, so no one should have any issues viewing it: OT TK Differences: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-cu3I77_aCwZl8CJBoEwlvH5jLCOmPXk/view?usp=sharing FOTK Differences (Incl. Phasma): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GGRJdA6q7hxnPECsIY6wqJ0lGtX6rZ0p/view?usp=sharing Let me know if anyone does have issues, because Google Drive can be buggy.

Yeah if you wanted go with the obvious choice that I missed. Sounds good to me!

Thank you! I actually reviewed the FOTK CRLs, and turns out they're not nearly as complicated different as I thought, so I'm working on a spreadsheet for those as well. I'm going to add Phasma as well, because other than chroming and a handful of details, she's actually quite similar to TFA (no TLJ Phasma CRL yet, I'll add that once it's live). I'm working on TFA Phasma, so I have vested interested in that one. I think it was decided it would be best to add to Getting Started, and so I will create a thread there shortly.

Morning, all! I recently got inspired by a thread in the NCO Club (Off Topic) section about the differences between OT TKs and if a spreadsheet laying them out existed. We came to the conclusion we didn't think one did, and then on Friday I didn't have any real work to do at work, so I made one. It's OT TK only for now; I may make one for FOTKs someday, but that is not this day. There are spreadsheets for OTTKs and FOTKs- now including TLJ Phasma as per the recent update to the CRL! They are also now in PDF format for easy viewing! Here's the link for viewing/downloading (it looks terrible in preview- Google Sheets or download are the way to go). OT TKs - https://drive.google.com/file/d/10tEVteIreh6AHMogW010cuH_Bf8TBfU6/view?usp=sharing FOTKs - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GBkXIfRs9lYW6vnhVjqdEv5oNdp2ToTs/view?usp=sharing So my question is: Where should I post this for all to view? Armor discussion? Generic tutorials? My only thought is put it where it will be the most helpful, and I would prefer it not limited to the 501st-only areas, as it could help someone decide which TK to do for acceptance into the Legion (that was the point of the thread that inspired it). FURTHER EDIT: These have both been posted under the "Getting Started - Read this First!" Section. I note this post was pinned, but those weren't- those are the ones I'd recommend pining, as those are the ones I'll be updating with CRL changes.

Alright... you inspired me. I do love my spreadsheets: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xaRZxAlVwa327UFBSnwVS16tyRM5r9cU/view?usp=sharing It's broken down into Basic, EIB, and Centurion. OT only for now- maybe someday I'll get inspired to do one for the FOTKs, Rogue, and/or Solo, but that is not this day. Any questions or clarifications required on it, please let me know! I will say the preview you get when you first click sucks, so look at it in Google Sheets or download it and view in Excel/OpenOffice, etc., for best viewing. I reviewed this 3+ times, but please feel free to double check me and make sure I didn't transpose a column or something. There's a whole lot of info and a whole lot of little details.

The plan was to get you towards ESB! Just kidding- I just happen to partial to ESB. Originally I was between ESB or ROTJ- I ditched ROTJ because I didn't want to paint my boot soles white and have to keep them that way. To my knowledge since most kits are ANH derived, there's fewer ready options for ROTJ's one piece kidney and butt plate- I know there's at least one maker than offers that, but I'm not sure as to others. A two piece could be modded to become one, it would just take an extra step. ANH is by far the most popular option, so there's no shortage of help, parts, decals or paint options, etc. Thankfully, ANH-S/ANH-H/ESB are so similar in base that you aren't locked in to only build threads of your model- you can really look at any of them for most of it, especially the base armor. Good luck! Keep asking questions, keep checking these forums, and research, research, research! You'll join the white armor ranks in no time!

Definitely face the fans towards the lenses, be it diagonally across like CTID above or just up to the corresponding lens on either side- it will keep them from fogging up but also not dry out our eyes. Mounting them lower in the helmet can catch what little ventilation you get from the teeth, as well as from the opening of the helmet. You can play with the angle a bit to also get their airflow to catch a bit of your face/cheek area on its way to the lenses; it might be a placebo effect but it works for me.

I can help you with the differences between ANH and ESB (but don't ask me the difference between ANH Stunt and Hero, because I still don't really know): These are based on Centurion, because that's what I did, rather than basic to basic, and my knowledge of ANH is primarily Hero: Helmet: ESB frown is black, ANH is gray ESB tears, tube stripes, etc., are decals, and not hand-painted look decals, specific ESB details for color/type, the blue on the tube stripes is specific ESB Blue; ANH is hand-painted or hand-painted look decals (the rank bars on the ears are painted on both because there aren't decals for those) ESB Tube stripes should be 13 per side, but 9 - 16 is acceptable, ANH has 11 - 13 per side, but 9 - 16 is also acceptable. ESB lenses can be green or gray (smoke), and are flat; ANH are green or gray (smoke), and can be flat or bubbled- I do know bubble only for EIB Hero (someone chime in who knows more re Hero/Stunt for details) ESB has 2 - 3 ear bumps (rank stripes) in black, ANH has one ESB has 6 - 8 teeth cut out of the frown, ANH has six. Armor: ESB hand guards are the same as Snowie (Snowtrooper) hand guards, commonly called "clamshell", ANH are triangular. ESB can be attached with an elastic strip around the palm over rubber chemical gloves, or via a five point star pattern sewn onto black satin gloves. ANH are either hard plastic attached with elastic or flexible latex stuck directly to the glove. Misc: ESB holster is solid black, loops around the belt and is worn on the right, ANH is black and tan, riveted onto the belt, and worn on the left ESB E-11 is "paired down" compared to ANH, it lacks an ammo counter most noticeably. There's two versions of ESB, promo and regular, to be honest I'm not familiar with the differences. As to ROTJ... the boot soles are white, the kidney and butt plate are one piece (not separate like ANH and ESB), they wear Snowie/ESB handguards, and I think there's a trim on the chest and back plates, and maybe the ab, too. That's the limit of my knowledge on that. I tell my new handlers the easy way to tell my TK apart from the others at at event is to look for a black frown. But is is surprising how quickly you can tell each other apart even in armor. Once all variations looked the same, now they're glaringly different, once every TK at an event looked just about the same, then suddenly they were obviously the individuals wearing the armor.

Welcome aboard! Believe it or not, you might actually miss your handling days! Eventually, anyway.

For my TIE, I used an automotive paint base (get an actual auto paint, not just a paint they sell at a auto parts store; regardless of what the sales guy says, learn from my mistakes), and an oil-based gloss (I used Varathane brand). Turned out about as shiny as I've seen non-commercial applications.

In my opinion, no, because nothing Rubies does looks very good. That is, it looks terrible to the discerning eye of those who really know props, however I have found that even a lot of the general public can tell their TK helmets are off (maybe not in detail why, but just not right). I haven't seen the Rubies Phasma helmet, but I can only assume based on everything else they put out it's the same. For the price of Rubies, you're not very far off from getting it from a reputable seller and having it be truly accurate. I'd check out Jimmi or Shawn Thorrson, they sell helmets individually.

Communication has always been a bit hit or miss with him, in my own experience and what I've heard from others. But his kit is top notch, especially for taller troopers, so I still believe it's worth the wait. Be persistent but not annoying, if that makes sense. I'd check in every month or so with a one or two line, hey I'm still interested let me know, thanks, kind of deal.

You're not the only one thrown for a loop here. I'm having trouble trying to figure this out, too. I'm thinking the shins are mismatched, but I can't quite put my finger on it. The inside curve looks right, but I feel like maybe the pieces should still be switched. There will need to be width-trimming, but I would hold off on that until the line up is sorted, to make sure you're measuring to the right leg, etc. I would like up the tops, and flatten the front out, like there's a cover strip on them, and that might help you visualize. I'll keep thinking. I've looked at pictures of mine and they unfortunately didn't help. Any else have any ideas? I've been totally unhelpful, I'm afraid.

Basically everyone already hit on the points I noticed, so I just have a few things for future reference/your knowledge down the road that don't have to deal with approval but with wearing and maintenance of the suit: It looks like the sniper plate is wanting to tuck under the thigh (I've seen this a bunch of times now, and dealt with it myself). Our fix is to tape up a cheap washcloth and tape into the inside of the shin to punch it out just that little bit. In my experience, the RS brackets put a lot of stress on a semi-weak point, and can pull through, come out, or otherwise crack the areas they're connected to. You can preemptively add extra strapping (like with snap plates and Tandy snaps) in those areas, mainly the chest/ab connections, but I'd also do it for the back/kidney connection, too. Good luck!

Stormtroopers: Behind the Armor is a really good book, too! I recommend it.

Welcome! Good luck with your EIB/Centurion! Check out the current EIB/Centurion threads, especially the approved ones- they're a great resource. Already with multiple costumes, I like it!

I have AM 2.0, and got to Centurion. I did replace the back plate with an RT-Mod, because at the time the CRL indicated the AM back plate was to be replaced with a more accurate version, but to my knowledge, the current AM is fine as-is. I do know the AM 2.0 chest is fine, but AM 1.0 would need to be replaced. If you're getting a new kit direct from them, it will be the current version, so no need to worry about 1.0. Differences are subtle: helmet has black frown, decals not hand-painted or hand-painted-look decals on the helmet (you can get the decals off Trooperbay.com). Lenses are flat smoke or green (I personally prefer smoke to go with the black frown). Holster is black looped and on the right (Darman makes excellent holsters, I have four of them, and will add more as I get more blasters). Hand guards are the Snowie hand guards, and attached either with a black elastic strap or the sewing pattern (there's a tutorial on that on here). You can do black chemical gloves with the elastic strap attachment, or you can do silk gloves with the sewing attachment. I cheat a little in that I have the chemical gloves, but I also have a spare pair of Nomex for long troops or summer troops, and the elastic band attachment means I can swap out. (Silk are harder to wash, and in hot weather like we get around here, chemical gloves collect sweat like nobody's business). The E-11 is a parred down version of ANH, no ammo counter, no cord, maybe something else, but basically it's a ANH with some stuff removed (I have a Hyperfirm, so I didn't have to think, just ordered an ESB version- Lewis/Slave5 makes great Hyperfirms, and his b-grades are almost indistinguishable from his a-grades). Pretty sure I got them all... sometimes when I rattle them off I forget one or two little details. They're all mostly little details. There's a handful of ESB Centurion threads, I'd check those out, those should make things pretty clear as to what you're shooting for. To my knowledge, most all TK armors come with the parts to be either ANH, ESB or Sandie. I know AM does, because mine did. The only one I wouldn't be sure about on that would be Anovos- I've not heard of anyone doing ESB with Anovos. I've seen a handful of people selling their extra parts for Sandies that came with their kits, so it's also possible to grab the conversion pieces on the forums, just keep an eye out. I'd just indicate when ordering what you're planning to do, to make sure you at the very least get that kit set up/extras. I would also vouch for AM- I love mine. I troop a lot, and fairly hard, and it's held up great over the last two years. It's a nice thickness and has good bend to it. Glad to see another aiming for Centurion! Good luck! Ask any questions you come across- it makes life so much easier, and then your Centurion will be in the bag.

Here's a link of one place to find the leather dye: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HQ53QA8/ Boots are a little harder, I find they come in waves. Searching for "Jodpur Boots" should get you in the vicinity, though. Just keep an eye on the quality and where the seams are- there's a lot of subtle differences that may or may not work for our purposes. I have a spare set of black ones in case I can't secure a new set of white ones when my current (original) ones bite the dust, now that TK Boots is out .

That is one fine-looking TK you have there! I believe basic approval is in the bag, and the minor tweaks listed above if you're interested in EIB/Centurion. (Why not?!)

RT Mod and AM are the two biggest. I'm 5' 11'' and not small. My first choice was RT, but long story short I ended up with AM. AM does, or at least used to, make two different sizes- normal, which was already big, and large, which is even bigger. You might trim a ton in some areas, but you'll be perfect in others. I trimmed a lot off my forearms, but little off my thighs, for example. I can't for the life of me find the tutorial now, but there was one for working with the thigh armor on women. Basically, our thighs are bigger on top and smaller on the bottom, vs. men's are generally straight. So, when you cut your pieces to size, you don't do a straight line, but instead make a V cut, to account for this. It's subtle and not noticeable once completed, but it very much helps in the fitting and overall look when you're done. You do notice when it's complete it just looks off if the thighs are too big on the bottom. I want to say it was a LadyInWhite tutorial, it seems like something she'd do. If I manage to find it I'll edit this post with a link.

My experience was he was very busy and would get back to you, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. His armor is superb and worth the wait, however. I don't advocate bugging anyone, but after a month or more I think it's perfectly fine to drop another email and say "Just following up, I'm still interested."

Shoulder bridges are a weak point in all armors, but I've noticed Anovos tends to crack and break much quicker than other armors. They are just a known stress point, and I'm not sure there's an real getting around it. I bought a back up set early just in case, but for now am using ABS pieces as backing for support and ABS paste to cement it in place and fill in.

I personally like painted, but it's a personal choice. I think it helps with hiding any electronics, cords, fans, etc., and adds a layer of darkness and mystery to the helmet when viewed from a kid's point of view- straight up. I used Rustoleum 2x in glossy black. The 2x line bonds great with plastic and does't require a ton of priming first, i'ts my go-to rattle can brand.

I personally love kjmagnetics. I've gotten all my rare earth magnets from them. You'll want to tape them up with tabs for easy pulling apart right when you get them. Because it you drop one then they will fly together and it will be really hard to get them apart again. Also, they're so strong they can shatter themselves. I used only N42 strength, and they've never led me astray yet. Expensive, but worth it. Just don't blank and forget they have to be used in pairs, so ten sounds like a lot, but it's only five pairs. Don't pull a me, haha.

I didn't use elastic on my TK, the way I did my snap plates the chest and back just rest in place, but I did it on my in-progress Shadow Scout. I just put the armor on, after I'd done the shoulder connections, and measured with the actual elastic. Elastic is also fairly cheap, so you can cut one test piece and check it out, before you do the second one. For whatever reason, I found it easier to use the actual elastic rather than a tape measure, I don't know why.