sharkbait

Easy basic pass! Great job there, trooper! I spy a lot of Centurion details, and I don't see anything major jumping out at me that would prevent that. Those ears are just a royal pain- there's no way around it.

Mineral spirits worked on my Testors and spray paint, too (spray paint was Rustoleum 2x), though the sooner you get to the paint, the better and easier it is. It also removed residue left after removing E6000.

I've had good luck with mineral spirits for cleaning up excess glue. Also, it won't melt the ABS like acetone would. But it will remove any paint already there, so keep it away from any paint or decals you want to keep.

And here we go! Rough trimming is mostly done- a few curves I need to use the dremel on. Next I will fine sand the edges and then I can start assembling the armor! Finger armor has arrived (the yellow pile), and they need sanding and polishing. Gaskets are on order, threw in a neck seal as well (Geeky Pink's), cape, belt and soft belt boxes will be the next purchase. Close up of the boots and lifts: The CRL says no laces, but no laces are going to show, so I should be able to make it work. I found that because of the height the lifts added, my foot wouldn't fit comfortably in most non-lace boots. A pair of my work heels with my lifts for scale, roughly 4''. If I can wear those heels 4 - 5 times per week and walk comfortably, then I think I can do the same with these lifts. I'm going to build up the base a little so that there's not such a distinct drop in slope at the arch, which should also make it more comfortable. And finally, the helmet thus far: A little more fine sanding along the eyes and then I'm ready to fine sand the whole thing. There's a lot of little extra bits that I have to remove, most of which are in tricky places. We'll see how that goes. I'm also going to cut out new lens material. The helmet came with bubble, and I just can't see out of them except a tiny little spot in each eye. Not a great combo for someone on lifts who's already kinda clumsy. No stumbling Phasma around here! With luck, I'll have some time between a troop, decorating for Halloween, and Book Club this weekend to get some more work done!

Another ESB, yay!! Very nice job there! At first the tube stripes look like really nicely applied decals, then I can't see a decal line... then I can... So that would be my question, too (concerning the tears/traps are definitely decals, I'd assume the tubes are too). Nice painting on the ear rank bars, too, by the wa. I believe what been mentioned as to the black teeth is the little corners at the bottom- they're not painted, just the teeth themselves. Otherwise everything lines up sharply and you're looking great! Good luck!

Much agreed! So much easier to do it EIB or Centurion from the start then retroactively do things.

As a side note... does anyone know of a better way to do this than Google Drive? Because it's been a hassle on my end and it keeps wanting to revoke the Public sharing status... which the whole point is to share this.

Try it again now, and let me know. It's showing up for me as corrected, but I'm not satisfied Drive is doing what I tell it to do. Also try opening in Google Sheets, not just the preview page that pops up- I think that was't refreshing, but the actual Google Sheets version was (at one point anyway). I spent time on this, I want it right! Thanks!

Looking pretty good so far! I noticed the belt placement and forearm return edges too, but those have already been well explained. Definitely follow Tony's build thread, and also others- even if they aren't your armor maker, there's a lot of cross over, and sometimes it helps seeing multiple different picture and angles. Also check out the EIB and Centurion threads for great close ups of a lot of different parts.

What magnet strength did you use for the connectors? This looks like a fantastic idea... will likely employ it with my Phasma.

I've flipped them already- I think it's a matter of Google not updating the spreadsheet link- I've been checking into it. I think re-uploading and doing a new link should take care of that. Thanks for letting me know it's still not updating!

If it makes you feel any better, all our costumes (TK or otherwise), are generally a continuing work in progress for the entity of their lives. We're always tweaking or fixing something, or in need of doing so. Part of the adventure!

I have Rob's belt and I love it- I second the recommendation. And congratulations!

If you want a non-toy version (for EIB/Centurion or just because), I highly recommend Hyperfirm. They're drop-proof, and I'm klutzy. Resin are nice but are much more fragile. I had a resin kit originally but knew when I was just prepping it it was going to be too fragile for me to ever feel comfortable trooping with it. It really comes down to personal preference. If you're going with a plastic/toy version- Hasbro is the way to go. Re-painting a blaster is actually pretty easy. I like Rustoleum 2x because it sticks to plastic. Black primer layer, then use a sponge (such as a makeup sponge like these: https://www.amazon.com/Cala-Professional-Quality-Non-Latex-Resistant/dp/B00B9RMLAK/) to dab on silver paint for weathering in the appropriate places. If you screw up, spray it with black again and start over. You'll have to touch it up every now and again, but little touch ups can be done with a Sharpie, major with paint via the sponge technique.

I gave up on white elastic connections between the chest/back- it stretched out way too fast and would never sit right, much like what you're experiencing. I switched to white nylon- no problems since! (White elastic is listed as preferred per the CRL, but not required.) That could be an option for you. The shoulder bell to the nylon connection is black elastic, though, and so far so good.

A jar is a fantastic idea... why didn't I think of that before? Definitely will be doing that every time I need ABS paste from now on. I do know if you use a jar with a metal lid, the acetone will eventually eat away at the metal and destroy it, but that's over time- so I wouldn't store it like that, but otherwise I doubt it would be an issue.

Very sharp! Everyone else beat to me it, so just echoing above minor details. Definitely should be an easy Basic pass. With those little fixes, you should be well on your way to Centurion. Getting the sniper plate caught under the thigh is very common- I put a folded up dollar store wash cloth wrapped in duct tape inside my shin- punches it out just that little bit and it doesn't catch anymore.

Slow for me too, on home and work computers, and phone WiFi and data. I checked them all, lol.

Time for yet another round of "What have I gotten myself into this time?" courtesy of Sharkbait (ooh ha ha!). After numerous people telling me I should do a Phasma, what the character could (and should) have been (don't get me started on TLJ), how awesome Gwendoline Christie is, and that Make-A-Wish troop I don't stop talking about ever where our then-Squad Leader pulled every favor he ever had and then some to get the Make-A-Wish little girl her favorite character, Phasma (at the time there were about 10 Phasmas in the entire Legion), and I got to troop my TK along side, I finally decided I was going to do Phasma. Armor: KB Props, in hand Helmet: JImmi - in hand (Thorsson, in hand- being relegated to battle damage Phasma prop) Neck seal: Geeky Pink's, in hand Gaskets: Geeky Pink's, in hand Fingers: Jim (Starbuckcylon) (resin), in hand Belt: Jessica's, in hand Undersuit: TK undersuit/Easbay compression shirt and pants, in hand Cloth belt pouches: TrooperBay, in hand Boots: In hand, random black boots found on clearance for $12. Ended up using Calto lifted shoes. Inserts: 4.4''. I estimate with my barefoot height (5' 11''), the boot heel (1''), the inserts (4.4'') and the dome on the helmet (1''), I'll stand at about 6' 4''. Using lifted shoes for total lift, not inserts, but height still remains the same- about 6'4'' in costume. Cape: Jessica's, In hand Blaster: Heston3DSolutions F-11D in hand, chromed Chroming: Current plan is one of two professional chromers for the armor, I will do the prop helmet and blasters myself to save on costs. Extras: Heston 3DSolutions SE-44C, in hand and chromed and JJ Industries quicksilver baton. Are either from TFA? No. Do I care? Obviously not. Haha- hence "extras." Majority of my events are non-canon, the public doesn't know the difference, and that baton is amazing and I knew I wanted to play with it regardless. Toys and photo props and talking pieces. I won't use them at every troop, just once in a while for the fun of it, and obviously they will stay at home for the few canon troops we get. Also Heston had another 50% off sale and I had been toying with grabbing a SE-44C anyway, so just take my money already. Goal Timeline: Finish by the release of Episode IX - December 20, 2019, so I can troop that premiere (locally). Well, that didn't happen. New goal is Fresno State Men's Basketball Star Wars Night, January 4, 2020. Submitted for the third time 09/10/20. Third time's the charm, right?

Sounds like you need the industrial strength 100% acetone, like others mentioned. Available at pretty much all hardware stores. Use a non-plastic bowl, such as coated ceramic, because a plastic one will melt along with the ABS. The smaller your ABS pieces, the easier it is. Pour way more acetone than you think you need, let it sit for a minute or so and then stir. Continually agitating will help the bigger chunks melt down. Add more acetone as needed. It will evaporate quickly, so if your paste is too runny, just let it sit and it will thicken up. You may also have to add more acetone as you work, depending on how long you take. I like using popsicle sticks because they're disposable and can spread paste well.

I personally like chatter, because it helps create an ambiance around you. This is more important when you have only a few people at a troop, or it's not an already "Star Warsy" location. We can sometimes look like overgrown action figures wandering around a local park with no other Star Wars or sci fi anything around. I've noticed kids pick up on the chatter- one pointed out that'd he'd heard that line already (I have it on a loop so it just cycles through several times during long troops). Adults that are really into us seem to like it, and think it's neat. Eventually our Squad is going to get together and record our own- put some Squad-related jokes, some area-specific ones, our TKIDs checking in, our voices, etc. That makes it fun for us. I think a large component of chatter is for us, as troopers. The most popular though is the iComm static bursts- so if you're not a fan of chatter for whatever reason, then I'd highly recommend static bursts (iComm or otherwise). People's jaws drop when you talk, and they really drop to the floor when there's static.

Don't we all?

Congratulations! Welcome aboard!

Looking sharp, trooper! Welcome to the ranks!

AM and RT-Mod are well suited to larger/taller troopers, just like TM, RS and Anovos are best suited for smaller (thinner/leaner) troopers (especially Anovos in my experience). AM shins can be tricky, but there's a very good tutorial on here as to how to get them right. Your armor maker choice is really based on two things: your body type and budget. I really don't know enough to comment about specifics of other armor makers, but others on here certainly do. I would agree that while they all have their quirks, they're basically all at the same level of difficulty in assembling. Though I will say two piece (dome/back and face, plus ears) helmets are easier than three piece (dome, back, face, plus ears). But again- that's my own experience and preference.