sharkbait

I have AM and absolutely love it! I highly recommend it. It is good for taller and/or bigger people. It has good thickness that will give you longevity. You can size it down if needed, and you can also add shims if needed for a larger fit.

Welcome aboard!

Congratulations and welcome!

Hello and welcome! I have heard good things about Jim Tripon. I haven't seen his FOTK in person, but he's vetted and all clear. I don't know anything about ArmoryShop. The fact that it's on Etsy and is armor is a red flag. Not necessarily dead in the water but a red flag to heed none the less. Perhaps someone else can chime in on that one. You should also be leery of "one stop shops" and too-completed armor- it's very rare for us to have a one stop shop, with vendors usually specializing in hard or soft parts, but not both. Having said that, at first glance I don't see any glaring issues. I'm also not an authority on FOTKs. Just stay far, far away from eBay for armor and anything non-generic (ie, Nomex flight gloves are Nomex flight gloves, but 501st specific stuff is different). I have KB Props' Phasma, and have seen their FOTK kit (they're much the same). As long as you ask for it untrimmed, you should be fine. They had some production issues previously, but last I heard they were getting it under control. I'm happy with my kit, I'd recommend them based on that. There's really no others, unfortunately- FOs are still pretty new and in significantly lesser demand than OTs. You should check out Various Type of Armor and Where to Find Them and Where, What and Whom To Avoid When Buying to help you further in your search- it's kept pretty updated on who's vetted, who's not, and what to watch out for. You're actually a very good size for an FOTK- they just don't work well on most bigger people (I've seen it in person, and I've duct-taped a friend into his to prove it!) The Executioner is primarily the paint job that's different, but check out my spreadsheet on the differences for additional details- I made it for this very purpose: First Order TKs - What's the Difference?

Totally agreed- I miss TK Boots, but at least we have IB, because they're quite good. Realistically hard to beat the gold standard set by TK Boots, regardless. Seconding asking your GML- it will ultimately be up to him, though asking here for pre-approval is also advised.

We do have to thank them for this, though, because now we know how that suit was constructed for our CRL.

Congratulations and welcome!

I don't have a picture of it, but my favorite is in ANH when the TKs are marching down a hall and half their shins are flapping open and closed in the back. (Pretty sure it's ANH...). Somebody didn't velcro correctly!

I have a wireless mic and everything else is connected inside the armor. Before I had the wireless mic, I had a wired mic mounted in the helmet with hovi mic speakers (ended up being too quiet, otherwise fantastic on all levels). Our guys that have cords generally have one audio cord running up the neck seal to the helmet. I really love just taking my helmet off and being done. And putting it on and being done, too.

You can't go wrong with TK Boots!

My issue with the hovi mics was nothing to do with quality or how it worked, as both were fantastic, it just turned out to be far too quiet for the atmospheres I was in. I'm not a particularly loud person anyway, and with the rest of the guys having loud akers and/or just being louder in general, I was only heard about half the time. Plus I think my local area is just a louder group of people, especially when in groups.

I want to say it looks RS Props- it's really giving me those vibes. But, honestly, I'm really not sure. https://www.rspropmasters.com/store/stormtrooper/stormtrooper-helmets/stormtrooper-anh-helmet/ - I was comparing it to this one. I see several similarities. Add some weathering to these photos and I think they're pretty similar. RS is cast from original ANH screen-used props.

If you have access/they'll ship to you, Amazon usually has good prices on the real stuff. (At least, I've never got a fake tube from them, before. I am US, though.) I generally buy it there instead of locally (Home Depot) because it's always cheaper, sometimes significantly.

I can't see the heel, but based on the sole I can see, they don't appear too far off. I would check with your GML to be certain, though. (And if the heel is a normal minimal boot heel).

The U's a bit weird, but it would end up being your GML's call- I suggest reaching out to them and asking directly. They should let you know and explain why/why not.

Yeah I thought of that about five minutes after I posted, then got distracted. Ha!

Because I'm ESB, the CRL specified mine to be "lightly weathered," so I didn't try to protect them too much. (Specified at the time I was approved, it's since been updated). I also think, as do many others, that a light weathering and not shockingly white looks best regardless of ANH/ESB/ROTJ. I would recommend basic care and maintenance- wipe off any obvious mud or dirt, get anything out of the treads, that kind of stuff. You don't have to polish them, but give them a wipe down and a chance to dry if they've gotten wet. The boot will last longer that way, but you will still have the look of trooped in but not beat up boots.

If you run out of room in your chest plate/don't have room to begin with, then you can also put stuff in the OII part of the back plate. I don't have any extra room in the chest plate (a common issue for women, less so for most men), so I did helmet for everything originally, with speaker hovi tips. The tips were great but just weren't loud enough in the end. I then switched to everything in helmet except the aker, which I slipped into the extra space I had between my waist and hips at the kidney/ab area (another part women might have space at while most men don't). When I re-work it again to re-introduce the iComm, it will end up in the back plate, most likely.

I have a 10 watt aker (I recommend real Akers, I've had terrible luck with knockoffs and now just shell out and buy real ones), an iComm (gone through a few batteries, but otherwise fine) and a wireless mic (random generic brand from Amazon). I also plug in an old iPod shuffle with TK chatter on it in a loop. I wanted the crackle in addition to the chatter in the background, changing my voice wasn't something I happened to be interested in. (I still really get a kick out of it when little girls are enthralled because I'm a girl, too, and the look on little boys' faces when they hear me talk). While expensive, I highly recommend the iComm. And tip: buy the batteries for it in bulk, team up with other TKs with it and buy together to save on shipping. They last for about 6 - 8 months of heavy trooping, longer if you troop less than every weekend. I've never heard of anyone having much luck with TrooperTalk, but I haven't played with it myself, so I really don't know. I see a lot of "love it or hate it." The 10 watt is plenty loud- the 12 watt is just obnoxious. I use the 10 for my Jawa, too, and I can still crank it up if needed. It does add a bit of distortion and therefore voice changing, but it's not a voice changer and it's not dramatic, more electronic-sounding. I highly recommend a wireless mic set up, because you can wear it or mount it in your helmet, and either way, the helmet is free of connections. No trying to get connected with a bucket on, no not being able to take off your bucket without messing with it, just pull it off/put it on and done.

Because I forgot I even had this post! Whoops. I've done a bunch of updates since this one, as noted above. They're now in PDF, too!

That's amazing! I heard on my Rancho Obi Wan tour that the Blue Stars are apparently cannon now- in a book review/meeting, they needed a throw-away line to reference some mercenary group. Something to the effect of a name drop, like "What about So and so, or this other guy for the job?" Never to be mentioned again and no purpose to the plot. Some guy (who knew exactly what he was doing when he did it), said "What about the Blue Stars?" And they went with it. Now I of course can't tell you the book or the guy who recommended it (I'm terrible with names), but I thought that was amazing.

Looking great! Easy basic pass. As mentioned above, I'd pull the belt up so it's right under the ab buttons. Otherwise, I'm sure there's like some minor tweaks for EIB/Centurion (which you're obviously aiming for- good luck!), but nothing specific is jumping out at me at the moment. Nice job on the interior of your helmet. I like the design and the black (gotta go black on the inside- you can get away with lighter tinted lenses and people still can't see your eyes with camera flashes, etc. Plus it looks cool).

Those looks good to me- I don't think the U elastic is too large. I don't see a front seam, so they'd be fine for higher levels. They'd have to be painted/dyed white for OTTKs, obviously. (You can use this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HQ53QA8/) What's the cost? Edit: When I look at it further, in conjunction with the screen-used in the photos below, the sole is thicker than it should be. Easy to miss even when you know what you're looking for!

Congrats on your first troops! You'll work out the kinks as you keep trooping. They're always be something to tweak, but that's part of the fun! Once you find that sweet spot trooping is extra enjoyable.

UPDATE! These are now in PDF formats! Also, TLJ Captain Phasma has been updated per the semi-recent update to the CRL. If anyone has any issues with viewing, or notices a mistake, please contact me and let me know! I'm happy to help and want to make sure this is as accurate as possible per the current CRLs.