justjoseph63

Can one ever have enough fire power? Looks as if I am going to be forced to purchase yet another Doopydoos E-11 kit and one of your finishing kits to fill up my future rack. You are a scoundrel for designing this, Tino, but hopefully just seeing it will keep the Rebels at bay.

Glen beat me to it... D'OH! LOL

If you look at the top of the main page, you will see a tab that says Costume Requirements, which is a link to the CRLs, (Costume Requirement Libraries) of all the TK related armors. Here is a quick link: http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:FISD_CRL

If you are going to do a scratch-build, I HIGHLY recommend getting in touch with Roger (spOOL68) for his resin T-21 parts. They are really well made, and his customer service is fantastic. Here is a sampling of his work: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/36566-spool68s-t21-resin-parts-kits/

I'm so happy doin' the Centurion dance.. . OH YEAH! I would be interested in those screws as well. I think Marc is correct that if anyone has them available, it's Tino.

Thanks, I don't feel so old now, LOL.

Just throwing this out there, but maybe a "charging rack" for power cylinders on the bottom shelf with some blue LED lights in it? I totally plan on building one of these (much to my wife's chagrin).

You were VERY wise to glue the lenses in before mounting them, Aaron, and here is why: I hollowed out the entire center of the scope on my first DD resin build, and then glued the lenses in. Big mistake. Since it was an airtight seal, the fumes from the superglue had no place to ventilate and permanently fogged up both lenses. I may be dating myself here, but those who saw "Beverly Hills Cop" may remember detective Foley using CA glue fumes to collect fingerprints from a fishtank. Same principal.

Congrats, Kevin!! (I hope you will be using your doctorate in jurisprudence to defend the Empire, LOL).

Instead of felt, you can go to Michael's (or any major craft store) and buy something called craft foam in black. It comes in sheets, and is pretty inexpensive, crazy durable, and the color will not bleed off onto your armor.

The T-21's from Hyperfirm are awesome. I modded mine up quite a bit by adding the tubing, rear site, top and bottom greeblies, wire coil, strap, and replacing the entire deck with one made from resin. The only problem with the T-21's are that they do tend to get a bit heavy after 2-3 hours of trooping, but to me it's worth it.

Along with the list of "who to buy from", there is also a list of who NOT to buy from" located here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/19329-where-what-and-whom-to-avoid-when-buying/. Jedi Robe is the last one on the list.

I have those rivets on the way, Randy. SO CLOSE!

Congrats on your upcoming BBB day, John! As for the rare earth magnets, I recommend getting nothing smaller than 20 mm x 3 mm, like these: ------------------- Anythying smaller and you will have to double them up for strength. The smaller ones are also harder to work with as they stick together. And by stick together, I mean REALLY adhere to each other. You can actually break a fingernail trying to separate them if you are not careful. I also suggest wrapping each one individually in 2 layers of painters' tape. This way, they will not scratch your armor. When separating them or removing them from your armor after gluing, hold one in place an slide the other one off. It's probably best to wait until you have your kit to take measurements for the strapping. Something that will make this MUCH easier is a wood-burning tool like this one https://www.lowes.com/pd/Weller-Electric-15-Piece-Wood-Burning-Kit/3402984or a soldering iron. These allow you to make clean holes in nylon and it it seals the edges at the same time. (The fumes can get a bit intense, so do this in a well ventilated area).

In my opinion, THAT is how a HWT pack should look, Robert... well done!! All it needs is some weathering, and you are well on your way to joining the ranks, brother.

Looking great, Ricky! Since it looks as if you will be aiming for Centurion, you will need to remove the rest of the return edges from your forearms. You have it mostly done, but the area in the hump part (on the right side in the photos) needs to go as well. (Easy fix)! Also, it may be the lighting in the photo, but is the screen in your hovi-mic tips made of white plastic? If so, that may be an issue for level 3, but again, is a super easy fix. REALLY nice job on the painting, especially those ab-buttons. I have those EIB rockers set aside for you!

Wow, Tino.... just WOW! Not sure if you have chosen a color, but I would go with a dark(ish) shade of gray to highlight the black color of the blasters. If you paint it black, they may "blend in" too much, and you want to showcase those babies! To fill in that area behind the blasters on the back board perhaps you could add an Imperial cog decal and BLAS TEC decal in aurebesch. Can't wait to see the finished product!

A quick tip for when you paint those with the template, Chris.. After pressing them on firmly, hit them with a light coat of white paint first and let it dry for 5 to 10 minutes. This will seal the edges, so that when you paint the blue on it won't bleed underneath.

Or this:-----------

Excellent advice, Andrew! You should post and pin that reply.

I understand your feelings exactly, Sarah. Do I have a few discreet greeblies my pack? Yes! Everyone likes to add their own little things to truly make it their own and make their pack stand out a bit, but I have seen things that are way beyond that. There has to be a certain amount of consistency, though, which is why we have the CRLs. Even there, it states that the pack should closely match the one seen in the series. A few unobtrusive greeblies are one thing, but I have noticed everything short of a lighted disco ball used. Imagine that you have 2 HWTs at a troop. One has a regular pack, and one has a pack with a flashing light display, a video monitor with "Star Wars" playing (replete with stereo sound) and tons of extra added pieces, making it look way different. It would look odd. Being a Heavy Weapons Trooper is great, and allows us a certain degree of individuality (which I am all for), but things can get carried too far, which is why we need to set some standards and continuity among us.

Epoxy (polyepoxide) contains hazardous chemicals, and while drying (and up to two weeks after) it emits respirable fumes, which can cause problems with your nose, throat and lungs, sensitization and asthma. I wouldn't recommend using epoxy on any parts of an armor build. It's better to (pardon the pun) stick with E-6000. It has fumes of it's own, and should be used in a well ventilated area. When dry, however, (24 hours) it is harmless.

Not sure on that one.. The helmets come unassembled, so all you would need are the ears. I would contact them and find out, and if they do, maybe they could send you those instead of the Stunt ears.

Welcome to the FISD, Andy, and great to hear that you are doing your research! There is a ton of information here, but don't let it overwhelm you. There are some fantastic Troopers up in the "Great White North", and I am sure they will be a big help to you on your TK journey. After you choose your armorer, my advice is to check out some of the build threads of folks who have that particular kit, as each one has their own little nuances. Another thing that will help is to look over the Advanced Tactics section at the EIB and Centurion submissions. These will help to show you how to make your armor more screen accurate, and hopefully you will be aiming for that. Lastly, once you have ordered your kit I suggest getting all of your build supplies in place before it arrives. It will make your life much easier, believe me! I have a thread that will help, and a link is located under the large avatar below. Take your time, ask questions, and I look forward to your build thread!

It is also possible to transform 4 bump ears into 3. I did this on my Anovos bucket, but it takes some time and patience. I sanded down the inside of the bump, removed the paint from the outside of it, filled in the inside and outside areas with ABS paste and then (using needle files) re-carved the notches. After that I repainted them.