justjoseph63

You never cease to truly amaze me, Tino. Any ideas on a rack that can hold 3 different types of weapons? I need something to hold my E-11, DLT 19 and T-21.

Hi Ian, and thank you for your EI submission! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All required submission photos have been posted, and I am very pleased to announce your armor displays all the necessary elements to qualify for ANH Stunt Expert Infantry. On behalf of myself and the entire D.O. staff, congratulations!  Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: In this section we review observations made by your fellow troopers and ourselves. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. First, I would like to say nice job on this armor, Ian! Not too many issues to address, but since you did such a great overall job I feel confident that you will take these suggestions to heart and push the envelope a little farther to take this RS kit all the way to Centurion! Let's get started from the top, sir.. There has been a bit of discussion on this issue as of late, but we feel that your brow should be raised just a bit to better reflect the majority as seen in the original trilogy. Reference image Your ears at this point are more vertical than they should be. In a perfect world, the bottoms should angle toward the back, which would also cover the rough area behind them. Reference image Your vocoder could use a bit more definition. The size overall is good and you won't need remove any of the black, but a few strokes of paint would certainly even it out and give it a tighter look. Reference image For better symmetry, your right bicep could be dropped an inch or so that it is the same level as the left one. A simple strap adjustment should easily take care of this. Reference image Nice trimming on the large ab-button plate, but the smaller one could stand to be reduced some. Note in the reference image that the corners are squared, not rounded. Also, the paint on the buttons is ideally smaller than the actual button itself Reference image Great job on having no gap between them, but the posterior plate should sit flush with the kidney. Tightening up the connections/strapping should remedy this. Reference images Not a deal breaker, but in a perfect world the posterior plate snaps should have a space between them. Reference image The ridges are right where they need to be, but we are suggesting that you remove a portion of the top of the sniper knee plate, 2 minutes with a Dremel would make this look a lot better. Reference image As per the CRL for basic approval for gloves, The fingers are enclosed, non-textured . We realize that it is difficult to find black rubber ones with no texture on the underside of the fingers and we routinely allow that type, but the texture should not extend to the tops. Reference image There are a few minor issues on your blaster that can be easily remedied. The first is that your scope looks to have a bit too much brass weathering, and in the second photo it appears to have been painted with a completely different shade of black than the rest of the weapon. Reference images Your T-tracks should not have any weathering on them. The originals were made of black plastic, so no "metal" look should be present. Reference images Some careful time with a can of black spray paint would make this awesome looking blaster look even better! Centurion Suggestions:In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustment etc. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all we can from what is seen but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. As noted by by a fellow trooper, your frown has a couple of issues, but these are pretty easy fixes. As per the CRL for basic approval, the paint "...does not leave the teeth area". Removing the paint above the red line shown as well as on the top of the next to last tooth on the left (circled) to match the right one would get you where you need to be. Reference image You are super close, but ideally there is no gap between the ab and kidney on either side. In your case, simply tightening up your belt should do the trick. Reference images It appears that you over trimmed the angles at the ends of you ABS belt. As per the CRL for level 3, The corners of the plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle that that meets the outer edge of the cloth belt. Again, a nice overall job, Ian. As the saying goes, "The devil is in the detail(s)", and the higher levels (especially Centurion) reflect this. Now get out there and make the Ohio Garrison proud as it's newest Expert Infantryman... you earned it!

BTW, it's GML, lol.

Did I miss something? Who is Roddie?

It's still pretty easy to trim something down once it's glued, but it's better to do it before, as the piece may be too loose afterward. As Glen mentioned, you may not feel the bite right now, but a few hours with your arms constantly bent carrying an E-11 can make a big difference. AWESOME job on trimming those wrist openings, by the way!

I would kill to see your workshop Glen.... with so many builds under your belt, you must have every tool known to mankind, (and I'm envious as hell, lol)!

If it were me I would not raise or shorten the thighs, James. The reason being is that it appears the tops are already a bit wide causing a slight gap in the rear (red arrow), and raising or trimming them increase this gap. If you felt ambitious, you could remove the rear cover strip and trim them down a little to give you a more tapered look at the top, but it really not needed. The gaps you have in the front between the tops of the thighs and the ab plate (third photo) are good to go. Reference image Just as Q mentioned, the bottoms of the calves are riding pretty high. When standing still this is not an issue, but during a troop this will more than likely cause the tops of your boots to pop out from underneath in the front. Since it looks as if you don't have the extra material to work with at the bottoms, I have seen several troopers with this issue make a stirrup of sorts, where they glued a piece of 1 (or 2) inch elastic to the insides of the calf and them looped that under their foot before putting on the boots. This keeps them pulled down and prevents that.

We are all set to go, Ian. All that we need at this point is a rear photo of the D-ring on your blaster. Almost there! Thanks...

Done!

Nice job!!

Sorry for the delay, Eric. We will be with you very soon!

Nice job, James! As Daniel mentioned the shoulders (especially the left) are siting way too high. I am thinking that the shoulder/bicep connections use the Velcro that came with the kit, and it just needs to be tightened up a bit. This may also help your biceps, which are also at different levels. Be sure to ask any more questions if you have them.. we are here to help!

There are a few other differences, (no TD, no holster) but absolutely! Certain types of weathering can be removed so that you can switch back and forth.

http://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_hwt

Well done, Eric, MUCH better!!

Hola, Santiago, one of us will be with you shortly, sir!

No need to get a new set of hovi tips, Corey! The easiest thing to do is remove the screens and paint the inside white. Tony sells the screens for $3.00 per set (includes shipping), and they are actually pretty easy to install. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/40706-fs-ukswraths-hovi-tip-screen/ I recommend removing the hovi-tips from your bucket first, but it is a not a necessity if you are careful. If you have any issues removing them just PM me and I will help you figure it out.

Hi Ian, and thanks for for submission! One of us will be with you shortly, but in the meantime could you post up a close-up side view of your TD screws? Thanks!!

That's the spirit, Luis, nice to hear!!

Hi Luis, and thank you for your EI submission! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All required submission photos have been posted, and I am very pleased to announce your armor displays all the necessary elements to qualify for ANH Stunt Expert Infantry. On behalf of the entire D.O. staff, congratulations!  Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: In this section we review observations made by your fellow troopers and ourselves. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. First, really nice job on this armor, sir. Since this is your second EI submission, you are familiar with the fact that the higher levels are all about the details, and we have just a few to go over so let's dive right in! Starting at the vocoder, the top looks a little squared off. A few minutes with a round tip "Filbert" style artist's brush would really make it look a lot more defined. Reference image Filbert brush Your right shoulder bell is sitting much lower than the left one. This looks to be a simple matter of tightening up the elastic that connects it to the shoulder bridge so that it matches your left one. Reference image Your posterior (butt) plate is riding over your kidney plate quite a bit. Since you used the "classic" strapping system, I recommend tightening up the elastic on the bottom center posterior/kidney connection. This should tighten them up and keep this from happening. Reference images In your main photo your ABS belt is in the ideal position, (covering the bottoms of your ab-button plates), but in your "action shot" it appears to be much lower. You may want to check the snaps that hold it in place. Side note: AWESOME job on those ab button covers!! Reference image Your TD should be a LOT lower than it is right now. It looks as if it is not pushed all the way down, but even if it were it would still be higher than it should. The top should be at the same level as the top of your canvas belt, so we are suggesting that you reposition or replace the clips. Reference image Reference image You did a fantastic job on your left rear calf connection, but the right one needs some work. The cover strip should be a lot nearer to the center as seen in the reference image. Reference image You have a sharp looking blaster there, but a few minutes with some spray paint could really make it look a lot more screen accurate! Having some brass coloring on the scope is nice, but there is quite a bit more than needed. It may be the glare of the photo, but it looks like there is also some on the barrel below the charging handle area. It also appears that there is weathering on your T-tracks. Since these were made of black plastic, there should be none. Reference images Lastly, note that the handles (grips) on the Sterlings used were also made of plastic, which should have a shiny black finish and no weathering. Reference image Centurion Suggestions:In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustment etc. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all we can from what is seen but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. As per the CRL, "The plastic shoulder straps need to be held down in the back via a white elastic band to the white fabric that connects/bridges the chest and back piece". Reference image Unfortunately, the rivets on your ab plate will need to be moved, Luis. As per the CRL, Rivets are equally spaced along the depth of the armor and about 10mm from the edgeThe ones on your kidney align correctly, and are properly spaced from the bend at the return edge (blue line). However, since your ab plate has no return edge they need to be much closer as shown in the reference image below. Moving them and filling the holes is actually not as difficult as it may seem, and there is a great tutorial on how to make ABS paste to accomplish this. Reference image Since you obviously have the talent, I have every confidence that you can make these changes, and I look forward to seeing you add yet another Centurion award to your profile!

EXCELLENT idea! That way they will all line up properly. On my very first build, I used ABS plates for mounting the snaps.... disastrous! After switchem out for the nylon ones I haven't had any problems.

I will probably get a lot of flak for this, but I feel the need to offer yet another suggestion, Brendan. Using ABS plates for mounting snaps to your armor can be tricky. ABS is flat, but many of the areas you will be mounting them to are curved. Unless you heat up the plates and conform them to the shape of the area you are gluing it to you will have gaps, and E-6000 (being a very viscous glue) will seep out of those gaps, possibly making it not as secure. However, if you mount the snaps to nylon they will conform to the shape of whatever part you are adhering them to. Just my two credit's worth.

WOO-HOO, Brendan! EXCELLENT job on both the forearms and biceps!

When removing the overspray, you have to be really careful not to go too high onto the teeth. If you do, as Kalani pointed out I would suggest repainting all of them. You might also want to consider repainting/defining the top of the vocoder using a Filbert style brush with a rounded end, as it would really improve the look. Reference image

Yeah, I think there are more than a few quality armorers that would like to well, let's just say "Have a few words" with Mr. MOT in person. Could be a Pay Per View event, lol.