justjoseph63

Hi Roberto, 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. Starting at the top, the placement of your ears is a little off. At present yours are vertical, but should be angled back at the bottom as shown. Note that the screws are in line with the angle of the rear of the trap. If possible, (without damaging your bucket) we suggest that you make these adjustments. Reference image The lines of your vocoder are nice and clean, but there should be more details as seen in the reference image. Reference image There are two small issues with your tube stripes. The stripes themselves should be approximately a pencil's width away from the cheek, and should be brought up a bit. The size of each stripe should also be closer to uniform in size. Reference image The small ab-button plate really needs to be trimmed down. There are return edges should be removed and the sides trimmed to where it sits flat on the raised area. Reference image The paint on all the buttons should be re-done. You have the right idea by not covering the entire button itself, but the edges look pretty frayed and should be round. Using a "filbert" style artists brush makes this much easier to do. Reference image "Filbert" brush Your ABS belt should be raised by at least 1 cm or so so that it overlaps the bottom of the ab button plate(s). Reference image Your right ab/kidney connection is awesome, but we are recommending that you adjust the strapping a bit to line the tops up. Your left bicep is good to go, but the right one should be raised 2 cm or so to match the length of the left one. Doing this will also help eliminate the area where your forearm overlaps your hand guard. Reference image We also noticed that your right forearm is significantly wider that the right one and should be tapered more at the wrist opening, which kind of throws of the symmetrical appearance. If you used E-6000 on your build, this could be fixed with fairly minimal effort. Reference image Reference image The positioning of your posterior (butt) plate not where it should be. It should ride directly underneath the kidney, and not outside of it. This could be a simple strapping issue, or you may want to give it a hot water bath to re-shape it. Reference images The back cover strip on your right calf is perfectly positioned, but the one on your left is not centered and has an inward slant. 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. Unfortunately, the bottom two rivets on your ab and kidney will need to be removed and repositioned. The bottom rivet can not be as low as it is and all 3 should be located on the flat part of the armor as seen in the reference image. The center of the rivets should be 10 mm from the edge and be equally spaced, (approximately 50-52-mm apart) and parallel to each other. AFter repositioning them you can use ABS paste to cover the old holes. (Not as hard as you think). Reference image Looks like you have a bit of work to do, brother, but I have every confidence that you will do a superb job getting this armor ready for Centurion!

So I take it that you don't live up to your screen name?

Nice work so far, Zac! Not sure how you would cover those brackets to prevent them from scratching your backplate, as they stick out pretty far. I used bolts with washers to attach my straps, and used plastic screw covers to hide the exposed head. Nice and flat, and holding up great even after 50 + troops. To keep the raised O II area on my back plate from getting scratched, I installed black craft foam after cutting out the area like you have. It "gives" just enough to allow the pack to rest against the back plate. You will see that I use 1 inch nylon straps for mine. The reason being is that at first I had the wide padded ones, but found that they were adding a lot of pressure on the tops of the shoulder bells and shoulder bridges. Even though the pack is not overly heavy, I felt that over time the added pressure could crack those areas. Hopefully others can weigh in on this with their experiences. Changing it to the 1 inch nylon straps allows them to slip in between the shoulder bridges/shoulder bells, adding no pressure to any piece of the armor and it is stays pretty comfortable even after 2-3 hours (even 4 in one case). There are a million ways to do the strapping, and whichever works best for you is the one to go with. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to seeing another HWT in the ranks! Side note: Please notice that antennas are no longer allowed for approval, even at basic level.

I think Glen has had more practice than most of us, lol! It takes me a good 15-20 minutes (with a handler) or so when I go HWT because of all the accessories. Speaking of mobility, I am constantly dropping bits when getting kitted up, and since I can't bend down after putting on my calves/thighs without looking like a contortionist I bought a "grabber" device. On my next troop the first thing I dropped was yep... the grabber.

Luc is right about the cloth belt, Chris. Even if it is wider than the 3.25 maximum the CRL allows for basic approval, it can not extend past the ABS belt on the top or bottom.

1 day left! (Ends tomorrow at midnight).

AM has always been great with communication, and they make a damned fine set of armor to boot!

Not a problem, Ray! (You are the closest one so far)!

I have used Flex-Seal for many projects, but due to it's runny nature I'm not sure if I would go that route, Jake. Plasti dip has worked out well for me in my buckets, and as long as you sand the inside (gives it a better surface to adhere to) and then clean/wipe it out thoroughly with rubbing alcohol (let it dry,of course) before starting it should work out just dandy. I'm not sure if Flex-seal has any residual odor, and being as you will be breathing it in you may want to test it first. Plasti-Dip has a horrible odor, but it dissipates in a few days. Whichever product you choose be sure to apply it in a few thin layers rather that one thick one. Hope this helps!

Preferably wearing it, brother, but not necessary, Thanks!

Still need the close-up detailed photo of the rear of your left calf, sir. Thanks!

3 more days...

Okay Troopers, up for grabs is a BRAND NEW 4 x 16 inch (8 x 40 cm) official 501st car decal! CLOSED! WE HAVE A WINNER! All you have to do is guess the number I am thinking about (between 1-200), or be the closest to it on or before Dec. 20th. Details: 1. No limit to the number of guesses! (Post up answers in this thread, not via PM). 2. Predetermined number will be shared with the Command Staff. 3. Contest is open to all Troopers (except Staff and Extended Staff... sorry). 4. Worldwide postage is included. Sorry, but the photo is kind of wonky. The words VADER"S FIST are above the letters st in 501st

Thank you! We will be with you shortly..

Thank you for the added photos, Miguel... almost there, brother! We still need the photo of your neck seal, and will need two additional close-up side view pics of your ab-button plates (examples below). No more, I promise! Many thanks.

Excellent call on that, Paul!

...and some poor soul will spend a crap-ton of hard earned money on a ton of crap. Sad... just sad.

Hi Miguel, and thank you for your submission! As Daniel mentioned, we are missing a lot of photos, so as soon as you get those posted we can get started. Please note that we will need to see you suited up for the following photos: Right side detail (close-up) Left side detail (close-up) Action shot We are also asking if you can post 2 direct (not angled) close-ups of your sniper knee plate, both side and from the front. Thanks!!

Any updates on this, Roberto? There is no need to get suited up for the additional photos I requested, I just need pics of the items. Thanks!!

Welcome, Dave! AM makes a great kit, and I am sure you are going to be pleased with the quality. Fortunately they do a lot of the trimming for you, but there is still a lot to go for the details. Ask any and all questions you have, post lots of photos, and I look forward to following your build!

You can remove all the return edges from the tops (no-one sees them anyway) of the biceps, as well as the bottoms if you like and still be screen accurate, but do this before final fitting and gluing, otherwise they may end up being too loose. This will also make them more comfortable and prevent them from cutting into your arm. Reference image

This.. is.. AMAZING!

We go by what is available in the Gallery and other sources we can find. It is obvious that you have a much larger and more detailed photo library, so perhaps you could consider sharing it with us in the Gallery section to broaden our reference base. This would be a win-win for everyone.

Regarding the belt, I would also highly suggest trimming off those frayed edges. We realize that by the end of production that some in the film were kind of beat-up, but for our purposes we would prefer to see them a little neater in appearance. You did an awesome job on that armor, and that amount of fraying detracts from the overall sharp look just a bit. You won't need to do it for this level, but I am sure it will be suggested for level 3.

"Pipe dream".. Clever!! Done!