justjoseph63

Hola, Troopers! Just a quick reminder for all of you going to C-8 next week. The weather forecast (see link below) looks GREAT, but being Florida the humidity will be high. Please remember to stay hydrated, especially if you will be in armor. Drinking lots of water the night before will help immensely, but also keep a water bottle handy during the day. Dehydration can sneak up on you, and have some serious repercussions. Symptoms include confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, fast heartbeat, headache, inability to urinate, muscle cramps, nausea and weakness. I don't mean to alarm anyone, just making sure those of you visiting us here in Florida for C-8 will have a fantastic experience! https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USFL0372:1:US

I have the 10 watt Aker 1506 and love it. It fits perfectly behind my chest plate and is plenty loud. I had the larger 12 watt but to be honest I felt it was too large (double the weight and almost half an inch thicker) and kind of overkill. Unless you are trooping at a very loud event (rare) the 10 watt is fine.

To me, it looks as if the gray areas below the teeth are the result of the paint being smeared while removing the Goof Off. If it didn't damage the ABS finish (which it shouldn't have) of the helmet, you may be able to actually use more Goof Off to remove it. You may want to try that first. If it did leave a dull finish, the Novus 3 step polishing system can help bring it back to it's shiny appearance. You will have to repaint all the teeth to make them a uniform color.

Must have missed those threads! Just from looking at the photos it looks as if there are no fuses between the power cylinders either. (Even Doopydoos has those) I may be mistaken, but weren't the coils attached to the Hengstler counter only used in promo shots?

Looking sharp, Josh! Really nice job on that build... I'm glad to see that you ditched the Anovos Velcro in favor of the "classic" strapping system, replaced the canvas belt and changed the mesh in the mic tips. The only thing that jumps out at me is the alignment of the rivets at the ab/kidney connection. That may be due to the fact that your arms are raised, though. I see an EIB badge below your name soon, Trooper!

Certainly a nice looking blaster, but there are a few discrepancies.. There is no charging handle and the trigger guard looks way too curved at the front among other things. There is a lot of nice attention to detail (especially the front sight), but since it is a resin cast I wonder why he didn't use a real recoil spring instead of making it solid.

Got it!!

Some great advice there,gentlemen! I would add a small scrap of ABS on the inside.

AWESOME! Florida Garrison representing!

For Blast A Trooper, absolutely! They need people to load the Nerf guns, etc. I would contact Angela (Fangs) on the 501st forum and let her know you would like to volunteer for that!

For the fans, all you will need is some wire (the same gauge as is currently on the fans) and a power source. I suggest getting a 4 AAA battery holder like this-------------You can buy the ones that only hold 2 or 3 batteries, but they do not last very long power wise. There are a few choices for voice changers, but they are not inexpensive unfortunately. There is one I would not suggest, and that is the one made by Hytechtoyz.

UPDATE: The seller was supposed to have them to me by 3/28, but never actually shipped them. I ended up having to cancel the order, so now back to square one.

Some great there advice about interior cover strips. The most important place to have them is on the calves, as these get a lot of stress from opening and closing them. Some kits include enough extra ABS for these, but scraps will do just fine. They don't have to be pretty (no-one sees them), just functional. HINT: Do the inside cover strips first.

When building a holster, I suggest you use the thickest leather you can. If you use thin leather, the opening can tend to collapse and it will be difficult to put your E-11 back in, especially when you can't see very well.

Like Mark mentioned, you should be able to reuse them. If you find that they break, I have them available here at my cost: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/34902-centurion-level-rivet-sets-for-sale/

Please note that due to lack of participation that the Gunnery Station shifts have been cancelled. As Jeff mentioned, Blast-A-Trooper still needs LOTS of volunteers, though. This raises money for a great cause, folks.

Rebel though he is, I have always hear that about him. He will be appearing here in Orlando at C 8, but is charging $250.00 for autographs. Ouch.

Are you freakin' kidding with those??? I would trade in my T-21 for one of those bad-boys!

It's what we do here, Lindsay. Just pay it forward when you get the chance!

There may be a few issues when dealing with heat guns. First, they are designed to heat up a centralized area, and by heat up I mean HOT! They can reach temperatures of 1100 degrees, and take quite a bit of practice. (Trust me). You will need something with a wide surface area that distributes the heat evenly over the entire surface of the piece you are working on.

Your rivets are on their way, Lindsay! Congrats on your upcoming future TK, but please take a moment and read this: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/33347-e6000-warnings-read-them-and-wear-a-respirator/

Not a requirement, per se, but just a suggestion.

I remember my first BBB day. Tearing into it like a kid at Christmas and then realizing... "Oh crap. I have to put this thing together"! Like as has been mentioned, just take your time, follow some of the amazing build threads here, and don't forget to check out the Advanced Tactics section to see just how far you can take your armor toward screen accuracy! It's not as difficult as you may think, and it's easier to do during your build rather than after. We are here for you if you have any questions, and I am looking forward to your build thread, Ken!

Looking great, Mike! For those teeth, I suggest picking up a set of needle files from Lowe's. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Project-Source-6-Piece-Needle-File-Set/4777067 They will help immensely.

Great to hear that you got your approval, David! I suggest going here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/16-501st-trooper-status-requests-include-link-to-your-501st-profile-in-your-request/ when you get the chance to sign up for Legion access on the FISD.