justjoseph63

You NAILED those thigh tops, Caleb. EXCELLENT!

Here my personal opinions on the AM tab: (No hate, please, lol). Photo 1 shows an AM posterior plate with the elongated tab removed. IMHO it's not a big deal, but the snaps are noticeable from the rear. Photo 2 shown that the screen used tabs were actually pretty long, enough that the snaps would not normally be visible. Photo 3 shows the tab with an even longer length than photo 2. Trooper (Han in this case) is bent over at the time, so this would normally not be seen if he were upright. Photos 4, 5 and 6 show that the snaps were pretty much hidden from view. Note that we have traditionally passed AM armor with the extended tab at Expert Infantry and Centurion levels.

It looks like you shouldn't have a big issue with these, Caleb. The small one needs to be trimmed a bit to straighten the sides out but excellent job on the large one! It's probably the angle of the photo, but the top right looks to be extending past the raised ridge just a hair. SO glad to see that you have the corners squared and not rounded off. NICE WORK! Now that you have your magnets, you may be able to get these to lie flat and use E-6000 (generously) to hold them down. Any excess (seepage) can be easily removed.

AWESOME fitting job on those gaskets, Jasper! Once you get this complete, I genuinely hope you will consider taking it to the next levels (EI and Centurion) of approval. With your amazing attention to detail you should have no problem, brother. Keep up the great work!

The makeup thing works really well, Michael. I only have to touch it up more after every 6-8 troops, but for the most part it stays on great.

Rowan is 100% correct on the ear screws aligning with the back angle of the trap. It doesn't have to be perfect, but as he mentioned the right one needs some tweaking. The gaps you have are fine, so don't worry about those. Alignment reference Gap reference

The calf and thigh pieces look spot-on, Shane. Super nice job on those! As for the torso pieces, you shouldn't have to bend any of them. The strapping on the ab/kidney connections and canvas belt will bring them in for a more form-fitting look.

Now you've got me thinking, Stew. If only I could find a discreet place to hide my Aker amp I would do this in a heartbeat!

You did 2 troops last week you lucky devil? I thought most Garrisons had stopped them for now.

"As for the chest plate, I think I may cut the neck line slightly deeper to avoid having to cut the bottom edge and recreate the return there". Don't go too deep on the neck line just yet, as this may throw off the look/positioning of your chest plate. Can you post up a pic of how it fits at present?

The fitting of your forearms/biceps looks pretty darned good to me! As long as you can get your hands through the wrist opening you should be good to go. Can you post up a pic of the ab-button plates sitting on your chest plate where they will eventually be glued? If the warp is severe, a hot water bath followed by immediately using a heavy object to press them down may be the answer. A heat gun can reach over 1000 degrees and melt/warp ABS in a flash so is not recommended.

First, I gotta say GREAT to see that you trimmed off those return edges on the thigh tops! One thing I noticed is that it appears they are sitting REALLY tight against your legs (yellow arrows). You will need a gap, otherwise it will be next to impossible to motivate. The rule of thumb I use is that you should be able to fit 4 fingers or so side by side between the armor and your leg. It looks as if you have the overlap (red arrow) to open them up a bit, and remember that the seam and cover strip should run vertically and in the center.

Welcome the FISD, Cameron! Looks like you have already started your research, but be sure to ask any and all questions you may have. We are here to help from start to finish, so never be shy about hitting us up for any advice you need!

Outstanding job on that, Robert! I will be with ya' shortly, so hang in there...

Way to go Alex! If you have the time and want to take that armor to the next level.... https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/49177-only-37-spots-left-time-to-step-up/?tab=comments#comment-687637

Looks MUCH better, sir. We will be with you shortly!

Don't forget about the inside of your bin! I have a ton of patches, so I attached my favorites inside the lid. Also pimped out my Tusken Raider bin. (Genuine canyon Krayt skin on top).

Looking quite impressive so far, Carlos! As for the TD, as Mario mentioned the screws are indeed a little far from the end, but while it would definitely be a suggestion for Centurion it would not be a deal breaker. I see that you have your forearm/bicep pieces taped together, but before gluing anything I would strongly suggest the following: 1. Before final fitting/gluing, I recommend that you remove the return edges on the upper parts of your forearms. The reason being is that most of your time in armor will be spent with your arms bent (holding your weapon at the ready) and those areas will definitely dig into you ("armor bite"). If you glue them now and find that out later, removing those areas afterward will result in a super large opening. Not a good thing. The link to my "Return Edges" thread that Mario provided will explain it in more detail. 2. When trimming the ab-button plates, note in the reference images that the corners are squared, not rounded, and that they fit inside the raised ridges with space on all four sides. Hint: It's easier to paint these before you glue them on, and remember that the paint should not extend all the way to the bottoms of the buttons. You are doing the PERFECT thing by posting up photos and asking questions before moving ahead, sir. Keep that up, and I look forward to watching (and helping with) your TK journey!

Nice job on your build, Cesar! Although I don't see a lot of issues that should hold you back from Basic approval, there are a few that will depend on your GML (some are pickier than others). As Cody mentioned, your chest plate wants to ride over your ab plate, so some strapping on the inside would easily remedy that! The size of the ears may be an issue, though. Yours are very thick, and could definitely be trimmed down, especially the lower portion. Your gaps between the ears and cheek/sides are awesome, but know that wider gaps are to be expected in places. Reference If you decide to trim them down (your GML may ask you to do that) while you are at it I suggest repositioning them a little for a better look. Ideally, the top of the round part sits right at the ridge (yellow line) and center should sit directly below the rear angle of the trap. The screws should line up with the rear angle of the trap (blue dotted lines) as well. Reference Reference It may not be a deal breaker for Basic, but I would suggest raising the thighs a bit (it's fine to have a wider gap between the bottom of the thighs and the top of the calves). Reference If we can be of any help with any of these items, just let us know!!

Hi again Cameron, and thanks for the fast reply! Fantastic to hear that you will be working on that gap, sir, and I look forward to seeing the results! With the new pics I see that you will need to remove the paint on the lower tab of the chest and posterior plate. EASY fix, sir. Some (non-acetone) paint remover and a few Q-tips and you will be good to go, brother. Reference images

Hi again Ted! Before we can move along, can you provide a few additional close-up photos for us? The first would be of the traps/tears on your bucket The reason being is that the color on your traps/tear decals appears to be a very different color than the ear bars and frown, (although this may be the lighting). Having a slightly different color is not a big deal, but yours seems to have a metallic/silver finish as opposed to the gray on the ear bumps/frown. The other photo(s) we need are ones of the rear of your thigh armor as seen below. No need to get suited up, though! Many thanks, and I look forward to seeing the new pics!!

Looking forward to seeing the photos, Carolina!!

You should be OK leaving the outside return edges on those biceps, but I would be more concerned with the insides. Remember, you will bending your arms most of the time while trooping, and leaving too much edge on the inside bottom and top ("scoop") can will cut into you ("armor bite") over time. The same goes with the scoop on the tops of the forearms. This thread will provide some more insight.

Hi Ted, and THANKS for your EI submission! Either Sha Sha or myself with be with you shortly, sir.

Hi Cameron, and thanks for your EI submission! You have one fantastic looking set of armor there with a LOT going for it, sir, but in addition to the extra photos that Mario suggested there is one item we need before we can get started and get that Expert Infantry badge under your name. 1.. As per the CRL for Level 2, Any gap between the abdomen and kidney armor is no more than 1/2" (12.5mm) wide. Any shims used to achieve this effect are of a similar material and color as the abdomen and kidney armor. Shims fit flush and seams are allowed. You left side is good to go for EI, but your right side will need to be brought in a bit to reach that requirement. If we can be of any help just let us know, and I look forward to seeing those new photos!