VGTrooper

Thanks again for doing this contest! It was great meeting you and your wife! Glad to hear you had a good time and made it back safely

Name: Patrick Obloy Item: Cooling Number: 18 Thanks!

Agreed, thank you for doing this run Joseph! Excited to get them in our hands Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

Basically you would follow the ROTJ TK CRL and then do the paint work. So you could use ANH armor, but some armor parts would have to be modified or changed.

Agreed. The FN designation is used more in TFA than any other designation in Star Wars movies and people want to disregard it? It seems like people just don't want a new designation for simply hating change. It makes sense though. And also agreed that with as many new outfits coming in it would be faster and easier to create a new designation for them to help separate between OT and NT (new trilogy) outfits. If we stick with TK there is going to be the issue of separation when creating and applying for events where we would have to call out outfits types, do we just stick with FOTK and TK? Would be easier to just be able to ask for FN or TK instead. And for those that have both OT TK and FO TK, I would think it would be nicer to be able to have a separate designation for them. I know when I end up with my approved FOTK outfit I would rather go by FN for that one than just simply continue the TK designation again. Same for those that have TS outfits and also get the new FO Snowtrooper outfit. Would be nicer to call them something like FS instead of FOTS. Better to use a new designation rather than call ALL new outfits that also exist in the old trilogy as FO(insert existing designation) all the time. As TJ (asu_marine) said, you want to just call them TK like the ones from 30 years previous, but Sandies get a new title because of dirt? Come on guys, it just makes sense and helps separate the new outfits from the OT ones. I do agree on leaving detachments alone though. With new designation (a simple change) it allows the new outfits to fit into the existing detachments very easily.

Yeah I don't know how it all went down when the Clone existed, as I wasn't around for that, so no clue how this will go either. Just makes sense from a structure standpoint. And we are really early in the process, so it wouldn't be a big deal to do it. They would still be 501st, just on a different forum and different detachment name instead of FISD/whitearmor.

Also true. Considering Vader is gone and the Stormtroopers are being continued under new order (and not one that follow's Vader), do they stay in the FISD or get a new detachment? I'm ok with new detachment honestly, as the Clones have their own detachment. And it would help separate the information with all the variations that exist and may exist in the future.

I also thought I heard the TK-338 thing, but I can't be certain. Need to see it again and listen really close. Likely answer is as someone said before, TKs from the empire keeping their designation and new ones (like Finn who were basically trained their from birth) got the FN designation. Also they were talking to the 338 trooper as if they were a higher rank, so might be another thing to consider. ​Honestly even if true, I think a new designation would be better. I think it should be FN

I plan to do this when my Anovos armor arrive. I'd love to help with the CRL as well, as I've been wanting to do this build as well. I've scoured high-res in-game pictures and while playing the game itself (on PC at full resolution and max settings). I put together a write-up (along with annotated pictures) and will send it to Darth Aloha. I used my ATA armor as a basis for measurements and referred to the CRLs of the ROTJ armor as well. Let's make this happen! BTW I wouldn't base any work on the Black Series figure. That's from an ANH TK mold and of course won't have precise measurements.

Thanks everyone! Its awesome to finally be a part of the 501st and hop to start trooping soon! Fumanchewie - Yeah, I'll probably attempt to thin them out a bit at some point. Just have to get the nerves up to do it.

Requesting 501st access for TK-42215 http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=18667

Got my congratulations email, I'm officially in the 501st! Now just waiting on my TKID so I can register into the 501st forums and get trooping!

And here are pictures after trooping on Saturday of Star Wars Celebration (I think a chest plate snap had unsnapped which is why it looks off center lol). Also, I submitted for approval last week (a couple days after SWCA)

Sorry for the delay in updates, but here's some pictures during the rest of the armor build... I messed up the tube stripes and had to some paint remove to clear it off the best I could. My fiancée is better at painting details and so she was able to fix it for me. (this was after the paint mask was remove and I applied the paint remover to clean it up) This side didn't come out great either, but with some light picking and light dabs of paint remover I was able to clear it up. (this is right after the paint mask was removed) The paint was fixed up at the hotel Friday night of Star Wars Celebration so I could troop on Saturday.

I'd love to stop in with my fiancée after the JAT/Hamill panel, but I don't have a TK racing shirt. I heard they were only available to official 501st.

Its been awhile since the last update, but the armor build kept going. On to the updated pics! Got all the armor pieces cut and trimmed (in this picture the arm/leg pieces were not fully trimmed, but I just finished doing that, so they are now ready to go as well). Just need to glue all the strips, straps, and snaps into place. Finished trimming the teeth on the helmet as well, or at least finished to my liking. I can always go back and trim more if it bugs me, but I'm happy with it right now. And I got the face and lid portions mounted together. Tried trimming some ears to start that process, but I think I messed them up. Hurray for ATA including a 2nd pair! Also going to try and remount the face to the lid on the right side (left side when looking at it) because the cheek area doesn't line up well, and so makes mounting that ear a hard task. All I know is that I WILL make it work and be done this week. Personal deadline for 501st submission is set for April 3rd (which is also when my under suit arrives).

Thanks for everyone! Yeah I did a bit more grinding on the teeth and opened them up more. Not sure if I'm going to stick with the rounded corners or square them up more, but I'm happy so far.

Being an ATA helmet, the eye openings actually have a slight cutting guide in the mold. Look for it and then use a pencil and mark those guide lines. Cut close to, but not on, those lines; leaving a bit of plastic before hitting those lines. Then use a sanding drum on your dremel to grind/smooth the plastic until you get to the guide lines. This is what I did with mine and I've been happy with the outcome. Its what most people do, and what many guides show to do as well (I followed the ones by PandaTrooper and gazmosis). Slow and steady like the others said, you'll get there in no time

More work done today. I was fearing cutting the eyes because I didn't want to screw them up, but at least those have trim line guides to work with. The teeth are even more daunting as its more of an eye-ball deal where you have to just dive in and trim until you like it. Of course, always start with the trim a little at a time, because you can always trim more but you can't put it back on. So I used the dremel with a sanding bit to grind the bumps a until they were opened up, but not to the full opening size. I used a hobby knife to trim/scrape the general shape of each opening until I was happy with it. Then I proceeded to sand and smooth the openings. I found a nice set of small diamond tip bits of various sizes that work really well in small areas like these. Can't remember who makes them, but I believe I found them at Lowes. BTW, I highly recommend a rotary flex shaft if you are using a dremel, as it makes angling/holding the bit way easier. I'll probably open up the teeth a bit more, but I stopped for now to give myself, and the dremel, a break. Did some sanding/smoothing work on the eyes as well.

Utilized the Fiskar scissors I found to do some cutting. They actually work ok. They cut through the material nice and easy, but angles and curves are tough, which is where the smaller lexan scissors will be best. I need to get a set of those. I got the mask and cap parts cut for now, and then moved on to the eyes on the mask. Making progress!

Sell this as a kit or already-built item, and I'm onboard to buy one! Super awesome idea that fits our outfits, and functional!

Awesome thanks! I have a few hobby shops nearby, I'm going to check them today. Last night I found some scissors by Fiskars that are meant for cutting heavy duty media (layers of paper, layers of fabric, thick fabric, etc). They seem to cut ok, but the height and thickness of the scissors will likely make cutting harder the further I get into the parts. Here's a link to them on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-Amplify-170620-1001-Crafting-Scissors/dp/B00TNK1BEM/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424272545&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=fiskars+razor+edge+amplify

Hey, I'm still alive lol! Life got busy with wedding planning and such, but time to get back to building the armor. Before I start cutting though, I do want to ask what others are using to cut the ABS plastic of the helmet/armor? What specific tools or any recommendations? I've heard of the score/snap method, but I don't trust myself with dragging an exacto and keeping a straight line. And I tried a dremel with a plastic cutting disc, but it has the tendency to melt the plastic at the cut line (and there is the fear of slipping and making a crazy cut). I'm trying to find some good scissors, but not sure what works best.

Yeah I noticed in your guide that you didn't cut it completely and instead measured where the face sat first. I kept note of that in my line marking as I don't want the gap even if the ear covers it. I'd know it was there and it would bug me lol. So instead I marked the upper part of the line (from the brow down to about half-way) and stopped where it was already trimmed back a bit.

Thanks! Hoping to get it done well and properly, as I'm going to try and make it to Centurion status eventually. One step at a time though, with 501st approval in my sights. Got a bit more done marking lines on the helmet (measure twice, cut once). In a bit I'll be cutting it and then seeing how everything lines up to do final trims before bolting it together. I followed a few guides and noticed Panda Trooper mentioned he cut the face's upper trim about 1.25" above the eyes, so I followed that with mine and marked it in pencil (this way I could erase and remark should my measuring be wrong when I rechecked it): I followed the markings that both Panda Trooper and Gazmosis had shown in their guides to make an approximation on where to mark my helmet, seeing as they both were building an ATA helmet as well. Looks like most people with ATA helmets mark the brow cut on the cap almost right inline with the edge that follows around the back of the cap and is what the traps are aligned to.