themaninthesuitcase

Need more childcare! Who knows, I need to have a word with you about an AM for her for MEM this year if I don't go for the other option. We shall go to the ball. I don't know, might work out in my favour if I don't have to give her money for the con whilst I troop!

I had my kit out for a pre season check up at the end of last week, and well curiosity of the better of us. She's lost about 4 stone in the last year and so now is smaller than me in almost all dimensions. Who's in my suit! by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr Wife stole my suit! by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr She couldn't see a thing as she couldn't get her glasses in but she quite enjoyed it! The photos are above are with no effort made to fit it to her. A few straps would need to be shorter but not a huge amount.

Congratulations trooper!

So after 2 years I thought it would be nice to walk in comfort. In order to achieve that I finally added the half moons to the back of the knee on my suit. I first started with some reference. Specifically this image: Reference by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr To actually make the change I put some blue masking tape, feel free to other colours, and drew on a line as best as I could to match the reference. Marking up the half moon mod by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr This done I got out my trusty HPI curved scissors and started cutting. This was just as scary as I remembered, if not more so as it would be a nightmare going back. 2nd leg cut by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr After cutting all the shins and thighs I ran some 240 grit over all the edges to remove any sharp edges or nicks from the mod. Rear knee half moon mod by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr Whilst stairs are still a little bit of an issue, I'd need to shorten either the thigh, shin or maybe both to get much more flex, I can walk around much more comfortably now. Whilst I was at it I also added some elastic tethers to stop the shins twisting inwards. I don't have any photos but this is essentially about 2-3" of elastic with a female snap on it, attached to the pull on the boot with a keyring. Then theres the male snap about half way up the shin on the cover strip side just above the bra hook. The elastic is ever so slightly tensioned so it pulls on the shin. Theory is the snap is slightly off set to one side, so the tension in the elastic holds it from turning which would stretch it more. Will need to see how well it works in practice but it seemed okay for the 10 mins I tried earlier. If anyone's interested I'll try get some photos of the setup.

Yes I am. I don’t think it’s worth the hassle just yet but much more and it will be.

Congratulations trooper! See you at Centurion

Just for a bit of variety: I like to use "revolving punch pliers" for making the holes. It's nice and fast, and cuts a nice clean hole. I found I didn't actually need to seal the webbing after with a lighter but I did for the elastic. Only real gotcha is make sure you have some scrap fabric/elastic between the bit you're punching and the anvil or you might chip the punch, it's also easier to get a nice hole this way. Mine are a rebrand of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackspur-BB-RLP102-Heavy-Revolving-Leather/dp/B001JYLJB0/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1524209141&sr=8-10&keywords=punch+pliers I've never checked them against the Tandy snaps, or cheap snaps but the Prym Vario pliers are worth their weight in gold. No hammer or anvil needed, a snap takes seconds and is PERFECT every time. I do need to test them against some other brand snaps at some point. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prym-Vario-Pliers-Punching-Tool/dp/B000P1ASDI and you'll need at least one set of https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prym-Sport-Camping-Fasteners-Silver/dp/B000QNWW84/ref=pd_sim_201_6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CE1ZC0EVZ59QGH0S9FCV to get the correct tools for the pliers. These are the snaps I used, I bought a box of 100 and don't regret that at all.

If you use an E6000 glue you can disassemble most stuff easily, I need to do my thighs but haven't found time. Also there's lots of adjustment in just changing the length of the elastics which is easy, so long as you don't glue them in but again most use snaps.

I think we have done some MAW birthdays but generally these looked to be smaller events, but I've not personally done one so couldn't be sure.

I'm not sure what the official legion line is, but our Garrison doesn't do them as a general rule. Outside of the legion what you choose to do is you business but I'd recommend against it. You'll be surrounded by dozens of children, hyped up on sugar and probably unable to listen to instructions. They will be super excited for 10-15 mins then you risk becoming a target. Also the children and even parents won't have any knowledge for the care and expense in the costume and my be surprised by the cost of any damage caused as "it's just some plastic".

DLTs are awesome, and I really really want one. That said more than 1 in a group of TKs would probably look odd.

Was doing my preseason check last night so I had time for any repairs/changes, and noticed my helmet is starting to yellow. Womp womp. Nothing to serious yet, mostly on 1 corner of the dome and the ear pucks but it's noticeable. I suspect the Yaxley troop last year was to blame for most of the damage. I do have some changes to make for this year though. I've lost some weight so I need to tweak the fit a bit, and finally add the cuts to the legs for more movement and add a tether to stop them twisting.

Looks great, good luck on EIB.

There's no such thing as an approved builder, each suit is made bespoke for each trooper to fit that person. If you mean maker of the kit? Then all of the vetted sellers, to my knowledge, are able to offer you a TD (Sandtrooper) kit instead of a TK (Stormtrooper). Essentially they are the the same bar a small number of parts.

Looking at the photo from CE2016 it looks like it's just sawn off and a bit of plastic glued on. Hard to tell exactly though with out seeing the appropriate bit on your airsoft mag. Here's a photo of the E-11 I took at CE that shows it reasonably well. Rogue One Stormtrooper Reference CE 2016 by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr

Most of it is available on eBay or Amazon. For the snaps most guys guys seem to recommend Tandy line 24. Single cap rivets are usually from ebay but I have a feeling Tandy also sell them.

I wouldn't bother with paste personally. I would however make sure I fixed the crack to stop to getting worse. I like "poor mans fibre glass". Armour - Repair by Christopher Pearson, on Flickr

Hi I'm Chris, from just North of London in the UK. I first met the UKG back in 2005 at a work function but it wasn't until 2015 that I did much about it. A combination of timing and luck after seeing the TESTED videos previewing the Anovos kits. I ended up being the first Anovos kit cleared into the UKG, and was cleared all the way to Centurion. I also was one of the more popular photos on their instagram feed. Have dabbled with several other SW builds, I have "half" a TIE and "half" a Shoretrooper (including a cast from screen used part) in a box somewhere! Most of my recent time has been invested in a screen accurate Lucius Malfoy OOTP Death Eater costume for the non Star Wars wing of the UKG: Reel Icons.

Can we keep this thread about getting merch out to those who’ve already ordered it. Further sales of merch will happen in due course.

I wouldn’t worry about the belt fraying. It’s quite normal for an accurately made belt. Have a look at the belts in the Tantive and you’ll be able to see them fraying up to the seam.

That I did not know, but good to know as means they are more available. I have an ISD set and they are great but I do wish they had the cloth like yours.

I believe they went to the Imperial Supply Depot, which recently had a change of ownership so they are still available.

Would this not 100% hinge on whats shown on screen? (I've not found time to watch the trailers yet so clean ones may be a thing).

No worries. The DD is now highly modded with lots of after market parts. I think the only awkward part is an accurate magasine but if you're doing FX you'll probably use a printed/hollow one.

A lot of people mod up the DoopyDoo resin blaster kit, the other option is probably something 3D printed. The DD resin is super easy to carve up to fit bits and then fix any mistakes using 2 part putties. Have a look on the blast FX Facebook group as I am sure someone sells some 3D parts with cavities already in place. Also as your UKG make sure you check the lights and sounds policy for blasters as you will need certain safety features in place and you can't just do anything light and sound wise. That's the safety policy http://www.ukgarrison.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=198&t=65847 and you'll need to clear it through the SFX armourers.