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It looks like hell though.. The butt plate flares out too much for my liking but if need be I'll do it

Finally.... I hope ! I know... the boots are on their way... a couple of parsecs away... I didn't re-attached the holster yet. It's not perfect but I'm pretty happy with the results so far. Thanks to all of you guys who helped me in the last 2 months !! I also did 2 things I haven't seen anywhere yet. Let me know what you think !! 1- I was fed up with the kidney plate that was flaring out all the time. It was worst with the belt... So I heat bent the kidney plate inward and the ab plate outward. It was perfect without the belt but still flaring out with the belt. I decided to add these little tabs ( 2 on each side ) to lock the 2 in place. If it's OK (EIB and Centurion approvable) I'll paint them black so they won't be seen. 2- The butt plate is a big pain in the....butt It's always flaring out and rwally, it looks like shucks.... So I decided to use velcro inside the belt and on the butt and kidney plate. That way the belt joins the 2 together and it seems to work for now.... Let's see with some trooping !! The tape is to indicate where the belt goes so I can position the velcro correctly. Comments welcome !!!! Tango Kilo

There you go !!

Alright...back to work...vacations are over !!! I did some work here and there. I'll post pictures tonight. Thanks to Alex for the glue tip (handguards) and to Mark for pointing out another mistake I made (now fixed). The assembly is 99% finished, I just have to paint the ab buttons, I found a 0.50" scrapbooking punch that will doing the job of making masking tape template. I also need to glue the belt buttons and install the ab snaps for the belt. The boots are on their way (Imperialboots) and I'm now in the fitting stage of all the parts with straps. I should be ready for Halloween after all..... At least 501st ready.... I still need an E11 and I still need a fan and voice amp setup but that might wait for this winter since money doesn't grow on trees.... Pat signing out

I replaced my AP acetate with a face shield from Tenaquip (industrial supplier in Montreal). It cost me $18 and I have enough material to do 4-5 strips, I tried individual lens at first but in the end I just used one long strip that is screwed in the helmet (with the ear screws) and it's also hidden behind my helmet padding. I also cut a notch at the nose level and the natural curve of the shield is perfect for the bucket ant it leaves a small gap between the lens and the bucket for the air to circulate. If you choose to go that route, go with a shade 3 or 4. Anything hire and you'll have difficulty seeing inside. Hope it helps !!

Don't do the same mistake I did Ken, the 15mm cover strip should cover the "step" molded in the bicep pretty much entirely (at least in the front). If your biceps are too big you could just a wider strip in the back of the bicep. You see on this picture that I used a 15mm strip to cover and it doesn't look good at all. See on this picture, the molded step in the bicep is barely showing.

Alex, je suis pas certain de bien comprendre, as tu une photo pour me montrer ?

I bought the one from trooperbay and I<m quite happy with it !!! You can also customize it, get patches sewn and embroidered also !! http://trooperbay.com/helmet-bags.html Pat

Thanks Eugene, I saw the event at Citi field yesterday but we're comin home on the 16th... I'll definitely stop by Midtown Comics and Forbidden Planet though !! Pat

Hey troopers ! I'm going to NYC this week and I was wondering if there would be a couple of stores that are worth checking ?? Let's say for trooping armor making, accessories or memorabilia. If you know of an event also I might check it out ! Thanks

Hey folks, my last update is over a week ago and I'll be honest I didn't do much at night. But now I'm on vacation and I'm planning on getting my armor to the finish line !! I started by making a To-Do list so I wouldn't forget anything... I alson printed the EIB and Centurion checklist to keep me focused. Enough talk, picture time !!! I just glued the snaps this morning, if possible I'm going to work on a garter system tomorrow... I installed the ammo box on the right thigh with split rivet, it went pretty smooth considering I boiled the ammo pack to shape. I measured 10 or 20 times, clamped, re-measured, clamp moved, re-measured, drilled pilot hole and took it from there... Always stressful to drill in the armor... Here's another view. Corners are rounded, the rivets will be painted white eventually. I install cardboard shims for measurements as soon as the ab plate is ready. Here's another view of the shims ready to be cut. Also, the 2 male snaps are installed on the butt Closer view of the 2 male snaps These little steps are part of an experiment to glue the sniper plate in place... The steps will serve as a bridge between the calf and sniper plate. I'm pretty proud of my foam inserts. I got them from a used T-Ball helmet at play-it-again sports for $10, I sliced them out and I actually had to cut the helmet in half to get to the bottom foam insert.... They are velcroed in place. Here's another view, I also added a nose bridge which is window weather stripping. It makes all the difference !! The helmet barely wabbles on my head !!! I glued the screen to cover the frown (after I took my picture) Chest, back and ab plate drying. I glued the shoulder straps, can't wait to see the result tomorrow !! I tried again to glue the handguards on the rubber glove but this time, I put my Goo-Gone bottle inside the glove. I also taped everything together. Alright, that's it for tonight, I spent a good 6-7 hours on it today...Time for a beer

I was wondering the samedi thing !!!

I told you I'd have pictures today, here we go !!! But first, I tried using boiling water to form some parts (shoulder straps,knee plate,thigh ammo pack) and it works well, you just have to be careful on the amount of time you leave the parts in the water... Butt plate with the webbing plates. I also glued a reinforcement plate for the 2 snaps. Shoulder bells with non-roll elastic and snaps installed kidney plate with some snaps, I have to do a muck-up with cardboard to cut the proper shim lenghts and then install the rivets and snaps. You can also see the ammo thigh pack and knee plate. Right thigh ready for the ammo pack that will be riveted later this week. Now the strips are the proper width, right Mark ? lol Left and right shins, they look different but it's the camera angle... The left one is ready for the EVIL knee plate. I expect a lot of cursing, waste of glue, premature aging and probably abuse of alcool during or after the procedure.... Left and right forearm, I trimmed as much as I could but I still have to fit in them !!! I will try to remove the ovalness (good word ??) with a c-clamp... New and improved biceps (just trimmed properly actually...) with one snap installed only. I'll see if I need the forearm snaps later. Another angle to show the cover strips Last outer strip drying on the left thigh... I know there are 2 loose magnets... Belt partially assembled, I used chicago screws for both the holster and ammo. I'll install the ab snaps and screw covers later. And...La pièce de résistance.....The bucket !!! Mark assembled it for me. The inside is painted black, the mic tips and hand painted decals are from trooper bay. The S-Seal is also on there. The electronics (fans,icomm,mic) are for later. I forgot to take a picture of my TD... Tomorrow maybe. I forgot... The rubber gloves are drying with the silicone handguards under a gallon of paint... Still a lot to do but with at least 12 hours working on my armor over the weekend I feel that I have accomplished a lot !!! Talk to you guys later !! TKTBA signing out

Almost a week since my mistakes... They are pretty much all corrected. I narrowed the trim in front of all the parts (and back when possible...) Today I spent most of my time removing glue residue, sanding and adjusting. I'm preet happy with the results... I still have my thighs that are drying and I have 2 more outer strip to install. My TD is almost done. Pictures hopefully tomorrow !!!

I'd say that the sovereign protector site will have all the answers you seek !! http://www.forcepike.net/ Pat

Major setback today.... but thanks to Mark for calling me and explaining what he meant by his previous comment !!! I royally F%$*d up... Most of my butt joints are too wide, good thing he noticed it and THANK GOD for E-6000 !!! According to Mark, front butt joints need to be really narrow but the back can be wider if need be. Casualty report: -Biceps unglued, trimmed properly and one outside strip re-glued and curing -Front shins unglued, one was trimmed and the inner strip is curing -One forearm unglued one one side only, needs trimming to make it look like the other one. Unfortunately, a 5mm "step" remains -Thighs needs to be unglued (front only) and trimmed. I'll be honest... I felt for a moment, like shoving all the parts in a box and store it in the garage but I guess that this is part of the frowing pains to become a TK... I have to admit though, it looks way better the way I trimmed the parts now. I basically lost 2 weeks of work but better now then being denied my entry in the 501st !!

Oh I understand what you mean, yes the strips are too long, I still need some finishing sanding to do so that will take care of the strips

Thanks Mark, are you referring to the thigh or shin ?

Saturday morning... not much time to work on the armor since we're going camping....and as usual they forecast rain for Sunday.... Got my first E6000 tube emptied yesterday. I also picked up my 1 piece undersuit from the seamstress yesterday and I can open the front zipper from the bottom or top so that should fix the bathroom issue... Also, here are a few pics of my progress so far... Inner strips installed, ready for the 20mm outer ones but I need to buy more glue... This is the result of my fight with the forearms... I had to use roast string but I think I might have won that round !!!! Front inner strip installed on one thigh... Outer strip glued on the left or right shin (I forgot, I'd have to look inside..) Ready for industrial velcro A pile of armor...lol, trimmed and ready for webbing snap installation.... I did about 30 of them yesterday while wathing the movie Major LEague on Netflix.... Chest plate with the outline of the shoulder straps.... Still have to form the straps and glue them... One of the shoulder... My messy work area... you haven't seen the garage... white dust everywhere...lol One finished shin complete with velcro fuzz..... I have to work on that... That Industrial strenght velco is a piece of work !!! Sticks pretty good !! Finished biceps...since about 2 weeks... needs some finishing and sanding. I bought 600 grit but I'll go to Canadian Tire for the 1200.. That's pretty much it for now....still looking for TD clip options... TK71445 signing out....Hopefully this ID will still be free !!!

These days I'm in the gluing process !! Thighs (going well), chins (also goin well), forearms...(constant battle, these pieces need a vacation, they are too stressed !!) I'm scared too glue the shoulder straps... The chest plate being asymetrical doesn't help... I'm trying to set it for 5 small ridges but then the big bottom one ends up sitting on 2 angles and I'm not sure how it will look... I got all my snaps, webbing,velcro and elastics at Fabriville and some 600grit paper. My big problem is the TD clips...1/16" aluminum is hard to find around here... I'm considering using a painted brass strip. Next big tasks: Shims for the kidney plate, bending the shoulder straps (ideas ???) For the shims, it seems to be OK to have 2 seams at the centurion level so I should be fine. Alright, supper time !!

Thanks Andrew, I'll give a solid 3 days for the e6000 to cure properly before attempting to glue the second half. If it looks a bit shady, I'll unglue and start again with an inner strip and maybe a 20mm outer strip just to be safe. BTW, I got my holster and neck seal, thanks Darman ! After supper, I'll go work on the armor a bit more.

I did a bit of work Sunday and yesterday, finished the sanding and fitting, started gluing the inner strips for the legs. Also engaged in a fight with the %&*(%#$ forearms.... and a constant struggle with those magnets...Geez are they strong !! Any idea to curve the shoulder straps ? I tried boiling water in a pan that I previously taped the straps around the outside but I'm afraid to leave the water too long.. Off to work...Fire Safety doesn't wait... Have a good day guys and gals

Nice build so far Fidgell !!! You're doin great !!! I'm far behind you with my AP but I hope to finish mine before Haloween !!! Keep up the good work !!!

So I managed to finish ALL the trimming !! Tomorrow, sanding and fitting.... All my clamps and magnets are busy right now so that's it on the gluing side.. I'll finish the inner strips for the tighs tomorrow and I'll glue only one side of the forearms and let it cure for 3 days and glue the other side of the forearms after. A lot of parts in the mail.... Neck Seal, Holster, trooperbay, belt and inner boxes so I'm at a standstill on that front..... I forgot, the TD !!! That will keep me busy for a couple of hours. TKTBA signing out for the night... Jack Daniel's time !!!

Day 4 or 5...who's counting !!! By working on my armor an hour here and there I managed to trim and sand the chest plate, back plate, ab plate and split the back in two...(The line is a tiny bit wavy but the belt should hide that...right ?) I also managed to glue my 15mm outer strips on the forearms and biceps. I did only one side since my magnets were in a plane somewhere !! This morning I trimmed the tights and the fit good. After some sanding I'll be ready to glue them. After removing the glue residue from the arm pieces ( a popsicle shaped to a point works great !!) I decided to glue the 2 halves of my first left forearm together. This was a disaster !! There is so much tension in the plastic that the clamps cannot hold everything together... I have to squeeze the 2 halves together !!!! Should I redo it with an inner strip ??? Hairdryer maybe to re-shape the inner forearm (the one without the dimples) so it will not be under tension all the time ?? Ideas and comments are as usual welcome !!!! And then there is that issue that I was thinking to fix with a belt sander so the wrist part would be flush and equal ?? What do you think ? Alright...for now time to head to the garage and sand those thighs and prep them for gluing... I will be using 15mm strips inside and 20mm outside. I should be gluing the 2 inner strips with the 2 halves first (hope I have enough magnets...) and then apply the outer strips after Thanks for your input guys !!