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RynoHawk

501st Member[501st]
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Posts posted by RynoHawk

  1. Unless you see yourself using it quite often around the house or whatever, you don't necessarily have to splurge on a Dremel brand rotary tool. Dremels are fairly pricey (the no frills version one speed starting at $25-$30). I picked up a WEN with a case and several attachments and variable speeds for just above $20 (a Dremel with similar runs about $60). Granted a Dremel may be better in the long run if you plan to use it quite a bit, but for putting armor together the WEN is working well. So far I used it to drill out the teeth on my helmet and to be honest, I may not use it for anything else on the build (probably could've just usd a power drill as well, but it was much easier to handle the rotary tool in one hand while holding the faceplate in the other). Never built armor before and never used a Dremel type rotary tool before. Just have to be careful and pay attention as they can run away from you real quick. I used the lowest two speeds. <br><br>

    Also don't just look at the power tool section at Home Depot or wherever and think "this is all they have." The WEN was only available online and had free delivery to the store.

    • Like 1
  2. Congrats on the BBB and MBB day! AM 2.0 is an interesting kit to get into. I'm taking it slowly, but surely. In regards to the helmet, I emailed Troopergear a few days ago about possibly buying a pre-assembled one, as I'm a bit of a clutz. Also, make sure that every part is there! I just found out yesterday that I'm missing my thigh ammo pack and accidentally got two belt pieces. I'll email him about that once he replies to the helmet thing, but just a warning!

     

    Good luck!

    Yup, everything is present. I thought I was missing shim/cover strips at first but I found them. ;)

     

    Awesome Ryno! I would say "race you to the finish line"...but who needs all that unwanted stress! Haha!

     

    I got mine last evening as well. will be great to build together. I also did some fitting, and I think my challenge is going to be taking down what I need to to get it to look right. I was skinny before, but I am just now getting over pneumonia, so I lost a few more lbs. 

     

    Either way...may start with the mid-section, because I'll still need to order my Tkittell belt...but I am like you, at least I now have the kit to work on!

     

    Congrats and have fun!

    I'm definitely taking my time on this and not rushing. I already have a costume I can troop in so no hurry there. Now if Weird Al comes back through town... :P

  3. It was Big Brown Box day as well as Medium Brown Box day at my house!

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    BBB and its little brother.

     

    The smaller box contained my boots from TK Boots.

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    I feel like Tony Manero at Christmas time!

     

    I wear a size 13 off the shelf and after discussing with TK Boots, I went with the size 13D and it fits great (need the provided shoe horn to help).

    XIZLSqT.jpg?1

    Pardon the messy floor. Dogs and four year olds and all that. Also forgive my hairy legs. :P I wore them around a little bit while I unpacked and organized the TK kit. TK kit also looked great although there was a tiny chip in the end of the faceplate. I think it will be hidden by the helmet though. I also did some pre-pre fitting and unless I lose some waistline, I may have to shim the kidney. I didn't bust the tape out or anything. As I said, I just wanted to get everything unwrapped and organized. But, yay I have a kit to work on now!

  4. My kit and boots are both in Nashville, so hope Brown can do something for me today! Just a run down of what I have so far:

     

    What I have (or in transit)

    Most of the tools, glue, straps, etc. I have or are on the way. Waiting on magnets especially but due in on Thursday.

    Balaclava.

    Under suit.

    Blaster (I have a Hyperfirm and a Disney parks one I painted for the lights and "pew pew" sounds. Very popular).

    Aker voice amp.

    Fans (I may make another set for this, but they are easy to transfer between helmets).

    Armor Kit (Due in today).

    Boots (Due in today).

     

    What I still need

    Canvas belt.

    neck seal.

    Snaps and set tool.

    Holster, although I can possibly convert my existing holster with the belt loops to a ANH TK one by changing the straps.

    Paints and brushes.

    Need to pick up some tongue depressors (or eat a lot of popsicles) or similar for glue spreading.

    Possibly an i-Comm, but not a necessity right now.

     

    I think that's it. I have tried to limit my purchases right now to just the basics, even though I've been tempted by a lot of "Oh, shineys!!!" that do me no good until the costume is complete (also not looking at the swag boards).

     

    Hopefully I will have some BBB pics to post tonight!

  5. Okay, so after a little over a year since joining the 501st, I'm finally purchased an AM 2.0 kit and it's en route. My original plan when joining was to buy one initially and start out as a TK. However, money was a tad short and to be honest I was really pumped up to join, so I started with a Imperial Bridge Crewman costume that I eventually upgraded to Imperial Gunner. I was then going to go full TIE pilot, but there's a bit of a wait for most kits and AM just so happened have a run about ready to finish up and ship so I was able to go with what I wanted to do in the first place! Originally, I had planned to hopefully have this ready in time to take to Celebration in April, but some other unforeseen circumstances have made me have to cancel my trip. Not a complete bad thing as it takes some pressure off the build as I don't have a deadline, and I can still troop in my current costumes so no hurry there either.

     

       I have had a blast trooping as a crewman/Reserve TIE and gunner, but I am stoked to finally start on my dream costume! Also, I didn't really build anything with my current costumes, save for padding my gunner helmet and painting a Disney blaster so it looks more "troopable." So this will be my first real build of basically anything. I'm the guy that would glue his fingers together when building model airplanes, so hopefully I don't destroy anything in the process. ;)

     

      The past week or two, I've been procuring the tools and other stuff I will need to build the kit and have been reading over other build threads. Ukswrath's and Navajo Bro's build threads and Panda Trooper's videos have been particularly insightful among others. Today I finished up buying most of what I need to get started that I don't already have and organizing my work area in my garage. I don't know when I will actually start building as my garage is not insulated or climate controlled and it's been OMG cold the past few days. Hopefully, I'll get some days where I can work in there and not freeze and be able to finish up before I bake. Also have some TK Boots en route, which according to UPS are sitting in Memphis along with my armor. I will likely get both boxes the same day!

     

    The armor is AM 2.0, but I guess it may be more like AM 2.1 as he is now making the helmet as a two piece assembly (I believe the top and back are one piece now) as opposed to the three piece he used to ship.

     

    Only major thing I really need to get still are some snaps for the snapping and some rare earth magnets for the glue setting. My plan was to work on the straps and such while I was waiting for glue to dry, although I don't know if I need to wait and until I get the armor somewhat together so I can measure?

     

    Anyways, anxiously waiting for that BBB!

  6. My armor is in Memphis too! Maybe they can enjoy some BBQ together! :P

     

    I already have that very same tote which I use for my Imperial Gunner/Crewman/Reserve TIE pilot. It is especially handy if you have a smaller car. It fits in the trunk of my larger sedan, but only in the back seat of my smaller one. Just don't sit on it. I cracked my lid! ;)

     

    Also, nice helmet! Kylo is a good choice. You may want to do that one next (if you don't already have a bunch of Kylos' running around) so you can have a soft costume alternative when not feeling like armoring up. Another option if you want a RL costume and another trooper is the Clone Trooper (standard clone or any of the individual variants like Rex, Boss, Cody, etc.) which is dual approvable. Wear one costume and counts towards both clubs! ;)

  7. Welcome!<br><br>

    Northern Darkness Garrison would be your Garrison for Northern Indiana. It wouldn't hurt to register and introduce yourself on Bloodfin (the rest of Indiana including Indianapolis) and Midwest (Illinois including Chicago) Garrisons as well as you have quite a bit of trooping opportunities between all three given your location once you're ready.

  8. So to seriously go necro on my very first "hello" post here, I just wanted to say hello again for those that may not know me. I took a bit of a detour to the 501st from my initial plan of a TK build and put together a couple of other costumes instead (some may know me from other detachment forums). Well I finally bought some TK armor (AM) and hope to receive it in the next week or thereabouts and look forward to the process of putting it together and then of course, trooping in it.

  9. My wife just bought one on Thursday for Rogue One opening. Maybe they are just out of stock while the Christmas stuff in in the store.

     

    After having both of them I prefer the Sterilite 40 Gal one.

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    I can fit everything but my bucket and is is so much smaller and lighter than the Husky.

    These are great (and cheap)! I need a new top though because I cracked mine when I sat on it (not recommended). At $20, might just get a new bin. ;)
    • Like 1
  10. If you're wanting something to go through EIB and Centurion, then the full Doopys kit or a Hyperfirm would be your best bet.  

     

    But if you're wanting to have something with pew-ing, fun for now and cheap, the Disney or Hasbro blaster would be your most affordable option (even though it's not approvable).  Sometimes you can find them for less than $30 over at the auction site that Shall Not Be Named.

     

    Doopys also has a skin kit for the Hasbro blaster that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  Cost-wise, the price of the skin kit plus Hasbro blaster is just a little less than the full resin kit (which is approvable).  

    I picked up a Hyperfirm elite e-11 for my eventual Centurion application.  I also bought a used Hasbro and am in the process of converting it with the skin kit and electronics upgrade.  The Hyperfirm is really nice, but the Hasbro is way more fun.   :Laser: 

     

    Good luck with your build!

     

    Just to clarify, Disney and Hasbro blasters (and probably some others like Rubies, etc.) are approvable at basic level (basic level blasters are optional) so long as you at least paint it to look more accurate. All it costs you is the price of the toy blaster and some paint and sandpaper.

     

    E-11 Blaster

    For 501st approval:

    • Based on a real or replica Sterling sub-machine gun, scratch-built, or a modified commercial toy Stormtrooper blaster

     

     

    You don't have to worry about accurate t-tracks, counters, power cylinders, etc. until level 2. That is where a conversion kit like DoopyDoo's would come into play. At level 3, a toy blaster would not be approved at all. So long as the toy is based off a Stormtrooper blaster, it should be good to go once painted. Something like this would be good for the trooper on a budget, or if you just want something to go pew pew for the kids. But as was stated if you want to go to level 3, then you may want to look into something more accurate, such as a scratch resin build or premade Hyperfirm.

     

    (All text highlighted in bold red done by me for emphasis).

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