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Ruthar

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
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Everything posted by Ruthar

  1. Between the bonus footage with the Force Awakens DVD last night and this tomorrow I am happily in Star Wars euphoria!
  2. I paid $280 for my Hyperfirm DLT-19 B-grade including shipping and that is miles above where this is in terms of quality. Sorry you're going to have to put so much time into it, but I'm sure you can get it looking nice in the end!
  3. I scratch built a pair to accompany my sandtrooper and I found it really easy. Here's a link to the build album on photobucket, or you can check out my sandtrooper build thread linked in my sig below. I painted them white then weathered them with silver and umber for that metallic and dirty look, but I'm sure you can weather with only silver to make it match the HWT. Here are some shots:
  4. Excellent choice, RS Prop Masters makes some excellent stuff!
  5. Long story short, it's most likely best to avoid originalstormtrooper.com. There is far more to the story than that, but I'll let the more experienced folks chime in on that. If you stick to this list of sellers here on FISD you certainly won't be sorry. Always better to go with what is known to be quality than to take a gamble on external sites that aren't recommended, especially when you're spending a decent amount of money to get started!
  6. Information about various kits and where to order them can be found over on this thread in the "Getting Started" section here on FISD. There is a lot of information to be had, but with some patience and a few emails I am sure you can find a great maker to suit your needs!
  7. I started my first build in mid-October and finished the first week of December. I found the most effective way to plan was to set goals per day (schedule depending). On days off I would do large chunks of work and save the gluing and waiting (as I used primarily E6000 which takes 24+ hours to dry) for the evening before days I couldn't work anyways. My schedule is very sporadic though, so I'm not perhaps the best model here - but making a list and tackling item by item helped me a lot to get down what I thought was a massive list in a handful of weeks. It would have been done sooner if it was a normal TK, but the last week or so was dedicated to weathering the armor. There are so many excellent guides here on FISD as well - not having to hunt all over for answers also cuts down the build time significantly. Long story short, starting mid-February for an August event is most certainly doable, as most others have already indicated!
  8. Yeah, I think I have the right pieces now that I see it from the right angle. Thanks again for pointing out that thread! I was looking through a bunch of shots from the films to see where exactly the knee piece goes, and to me it seemed like the middle point edges of the diamond lined up with the top of the shin. I might actually move it down to be a touch more mobile - as it stands now, I have foam in the thighs to keep them from falling too low and contacting the knee piece, but I never considered just moving the knee piece down (duh! ). So far so good, but it might be something I want to adjust down the road.
  9. Oh thank you so much! I think that helps clear it up. Here's a pic from the top: The harsher angles (labeled 45 degrees in the post linked above by Jason) are indeed on the outsides, so I think they are correct after all. Mystery solved (I think)!
  10. Thanks, Jason! I thought I followed things correctly, but the more I look at it, the less and less sure I get.
  11. I guess what's really throwing me off is the tops of the shins. They seem to both be slanted in the same direction instead of opposite. Is that normal for the TK shins? I would assume that the outsides and insides should be the same angle, though the way I have it that is not the case though the curved pieces are (what I believe) definitely match. Perhaps I'm just looking to far into this! Here's what I mean by the slants seemingly in the same direction. The ridges along the top are both low on the same side (inside on one and outside on the other) though I would assume it should be opposite. Hmm...
  12. Derrick, here are the shins swapped (though it's in a mirror so it doesn't look like they are actually swapped ). Do you think this is better? It's really hard for me to tell, I've been going back and forth a bunch of times whether I have it right or not. If anyone else has some input, please do say so - it would help a lot! Pics: Along with that, after a handful of troops I have realized that I'm not super happy with the crooked brow look that I got when I first built the helmet. I've tried to add some material to help shift it into the right place. It's better though still not perfect - maybe I'm just too picky! Shim under brow (tape and extra brow trim): Before: After:
  13. Very entertaining, fun video - thanks for sharing!
  14. Definitely interested in having these and possibly using them with my armour. PM incoming!
  15. They're green, came with the AM 2.0 kit. Not sure if they will fit an ATA lid, though I'm sure someone else on here would certainly know. Not sure what shipping to Australia would be - probably quite a bit, but perhaps workable if options are limited for ya. Shoot me a PM if you like, I'd be happy to help if I can!
  16. I have an extra set that came with my TM kit if that's any help. I won't be needing them myself.
  17. I agree, Philipp - as its presented the designation system is pretty messy. Though still fun to try and make it work in some sort of organized system somehow...I guess. Because TK-338 exists in the film, there doesn't seem to be a reason to replace TK with FN for FOTK's. If a new Detachment rises in the wake of the film, then perhaps it's worth the change. Also worth noting that General Hux still refers to them as "Stormtroopers" in a discussion with Kylo Ren which may further the argument for including them here.
  18. It's definitely another clue, but Rebels brings about more issues, too. There have been a handful of designations from the Rebels series, three of which served on Lothal (BN-749, TK-626, MB-223), one serving on Tarkin's Star Destroyer Sovereign (JTN-303 [interesting to note the three letter scheme]), and one on Kallus's Star Destroyer Lawbringer (LS-005). Ezra also uses a made-up designation of LS-123 which could potentially link the LS prefix to Lothal as he had yet to leave the system at that time. After a little more digging, I found this site which includes the following information. I don't see a source, but it could be the key to the "FN" designation we seek. Interestingly, this information is not in the Imperial Handbook. "The Stormtrooper Corps" (Section IV of the book - do check out page 115 for a one-page spread on the 501st Legion!) section outlines "Formations and Deployment" (Squad->Platoon->Company->Battalion->Regiment->Legion) which does line up with the information from the site posted above, however the conventions of Stormtrooper designations are not mentioned at all. Unfortunately without a source, I can't verify the validity of the information above even if it does appear accurate. The Imperial Handbook includes excerpts to a document entitled "The Imperial Stormtrooper Corps Field Manual" which would seemingly have all the answers, but that doesn't seem to actually exist in its entirety. Still fun to try and find the truth!
  19. Interestingly enough, TK wasn't the only designation for OT stormtroopers either. The new canon novel, Battlefront: Twilight Company, has a stormtrooper character serving in the 97th Stormtrooper Legion on Sullust with the designation SP-475 and it later goes on to mention other stormtroopers with the SP designation within her unit. Not entirely helpful with the FN vs. TK discussion, but worth pointing out that there is the possibility that each Legion (or smaller sub-unit of trooper) were given unique letter designations. That being said, "FN" could mean a particular batch of troopers beneath Hux's command - so many possibilities!
  20. The only issue with that is we are still known as "Vader's Fist" which would assume that everyone would be of the former TK generation when Vader was still alive. Unless "Vader's Fist" continued on posthumously without a rename, which is certainly another possibility.
  21. I was just about to post this as well - there is most certainly the TK tag in that scene. Perhaps it was a Stormtrooper surviving from the Empire now working within the First Order and still using his old identification number?
  22. Definitely - I can't wait to actually go out all suited up! Many thanks for the guidance again - truly motivational! I don't think there are multiple models available, though I could be wrong? I emailed TK Products and it seemed like there was only one available - you can find it on their website here. It's a whole lot of fun to play with! Did a rather necessary piece this afternoon as the troop preparations continue. As an insulin-dependent type 1 diabetic, my insulin pump and me are attached at all times so I had to come up with a way to get it on my form. Originally, I thought of slipping it into the large spanish pouch on my belt, but that didn't work as it left the tubing exposed which could potentially get snagged, grabbed, and it just didn't look quite right. So I took out some more scrap ABS and played around with some fire again to mold a little bracket for it beneath the electronics behind the chest. The pump's clip slides around the ABS piece which is then held in place with two strips of heavy duty velcro so I can attach it and remove it easily. The bracket: ABS bracket + clip: It sits on the left snuggly within the angle of the chest piece so the tubing can run right down to the abdomen without much difficulty: You can see just a touch of the pump's black casing from the side, but that should be nearly invisible with the black undershirt: Unfortunately, I pulled out one of the elastics from my boots this afternoon, so I'll be getting the sewing kit out in a few to make that repair. I also decided to use the headset instead of keep the microphone installed in the helmet itself - it allowed for hiding the wires running to the chestpiece easier when putting the gear on instead of running the wire behind the armor with the bucket on and arm pieces on.
  23. A few more detail things as I get ready for my first troop this weekend. With 40+ members going, I'm quite excited! The iComm came in the mail today, so finished up the electronics. Got some foam for the storage bin to make sure things are decently protected, and put some extra foam on the bottoms of the shins as the velcro I had down there was taking layers of the boot paint off. Hopefully this will stop that from continuing. I will spend a little time tomorrow practicing suiting up and walking around with the electronics and things. Want to have a decent feel for being suited for a good chunk of time before Saturday's troop. It's a no blaster troop as well, so I'm looking forward to bringing along the electrobinoculars instead.
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