Cricket

Your control plate looks better! Just make sure it's centered between the brackets (it looks like it's a little too far to the left, but since it's not glued and all, I'm guessing that you weren't aiming for perfection yet!). Agreed on the brackets curving. Mine were straight like yours as well. I wasn't able to get that curve on the brackets until I put it on my belt while kitted up. I kind of pushed it in and bent it a little to adjust it, and voila! Mine has the curve like in your reference pic now. So I wouldn't stress too much about the bracket curvature at this point. You'll get there soon! Proportions are important when scaling down this kit. Everything needs to be resized in relation to other pieces. Take your time with this. Start with the ab/chest pieces. Examine just that relationship. How do they sit on you? Does the chest overlap the ab too much? Does the chest look too large in relation to the rest of your frame? How are things around your neck? Along the sides? Study screen grabs of ANH TKs and see where each piece sits in relation to the other pieces. For me, I wanted the ab buttons to show like a normal-sized TK (no major chest overlap as is what happens to many short troopers). That was my goal, so I focused on that. Remember that for all TKs, the ab buttons stay in pretty much the same place no matter what size you are, so it's a good starting point for the torso. The ab plate was almost completely covering my chest, so I realized that I needed to start with that and remove some of the top of it for comfort. Once I got that done, I placed the chest plate over the ab in the position I was happy with. In order for the ab buttons to show like I wanted them to, I saw that I needed to move the chest up. I decided to remove and rebuild the bottom of the chest with enough space to allow brackets to be installed. Once that was done, the neck needed trimming. I always kept the ridge details on the chest proportionally centered as I trimmed. Then I realized that the shoulder straps on the chest were almost overlapping between the chest and back. So I cut into the chest on the sides and at the shoulder areas, essentially reducing the size of the chest overall and rebuilding new shoulder areas. I studied ANH TK pics of the sides of the armor to get an idea of where the chest piece should end in relation to the kidney/ab edges. Once I was happy with the chest/ab, I discovered that the cod was sitting too low. I estimated how much space there was between the cod and my... uh... girly bits... and then used that measurement to slice the cod at the ab and bring it up. I also had to trim along the edges of the cod, thus shrinking it from all sides. Aaaand once you've got the front assembled to your size, trimming the kidney/back/butt to the right size becomes a lot clearer. The front and back halves of the armor fit together like a puzzle. If the back pieces aren't sized down correctly, it won't fit properly with the correctly sized front. Hope that makes sense. Another method is to blue tape your kit together from the inside as if brackets were installed. Put it on, and you'll get a pretty good idea at that point of what needs to be fixed. Long answer, but hoping to give you some ideas for how to proceed. Other people may do this differently than I did. Sorry if I rambled a bit!

Congrats, Jon! Welcome to the ranks!!!

Looking sharp!

I picked up my brackets from Mr. No Stripes. I am pretty sure that the RS brackets are identical, though.

WOW! That looks AMAZING!!!!!!

Hm. If you're aiming for Centurion, you'll need to fix that. You want the panel to touch the brackets. Like this: I see that you've got the top lined up straight, but the bottom isn't. I had some issues with this as well. I would align the bottom to the brackets and gently even out the top edge. It looks like there's a bit of flashing still on the top right corner that could be removed anyhow. In general, the returns should be just wide enough to install your brackets. You'll also have more flex in your ab/kidney pieces with a narrower return. Mine are all about 3/8" (about 1cm) wide. In my FISD research notes, I see that I wrote: "6-8mm on bottom chest, top of ab, bottom of back, top of kidney". If you're using brackets, be sure to install some extra ABS under the returns for reinforcement. No returns at the bottoms of the forearms. Returns at the tops of the forearms are optional (I removed most of mine). No returns on the bottom of the shins. All other returns on limb parts are optional, but some will say to keep them minimal to add depth to the look of the armor. No need for returns on the neck. I cut away at the sides of my chest and back and rebuilt the returns on those areas because it looked better to me that way. And I cut away all the returns on the butt plate, but built those back as well. Just personal preference for me on that.

My RS lid is gappy under the ears as well. Even though I used just two rivets, the ears cover all the spaces that seem like they shouldn't be there. The RS helmets are beautiful in their wonkiness, and not everything fits together as you think it should look initially.

Hey, I love the creativity on your fixes!!! That fix for the stubborn ear screw is awesome. I shall steal it. And I'm going to steal your idea for using a wooden dowel to help shape that inner ear, too. I wish I had a wood planer now. Those hash brown ABS curls are making me think about getting one. (I have another build coming soon!) What a great way to get ABS paste cooking faster. Nice!

Good job there, Stephen! Those magnets are... dare I say it? You've accomplished making magnets super adorable. And your belt looks perfect. Nice work!

Are they actually breaking, or just pulling through the plastic? If they're pulling through, use a washer for support.

Looks great, Jon! Good luck!

Thanks for the warm congratulations, troopers!

Thanks, troopers! I have been told that I'm the first female TK Centurion in the Georgia Garrison, so this is quite an honor for me. I'm still a little in shock that I've finally got the Centurion award next to my name. I keep checking back in here, looking at my avatar on the left in the FISD forums thinking, "Is that Centurion badge really there?"

Looking sharp there, trooper! I would probably trim the butt plate at the same areas as you indicated with the yellow lines. Trim a little, check the fit, trim a little more, check the fit... It's a tedious process to get the fit back there just right, but you are definitely on the right track. Keep it up! Looking at your forearms, are you able to move around okay in them without any bites? They look a little long, but it's always tough to tell in just photos. I stumbled across this tip somewhere in the boards about how the mobility should feel (it helped me get a sense of how things should fit): "At a minimum and for basic trooping safety, you should have enough mobility to do the following unassisted: (1) put on and take off your helmet, (2) drink from a bottle of water, (3) feed yourself a light snack such as a powerbar or a piece of fruit, and (4) draw and holster your blaster. If you don't at least have that, you probably need to make some adjustments." I could do 1, 2, and 3, but not 4. I had to give my leather holster a quick hot water dip and reshape it (dipped the main part of the holster in 180 degree Fahrenheit water for 30 seconds, stuffed with newspaper to keep it open as it dried) so I could easily draw and holster the blaster while my helmet is on. I was so surprised to discover that you are practically blind if you want to draw and holster your blaster with the helmet on! It's all done by touch. As far as the eyes go, be sure to stare at the pics in this folder to figure out where you should be going on them. The eyes were challenging for me as well!

Yes, they have amazing customer support!!! I had several similar experiences with them. Wait, whaaa?! Seriously, he mentioned my build?! Love the armor and everything in their studio. But that bike is sah-weet. Thanks for sharing all the photos!!!

Christine Lee TK-10401 Centurion Letter Tony Thank you!!!! You are very welcome! http://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/10401-centurion.png

Oh, hey. New Centurion here. OMG!!!!!! We did it! Awesome way to begin the weekend. Woo!

Oh, wow!!! Yay!!!! Can I dance now? Heck, I'm dancing already... woo!!!! This build has been such an amazing journey. I can't believe I've made it this far!!!! But I couldn't have done it without the help and support of everyone here in the FISD. Thank you for taking the time to review my application, Tony. I hope to serve the Empire well and make the Emperor proud!

Congrats, Shane!

***EDIT 22 May 2017 to add: Do NOT buy the S trim as I describe below!!!! It will damage your helmet!!! See here for details.*** Okay, my S trim from yoycart.com arrived today. It took a little over two weeks to arrive from the date I placed my order. I had to sign for the delivery. This S trim is FABULOUS. It's exactly the right size I was looking for. The S trim from gaspumpheaven is good, but it's too narrow for my liking. This 16x13mm S trim is perfect! Quick comparison here. Left to right: S trim from yoycart.com, S trim from gaspumpheaven.com, S trim from RS Props (included with kit), S trim from ATA (included with helmet kit) You're probably wondering why I have so many S trim pieces, and why I ordered more. I trimmed my ATA S trim too short, so I bought more from gaspumpheaven. I was not given enough S trim with my RS Props kit (they included 30 inches, which was too short). I wasn't happy with how narrow the S trim was from gaspumpheaven, so I took a chance and ordered from the yoycart store. So happy I did! Here's how the trim looks on my RS lid. Fits nice and solid. And the price is great if you can handle waiting a few weeks for it. Hope this helps a trooper or two if they're looking for thicker S trim at a good price.

WTG Ben! Making good progress there. I used a Dremel for the bulk of trimming the eyes on my helmets. I get too heavy-handed (and possibly impatient?) when using a knife. Do you have a flex shaft attachment for your Dremel? It makes getting inside the eyes (and other small areas) a lot easier. I finished off the areas with 400 grit sandpaper like Randy.

Stick a fork in it! Blaster is done!

I ordered 3 feet, which is more than adequate for one helmet. Shipping was $3. So total was $9. Again, it's a narrower S trim (approx. 12mm x 10mm) than ATA or RS, but it works very well. I was feeling brave a few weeks ago and ordered a bunch of S trim from yoycart. Pricing is per meter. It was the only place I could find that offered the size I was looking for (16mm x 13mm) and still be reasonable in cost. I can't say if I recommend this merchant yet or not, though. It's enroute right now, and I can let you know what I think of it when it arrives.

Hardhat liner or tactical pads, it's up to you. Here's a video from Trooperbay about how to install the hardhat liner. Many troopers have had success installing them and love them. I totally failed at installing a hard hat liner and opted for padding instead. I'm happy with the padding. You just put the pads in with velcro until you find the fit that works. It took me about an hour of "lid-on-lid-off" to get the padding just right in my two helmets. Chin strap is optional. I don't like how it feels, so I removed mine. But others swear by 'em. Totally up to you as well. I painted my TD screws with the semi-gloss black because that's what was on my brush at the time. I'll let the more seasoned troopers answer the questions about kidney notch requirements and ear rank stripes.

Oh, hai! Yep, I'm still working on this. I've been consumed with finishing my TK, and now that it's done, I am making a mad dash to finish assembling this e-11 in time for SWC. Today's progress: I built a new scope rail out of thinner (slightly lighter) aluminum. I'm now liking the look of a thin scope rail now, go figure! Using the counter bracket that I had built last year, I lined up the holes and whatnot on the blaster, and made new holes into the new rail so everything fit together. I carefully drilled holes into the bottom of the scope and test fit everything together. Yay, it all fits! And l like this little mod I made into the scope. I can't seem to find where I originally saw the tutorial for this (sorry!). I carefully drilled out some of the inside of the scope to make a hole for depth. I then trimmed a small circle of an old CD to fit waaaay back in there for reflectivity. Over that, I cut another small circle of transparent red film and drew some lines on it. Stuck that in there on top of the CD piece. Then at the front of the scope, I glued a lens, finishing off the trim with a piece of 22 gauge black wire. The scope now has a really nice "depth" to it when you look in, and it reflects in a super cool way. I've hit the new rail with some black spray paint and am waiting for it to fully dry before assembling it all. I'm very excited to get to the weathering part of this build. Stay tuned!