Cricket

Thanks, Aaron! I'm following your build. So much work, but you're doing a great job! You're giving me some serious motivation.

Thanks, Jack! I need all the luck I can get at this point.

Hey Preston, thanks! Please be sure to let me know when your BBB arrives. I'm excited to follow your build, too!

Thanks, Aaron! It's very encouraging to know that I've got support here!

Thank you!

Hey, look, new post! Hi everyone! I forgot to mention another thing that I have done since the whole bucket-build has commenced. Magnet sachets! Thanks to Khazid's fantastic tutorial for saving my fingers from certain death due to these things. I didn't glue them in like he does, but rather just wrapped them up all quick and dirty like with a zip tie. Easy, easy, easy. I've got 20 sets of these, so I think I have enough for once my armor eventually arrives. Here's the tutorial if you want to learn more about how to make 'em: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31701-how-to-assemble-magnet-sachets/?hl=magnets That's my husband being a goofball with the bucket. Looks like he's been shot in the head with some fabric. Okay, so now back to the build! I tried the heat sealer method to pop out the teeth divots, but found that it wasn't working as well as I had hoped. I'm sure it was just because I didn't have patience for it. So begins my adventure into ABS Pasteland! When I first heard of ABS paste, I thought, "Okay, cool, trip to HD, and I'll pick some up." Uh, nope. Further travels within the depths of the FISD, and I found out that it's just acetone and scrap white stuff. Ohhh, paste-yyyyy..... From what I remember about repairing drywall holes and icing buttercream on cakes (never thought I would talk about those two things in the same sentence), a smooth, seamless look is best achieved if you apply a layer of product, followed by smoothing, followed by more product, then smoothing out, etc. I didn't think this would be any different. I dabbed the paste into the teeth holes with a toothpick and waited a day for it to dry. Here's the helmet with the first layer of ABS paste inserted into the teeth divots. I was nervous to sand the next day, I don't know why. What if I totally gouged up the faceplate? And I realized that I was suddenly afraid of moving forward. I took a deep breath. "F" fear. If I gouged it, then I would figure out a way to fix it. Let's do this. So with a teeny tiny piece of 400 grit sandpaper, I got to work. Everything was coming along nicely as I sanded until I realized that there were bubbles in the paste. Dozens of tiny, tiny bubbles in my teeth holes. (I had a fleeting vision of Don Ho singing "Tiny bubbles... in your teeth...") Gah!!! I had made the paste too thin, and it allowed for the bubbles to form and set as it cured. Dammit! My holes had holes. Sorry, but I was too embarrassed to take pics of the devastation. Onward. Okay, no worries, I told myself. I never expected perfection on the first layer anyhow. More ABS paste was made- this time I made sure it was dough-like in its consistency. I kneaded it to make sure that the stupid air bubbles were nowhere to be found, and then I smashed it onto my bucket's teeth. I was a little aggressive with it because I wanted to be sure that all the paste filled in my tiny bubbles. And I was a little pissed off, too. There! Take THAT! Next day, I armed myself with sandpaper ranging from 400- 2000 grit, and sanded again. After about an hour of careful sanding, here's what I got... Left side. Messy, yes. Not finished.... Right side. Please be kind. Not done yet. If you look closely at the top, you can see some of the bubbles from the first layer. Then a few more hours of patient sanding, and here's what I'm with now. Left side. Not polished, so please ignore the scratches! And right side... And from the front: I'm going to do a third layer today. If you look at the bucket from a normal distance, or even a little close up, you can't see any of the imperfections. Some would say it's overkill to keep mucking around with this to get it perfect. I seriously doubt that anyone would notice it but me (and most of y'all, I'm sure!). But I am totally obsessed with getting this smooth as buttah. It's very scary for me to put this out there, flaws and all. But if any of you have some tips/constructive criticism, I can take it!

Hey Everyone! So I'm finally taking a deep breath and jumping into this: posting a type of blog of me stumbling along trying to build my very first TK. I'm just 5'4", so I have my sights set on building a Luke suit, because I am, after all, a little short for a stormtrooper. There. Now... that's out there, it won't stop me, dammit. And I'm building for EIB, followed by Centurion. Yep, that's me. Go big, or go home. So, let's do this. I am on a wait list for my armor, so I ordered a bucket from the awesome Terrell at ATA to keep me busy during the wait. I asked for Hero ears, and he delivered, with an extra pair to save me if I totally screw up. Which I might. Nah, I probably will. Anyhow, the helmet kit is beautiful and comes with all the bells and whistles for assembly. Wish it came with bubble lenses, but I can always find those later, right? So while I was waiting for the white stuff, I got to work ordering all the necessary under items and other assembly doo-dads. I splurged on a Hyperfirm e-11 elite and am currently awaiting arrival of my grappling hook and Comlink setup (yay, Dennis!) I ordered a complete iComm kit and Ukswrath's hearing assist system (thanks, Tony!). I've ordered three different neck seals because I wanted to be flexible on that kind of thing. My super-supportive hubby even surprised me with one of those massive black Stanley Port-a-Trooper storage bins on wheels. Then the day arrived when my not-so-big brown box arrived. I flailed and screamed like a 12-year-old fangirl. My dog thought we had an intruder, and went beserk, barking and lunging at the windows while I jumped up and down at the sight of my box at the doorstep. I waited to open it so I could share the awesomeness of the moment with my husband. The glow radiated from the box and angels sung as I sliced the box lid open.... well, not really, but you understand what was going on in my mind. Here's everything laid out... white shiny goodness! Then I went from excitement to... fear. Suddenly I had the realization that I was terrified of screwing things up. Despite the hours upon hours of reading the forums here (which convinced me that this would be a piece o' cake), my confidence was shaken. I put everything back in the box. And there it sat. Until I decided (with some encouragement from Ukswrath) to get out there and meet other troopers. And whaddya know.... it worked! Despite being a lowly Nerd Herder for a day, I had a blast. Georgia's 501st rock! When I got home, I decided to begin work on my soon-to-be Hero bucket. I whipped out my tin snips and trimmed the ears a bit (not too close to the edges, though! That will come with sanding...). It was easier than I expected. I then trimmed outside edges of the helmet, and conservatively rough-cut out the eyes. I was feeling quite heroic at this point. So I had the three-bump-ears for Hero, but I soon realized that had to deal with modding the teeth. Ugh. The thought was enough for me to reconsider Hero altogether. But I don't give up easily- which can be a good (and bad) thing! If you're still reading, you'll see what I managed to do in the next post. Cheers!

This is also good to know! Doopy is my first choice, just looking for a backup source in case the drought continues through the end of the summer.

Thanks, Aaron! This is good to know.

So I've been rooting around the internet while stalking Doopydoos for a Hasbro e11 conversion kit, and I stumbled on this site selling Hasbro Conversion Kits. I'm a little dubious about buying from this site, so I figured I would see if anyone knows who is selling this or can report on quality. http://www.tk-4416.webplusshop.com/product.wml/productid/361564/Petes-Place/STAR-WARS-STORMTROOPER-Hasbro-E-11-Blaster-Conversion-kit.htm Thanks!

Has anyone had luck ordering an E-11 skin kit recently? Wondering if I should be stalking the site. Thanks!

I picked up a neck seal from Trooperbay as well as a neck seal from an ongoing sale here. Sharing some pics so you can see some additional detail. Ongoing sale neck seal top, Trooperbay neck seal bottom. Trooperbay neck seal left. Ongoing sale neck seal right. Trooperbay neck seal left. Ongoing sale neck seal right. Trooperbay neckseal left. Ongoing sale neck seal right.

I ordered my boots from TKBoots on the evening of Jan 13th. I received them on Jan 19th. The boots are well-made and of very nice quality. Customer service is fantastic. Would definitely buy from again!

Thanks for your input, Jason! I'll be more patient, then. I wouldn't want a refund, just hoping that I can get a replacement of the irregular one. But if that kind of thing isn't super important for Centurion, then I won't stress about it.

Hey Guys, Since I'm waiting for my armor, I've been busy purchasing all the little detail stuff that goes along with the armor. My goal on my very first TK build is Centurion, so I'm paying a lot of attention to every detail in my prep. I received a pair of unpainted flexible hand guards from Trooperbay yesterday. The one on the left is uniform in thickness at 5mm, and it's fine. The one on the right is 3mm thick on one side, and gradually increases to 5mm thick on the other side. I've emailed and called Trooperbay about this, and I haven't heard anything back from them yet. I'd like to know from those who have completed Centurion: Are the differences in thickness of the flexible handguards something that is acceptable to pass Centurion? I've attached photos so you can see what I'm talking about. Or does this kind of thing even matter? Thanks for any input!

Bookmarked! I'm sure that I'll be referring to this frequently soon. I'm 5'4", and I've been wondering how to approach modifying the armor. Thank you!!!