kman

I agree that they MIGHT pass (with significant mods) someday, but as of today, there are exactly zero Rogue One TK's that have been approved. And zero Rogue One TK armor has been made. And since there is no complete armor, there is no CRL that has been submitted for approval to even get the ball rolling. So if someone is trooping them, then they are wearing an inaccurate, unapproved R1 helmet with the wrong (presumably OT/ANH) armor instead of R1 armor. I'm sure that situation will change eventually, but that's how it stands today. The Rogue One armor is going to be a BEAST given all the extra detail. Simple vacumolded stuff like was used for OT (and even TFA) armor probably won't cut it, so it's going to be EXPENSIVE as well.

HyperFirm is the go-to for many (including myself). Most of the same features as the THG ("indestructible" and lightweight, perfect for trooping), just not quite as detailed. And of course no folding stock. PM SlaveFive here on FISD or look for one of his threads selling B-grades, and check out their website at www.hfxproductions.com to email Lewis.

The black series helmet is for Rogue One, which is a different movie with a different CRL (which has yet to be written, since no one currently makes the armor that would go with the helmet). You posted this in ESB... did you mean to post it as Rogue One, or were you trying to use it for ESB? There are people who have bondo'd over the battery compartment and re-painted the helmet, with mixed results. No one should be trooping in these helmets at this point, since those are definitely not approved.

I'm not sure, but be prepared for SERIOUS sticker shock. That case likely costs MORE than your armor. I like the Husky 55 gal job boxes, personally. Holds everything and then some. Easy to cart around, even over less-than-perfect terrain. Heavy, and you need a car that'll fit them, but well worth it if you can! (and yes, I did emulate VancouverTrooper's paint scheme, with permission!)

The reference build is Ukswrath's. Here's the bit on the side rivets: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/35086-ukswraths-anovos-tk-build/page-20#entry466149 There's a "table of contents" with links to each section on the 1st page, for other rivet questions.

Following. I picked one up, too. Although it will be a few years before my son fits into it, so I have time...

It's your call to determine your own level of paranoia. Some people won't go near the stuff without a full face respirator with special organic fume filters. Others will only work outdoors. Others work by a window with a fan on. Personally, I work in a large room in an open floorplan house. I'm generally only doing one or two pieces at a time, in the evening, and then I left them cure for 24 hours while I'm in another area of the house, and overnight while I sleep. You can't smell anything by morning. I'm good with that.

50 cents worth of black lamp chain at Lowe's will buy you enough links to make ~12 d-rings. Just squish them a little more flat in a vise (or other creative solution) and cut a little bit off to get them onto the back connector block.

Very nice! I don't suppose you'd consider selling the plates as a kit?

True that. Sorry, I didn't realize the OP was not UKG, since the issue seemed to have come up.

Standard rule in the UK Garrison. As I understand it they have special dispensation, having to do with conditions they set upon being invited to merge with the 501st, since they were a separate club before. They're allowed to keep their stricter rules in place.

I wonder if a vibrating plate would accomplish the goal in a similar way? A case tumbler (used to clean ammo casings for reloaders) is only $40. Strap the molds on top and it might shake the bubbles right out. Pure speculation, mind you. Maybe it'll do the opposite... I don't know a lot about the molding process. But it seems kinda logical.

Nice job, Joseph! Tagging this for reference. My pauldron finally came in from Trooper1 so I'm going to need to get serious about building that pack soon.

I'll admit I plan to add a way to mount an E11 on the side of my pack, as well. Definitely making it invisible, however, for when I don't plan to go that route.

I love that handle on the bottom! Definitely going to add that one. I wish I hadn't put a Cog sticker there now. Great setup for the pack, too. I'm going to have to look into something removable, so it doesn't cover up my pretty box when I'm not bringing the pack. (which of course is currently never, since I haven't finished mine yet)

For what it's worth, I know of at least two people who have received their E11 kits from Ron in the past few months. And I, personally, received one of his rubber M19 scopes just today. Nice little scope, which I'll be using on a blaster I have. I believe I saw a post on the THG Props FB page a couple of weeks ago stating that he had had some sort of health issue and had not been able to do any new moldings for a few months, and another one recently that he was up and running and making kits as fast as he could to fill backed up orders. Beyond this specific information that I personally have been involved in (or personally read), I can't really make any comments about his full kits, or his handling of any particular cases. But I don't believe any blanket blacklisting is warranted at this point, without additional information.

Straightening the back straps if SOP for taller troopers on almost any armor. But AM 2.0 and RT-Mod are definitely the two I would keep in mind, as a larger trooper. FWIW, I'm 6'3" and #220, and I troop in Anovos. But certain things would have been easier with armor built specifically with larger sizes in mind.

Seems likely. Those two are built to accommodate bigger troopers.

Add me to that list?

Agreed. Due diligence, and all that. Especially with a group that has a ton of new builders. Still worth checking out, but verify, verify, verify.

No, the Anovos armor is no Halloween costume. It's legit. We have quite a few Centurion-approved troopers in Anovos armor, just take a look at see how great it can look! Do yourself a favor and also join the Anovos Stormtrooper Kit Building Group on FaceBook. Very active group, LOTS of help there. Be sure to read the sticky post, which details the various issues that need to be addressed when building. And of course, start a WIP thread here, too, once you have your armor. Any good all black compression gear will work, for the undersuit. Some you may need to remove logos, if they're in a visible location. UnderArmor (HeatGear or ColdGear, depending on your local climate) is very popular, if expensive. Personally, I'm currently trooping in UnderArmor bottoms and a DrSkin top (from Amazon), because I really like the Mock Turtleneck top and UA doesn't offer a good one right now. I'd recommend Darman's neck seals, based on lots of positive feedback. That's what I'll be buying, once my Anovos neck seal gets too worn. There is a sales thread in the forums, here. Most popular trooping gloves are black Nomex flight gloves, which you can get for $10-15 on eBay. You'll need black rubber chemical gloves if you want to go Centurion (and you should!), but they're pretty terrible to troop in so many just use them for Centurion submission photos and Canon troops. Plus they're only like $5 so not a big waste of money even if you only wear them once. Blaster depends on you. Some people just use the $12 plastic Rubies E11 from Walmart and paint it black. It'll do for basic, even if it's not super accurate. A more accurate and very popular option is the HFx HyperFirm E11 (which is what I use, personally), which is hard rubber foam so nearly indestructible. Others want the even more detailed (but frightening fragile, should you let one drop onto a hard surface) resin blaster kits, from DoopyDoos and other sources. The Doopy kits are very cheap, and very accurate, and can be made to look fantastic. I just don't care for them, personally, because I'd be worried about them constantly and there's enough to deal with on a troop as it is. (Great for display, less so for trooping... IMO. There are certainly people who troop with them, but more power to them!) These are just a few options for each thing, however. There are plenty of other options out there that you may end up preferring, and that's all good. Enjoy the hunt for what YOU like best!

1) The kit price without the soft goods is definitely a good deal. Bear in mind issues with extremely slow ship times for some Anovos products (sometimes they surprise you, other times their shipping estimates have literally been pushed for 1+ years), and zero options for spare parts from the company. 2) No kit is "Legion approved." The Anovos kit, if it is built to legion specs and fitted to you properly, can be legion approved. There are MANY approved Anovos troopers, all the way up to Centurion. If it is not built to legion specs and not fitted to your body correctly, you won't be approved, even though the fundamental armor is capable of being approved. I would recommend skipping the soft parts from Anovos. The undersuit bleeds dye and stains the inside of your armor. The neck seal is ok, IF you fits it (it's "one size fits many" but if it doesn't fit YOU, it's no good), and the accurate gloves (simple black chemical gloves) can be found for $5 easily. You can buy the same or better quality for much less than the $200 Anovos is asking. The Anovos belt all their kits come with is not very good and you will likely want to replace it. It can be approved, but not all the way to Centurion. And it's simply not a good belt, so you'll likely want to upgrade it anyway. (much better belts can be found for ~$30-40) The helmet is "approvable" out of the box, but there are some accuracy upgrades you'll want to do for higher level approvals. Pretty simple stuff, however, and you would have to do much more with other kits, where the helmet doesn't come preassembled, anyway.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions. And please be sure to note that I built two sets of shims... I wasn't happy with my first attempt (although more detail on material selection is in those posts). Both methods are detailed in the thread. And navigation links to each are in the first post.

I'm curious about this eye shadow thing. I would think it would wipe off shiny armor pretty easily... but that's an issue, if it comes off too easily. I'd hate to get hugged by someone wearing all white (Leah?) at a troop and have half of my weathering go with her... and one steaming mad hugger!

Rough gig.