kman

Hey Joseph: Something to perhaps add to your list: The Green welder shields (or similar) that people are using to make replacement lenses for their helmets. Or whatever you may have that's comparable. I've been trying to nail down a link to a specific product, but I've been striking out so far.

I've read several people say that Testors makes a gray paint pen with the same paint as 1138. Might be worth looking into.

Absolutely. The rivets do not need to be functional, they just need to be visible on the outside.

Take a look at KaiserW's post, about 4 posts up.

Patches came yesterday, thx! Now I need to find time to finish up that pack so I can earn the right to wear 'em.

Try this:----------------- You can use industrial velcro, or just glue elastic directly to the plastic. Or make snap connectors. The possibilities are limitless.

It'll be interesting to compare the Trooper 1 pauldron I ordered to the one I have from Kathy.

Is the problem the original AM chest (1.0?) that's referred to in the CRL, and Am 2.0 is now good to go? Just curious... AM 2.0 was on my list of possible future suits, but not if parts are not approvable to Level 3.

*ahem* I used E6000 to glue JustJoseph's latex hard guards to my Nomex gloves. Works great! I love not having to mess with separate hard hand guards on loops anymore. (ignore the print marks on the left, I had not cleaned them off before I took this pic)

No, I would NOT feed move voltage than the markings call for. You could probably (can't swear to it) cheat by with a 9V charger since that's so close, but I wouldn't risk 12V, personally.

Wow, that's going to need a LOT of shimming. Also, note that your plastic sheeting is going to be a very different tone of white compared to the Anovos plastic. It's a fairly impossible to match cream color that no one has found a perfect match for, and Anovos won't sell any raw sheets to anyone, unfortunately. There is a guy on the Anovos Stormtrooper Kit Building Group on Facebook, BJ Browne, who has done some custom paint runs with paint that actually matches pretty well. He's wrapping up a group buy NOW, so if you contact him today you might be able to score a can or two. That'll be the only way to match the armor without having to paint the whole thing. Aside from the color matching issue, it IS possible to add all the shims you're going to need, but it will be a fairly massive undertaking. I haven't seen anyone shim Anovos armor into your size range yet. I'm 6'3", but I'm thinner... I needed some side shims around my gut (I'm 220#) but the shims needed were just small enough that I could use leftover scrap pieces from the rough cut of my armor to make the side shims. The rest is snug but tolerable, for me. I hesitate to mention, but one option you might consider, depending on what you paid, is consider selling your kit before you make any alterations beyond the rough cut, and instead buying AM 2.0 or RT-Mod armor, both of which are designed specifically for larger troopers, and which will need minimal shimming, or possibly even none. And matching plastic for shims is readily available, should you need any. Just something to consider. Otherwise, post back and I'll see if I can point you to some build threads where people have done leg and calf shims of the type you're going to need, and the same concepts can apply to the biceps, etc. My build thread (linked below) shows the two techniques I used to make my side shims.

I believe most troopers with speakers in their helmets use either small speakers (that would still be too large for a Kylo helmet) or Hovi tip speakers, which of course also aren't really well-suited for a Kylo helmet. We just have a lot more elbow room to work with in our buckets. You need room for speakers, possibly an amp (if the speakers aren't self-powered), the mic, a power source, and whatever is doing the voice processing. That's a lot to fit into something as close-fitting as a KR mask. I'm not saying it can't be done, but given the differences in working space, I'm not sure how much TK experience is going to help with your needs. Every speaker I've seen that fits into a TK helmet would be pretty hard to fit into a KR helmet. An amp might fit (like Ukswrath's amp for his Hovi speakers). And his Hovi speakers could possibly be shaved down to fit a smaller space, but be warned that they don't put out high volume, and bass is lacking, which is fine for the restricted "radio" compressed sounds we make, but KR needs a little more bass oomf, if I'm not mistaken. But maybe not? Do you have an actual KR voice processor already?

Reports have people washing it 10+ times and they still leach dye out. I gave up on mine, which was a shame because I really liked it.

You could try Ukswrath's Anovos build thread (it's sticky, I believe) and my own (linked below) discusses mine a bit as well.

Glad it's helpful, Peter! I definitely echo Joseph's advice about inside cover strips. They're fairly optional in most places (I went with them everywhere because I like the cleaner look), but IMO should be considered mandatory for the shins, since that front joint is flexed quite a bit every time you put them on and off.

Simple Under Armor compression tops and bottoms are very popular around here, although it has gotten harder to find models devoid of contrast stitching the logos. (Those can still work well, but you have to remove, dye or otherwise coverup anything visible) EastBay has some very popular choices that are less expensive then Under Armor, for those on a tighter budget. And of course Amazon has tons of options and varieties of compression gear. And finally, Renaissance Dancewear has an excellent one piece jumpsuit if that's your preference. http://renaissancedancewear.com/stormtrooper.html Personally, I wear Under Armor, although I like the Anovos undergarment mock turtleneck tops (but the dye leakage proved more than I could stand), so I just picked up one of these from DrSkin to try out. Seems well made, but I haven't trooped in it yet. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RMI80DM/

Definitely. Some day I know my shoulder bridges are gonna go (they're one of the more fragile points on every piece of armor), and I'll definitely give the metal reinforced strap method a try, come repair time.

I agree. My first choice is to clean up while it's still wet. Then, after your 24 hours is up (but not TOO far after, so it hardens too much), use your finger to rub at it and pick it off. Most should pull off cleanly. If there is stubborn stuff you can't get, I like to rub with a white rag, which eases the wear and tear on your fingertips. Barring that, a guitar pick actually makes an excellent removal tool.

The armor is what it is, but it looks pretty well put together. (although yes, cover strip assembly is preferred) The one thing that jumps out is your right thigh looks lower than the left? That may just be something to keep in mind while suiting up, else you might want to tweak your rigging to make sure they hit the same height. Nothing jumps out at me that would prevent basic approval, however.

I've heard that for people overseas, but the OP is in the US, so legit E6000 is readily available in retail stores like JoAnns, Michaels, Walmart, etc.

It's the waist that's the bigger concern, of the two, with the Anovos suit. The design gives very little in the way of options for shimming.

I've had pieces move when I freed them after only 12 hours. After losing a full day of build time due to that one incident, I don't risk it anymore. Particularly after reading enough reports of people who had issues with some particularly high-load pieces were 24 hours actually wasn't really enough. YMMV, of course... I also know that ambient temps and humidity can play a role in how fast the glue sets. The instructions on the tube itself say 24 hours, with 72 hour time to fully cured, IIRC.

AM2 and RT-Mod are the two armors best made to accommodate larger troopers.

If you need to wear the piece tomorrow morning, CA glue (CyanoAcrylate, aka Super Glue, Zap-A-Gap, etc) is pretty much your only option. If it's a piece you'll ever want to make repairs on, or you're new and don't know 100% exactly how to do everything, or there's any chance of making a mistake (maybe you're a pro but like a few beers while you work on armor? LOL), CA glue is hell to get off without serious damage. If there's time, I always recommend E6000 for plastic armor like Stormtrooper armor. Clamp it and tape it thoroughly, because it's slippery and piece WILL drift overnight, even clamped, if you let them move at all. Give it a full 24 hours before unclamping. Technically E6000 takes a full 72 hours to fully cure, but should be ok in most instances in 24 hours... but NOT less than 24! The exception would perhaps be gluing the button plate on, where there's really zero strain on the connection. That should be fine in 12-18 hours. Any actual armor seams should be given the full 24 hours. Once the part is glued, the bond is strong and flexible. And yet, if you need so, some raw strength can tear the pieces apart, even a few years later. Very handy for repairs, or if you sell your kit someone who need to make sizing adjustments. Or if you just screw up when first gluing the parts together.

Well, you know me, I definitely want to know the most accurate option, so thank you. What are the opinions on leather vs. canvas? It's probably not actually discernible given the resolution limits and video game origins of the HWT character, but is there any preference for one over the other, other than personal tastes? (also, going forward, it's likely they'd be used for a Sandy someday, so future use should be considered as well) Or perhaps that's the confusion... Sandies simply have different requirements? (I know at least some, such as the Road Block captains, put leather on the belt and canvas with tool pouch on the shoulder) And speaking of, I haven't found any info on the small pouch that's often mounted to the bottom/side of the shoulder pouches, but I believe I've seen it on some HWTs. Under what circumstances should that be there? Is that option for canvas only, or also leather? I'm looking at Blaster 2866's pouches, so any way you look at it, this is probably going to cost a fair amount. More than the whole backpack, likely!