lucnak

In a lot of armour, the top of the kidney will slope upwards where it meets the ab plate. Another thing to look at is seeing how the raised middle section meets up with the raised part of the butt plate. Hopefully that helps you sort if out.

Red line (butt), red line (cod), blue line (back plate). Check the gallery (top of the page) for reference photos! Also Centurion applications are always useful in figuring that out.

Are your mic tips white inside? Ideally they should be. You could reshape some of the vocoder edges. Seeing how well you cleaned up the frown, this seems like it would be easy for you!

Depends on the kit, as Glen mentioned. If there are ridges only on one side, the advice to remove from the back may be valid. But also as Glen warned, don't size these down too much. The size needs to look right along with the rest of the costume (particularly the biceps and shoulder bells)

Congrats!

A little late, but congrats on your EIB!

Congrats on your EIB!

Hey Nicole, congrats on achieving your EIB and sorry for the lateness in my wishing you congrats!

Here are two threads that I found very useful when it comes to FOTKs, both pinned in the TFA FOTK build thread subforum. There are good bits and pieces all over the subforum, but I'd say these two are very complete and detailed builds that should help. Of course, these are from different vendors, so you will have to adapt to your build. @TheSwede has also been documenting his build really well and though it's not complete, you may find it helpful to read his build thread too.

A few things regarding feedback you've received/your post on fixing things: You shouldn't switch the shins as they are oriented L and R. You will need to remove the back cover strip with the closure and change which side it is attached to. You can bend the shoulder straps using a hot water bath (boil water, remove from heat, dip part to bend in for 25-30 seconds, bend, cold water). Drop boxes at ends of belt - this is a suggestion for you to look your best. Won't hold you back from basic, but is quite easy to secure in place. Gap between ab and kidney will not hold you back from basic - I believe Glen was suggesting it as a way to improve your overall look. Yes the helmet does look a bit small, so a switch to an adult-sized helmet from WTF will do the trick! Elastic in shoulder bells - this should sit at the bottom of the shoulder bell and in most troopers, the elastic becomes partially visible where it overlaps the biceps. You mention your straps run under your armpits. Sounds like you may need to reposition these lower (see ref pic from Glen)

Agreed with everyone else, easy pass for basic! Next!

Yeap, agreed with everyone else, easy pass for basic in my opinion!

Link appears to be broken?

You can definitely have it overlapping the panel itself, but this placement or just slightly higher is good! Keep in mind that the ABS belt will sit higher than your canvas belt when placing your snaps.

That gap in your forearm won't be noticed unless your cover strip is too short. Be sure to remove all the return edge from the wrist end for a little extra accuracy You can remove all return edge from the biceps if you wish! Many do it to make them more comfortable.

Congrats on your approval!

Yes, but if you need to bring the chest up more after your next fitting, I would say deepening the edge of the neck should be your first option.

Echoing Dan's comment - the kidney and ab should be lined up. That will bring your butt plate down significantly and reduce the overlap of back plate over kidney. Before you go trimmming the bottom of the chest plate, I would trim the neck opening to come further down. Will still look about the same overall shape. If then you still need more room, then you could consider cutting the bottom of the chest.

Congrats!

Regarding the alignment, it's fine. It will be covered by your shoulder bells anyway.

Agreed with the above feedback. I would also suggest you secure your dropboxes so that they are aligned with the ends of your ABS belt for when you apply for EIB/Centurion.

Is your canvas belt narrower than your ABS belt? Only other thing I can see if you will probably want to lower your forearms to even out the black space at the elbow and in the gap between forearm and handplate. Otherwise, looking real good!

I don't think you will need to shorten the length of your forearms any more than that. Mine fit about the same. When my elbow is bent, my forearms definitely move up in the way of my wrist. When it comes to the width, if your armour has no ridge on which the cover strip go, then you can remove some material there. You will most likely then need to reshape your forearms to help them close all the way. Keep in mind that you don't need to make these fit perfectly and you can use some foam to make them less wobbly. You will want to ensure all your parts are resized proportionately in relation to each other, so adjust sizing slowly.

I found TK-1636's YouTube videos and TrooperBay's videos to be helpful in getting the confidence to assemble everything!

Congrats and welcome to the Legion! Don't forget to request 501st Stormtrooper access here once your profile goes live: