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That's a really good summary of what I have going on right now. Until you have all the pieces of a puzzle in front of you and can begin pushing them around for yourself to fit a proper solution it's pretty difficult to fully grasp what others have going on. Great explanation though, thanks!

Got any details regarding the heat gun you want to share with a noob? Using one of those things makes me nervous about damaging my armour. <br><br> Already looking pretty good btw!

I'm not 100% sure on the function of this tab system... Is its purpose to keep the ab plate lined up with the kidney plate?

Ya know... Taken out of context...

What do you mean exactly by "coated your thigh fix"? Is that paint, or a skim coat of abs paste? Looks really good!<br><br> Disregard, I just saw the thread you linked to. Pretty impressive stuff. Good work.

Thanks for the info Luc. You're right, I guess I meant Pop Expo. Do you know if 501st members still get the joy of paying full price for admission to things like this and Comic Con etc.?

Thanks Luc and Mark. Good to know about the neck too. Seems kind of like an annoying place to have a return edge rubbing on somebody. <br><br> I know the wrist and bottom of the shins don't have returns either. Is there anywhere else? Perhaps the neck of the back plate doesn't?<br><br> If I get this done in time we might get to meet at Fan Expo in Ottawa if you're going to be there Luc. I should be the one dressed like a Stormtrooper...

Can somebody let me know if I took too much of the return off this chest piece, please? Particularly the part near the neck...

The coloured lines on some of the armor in the picture... What's the deal there? Is that a different type of trooper?

Ahhh yeah! That's gotta feel good. Nice work!

That's awesome! The Man In Black is a great choice of name. <br><br> Good on your for helping out the little diabetic critter.

Growing up in an age where everything is mass produced and these little individual quirks and differences don't exist, this is a nice change. It takes some of the pressure off having everything "perfect" and gives us a bit more breathing room. I will be content with the little "imperfections" in my armor once it's complete.

Hey, Paul, the black one is Alice, and the other is Fred. There are four feline rebels on this base, and all of them have Earth human names: Fred, Alice, Genie (who is another black one) and Georgia. Feel free to post pics of your rebels everyone.

That's awesome, Mark! I'm very grateful for your input, being that it's your kit and all. It's a habit to try to achieve symmetry, but it seems that it's not the correct way in this case. <br><br> So, does this mean I'm on the right track?

Thanks Johnny! Came up with a trick while doing the ears. I had a foam pool noodle sitting beside the workbench for some reason, and thought it would be helpful if I stuffed that in the tube and clamped onto the ear and the piece of pool noodle to tighten everything up. Seems to work rather well. It seems to do well enough, so I'm going to leave it like that for a day or two and hopefully this causes the ABS to stay like that. Is this just wishful thinking? I seem to recall somebody doing something similar on here. Here's a front view of the results on the right ear: Now, perhaps somebody could give me some input here. I've got a bit of gap between the top of the left ear and brow trim. Not sure why this might be. Kind of like one of my ears is lower than the other. Should I just lower the brow trim a smidgen to even it out, or re-drill the ears? I'm using the pre-marked drill holes that came with the AP armor. Picture below shows what I'm talking about. What would be the best way to sort this out? I'm reluctant to redrill new holes for the ears though. Yeah, I know those aren't the right screws, they're just easier to work with temporarily than the slotted screw heads that come with the kit. Also, am I missing something with respect to attaching files? Is there a 512kb daily limit or something? Using a file hosting service isn't too much of a pain, but I'm just wondering how everybody else does this. Thanks!

Seriously... What's with all the acronyms with this community? I even had to dig up a thread to decipher half of what ya'll are talking about. Admittedly I'm not the biggest Start Wars fan compared to most, and really don't go in for the most obscure trivia that many here would think is just basic knowledge. But I do remember watching my first Star Wars movie as a kid, and being absolutely fascinated by the shiny white armor. The echoing sound of their boots hitting the ground in unison. The "pew-pew-pew" of their blasters that always missed their targets. The crackly voices from the radios in their helmets... Yeah, these were the coolest looking bad guys little-me had ever seen! Ahhhh... Good times... Fast forward a few decades and I hear of this group that puts on black tights, crams themselves into tubes of plastic, and marches around raising money for charity! Now if only I were an adult, I could buy my own gear and join them and do my little bit to make this world, or some tiny corner of it, a better place. Eureka! I AM an adult! I've been pretending to be an adult for quite some time now. Surprisingly people no longer even question the idea that I'm an adult any longer. I've infiltrated their ranks and seem to fit right in. They suspect nothing! Those fools! And if I want to spend my money on a bunch of plastic to parade around playing make-believe, I'm gonna bloody well do it! Anyway, my box came from Mark the other day (thanks Mark!). Obligatory picture of box with a pair of rebels moving in to inspect the cargo: Followed by the obligatory picture of everything laid out while I take inventory and attempt to assess the giant confusing mess I'm about to create. I decided to trim a few pieces and do a quick fit. What do you think? Does this armor make me look fat? Seriously though, I've rough trimmed the torso pieces and against my better judgment, have begun work on the bucket (See! I said bucket and not helmet! I'm getting the lingo down already). Here's a pic of the right ear that is being trimmed down. I've got to agree with what I've read from many others here, and that these little pieces sure are fiddly. I need to keep in mind that when I get a bit frustrated, I need to walk away. I think I have a good idea of where to trim to get these things to sit properly, but have to admit I'm a bit nervous of taking away too much. I've come up with a system where I find what is touching and preventing the ear from sitting properly. Penciling the part that needs to come off (for example beside the bottom green arrow in the picture above), and then sanding that portion away, a little bit at a time. It seems to be working well enough, but it is definitely tedious. Any pointers are certainly welcome here. I want to do a good job and not a quick job. Oh well, I just thought I'd say hello, introduce myself and get this ball rolling so I have a place to post for assistance, and maybe others can learn from my efforts. I look forward to joining your ranks.

Congrats Jim!<br><br> Now get back to work!

That last pic says a lot. You look very happy. That was a lot of work that resulted in a great resource for future builders. Good job Jim. You'll do well.

I was actually going to mention exactly that in my post earlier, but I'm not experienced enough yet to really know what is and isn't pin worthy.

I just read this from beginning to end and wondered why there were so few people commenting compared to other build threads. That's when I realized you were doing everything so well that there wasn't really a need for there to comment. Lots of great info in here. Great work Jim.

I'm not sure how well recommended this is for a resource, but I've been watching TK1636's YouTube videos to get an idea of how all the pieces fit together. <br> Gives me something to while I wait for my own AP kit. <br><br> Good luck with your build, and be sure to post lots.