TrooperTim

Zach, I own an AP suit. I personally used snaps for almost everything, with a few areas of velcro. I used Tony Barnett's snap strapping. http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/snaps.html Glue and/or score the plastic where you will be gluing fabric. A rough surface provides better glue adhesion. For the ab/kidney connection I used velcro on the right side to close that gap. I combined 2 strips of velcro to make one giant velcro plate. Be sure the soft velcro faces your under suit. I used snaps/elastic strips for the left ab/kidney connection. It shouldn't be difficult to attach the drop boxes even though the belt is already riveted. Just superglue the boxes using a white elastic strap. If you glue them to the ab they may hang oddly, but it probably won't be too noticeable. The 3 white boxes on the belt are white plastic squares with a round extrusion. Think, a square almond joy candy bar. Y-Strap? Buy suspenders or sew one from 2 elastic strips. Sewing isn't difficult. Give it a go. I'm not sure what "upper leg overlap edge" refers to.

The shape looks correct. There are a few holster options already out there but it's good to have options. I think it's totally acceptable to have multiple sellers of the same accessory. Some items are made in runs and when one seller is unavailable, another can fill that demand. Depends on how you price it and the quality. Create a For Sale thread and have a go.

Yeah, only thing I notice is the thighs are lower than usual but no big deal given your body build. Great job Brian. The Centurions are massing!

Creativity and ingenuity are part of every build, and re-build. Great work on this Jim. I'm sure in the future I'll get to troop with the Magma!

I'll send you a PM with a diagram. That might help too.

They are hand painted. I used a stencil to get crisp lines. Would you like a closeup?

To save some money I cut out extra plastic I had lying around and superglued foam to the back. I then superglued all this to the drop box. I replaced my sniper plate and it's now glued to the shin... so I now have an extra sniper plate with 2 rivet holes. Hmm, I also have an extra stunt ear in my toolbox.

Tim Bell TK-3121 "TrooperTim" Star Garrison Armor = AP Helmet = AP Height = 5'9" Weight = Toothpick E-11 = SR Props (Stephane Pepin/ Ramon "zZERO") ... I have a Sci-Fire Hyperfirm DLT-19 as well Boots = Totally Killer Boots Hand Plates = Karin Electronics = Aker Voice Amp ; PTT Cable; Helmet Camera Holster = Brett "Anrev" TD Clips = Jesse Canvas Belt and Neck Seal = Me Here's my "no-helmet" picture. Our squad had a recent troop at the CureSearch Walk for Children's Cancer at Texas Motor Speedway Action

My buddy is 6'3" and looks fine in his AP; achieved Expert Infantry with it. --------

Have you contacted anyone from your Garrison? They should be able to tell you if there are troopers in your area to give you advice or stop by to see your kit. Do you have your armor on order? What kit are you getting? I suggest pick a style of Stormtrooper from ANH, ESR, ROTJ, or a video game. You don't need to do this for basic 501st acceptance, but it will vastly improve the aesthetic look of your gear. If you're the type of person who wants to be really screen-accurate with your kit, then follow the Expert Infantry and Centurion CRLs as you build your armor. Take a look at some of the submission threads for EIB and Centurion. Do your gloves have a leather palm? Just curious. It's not required, but is screen-accurate to get neoprene chemical gloves, although they're not the most comfortable to wear. TK boots are fantastic. You can order your boots while you wait on the plastic too. You could go the other route and buy black Jodhpur boots, then use white NuLife leather paint. I used an underarmor summer balaclava for a troop during the summer months and it didn't help at all so I quit using it. It was great to use for winter though. It is useful to wear if you don't push mesh in your helmet frown so it can hide your skin. Look over the Tips and How To forums Here are a supplies you will need: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=11760

Get suspenders from the store, some snaps, and elastic. I used this tutorial for my straps: http://www.tonybarnett.plus.com/snaps.html It's an outstanding setup. The only one I know of who sells a strap kit is Kevin at imperialsurplus.com. His strap kit is designed for clones but it'll work for TKs the same way. Here's what it looks like: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=3397

My back plate is slightly off center as well from my shoulders, but you can alleviate this by adjusting your suspenders... that is, if you have suspenders connected to the ab/kidney like I do. Your chest is correctly placed, but that's all relative to how the ab fits on your body. Get the ab and kidney correctly positioned, where the cod should comfortably sit, and the chest and back will fall into place. The kidney looks correct side up on the last photo. The butt/kidney gap is not covered by the belt. You should see the split. The belt rests on the kidney plate.

I had been wondering about this as well. Also, a forum badge instead of just saying "Centurion"? I'm sure all this has been talked about by the forum staff.

My sniper plate is slightly tiled and has a gap there too. I vote glue it; don't use rivets.

Armor looks really nice. Once you get EIB, definitely go Centurion. I'll be applying for that soon too. AP needs to represent!

I've personally never been a fan of the "glam" armor, but this design rocks. It would be awesome to see someone create this.

Good improvements

You probably will get approved as it is, but your GML will let you know. Were you going for a specific style or just generic Stormtrooper? The holster is an ESB style and should be on the right. However, if you're going ESB you'll need to paint the frown black too. The left shoulder bell looks like it can be trimmed further because I see the mold line. You could cut more off the chest and back but you'll need to re-form a return edge on them and that can be quite a bit more work. It's not really necessary but will increase the visual appearance. The helmet does look better than an FX. The thighs look ok to me.

It's closer. I sanded this thing for 3 hours with 120 - 1,000 - 2,000 then applied novus scratch remover and spray on turtle wax. Those tiny sandpaper scratches are tough to get out. I think a higher grit sandpaper and wet sanding will most likely fix that issue. More sanding is in order and maybe also a buffer. You also need to decide on Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy or Rustoleum high performance enamel paint. I don't know for sure, but I assume either one would match T/MC armor fairly well.

Your strap setup is almost exactly like mine, except I didn't need the elastic on the forearm to bicep. I have a velcro tab on the butt edge to keep it from flaring out. That flare happens naturally and I think it's just a personal preference to keep it aligned. It doesn't take away from the look. I don't notice anything to improve. You look bad@$$.

Yep. The icomm is good for the static burst. There's an input on the aker amp where you can hook an mp3 player into and play a chatter loop. I've seen and heard this setup in action during troops, which I troop with TK6294 often, and it works well. You can look at his ongoing sales threads for detailed info.

I used duct and blue painter's tape for my test fits. It will leave a residue but Novus polish will take that off. Great progress on the armor. Don't let Vern have all the fun. You must bleed for your armor as I have. Muahahaha! I'm kidding, be safe while building.