shashachu

Jose - apologies for letting this review sit for so long. I hope the wait is worth it! Congratulations on reaching Centurion!

Hi Jose, Thanks for your application; I apologize for the delay! Fantastic job with the fixes, especially the shim seam! CRL and Centurion Application Requirements All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Centurion! On behalf of Joseph and myself, many congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly In this area we discuss areas that could benefit from additional improvement. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions The CRL actually calls for 'flat soled' boots, and it looks like your boots may have a very slight ridge to them. This is a very minor detail and nothing anyone would ever see, but you might see if you can eventually get a pair of boots that is flat soled to bring your kit to the ultimate level of screen accuracy. Reference Image: And that's it! Superb job on your build; I can tell how much pride you take in your armor. I'm very happy to join Joseph in congratulating you on reaching the rank of Centurion!

Great work, William! I'll be with you soon.

Hey William! Good to see your Centurion app already. We need a few more fixes from you before proceeding with your application. First, your shoulder bell gap is improved, but there's still a visible gap at the top. Is it possible to shorten the elastic holding it on any more? I don't have a good sense of how broad your shoulders are compared to the bells. Reference Images: Next, the horizontal dropbox alignment looks great, but they appear to be hanging a little low. It might just be the photo perspective, but if there is a gap, we're asking you to shorten the elastic so the top of the dropbox sits just at the bottom of the ABS belt. Reference Image: You're almost there!

Awesome job, @Vengeance! Really glad to see you tackling all of these changes so quickly. I'll be with you soon.

Hi Roy, I appreciate your patience. Thanks so much for the quick turnaround with the fixes! I do agree with Joseph that your bucket does look better without that top padding. Hopefully you can still see! CRL and EIB Application Requirements All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. On behalf of Joseph and myself, many congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions FIrst, it appears you're using white nylon strapping to connect your chest and back. That is totally fine, but we do know that the screen used suits used white elastic, so if you're going for that next level of accuracy, you could consider swapping it out. Reference Image: Continuing on, a couple dressing issues. First, it appears your left bicep is riding just a touch too high. Ideally we like to see symmetry and evenness in the gaps between armor, so it might be a simple dressing issue, or you might need to adjust the strapping a bit. Reference Images: Onto your belt, a lot of troopers prefer the weathered look which is absolutely fine, but we're suggesting you give your belt a bit of a haircut to trim off some of the extra threads. Reference Image: Next, the screws on the end of the TD clips should ideally be closer to the end of the clips. Obviously this would require you to replace your TD clips so it's merely a suggestion for those who want to go the extra mile. Reference Image: Moving along, the left part of your butt plate appears to have popped above your kidney. I'm not sure if it's a dressing issue or something that would require a strapping adjustment, but that's something you'll want to keep an eye out for. I have also heard folks adding small ABS tabs to their butt plates to ensure they stay tucked under the kidney. Reference Images: Next, an extremely minor detail, but it really makes everything look super clean if you make sure your cover strips are aligned. You can see your calf pieces are a bit off kilter. So next time you're out at a troop (and we all hope that we'll be able to troop again sooner rather than later), have a handler give you a once over just to be sure everything is lined up. Finally, another super minor issue with your left calf closure. That's one of those areas that's impossible to see yourself once you're suited up, so again just have a handler take a look for you and make any necessary adjustments. Centurion Requirements In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested in the future that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustments. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items to pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what is seen, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. The L3 CRL states: Ideally there is no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Your right side gap looks fantastic, but we'd like you to try to eliminate more of the gap on the left side. This could just be a dressing issue, or you may need to tighten the strapping between the left side of your ab and kidney. I personally use nylon strapping (vs elastic) on my left side to try to prevent any gap from emerging. Reference Image: Next, the L3 CRL states: The top of the ABS ammo belt should sit at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical abdomen button panels. Your belt positioning is pretty good, but should be brought up just a tad. You'll see in the reference images that many troopers actually have the plastic part of the belt slightly overlapping the bottom ab buttons. On my own kit I added two small strips of velcro to my ab armor to keep the belt from sagging. Reference Images: Continuing with the belt, the L3 CRL states: Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box. It may just be the camera angle, but it appears your drop boxes have a bit o fa tendency to wander. Most troopers add a bit of glue to the drop box elastic to help keep it in place on the belt. Reference Image: Next, the L3 CRL states: Ab button paint shall not extend beyond the bottom of the actual raised button. It's a bit hard to tell, but I believe you'll need to make some small adjustments to your ab button paint. If you take a look at the reference photos, you'll see that the ab buttons are actually a but underpainted. It shouldn't be more than a bit of time with a toothpick or cotton swap and some paint thinner or mineral spirits. Reference Images: And that's it! A few required changes for Centurion, but we have full confidence in your ability to tackle them. Congratulations again, and we'll see you at Centurion! Stay safe.

Hi Gaines! Thanks for your application and the quick fix with your frown paint. I'll be doing your review. Before we can proceed, you will need to make one other very small change. The L2 CRL states: Correct 'Hovi mic' aerator tips are present. Screens used shall be of a wide type mesh, with the rim of the mic and the inside white or painted white. Everything on yours looks great except you are missing the white paint on the rims of your hovi tips. Should really just be a couple minutes to fix. Reference Image: As a couple of other folks have mentioned you are also missing a few required pics for your EIB application: * Closeup of the left side of your sniper knee (like the closeup you've already included of the right side) * Inside of the thigh ammo pack rivet (to verify rivet type) * Closeup of TD screws (to verify color + type of screw) * Rear of blaster (to verify presence of D-ring) * Action shot Could you also include a couple closer photos of your gloves? I can't really tell what they're made of. The L2 CRL states that Gloves shall be rubber or rubber-like chemical gloves, in black. I'm particularly interested in this seam (or what appears to be a seam): I've also attached a photo checklist to be sure that you (or I) haven't forgotten anything else. EIB_Centurion Photo Checklist.pdf Thanks a lot!

Hi William! Sorry for the delay. @ABS80 (Mark) does have a point in that we're basing the L3 requirements on a small set of data, which in this case is mostly the photos that came out of the Shepperton Studios/LFL lawsuit, because those were some of the clearest images we had ever seen of a screen used ANH suit. The language in the CRL is a little ambiguous, but the idea is that the button paint should really stop short of the edges of the ABS button, as you can see in the following photos (all of the same suit): I think it is certainly a possibility that this particular suit was actually an outlier, but as it is, it represents the clearest images we have access to. That said, the CRL is always in flux, and as we learn more about the armor (which is incredible given they're 40+ years old now) you'll see requirements come and go. I did go back and look at the last several EIB approvals for AP suits and we have consistently requested the button paint change, so if we're wrong, we're at least consistently wrong. In the end L2 and L3 approvals are always optional and should never be source of stress, just a nice way to try to get a consistently high quality look across all armor types in the 501st. Hope this helps, Sha Sha

Hi William, Thanks for your patience with your application, and thank you for the quick fix with the sniper knee! CRL and EIB Application Requirements All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. On behalf of Joseph and myself, many congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions You've done a fantastic job with your build, so we have just a couple suggestions to improve your look. First, since you are rather tall, gaps in the armor are inevitable, but we like to see troopers minimize them and even them out. You do have a somewhat significant gap between your back piece and kidney piece, so you might see what you can do to adjust the strapping to minimize it. Since you're now also a pro with the hot water bath, you could also see if you're able to straighten out the tabs at the top of the back piece to get it to sit lower. I did the reverse on my own build (bent the back tabs to get the back piece to sit higher) since I'm very short. You can also see if you can simply lengthen the white elastic strapping connecting the back and chest. Reference Image: Next, another spacing issue. From the front your thigh and calf pieces look pretty even, but from the rear you have a pretty significant gap at the knees with a smaller one between the butt plate and thighs. This may just be due to your particular proportions, but if you can drop your thighs just a touch without impeding your mobility, it would make things look a bit cleaner. Reference Images: Finally, a suggestion with your ammo pack location. Ideally we like to see the thigh ammo pack centered. On applications where it is extremely off kilter we do require them to center it, but since yours are fairly close, we're leaving it as a suggestion. Reference Images: Centurion Requirements In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested in the future that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustments. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items to pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what is seen, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. Starting from the top, the L3 CRL states: There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates. The gap at the front looks great, but you have a larger gap in the rear. Things you can do to help minimize it is to shorten the strapping holding the bells on, and trimming off all of the lower return edge on your shoulder bells. It may even simply be a matter of how you're holding your arms when you're taking your photos. Reference Image: Next, the L3 CRL states: Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box. Your drop boxes will need to be moved so they align with the ends of the plastic part of the belt, and it also appears the elastic could be shortened just a touch. Reference Image: Finally, it pains me because your ab buttons are just so perfect, but you'll need to strip back some of the paint. The L3 CRL states: Ab button paint shall not extend beyond the bottom of the actual raised button. While extremely clean, the paint on your ab buttons is a bit too big. If you take a look at reference photos, you'll see that they should err on the side of being a bit too small. This should be pretty easily fixable with a bit of mineral spirits or paint thinner. Reference Image: And that's it! We have full confidence in your ability to make these few small changes, so we hope to see your Centurion application soon. Congratulations again!

Hi Roy! Thanks for your application. I'll be doing your review. As @TKSpartan pointed out, we require a few more detailed photos for your application. If you're unsure what they should look like, please take a look at previous approvals. In the meantime, I do see a few corrections that will be required before we can proceed with your application. First, I know it's tradition in the UKG to have the shoulder bell decal, but unfortunately that will need to be removed for your application. You are more than welcome to add it back after you have been approved for EIB (and hopefully Centurion!) Reference Image: Next, as Glen pointed out above, you'll need to remove a bit of the grey paint from your teeth, as they're bleeding out onto the gums area, but the CRL states: Frown is painted gray and does not leave the teeth area. I've only marked up the upper teeth because that's what I can clearly see, but you should also ensure there's no paint on the lower gums. If you look at the reference photos, you'll see that you should err on the side of underpainting the teeth. Reference Images: Finally, you'll need to add a bit of white paint to the rim of your hovi tips. Correct 'Hovi mic' aerator tips are present. Screens used shall be of a wide type mesh, with the rim of the mic and the inside white or painted white. The inside of your hovi tips does appear white, so should just be a couple minutes with a paintbrush and some white paint. Reference Images: Once you've made these corrections and supplied the additional photos, we can proceed with your application. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Hi Jon, Thanks for your application and for the quick fix with your frown paint. You have a really nice build and it's clear you really did your research. CRL and EIB Application Requirements All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. On behalf of Joseph and myself, many congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions Starting from the top, a small suggestion with your vocoder paint. Compared to screen used helmets, the shape of your vocoder is a little soft, so we're suggesting you spend a few minutes cleaning it up. Reference Images: Next, onto your forearms. While it is ideal to see a minimal amount of black showing through the armor, your forearms are overlapping your biceps and handguards a bit. It would improve the look as well as likely help your arm mobility to try to adjust the positioning. At a glance, it appears you may have some room to bring up your biceps, which should allow you to bring your forearms up a bit as well. For troopers who are very small (I'm 5' 3"/1.6m) it is completely approveable up through Centurion to actually trim off a notch on the forearms so that would be an option for you as well, but I highly doubt you'd need to. Reference Image: Next, in one of your photos, your kidney is overlapping your chest piece. A simple dressing issue, but worth pointing out. When you're out trooping, just be sure to have a handler give you a quick look to ensure nothing is out of place. Reference Image: Moving along, a lot of troopers prefer a weathered canvas belt which is totally fine, but in the 501st we tend to err a bit more on the side of an ideal look, so we're suggesting you give your canvas belt a bit of a haircut just so there aren't so many long hanging stray threads. Reference Image: As was already mentioned, if you're going for ultimate screen accuracy, the ends of your TD clips should be squared off, not rounded. A minor detail for sure but worth mentioning. If you do decide to make this change, note that the clips would need to be repositioned so the ends are still flush against the plastic panel. Reference Image Next, as was already pointed out, your drop boxes tend to get caught on your thigh pieces. I have the same issue with my right dropbox, and some of us are just unlucky enough that our dropboxes hit in exactly the wrong place. I've been considering using some sort of magnet system to keep them in the right place on my thighs, but haven't done anything about it yet. I'd consider this more of a dressing issue, but you can try adjusting strapping a bit to see if you can get them to fall in a slightly different place, or see if you can adjust your thighs to make it less likely to happen. When you're taking your Centurion photos, just make sure they're sitting in the proper place. Reference Image: Finally, a tiny nit. I see you've already backed the gap in the rear thigh ridge with ABS which is great, but you could also go the extra mile and fill it with ABS paste for a super clean look. Centurion Requirements In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested in the future that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustments. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items to pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what is seen, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. The L3 CRL states: There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates. From the front, your shoulder gap is textbook perfect, but the gap in the back is a little bigger than we'd like. We realize all troopers' bodies are different, but we'd like you to try to minimize the gap in the rear. We'd suggest ensuring the top strapping is short, trimming off all the lower return edge on the shoulder bells, and even being aware of how you're holding your body. Reference Image: . Finally, the L3 CRL states: The top of the ABS ammo belt should sit at or just above the bottom of the central and vertical abdomen button panels. Your belt is sitting just a touch too low. As you can see from the reference photos, you can even overlap the bottom button slightly. Reference Images: And that's it! I have no doubt in your ability to make these couple small adjustments, so I'm looking forward to seeing your Centurion application soon. Congratulations again!

If you're not used to using a heat gun, yes a hot water bath is a good idea. I personally used the heat gun a ton when I was doing my build, but if you're not used to it, you can do some real damage to your armor. A hot water bath is a lot more forgiving.

Hi William! I'll be doing your review. You've done a really nice job with your build. Troopers who are on either end of the height spectrum have more work to do, and you've done a nice job fitting the armor to you. I will need you to make one correction before we can proceed with your application. The L2 CRL states: Sniper knee plate must be aligned with the ridges on the shin. You've done a nice job with the left ridge, but your right ridge is a ways off: Reference Image: It will take some careful clamping and gluing and it definitely doesn't have to be perfect, but in looking at previous AP approvals, you'll see that you should be able to get the alignment much closer. Reach out if you need any assistance or clarification. Thanks!

Hi Jose, Thanks for your application and thanks for the quick ab button fix! Pretty funny nobody noticed it earlier. CRL and EIB Application Requirements All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. On behalf of Joseph and myself, many congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions Starting from the top, it looks like some of the paint on your helmet might have gotten smudged or bubbled up. Although we know the screen-used helmets took a lot of abuse, we tend to go more towards the clean fresh-off-the-Death Star look, so you can consider cleaning up the paint. Reference Image: Next, your forearms seem to be sitting a little low. Ideally there is minimal black showing anywhere, but when there is, it's nice for it to be even, so you can consider shortening the strapping between your biceps and forearms to bring them up a little higher. Reference Image: For your TD, if you want to be super screen accurate, you can consider moving the screws closer to the ends of the clips. This of course would mean you would need new TD clips, but it's worth mentioning for those troopers who want to do everything they can for screen accuracy. Reference Image: Next, while it's very close, your butt plate is sticking out a little bit. You should see if you can adjust the strapping a bit to keep it more in place. Reference Image: Another minor dressing issue. From the back you can see your left thigh is sitting noticeably lower than your right. You should try to see if you can adjust the strapping to make it more even. On my own armor the back of my right thigh would sag, so I added an extra piece of elastic to keep it high enough. Reference Images: Finally, a very small nitpick. You can see a bit of a line where your left thigh pieces come together. We're suggesting you fill that gap with ABS paste to make it seamless: Reference Image: Centurion Requirements In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested in the future that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustments. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items to pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what is seen, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. Again starting from the top, the L3 CRL states: There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates. Every trooper's body is different, but your shoulder bells look like they have room to come in. Suggestions for narrowing that gap are: shortening the strapping holding the shoulder bells on, as well as trimming all of the return edge off the bottom of the shoulder bells to bring them as close to the chest and back as possible. Reference Images: Next, you've done a pretty good job at filling the seam for your kidney piece shim, but you can still see the seam. This is totally fine for EIB but for Centurion, it needs to be seamless. Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Abdominal and Kidney Plate align horizontally at top. A single visible seam line is present. You'll just need to add a bit more ABS paste and do a little more sanding. Finally for the drop boxes, your left dropbox looks good, but your right one is a little bit far in. Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box. Reference Image: Usually people add a little bit of glue onto the elastic holding the drop boxes on to keep them in place. And that's it! Congratulations on reaching EIB and we'll see you soon at Centurion. Most importantly, stay safe, my friend! We're thinking of you and all of your brothers and sisters in the Spanish Garrison.

Great! Looking forward to it.

Hola Jose, Apologies for missing this, but your hovi tip mesh will actually need to be replaced for your EIB approval. The L2 CRL states: Screens used shall be of a wide type mesh, with the rim of the mic and the inside white or painted white. Your screens have fine/small mesh. Reference Image: I know @ukswrath in California sells accurate screens, but it may be easier to ask your Spanish Garrison friends where they found their mesh. I'm not sure if it will be very difficult to find right now during the national quarantine; certainly don't put yourself as risk just for this. Let us know if you feel like it's possible right now.

Hi Jon! Thanks for your patience - I'll be handling your review. Re the frown paint, that is actually referring to the paint going past the top or bottom of the teeth and onto the 'gum': It's a little bit hard to tell in your photo which teeth need fixing, but take a look at these reference photos, and you'll see that if anything, the screen-used helmets err on the side of underpainting: This is something that will need to be fixed before we proceed with your application, as that is actually a Basic requirement. Just a few minutes with a toothpick or cotton swab and some paint thinner or mineral spirits should do the trick. Regarding the TD clips, that is not something we would require you to change, but we do like to point it out for troopers wanting to go the extra mile. When your application is approved I'll clearly mark the areas that are suggestions for Centurion vs requirements. Thanks a lot - you're almost there!

Hola Chemi! Apologies for the delay. Like you in Spain, we here in the Bay Area in California have had our lives turned upside down due to COVID-19, so I was not on the boards for a few days. I will be taking a look at your application today. Thank you for the quick fix with your ab buttons!

I don't recall anything official, but I'd be in favor of them being a separate CRL.

Congrats Robert! You'll be at Centurion in no time!

The CRL states 'latex or latex-like' so I also don't have a problem with EVA foam, but like Joseph said it may be a little hard to keep the paint sticking to them. I know a lot of foam costumers will seal EVA foam with plastidip before painting.

Nice work, Chuck!

@Sidius sorry about the delay - I just updated the post title to reflect the proper TKID. Congrats again

Welcome Erina! I'm 5' 3" and the WTF kit fits me great, but most kits are flexible enough that they can be sized up or down as needed. I have a regular helmet and I don't *think* I look like a bobblehead, so I think you should be fine with the helmet.

Congrats Eddie!!