shashachu

Hi Zylo! Sorry for the delay. Unfortunately after discussion with the DO team, we agree that your blaster will not be able to pass EIB approval. In general we don't get too picky about blasters because there's a decent amount of variation between makers, but in your case it's missing several major details that normally appear on an ANH blaster. I know you said it's a Hyperfirm, but it doesn't look like my Hyperfirm that I bought a couple of years ago. 1. Rear sight too tall 2. End cap clip is the wrong shape 3. No inner bolt opening/appearance of spring. 4. Handle inset wrong. Should have letters, not grooves, and center should be a screw head. 5. Trigger is wrong style. 6. No charging handle. 7. Ejection port is wrong shape and too small. 8. No ejection port guard. 9. Lower T-track too long. 10. This rivet does not belong here 11. No flash guard. 12. Front sight wrong shape. 1. Missing bayonet lug. 2. Rear of folding stock is wrong shape. (Strange, because the other side is correct). 3. Wrong type of fastener. Here are some reference images: And photos of my own Hyperfirm B-grade: (Note that my own blaster is a bit incorrectly weathered, but it does have all the proper details.) I'd suggest you checking out the E11 forums for sources of other blasters, or looking through past EIB applications. Don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.

Sorry, yes you're in the queue, Zylo. I apologize for not acknowledging the updated photos. We will be with you as soon as possible.

Thanks, Shaun! We'll be with you soon.

Hi Eric, Thanks again for your patience, and for submitting the additional photos. Beautiful photos and very nice build! 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 myself and the rest of the DO team, congratulations! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly In this section we review observations made by your fellow troopers and ourselves. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Starting at the helmet, although there was a lot of variation on-screen, the Stunt helmets tended to have their brows a bit higher than yours, so we're suggesting you scoot it up a bit. Reference Image: (Ignore that guy on the right ) Continuing with the helmet, the mic tips should have a bit of white on the edges. And while you're at it, you could slightly update the shape of the vocoder, although what's there now is nice and sharp as it should be. Reference Image: Finally, with the Stunt helmets, the ears tend to line up with the edge of the traps on the screen-used helmets. Yours are actually very close, especially the left, but if you're aiming for ultimate accuracy and you can do it without damaging your helmet, you could try tackling repositioning the ears. Reference Images: Moving along, as was mentioned by your fellow troopers, ideally we want to have minimal black showing on the armor, but for taller troopers such as yourself, gaps are inevitable, so it at least cleans up the look of the armor to even those gaps out. So we're suggesting you raise your forearms a bit, which should hopefully be a simple matter of shortening the strapping between your biceps and forearms. This should also prevent the forearms from running into your hand plates. Reference Image: Continuing on down, ideally the corners of the ab button plates should be squared, not rounded. Also the smaller button plate should be a bit smaller, although it's not clear to me whether you'd be able to trim it down much without running into the buttons. Finally, the paint on the larger plate is perfect, but the smaller button paint is just a shade large; ideally the paint should be just smaller than the plastic buttons. Reference Image: Around the back, as was already pointed out, ideally the corners of the TD panel are squared off, not rounded. However if you do decide to make that correction, be careful to keep the clips flush with the edge of the panel. Reference Image: Tackling the lower armor, your thighs are a bit high; this is especially evident in the back where the gap between your thighs and calves is much larger than the gap (or lack thereof) between your thighs and posterior armor. You did mention that dropping your thighs caused the sniper knee to get caught under the thigh armor; I know that others have handled this by putting some foam on the front of the shin and/or the back of the thighs to prevent that. Finally, it appears that you might be able to heat bend up the bottom of the posterior armor some to keep it from overlapping the thigh armor. Reference Image: Great job with the left and right ridge alignment on the sniper knee. Unfortunately, this has left your sniper knee a bit crooked. It looks like you may have a bit of room to bring up the left edge to straighten it out a bit. Since this is just the way your armor is made we won't require a correction, but you might see what you can do to split the difference to even everything out a bit. The sniper knee positioning is the perpetual thorn in the side of any TK armor builder. Reference Image: Finally, this is definitely a dressing issue, but when suiting up be sure to have a handler take a quick look at your calf armor closure. The right one is perfect. Reference Image: Finally, with your blaster, there are a few suggestions. The grip, t-tracks, and rear or the Hengstler counter were all plastic, so they would not have metallic weathering showing. Additionally, the scope was originally brass, so any weathering showing through should be brass colored. It's a matter of personal style, but I'd also say that overall your blaster has a bit more battle damage than typically showed on-screen, so we'd suggesting you tone down the overall weathering. Reference Images: Next, it appears your charging handle is a bit shorter than we're used to seeing, or it could be the angle of the photo. If you do decide to apply to Centurion (and we hope you do!) we'd ask for a clearer photo. Reference Image: Finally, the coils connecting the power cylinders to the Hengstler counter were actually only shown in promo images, but we do allow them. However, yours do seem a bit long and saggy, so I'd consider cleaning them up or even just removing them. Reference Image: Centurion Requirements In this section we prepare you for Centurion. Because Centurion photos show more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what we see 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. This is a tough one because you are a bigger trooper. I would see if it's at all possible to shorten the strapping between the shoulder bell and the shoulder strapping, as well as trimming off all the remaining return edge of the bottom edge of the shoulder bells. In the worst case, you may need to order bigger shoulder bells from some of the bigger armor makers such as AM, and I believe WTF has also started recently offering larger shoulder bells, but the color match could be an issue. The L3 CRL also states: Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box. The corners of the plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle that that meets the outer edge of the cloth belt. The top of the ammo belt should sit at or just below the bottom of the central and vertical abdomen button panels. There are a few issues here, some easier to correct than others. For the drop box positions, that should be a simple fix - shortening the strapping holding the drop boxes on, and adding a dab of glue to the strapping so they don't wander. The belt 45-degree corner is a tougher one, because your canvas belt just seems wide compared to the plastic. It does look like you do have some room to trim back the plastic some so that it might align better. Finally, for belt position, this is a correction I also had to make on my build. I saw that you said you have your belt low to cover the kidney/posterior gap, which makes sense. However, it looks like from the photos you might have a bit of room to scoot just the front of your belt up to keep it in place. I actually added a couple small strips of Velcro to keep my belt from sagging in the same way: Reference Images: Finally, the L3 CRL states: Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Your ab/kidney gap looks particularly large in your arms raised photos, but it is still there in the arms down photos: Hopefully this should be a relatively easy fix of tightening/adding the strapping between the ab/kidney as well as tightening your belt. On my own build I used nylon to connect the left side rivets, and on the right I added an extra strap to help close that gap. Note also, that the tops of the ab/kidney should ideally remain aligned. This is really only evident in the arms raised photos. Reference Images: And that's it! Congratulations again on reaching EIB. I know it seems like a lot to get to Centurion, but it's clear from your build that you're a skilled armorer, so we have full confidence you'll be able to make the necessary corrections to reach Centurion. As always, reach out to us if we can be of help.

Hi Sven, Thanks for your submission, and thanks so much for the updated photos. Beautiful job on the ab/kidney alignment and evening up the gaps on your limbs. Very tall troopers such as yourself have to make as many modifications as very short troopers such as myself. CRL and Centurion Application Requirements All the required submission photos are present and on behalf of the DO team I'm pleased to congratulate you and welcome you to Centurion rank! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: In this area we discuss any areas still needing some improvement. Although they did not hold you back from Centurion, at this level it's all about the small details that will really make your armor look its best. Since you already acknowledged the eye return edge and ear position, I won't mention those again. One small nitpick on your helmet: the left lower ear screw seems to be slightly out of place, causing it to be very close to the ear bumps. If you're feeling adventurous, you could reposition it and fill the hole. Reference Image: Another small suggestion I have is to watch your neck seal getting bunched up during dressing. Having a handler take a final look or even tucking it into your undersuit could keep it from trying to escape. Reference Image: Lastly, your sniper knee is well-aligned. Our only suggestion would be to trim both sides of the return edge a bit to match the screen-used examples better: Reference Image: And that's it! Congratulations on a really beautiful build and welcome again to Centurion! Now get out there and make The Empire proud!

Sorry, my reference image was small. Here's an annotated diagram: Basically a little handle that sticks out near the scope. I believe the thing that makes the "ch-chink" sound in action movies. Since the ANH blasters were made from actual Sterling machine guns, they retained most of the parts from the actual guns.

Pointed out here:

Eric - does your E-11 have a charging handle? It's hard to tell from the photo. Maybe it's just a bit shorter than I'm used to seeing? Reference:

Hi Eric, It looks like you have some sort of decal on your blaster, which unfortunately we're going to have to ask you to remove. This is one of those rare areas where trooping and screen accuracy collide a bit, but the L2 and L3 approvals are all about achieving the highest levels of screen accuracy. If you look back at some submissions from the UKG, you'll see they've been asked to remove the decals from their shoulder bells, for example. I know you said you're going out of town tomorrow, so if you're not able to get the new pics up before you leave, we will be here when you return.

Yup, he's provided that above.

And Eric, one last item: could you please post full left and right shots of your E-11 blaster? Thanks!

Definitely okay, but not required. Some people also just glue a small square of ABS behind the crack so the black doesn't show through.

Hi Zylo! I believe you already know this, but your TD screws will need to be replaced, as yours are dome headed Clips shall be attached with slotted, pan head style screws, and be black (two per clip). Reference image: Once you get that sorted, one of us will be with you.

Hi Eric, @gmrhodes13 is correct that the cover strip will also need to be shortened before we can proceed. Assuming you did your build with E6000, it should be a pretty simple fix - pry it up from the bottom, then snip it so it lines up with the bottom ridge. Reference: Apologies for not noticing earlier.

Hi Eric, Unless my eyes our deceiving me, you'll need to replace your TD screws before we can proceed with your application. The L2 CRL states: Clips shall be attached with slotted, pan head style screws, and be black (two per clip). Yours appear to be dome-headed: Reference: Note that when you're at the hardware store to get new screws, to make sure they are pan-headed, not V-headed. Please reach out if you're having trouble locating the correct screws; @justjoseph63 sells the correct screws if you're having trouble finding them locally.

I imagine that'd pop apart the instant you moved your arms. So on a display mannequin that seems fine but when you're actually trooping I think you'd need more flexibility.

Lightspeed! Thanks for the quick turnaround and for bearing with us as we navigate the Command Staff transition. I'll be with you soon.

Hi Eric, Great build and great photos! Could you please include the following additional photos: * Close-up of blaster D-ring * Close-up of TD screws * Straight-on photos of the left, front, and side of the sniper knee Thanks, Sha Sha

Hi Sven, Sorry for the delay; things have been a bit chaotic as we work through the Command Staff transition. One of us will be with you shortly.

Yup, just the paint itself. The panel trimming is

Looking awesoooooome! Don't forget the white paint on the left side ab/kidney rivets. Also, a nitpick: your ab button paint is super clean but they look a bit large. Ideally they should be slightly smaller than the plastic.

@shaunbelsey Sorry for all the back and forth - could you also submit photos of the inside of the knee ammo pack rivet? I'd just like to confirm the type of rivet. The L2 CRL says: Thigh ammo belt is attached to thigh with a solid head rivet, painted white, in the upper corner and fastened to the lower thigh ridge. The rivets used shall be single cap, double cap or split rivets. No pop rivets allowed. Thanks!

AWESOME! It might just be that you have to shorten the strapping holding up the thighs, but the thigh/knee/shins all look a bit squished together. Otherwise a great start!

Hi James, Thanks for your patience! Great to see a fellow short trooper applying for higher levels! I know first hand how challenging it can be to fit an armor meant for someone 5' 10" onto a smaller frame. CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. 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. Starting from the top, I understand that Anovos helmets come pre-assembled, but a few paint touch ups could really clean up the look. First, although there was a ton of variation in the frown paint, the teeth paint could be filled in a bit more. Additionally, it might be just the angle of the photo, but the shape of the vocoder looks a bit soft and couple be sharpened. Reference Images: hel Lastly on the helmet, from studying a lot of reference images, the DO team has realized recently that the ears on the stunt helmets tend to be aligned with the edge of the trap, rather than positioned vertically. Since the helmet was pre-assembled it may not be possible to reposition the ears, but for those troopers willing to go the extra mile, we do like to point it out as a suggestion. Reference Images: Moving down, I studied your shoulder/chest area for a while. Your shoulder bells have a tendency to ride up higher than your shoulders, so I'd check to see if maybe they're getting pushed up by the biceps somehow. But I believe that one bigger change you could make that would really improve the look of your upper armor is to shift your entire chest piece up. On my kit I had to trim back the neck area so I could move the chest high enough. Comparing your armor to screen reference, notice how the > < indents on the chest hit quite a bit lower, causing a noticeable black gap between the chest and shoulder bells, even though your shoulder bells are strapped very closely. Additionally, your neck line sits quite a bit lower compared to the reference images, where you can't actually see any black between the helmet and the chest. Finally, notice how the bottom corners of your chest are much lower than the bottoms of your biceps, while in the reference pics, they are roughly aligned. These are the problems of shorter troopers. Reference Image: In the same area, I'd watch the alignment of your bicep/forearms. Ideally, the cover strips should be aligned vertically. Could be a dressing issue, or might require a slight strapping adjustment. Just a small detail that really cleans up the look of the armor. Reference Image: On the back of your shoulder area, again watch your shoulder bells riding up higher than your shoulders. Finally, your shoulder bells may actually be a tad large, as they're overlapping your back piece. You could consider trimming them back just a touch, or it could just be a dressing issue. Reference Image: A tiny detail worth mentioning is that the corners of the TD clips where they meet the TD panel should be squared off, not rounded. Reference Image Finally, a few small details on your lower body. Your posterior armor seems a bit wide for your body. Some heat bending and/or trimming should make it fit you better. Additionally, I'm not 100% sure what those white squares I'm seeing are; maybe inner coverstrips? If so, that would be worth trimming back both for looks and for comfort. Reference Image: As pointed out by your fellow troopers, your sniper knee is tucked behind your thigh armor. Putting some foam on the front of the shin and/or the back of the thigh should prevent this from happening. Additionally, the gap between the two halves of your thigh armor is a tad wide; filling it with ABS paste or even gluing a small square of ABS behind it would hide the black. Reference Image: Finally, this is almost certainly a dressing issue, but your calf closures could be lined up better: Centurion Suggestions: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 adjustment etc. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here. Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all we can from what is seen but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. It's a bit hard to tell in the photos, but it looks like both your left and right ab/kidney connections might be overlapping when you're wearing the armor. While at Centurion we require no ab/kidney gap, they should not be overlapping. Additionally, it seems that your left side might get out of alignment while you're wearing it; this is especially obvious on the left side because you should see the rivets lined up, while I can see in the photos of the armor when you're not wearing it that they are indeed aligned. This might be a simple case of adding some foam padding to 'bulk' out your midsection to prevent the overlap. (Note that only fixing the left side overlap is required, but I'm recommending you try to fix the right side overlap as well.) Reference Images: And that's it! I want to commend you on a fantastic build, and we'll see you at Centurion!

Really lovely build, Shuan. As @giskard8 mentioned, please update your original post with the following information: Required: <Your Name> <Your TK ID> <Your Garrison / Squad> <Your 501st member profile> (i.e. your member page on 501st.com) (optional but helpful): Height: Weight: Armor Maker: Helmet Maker: Blaster: Boots: Canvas Belt: Neck Seal: Holster: When you've posted photos of the painted left side rivets, we can proceed.