The Captain

Good news guys: Just got approved! I am now TK-17042! Thanks for all of the help!

TK-17042 reporting in from the Southern California Garrison. Legion Page: https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=28552 Thank you! - WT

It just makes things kinda hard after having an issue. Got followed around for about a year. It's not a hard set "show your face and you're fired", but rather "please don't make it easy for someone to track you". Once I officially become a member, I can explain it to them as a "I'm in a non-profit" so I'll get more leeway. But even then, I don 't have any social media, and I try to be hard to recognize on anything I do post. Believe me, its a huge pain. If I could, I wouldn't bother. Yup, I followed the page my garrison has, and they said to fill out the form and immediately send the pictures to the GML email address they had posted. I did both of those 12 days ago, so I was just wondering if any else had to wait a similarly long time. On the site it says that it can take up to three weeks, so I guess I'll wait until that time before emailing them again.

Just a thing with my job. I need to try and not post my face/voice online if possible, so I'm only sending the unedited ones to my GML. Speaking of which, I submitted my application 12 days ago, but haven't heard back (save the auto-reply email from the 501st website). Should I send a "what's up" email, or wait the full 3 weeks before checking in again? - The Captain

I don't know if you can see it well, but the metal is a little rolled up on the edges. At that angle, it makes it look like more of a gap than it really is. I'll take a more straight-on shot when I go for L2/L3, so it's not as misleading. Thanks for the heads up! - The Captain

New photos with the basic approval stuff fixed. (Don't know why the first one is yellow ish) Please tell me what you think! - The Captain

Like this? - The Captain

I actually had problems with my ab plate riding too high, and the thigh straps fixed that. Weird, huh? As for the knee cut, I definitely will keep that in mind, but I'll wait until after my first troop. If it doesn't cause me issues, I think I'd rather avoid doing it. Thanks for the image though! Thigh fixes are curing right now, so everything should be good to go tomorrow for new photos! - The Captain

Oh, I do have one extra question; How does the belt look? L3 ok? Like I said in the info sheet, it is home-made so I wanted to check and make sure it was acceptable. I know it's fine for basic, but so was the super-flimsy Anovos belt from the stuff I was reading. My main concerns are that it is still flimsy in the back (where the velcro pads are cause I had to sew those on) and that the internal folds of the canvas are slightly visible. Will this cause any concerns for L3 later on in my 501st career? Thanks! - The Captain

Sounds like a plan! I was wondering if there was any sort of "must be a legion member for 6+ months" or anything like that, but it sounds like its just getting the armor approved first. Yup! I mentioned the teeth in my notes (I have a set of files on the way) but I was really worried about the extra frown paint. I know it's not required for basic, but I assume L3 will want this, yes? The ridges lose most of their depth at the edges, so I'm afraid I won't know where to stop on this particular helmet. I'll most likely bring it to an armor party so that I can have a little help and side-by-side comparison. Hadn't caught that! I did take all of the return edge off (the backside of that plate is perfectly flat) but it appears that the Anovos pull is more rounded than original. I'm assuming that I can shave off 1-2mm worth from each side and end up with something more squared off. Again, maybe an armor party thing, so I can side-by-side compare. Now I get what you were saying! Sadly I can't make those bottom cuffs of the thighs any smaller because of how my leg has to fit in and how flat they are in the back, but I did just try something. My thighs connect via straps from my Ab/cod piece, and this seems to be why they pull in like that. I added a pad to the outermost sides of the internal thighs, so that it pulls it away from my knees. This seems to get it to line up much better. When I post my "Take 2" pics, I'll showcase that in detail. Looks like it fixes the problem though. If not enough, I can run a second set of straps from the outermost sides which should even up the pull. Cutting out the knees? I didn't know that was allowed! Do you have any photos of other Anovos sets which have been modified for that? I'm going to stick to the scrap and fill for know, because my mobility was pretty good. But that sounds a lot easier.... Thanks for all of the help guys! Again, second set of photos to come probably tomorrow or Thursday! - The Captain

Sorry for not responding right away! Got busy after posting. So... Ouch. So, besides the aforementioned back plate and shin, does everything else appear to fit correctly? You specifically mentioned thighs, were mine OK? (besides the back gap) Yup, I figured these issues would render the photos unusable. Shin is an easy fix, and I already adjusted the back plate to sit better. Do you think that this would be enough? What would you suggest for the back of the thigh? I was looking at just running a strip on the inside of that ridge to close it until I can get some ABS paste in there to fully seal it off. Actually, I was looking through the L2 definition on the costuming database, and it appears to me (after I get my fitment/spacing issues fixed) that I would qualify. I know I didn't post images showing off everything in detail, but when I do my second set I'll include those shots. Would it be possible to go straight to L2 after approval, or is there a waiting period? New set of pics coming probably Wednesday/Thursday Thanks! - The Captain

1. First/last name: Winston Thompson 2. Future Garrison/Squad/Outpost or local area: Southern California Garrison 3. Armor maker: Anovos 4. Helmet maker: Anovos 5. Cloth belt maker: Home-made 6. Neck seal maker: Stormtrooperundersuit.com 7. Boot maker: Totally Killer (TK) Boots 9. Blaster maker (if applicable): HFX Productions (Hyperfirm – ANH E-11) 10. Gasket maker (if applicable): N/A 11. Height (optional): 6’ 1” 12. Weight (optional): 195lbs 13. TK type (ANH Stunt/Hero. ESB, ROTJ. TFA etc.): ANH Stunt 14. Name(s) of any Trooper(s) who significantly helped with your build: Joseph (@justjoseph63) for answering my plethora of questions, Tony (@ukswrath) for an awesome Anovos guide! Photos: (First set. See 2nd set below) Front Back Right Side Left Side Ab Close-up Helmet Front Helmet Right Helmet Left Helmet Back Extra Photos: TD Top-down View (Because I know the positioning has come up in the past on these posts) E-11 Left E-11 Right Headshot (Blurred because I don't want to include my face until I get approved. Won't blur for actual submission) Action Pose Things I already know will cause concerns or are issues for L2/L3: Helmet Frown needs less return edge between teeth, and maybe slightly less on left eye. Helmet ears are R1 style (ridge around the circular part) Back Plate came a little loose on the left side, creating a gap. (Already fixed, but not until after photos. Will this create basic approval problems if I still use this photo?) Left thigh has gap on back-side at bottom. (trimmed to be a bit larger, haven't yet shimmed the bottom edge/ridge) Left side kidney-to-ab strapping popped when I raised my arm, hence the gap you can see almost covered by the belt. This is not normal, but I know that L3 will want to see a cleaner, more even connection there. Will the current gap cause basic approval problems if I use this photo? The neck seal appears to flare out at the top. This is actually a cover for my upper neck+chin, which I slipped down for the headshot. Not actually a problem, just looks a little bad in this photo. My left shin came undone. Whoops. Will this photo cause basic approval problems? I know some of these points are in the "Well you could've just fixed those as you were taking pictures" category, as well as adjusting the lighting/background. But my "helpers" weren't very helpful... Looking forwards to your feedback! - The Captain 2nd Photo Set! Front Back Right Left

It was covering about half of the button. I know it's accepted, but I just didn't want to cover up any. I adjusted it so it sits right at the base of the button + ridged section on the plate (and not at the bottom of the plate itself).

Ok then. Thanks so much for all of your help, it's made things much easier on me. I got my better cloth (with plastic inside) belt today, and have been working on drilling/gluing. I'll post pictures tomorrow when I am done, so that I can make one last verification for everything. - The Captain

First off: Thank you so much! I definitely wanted to get the info "straight from the horse's mouth" if possible, hence my comment at the end there. Great! Being that the black snap heads will be between me and the armor, it sounds like I don't need to replace them with chrome ones (as you can't see them) Being that I have a ton extra, I'm probably going to go with heavy-duty split rivets or Chicago screws then. As for borrowing a tool, I mostly wanted to avoid pop rivets because I wanted something easier to undo/replace, as well as that I'm putting all of this together tomorrow (trying to be done on Sunday). Due to the time crunch, I didn't ask around. But I'll definitely keep that in mind for any other tool issues I might have going forwards! One additional question: To avoid scratches on the ab/cod plate, I was going to put a cover over the back side of the belt rivets. Like a spot of glue, or even a little piece of fabric. Being that it will be on the inside of the belt (not seen), will that affect L3 approval? Fantastic! And I am very familiar with the drop box placement. I already have everything measured out, I just wanted to wait till I heard back! Thanks again for your help! - The Captain