revlimiter

Seriously incredible armor, build, and photo set. To say "Easy approval" is a huge understatement.

I guess if someone waived $50k under my nose I'd be building myself a new set of armor while they walked away with my old one... but DANG. such feelings.

My current fitness could be better, but I've been in great shape. Thanks for asking! We walked about 70 miles last week (no kidding) in Disneyland. My feet are begging for mercy but I'm feeling good. Gonna get back into the gym swing shortly. verrry very slowly gaining weight even, which is good. My Crohn's disease is in remission again.

VERY nice work!! If I may humbly suggest, the bucket could use a few more chips in it to match the screen used trooper. Gives it more character.

I'll just leave these here... Heavy Weapons Trooper!!! We even get to be a little yucky. We just can't get sandy.

Just top notch all the way. Truly beautiful work.

@Sly11 @MaskedVengeance @TKSpartan @Doggydoc @Chemi Thanks for the kind words y'all!! HA!!! I should have an Antenna Trigger Warning on the thread. Sorry in advance Joseph.

I FINISHED IT!!! I've got a bunch of pix to put up and will try to sound coherent whist being excited to have the HWT pack I saw on Kenobi. (totally geeking out here) I sourced all my parts from amazon. I know there's better places, but this was the easiest for me. I work a lot so just getting to hit an order button on one site really helped. I couldn't find everything in 5v, so I settled on 12v lights. I figured I could make the power work easier than finding 5v pilot lights and toggles. LEDs are easy but those pilot lights are a pain. Pilot light: The "Keenso" red 4 pack is a match for the lamps used in Kenobi. 12 volt, about $6.50. They bulbs are not held in those metal housings very firmly. I added a bit of glue to each internally. Toggle switch: I absolutely hate the ones I got, but they match the screen used pack. This is the "Twidec" 8 pack SPST. 12 volt, about $10. If anyone else builds a Kenobi pack, try to get a switch that has a screw mount on the back. Mine clip on and would not stay in place on my thick radio box. I had to cut off the clip mounts to keep the switches from pushing themselves out and glue them in place. Easy, but annoying. LEDs: Any white LED will work. These are 3mm "Edgelec" in a 20 pack for $7. Pre-wired, non-flashing, 12 volt. All the white ones in my parts bin were 5v, so I had to buy these. The Kenobi pack has a whip antenna, so I needed one too. Metra 14" universal. It's not lightweight either, but it seems to be the exact one used. (About $19) I removed my printed blocking plate and used the round one that came with the antenna. It's a lot more sturdy than my printed one and covers all but one hole. I set the printed one aside in a bag with the screws for reinstallation in the future if I needed. And yeah, the base got sanded to match the pack shape before I finished the project. I held the laser cut fascia on with just a few dots of E6000 so that I could peel it off later for this purpose. I glued some speaker cloth over the radio face. I have tons of it from my daughter's jawa kit and like the look of the radio having a speaker element. This isn't on the Kenobi pack, but seemed like a worthwhile small addition. Er... the dremel slipped and I cut a bunch. Oops. Actually, this was planned. I want sound to be able to escape from the radio box, so I cut some ports to be hidden by the speaker cloth. Speaker cloth and fascia reinstalled. Switches!!! installed. And I figured out a decent mounting method for my Disney Parks radio knobs. I want the knobs to still be able to spin like the 3D printed ones could. A 2" machine screw is long enough to let the knob mount to the radio surface. I double nutted the screw near the top so that the knobs could spin without unscrewing the hardware. Inside the case, the screws are held in with nyloc bolts to prevent loosening. Three LEDs per knob. Overkill? Very likely. But I have all of these LEDs and I need to get enough load to prevent my power supply from shutting down by itself... Nine LEDs on the radio itself will help that. I drilled things and made a wiring harness for the inside of the pack. This connects the red lights on top of the vent and button box as well as the two white LEDs on the drop siphon. I glued it in place along the outer edges of the pack to prevent the straps from bothering things. Near the internal LED connection, the wiring harness has some metal worm clamps holding them in place. Here's the finished internal radio box. I spent WAAYYYYY too long running these wires, but I'm nearly as proud of this as I am of the whole pack. Nine LEDs worth of wiring and the pack's internal wiring harness all got neatly sorted and tucked, allowing the radio box to be opened without being a rat's nest. The power pack is a "TalentCell" 12v 3000mAh tiny guy from amazon. It weighs 400g and can power both 12v and 5v. It has an on/off switch (hiding behind the plug in this shot) to turn the pack on and off. It should run the pack for a couple days before needing a recharge. It was about $28. I've also got a little Bluetooth speaker velcro'd inside. It won't live in here permanently, but I wanted to see how it works. Spoiler: AMAZINGLY!!! The hollow interior of the radio box gives everything a slightly more tinny sound. The TK Chatter loop sounds super authentic coming out of this. Stupid loud too. And lastly, I added expanded metal to the face plate cut out holes. Whilst wiring things up I nearly put my stupid finger through that speaker cloth at least five times. I know it would have been punctured accidentally on a near-future troop. Some mesh protection seemed to be in order. And as a bonus, it looks super cool from the front when the light happens to hit it. The last bit I needed was the Imperial Cog for on top of the wipe box. I lasered this tiny 40mm guy out from the same acrylic I used on the radio face plate. It's delicate but securely glued to the top and away from harm. Hopefully it won't shatter right away... or ever? And here it is... my finished Kenobi pack. Daylight with power off. Blaster side. I used 3 strips of velcro tape to keep the blaster from moving around. Top. You can almost see the wipe bottle cog and my reshaping of the antenna base. In the dark garage with lights on!!! I wanted this since July. It's SO satisfying to have it. And with that, I think this build is complete. My first troop with it is tomorrow evening at a Make-A-Wish trunk or treat. If I get a good photo, I'll post.

That knee glue/repair/fix looks great! Mine also cracked when I clamped and manhandled it into position and I also had to hit it with ABS paste. It should be fine forever once repaired.

It's not at all required for approval, but your plastic hand armor will fit WAAAYYYY better and be more comfortable if you completely remove the return edge. Make it flat. Then heat it up and form it to the back of your hand. I did this (maybe stupidly) with a heat gun while wearing it. If you're gentle, you won't burn yourself and you won't deform the armor. And yes, that knee may get push back from your approval staff. It isn't supposed to be riveted on for ANH armor. Your ammo pack knee/thigh needs to be rotated up a bit so that it meets the cover strip on that thigh. Pretty easy to do with a little E6000. Your blaster and bucket look fantastic! As does the whole armor kit. I'll bet you get basic approval quickly!

Congrats Jonatan! That's fantastic. Looking good too!

I want to have a pack mounted E-11, but don't want to use any of the ones in my armory (of which there are three)... so I took an unloved Rubies blaster and painted it up. I didn't manage to take any in progress photos. Sorry about that. They start out looking like this. The thing weighs about 5 oz, so it fits the weight requirement for me. I don't have a Rebels E-11 in my collection yet, so it's not a duplicate for me. And if it gets destroyed on the side of my pack... I can just get another. Perfection! This is mine after paint and weathering. I sanded the seams and filled the holes (visible on the other side). I also put a screw in the side of the grip. No other mods. The grip got a coating of gloss clear while the rest is painted in matte. The ejection port is done with brushed metal foil, which the phone totally blew out. It looks a bit nicer than the bright blob in this pic. I weathered it a bit heavier than my usual taste so that the details would be noticeable from 10 feet away. I gave the front of the scope a small epoxy covered black dot to let it catch some light and look better than a piece of hollow plastic. And the back got a counter sticker and a printed holofoil scope decal - also better than hollow plastic. Not that these will really be visible on my pack... Just needs some velcro strap tape (on the way from amazon) and it'll be mounted up. I also added a couple latches to the side of my radio box to allow easier access than removing the 4 corner screws. The factory radio corner screws got removed and I glued (JB Welded) matching screw heads in their place. Now all of the boxes have the same mounting hardware, which satisfies my OCD. Gotta say, the latch details on the sides also make me happy. They look quite period correct for a 70s vintage piece of Star Wars tech.

Thank you all!!!! Seriously over the moon about this.

I GOT CENTURION TODAY!!!! My pack build was approved! Huge thanks @Chemi @TKSpartan and @justjoseph63 You guys made me very happy. And I'm specifically mentioning you all because... I'm now changing my pack. See, I wanted to build a replica of @equuspolo's Kenobi pack when I started this. Step 1 was getting the pack built and Step 2 was reaching Centurion. Because Ardeshir started out with a Centurion pack before modifying it for the show, I wanted to start from the same place. It makes sense in my head anyway... So. No disrespect meant to the DOs at all by my modification of an approved pack. Thanks for declaring my build Centurion Quality! I just am moving onto Step 3 - Recreate the Kenobi HWT Pack. I was SO excited when I saw these two run onto the screen. Seriously. I liked the Heavy Weapons Trooper pack and CRL before, but seeing it on the screen, even if just for a few seconds... it ignited a fire. I started buying parts for it that same week. This was the best screen grab I was able to do myself. It shows all the lights, the E11 mount, and pack config. I will not admit to buying software just for this... I used it on my E-11 ANH Leia Leveller replica build also!! So I already had the screen enhance software laying around... heh. All photos below were taken by and shared publicly by Ardeshir. They are not mine. Ardeshir shared these photos with the FISD staff and on the Facebook HWT group. Ultimately, it was decided against having a CRL for the Obiwan HWT... but I still want to build the pack. So I'm gonna! Very close to its roots. It just has some extra lights, switches, and the beautiful Disney drink bottle tops. (photo by equuspolo) Cog on the drop siphon, nice weathering, oval Meguiar's wipe bottle. I believe that's a battery box glued to the side of the radio box. (photo by equuspolo) Mortar tube side - pretty stock looking over here, just with the lovely weathering. (photo by equuspolo) The blaster side - I will likely paint up a Rubies E-11 because I don't have a Rebels one in my armory. Nice use of velcro tape! Also, Kenobi confirmed the existence of velcro in the SW universe (close-up of Leia's gloves). (photo by equuspolo) And LOOK AT THAT!!! That's the pack lights at night. Note that the blue lights are in fact white LEDs. It's a camera white balance making them appear blue. (photo by equuspolo) I cannot wait to have this. It will be mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or at least there will be another one in the universe made out of my own pack. (photo by equuspolo) So that's the next step in my HWT pack build - lights, an antenna, some switches, and a pack mounted E-11.

Absolutely beautiful work.

The weathering has really grown on me... I may not ever be polished up again.

WOOO!!!!! Thanks DO team!!!!

He just keeps turning up. And getting dirtier every time.

Name: Adam Wolf Height: 5'11" Weight: 148 lbs Armor: AP Helmet: AP Blaster: Denix / Blaster Factory / Self Boots: Imperial Boots Canvas Belt: AP Hand Plates: Rubber (AP) Electronics: Ukswrath (Hovi-tip Speakers, Hearing Assist, & Fans) Neck Seal: Darman's Props Pauldron: Trooperbay Ammo Pouches: Ebay seller Luckyline1945 (full leather) Pack: Garageboss / Self 501st armor link: https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=34307&costumeID=122 Pack Build Thread: EIB Thread: Full Body Photos: Front Back Right Right Right side detail (pack painting/weathering removed as requested, strap fixed as requested) Left Left Left Detail (strap changes shown) Previously shot EIB Trading Card Action Shot Armor Details: Cod/Posterior connection. Shoulder bridges (hidden when suited up, so I did these pix) Other shoulder bridge Shoulder bridge rear (also hidden when suited) Ammo pack knee and split rivets Sniper knee front and support Sniper knee sides Wrist opening Ab buttons Butt - Kidney connection Interior strapping Shoulder/bicep strapping Helmet Details: Front Left Back Right Interior and lens color S-trim (currently glued in place, so I'm resubmitting my original Centurion photo of this piece) Vocoder and Hovi Tips Ear screw detail right Ear screw detail left Accessories: Neck seal and thigh garter Pauldron and chest pouch Pauldron weathering, pouch attachment snaps, and foam filler. Belt and pouch front (New belt created for HWT, still AP sourced) Belt and pouch rear Belt and pouch detail (hopefully) showing alignment. Pouches have foam filler. Rubber gloves Boots Pack Front Base - Garageboss Button box, Vent box, Tombstone box, radio knobs, and drop siphon are all printed in ABS. All lines sanded and smoothed with acetone. Wipe box - Meguiars Radio box - plastic junction box with laser cut acrylic fascia Mortar tube - PVC with AP shoulder strap and TD end caps. Pack Rear with updated painting Tube close up showing weathering removed from the support pieces and rivets painted. Blaster: Right Left Details. Base - Denix metal replica (18 lbs) T-tracks - Blaster Factory Disk - Blaster Factory Right Side Cover Plate (small): Blaster Factory (printed) Left Side Cover Plate (large): Self fabricated (aluminum U channel) Thank you for your time, consideration, and helping me build the best armor I can build!

What's going on my 505 brother! Don't hesitate to reach out with questions. We can help you here or the local garrison can help you in person.

+1 on Glen's observation. All look weathered off to me. The originals likely started black dipped and had the tips rubbed white with natural use. Painting the tips white originally would give a different wear pattern than any of the screen examples display.

Also, YOU LAID DOWN IN YOUR ARMOR?!?!?!?! I can sit (barely) but laying down seems like plastic-suicide.

As an OCD trooper who cleans his armor after every troop and polishes it about every 3 troops... your natural weathering is a thing of beauty!!! I love it. And though it's probably best to give it a cleaning before Centurion application, it'll re-weather itself quickly, I guarantee. Maybe even better... natural weathering in layers is far more real after all than just one go at dirtying. With my recent HWT project, I've discovered the joy of wearing weathered armor. It has so much character and I get so many complements! It'll be hard to go back to being Death Star Clean™ after enjoying the dirty side. I may never be that clean again. PS - loved finding your build thread! I never saw it before.

I also use some padding inside my thighs, but just at the knee to keep them from getting in the way of the shins. That sniper knee can get annoying hiding under the thigh... On the chance that you're simply asking HOW to trim the thighs, you're very close. You have the bottoms lined up, which is correct. The tops simply fold over like you have them and then you trim them together evenly at the top to get the proper angle. This was my own leg fitting. Note the extreme overlap. We already trimmed the thigh tops a bit so that they weren't digging into my butt and I could actually achieve a proper thigh fitting. Don't worry about trimming off some pointy parts at the top before you can get a fitting. So you overlap them, tape them, and mark a center line. Then you snip off one side followed by the other and install the cover strips. USE A STRAIGHT EDGE to make a perfect line from your boot seam to your butt. This was my basic approval rear photo. Note that my cover strips are perfectly straight. However, the line should intersect the center of the knee. Mine is offset. This is okay, but not ideal. SO! Try to get your straight edge lined up at the boot seam, knee center, and thigh center. I hope this helped at least somewhat... the legs are tricky and it's very very nice to have help from an experienced trooper who built them before.