CableGuy

Hi Jon Looking really nice overall. Just a couple of things that caught my eye. Your biceps look quite spacious. If they flap around a bit, you could consider reducing the size a little (in girth). And just a very small thing - you could extend your frown paint a little, past the undrilled fifth tooth, for an extra dash of AHN. Suggestion Reference Best of luck with approval. Shouldn’t be an issue for you. :-) Dan

Hiya, Regarding the bicep to forearm, here’s some useful bits. Popper method Glued Most seem to follow either of these methods, with the straps on the inside of the of the elbow (if that makes sense). Out of interest, how big are the poppers you’re using? Do you know how strong they are? I think most builds use between 12mm and 15mm poppers. A bit like this: Hope that helps a little. :-)

Hi Antwan, I agree with the others. Switch to nylon webbing (stiffer than elastic) and shorten them a little to reduce the slack. Dan

Looking good, sir. The F-11D has really grown on me, (much like the armour itself). This is a dangerous, potentially expensive thread for me to be following! Lol

Nope. Even amounts are not a requirement. Between 9 and 16 stripes per side. Mine are one out side to side. :-) Edit - purely to keep it looking nice, I’d try to stick to a maximum of one or two different. It’ll start to look odd otherwise.

Nice work, Jordan. Best of luck for approval. :-)

Well done, Sal. Definitely an improvement. As pictured below, the line of the back cap usually runs parallel to the top line of the eyes, and yours is much closer to the now. :-)

Super job, Sal. Subtle change but it makes a big difference. :-)

Hi Cap, Once you have your approval, you’ll have to then start a separate EIB application thread for L2. As you say, you’ve clearly built your kit with higher levels and I’ve no doubt that you’ll be able to reach them, however they have to come one step at a time, and in order. Based on previous EIB/Centurion applications, little suggestions might include trimming the return edges off the smaller ab plate, perhaps extending the frown paint a little, the gaps that you’ve mentioned etc. I’m not sure if the seam lines on the back of the thighs will come up as a concern: I’m not sure I’ve seen that before. But that will all come up when you start your L2 application. Those would be very small, easy changes but really add to the out and out look. Best wishes, Dan :-)

Doh!! Missing the helmet...I think people will notice that hot!! Lol

Don’t worry about that, mate. That’ll be hardly noticeable and could be polished out a little if needed. :-)

Nice work, Winston. Looks like you’re well on track to basic. If you’d like some tips on L2 and L3, let us know. Best of luck for clearance, Dan

Nice work Sal. Overall, the gaps look okay. The overall appearance looks good and, personally, I think you’re on the right path to basic clearance. Connecting the butt plate to the cod will bring things together more and help to evaluate the look. An area that might get flagged is the shoulders. I’m not sure if this maker supplies small shoulder bells or if they’re a little over trimmed. You could try rotating them further forward or, worst case, source larger bells. This might not affect clearance (that’s up to your GML) but is something you could do to take your armour that bit further (should you want to). Shoulder bells The belt will also be down to your GML, with regards to the fabric and the corners. For the lid, you could consider raising the brow a little for the ‘stunt’ look. Here’s some ref pics to show what I mean. Brow height is optional, of course. Just making sure it’s level.

Great progress, Greg. Tidy work, as always. :-)

Hiya, Yes- rule of thumb is usually 15mm arms, 20mm thighs and shins, 25mm calves. :-) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Sal, This is a very interesting thread and one that should really help potential purchasers of TKUK armour. You’ve essentially given an unbiased review on this kit, based on someone who, like many, was attracted to the buy one get one free offer. As you’ve shown, there are some compromises to reach the price point, and a lot of extra work required to try and make it look more accurate, however you seem to be making good progress with the armour. Tightening up areas like the butt plate and shoulders will help bring it together. You should be left with a good fitting kit. The shape of the lid is something that can’t really be changed (as it is very narrow, a bit like ROTJ), so, if it were me I’d be tempted to consider upgrading to a more screen accurate ANH lid. The lid is the most recognisable part of a stormtrooper so this would really elevate the overall look and tie in with the good work you’ve put in to the armour. Regarding your question on the belt, although it’s a little hard to see from the pictures, the Velcro should hopefully be hidden by the thermal detonator. It appears that the belt might be pleated which might be an issue for the higher levels of clearance (possibly). Again, well done for tackling this build and documenting it so well. You’ve made a really good job of what you have. When you are ready to purchase your next kit, feel free to reach out to the FISD community and we’ll try our best to steer you in the right direction. Best wishes Dan PS out of interest, you mentioned that you purchased 3 kits. Did your colleagues come across the same issues with sizing etc?

Hi there. I upgraded my DoopyDoos mag with one from Imperial Warfighters (UK). Whilst I had to do a little bit of repair work on mine, it’s certainly a big step up on the DD. Mine arrived with a little bit of damage to the front lip. Whilst I could have sent it back, I took it on as a project and corrected the issue with green stuff. This mag was under £20 GBP. Best wishes Dan :-)

Wow - I’m ready and waiting to see your progress on this. Can’t wait. :-)

Wow - great progress! I’m specifically loving the magnets, btw [emoji16][emoji106][emoji16]

Hi Martjin, Here’s a link to an armour maker using the score and snap method. With a relatively low profile straight edge, you should be able to get a Stanley knife or similar in there to score. If you’ve not done scoring before, just apply very, very light strokes to start. Once you get a good line you can start to apply a little more pressure. ***please note - I’m not saying this is the definitive or only way to do it - I followed this method and it worked well for me, leaving a nice straight edge. Personally, I went a little closer to the ammo boxes than this video. Skip to around 10:30 for the ammo belt. [emoji1]

Hi Kelsey Looking good. :-) You might need a clearer pic of your thigh ammo pack. Although the picture isn’t entirely clear, it looks like you might have an unpainted pop rivet in place. For EIB, you’d require a single cap, double cap or split rivet painted white. Best of luck with your application. :-) Dan

Hi mate. Just a couple of things. I’ve read before to be careful of a reaction between the metal of the poppers and the ABS plastic when the glue is touching. It looks like you’re using black nylon webbing for your poppers. Try to keep the glue on the webbing only to avoid any possible reaction with your armour. Also, you might want to consider the score and snap method with your ammo belt. This isn’t meant as a criticism, however the top and bottom of the belt currently look a little ‘wavy’. If you use a nice long straight edge (eg long metal ruler, metal spirit level) and gently score many times with a very sharp blade, eventually you’ll be able to snap off the excess and be left with a lovely straight edge. Also, you could probably get away with losing a few millimetres anyway, so this will all tie in nicely. Here’s a nice example of the ammo belt. Just a few millimetres above and below. The square tabs a just a little bigger than the circle in the middle so just trim to size. Again, the score and snap method will help to get lovely straight edges. Keep up the good work. :-)

Welcome aboard, Nick. Looking forward to your build. :-) Dan

Wow - I can’t believe how much stuff you can fit inside the DD!! Good work, Jesse. :-)

Looking superb! Easy basic by the looks of it. Just two simple changes I’d suggest for a little more accuracy, neither of which will affect clearance (by the looks of the CRL). The smaller ab button appears to have all of its return edge. This could be cut away to leave a flat plate. The only other thing is totally optional, but you could extend the frown paint beyond the un-drilled 5th hope if you wanted to. Example below. You’ve made a great job of fitting the armour to your frame and you wear it really well. Great job. [emoji1303] Dan