rzill

This makes me so happy! I am SO close now to completion.

I took pics from a few different exposures and flash settings. I think I have a chameleon brand, because it seems to switch from mine being brighter to the new helmet being brighter from one place to another! Either way, I think it bodes well for me to use this bucket with my ATA armor. What do you think?

Here are the pics. It's so hard to tell, and maybe that's a good thing! I've included several differently lighted pics to see if there's a big difference. I am also now concerned this is an ESB bucket with the stickers for the blue stripes. Can this be fixed?

Wow, I forgot how helpful you guys are on this site! I'll get some up shortly.

I could do some - just not sure how true the difference in whites would be on camera. Will post some later.

I had the chance to purchase an unmade Anovos kit with the already made helmet for the ANH-TK. It seems as if the whites are not an exact match, as I built an ATA kit, and the Anovos seems a tad whiter. My kit is six years old, so maybe it's just faded a bit. My question is, would this still be approved for basic trooping? I will sell the Anovos kit, for sure, anyway, but it's either with or without the pre-made bucket. Thanks!

Thanks! I told the guy I'd try to help him sell it, but it seems the selling guidelines on here kind of suggest I should only sell stuff that is my own. To have access to it, send the best photos, I'd probably have to buy it. It would be worth it if the helmet white matches my armor. Would save me a heckle and jekyll a lot of time and stress. Anyway, my next concern is my shins. I hot water bathed the crap out of them because they are oval shaped, and the cover strip is not lying down flush with velcro - and I bought industrial strength velcro. Does this look terrible? Whenever I see pics of troopers, I rarely get a look at their shin enclosure. --------

Frank, you are awesome, man! I've hit another snag - issues with the shins. Mine are kind of oval shaped, and even hot water bathing the crap out of them, I don't think they look good. I'm not looking forward to doing it again for two reasons - one, it's been so dang hot without leaning over hot water! And two, it will probably make me have to re-glue the cover strips yet again and again. I am thinking of buying this guy's armor though, and maybe just trying to re-sell it with switching out the helmet if the whites match up. Anyway, does this look like as much crap as I think it does? The velcro just isn't holding the cover strip down flush. https://imgur.com/a/7pznpaU

He will not sell just the helmet. If I do acquire the whole set, I would try selling it all together with my un-assembled helmet kit first. Chances are the plastic whites won't match, anyway.

What would you think about this? A guy is selling his unopened Anovos kit around here for $600, the ANH version. I am wondering if I'd be able to buy it so that I could use the pre-made bucket, and then put my un-made bucket kit in it for a re-sale. Would save me all kinds of time and frustration of building the helmet, and really motivate me to finish the remainder. Would people buy the whole thing with the un-made helmet kit?

What would you think about this? A guy is selling his unopened Anovos kit around here for $600, the ANH version. I am wondering if I'd be able to buy it so that I could use the pre-made bucket, and then put my un-made bucket kit in it for a re-sale. Would save me all kinds of time and frustration of building the helmet, and really motivate me to finish the remainder. Would people buy the whole thing with the un-made helmet kit?

Hmmmm, a guy is selling his Anovos kit around here for $600, the ANH version. I am wondering if I'd be able to buy it so that I could use the pre-made bucket, and then put my un-made bucket kit in it for a re-sale. Any thoughts?

The part of the thighs that are too tight are the body of the thigh, itself. It's not tight at either top or bottom, but right in the middle around the meat of my legs. Hot water bathing would not have helped. I had already cut the butt to butt joint edges down to match the 25 mm width I thought was required for the thigh cover strips. Fortunately, I cut them all in one piece, so I glued it back on to give me the room I needed, and that required a 42 mm cover strip to get my leg to fit. It's ATA armor - not sure anyone else has had this issue with them, but it seemed like the thighs were built for children. Anyway, yes, all strips are uniform width - all four front strips on upper and lower legs match, as do the rear strips. A guy in my local Garrison who is on the approval team said it should not be an issue.

Commander - I appreciate the tough love pep talk. As a Phys Ed and Health teacher, I've given my share of those, and I am not above being on the receiving end. I do have a question about going Centurion. The reason I had to make my cover strips for the back thigh so wide was because when I cut my return edges down to match a 25 mm strip, the thighs were too tight. However, I was at Comic-Con this week, and I saw a TK with the proper width strips on the thigh, but he was showing at least 5 mm on each side of the return edge. This is what I was concerned about making those strips so narrow. Could I show that much space on each edge of the strip? I hope you understand what I mean.

Ha! Thanks for the pep talk I have been at this so long, I simply want approval to be in the Legion. We'll see how that goes, and I will not rule out a Centurion in my future.

Ok, I will go with this for now. Once I complete them, I may need to trim around the bottom - I don't like how they are digging into the boot. But, I won't make them any shorter as of now. Hey, the less trimming I have to do anymore, the better!

Length. I was thinking I should just do the padding first - to see how they fit without hanging over my boots, and then trim it if I have to. I'm just not sure how long they are supposed to be. Seems like they are digging into the boots too much.

Here is my progress. The forearms are done, but not padded yet. A couple questions: 1. I have yet to pad and velcro the lower legs because I am not sure if I need to trim the lower legs down a bit. Difficult to tell from this photo, I realize. So, should I just go ahead and do the padding and velcro, then trim it down later if necessary? 2. The thighs are not level - even I can see that. But, should the right one go up, or the left one go down? I am thinking the left should go down, and leave the right one where it is. Thanks! https://imgur.com/a/7vWeqNh

Oh, I am not finished with it yet. But, I did just take pics of my progress. My forearms are done, but not padded yet. Still wondering if I should trim the lower legs before I start the velcro enclosure. It's hard to tell from here, but I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on whether I need to trim those. And I know my thighs are not level, but should the right one go up, or the left one go down?

I have ATA armor. Something was not right with the thighs, and I am confident in this case it was not my incompetence as a builder. I originally trimmed it to put the required 20 mm strips, and it was way too tight. I actually had to glue some of the return edge back on, just to make it big enough to get my legs in them. Honestly, I don't know what the issue was, not something a hot water bath could have helped with, either, because the circumference of the thigh was just too small. Anyway, a guy on my local team of approval experts said it should be ok as long as all of the leg cover strips (on the back side, anyway) are uniform - which they are.

Thanks! Ok, those strips are actually 42 mm. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but honestly, there was no other way to make my thighs fit. I am tall (6'1"), but not wide. I sincerely appreciate your offer to help and the advice. I am nearly done building the body, so starting a thread at this point is not feasible. Arms and shoulders are done and connected. The thighs... hopefully are done and connected. Lower legs need cover strips, all but one, and will be ready for the enclosure build. After that, it's just the belt, TD, and helmet. I will contact a local guy who is in on the approval for my sector. A number of other troopers have seen this in person, and it doesn't seem to be an issue. I will post a picture of myself tomorrow in everything that I have done up to date - I want to see myself in it, anyway. Forearms need padding, but otherwise it should look pretty cool. Thanks again!

Thanks! They are actually quite longer than 25 mm. I don't know what the issue was, but I had to make really wide strips for my thighs to fit - and I have total chicken legs, so I don't know what happened there. This build has been so stressful, I just want to get it over with. I am not handy by any stretch, and I know I'll still have to work to maintain it. But, if I never build another suit again, it will be too soon.

Thanks, Joseph! My thigh cover strips needed to be extra wide, so I was instructed to make the lower leg strips uniform. I'm never going to be Centurion, anyway. Your advice is definitely heeded, and I appreciate it - especially about which direction to stick the velcro, as I was curious about that, as well. Your colored lines make this so much easier! You guys rock on here!!

Hey guys - it's me again, the guy who's spent half a decade with his TK stunt armor undone... but, I am so close! Aside from the helmet, which will take me another year, and several thousand cursing barrages to complete. Anyway, today's question is about the velcro enclosure of the lower legs. Should I overlap the outside part of the leg over the inside, or just trim the edges so they meet butt to butt all the way down? Pics in the following links. Thanks!

Oh, ok - I've never made the full set of snaps. For all of my inside snapping, I put just the one half of the female end on a plastic square, and glued that on. This makes sense. Thanks!