rzill

So, the difference between ANH and ESB troopers? Talking with a local trooper, he said it was definitely painting the helmet, rather than using decals (and different colored frown on the helmet), and the hand guards. Any other differences? I have ESB going, but I would rather be ANH.

Well, here's the thing - I'm a moron when it comes to building anything with my hands. I'll do what's easier, and go with snaps/straps. I've written (very sloppily with a photo editing pen) a couple of my questions. Basically, do the snaps go on the return edge along the bottom of the chest? Because if they do, I'll have to leave some of that wrinkled plastic when I trim it - snaps would not fit on the return edge if I cut those wrinkly edges all the way off. http://imgur.com/a/E3vMs

Well, here's the thing - I'm a moron when it comes to building anything with my hands. I'll do what's easier, and go with snaps/straps. I've written (very sloppily with a photo editing pen) a couple of my questions. Basically, do the snaps go on the return edge along the bottom of the chest? Because if they do, I'll have to leave some of that wrinkled plastic when I trim it - snaps would not fit on the return edge if I cut those wrinkly edges all the way off. http://imgur.com/a/E3vMs

Chest question - the neck cut out on mine is not a perfect U shape. I am guessing this should be as perfect a U shape as possible, correct? So, I should completely cut off the edges that I've pointed to in my photos, and have the chest plate lie flat so that I can re-shape the neck hole to a more uniform U shape? https://imgur.com/a/sYx69

Oh my gosh, that's exactly what I needed to hear!!!! Awesome, thanks! I have a torn tendon in my finger which is making it difficult, but I am working on it every day. I SO want to troop!!

Need some advice about the thigh issue. This is my right thigh, so the bottom can be covered by the ammo pack. However, I trimmed this too small, so this isn't the greatest looking cover strip. Is it at least worthy of getting 501st accepted? I'll never exactly be asked as an extra in a stand alone SW film, or get high level certification, I just want to troop! I am also concerned about the cover strip side view not being 100% flush against the armor. This is about the best I can do without actually buying new thighs, and starting over. I know I still need to trim up the top, and pick out the glue buggers: http://imgur.com/BIr1cPz http://imgur.com/MJxSp2p

Need some advice about the thigh issue. This is my right thigh, so the bottom can be covered by the ammo pack. However, I trimmed this too small, so this isn't the greatest looking cover strip. Is it at least worthy of getting 501st accepted? I'll never exactly be asked as an extra in a stand alone SW film, or get high level certification, I just want to troop! I am also concerned about the cover strip side view not being 100% flush against the armor. This is about the best I can do without actually buying new thighs, and starting over. I know I still need to trim up the top, and pick out the glue buggers: http://imgur.com/BIr1cPz http://imgur.com/MJxSp2p

Evan, I found one more - this one looks quite thorough:

Evan, I am with you, fellow frustrated future trooper. I've had my stuff for five years, and while I had a personal issue that halted my build, I get frustrated with how difficult this is - and people who say it's not so hard. Anyway, there are a couple guys on YouTube who have some tutorial videos. One guy is pandatrooper. Unfortunately, he only has a few videos up through doing the arms and legs, but I can't find anything to help with the torso. Here is the first of his YouTube videos - it gets you started, at least (At the bottom of this video, I put another link from a guy on Trooperbay. He has more videos, but he goes kind of quick - anyway, hope this helps. If you find more, let's help each other out):

Hey All - my name is Ron, and I bought my ATA armor five years ago. One thing and another halted my build, but I am back on the horse. I have the arms done, aside from snaps and straps, which I want to finish after the torso is done... which leads me to this question - does anyone know of a good tutorial for building an ESB TK torso? I saw the one on Trooperbay, but it seemed to leave some things out. Hard to find one on here, or my local Garrison (Michigan). Thanks!!

You guys are awesome, thanks! Good news, I found my old decals, so I save a few bucks. Thanks so much for the help!! I'm working on this every day, slow but sure. Almost done with the arms, so I'll be posting some pics when they are done. Keep up with the advice, I appreciate it

I'm actually going ESB. It's what I started with, so I'll stick with it. Before, I simply had a sheet of decals - I don't think it was anything I had to paint. But, if it's gone the way of painting, I'll probably get stencils. I'd ruin it otherwise. Thanks!

Yikes! I can not find my helmet decals. One thing that delayed my build was a flood in our area a few years ago. It left me with a 2 1/2 foot flood of water in my basement, and my armor was in it. Of course, it was easy to clean off, but my helmet decals were also in it. I thought I salvaged them, but I can no longer find them. I have ATA armor. Does it matter what helmet decals I get for it? Any suggestions?

Question - way back when I first began my build, I made a mistake and cut one of the butt join of the thighs too narrow. It will leave a gap under the cover strip, since the strip should be 20mm, and the edge is only about 8mm, it is going to leave a large gap at the bottom front of the thigh. Can this mistake be hidden if I use this one for the right thigh? I thought it would be covered by the ammo belt that goes over the knee.

Question about thigh cover strips - I watched a video tutorial, and it was mentioned that the front cover strip on thighs is 20mm, but now the back strip should be 25 mm to match the width of lower leg cover strip. Is this correct?

Great help so far, guys - thanks! I am nearly done with the arms (aside from the snaps and straps, but a friend already in the 501st is helping me with those). I'm sure they'll need some cleaning up, but while the strips are drying, I'm moving on. So, I am starting to shape my thighs... no, I'm not Suzanne Somers - how often is that joke used on here? Anyway, a question about the cover strips. I'm watching a tutorial by Pandatrooper (Panda Props and Costumes). He says the front cover strip for the thigh is 20 mm, but the width of the back strip should now be about 25 mm to match the width of the shin strips. Is this correct?

Awesome, thanks! I'm excited that my first piece is nearly done. Appreciate it

Hopefully this works now. Ok, what do you think of the bicep? My concern is the top of the butt join. Does it need to be neat? Seems like it would be hidden anyway, even after trimming down the cover strip. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

More pics - for some reason, even though my photos are under the size limit, I can't post them???

One bicep is done, maybe with some adjustments. Questions: I drew an arrow on one of the photos about a point of concern. Do the butt joins need to be neat in this area? They are behind the cover strips, and covered by the shoulders when worn all together, so I wonder if what I have is good enough for low level certification. Also, are the cover strips covering the raised edges enough? I welcome all feedback - thanks!

Another question - do the cover strips do all the work in holding the butt join together, or should I glue the butt join first? When I had this finished the first time with both inside and outside strips, it seemed like it would hold without having first glued the butt join together.

To answer the first question, yes, this armor has thumbprints on both biceps - left and right. Thanks for the tips on polish and the cover strips. Oh! The ridge - I get it now. I wasn't sure what was meant by that, but in the tutorial I am following on white armor, I now see where the ridge is. And yes, I do need to remove them and trim it so the strips are closer to the ridge edges. And I did try it on over the black under suit - I guess I have some more trimming to do around the top and bottom openings, because this is already a snug enough fit. Cutting the butt ends down will make it pretty snug. Thanks, guys!

It's Obi-Ron here - I recently re-introduced myself as someone who bought ATA armor five years ago, began the build, but got side tracked. I have some stuff from back then that was already done, and wanted to post photos for critique. First question: I have an already cut cover strip for the biceps. It's a bit scratched - should I make a new one, or is this acceptable? Second question: Here is my nearly completed right bicep. Aside from some needed buffing, what do you think? Thanks!