wook1138

Congrats! I would normally say "get out there and troop", but that is probably not advisable right now. So, kit up and watch Netflix.

Welcome to the FISD! The other troopers provided you with some great reading. Take your time, do lots of research, and when you are ready to start, create a build thread. Ask lots of questions and post lots of pictures (you will need to use Imgur or Tapatalk or some other image hosting service). It can seem insanely overwhelming at first, but it will all make sense eventually. We will help you every step of the way. Good luck!

Welcome to the FISD! We can always use more FOTKs. Good luck with your build.

Here's my attempt. I couldn't decide on a few things so I'm providing some options. One has gradients and would need to be digitally printed but the other two are more or less patch-friendly (I may have to simplify the troopers a bit). I'll probably tinker some more and change things... knowing me. Ok, now I’m just playing around but this might look cool as a T-shirt or sticker. I have some extra time on my hands thanks to COVID 19 - and it is too cold in the garage for building. Lol.

Welcome to the FISD, Art. AP is great armour, you’ll be happy with it. Best wishes to your daughter. I’ve trooped with my son, it was a blast. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Welcome to the FISD! Congrats on your purchase! Let us know if you have any questions.

I've heated the straps while attached, it's easy enough to do. In this case, yes, remove from the heat... just in case. Just be careful to apply a nice curve and not a fold. Take it slow and you'll be fine.

As mentioned, a hot water bath works well. Boil a large pot of water, place plastic in water for about one minute, take out and bend to shape, while holding the desired shape run cold water over the plastic. Done. Don't burn yourself.

for any cut edges I usually sand them down so that they are smooth and won't snag on my undersuit or rub against my skin. I start with 200 grit, then follow up with 400 and then 600. 200 is coarser than 600 so you are working your way to a finer, or smoother, finish.

1. Yes, try tightening up the ab to chest straps first (either use shorter straps or move the contact points - depends on how they are installed). 2. Yes. Just guessing from the images, at least an inch. You can test fit with some painters tape to hold the pieces in place. Take a picture and show us - we'll guide you from there. 3. I would recommend buying a pair of Lexan scissors. They look like this: You can get a curved or straight edge. Amazon and hobby/hardware stores will have these. And also get some sandpaper. 200 grit, 400 grit, and 600 grit to smooth out any cut edges.

Overall the armour looks great - you just need to adjust some of the strapping. As mentioned above, you can tighten up your ab to chest strapping so the parts overlap. This might bring your chest down and therefore your shoulder straps forward - which is good because this will also help with the placement of your shoulder bells. Because of your height, you are going to want to hike up the cod and butt plates as much as possible if not done so already. When you raise your biceps, you will probably want to raise your forearms a little bit too. You may want to add a bicep hook to the inside to keep your bicep and shoulder bell sitting a bit more tidy. One thing I didn't see mentioned (I didn't read very carefully) is the coverstrips at the top of your thighs - you will want to cut that back to it is just flush with the thigh - it looks like it extends up past the end in the front-view picture. Also, if you have not done so already, try adding a bit of velcro to the top front of your boot and the inside of your shin (lower front). This will keep the shins from rotating on you. Just a few tweaks with the strapping and you are going to look awesome in that kit!

Congrats on the purchase, Dixon! Paul has a very nice and accurate kit. Check out the getting started section if you have not done so already. There are a bunch of tips and how-to's for armour building. It can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but it will all make sense eventually. Creating this build thread is a great first step. You will want to read through a few other build threads for ideas. Ukswrath's anovos build is full of construction methods that can be used for almost any kit. Take the time before your kit arrives to research all you can. Once the kit arrives, post any and all questions (along with images - you'll need to use imgur, tapatalk, or some other external image hosting service) and we'll be here to help you out along the way. Good luck

Welcome to the FISD and congrats on your purchase!

Hi Andy, Congrats on making one of the best decision of your life. For Hero builds, be sure to check out the CRLs, the reference library, and other builds for guidance. Also, reach out to your local Garrison - they may have build parties and people to help you in person. Anyway, here are some links to help get started with your hero build: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_anh_hero https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/6-anh-stunt-and-hero/ https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/category/24-anh-tk-reference/ You can also check out the Centurion submission thread for examples of other's hero builds. "Hero" should be in the title of the post if it is a hero build. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/72-request-centurion-status/ Enjoy the research and good luck on your build!

Hey Matt, welcome to the FISD!

Good luck, Robert! Looking good.

The return edge is really up to you. Myself, I removed it all as I prefer that look and I find it more comfortable. The screen used kits typically didn't have a lot of return edge, but it did vary. If you do want to leave some return edge, my advice is to sand the cut edges starting with coarse grit and progressing to a very fine grit like 1000 or more. This will polish the edge and keep it from causing discomfort when rubbing against your skin.

Oh, I know that feeling. lol Should be an easy fix, though. Keep up the good work

Looks good but you might want to find some smaller screws. and clipping the corners on the metal tabs will help with reducing scratches on your armour.

Trooperbay.com has the three button plate.

The frown is not flush with the surrounding helmet. If that is the question.

There is some "wiggle room" for GMLs to interpret certain standards.

Hey Brian, I just finished doing the same thing for a guy in our garrison. We did have some extra cover strip material, but other than than we were working with the existing finished armor which was woefully undersized. I cheated in every way I could - I used slightly larger coverstrips on the back than the front The front coverstrips were probably more like 25mm I opened up the front seam and separated the two halves so that they don't butt up to each other. I added a inner coverstrip for reinforcement. The pieces were trimmed too small so I did this to buy a few mm. The front coverstrip isn't quite wide enough to cover the whole raised ridge on the front - this bought me a couple more mm without making the actual coverstrip any bigger. All return edge at the top was removed and sanded smooth. His arms were resized the same way, so the armour looks proportional .

@Sn4k3 "standard" cover strip sizes are: arms - 15mm Thighs and front of shins - 20mm back of shins - 25mm of course, depending on the size of you, your arms, and your legs, these widths can be altered proportionally for your body size. Some people can get away with (or have no choice) to make the coverstrips larger for correct sizing. The key is to keep the relative widths proportional as best you can. Hope that helps.

Nice work! The only additional thing I would add (if not done so already) is the white weathering around the hovi mics. Great job on the painting.