wook1138

Congrats! And... I like how you think.

Absolutely! I usually do the posts while I'm at work - and for whatever reason, MEPD is blocked on my work computer. Weekend task

Some pics of the stuff I've acquired for this build. I think this is all from trooperbay. Sniper knee, original strapping kit (the screws showing on the outside of the armor is a upper level requirement), three button plate (as well as all the other button plates), S-trim, and strip stencils. Although the stencils are the "sandtrooper" stencils, they don't match this helmet - so I will need to modify. Collection of pouches and my pauldron. I couldn't decide on which pouch configuration I was going to do, so I ended up with a little of everything. I still have a canvas shoulder pouch and two more leather MP40 pouches on the way. I'll have plenty of pouches - I can pretty much emulate both versions of the docking bay 94 captain and the cantina captain. 3D print of a T-21 from TK421 propstop Sling, sling swivel, tubing for theT-21. Some wire for my DLT-19 as well. I'm still missing a few greeblies for the T-21, but I think I have them sorted out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, this will be a slooooow build. I used up all my favours with my family during my TK build. Anyway, all I’ve managed to do is get one eye more or less shaped and started to test the positioning of the brow. Having a number of detailed images of the helmet is great – the light plays tricks with the subtle return edges so many angles of the same thing are necessary. And the return edges on the AP armor are a little soft, so that makes things a little tougher when you’re trimming to match the original. Also, that brow is as far up as it will go without trimming. So… I guess I will be trimming the brow area of the helmet. Also, it looks like the brow in the reference pick is thinner too. I will also need to trim the opening at the bottom of the helmet a little more than I did with the TK so my head will fit in. To match my helmet to the original, I’ve been taking pictures of my helmet to match the reference pictures (relative camera location and lens zoom) and overlaying the images in Photoshop. I think I have a set-up that matches the original photos. Now I just have to mark up my helmet with some tape with reference points and I should be able to place things like tube stripes, paint runs, and cracks in the right location. I’m terrible at free-handing anything. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice start. So far, I've managed to trim out one eye on my bucket (well, almost). The wife didn't take the kids to her parents this week - so no build time for me. Nice work space That IS nice looking armour. Maybe next time.

Oh Daniel. The effects of a BBB day. Drunk on geekdom.

And... I’m following!

Trimming the return edge at the top of the thighs is not a bad idea - for the sake of comfort.

You are bang on with the front placement (large tab and 4 small ones). Nice. As Luc pointed out, there was a recent debate regarding the back tab and the CRL has been updated to reflect this. In short, you can cut off the back large tab if you want. My two cents: if Walt's back tab is as large as the front tab, I would cut it off if you don't need the extra material. There are medium sized tabs on the back of the Hero suits and possibly some Stunt suits, so medium tabs are ok. Otherwise most of the screen shots I've seen show the Stunt having no large (or even medium) tabs at the back. The build is coming along nicely. Good work!

And a shot with your knee bent a little, if possible. It does seem like the thighs are sitting low on your knees but it is hard to tell.

Congrats trooper!!

Well, Daniel... I for one will be watching. Interesting indeed.

Do it. Give in to the dirty side.

Ah yes, drop boxes! I knew I forgot something I'm going to add that to the first post. Thanks for the warning! I can barely get my melon in my current TK AP helmet, so anything that reduces the size is probably a no-go for me too. I was hoping to trim enough away from the brow area to get the proper look. Might be a careful balance of the two so the side traps' alignment with the ears and brow still look OK. Good luck on your build as well! See you over at MEPD.

I just priced out a RS helmet with shipping to Canada. The Canadian dollar is not very strong... apparently. another belt, holster, handguards, and blaster (I just ordered another ANH E-11!). This is like one of those cults where you give away all your money to the "cause" - but in this case, I'm sending it all to various stormtrooper-related vendors. At least here I end up with something tangible and totally cool and not just a paper cup of Kool-Aid. I sure hope my wife does not read this thread. Or look at my VISA statements.

Damn you, Daniel. Now you've got me thinking. And me "thinking" usually results in my wife getting annoyed.

Thanks! And that is awesome BBB-day news! The RS helmet should lend itself very well to this (with all the texture). I was debating getting a RS helmet for this build. Well, if I totally 'F' up this helmet I can try again with a RS. I'm planning on re-creating some of the bumps/paint runs with ABS paste. I'll do some tests with paint first to see what I think. The fun begins!

Hey Mark, To be fair to hot bathes everywhere, they are not that bad. The heat gun, however - can be trouble. If you think a slight reshaping will work, then go for it. So, in summary - option #1 has no place on this forum . Option #2 probably will not work. Option #3 is the winner here. That said, a couple of other AP builds for troopers with larger arms all mention cutting slightly larger cover strips. And you can always add a bit more to the back cover strips if you want to keep your front strips as close to 15 mm as possible. I'm envious of your work space. Looks nice.

So I started with my helmet I trimmed around the ears but used a drill to avoid a sharp corner (I get nervous with sharp corners as they invite tearing). Then I scored and snapped the extra off. And then with reference pics in hand I started to carefully shape the eyes to match the original. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, I'm starting another build - much to my wife's chagrin. I got another AP kit a while ago (untrimmed with belt and flexible handguards) and I'm finally starting the build. The difference this time is that I'm building a Sandtrooper. The build is very similar so I'm posting the build here at FISD and I will post the more TD-specific stuff over at MEPD. The only real differences between the TK and TD are: TD is dirty TD has a pauldron, pouches, and sometimes a pack TD does not have plastic shoulder bridges or large button panel on ab. They also don't have the 4 button panel - they have a three button panel (not painted) TD is dirty TD does not have the black lines on the traps or tears of the helmet Sniper knee plate if different shape. TD is dirty TD does not have holster or TD (or drop boxes) on the belt I think that is pretty much it. I thought a TD build here might be good for new troopers who are debating a TD build. And I know a lot of people here have completed a TD as well as a TK, so I'm sure I will get pointers on either site. The fun part about the TD build is that one is encouraged to build a specific onscreen trooper. There was no question for which trooper I wanted to build. This guy: The captain that talks to Garindan. The first shot above was one of the most memorable trooper scenes for me back in '78 (didn't get a chance to see the movie until '78 - longest year ever). The best part about this trooper is that the helmet is still around (it was recently at auction - I think it went for $250K, but don't quote me). Anyway, there are pictures of the helmet floating around. Starwarshelmets.com is a good place to see these images. Here is an example: MEPD has a bunch of additional reference. They have also broken down all the different sandtroopers and what equipment they have. This is an example of the graphics created for reference. There is one snag to the whole process. For basic approval in to the 501st as a TD, you need at least two pouches with one of those being a proper shoulder pouch. So I will need to add a shoulder pouch in addition to the belt pouches. For level 2 (PO), I need a backpack. This trooper does not have one - so If I want to advance to level 2 I need the pack (and from what I understand, I don't need said pack for level 3). To put together a proper pack takes some time - so I won't be doing that right away. My plan is to build the actual armour as close as possible to what would be expected at Level 3 (SWAT) and just go for basic approval for now. I'm still waiting for some more pouches to arrive, but I should have a variety of pouches so that I will be able to emulate other characters - most notably the Cantina Captain who wears the exact same armor as the Garinden captain. He also has a pack - so this might be a Plan B. I'll post some pictures of all my collected gear later.

Congratulations! Nice work!

Looks awesome to me! Very nice build.

Looks great! Good luck.

I love the Post’s Parts List idea. Your OCD is commendable. looking great!

Second what Magni said. I had to do the same thing - to get the forearms to fit right I had to use slightly larger coverstrips. But then my biceps were a bit big - so I added some padding. My arms are sized so that i couldn't lose the ridge on the edge of the biceps - they would have likely been too small - unless I wanted to then build a shim. Another option I didn't try was removing the ridge (from the back at least) - then gluing them together (but not touching) with a wide inner coverstrip - and then adding a regular width coverstrip to the outside (that just barely covers the gap). This may have given me the room at the back I needed to keep the front coverstrip the same as my forearms (and keeping my biceps fitting my arms). I'm doing some building next week and will probably experiment with this option.