TheRascalKing

Let's goooooo! Attaches are standing by to assist as well!

Congrats! AP is great armor. Have you submitted to your Garrison's GML yet or need any help doing so? Post more pics and we'll give you some feedback on fit and finish!

Yup, heyhey! What part of CA are you from? We'd be happy to put you in touch with your local Garrison! Welcome to the FISD and let us know how we can help you!

Woot, welcome KC! Awesome to see you in here

PICS. You forreal? I never thought about doing the whole suit and it probably does add some weight... but tell me more!?

Probably cheaper to go find it, but if you just wanna click... https://trooperbay.com/trooper-helmet-frown-screen

I'd like to believe that it gives my thin-ish Anovos buckets just a tiny bit of extra strength and impact resistance without going too crazy. Plus, yea I like the texture and finish (it doesn't scratch, peel, or chip), and velcro/etc. still stick to it just fine. Been using it for several years with positive results.

Rust-O-Leum 2X White with either 1K or 2K automotive clear coat is another popular option for FOTKs and RO suits, but yea - OT armor should not be painted (except maybe the helmet).

Here's my ESB bucket - a little strip of black 3M VHB-type tape between each tooth also works well!

Looking good! Don't forget to spray those mic tip interiors white while they're still disassembled! I usually do the interior and lips first with a quick masking of the outside, then after they FULLY dry, flip em face down to redo the satin black exterior!

I get passionate about this stuff and came in a little hot on the last post, but I do appreciate everyone here. Glad to hear that we all agree the CRL could use an update. Let's make it happen Mic tips replaced with some from @ukswrath that I painted up per your request - satin black exterior, interior, and mesh, with white nip-... accents. Repainted the vocoder with Model Masters semi-gloss black, and chipped a bit more off that middle tooth. Didn't want to paint it since it's rubber, but I did use some sandpaper to knock as much of the silver off my blaster grip as possible. It came that way. *shrug* See you guys over in the Centurion sub this weekend

Approvable is as approvable does, daddio... *shrug* I think the side strap is required for Centurion but the front one is optional at all levels, based on my reading of the CRL? But the ROTK is or the same generation as FOTK, so the layout posted above seemed a reasonable jumping off point.

Nawwwwwww...

Both the CRL model helmet and some of the ones you linked also show the mesh as appearing silver... so perhaps it should be an option, and clearly stated as such? I already painted mine, but dang As long as my objection has been noted! White tape is a different story and you know it! hahahaha (and yes, I absolutely saw it being applied on set as well lol)

I'm going to kind of echo my Garrison mate, friend, and TK-Twin @equuspolo's concern over on his ESB Centurion thread (but also as a show of deference) here and say... I did not know that the mic tips for ANH-Hero helmets were supposed to have a black interior, and definitely never heard black mesh. As he said, I strive to build to the Centurion standard outlined in the CRL... which is what I believe the DO's should hold us to. Suggestions for improvement are one thing, but the line between suggestion and requirement can get a little blurry, and if something is required for Centurion, I'm of the opinion that it should be stated clearly in the CRL (in red). I know there isn't always a 100% consistent standard across suits in the movies, so the CRL AND the DOs suggestions shoulddd reflect as such. That being said, I absolutely welcome this as an opportunity to learn and appreciate the DO's scrutiny and advice SO MUCH. I want to look my best and appreciate y'all helping me get there. But I would absolutely prefer to know ahead of time and build to that standard instead of having to correct. And yes, I often review previous approved Centurion threads to know what to look for... but the "extra" standards aren't always consistently applied, especially over time and as DO's change. I know it's easier said than done, but I would recommend adding additional info to the CRL, as it currently reads for EIB: "Correct Aerators/Hovi-MIX tips are present. Screens used shall be of a wide type mesh, with the rim of the mic and the inside white or painted white." And at present, nothing pertaining to the mic tips is stated for Centurion. This is just an example specific to my situation, but in general... if it's being called out for Centurion, it should be in the CRL is my point. I'm not trying to make it harder... but not trying to make it easier either. ALL OF THAT BEING SAID... Hey look, I got a new set of mic tips from Tony and repainted them appropriately. Satin black exterior, interior, and mesh... And just look at my tiny white small projections located on the center of the interior used to disperse and dispense fluids in controlled amounts over a particular area! I'll reassemble once dry and repaint the vocoder as well (ran out of proper semi-gloss paint)... I'm happy to rise to the occasion, but for the record, it could be more clear from the get-go! /rant <3

I did a quick search and couldn't find much either... likely mostly because not many people use the original style "bracket" strapping, because it's pretty awful. Not much in the way of adjustment, and makes your return edges very prone to cracking. There's a reason it isn't required to be used at any level of accuracy. There's some info about it here and I know Joseph sells the brackets and has some info in his sales thread (as do a few other suppliers), but if you're going to ever troop in this armor, or if you fall outside the "standard" stormtrooper body size/shape, I would consider using the much more popular method of elastic and line 24 snaps (even if you add non-functioning screws to simulate the look of the original brackets). Hope that helps!

Congratulations, trooper!

Frown has too many teeth cut out, vocoder shape is off, mic tips are painted incorrectly, tube stripes are shaped incorrectly, ear bar shape looks off... hard to tell what else from just that front view. But it also appears this may be a 3D print? Printed helmets are veryvery rarely accurate or good looking for OTTKs, as - put simply - that's just not how they were made for the movies. Once we start seeing little details like that that look off, it's usually clear that this maker is not familiar with our standards (or screen accuracy in general) and it's a signal to keep looking. I would start with the threads suggested above and research, research, research. There are tons of great, vetted options that have been proven time and time again to yield excellent results for a reasonable price. Also, it should be noted that the majority of the stormtroopers shown in The Mandalorian were based on the Rogue One/Anthology style armor, not ANH (with a couple exceptions where ANH helmets may have been used on the Client's Remnant TKs... and, well... us... some of Moff Gideon's posse), so that's something to consider, and again... research, if that's your goal. You just took a step into a much bigger world, but we're here to help support you on your journey and I'm glad to see some local guys reaching out! Step one is reading through those threads

Congratulations, trooper! I do love me some AM armor, great work!

Bonjour et bienvenue! Let us know if we can assist you with anything!

TheSwede is totally correct, but I will add this to the discussion - I simply don't think WE (meaning the 501st) will get a Beskar version at all. It seems that characters are distributed between the two clubs (Rebel Legion and 501st Legion) based on their allegiances and status as a "good guy" or "bad guy". I have heard it discussed, though not officially, that since in the early part of the season, Din is working FOR the Empire, that the "pre-Beskar" armor will be accepted for the 501st (and in fact a CRL is out now, please find it here). HOWEVER, later in the season, once his allegiance shifts and he is now working essentially AGAINST the Empire to protect the Child... he switches to become a "good guy", so the full Beskar armor will very likely NOT ever become a 501st-approved CRL, instead going to the Rebel Legion. Again, this is still unconfirmed, but very likely the case.

I appreciate it! Yea, it's a little too high, but worse, the suspenders are maxed out, so I can't bring it down if I wanted to (and I do). Bringing the back up by shortening the bridges should help too. I trimmed a couple inches off the barrel top already, so I've got the new suspenders on order. Yep, I'm going to add a side strap as well, but waiting on deciding how I'm going to attach them to my garter belt first, so I can get the angle right. Idk if I should sew em, use Velcro, snaps, or what. I did add the snaps to the thigh drops tho, so this should give you a feel for what it'll end up like. This is the left side.

More updates! More frustrations... Helmet Still in the same spot... maybe paint this weekend... I hate paint... Chest/Back Made some progress here! My shoulder tabs arrived from Mr. Paul's, but I did end up having to do a bit of problem solving, as my setup is different than the way a Shoretrooper is assembled (and I guess not quite fully accurate to the studio suits). With Paul's kit, he recommended bonding the aluminum supports to the front of the chest to support the shoulder bridges, but... well, that's not going to work with how Jim's kit is designed... As you can see, the step in the bracket and the curve is the opposite of what would work to attach it to the chest armor... So heck, I just attached them to the back armor instead! They needed a little extra bending persuasion to work, but not much... Paul also supplies some 2" or so elastic with an extremely firm stretch that works with the bracket.... here's what they looked like after a lick of paint and a little scuff to promote adhesion, but before install. And here they are assembled and ready to install. You'll note that little N52 neodymium magnet that's going underneath... there was some space anyways and it serves a purpose... The purpose? There are corresponding neodymium magnets countersunk and epoxied into the rear of the shoulder bridges to hold them down! Hard to see, but the slightly dirty circle towards the top. These are getting repainted... more on that later. Here are some pics of the process to get the shoulders attached.... I glued a corresponding snap into the shoulder bell, then put some silver Sharpie on it to use to transfer a mark for the position with the bell in place. Corrected for the center, measured, and replicated it on the other side... Punched holes and trimmed the excess... And installed snaps! You can see how the elastic sits on top of the support and holds it all together... Here it is all installed! Added the biceps using velcro and elastic... And here's the whole top half, more or less assembled! (minus the shoulder bridge-to-chest attachment, which I'm glad I didn't epoxy in just yet...). Even though it's backward, it still puts the support tab and attachment point in almost the exact place, so I'm happy. At this point, I felt good trying on the top half of the armor for the first time pretty much ever! Used some clamps to hold the bridges in the front since I didn't glue them in yet... I definitely figured out that my back armor is sitting too low, and that my barrel is too high... unfortunately, I cut my suspenders too short and they are maxed out, so I'll need to remake them. And to bring the chest up, the only thing I can think of is to shorten the shoulder bridges another couple bumps. I SHOULDDDD move the area where they insert on the back armor down lower for accuracy, but honestly that's more work than I want to get into at this point, so I'll trim a couple bumps off. I'm currently at 16 visible ridges, and this canon reference shot shows as few as 12, so I think I'm good. They look like bigger ridges than Jim's (and much bigger than the urethane ones from Jeff), so they might be a little longer in actuality, but I think it should fix my problem without looking too bad. I'm going to trim them, grind a few ridges off the front (back has the magnets, so no go), then repaint, THEN hopefully finally epoxy them in to the front. The bridges will click in nicely at the rear and the chest armor has magnets added to the front lower sides that click in nicely with the underarm connectors as well. Hopefully adding longer suspenders to bring the barrel DOWN, and shortening the bridges to bring the back UP will improve the look significantly, and make it so the barrel is not visible ABOVE the underarm connectors (despite the notch I cut into the barrel). I'll also be lining it with some craft foam to keep it from scratching the barrel where it overlaps. I promised you magnets... there are some magnets! Ab/Belt Still some work needed here - final paint after the myriad repairs, then I can attach the belt boxes. I did add strapping to the belt drop boxes, so those are ready to go... I went with 2" black elastic. Fight me. Arms Nothing exciting here... half of the bicep is glued with E6000 on each side and ultra-thin velcro on the other. Both sides of the forearms got velcro so far. I did notice that my wrists were WAY too tight, and I struggled with getting the forearms together by myself. Not sure I could have done it with gloves on, or that my wrist would have fit with gloves on. I may try to heat and widen the wrist, or remove material. Unsure how to remedy this. The gaskets were also pretty bunched up and uncomfortable at the elbows, but that might just be a how it is (any FOs with rubber gaskets out there? haha). I may redo these with magnets and elastic to make them easier and more comfortable to put on and to allow a little more stretch. We'll see. Legs I did glue on the sniper knee and right thigh ammo belt... nothing fancy to talk about, just some E6000 and clamps/magnets to hold in place while drying overnight, again, don't think I've posted them. I started on my garter system, based loosely on the FOTK reference for thigh strapping here. I picked up a tacti-cool looking belt, and some strapping/buckles. I glued snap tabs into the thighs... Then started making corresponding straps with adjustable buckles, leaving a little extra to use as a pull tab to disconnect them when needed. I'll post some more photos as I keep working on em, but can hopefully suit up my bottom half soon! I think that's it for now. I felt bad about not including many pics in my last post, so I added plenty to this one, and went back and added some to the last. Since this is my own personal thread (as previously mentioned, not so much a "How-To" and more of a chronicle of my descent into madness, a la "Hearts of Darkness"), I like include some personal updates, so if anyone was wondering... I did see my oncologist recently and it's looking like from my last blood work and scans, that the months of chemo and radiation were successful and that no further treatment is necessary for my cancer at this time! Nothing to do but wait for my next scan early next year with fingers crossed! So that's cool. I got engaged recently (to DZ-71490 no less!), which was also awesome and one bright point in an otherwise trash year! And finally, just kinda cool... took a decent photo of my current helmet collection after getting the new shelf on the right and moving my TV over on the wall (ignore the mounting holes that need to get filled haha). Left, counter-clock-wise to right: - Anovos ESB TK - HFx Productions ANH blaster - Hellhounds ESB blaster - TM ANH-Hero TK - screen-used Anovos ANH-Stunt TK - Wasted Fett with minutefett paint ROTJ Boba - WIP Jimmiroquai fiberglass Anthology TK - Colabo LidTech clone fiberglass aerohelmet from my downhill skateboard racing days I think that's it for now! Until next time!

I may try to at least get my photos in! Hoping to do my ESB at the same time so I only have to suit up once. We'll see how it goes. Got a couple little helmet and strapping mods to do between now and then. Thanks Q! I've always been inspired by the sheer number of costumes you have, but also the quality! I always appreciate your input. Yeabuddy! Thank you! I'm a sucker for that kinda thing, I admit. Is the gold frame 5 or 6...? Thanks Joseph! So, summarizing my work list as I like to do... Dressing Issues to watch for: 1. Had my thighs hiked up a bit too high or my ab slipped, but mind the gap between ab/posterior and thigh tops 2. Posterior plate was sticking out... I knew this one was coming again and will keep watching for it 3. Shin rear cover strip was coming undone a tiny bit 4. Ensure drop boxes are aligned Modifications to make: 1. Helmet - Repaint vocoder with semi-gloss 2. Helmet - Repaint interior of mic tip and screen(?!) black - why y'all lookin so close at my "small projections located on the center of the interior used to disperse and dispense fluids in controlled amounts over a particular area?" ;P 3. Helmet - Remove a little more paint from the center tooth 4. Blaster - Remove silver weathering from grip I can think I can knock this stuff out shortly, so be on the lookout! I appreciate you guys!

There ya go! Chipped away a bit with a Goo-Gone-soaked toothpick, @justjoseph63.