TheRascalKing

Helmet The helmet is one of the most noticeable changes, especially the addition of "teeth" on the TLJ model, though other small updates are present.

***WORK IN PROGRESS*** Soooo what's the difference between a TFA and TLJ style FOTK? And what would it take to convert the primarily TLJ-focused Denuo Novo First Order Stormtrooper kit to TFA-style? Let's get into it. The Force Awakens ("TFA") First Order Stormtrooper CRL The Last Jedi ("TLJ") / The Rise of Skywalker ("TRoS") First Order Stormtrooper CRL We'll start with noting the difference in general, but with special emphasis on the Denuo Novo kit, which is clearly intended to be TLJ style, but has several parts that are actually more suited for TFA. I have grouped several elements together and will explain my plan for each element. Is this inclusive of all changes made? Probably not, but hopefully it is enough for multiple approvals utilizing the same base kit, with a little extra intentional work.

Congrats trooper! EIB Tracker updated

Apologies if my diagram was unclear, but that's looking much closer to the reference photos now - great work!

Y'all are wildin on these AM kits man. I was told previously on a mentee's EIB submission that this tab is not present on any screen used reference armor and not included on any other maker's kit other than AM, and that it should be removed and the snaps placed higher. It would be great to have consistency on this point.

Velcro is great because it's adjustable. But Velcro also is terrible because it's adjustable. I usually recommend people wear their suit around a lot in order to get the fit dialed in with the Velcro, then upgrade to snaps by directly replacing the Velcro with the same measurements once you're happy with how it looks. But Velcro is generally not remotely accurate, nor a good long term solution. The only place I have it that's "structural" is to hold the back of my shins shut, personally.

Hell, I triple mine over so that the ends are not exposed where they can fray (though I heat seal them anyways) and it does really reinforce the snap, provided that you have the right post length to accommodate. But the double snap is there in case one fails, and to prevent lateral play from a single snap that is able to rotate. In some areas (like the arms), you want this for mobility, but in others (like the body panels) you definitely do not. The wingnut chart above is an outstanding starting point.

There are several good examples of how I do my strapping in the below thread - hope it helps!

Hey Mark! I suggested Eric reach out to you, as he wishes to use the unit name and potentially branding of a unit that already exists within canon and is currently in use by Disney/LFL for their Parks/Batuu troopers. Especially if they ever chose to create any type of merch or logos at all, this could lead to concerns from the Mouse, so your close review would be appreciated. The use of the term "Legion" by a fireteam may also be less than ideal, but I'll leave that determination to staff. I definitely want to support its creation, but the name gave me pause for concern. Best of luck!

Me again. The information I have shared (without "naming-and-shaming" specific details) has been confirmed both by Legion staff, and by former associates of his. These are not accusations, these are facts and much of it is public record. I have been doing my best to post on all Detachment forums and relevant Facebook groups lately to get the word out, after seeing an upsetting number of 501st and even members of my own Garrison leaving positive reviews on his Etsy page. We definitely do not want to support this individual. Anyone familiar with what happened with Hyperfirm is aware exactly why.

Somewhere out there, a @Deployment Officer Team member is having an aneurysm and drawing colored lines on their screen... Fun idea though, impressed with the creativity and execution.

The Centurion tracker tab has been updated to current as well, including additional info as above. Will I get around to completing these fully? Maybe. Is it a whole lot better/more complete than it was? Oh yea. 2nd push done. I did a bit of hyperlinking so that the applications and account info can be pulled up easy, and some VLOOKUPs so I didn't have to enter info multiple times. Please don't break it with edits, and I'll add more features as I have time. The tabs with charts are very much just initial attempts at pulling useful data, but they give you an idea of what can be learned/what trends can be tracked potentially. Definitely a couple of gaps in the numbering that I found, so please have the @Deployment Officer Team review for accuracy in case these have already been addressed.

Yeabuddy Happy to have helped out with the photos, but this armor was already there and well deserving of an EIB submission. Fantastic work!

The list above looks good even in 2023. Just do not purchase on Etsy, as there is at least one exceptionally unscrupulous vendor there. I also have PMd with a lead.

75. City of Mission Viejo Star Wars Day - Mission Viejo, CA - Thu. 5/4/23 (ANH-S TK #48, FTE #57) I have a fun game where I have my wife (the Jawa in the photo actually!) try to guess which stormtrooper I am in photos with other TKs. It's especially fun because I often troop with other TKs whose armor I've worked on or built (usually from Anovos or RS) and who are of a similarly proper build for this costume. So it can be a challenge even for her (who has taken several of my L2/L3 submission photos and knows the CRLs as well as I do!), and frankly, I take that as the highest compliment.

If you're standing naturally, there shouldn't be white showing above the black underarm connector. If you're moving around, it's whatever, but your barrel should be cut accordingly, though 850s super long chest piece might make it challenging. As to the posterior - it's a pretty flat, angled cut on the little tab at the bottom that's pretty distinctive from OTTKs. Hopefully no one else is inspecting this area this closely hahaha

Welcome, Dryden! You're in the right place, and the more research you do here and elsewhere, the happier you'll be with your TK journey - trust us! We're here to help.

Welcome, Derek! Congrats on your approval, and I see that you found the proper place to post in order to be granted proper permissions, so you're off to a great start.

Welcome to the FISD, Marcel!

Heck yea. You look phenomenal, my dude. Very exciting to see someone finish this costume to a high level and grace our boards with it so that others can follow in your footsteps and look similarly awesome. While I'm still not a fan of 850's sculpt and ABS in general for these, this is genuinely the best I've seen their armor look yet and is a fantastic build. I agree about the underarm area (difficult just due to the shape of the 850 chest plate/connectors), and would check the trim of the lower section of your posterior against reference photos as well. Only other thing I can see is that the backpack appears to be riding very low and should sit up above the back box. Couple of little adjustments and you'll make for a heckuva CRL model. Great work.

74. Community Science Night - Orange, CA - Fri. 4/28/23 (ANH-S TK #47, FTE #56) Mere seconds later, poor @TattooedStormtrooper walked right into a chair lol

****WIP 23 Thigh Holster Assembly 24. Thigh Assembly

***WIP*** 25. Shin "Kit-Kat" Assembly After prepping and painting your white of choice, it'll be time to attach the resin "kit-kat" accents that go on the LEFT, outer shin. NOTE that the holes on the included template ARE WRONG, DO NOT USE THEM. But you can still use the template to get the kit-kats positioned correctly on the paper, then poke new holes with a pencil into the predrilled recesses on the parts. Then use the template to drill out those NEW holes on your shin armor. You'll note that this is step 25 and comes before shin assembly, as I learned that this is much easier to do BEFORE gluing the two halves together, and had to use a phillips bit with a ratchet to screw them down, after adding a few drops of CA to the faces and kicking with NCF Quick. 26. Shin Assembly Let's build a shin. I'll try to take some additional photos in the future, but trim your two legs out, overlap them, and glue them together, using the clip recess as your guide for alignment and spacing. I used E6000, clamps, painter's tape, and a whole bunch of n52 Neodymium magnets. It's a prestigious award.

Mannn, there are a million different brands of ABS-specific glues and bonding agents, so there's no 100% "right" answer for this, and the one you linked might work great! Many of the products you're going to hear suggested in here are suggested because they are easy to find for most people and have worked consistently well for builders when used correctly in specific situations. Doesn't mean something else won't work even better - it just might not be tried and true. Everyone has their favorite brand from personal experience as well. Same as to what glue to use overall - you just have to look at the different variables and figure out what you need from that bond and what glue is right for the situation. Most of the time, this info is on the product label or can be found online, but you gotta be thinking about things like: - How long does it take to bond? - What type of materials is it made to bond? - How strong is the bond (psi?)? - Will the bond remain flexible? - What viscosity is it and will it run, spread, or craze? - How much product is required and are runs or seepage removable/easy to clean? - Is the bond reversible or removable, or permanent? - What color is it once dry and does it cause discoloration or damage paint? - Is it sandable or gap-filling? - Does it expand or produce heat that may cause warping? - Does it require clamping or a catalyst? - Is it a single or two-part you mix and how is it dispensed? - How does it age? Does it become brittle or weaken over time? I'm decently into this as a hobby but am not an expert by any means, and I still probably have 10-15 different types of glue in my drawer (but use 3-4 regularly). You may not be able to check every single requirement box with the products you have available, but it may be worth buying a new product, or seeing if you are able to compromise to make it work. But that being said, since we're talking DN FOTKs and we're both based in California (glue, like paint, can be regional) - I've mostly been using E6000 (I like the medium size tubes with the pointed tip) on the overlapped areas of the arms and legs where they will need to remain flexible. In areas where I am adding ABS slurry to fill seams (shoulders and ab sides), I wanted the pieces to be a little more rigid and not flex much or ever come apart, to avoid potentially cracking the slurried areas. I used a 2-part Loctite plastic bonder, but I'm not sure I would recommend it due to the color and seepage, but in general it wasn't bad and produced a strong, pretty stiff bond. I put down a couple strips of tape on my bench, then dispensed and mixed/applied it with a small popsicle stick. To apply the greeblie clips and such, I used Satellite City CA Hot Stuff Special T and kicked it with NCF Quick with positive results. Hope that helps!

Awesome work, Marek!