Steaditrooper

I had my second troop yesterday as well as an event in the morning where I was learning to handle. I would highly recommend this to all troopers. It gave me great insight as what to look for and be aware of while in costume. Things can go wrong really quickly and I was able to help a TK from falling over. The troop was great. About 3 1/2 hours suited up. Fans in helmet a must for me. One of my drop boxes started coming apart. I has white duct tape in my box so I was able to do a quick field repair. On inspection when I got home I found I hadn't used enough E6000. You can never use too much E6000. Simple fix with lots of glue and a couple clamps. I also know of some more tweaks I need to do to the armour for comfort. I got loads of help and advise from 501st members in the change room while suiting up. Great people, great time.

Looking good Frank. Good luck! Thin cotton gloves make life easier. You can get them in bulk packs for little money. As far as dressing goes, it is hard to get suited up on your own. Not impossible but hard. My process is almost identical to Brad's (who's given me loads of pointers and help). On a troop with the 501st there should be handlers. Part of their job is to help everyone suit up. Also, other costumed members are always willing to help. My garrison is full of really great, friendly and helpful people. Troopers helping troopers!

Your build is looking great. Good work on your painting. Common mistake is not enough glue. I certainly did that. Yesterday was my second troop and one of my drop boxes started coming apart. When I got home and pulled it apart I could see why. Hardly any glue. Well, not any more. Ha! I used probably 10x the amount this time.

Nicely done. Good, clean lines around the eyes ad teeth.

Looking great Greg. Hmm. Here comes that temptation again to rip off my stickers and paint everything. Maybe next week. I have a troop tomorrow.

The forearms and the biceps should have the same width cover strips. Symmetry. My forearms and biceps are 20mm, front and back. My armour is made by AP. Your armour may be different but no matter the make, symmetry is what is required for EI and Centurion. My thighs and shins are 20mm too. I could have (maybe should have) gone bigger on those but didn't. It would look ok if my arms were 20mm and my thighs were 25mm. It is all about balance and what looks right.

Under the cover strip does not matter. They do not need to butt up. You may want to put a cover strip on the inside to help reenforce the join though. Symmetry on the outside is what matters for approval. Make the cover strips on the outside the same, front and back. As close to the raised edge as possible. That's what matters.

You look great! Congrats on your first troop!

Ha ha! Really cold in Toronto too. The thought of a Snowtrooper has crossed my mind several times. Seems appropriate. Grate White North indeed. That 1" elastic should help, I think. I don'y know why I didn't have that problem. Perhaps my girth? Um... Darn you Christmas goodies!

This armour looks great! I'm sure you'll get EIB then Centurion!

Yesterday I glued the cover strap back on my chest plate and glued in the new elastic. I went to take a couple pics with my phone and got a message that my memory was full. I spent an hour deleting pics in order to gain more room. So, two things today. First, I took the clamps off the chest to back strap. I re-curved the strap and it sits way better. Pics to follow. Lots of glue to clean up. That's ok. I used way too much but I know it isn't going to budge. Clean up is simple with E6000. I also found out that E6000 is different in Canada for some reason. It is way less stinky. Don't know why but it's true. I have never had a problem with fumes during my build. I took precautions but found they were not needed after the first few times I used it. Anyway... Second thing. My S-Trim arrived from Trooperbay! Sweet. It was way harder to put on than I expected. I should have waited for it to warm up a bit but I was too excited. It's -27C (-16F) in Toronto today and it sat in the mailbox overnight. Now I have everything I need for my Centurion application.

Cover strip as close as possible to this edge.

Hello Mike. Back in 1976 when this little film was shooting, the actors playing the Stormtroopers were all around 5'10" and 165lbs. The suits were quite 'skinny' for lack of a better word. The arm cover strips were 15mm, Thighs 20mm, Shins 20mm and calf closures 25mm. This works for a slim build. With my build I found this would not be possible. I was told that for Centurion the cover strips needed to match, not be canon. My arm cover strips are 20mm front and back. This was important. The same width front and back. The narrower and closer to canon the better. At 20mm my arms just fit, albeit a little snug. If you need to go larger with the cover strip, that's ok. From what I've learned here, try to get your cover strips as close to the raised edge as possible. You may need to trim some off the back of your arms and create a gap below your front cover strip in order to make this work. Understand?

I was approved on the 21st and had my first troop on the 22nd. I have one booked for December 30th and another for January 21. A garrison mate did this up for me. Nice.

As well as re-glueing the cover strap and reshaping it, I've decided to clean up and remake the 2" elastic for the right chest to back closure. It was just a little too long and I wasn't happy with a modification I made to it earlier. Placing the sew on snap. The elastic is only about 3/8" shorter. All stitched and ready to go. This should help create less gap between my back and back armour by pulling it slightly toward my body. I will need to put a little more of a curve in the back where the cover strap rests to help with this too. I'm just going to keep tweaking my armour until I'm happy with the fit.

While showing my brother-in-law my TK yesterday I noticed something that's been on my mind recently and have decided to deal with it before my next troop this Saturday. Shoulder straps. While visiting wook1138's build thread, 68Brick asked him "...did you fill the back of the first bump on the straps with abs scraps?" Well, here's what I saw yesterday on my armour. I can see the strap coming away from the chest. That came off a little too easily. This part is bevelled and I realized I would need to build it up from behind, otherwise there would hardly be any surface area for the glue to adhere to. The same was true for these as well. Double layers. First layer glued in. And here it all is clamped in place. I'll let this dry for several hours today while I go see TLJ with my oldest friend, and then glue it back on the chest. I also noticed in some pics that where this strap meets my back it doesn't sit nice and flush. Now I will be able to put more of a curve into it, fixing this annoyance.

This is how I feel after Christmas dinner.

I'm pretty sure now that my armour will be an ever evolving thing. I have lock nuts ordered for my strapping brackets. When they are in I will countersink the screw heads, install re-enforcing strips and replace the normal nuts with the new ones. I need to install something in the chest to hold my Aker amp and iPhone with TrooperTalk with an external battery for my phone. I learned from TK-2759, Dan, that a plastic bag for one's phone is a good idea to prevent it from getting wet from sweat. New, shorter straps for my kidney to ab connection will be needed and I will need to loose my Christmas weight. I know now that I could have left an extra 1/4" on my kidney plate for my girth. Frankly, it will be easier to loose the weight than to add a shim. This won't be hard with my job starting up again at the end of January. Very physical. No need for a gym membership when I'm working. The elastic strapping from my right chest to back will need to be redone and the ribbed cover strap will need to be curved a little more to sit nice and flush on my shoulder. I have another troop booked before the end of the year and another one for January 21. I'm so looking forward to meeting more people in my garrison and being able to contribute to the community. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone! Sean TK-19165

Merry Christmas to all the troops that celebrate! Big shout out to QuartZ's and the great thread they are doing. Amazing 3D printed parts for their TK bracket install. So, what better way to spend Christmas Eve day than to rough in my bucket electronics. Fans. I found that the fan on the right makes it hard for me to put on the bucket. I need to twist the fan clockwise and direct the airflow away from the eyes in order to keep it in the helmet. Otherwise the output vent of the fan prevents me from twisting the helmet into place on my head when putting it on. The wires are not secured yet. Hearing assist. This is one of those things I was told I might not need. I have discovered with the noise of the fans, albeit really quiet, they do hinder my ability to hear people. I purchased a couple Velleman kits from Amazon and soldered them up. Only took a little over an hour to do one. Kinda fun and really not hard at all with my complete lack of electronics know how. I drilled the appropriate sized holes in my helmet to accommodate the mics behind the ear pieces. I will need to drill small holes in the painted ear bump so the mics can 'hear'. The speakers/headphones I also got from Amazon. The volume control to the right of the photo is accessible for a gloved finger. They come with adhesive Velcro and were easy to put in place. The circuit board in the middle of the photo needs to be turned on before I put the bucket on. The battery box, also from Amazon (I bought two so I can change them out quickly), was modified with the same kind of connector I used on the hearing assist. It also has an on/off switch. Again, Velcro to attach. I think most of the wires will be hidden behind padding. Everything is temporary right now and will be changed as needed. Soldered switches. Holes for mics.

Really nice work. Stop giving me ideas.

For you perhaps. Mr. "I'm taking a break from armour to exercise" I think my straps have stretched a little because of a few too many holiday treats. Maybe.

Hi Dana. The straps seem short but they do stretch a little too. I've noticed this with my armour after one troop and I'm thinking about replacing them with new shorter ones before I apply for Centurion. I have about a 3-4mm gap where there was none before. It would be way worse with elastic. I like that you've used lock nuts for your brackets and are countersinking your screws. I'm replacing all my nuts with lock nuts I ordered from Amazon. When they're in I will countersink my screws too. Without the countersink there is a little bit too much of a gap between armour parts for my liking. Your armour is looking great!

I know this won't happen until the new year but my EIB request is in. This has been such a great experience. I can't believe the top two items on my bucket list have happened. Stormtrooper armour and I'm in the 501st.

Name: Sean Jensen Height: 5' 10" Weight: 195lbs Amor Maker: AP Helmet Maker: AP Blaster Type: Quest Design Canada E-11 Boot Maker: TK Boots Canvas Belt: AP Hand Plate Type: Silicone AP Electronics: TrooperTalk, Aker Neck Seal: Darman Holster Maker: AP

Your build is looking good. I have large thighs too. I completed the front seem with the cover strip first and then worked on shaping them at the back. It was much easier for me than trying to fit front and back at the same time. Congrats on the soon to be baby! p.s. being a dad is awesome and really fun.