JenEcho

Tonight's tiny project - painting pan head screws (yay! found them). These will replace the dome headed ones currently on my TD. Plan is to get everything done and pics submitted for EIB (and Centurion?) before the end of July. Can I use my original submission pics and then add on the additional pics? Or, is it preferable to take all new pics? Looking forward to my first armour party tomorrow! Hoping to get some hands on advice on how to pad my shins/thighs because man, you wouldn't believe the bruises I've got from armour bites. Another question - has anyone strapped their thighs directly to their ab, rather than using a belt/garter system? My belt keeps slipping down while I troop - I guess suspenders would hold it up, but I was thinking that using elastic and snaps right on the inside of the ab might be more convenient?

Cricket you’re a genius! I took off the tiniest amount and changed the shape of curve. It wasn’t so much where the dip was between the thighs, but the convex curve that was very unnatural against my cheek. I made it concave and it seems to be staying perfectly in place now. (Can’t share a direct Imgur link on my phone). https://imgur.com/a/jnOnagw

So I think you're on to something @Cricket! I wish I could remember what an "original" length thigh curve looked like. I feel like if I made the swoop so it sits more under my booty, my cheek could kind of hold it in place? Eep! Now that I'm taking my armour out for the first time since my troop, apparently I need to invest in some polish. Where did all these scuff marks come from?? And I'm thinking a bit of white fleece/felt at the end of my shins might stop them from cutting into my boots? There's already some scores in the leather.

It was so much fun! Few tweaks to make to my armour, but it was WAY more comfortable and easy to wear than I expected. I absolutely love how grown ups love us just as much as kids. "does this armour make me look short?" LOL

Oh that's a good thought! I'll take a better pic of it by itself tonight since you can't really see much here. Because I had to take sooooo much off it was pretty near impossible to maintain the original swoop and curve, but I think you're definitely on to something. I would really love to not have to dismantle, shim, ABS paste bla bla bla this one.

Did my first troop on Sunday and it was so unbelievably awesome!! I can't wait for my next one! Overall my armour was super comfortable and I had no real issues with it - EXCEPT for my stupid left thigh and shin. The thigh keeps rotating inward (see pic, I'm the one making Vadar look nice and tall). You can see how the thigh "V" has rotated almost 45 degrees. I have that darn shin secured with a big piece of velcro on the boot front and a stirrup, but it still shifted a bit. Not a huge amount and I suppose I can live with it. That thigh is another matter though.The thighs are snapped to a belt/garter so I'm really surprised at how much it twisted. This thigh is the one that I over trimmed and it fits super super snug. Righty stayed exactly where it was supposed to.

Hey Alicia! I just found your build thread - We're almost exactly the same height/weight, so I feel all your struggles on a personal level. I just finished my TK, so really don't have any advice, but just want to say you're looking great!

Fully approved and ready for my first troop this weekend! Thanks for all the advice and support. I couldn't have done it without you guys!

Shiny new TK-21615 requesting access! http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=28168

That is 100% the plan! Only thing I need to do is get another pair of rubber gloves and attempt once more to get the silicone guards to stick (yeah, I know that's Centurion, but I'm thinking ahead )

TK-21615 ready to troop!!! Thank you all so so much for your expertise and moral support along the way. I can't wait for my first troop this weekend!

Oh great idea for the cap - I have a couple of running buffs that will be much more comfortable than a full balaclava. Is your mic actually taped to your face? That doesn't drive you crazy? Fan battery - I assume the best bet is to velcro it to the inside of the chest plate? I saw a couple of troopers with their speaker hooked onto their belt but I like your idea of hiding it inside the armour. PS - You look adorable in that pic?? <3

Question for Cricket (or possibly the boys...) - what do you do with your hair? I'm finding that a ponytail/bun is awkward in my bucket. Do you just shove it all under the balaclava?

Apparently I need to go buy a balaclava...

Making my final adjustments and finishing touches before taking my submission pics! The finish line is so close. Trimmed the back of my knees on the thighs/shins and took another cm off my shins. Oh man!! I can move and even do stairs now! Made the stirrups for my shins and I'm not sure if I made them a bit too short since they're a challenge to stick in place, but they really do the trick of keeping my shins from twisting or riding up. Added padding and fans to my bucket. Waiting for one piece of padding to glue together and it'll go in tomorrow. Need to figure out how to secure the microphone - I bought the Aker speaker/mic. Any suggestions? Replaced the elastic straps joining my kidney to butt with nylon strap and it works like a charm to keep them lined up. I also added a tab of ABS on either side of the butt to keep it from flaring out. Oh, and realized that I hadn't glued the tiny little white elastics so that's done now.

Thank heaven for E6000 - I can't count the number of times I had to pull things apart. Especially on the "easy" parts. As far as trimming the thighs to account for our booty - I definitely carved a lot from the back of my thighs to keep it from digging in. Combined with my tiny legs (but I guess, "normal" torso?), the cover strips on the back of my thighs are 9" in length and the front cover strips are 13". I went very very slowly with trimming and kept the original shape/swoop as best I could.

Just saw your build thread - I'm literally putting the finishing touches on my AP kit which I had to modify to a hobbit-sized 5'2", so I feel ALL YOUR PAIN. The forearms were very challenging. I ended up ruining one trying to get them to be nice and spherical in the hot water bath. Mark was super awesome and speedy getting a new set to me. Mine were sized down enough to have no "bump" for the inside cover strip to go on. I took the return edge off the top and bottom of the forearms - I think with the smaller sanding drum of my Dremel kit. When the cod is separated from the ab, you'll be able to bring the ab plate down to a more natural position. I didn't end up having to do any trimming on the "middle parts" - butt/kidney/chest/etc. My biggest piece of advice - don't size too tight, especially around the thighs! I sized for circumference and they were snug, but then as I trimmed for length they became tighter since they become narrower the closer to the knee you go.

$20+ for that glue on Amazon.ca. Darn it that rustles my jimmies!!

It is so hard to find Loctite products here in Canada. I have NO idea why our selection of sticky things should be so limited. I'm going to see if I can order this off Amazon.ca

Yeah, I had to put my rubber gloves aside because NOTHING was working to attach the silicone hand guards. And I was getting way too frustrated and hung up on that one part. I've built with the ultimate goal of Centurion in mind, so I guess I'll have to pull them out at some point. I was having a bit of luck with Gorilla Glue, but it was still coming off in spots. Time for another run to the dollar store.

Aw thank you! Following your build and seeing how you overcame the setbacks gave me so much motivation and encouragement. You've read my mind! Literally have the link to the stirrup tutorial from your build pinned on my laptop - I'm hoping that when I secure those shins down (and straight) that I'll get a much better idea if I need to trim anymore from the bottom or if I need to take some off the back. I was just about to look at your thread again to refer to how you've trimmed behind the knees. Question - how much mobility do you have in your arms? Is it completely unrealistic for me to expect to be able to reach all the way over to do up that shoulder strap/bell snap when I've got my arms on?

Yeah I’m using it as motivation to get out and run more, but I definitely see some shimming and paste modifications happening come hibernation season.

Good advice with the strapping to keep everything lined up - I think maybe just swapping out the elastic with webbing might do the trick. Easy to try since I had to buy a second massive pack of snaps so I have tons left over. I was overzealous with the sizing of my left thigh and I'm not sure if I can hike it up anymore if I trim it since it's getting kind of narrow circumference wise right now. Although I have to say that everything fits MUCH better with my Under Armor as opposed to my usual method of test fitting in my shorts. Suction is no one's friend!

ARG! I actually tried so hard to get those tube stripes right - looked over the threads and all the people who had got it wrong and went back and forth at least a dozen times trying to figure out which was the correct side. Next time

That darn butt flare! I definitely blame the armour and not my booty. A hot water bath helped a lot, but I think you're right with the strapping - I'm going to play around with it for sure.