springaling

Hello! TK-12369 https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=30847

Troopers, one of our brethren and supplier has recently suffered a loss. Ryan of Imperial Warfighters lost his wife to lung cancer. See his Facebook business page. Greatest sympathies to you and your family, Ryan.

I'm coming up on this stage in my build, but I realize it would be nice to have a series of these kinds of questions thought the build. It can be a kind of time consuming to have to go through entire builds to look up specific stuff (but not unproductive! And threads like ukswrath's Anovos build make things easier...). Anyway, tell us how you like to close your calves! And feel free to tell us your thoughts on some pros and cons. Cheers.

Armor is still coming along, doing plenty of trimming and sizing. I'm soliciting input regarding ab plate vs chest plate height, but after some more testing, I think things will work out they way they are. That being said, I'm still strongly considering detaching the cod for mobility, as I am looking into doing more active things with the armor (5k perhaps?). It's about time I ordered my belt, and I'm thinking of going through Imperial Issue. With armor (thank the Emperor it seems I won't need to mod circumference, 32" pants btw), looks like it's ~39.5" around. Looks like the off-white canvas might be a better fit for this, what do you guys think? Progress pics to come...

Besides accuracy, any other reasons? I guess I'm going for a good mix of that and mobility/comfort. I also really like having the return edge on the chest...I'll do some more trial fittings and see what's up. Thanks for the replies though, makes my decision harder!

I'm strongly considering detaching my cod plate on my TM build to adjust it for my height, and I would love to keep it detached and just strap the two pieces together. To my understanding, doing so would still keep me eligible for Centurion status. Also it looks great on Zel's build. I suppose it looks fairly straightforward, but does anybody have some extra advice on this? I haven't seen much about it on the forums.

By the way, Paul, the biceps match up beautifully!

Hey everyone, slow progress over here, but it's moving! Started slow by trimming with the Lexan scissors, but after watching some Trooperbay Youtube videos, I'm starting to follow suit with trace-score-snap. Though I'm still using a straight edge to help trim where it counts, like the raised parts for cover strips. I also really liked one of his techniques for some nice straight trimming lines, seen below. Anyway, here's some progress with a couple notes and questions. Biceps: They seemed to flare out quite a bit at the top after I trimmed them, so I cut them at a bit of an angle (red line - about 1/8" slope on each cut for about 1/4" closer at the top). My mind went a little absent when cutting the left bicep, and I followed the outside ridge a bit. Shouldn't be a big deal, since I think the shoulder bell will cover that all the time. Forearms: On the left forearm, regarding how the front cover strip portion flares out at the top, I did like Linus did and kept the trim ~7.5mm from the ridge, creating a bit of an opening (red arrow). It closes alright with tape without any visible deformity, so I figure that will go fine with the cover strip. Both forearms seem a little long, however, and I plan on keeping that little bit of return edge at the top. I assume there's no issues trimming from the wrist? I'll wait until final fitting first, though. Forearms: On the left forearm, regarding how the front cover strip portion flares out at the top, I did like Linus did and kept the trim ~7.5mm from the ridge, creating a bit of an opening (red arrow). It closes alright with tape without any visible deformity, so I figure that will go fine with the cover strip. Both forearms seem a little long, however, and I plan on keeping that little bit of return edge at the top. I'll wait til final fitting, but I assume there's no issues trimming from the wrist? They also are a little oblong in the opening, we will see if I need to bathe them, but probably after I glue the strips. Shoulders: Yup! Seems like it's a little big, but of course, we will see how the final fitting goes! Last question...I was checking out the ab/chest plates, and it seems like the chest plate might overlap the button panel a bit. I'm kind of worried about the height of the ab plate. I saw that Cricket left the ab plate in at least one of her builds, while Zel cut off the cod and shortened it AND kept it detached. I'm really liking the second option. Any advice on that before I do anything too drastic? Thanks guys!

It's finally happening! My BBB arrived a month ago while I was away on a long work trip. Now after collecting some supplies, it's time to make room in the schedule for the TK. For that, I made great use of Joseph's supply list and a personal copy of the Google Sheets spreadsheet available in his post. A couple of extra things to know about that list though...Lexan is basically ABS/plastic, if you are to shop for these in person; and for the Testors French Blue, I went off of just the #2715, but the Model Masters (which is still Testors) may be a larger number (#2715xx). Anyway, I got my box from the renowned Troopermaster, filled with some untrimmed 1.5mm ABS. I figure I can get some extra experience with the plastic while saving a few bucks. I am and always will be (your friend...couldn't resist the Spock quote) so grateful to those who posted such detailed posts on this process. As Linus explains in his build topic, I'm looking to make an idealized TK, which is why I opted for this fan-made mold that doesn't include the bumps on the helmet, some of the asymmetries, etc. I think he will be my main reference, since his is TM, and I'm liking his train of thought. However, my TK height waiver is being processed, so I'll be making reference to Zel's build and Cricket's build for such matters, and relying on the added expertise of Ukswrath's build and FBJ's build for other general build advice. That being said, I'm not here to reinvent the wheel, so I think most of my posts here will be to 1) emphasize some of my learning points outside of the above builds and 2) ask for advice and clarification. I'll be experimenting with photo sharing. Here we go! The BBB with future Ewok (don't think she knows yet). And TM sends decals with ESB. Yay! https://photos.app.goo.gl/9XW3wr6rBXGQU47W9

Oh dang, I'm also 5'6" 165 and went for TM. I'll remember that for next time and I'll let you all know how the TM goes!

Real quick, back to OT armor... I'm looking at some differences between ATA and TM. What really stood out to me on the first post was the note on TM that it's tricky to build. Can anyone expound on that, perhaps with respect to ATA gear? Also, I have fairly large calves IMO. Can anyone see any issues there between these armors? I was looking at Reaper's Stunt thread, and saw his woes with the shins as well as some mentioning of ATA's left side being smaller. Finally, I couldn't see if there's a place on the first post that says when it was edited, but I suggest adding a "Current as of:" line. Cheers

Hey all, I know that different batches of ABS look inherently different, but I like the smoother helmet of TM and the affordability (it's in the name!) of ATA, especially in the States. I'm thinking of getting the 1.5mm TM helmet, as I hear those aren't as brilliant white as the 2mm, and I think I remember reading somewhere that ATA's isn't that super-white. Anybody got some experience with both TM and ATA white "shades"? Couldn't find much in the way of Franken-TKs. Sticking with my more "ideal" TK inclination, I'd like to keep the shades pretty close. Thanks!