MaskedVengeance

I'll add, too, that Imperial Boots just changed their name and website this week. Clicking on the 421 link that Mario suggested appears to redirect to their new webpage, but actually to the black variant of the boot instead of white. Here also is the new direct URL to the white version: https://keeptrooping.com/product/421-classic-white/

Per the suggestion of Mario, I've added Andrew's iComm battery mod thread to this compilation. As always, if anybody finds particularly helpful resources that should be added to this list, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Sooo close, Scott! Little tweak and you’re in!

I don't know if I'd say "wizardry," Jim, but thanks for the sentiment! So this is something that will be documented in my build thread once I complete it, but since you asked, below you'll find a quick write-up of that eventual ab-kidney reinforcement and hardware section. I was very pleased to receive compliments on the reinforcements from @justjoseph63, but I'm not sure if you're asking about that or the rivet hardware and caps. First, I knew that I wanted to reinforce the edges of the the ab and kidney pieces so I began by cutting some spare black ABS. I used black to minimize visibility through the ab-kidney seam. I used this same plastic for my v-tabs between the kidney and posterior armor pieces. I then positioned the reinforcement strips how I wanted them, and added tape guides. This would help my rough sand the ab and kidney pieces appropriately, as well as placement when gluing the strips down. Here we have the edge reinforcements after several days of letting the E-6000 cure. An additional benefit of adding these plates was that it mostly straightened out the ab and kidney pieces, which initially had some misaligned curvatures. At this point I then glued down the strapping kit that I received from Justin (Rascal). I don't have photos of this process, but essentially I taped the ab and kidney pieces together to keep them static and then glued one side of the ab-kidney connection. Once the glue had cured, I glued the other side. In case it's not obvious in my other photos, I used the non-stretching nylon strapping on my right side, and the elastic on my left side with the rivets. Here we have some close-up photos of the actual hardware I used. Taking a page out of AJ Hamler's book, I sourced some screw caps (will add purchase links later), but unlike AJ, decided to also use the snapping base. However, doing so required that I find smaller diameter washers that still had an appropriately-sized inner hold opening, since they needed to fit inside of the cap base. After spending perhaps hours at multiple Ace Hardware stores, I finally find the right size (brass washer shown on the left). The result after using a small chisel as a rivet wedge: Moving onto the alignment tabs, which I actually haven't completed yet (have one finished one of the two). I wanted a system that would foster flush alignment of the ab and kidney pieces while also accommodating some flexibility. I thus landed on a triangle tab, which would enable some verticle movement the further away the ab and kidney pieces moved from each other. The triple photo below illustrates this, with the center photo being the default "ab-and-kidney-touching" resting position. If the kidney were to pull away from the ab, it could shift up or down as shown in the first and third photos. At the end of the day I had to implement a miniaturized version of what I had initially envisioned, due to strapping placement. For a full-sized version I could have build this into the actual reinforcement plates, with a single triangle tab sized nearly as tall as the kidney piece. Detailed progression photos of the two ab-kidney retention systems. On my left rivet side I would use the triangle tabs, and on the right side just some basic tabs to keep the ab and kidney from bulging out (but no protection against vertical misalignment). And here we have the final results. Hopefully this helps you out with your build and submission, Jim! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions! Go get that EIB!

And yeah my 1,000th forum post is a meme.

Hi Andrew, and welcome to FISD! As others have said, the abundance of information out there, including the All-in-One thread that Glen posted, can certainly feel overwhelmed. However, the important thing to remember is that this journey will be a marathon, not a sprint. Nobody builds armor overnight (except maybe Glen lol). Reach out to your local unit, create a build thread here on these forums, and personally connect with anybody will to help. Hint, there are a lot of us ready and willing to do so! Always feel free to message me directly and I’ll be honored to assist you in any way possible. Caleb

@Morgi Now to my narrative from the past several days. @justjoseph63 Sunday morning before I later tested positive. But the next night I got 7 hours of sleep, so... I started my ESB conversion! And had great conversation with @revlimiter and Luca about merch stuff. Feels good to be back on the boards with you fine folks!

GET. THE. CENTURION 500. PIN. DESIGN. AND. MODIFY.

Hello there Tom, and welcome to FISD! You’re in the right place for all things stormtrooper related, and I’m sure many of us will be excited to follow along on your journey! And wow, and 3D print build! Are you using Chris’ files? I’m not sure if anybody has yet been 501st approved for an ANH TK in printed armor, but Chris did recently get approved in armor that he molded from his 3D print designs (at least that’s what I understood). The biggest challenge is the asymmetry and inconsistency of the forms of OT armor, which is why most OT troopers have vac-formed armor. Regardless, I’m sure many of us would like to watch your progress!

Hello there Alan! First of all, great job with your kit! Excellent armor there with RWA, and I'm sure you'll have no problems with approval! Just a couple notes, perhaps only relevant for higher levels of approval, if you choose to pursue them. But first, one of my favorite things about your build: Excellent job with the belt height, with the top of the plastic just touching the bottom of the center ab button! A couple notes on your left shin piece. It appears your sniper plate may be situated a bit low, as you can see a little of the main shin portion behind the plate even from behind. It's somewhat common to see it from the side, but if seen the the front it probably means the plate should be more elevated or angled up/back. From the rear, just a small overlapping alignment dressing issue that I'm sure you'll remedy with somebody helping you kit up for your photos. On the backside, there appears to be some inconsistency with your shoulder bridges, with the left one in particular resting at an odd angle and pulling away from the back piece. Not pictured (by me), but your right shoulder bridge doesn't appear to have a consistent curvature as viewed from your right side photo. As Luca also mentioned, be on the lookout for proper alignment of your drop boxes. Yours are shifting a bit towards the center of your belt, and are best when aligned with the rear edge of the plastic belt portions, as shown by the blue line below. If you find that your boxes continually move, a dab of glue on the box strap with your canvas belt can be a life saver. And last thing... something dear to my heart (I'm a bit thermal detonator obsessed)... your detonator is riding a little high, and most screen references have the det positioned within the threshold of the canvas belt, shown by the red lines below. You can probably just bend your clips down a bit to lower the detonator. Once again, excellent job! I'm sure the German Garrison will welcome you with open arms!

Looking good, trooper! Good luck!

Ok, that's getting framed next to my EI and Centurion certificates. You guys just wait until I finish my TD master post...

Next step: L4 with Chaos Division @Morgi, @Swoby, and honorary @revlimiter

Caleb Mask 73692 Centurion letter Joseph At last! https://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/73692-centurion.png

Always fun to see the transition of -> Looking good! I'm sure you're very excited, and you'll be approved in no time! Hard for me to tell exactly what it is, but there's something odd going on with your shoulder bridges. Do you just have them taped down for the photo? There appears to be a lot of excess soft material poking out on the sides.

Also I just realized that this was actually the same build that I had photographed my keyboard keys for you back in 2020, comparing them to the rubber bumpers available on Amazon. Glad to see you're almost there! My own TK build took about that same amount of time, and heck, I have all the HWT pack components; I just need to assemble them!

Looking good, trooper, and welcome to FISD!

Welcome, Vanessa! You're certainly in the right place for armor, and it'll be great to see another Phasma!

Now that I'm approved I have spare time to meme, but should probably go home and rethink my life. Multiple EIB Award Recipients

Oh this is a brilliant idea. I'm adding a new section to my write up. A entire CRL just for the TD. Then the tube, panel, end caps, and clips will each be their own sub-component with basic, L2, and L3 parameters. I have a bad feeling about this...

You guys are either going to go nuts for the Thermal Det resource thread that I've been working on for months, or kick me out of FISD on the basis of insanity.

Screen references appear to show white retainer straps that are around 1/4 inch in width, which is the size that mine are. Mine are also looped into the fold of the snap plate that attaches to my back piece so that it doesn't fall off. You could try sewing yours in. I'll take a photo for you when I get home.