MaskedVengeance

One thing other than mineral spirts that worked for my is isopropyl alcohol. You could try 70% before moving up higher to like 92%. Be sure the overpaint that you're trying to remove actually gets some of the moisture of whatever solution you use. I generally start with q-tips or some fine-tipped ones from a craft store. Think of them like a fine-tipped sharpie vs a regular one. They're absorbent, but tipped for precise application. Depending on how much paint I'm trying to remove, I may then use a toothpick to chip away at the paint, or stick with the fine-tipped swap.

Absolutely, Chris. Sorry I didn't see your comment earlier! The yellow highlight that you pointed out is the shoulder bell snap that is roughly midway on the strap between the chest and back armor pieces. It is on the underside of the shoulder strap to reduce visibility, and you can faintly see the stitching for the same snap on the opposite shoulder strap. With your red highlight you pointed out a set of spare snap plates I installed on my back-kidney connection. This is purely to give me flexibility on my armor fitment and how much black gaps I want to show between my armor pieces. This actually addresses your first question about adjusting the tightness of strapping. Rather than making new straps I simply added an additional set of snaps, and I now actually have a corresponding set of second snaps on my chest-back pieces, so basically I can move my back plate up and down. Glen was exactly right with his answer. As for the blue area, I got a little exotic with my ab-kidney connections, and first put down a strip of black plastic on all the edges as reinforcement. I then added some tabs for alignment purposes.

Looking good, Christian! I'm sure you're be cleared in no time! Here is a helpful thread for smoothing out print lines on your blaster:

Congrats! Now the waiting game begins! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Justin got me on those exact emory boards (and deburring tool for that matter), and they’re awesome. Never tried those flap sanders, but now my interest is piqued.

Those gaps are definitely fine for approval. The top section on the front of that right ear is a bit thick, but may also be passable. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Late to this party because I kept putting off finding the link in my amazon history that I'm sharing below. A DEBURRING TOOL. I didn't discover this until about 2 years into my build. LOL. Basically it's a blade with a slight bend in it that can be used to deburr (smooth) the edges of plastic. Essentially a beveling tool if you press with it hard enough. It works wonders for smoothing the edges of armor you've cut/trimmed, including curved pieces or straight cover strips. If I ever have the pleasure of constructing another suit from kit-form again, I'm even tempted to try using a deburring tool exclusive, with no sand paper, just to see if I can! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003JY7LXI

That was also one of our favorite lines of the video discussed in staff chat. @jsilvius - You see that meme?

One last link since we're talking about armor types. You'll notice that both Cricket's and ShaSha's short trooper builds were with WTF armor. Walt, the owner of Walt's Trooper Factory, can be found on facebook. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11538-the-various-types-of-armor-and-where-to-find-them/

Welcome, Lauren! You're in the right place for TK armor, and you may be pleasantly surprised to know that we have ladies in all types of stormtrooper armor! Imperial Surplus does have the FEM TK armor, but many here don regular screen-derived variants. This first link below is one that should get you on your way, but below that I've also included some specific thread links (in blue) that may apply to a trooper of your stature. =) Altering Armor for Shorter Troopers: See Cricket's builds (WTF, RS Props) shashachu (Sha Sha) - WTF Lastly, here is a section of our forum that is completely dedicated to topics for our female-identifying members: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/254-vaders-valkyries/

I grew up in Amarillo, in the panhandle. So closer to Colorado (heck maybe even Wyoming) than Houston. We used to get more snow there than where I now live in north Georgia.

Welcome back, Chris! I know the feeling of stepping away for some time myself well. As for your question of the back to kidney connection, the important thing right now would be to have the pieces centered horizontally. You'll then eventually need to adjust the tightness of your strapping in order to pull the pieces together appropriately and minimize the gap. Here is a photo of my internal strapping: Depending on how the pieces fit on your body you may eventually find that everything comes together perfectly, or that the pieces need further reduction. AJ document the extra corner trimming well on his build thread in both THIS post and again later HERE.

Alright, Eric! First of all, big CONGRATS on making it this far! I know in an earlier post you were discouraged with the discomfort of the armor and overall look, but I think I speak for others when I say that you're looking great for a first-time TK builder, and with some tweaks here and there you'll be trooping in no time. I'm going to try to address the various questions I saw over your last several posts. First to address comfort. This is a TK suit we're talking about, not a stretchy spidey suit... it's never going to be super comfortable. However, there are several ways to reduce the clunkiness of it and attain manageable comfort. Two aspects to address are 1) the presence and reduction of return edges and 2) properly sized armor pieces. As you've seen several other troopers mention, there are quite a few places that turn edges can always be removed to maximize comfort. The tops of the biceps and thighs are two such areas. Nobody ever sees the tops of the biceps since they're obscured by the shoulder bells. Reducing the top edges of the thighs is purely a comfort thing, though some people like to leave some edge in order to maintain armor "thickness," so a hybrid execution is to completely remove the return edge from the inner thigh pieces and taper up to a thin return edge on the outer pieces. Removing the return edges on the bottom of your shoulder bells will also permit them to hug your biceps better and maybe even pull in closer to your chest armor. As for your particular armor, as it is, you also have quite a bit of return edge remaining on your forearm pieces, which definitely adds to their bulk. Reducing the edge thickness and possibly even sizing the entire forearm down (reduced circumference) may be helpful, but more on that in just a second. I know you're also seeking basic approval at this time, but if you do ever desire to upgrade to L2 you'll need to completely shave off the return edge on the wrist end of the forearms. Here is a photo of mine, and in case you're wondering, this style is screen-accurate to the suits used on the OT films. Now before you go an quickly take off all your return edges, do be aware that besides the appearance of thickness (like real armor), return edges can also benefit skinnier troopers by helping hold the armor in place. Think of it as "padding" in those circumstances. Joseph has an excellent thread called Return Edges 101. Check it out if you haven't already! As far as comfort via proper armor sizing, often we see troopers size their limb pieces, particularly arms, too large relative to their body. This might be at play in your case, but we'll need to be careful about evaluating and making any adjustments. Looking at these two photos of yours below, it appears that there ma be some spare room on the inside of your bicep pieces beneath your armpit. However, those biceps are currently sitting a bit low, so you'll first need to raise them so a better assessment can be made. In the second photo, on your right arm some misassignment can be seen between your forearm and bicep, which is indicative that there might be some extra room on one or both pieces. I say "might" again, because proper placement is first needed before a decision can be made. And finally, we can basically see through your left forearm piece, which means there's likely room to spare. Now that I've said all that about your arm pieces, another disclaimer like with the return edges. Another important aspect of armor sizing is proportion relative to other pieces of armor. By and large I think your limb armor is somewhat appropriately proportional to your torso, but there may be an allowance for some slight reduction if your arm size allows it. Keep in mind that resizing butt-joint armor pieces requires disconnecting at least one of the joints, trimming, then regluing, and I understand you may be wanting to avoid these backward steps. I see that you asked about how to keep your thigh armor from hiding the sniper knee plate, and there are two things to consider. First, you need to ensure that your shin pieces aren't riding up too high. From the photo angles you've shown us it's a bit hard to tell as we're looking down onto your leg pieces. We need a more leg-level shot to determine that. If your shins are riding up, you can consider adding velcro or elastic strips to your boots and inside of armor to hold the armor down. If the vertical placement of your shins is proper, you could follow the lead of some troopers and add some foam padding between the front top of your shin and your shin armor. This will help hold the sniper plate out and away from your leg, and hopefully in front of your thigh piece. And while we're on the topic of that specific leg piece, let's revisit return edges, since you've asked about that particular piece. Most troopers leave some return edge at the tops of shins since it's an area that is quite visible and the ridge is intended to look thicker than the rest of the piece. However, much like all limb pieces, if you find that you're having a hard time fitting into the armor, reducing the depth of the return edge could beneficial. The one place that I would say you could consider removing even more edge is right where your index finger is pointing in the photo below, but only on that left leg where the sniper plate obscures it. But I would only do that if you really need to leg room inside the piece to get the calf connection to close. That, plus be sure you've made a final decision on whether or not your shins are flipped. For reference, here is how I did my shins. Note that my shin armor runs tight due to the design of the armor producer, and it came with very little return edge, so mine is pretty minimalistic. Now onto the ab-kidney connection. As you're already aware of, as shown in the two photos below, there is a significant gap between your ab and kidney piece which would definitely need to be reduced for L2 and L3, and it will ultimately be up to your GML to decided whether it'd be impactful for basic approval per the CRL. Perhaps get in touch with them to inquire. Kidney plate shimming, as documented in the thread below would be the remedy for the current gap. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/47793-kidney-plate-shimming-help-needed/ In terms of your helmet, Glen has already given you some good advice. For basic approval you may not need to clean up the grey frown paint, but Anovos was notorious for that overspray, and it really doesn't take much to crisp up those lines with some mineral spirits and toothpicks. One last thing that I can't help but notice because obsessive about this particular topic... thermal detonators. Once again, it'll be up to your GML to decide for basic, but the control panel and belt clips should be touching at the bottom. Basically you can remove and reglue the panel a little lower, or perhaps the easier would be to unscrew the clips and remount them a little higher to touch the panel. Finally, in case you haven't yet seen it, below is a thread of resources that I compiled during my own build which I've published in case it can be of help to other troopers. You're doing GREAT, Eric, and I'm very excited to see you continue your build. Hopefully this extensive response of mine has been helpful, and not overwhelming. Know that we're all here to HELP you. Troopers helping Troopers.

I'd second the AM armor that Andrew mentioned. Just be sure to tell him you're going the Sandie route so he can include the appropriate ab buttons, knee plate, etc. Whereabouts in TX are you? To me, "blistering hot" must indicate Houston or somewhere else in the south. I have family in San Antonio and always love visiting them.

Glad to see those threads are of help to you, Dale and Tyler! I do particularly love AJ's thread, which is why I compiled it into PDF form for easy viewing on a tablet or print. In fact, I've been working on formatting my own build thread into PDF form, and it's currently nowhere near completion but is already 200 pages long (google drive link)! @DTKC - You'll also find that I'm quite obsessed with thermal detonators, and I have two details posts about them as part of my build thread HERE (#1) and HERE (#2). Part #3 is forthcoming, but you can see the results of second detonator attempt on my EI and Centurion applications. And currently I have a master thermal det post in the works.

Are you the same height and weight as the trooper your purchased the Anovos kit from? It’s very possible for any armor kit to fit one trooper and be approvable but not properly fit another person and therefore not clear approval. We’re not trying to dissuade you regarding the Anovos kit, because they can be excellent, but just want to ensure you’re taken care of. =) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You’re spot on. The actual armor on ANH and ESB kits are the same, other than the differences you already mentioned. Therefor an ESB could be used for a Shock conversion. If I might pose a suggestion, you could start with an ANH Stunt, then convert to ESB (or even and ANH Hero), then finally to a Shock. And before the Shock you could even do a HWT! And in regards to the helmet, ESB differences are purely cosmetic. Same bones. Basically just change the frown paint. For higher levels of ESB approval you’ll also need decals on the helmet rather than hand-painting. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello there, Brian! Awesome to hear about another victim of the bug. [emoji23] Below is a resource thread that you may find useful. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/49412-all-in-one-tk-anh-stunt-index-of-resources-by-maskedvengeance/ Also here’s and ANH to Shock conversion thread, by Jorge. https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/52359-converting-anh-tk-to-shocktrooper/

Adam, your troop log is my fav. No offense to anybody else. [emoji3] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Tim. ANH and ESB blasters are different in that ESBs are typically missing some features of an ANH, notably the power cylinders stop the magazine, as well as the hengstler counter. While an ANH blaster may not be approvable for ESB (depending on your GML), the good news is that a blaster in general isn’t even required for basic approval. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Aright so here is my advice on order of assembly. 1. Inventory and match paired armor piece halves. 2. Trim the excess flashing (waste plastic) on all pieces. Don’t worry about return edge thickness yet; just remove the excess beyond the return edges. 3. Begin trimming pieces for fitment, starting with Biceps (largely hidden so trimming errors can be masked). Also when first trimming start on the rear-facing ends of the pieces so any mistakes are on your back. 4. Forearms (nice small pieces) 5. Shins (left shin first since knee plate can help mask possible seam/joining issues). Be sure to size for fitment only after you have your boots to ensure proper sizing. 6. Thighs (right thigh first since ammo back can help mask possible seam/joining issues) 7. Posterior, kidney, and ab 8. Back, chest, and shoulder bells 9. Helmet (largely considered the most difficult, and also prominent, piece)

I love the sight of AM thermal detonators in the morning. Seriously though, you’re gonna be very happy with Dave’s kit! And you’ll have a properly sized 68mm thermal det! [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hello again, Tyler! I know you've been neck deep in research since February, and I suspect you're practically a pro now! I remember the feeling when my tracking number indicated that there was a stormtrooper at my door. lol. We look forward to this next part of your journey!

Welcome, Kian! Glad to have you. Are you taking your interest to the next level and building a TK?

Hi Jay - It's good to see you back here, and I hope your grandson is doing well. If I recall correctly, weren't a few members of your two local 501st units able to visit him in the hospital some months back? I believe at that time I had sent you some direct contact information to those local Garrisons. There are some armor makers in the community to do provide commission builds, so you'd purchase from them and then provide them with details body measurements so that they can size the armor appropriately. Of course, there would be some final assembly needed, which you'd likely want to enlist the help of your local stormtroopers for. Let us here know if there's anything else we can do for you.