Knightblade

Clips came in and TD is finished: As far as my ab piece, I was unable to remove the discoloration using magic eraser, automotive polishing compound, or ArmorWhite. I reached out to a couple vendors for a replacement, but everyone I talked to said their kit wouldn't be compatible as it would be a noticeably different shade of white. One suggested that I could repaint my entire set of armor, which would solve the discoloration issue on the ab plate. I am open to any advice on this

Well, I'm back. I've spent the last two years moving around the U.S. and have finally settled down enough to resume the build. Two years and a day later, I've made some more progress. Got the ammo pack attached and the paint on the rivets is still drying. I've got some E6000 behind the center, but I'll reapply if it doesn't hold well after a day or two. I've started the thermal detonator and waiting on the control panel to finish drying onto the tube. In my recent move, I somehow lost one of the metal clips for the TD. I've found potential replacements (https://www.etsy.com/listing/539534403/ukswraths-td-clips-anh-type-with-pan). Anyone have experience to say if this would suffice? Finally, the saddest part... I took my ab plate out of the box this morning to find it covered in stains/markings: Although it still had the plastic covering the front, it was marked up by something in the box (I assume). I pulled the plastic cover off and it remains. I've tried soap and water, but to no avail. Anyone have suggestions for cleaning this up, or do I need to accept I'm ordering a new ab plate?

Ok, I got the sniper knee put on: Next time I have a couple days off work, I'll start working on the thighs again.

Wow, it's been a minute. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I got a little intimidated by the sniper knee and cutting/sizing the thighs...and then time slipped a little. Now I'm back, and I have updates and questions. Return edges have been removed: Got my boots in the mail! Now back to the sniper knee. I understand for Centurion, the knee needs to align with the contour of the top of the shin piece, but I think I'm having trouble getting it to line up perfectly. This is the best I could get it: Is this acceptable? Should I start boiling it to get it to shape better along the back? As always, any assistance is very appreciated!

Welp, the clamp and wait method didn't work, so I boiled up some water. I think the only thing scarier than cutting the armor out is sticking all the hard work into boiling hot water. Thankfully, it all worked out! I also trimmed down the return edges at the bottom. I'm letting the piece finish drying overnight and will reattach the velcro in the morning.

When I first cut the excess of the back of the calves, it lined up well. I think the issue was when I was gluing on the cover strip in the back, the spacer I used to keep the cover strip and the opposite side from touching was too large and warped the plastic, so I've got some large clamps and I'm going to let the piece sit for a couple days to warp back into shape.

I've put aside the thigh pieces to work on the calves to ensure they line up together and have run into a bit of a snafu. I'm using the included white velcro, but it doesn't seem strong enough to keep the halves together at the back due to the plastic wanting to pull apart. The velcro also isn't sticking onto the plastic the best, so should I use some E-6000 to hold it better? I've only done the right calf so far, as I ran into this issue.

I've removed the return edges on the chest piece and around the neck. I've trimmed the thighs down about 3cm already, but I've got a question. Is the front edge (and the corresponding peak at the top) supposed to line up with the center line of my thigh/shin or sit slightly off to the side? Different pictures I'm looking at give me slightly different views of it. If it needs to be directly up the center line, I'll need to trim more off and I feel like it's starting to look a little too small. If the thighs track the center line, they still run over/under the bottom of the ab piece, but are over my knee either way.

I've started trimming down return edges on the back and chest pieces and have come to a couple questions. For the chest piece, I have trimmed the bottom return edge but am curious if I should leave some near the shoulder straps. If I remove all of the return edge there, it'll show the velcro strips and straps underneath. Is this an issue or not? For the thigh pieces, the majority of the top return edges have been trimmed, but can I also trim the return edge at the bottom? The previous owner already shimmed the inside of the thigh pieces, so I just need to trim them up and size them. I've also noticed that the pieces are a little tall on me; if the bottom is sufficiently over my knee so I can actually bend my leg, then it's stabbing into my torso so I can't bend my leg forward. Am I supposed to trim this from the top to fit me better?

It's been a few days, but work is going steady. Forearms are mostly done, but could use a little trimming. Knocked out the biceps too. Sure am glad I bought the value size bag of clamps, as I was able to fully assemble one bicep at a time. As this is my first build, I decided to stick with the included velcro strapping system. While I was at it, I went ahead and strapped up the rest of the armor. I need to trim and finish strapping the torso pieces, but my eyes are still dilated from an eye exam, so it'll have to wait a couple days for my vision to return. Thank you all for the suggestions and feedback so far!

A busy Saturday rewatching Star Wars: The Clone Wars from the beginning so I can start season 6... but that has given me plenty of time to work. I've trimmed the return edges on the my forearms (front and back of the inside, just front of outside piece). I've started assembling the left forearm, so we'll see how it turns out tomorrow. I do have a question. The halves of my right forearm don't quite match up, and I was just wondering if this is normal or not.

That hadn't occurred to me, but it sounds like an excellent plan. The previous owner is slightly (2" and 20 lbs) smaller than me, but none of the pieces have been fully assembled, so I can still trim them down to fit. I have no doubt I'll have some questions moving forward, so thank you in advance for your help!

Hello everyone! I'm starting my first ever build and am excited to join the 501st. I got my Big Brown Box on Wednesday, but actually bought my kit secondhand from another member, which has the double edge sword of some of the work already having been done. The helmet is already complete, so I only need to finish the other hard pieces. Some of the parts (thighs, calves) are already assembled in the front, but my understanding is the majority of the trimming is done in the back, so that's not a problem at all. Also, some of the strapping/velcro is already attached. I've come to understand that the best place to start is by trimming return edges before I size the parts for final assembly, so I've started working on trimming the return edges per this thread: Of course, I've also taken this opportunity to relearn the old Scouting adage of "Always cut away from yourself." I've put the first drop of blood into my new build. I plan to keep this thread updated as I continue with my build. Any advice is more than welcome and I look forward to joining the ranks.