OddViking327

Here is Eric Dyck's helmet history up through AM 4.5. Armor-wise, I know they updated the chest and back for accuracy, and I think the belt, after there were early issues with the 1.0 for getting to Centurion, but the new kits have no problem getting to Centurion. Most of the changes were the helmet:

I created an IG post about my helmet electronics, and made a panoramic, labelled pic of the inside, which I will share here. Most troopers add small fans for the heat and fogging. Many have an external sound system with some modulation effects (usually behind their chest plate with a headset mic). For mine, I wanted it all contained. I added a voice system, fans, power, and en environmental hearing assist system, and somehow had to fit all of that around my larger-than-usual head. Swipe for a panoramic inside view with labels. Here’s what I have in there: - Ukswrath trooper talk system (mic, amp, iCOMM modulator that adds static after speaking, and the Hovi tips on the front of the helmet are the speakers) - Ukswrath Stormtrooper Hearing Assist (SHA) system (mics are under the “ear” plates, over-ear headphones inside are detached from Velcro and put on my ears as I put on the helmet) - flat power pack with dual USB outlets - USB in line switches - two USB 5v fans - A lot of Velcro (click if it is too small to see)

[Edit: I intended to add this to my build thread, not here, apologies] I created an IG post about my helmet electronics, and made a panoramic, labelled pic of the inside, which I will share here. Most troopers add small fans for the heat and fogging. Many have an external sound system with some modulation effects (usually behind their chest plate with a headset mic). For mine, I wanted it all contained. I added a voice system, fans, power, and en environmental hearing assist system, and somehow had to fit all of that around my larger-than-usual head. Swipe for a panoramic inside view with labels. Here’s what I have in there: - Ukswrath trooper talk system (mic, amp, iCOMM modulator that adds static after speaking, and the Hovi tips on the front of the helmet are the speakers) - Ukswrath Stormtrooper Hearing Assist (SHA) system (mics are under the “ear” plates, over-ear headphones inside are detached from Velcro and put on my ears as I put on the helmet) - flat power pack with dual USB outlets - USB in line switches - two USB 5v fans - A lot of Velcro (click if it is too small to see)

One final piece, when I finish a costume, I usually make an in-universe costume bin to transport it. Well, I finished the bin and helmet case: More pics and details in this thread:

If anyone is curious what my other bins are like, here are some pics: Clone Trooper - 327th Star Corps: Lights: Swag box with lights: Jedi (tubes store saber blades): Rodian mask and hands (for a Rodian Jedi): Endor Rebel Trooper (this one is just decals and weathering a green case):

On to the armor bin. I wrote up a bit more about this one: Building the Armor Bin: High-level tips on this bin: - There is such a thing as TOO MANY GREEBLIES. Greeblies -those little found objects and things that make a thing look like it has some utilitarian function of some kind. If you cover every spot, it loses something. Star Wars objects look best with areas of flat, and then areas of detail, with asymmetry being key. - I used a lot of fasteners, and getting them one at a time at the hardware store can get expensive. There are almost no Phillips style fasteners in Star Wars, so I needed a non-standard bolt. I found a good kit of small nuts and hex hole bolts that were all M3 size but in many different lengths. This allowed me to not only know every hole was my 1/8" bit but also I could find the perfect length of bolt, to minimize the protruding end INSIDE the bin. I also capped every bolt with a small cap, glued on with E6000, or hot glue on my vents. I really want to avoid any chance of scratching the glossy white armor. - For the wiring, test it all first before mounting, and use quick-connect wire connectors so you can assemble it all and test it, and then take it apart, run them through holes, and hook it all back up. Run any switches to the outside of the bin, so you can roll up to a troop, and then turn them on when people will see them, without having to open it up and do some switches every time (save battery power, and the buttons add to the look). - Roughen with sandpaper all parts before gluing. But also, all greeblies and knobs are also bolted on. I have seen glue fail so many times, and on a bin that gets knocked about, everything should be secured with a bolt if possible. - Because things get stacked on a bin, any greeblies on the lid should be secure, and tough, and not go above the top edge so that things could rest on top of it. The build: It started as a Husky 45 gallon tote. On my very first bin years ago, so much of the spray paint chipped off in that first year. It was like the plastic was resisting the paint. Later as I was washing off some cast parts to prep them for painting, it hit me. Like ALL CAST PLASTIC, bins have a mold-releaser spray residue on them when they come out of the factory. So a super important part of my bin painting process is the wash all parts with warm soapy water before starting. I did this one in the shower (with dish soap), but my bigger husky bin I washed in the driveway, like a car wash. Painting the bin was straight-forward, a few coats of primer, letting it cure for more than a day. So many painting issues, especially in winter, come from not letting the primer fully cure. Then some coats of white glossy paint. I usually do the weathering before the clear coat, but after applying some vinyl decals, in a few spots they started peeling off the paint. Not everywhere, but enough that I didn't want to risk more. I painted them back to white, and then did a satin clear coat to help the paint all stay. I used satin because gloss is really hard to paint weathering on, it has no "tooth", so I did a gloss coat after the weathering. Next I wanted to try and do the light panel thing, so I did that first. I go over it more in my previous posts, but the basic idea is I created a matte black decal using my new vinyl cutter, and applied it to a rectangle of translucent plastic. To get the red, I used a square of 3M self-adhesive brake light repair film behind it. You have to have some black area to cover the overlap, as the red light will "bleed" out a little, and you want to cover that transition. The light is a battery dimmable night-light thing with batteries and two LED strips. I opened it up, took a red wire from the batteries, and soldered in a quick release cord, and soldered the other end to a toggle switch. That way I could cover the dimmer switch (it's in the center) and leave it "on" but the switch is now on the outside of the bin controlling it. I mounted it to an aluminum bar to keep it about 5 mm away from the plastic, so that the light diffused enough to make a more even panel. For the frame, I had been saving a few of these diaper wipe lids that had a cool shape. I trimmed off the lid piece, and the part you see is the bottom, where it has a flat area they glued to the package. For the two small lights, I found these great 8mm indicator lights, basically a 5mm LED light with a metal mount around it, and pre-wired with resistors. I wired them in parallel to the 9v battery and with a toggle switch. After looking at the specs, I figured out the hole size, and had these custom laser-cut aluminum hex plates (with my 1/8" holes) to give them a cooler mount. Their 9v battery case is velcroed into the corner for easy removal to change the batteries. I used a lot of the quick-connect wire connectors to do my circuits, because there were a lot of parts that had to go through the walls of the case, and those allow you to do all of your soldering on a table, and assemble it, rather than try and solder in the case. All of these wires could get smashed and caught, so I found a white two-piece pencil case at a dollar store that was the right size, and made a cover for all of the wiring, held on with acorn nuts and wing nuts so I could remove it without tools to change the batteries. For the vents, I had been looking for years for good small vents for Star Wars projects, and this time, I realized I could just use an on-demand metal cutter site (I used SendCutSend) that I used on another project to cut some custom vents. I made the shapes in Adobe Illustrator like I used for the viny decals, and they came out really good. They have the same 1/8" hole that my bolts all use, and I backed them by the denser Phifertex Plus mesh, glued on the inside with a hot glue gun (and I hot glued over the bolt ends at the same time, so that is another bolt protection solution). I added some greeblies from @Jettsonable which were painted with a sort of hammered finish spray (his last one came as a clean print), so I used filler primer to even it out, and then painted them white. I ended up glueing, but also adding two bolts to them to ensure they stayed put. Other greeblies were some old stereo knobs from a random lot I got from Ebay. Finally, for the trooper look, I had an extra belt piece that I glued to the top with white E6000 (and also bolted, the top flexes a lot). Vinyl decals finished it off. One area where the vinyl peeled off the paint on the lid, I had to cut a new rectangle of ABS, and glue/bolt it on, and apply new lettering (the area with "FISD" and "Imperial property" in Aurebesh). The reason I use the white paintable E6000 is because the seep out spots can be painted with the weathering. For weathering, I did my usual technique of painting with mostly black acrylic, wiping off with a rag, painting in, wiping off with a wet rag, back and forth a few times, until it looks right. Lots of gunk under the edge of the rim where all of those chambers are hard to clean, and less in the open areas. Grime near buttons where fingers touch. Mud spray from the wheels up into their cutouts. Just do it with intention and though for HOW it got dirty. Finally, a glossy clear coat, being sure to tape over all screens, lights, knobs, vents, and buttons to keep the spray from affecting those areas. All in all, I love how it came out, and I had few setbacks. I can't wait to roll up to a troop with this! Parts: Husky 45 Gallon (170.3 L) Latch and Stack Tote with Wheels Battery powered dimmable night light panel. 3M High-Strength Red Lens Repair Film Diaper wipes lid piece (Aiden & Anais, no longer made, but others are similar) M3 hex bolt set white dollar store two-piece pencil case custom Laser Cut aluminum vents Phifertex Plus black mesh Hot Glue white paintable E6000 8mm indicator lights 9v battery case velcro 1/2" wide aluminum bar (1/8") Round Toggle Switches Rustoleum white primer Rustoleum Glossy white spray paint Rustoleum satin clear coat Rustoleum Gloss clear coat Liquitex Basics Acrylic black and raw umber paint Antique stereo knobs from Ebay custom vinyl lettering decals stormtrooper belt plate I made this diagram for someone following my build. My LEDs came pre-resistored, but if yours aren't, you will need to use an Ohm's Law Calculator to determine the different resistors (white and red use different volts). I hope I didn't forget anything, but I am open to answer questions! I look forward to more people making in-universe transport cases!

Build notes for the helmet case: Here are some overarching things I use on these: - In all of George Lucas’s props, there were (almost) never any Phillips-headed screws, so start collecting those other types. Save any lathed/machined metal bits and parts for greeblies, you sometimes will find the perfect spot for one. - Try and use uncommon hinges and latches to avoid the common-looking hardware store bits. - I use primer on all plastic to ensure adhesion, but I skip it on the metal, so you can chip the paint on the edges during weathering. - Reinforce things that were not intended to bear weight or stress (like a plastic flower pot needs help for the latches, hinge, so I added some white plastic pieces which also helped get things to line up over the lip, and I added aluminum strips down the sides for strengthening the handle holes). - There is such a thing as too many greeblies. Give them some space, and asymmetry to let the occasional one enhance the aesthetic. - On most plastic parts, especially bins, there feels like there is some mold-releaser on there from when they were cast. Just like other cast parts, I wash it first in warm soapy water before the primer layer. - Cover all logos. That means on plastic bins (or flower pots), I often grind or carve down the lettering, and then glue / bolt a plastic cover plate to ensure it looks smooth. For this one I did two curved shapes to cover all of the lettering that was on the bottom of the "coaster". Parts: - Hinge is a “Stainless Steel 6'' Cast Strap Hinge for Boat Marine” - latches are “2pcs Flexible Rubber Draw Latch Over-Center Boat Latch for for Door Handle Cooler, Boat Compartment, Cargo Box, Front Storage Rack” - custom Aurebesh OLED screen is from “Jettisonable” on Etsy @jettisonable_3d on IG - plastic flower pots and saucer are from Home Depot, 14" "Southern Patio" brand. - many of the tiny bolts are from a set of many lengths from Amazon: “VIGRUE 570PCS Stainless Steel M3 Button Head Hex Socket Cap Screw Bolts, M3 x 4/5/6/8/10/12/14/16/18/20/25mm Screw and Nuts Flat Washer Assortment Kit, Fully Machine Thread” - black strip is some adhesive automotive edging.

I know I am not the first one to do this type of thing, but several people in other boards have asked for some kind of tutorial for the new transport cases I just made. While I don't exactly have a full tutorial, I did write something up that at least will let you get an idea of some parts to try out, and hopefully inspire some others to theme their bins. I do this for all of my costumes, and I feel like it adds something to roll up to a troop with a bin that hints at the costume you are about to suit up in. I usually add lights, because many Star Wars crates have lights, and I try and make it a bit in-universe (like no standard lettering). Because my bin was a little smaller to fit it all (and because many times we also bring just the bucket), I made a separate helmet case. Because my ANH Stunt build was my first really clean costume with no weathering (and I LOVE weathering), I was able to get some weathering in these cases to get that out of my system. Below I will show some shots of the cases, and follow it with some build notes. Note: I do not build these on commission. They are a labor of love, and part of the costume build that I love to build over a month in the early morning hours in my cold garage, but do not want to do these for money. If Instagram is your thing, I post things like this under the username "Oddviking" The helmet case: I wanted to make something protective, and just large enough to fit around the helmet with some foam inside: These decals were used after the first set of photos, because I had just gotten a vinyl cutter and could finally add some more lettering: The Armor Bin: This is a little smaller than the usual 50 gallon one, a 45 gallon bin that had a good look as a base. Some turnarounds: The helmet case screen:

@MaskedVengeance Yeah, when I saw this pics, I just noticed that the clip will show white. So I will paint black in the crack.

I somehow missed this thread. I was approved October 28th, 2020. I was approved EIB #1007 November 9th, and Centurion #485 on December 2nd. I look forward to trooping!

I added this adjustment to my Centurion thread, but it should go here too: Just an update, I made the couple of finishing touches that were recommended in my Centurion approval as "nice to have" additions after it was approved. First up was trimming the thigh and cod area to give it a bit more black, and probably a bit less chafing on a parade troop: Updated. I can always trim more, but trying this for now: And then the classic "trooper butt" issue: @gmrhodes13 had a simple solution, and I decided to make it. He suggested they go out on the sides, but for how my armor was popping straight back, I found the ideal location was more toward the 1/3 points. I took some card stock to figure out the size I might need, and then took some of the cover strip plastic [EDIT: black plastic would be more ideal, because these clips will just be visible in the crack - I plan to paint mine black in that gap], and cut two rectangles, 3cm by 7.5cm. I used @ukswrath's focused heating technique, where you use a couple of pieces of wood on either side of a bend spot, and heat just that gap, for a more controlled bend. On mine, I needed about 1 cm of arch on the inside for it to work: Glued on one side with white E6000 (for this to work, it just gets mounted on one side. That way you can still detach the armor, and it can slide side to side a bit for some movement. These clips just keep the bottom from being able to pop out further than the other plate). I placed them 4 cm from the edges of the back rectangular detail. I tried it on, and it worked perfectly! No more trooper-butt! Thanks for the suggestions, team!

Just an update, I made the couple of finishing touches that were recommended. First up was trimming the thigh and cod area to give it a bit more black, and probably a bit less chafing on a parade troop: Updated. I can always trim more, but trying this for now: And then the classic "trooper butt" issue: @gmrhodes13 had a simple solution, and I decided to make it. He suggested they go out on the sides, but for how my armor was popping straight back, I found the ideal location was more toward the 1/3 points. I took some card stock to figure out the size I might need, and then took some of the cover strip plastic [EDIT: black plastic would be more ideal, because these clips will just be visible in the crack - I plan to paint mine black in that gap], and cut two rectangles, 3cm by 7.5cm. I used @ukswrath's focused heating technique, where you use a couple of pieces of wood on either side of a bend spot, and heat just that gap, for a more controlled bend. On mine, I needed about 1 cm of arch on the inside for it to work: Glued on one side with white E6000 (for this to work, it just gets mounted on one side. That way you can still detach the armor, and it can slide side to side a bit for some movement. These clips just keep the bottom from being able to pop out further than the other plate). I placed them 4 cm from the edges of the back rectangular detail. I tried it on, and it worked perfectly! No more trooper-butt! Thanks for the suggestions, team!

Oh, and feel free to PM me if you have questions, I just got my AM 4.5 to Centurion. The kit is good. The main things to adjust now are the Thermal Detonator (the clips are a bit long, and the holes are not as close to the ends, the included screws are a bit too big, and the caps are a bit wide). It was way harder to fix after, but not impossible. For Centurion, the helmet decals that come with it have a bit thick or off-center black outlines, and I wish I had painted the traps and tears from the start. A.J.'s build was really good to follow for a lot of nice solutions from a very precise builder.

I use Imgur from my Mac and iPhone for all of my builds (it's a free site for both). Use the phone app to upload to Imgur right from your phone (set it to private and you can post them here, but they won't be searchable in their feed, and you don't have to title them). Then for whatever reason, I can't get the BBCode on the phone, but on each image on the Imgur in your images, click it, and copy the BBCode and paste it into your post. It won't show while writing your post, but will show after you hit "Submit Reply". Super easy. And if people want to see a bigger version, clicking on it takes them to it.

Forgot to update. The final thing I had to change was to remove the wrist return to totally flat, which I did: Before: After: And I was approved for Centurion, number 485! And one final thing, I took some extra action pics, and some in the same light of a Black Series 6" K-2SO droid, to photo edit into this pic:

@justjoseph63 I believe this may be the wrong link pasted in.

@gmrhodes13 Wow, thanks, that is exactly what I was looking for. So as it stands, with: 5,649 total, and 1,011 EIB and 485 Centurion, that makes (rounding) about: 18% of troopers go on to reach Expert Infantry 8.5% attain Centurion. (real numbers 17.8969% for EIB, and 8.5856% for Centurion with today's count). Thanks for helping me put my achievement in context, and also amazing to see how popular the TK category is Legion-wide!

Thanks @justjoseph63, I was glad to make it in time. I had a question for you or anyone else, how many standard approved troopers are there. To put in another way, once we reach 500, is there a percentage we can calculate of troopers that make it to Centurion? Same question for EIB. I just can't find a place where those sorts of statistics are (especially because I believe this includes all of the FISD costumes).

1. Colin 2. Adams 3. TK-25622 4. Letter 5. JustJoseph63 http://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/25622-centurion.png

Wow, thanks everyone! I am so excited to have reached this milestone. A lot of great help along the way, and I look forward to helping out in turn, especially once local armor parties start up again. @gmrhodes13 I think I understand that clip, and that it is attached just on the posterior plate, that makes sense. Is there a forum post about it more (like material, size, and how many mounts) you can point me to?

It was pointed out that the wrist openings had still a little curve of the return remaining: They should be totally flat, so I brought out the Dremel and sand paper and removed the last residual return:

I realized I had taken a few other photos during construction that my be pertinent to this application: Filled lower thigh gaps ( I actually liked it so much for strength and aesthetics, I filled all of my edge gaps on the tops and bottoms of the thighs, biceps, etc): Inside ab split rivets (coated the sharper edges with white E6000 to prevent snags): Let me know if there are any other pics needed

Name: Colin Adams TKID: TK-25622 Forum Name: OddViking327 Garrison: Golden Gate Garrison Height: 72.5” Weight: 198 lbs Armor Maker: AM 4.5 - Dave’s Darkside Depot Helmet Maker: AM 4.5 - Dave’s Darkside Depot Blaster Type: Imperial Arms 3D - E-11 V3 (with modifications and improvements) Boots Maker: Imperial Boots Canvas Belt: Rob Kittell Hand Plates Type: Flexible Silicone by Just Joseph Electronics: Speakers and SHA by Ukswrath, fans by me Neck Seal Type: Imperial Boots Holster Maker: Darman’s Props EIB approval thread: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/50259-tk-25622-requesting-stormtrooper-anh-stunt-eib-status-1007/ Armor Build Thread (page 3 shows my Centurion updates): https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/49991-oddvikings-anh-stunt-build-am-45/ Blaster Build Thread (the last half details a modification for Centurion): https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/50223-imperial-arms-3d-e-11-version-3-kit/ Photos Full Body: Helmet: S-curve: Details: Blaster: Thanks for the consideration, and the very helpful suggestions in my build threads that got my kit to this point! For the Empire!

Test fit: I re-attached my hanging boxes to fit the newly trimmed belt. That was my last fix, so now it was time to strip down in the cold garage early this morning for a test fit! Shoulders fit nice and tight to the bridges: Belt fits just over the lower buttons, and the boxes are lined up: Back plate sits higher now, and the trimmed and heat-shaped corners don't overlap (this is hard to take a pic of in armor, using a mirror, as twisting and raising my arm behind me sometimes shifted everything around, but it worked after a few attempts): Looks like it should all be ready for some Centurion submission photos in the next few days!

Body work: Another fix to get to Centurion was my back gap. As is an issue on many AM kits, those back corners need a little nudging to look right. I also needed to raise my belt, especially after trimming it, the snaps would need to be taken out and new ones added higher: I started by trimming a bit of the return off... and then realized I needed to trim more in order to get it to move. I then used a heat gun on low, and slowly caressed those corners up and in, as well as some of the lower return to be more flat so it would fit better. In addition, I created a few longer elastic internal straps that would allow it the slack it needed. I only ended up using them on the sides, the central one was fine at the original length. I will need to try this on, but it looks like it will fit more like the originals now. Snaps were drilled out by kissing the center with a 1/4" drill bit. After measuring, new ones were placed just under 1/2" higher, and now the belt sits where it just covers the lower edges of the blue buttons. Not shown, but I also moved my sewn-on shoulder bell snap mounts on the strap a bit which will get my shoulder bells even closer to the shoulder bridges. All that is left is re-attaching my belt boxes into place, and trying it all on, and getting new photos taken. I feel like I am getting really close to Centurion submission!