Brew12

My commissioned build came in today. I wasn't expecting it until next month so that was a pleasant surprise. It's going to take some very minor modifications. The thigh straps need to be shortened. The back of the thighs need to be notched so I can walk. I'm sure I'll be removing some more return edges. Couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Once I get some help I'll take some pictures and post them for review. https://imgur.com/LvJlGt8

I'm waiting on mine from February. Been told it would ship a few times now, but no luck. Still hoping, but I've ordered an alternative since I hope to submit my TK to join the 501st soon.

Time for a long overdue update. Life hasn't been bad, but it has been very busy which has caused my build to grind to a halt. I've had to be realistic and that I could either do a poor job with the build and try and rush it through, or put it away for now. It's going to get boxed up and stored until next year. On a positive side, I'm not giving up on joining the 501st as a TK. I've placed my order for a fully commissioned build from RS Propmasters. With any luck I'll be submitting an application by the end of the year.

That is perfect, thank you! I was under the impression that the ears on all of the helmets almost touched the traps but one of these clearly shows a gap. If I trim my ears to fit that high, I will end up with a very thick ear section at the top of the tubes. I think I will get a much thinner profile if I let it drop down around a 1/2". It also helps show where I can trim more of the bottom of the helmet. This is exactly what I needed!

It was a good but busy weekend. Didn't get much work done on the armor. I did get the left forearm trimmed back and am much happier with how it looks. So, other than strapping and maybe some return edge adjustments, I'm pleased with them. The current stall point is the ears. I have one of them pre-trimmed but it doesn't look like it will fit as I had expected. I know I need to trim more out of the bottom of the helmet because I can't get my head in, even with the helmet turned sideways. Can someone link me to a photo that shows what a finished helmet looks like, from the bottom, with the s-trim removed? Specifically how the bottom of the ears fit against the helmet? If it is an ATA helmet, even better. Thanks!

"Change is bad" famous quote by a Grumpy Old Man. "Semper Gumby" quote by me meaning always flexible. For those of us who aren't part of the 501st yet but actively building our first costumes is there anywhere we can look to see how this will impact us? The information and support at whitearmor.net have been invaluable for my build. Will this forum stay active? Do we need to join the MEPD forums and restart our build threads? Will the same people who have been so helpful here still be the ones helping us new builders as we move forward? Will the 501st be providing the necessary disinfectant and insecticides needed if we have to rub shoulders with the unclean ones?

It's been a busy week. Last night, after a 3 mile pub run and a beverage, I finally got home and tried on the left forearm. I don't like it. It isn't terrible, but it isn't as good as the right forearm. Again, the shape changed after being held in the correct place for a few days and I want a smaller wrist opening. Not more than an hours work to improve it. I have a full schedule again tonight but should get that reworked tomorrow. I did get an update from Hellhound about the blaster. He has a few that are close to ready and mine should be shipping by early next week.

Thank you! I did grab the correct shoulder for that side and started trimming it. I cut back the return edge so that it is just a little larger than the middle reference picture. I think that is a good place to be until I start the strapping process and see how everything starts fitting together. And an update that I forgot.... my boots came this weekend! Still waiting on the blaster and need to order a belt once I get a waist measurement. And another minor issue. Working on the helmet and when I tried drilling through for the rivet hole the helmet cracked since it was close to the edge. Not a big deal.... Nothing a piece of scrap can't fix and it will also be behind both the front piece of plastic and the ear.

I feel like I have the eyes and teeth where I want them. Unless someone offers advice on how it can be improved I will finish getting the openings cleaned up and ready for painting. Until then, time to start on.... the ears. So many good tutorials I'm hoping it goes smoothly.

I've made less progress than hoped, but that is ok. Fortunately I am not working to a timeline. I had what was a very fortunate setback. The right forearm cover strip didn't stay straight while it was setting so I had to remove it. I hadn't been thrilled with the sizing, but because of the odd curve I couldn't get it on if I trimmed it any more. The shape changed once it spent 2 days clamped together allowing me to cut over 1/2" off of each side of the area I had to remove the cover strip from. Now I am much happier with the shape. Happy setback. I have the left forearm gluing now. Lesson learned: It finally dawned on me that the curved acrylic scissors aren't for doing the curved cuts. It is an offset to allow straight cuts without the cut pieces interfering with the scissors as much. It probably should have been obvious but trimming is now much easier..... I need to do a lot more work on the shoulder (and I think I grabbed the wrong one) but I'm making progress.

I can't say I've ever enjoyed something this much that was so frustrating! I can see the addiction..... And I've ordered 60 more magnets.

Life got me a little more than expected this week but some more work was accomplished. I'll get some pictures posted this weekend. Shot 1 of the Covid vaccine pretty much laid me out where I didn't want to touch it for 2 nights. Lessons learned: Asymmetrical armor can drive a person crazy. Return edges are different. Curves are different. Lengths are different. When it comes to shape, the helmet feels like a completely different design between the right and left! AGH!!!! This is definitely more of an art project than an engineering project and I am NOT artistic. That said, the armor wouldn't have the same character if it were symmetrical so I'm glad it is done this way. 20 large magnets is nowhere near enough. I should have picked up 60. One forearm is finished but I didn't have enough magnets to do both at the same time. Tonight I will glue the 2nd forearm and get it done. Everything is cut and ready, just waiting to free up some magnets. When trimming teeth, you can't match EVERY reference photo. There are a lot of variations in them. Pick one you like the best and follow it. Then DO NOT compare it to other reference photos. I have to fight the urge to file the teeth into oblivion! My goal for the weekend is to trim the shoulders at which point only the strapping is left on the arms. I want to start painting the helmet and also get the rivet holes drilled. My intention is to use bolts to hold the helmet together during the build so it can be easily taken apart but then use pop rivets when the helmet is complete.

Today marks the 10th day after BBB Day and I'm happy where things are at. I am very pleased with the eyes. The teeth are close, but still not quite where I want them per the reference photos. Shouldn't be much more than 30 more minutes of work to get them done. And, I did get the front cover strips finished on the forearms so those have been gluing overnight.

Your ear looks great! What method did you use to do the initial trace? Did it take much in the way of adjustment after the initial trim?

I'm new at this, so PLEASE DON"T ACT ON THIS without someone more experienced weighing in..... I am trimming the eyes of my helmet right now and I have removed a lot more material than you have. It could be a difference between the ATA and Anovos helmets. I've been using this as a reference but it is an ATA helmet not Anovos.

My issue was completely self inflicted. I had intended to trim the front edge of the outside bicep piece. Unfortunately, I thought I had the top edge to the right but it was actually to the left when I marked it. So, instead of trimming the front edge I trimmed the back edge. It would have been way too tight to properly trim the front edge to get it looking correct. Fortunately, I hadn't finished trimming the other arm so I swapped the outside pieces. I'm sure some experts on here who review armor all the time will be able to notice the swap but I can't tell the difference. No pictures this morning, but I did get a little more done. The eyes and teeth of the helmet are both close, but still need a little more filing and sanding. I'll post a picture when I get them where I am happy with them to make sure I've got it right. I also used a Dremel to completely remove the lower return edge on all 4 forearm pieces. I've done a rough trim of the upper return edges but still need to remove more material. Hopefully I'll cut them to size tonight and work at gluing them together tomorrow.

I cut the front of each bicep as good and got those glued together yesterday. This morning I finished shaping the backs and have those curing now. Considering my mistake I'm actually very pleased with the results. I've also been working on the helmet this weekend. Still needs a lot of work and adjusting but making progress.

I was so frustrated last night about not having the orientation of the right bicep outside piece correct when I marked it for cutting I missed what I hope is an obvious solution. Any reason I can't swap the outside of the right and left biceps on the ATA armor? I know they aren't identical but I don't see any clearly defining markings that would be readily noticeable. Thoughts?

Well, I still can't get the bicep correct and I have my first "unfixable" mistake. I wanted to get to the 8mm from the line on each piece to get a nice fit on the cover strip. I didn't expect to have this issue at 5'9 180#, but my arm is too big. So I intended to leave the wider section in the back of the bicep and screwed up and cut back to 8mm on each side. The front of the right bicep will look like this. I may order a new back bicep piece so I can get the front cut correctly, but I'm still going to have an issue where either the front or rear cover strip won't fit exactly right. How is this normally handled? If this is what the front of my right bicep looks like will it impact my basic approval?

Thank you. I don't want a fitting issue to keep me from pursuing Centurion level approval. The left bicep is shaped completely different and is both more comfortable and it doesn't have the bulging issue.

I have a sizing question before I do a final trim on my right bicep. I feel like it sticks out too far when I have my arm at my side. But, I don't want to make it any smaller because in this position I can flex and pop the tape. I'm not worried about it being too tight because I don't expect to be in that position often, especially since the shoulder pads will prevent it. Do I need to make is smaller or is this something I can reshape a little with a hot water bath?

Great stuff, thank you! Some of this needs to be pinned into a reference! The one on doing the butt joints is one of the few posts I didn't find useful. My plan will be to do the outer cover strip only with tape on the inside. If there is an issue, adding the inner cover strip will be easy enough later.

Thanks, I have some of those threads just about memorized! I do have one question that I can't seem to find an answer to and am hoping you can help with. I had assumed (yes, I should know better) that when doing a butt joint that the inner and outer cover strips would go on at the same time. Looking at your build thread, and watching a few videos, it seems like the outer strip is put on first than the inner. I would worry about glue seeping through the seam and sticking my magnets/clamps to the armor. Am I missing something? Is there a best practice on this that I can't find?

Today was BBB day #2 and all of the parts for the helmet made it safely. That leaves the boots and gun ordered but not delivered, and the belt waiting to be ordered. I also worked on the biceps today. My intent was to completely remove the upper return edge and leave just a little on the bottoms of the pieces. What I actually did was neither. I removed almost all of the return edge from the top except for the small area it seemed to make sense to leave them to keep the opening more rounded. I left less of the return edge on the bottoms than planned. It just seemed to work with the molded pieces better the way I did it. I have to admit I was caught off guard just how different each pair of pieces was from it's opposite. If time allows, I'll cut them to size and start gluing. And yes, I probably should have been nervous to remove this much material from my first cuts on my first costume but the pieces really guided me. Gave me confidence. Hopefully not of the false variety!