TikiTechie

Personally I used tin shears like yours but slightly smaller. Find yourself a pair that don't open so wide, like scissor sized. Some of the thicker parts & edges really require a heavy duty tool. You will be sanding those edges for sure. The little lexan scissors are useful for details and tight spots, but not for large areas in my experience. I would have both on hand. You should hopefully be scoring and snapping long cuts when you are doing longer pieces and need a smooth straight edge. You don't want to hack & nibble your way across a large cut.

I think rather than trying to extract data from an inaudible, ancient movie clip, why not re-record it either yourself or with a voice actor? It's not like it's James Earl Jones speaking, it's some random actor (unless someone knows differently, no shade on their abilities. ). I have spent a fair amount of time trying out AI voice dubbing, voice cloning and have limited success getting repeatable or consistent voice clips back. Assuming you can provide it enough data for a voice clone, you can get something usable, but it just doesn't quite sound real to me. I guess give it a few months/years and it'll be better.

I definitely like this solution. I've been experimenting a bunch lately to make cloth gaskets (getting ready for summer) that are integrated into a spandex top I can just pull on. (same with knees). I am trying to make thin neoprene behave but my sewing machine is having issues and my sewing skills are such that it is not so easy. Being able to loop around and not have to fashion the "tubes" would be helpful. Great idea. Please post your results!

Congratulations! Well deserved.

Thank you again. Looks very nice!

I've posted this elsewhere but I figured I'd also drop it here for anyone following this one. I was granted approved for FOTK at Basic level on Nov. 1. Thanks everyone who commented and reacted. I appreciate the support of this great community & forum. It helps a lot! Stay on target. For the First Order!

Thank you, folks. Got approved yesterday for FOTK! Very happy to join the ranks of the First Order!

No hate. I need to listen to my photographer better. Can you link to how you or others are securing the spat with velcro? Mine seem to want to inch up. The gasket may be too thick to stay down given the slight upward angle the shin has.

Ok, updated based on your recommendations. Thank you. Updated the TD to match the TLJ CRL. Straightened up the back and minded my posture. Added several changes to the upper gaskets to fit it better. The forearms are up as high as I can get them on the gasket sleeve without cracking. An elastic thumb strap helps pull it further down into the gauntlet and gives a little more space between that and the glove. Front: Reverse: Left side arms lowered: Left Side arms extended: Right side arms lowered: Right side arms extended: Helmet off:

First/Last Name: Jim Munro Garrison: Mountain Garrison Armor Maker: Imperial Surplus Helmet: Denuo Novo Premier TLJ Height: 5'10" Weight: 175 TK Type: TLJ Gasket Maker: Purchase second-hand. Unknown. Neck Seal: ImperialSeamstress [Etsy] Boots: KeepTrooping Blaster: Not submitting for basic. Build log: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/53835-tikitechie-tlj-first-order-tk-build-thread/ Front: Rear: Left: Right: Bucket Off:

Well, this is a patent for something that looks an awful lot like a stormtrooper audio system. The setup is kind of outlined there. The details are generic, so I don't know there is a "brand" since it's likely not off the shelf. Maybe Disney Imagineering brand? If you find out though, please let me know. I'd love to get those details. For now I am reverse engineering what I see there and in videos. As I have mentioned elsewhere, I am working on producing for my own use a similarly triggered sound glove. This is for fun and not necessarily ever going to see the light of day, but I do have the components, and some of the skills, to produce it. Why not use a mic & amp, you ask? Good question. There are a few specific answers, mostly just that my voice _does not project_. It's a me thing. Trying to get it loud enough for me to be heard, and understood, has not worked: feedback, picking up breathing, etc. Until I actually build the sound system, I am just using the mic/amp though, since it's easy and I have all the parts. I always hope someone on the forums is a GE FOTK and will reach out to provide more info.

Yes, they were annoying me. Is there a recommended way? My OTTK has an elastic connecting to bicep but it seems like that might not work given the texture of the gasket material. I suppose I could velcro them up like the shins? Thank you! Yeah, my family can't wait to see me again. (I think.)

Getting ready to submit pre-approval pics. I did end up getting the boots from KeepTrooping. Impressive how fast they can these to my doorstep from China so fast. Printed out blasters from the files here. Just having fun now.

[There are no dumb questions here.] Since you have already narrowed your choices down to Original Trilogy, I'll just reiterate what is said already, it's personal preference. The audience that will know the difference between ANH and ESB is very small outside of this forum and your local garrison. (Personally, I would have to go to the CRL to even know. I've never really looked that hard.) 99% of people who see you outside the legion see white & shiny: must be stormtrooper. (Someone referred to a Jawa as an Ewok the last troop I was on.) But it's also fun because it's probably the most recognized costume, aside from Chewbacca. Everyone recognizes your costume and wants a pic which is where I have the most fun. I picked ANH Stunt trooper since that was what I wanted to be when I was like 8 and saw the movie. It was not an option. Lasly, picking any OT TK gives you access to a lot of existing tutorials and support that will help immensely if that makes any difference.

Glad you asked. I've been working on this subject for awhile. It's still a WIP but maybe you can get some ideas from the research I've done. I've been interested in creating a very flexible audio system that can play a very large number of audio clips via a glove controller (only 1 button) and a position sensor. This is what they use at Galaxy's Edge and is pretty cool and gives you a lot more choices for sounds, but also adds a lot more complexity. Do you want recorded sound clips, or to use your own voice? Recorded sounds have limitations, such as how many you can easily trigger to play by buttons. This works well for characters like Wookiees or Jawas who really only make a few unique sounds. If you don't want to be limited to a few canned phrases, you may want to go with mic headset and a simple audio amp. You can probably do that for pretty cheap < $50 on Amazon. Microphone + Amplifier I've been using the iComm & Aker amp setup that I see alot of people using. For me it hasn't worked well. Mounting in the chest has a very muffled sound (maybe it's my voice) but no one can understand me unless I repeat myself at least once. I get a lot of blank stares which is not super-impressive. I switched to JUST using the amplifier + mic system. It's a little better sound, but I mostly have the same problem. Namely, being able to turn it up to be understandable but also not cause feedback from your helmet. Chest mount amps seem to suffer from this. Another thing I've witnessed for folks who have an external amplifier located in a pouch (those Scouts!): you can understand them pretty well, but the audio in the helmet gives some sort of cross-talk that makes it sound non-stormtrooper like (to my ears). I just want to hear the audio from the speaker. Buy: So, long story even longer, if you want a simple sound board with 4 or 8 clips, visit Etsy and search for "sound glove" and you should get the standard ones I've seen. You can find them on Youtube for DIY. My Plans: I just put out an order on Fiverr for someone to professionally record sound clips. My voice just isn't stormtrooper-y. They do 100 words for $20 which was a decent starter to try this out with. Gotchas: I created what I thought was a easy to use button controller, but after I put it on with the glove it became clear I wouldn't have the dexterity due to the bulk of the gloves. This is even with a much larger button surface like below. Spacing the buttons farther might help but it makes the controller very wide, which it's already sticking out from the palm to be visible, which isn't what I want. Sorry for the length of this, but it's a WIP and probably going to become a separate thread.

Good tip. Thanks. Glad to know someone else has gone through the same. (I guess that's why we're here.

First full kit-up today. Glad I did this before I was going to take submission pics. I have a little ways to go anyway. Things to note here: 1. My magnetic chest clasps are not in the right place. The downside of trying to do this without actually seeing it on my own body. Looks like wearing it, my torso stretches the yoke a little wide, especially with the gaskets on. So, they need to move in and maybe down a little. I've considered velcro as that might be easier to adjust. I've just had a bear of a time getting the sides of the chest fastened correctly to the yoke. Having an assistant today helped a lot, but was even still a challenge. 2. I know, my helmet is TFA and my kit/cod is TLJ. I have both helmets, but this one was closer to me. 3. Boots arrive this week!! The last piece of the puzzle. Using my first hand-painted chelsea boots for this. The spats at least hide the fact they don't go up high enough. My ankles sure know the secret though. Pinchy. 4. The helmet is a WIP. I removed the hardhat liner for now and substituted a piece of standard foam. Doesn't fit at all yet so it's a little bobbly. I am going to line it like the premium DN helmet (separate thread eventually). My fave pose

Spat Gaskets Smaller changes now that I am structurally complete. I don't love the gaps & movement on my spats so far. I would prefer the system DN uses to keep their spats in place, but alas I don't have that kit. I am sure this is not a new problem or solution, but I did pick up some insulated weather stripping from Lowe's for cheap, I think $7. I cut it down to a single row, but I suppose you could leave it if you didn't want to make a cut. I used scissors rather than a razor. (Yes, that's an official First Order ankle sock.) The gap is now filled and it seems like a tighter fit on the surrounding spat. You can keep the pill visible more easily We'll see how durable it is over time.

Good tips. Thank you. I wondered if I needed to cut the tops of "arm holes" back more, but it doesn't sound like that's really the problem. I can get it to set down lower, and I think your suggestion will help that.

I am calling the initial build complete. There is probably things I will discover as I try on, size & take submission photos that need to be addressed, but I am happy with it so far. WRT the gauntlets, there has been a lot of filling & sanding (and swearing) trying to get them joined smoothly and fixing up my blundered early cuts. One bit I'm not sure if is just a getting-used-to thing or if there is more sizing to be done, but the shoulder/yoke/chest seem like they ride a little high on my shoulders. My helmet seems to constantly be banging against the front. Normal? More shoulder trimming? I initially went easy on the trimming, so it may be time to start thinning it down. Try on is a lot more fun with all the decals in place and the pieces finished up. I'll be more excited to have better photos when they aren't all selfies in the basement. Probably not easy to tell, but I did forget my neck gasket in these photos. Still not used to a new kit. For the First Order! (Will Imgur take down my photos again?!?)

Just a note that the black area is not the belt, although it is webbing. I had built an "interface" between the snaps on the code and a velcro attachment to the inside of the ab-bottom-section. I've seen this elsewhere, maybe Captain's Drydock's videos. The webbing I've used doesn't hold it's shape well so I may end up changing to some other material. For now, I scooched up the belt as you can probably see in subsequent posts. Just rebuilding the strap with less flexiible materials will probably help. But that little bit did have a big affect, so kudos for catching that!

Same. I am looking forward to getting this done. Thanks for answering all the questions I've had. Makes it a lot easier to build with experts nearby.

Looks like they put them back up. I guess it wasn't the hotness of the pics their algorithms expected.

Just too steamy for the internet! It does seem difficult to work with. I'm not very patient, so that doesn't help. I have gotten bubbles, but I did glob on thick paste along the side seams. Is Novus #2 less course than the automative (headlight?) compounds? I have been going 400-600-1k-2k-3k route, sometimes starting at 150/220 if there is a real big mountain I can't tackle. I follow it up with #2 and Clean & Shine. Sometimes the results are better than others. One suspect of trouble is that I used E6000 to shim the gauntlets together. Where there is a slight gap due to my less-than-perfect cutting, I think the glue may be peeking through and not playing well with the acetone/abs mix. I think it's too far along to be able to pull apart pieces and re-fuse with another adhesive, so I am making the best of it. Or attempting to. I do intend to get this kit gloss-painted, but that's not in $cope right now.

Looks like some of my codpiece images are getting removed by imgur. Oops. I'm requesting them to reevaluate.