TikiTechie

Lots of sanding today, mostly completed 1. Back plate 2. Chest plate Started the gluing: I'm using E6000. I don't have a steady enough hand for the unforgiving drips cyanoacrylate gives me. 1. Right leg outside (more on that later). Once the glue sets overnight, the velcro goes on tomorrow. The tabs are still WIP awaiting paint. 2. Left gauntlet, notched clips side. Gluing a shim tab to the smooth side that doesn't have any overlapping. (I guess?) Kit kat troubles: Due to bad lighting and not being careful I ended up with a stray cut into the side of the left bar. Looks like crap but I will end up doing some pasting on them so it will be ok I've seen a comment about the thickness of the belt boxes and I'm not sure if my printed base is going to be a bit too thick. Got the files from Captains_Drydock which is a way nicer looking base than the hollow box base the kit came with and seems really difficult to attach. I took a fair amount of trial and mostly error trying to get the shoulder yoke and supporter to mate up. I can't tell if they just don't and glue will fill in the gaps (literally). I cut away a lot based on some other comment I saw and I'm hoping I didn't go too far. Some photos of the progress. It kind of pairs up and I'll probably just glue it tomorrow and if it doesn't fit up nicely with the back plate I'll hit it some more with the dremel. I am looking to being done with sanding.

Yes this helps me immensely, thank you!

Here is my first big head scratching moment. I can't seem to locate a good post on these forearms which shows the non-clip side. Does the trimming go to the shortest line? I assume these butt-join and have a strip behind them? Or are they supposed to overlap in some way? I'm not sure if it got over-trimmed here or not. The clip side is pretty clear where to trim and overlap, which makes it a lot easier. I assume since the other side is on the "back" side it's not as big a deal since it's somewhat hidden, or at least in a less noticable spot. Same with the top panel. Is this trim line correct?

Getting more pieces trimmed & shaped. I'm trying to get the low hanging fruit done first to get me motivated. (Seeing the end in sight & progress keeps me moving forward more easily.) This was a little bit of a set back. Apparently the shipment was damaged so much it was undeliverable. Given the condition I've gotten things from Amazon, I'd like to have seen what they consider undeliverable. Here are the hand guards. I'm thinking they need more shaping. I'm not quite sure how much return edge the FOTK has. I removed a lot of it from my ANH kit, but it seems like I see more return on this kit.

Day 2 Progress, all large trimming complete. Sore wrists, blisters & cuts included. First off, the trimmed lot. Actually, I have not trimmed the boxes & some of the smaller strips. But those aren't pictured anyway. A great way to measure success for a day. The trimmings pile. For my own understanding, it helps to just lay the parts out and note where they will eventually be mounted. Here are all the boxes. A fair number more than my Imperial TK! It's been a long day, but I still have all my digits so I count it as a success. Another day, another step closer to completion.

Yes that will help immensely. Thank you!

Decided to start slow and watch some videos, namely Captain's Drydock & Equusvideo's youtube channels. Started a few cuts but mostly just doing a dry-run penciling where I will be cutting BEFORE I make any major cuts. Novel, I know. TLJ cod There was one piece with a small broken corner that had been repaired by the previous owner. Liberated the glove hand plates from the rear shins. Shoulder bells waiting for the dremel to get a trim: more pictures I'm sorting through.

Day 0 The BBB day. A mixture of excitement and "what have I done"? I am not entirely sure if this kit

It's almost one year to the day that I began building my ANH Stormtrooper kit. I'm 20 troops in, having fun experiences, making good friends. After so long without a project, it was time to expand my kit collection and join the First Order. Sticking with the always recognizable, always popular clean storm trooper kit. I love the Star Wars Resistance show and I have some fellow troopers with some FO kits, so I want to expand on that. I also enjoy the Galaxy's Edge troopers. Their banter is always entertaining. Since I didn't really do a build thread of any sort for my first kit, I wanted to start out with one. Mostly because this kit seems like it might need some feedback on way to approval. Some details about the build First Order TK The Last Jedi CRL: https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_TLJ Kit: Imperial Surplus (I don't think they offer this kit any longer, so no link.) Boots: KeepTrooping https://keeptrooping.com/product/trooper-white/ Gaskets: May be used from a fellow Mountain Garrison member. If not, likely Geeky Pink. Helmet: Looking to get the Denuo Novo premier https://www.denuonovo.com/products/star-wars-the-last-jedi-stormtrooper-premier-helmet#description-flex Blaster: 3d print from this site. I'll find the article link... What am I forgetting?

@Jedikiller2024 Kian be sure to check out the Mountain Garrison https://www.mg501.com/, I think you would be in the Mile High Squad. If you join that forum you can find out more locally. Also, if you use facebook, look up Mountain Garrison and you should find the build group that can also help you get started. I am starting on a FOTK right now and will probably end up with the same questions eventually. As for glasses, I wear them but take them off with my bucket on. If you really can't see well, I guess contacts? I am sure someone in the forums has a better answer than mine. Good luck!

I think a lot of people use thin white cotton gloves as a liner (and sweat sponge). Maybe that would provide a barrier against allergy? I personally use the nomex gloves for comfort/breathability.

Looking good!

Looking great!

Used the supplied stuff. At least for now. I haven't gone back in to change it. Some day maybe.

Seems good to me, the gaps are minimal to my eyes. I had a lot more gaps, but the neck seal really snugged them down a lot. Nice work

Gorgeous looking kit. That is a great character and the live action is great. I miss SW: Resistance, bring it back!!

Yep, I reverted back to the same as that. I liked the bracket idea, but it just didn't sit down nicely in my helmet. It's a lot lighter this way. Live & learn.

Yeah, it was fine. I could twist it on fine. I really have almost nothing in there except a few helmet pads on the top & crown. I am fitting a couple of my own fans (not the bracketed insert) with velcro and those site nicely in the cheek/jowls incl. a battery pack. So there is room, just the bracket doesn't work for me I guess.

Yeah, that's with the twist. I can barely get it over the bridge of my rather voluminous nose. It was tight before and that was ok, now the fan bracket & switches really make it almost impossible, and I haven't added my headset mic or a battery. I was just wondering from the photos if there is an area that is not trimmed enough or if it looks right. I can probably make do if that looks alright. But I did get a new strip of neck seal just in case I widened that thing.

My noggin is either too big or my helmet hole is too small, or both. I added a ukswrath fan bracket and I'm having a hard time stuffing my melon into this thing. Should I be trimming some of this back further? I originally had cut it back a ways, you can see where I had to salvage some gasket to get it to meet at the ends.

Very kind offer. It sounds like a lot of work, but if it would be useful for others and not just me, then if you were able to

For anyone who has completed this, Is there a ballpark dollar amount on what it ended up costing? I have some modest ability to construct this, but it would be more to save money than anything else. Probably maybe a question for US builders since I am not finding any of the ebay parts, but I do find them between Adafruit & Amazon for the most part.

Congratulations. Your submission photos are inspiring for my upcoming EIB submission. Really good stuff.

Thank you, that's a lot to chew on, but very helpful!

Congrats. Great looking kit and photos. Do you have any links or info on your wizardry here? I see your strapping system link, but these edges seem to diverge from what's on that page. I'd like to add some of this before I submit for EIB. Thank you!