Tilheyra

Welcome to FISD! As others have said, make sure to reach out to the garrison GML and other members for questions and other guidance. FISD, of course, is here for that as well, and it would be great to see a build thread from the both of you to show your progress and ask questions. On a side note, I grew up in the Kansas City area (Kansas side), so great to see folks from the larger KC area here! I am in Tennessee now (Midsouth Garrison), but perhaps I may run into you both at a troop in the future on one of my visits to KC.

Done! Shared info with my garrison as the GML!

Congratulations!!! You have quite the first troop coming up! Can't wait to see the photos for your troop log!

Welcome! Focusing on a piece at a time is how I completed my kit! It does feel intimidating, especially when everything is laid out in front of you, but developing a plan for completion is indeed the way you make incremental progress and bring your TK into reality. As others have mentioned, research is key! Knowing the kit and the process of building it helps with making progress as well. Take the time you need and work at your own pace. Ultimately, those who build their kits and those who commission their kits are all 501st Legion stormtroopers upon approval!

Second the hot water bath. It was how I was able to get my thigh ammo belt shaped properly.

Welcome! Great there will be another shock trooper in the Legion! Great to also see someone from Norman! I lived there for four years as I worked on and earned my PhD. I may be visiting Norman in a few weeks, so I should reach out to the garrison to see if there are any troops.

You'll find there are multiple different methods, but two of the main ways are the ones you mentioned. Personally, I found that the clippers I used make their way around more corners than I anticipated, so for any corners that I couldn't get through, I ended up scoring and snapping with a hobby knife. However, I always left excess material throughout this process because I used a sander to remove that last little bit of excess and round or square the corner properly (as applicable). A rotary sander (such as a Dremel with sanding attachment) is always helpful for rounded corners. I recommend always leaving a small amount of excess material as you cut through corners, because you will remove that excess when you sand the corner later.

Rare Earth magnets really come in handy to help secure spots where clamps can't get to.

Fake merch can be transformed into real merch if you will it so!

Like others have said, using boiling water is the best way to do this. You can either remove the straps and immerse the whole strap in boiling water, or carefully hold the end of the strap in the water while also holding the rest of the chest piece. Make sure to wear gloves to prevent steam from scalding your hands. Try shorter amounts of time at first (20 to 30 seconds) and shape accordingly, gradually increase the amount of time for the immersion if you need the should strap to be more malleable. Just recognize that each additional immersion counteracts the shaping work you previously performed.

Sent! 7TD50372U5739252Y

Perhaps we may troop together in the future as I am in the Midsouth Garrison in Tennessee! Plenty of help is here on FISD through the many, many threads and helpful folks who can provide tips and feedback!

Hello neighbor! I am from the Midsouth Garrison in Tennessee, so depending on how close we are we may troop together at some point in the future! You've come to the right place as I think FISD is the best resource in the Legion! Take a look through the relevant build threads and you will find plenty of tips and tricks to make your armor. Plus, so many folks here are super helpful in providing feedback and ideas! Enjoy the journey!

Has your GML provided guidance on how to proceed with the bicep details?

I'm also able to see all the memes (I only checked this current page).

Congratulations, Chris!

Congratulations on receiving your kit! Building armor is a rewarding experience and seeing it all come together is amazing! Feel free to make a build thread in the ANH armor section of the forum to post your progress!

Although it may take a bit to pick apart, it appears you have guidance on where to go from here. As Glen mentioned, it may be best to reach out to others in your area for in-person assistance. For work on the back and chest plates (among other parts), you will find it will be super helpful to have others to help you in-person. Where the FISD forum will be helpful is the multitude of build threads for the TLJ & TROS First Order TK builds. By reading through many of those threads, you should be able to find many tips and tricks needed to make the corrections that have been pointed out to you. Here's the area of the forum where you will find builds for The Last Jedi FOTKs: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/194-tlj-stormtrooper/ Here's the area of the forum where you will find builds for The Rise of Skywalker FOTKs: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/209-tros-stormtrooper/ Those of us here on the FISD forum can also take a look changes you make to your armor (via photos you post) and offer guidance. Nevertheless, the final decision on approval will always be up to your GML.

Have you made contact with your GML (Garrison Member Liaison) as to these issues? If so, what was their guidance? To give a better idea of what these concerns may be, you may want to show photos here.

Although I do not have the knowledge on the specific set of armor you purchased, I wanted to note that I will be following this thread to help in answering questions about the Shock Trooper costume! Happy to see a new potential Shock Trooper here on the forum!

Welcome! Great to see someone from Kansas City! I grew up on the Kansas side of the Kansas City area (but I didn't join the 501st until well after I moved away). Your local garrison is the 70th Explorers, which covers Kansas and most of Missouri: https://www.70thexplorers.com/ You should be able to find local help as much of their membership is clustered in Kansas City (and Saint Louis as well). The FISD forum here is great to explore, do lots and lots of research, and ask questions about your build. I highly recommend creating a build thread here so you can post all of your progress photos and ask all the questions you have. However, local help is always great, especially if you are working on a complicated task.

Do you really want me to give the lecture on sampling techniques versus a census?

The belt should be made from nylon/cordura or nylon/cordura-like material. From the TK Shock Trooper CRL: The soft belt proper is tightly woven nylon/cordura like/style material or material with a tightly woven nylon/cordura like/style covering. Size must be 2.25" (57mm) to 2.5" (64mm) wide. The color is to be white to off-white.