Tilheyra

I need this in my life!

I was doing a makeup test and ended up looking like someone who demands to speak with the manager.

Hmm...my ANH armor from WTF is the same. I was scoping out the pieces of my armor this evening and noticed the asymmetry between the thigh pieces. I was getting concerned, but it seems this may be a characteristic of the molds used by WTF. I wonder if others have discussed this issue before.

The speed and quality of your progress (and your armor!) are amazing!

Indy PopCon was phenomenal! I had so much fun cosplaying as a femtrooper, and I received so many compliments and excited looks from so many different people! I also took advantage of a photoshoot (with Bengal San Photography; gotta give credit where it is due)! Here are some of the best photos from the photoshoot: One of my big concerns heading into the con was whether the strapping on my leg and arm armor would hold up against days worth of movement. Sure enough, all of the strapping held up without concern! Naturally, however, one of the straps holding my front torso armor to my chest armor disconnected during the photoshoot, and as I found nothing broken afterward, I think it was because I did not secure it properly (once I reconnected it, it held for the 6.5 more hours I was out and about). Not smearing my makeup ended up being my chief concern throughout the day, so I'll pat myself on the back for my armor-making capabilities! Two issues that need rectifying came to light during the con. First, I developed armor bite on the outside of my knees from the bottom edge of the thigh armor. By the end of the day yesterday (Saturday), I was certainly feeling it, and despite the armor bite not breaking through the leggings I was wearing, the rubbing marked my skin. I'll need to further trim and sand this problem area. Second, my shoulder strap armor would not stay put! This problem can be seen in the photos above. Although the snaps I used to keep the shoulder strap armor secured to the shoulder straps works very well, the shoulder strap armor would rotate as I moved. I think I'll correct this by gluing the shoulder strap armor to the chest armor and allow it to float over my shoulders and over the top of my back armor. But back to the fun, I wore my armor for about 2.5 hours on Friday evening. I attended the drag show at the con and got used to walking around the convention center during this less busy time of the con. The next day (Saturday), I was out and about for 3 hours in the morning to do the photoshoot, briefly scope out the vendor hall, and talk with others in cosplay. After a break, I was back out for, surprisingly, 6.5 hours! This included a couple of panels, more perusing the vendor hall, watching the cosplay contest, and attend that evening's drag show! Needless to say, spending most of the day on my feet hit me late in the evening, so I slept well once I returned to my hotel room! I knew going into this that sitting is not really the greatest skill of a stormtrooper (just like how my marksmanship mysteriously degrades when I wear my armor), but the fact that I could not sit was very apparent throughout the day. It's a good thing my boots were decently comfy! All in all, I had a fantastic time! I got many, many compliments and excited looks from others throughout the con, and I get to see myself looking so badass in my photos from the photoshoot!

For The Empire!!! It was only after I changed out of my armor that I realized I forgot to wear my gloves... Oh well, the proper photo shoot will be at Indy PopCon next weekend!

Looks like it is time to start the build thread!

OUT FOR DELIVERY!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not going to get much done at work today, am I?

Thank you!!! I am really excited to try the full costume this weekend (maybe this evening)!

My previous post was not as clear as I should have written it (although, I may be misunderstanding your post). This is for my non-approvable FEM7 armor. I am wanting to hide the black-ish scuffs that have appeared from my black painted belt rubbing against my white armor. I am wondering if there is a recommended technique to cover over the scuffs with some sort of white paint or other substance for the purpose of returning the white appearance to the spot. I have thought of tapping the spot with the tip of a brush with white paint, or using white nail polish, or even using whiteout. I was wondering if folks have any tips for this. I am going to put a layer of Mod Podge over all edges of my belt to prevent further paint transfer. Maybe I am too focused on every single scuff that has appeared. Then again, I spent a lot of time painting my armor, so I want it to last as long as it can before I have to apply another coat or two of spray paint. Here's a photo of a scuff/paint transfer to give you all an idea of what I want to hide:

I have been wondering if there is a way to deal with the more noticeable scuffs without resorting to another session with spray paint. As I mentioned above, I have some paint transfer of black paint onto the white armor. I am wondering if there are techniques to do touch-ups of certain spots.

The armor is not quite complete yet, because I still need to attach the lower leg and kneecap armor to the strapping, but I am at the point where I can do an almost full test fitting! I just did so, and I am absolutely amazed at how great my armor looks on me!!! Here's another bathroom mirror selfie to show how far I have progressed (and you all get a partial face reveal as an added bonus). Just remember, the full costume is not complete until I also put on my makeup and wig! The arm strapping has just a bit more slack in it than planned, but fortunately, that does not adversely affect how the arm armor sits on me! The belt was difficult to properly fit, and the accessories did not help things. Nevertheless, I was able to get the belt to sit in a decent position. Another problem with the belt is some paint transfer has occurred from the black belt on to the white armor. I'll have to correct this before the con, and it appears the clear coat on the belt was not as sufficient as I thought (I probably missed spots, resulting in the paint transfer). Seeing myself in the armor I have worked so hard on is absolutely fantastic! Now, on to attaching the remaining pieces to the strapping.

Lots of gluing the past couple of days. The strapping has now been glued to the top of the thigh armor, and the adjoining snaps have been glue to the lower inside of the front torso armor. Snaps have been glued to the lower inside of the rear torso armor, and the straps have been glued to the bottom armor (this is a much more secure hold than the velcro I had been using). Straps have been glued to the top of the shoulder armor, and these will snap onto the shoulder straps. Also, the thermal detonator has now been glued into place! The forearms, biceps, and shoulder armor are currently being glued together. I fit everything on my arms the other day and measured the space between each of the pieces, and this was then translated into the needed lengths for the strapping. I placed the straps where I thought it was most logical, but I may want to change this following how well things work at the upcoming convention. My efforts this evening will be to measure the spacing between the lower leg armor and the thigh armor, as well as where to put the kneecap armor. I'll then get those straps glued! I hope to do a test of the full costume this weekend! The con is August 25 to 27, so I am keeping pace to get everything set to go!

BBB day might come sooner than usual. I bought a completely untrimmed WTF kit that a long-time member of Walt's Facebook group offered for sale on that group (with Walt's permission). The package is already on its way!

Progress continued on my build yesterday! I was able to determine where the thigh armor best sits, so I took the measurements for the strapping that will connect the thigh armor to the front torso armor. I did the same for the shoulder armor. The straps themselves will be glued to the thigh and shoulder armor, with the connection to the shoulder strapping and front torso armor via snaps. The other pieces of the leg and arm armor will be worked out once I get the thigh armor and shoulder armor where I want them. The positioning of the bottom armor still needs work, and the thermal detonator will soon be glued into its holder as well! I also devised the best way to insert the spacers between the front and rear torso armor (it requires the use of the mirror)! I also devoted some attention to my belt. I have already discussed my painted-over Nerf gun, and I show the Nerf gun in the holster below (my attention to detail with weapons means I am pained by the holster not covering the trigger of the Nerf gun, but I will have to ignore that for now), but I also purchased a pouch that will hold my phone, wallet, and a compact for makeup touch-ups. There is a pouch armor piece that is currently being glued to this pouch. Both the pouch and holster have straps to connect them to the belt. The two halves of the belt will be held together via black elastic straps, and one of the snaps for the elastic can be seen on the inside of the belt. I am getting so close to completion!!!

Alright, I've mulled over different kits and read the 501st databank guidance for both the shock trooper and ESB trooper. I'm going to go ahead and pull the trigger on the ESB kit I've been eyeing. I'd been thinking about this for a number of days before making this thread, so now that the pieces are coming together, I think it is time to commit!

The Bloodfin GML responded to my question on their forum. He said the same of what has been said here. ROTJ is preferred, but to be super diligent in getting the conversion right if I go with ANH/ESB armor. Decisions...

I went ahead and contacted the Bloodfin Garrison with my questions. I'll let you all know what I find out!

I was able to go back to the park and paint my boots today! I'd say it is a good start, but I am not quite satisfied yet. I am very happy the paint is adhering to the sides of the soles, but I expected the paint to cover the fabric better than it did. I should have figured this would happen with faux suede. I talked over these results with a friend that is more familiar with fabric painting, and she recommended I use white shoe polish to provide better coverage and smooth out the suede. I am not trying to preserve the suede, as I care more that the boots are a consistent shade of white, so this seems like a good way to proceed. The suede and tan color on these boots was a comprise anyway. I could not find a pair of white women's boots in my price range that was both large enough for my feet (10.5 in men's, but 12 in women's) and did not appear like it was meant to be worn by a drag queen (I'd buy those boots if I wanted to be a drag queen, but it's not the look I am going for, even though I am technically dressing in drag with this build). As such, I bought the boots I bought, and they are quite comfortable too! We'll see how the shoe polish works.

This is super helpful! Although I am aiming for Level 1 certification, I did not think about the differences at this level of detail. Thank you! I think it would be best for me to go ahead and contact the Bloodfin Garrison and ask their thoughts, especially given the discretion the GML has. A good amount of my excitement over this today is that I have seen approvable ANH/ESB armor in my price range. The ROTJ armor seems harder to find. When it comes down to it, having an approved stormtrooper with the 501st is a little more important to me than that stormtrooper specifically being a shock trooper. Also, now that I know some folks convert their costumes over time opens up more possibilities! I thought my FEM7 would be the only stormtrooper costume I would make, but here I am taking about another build, so the future is full of new opportunities!

Good to know I was understanding the similarities! I hadn't thought about converting over time. This opens up a lot of possibilities! Perhaps that is the direction to go...

One question I had was answered by @MaskedVengeance linking that shock trooper thread! I was wondering if there have been any recent shock trooper approvals using ANH armor, and it appears so! I'm looking for Level 1 certification, so I don't really have a preference of ANH vs ROTJ, just an approvable kit I can buy to start my next build! But I do have another set of questions: What is the suitability of ESB armor for a shock trooper build? My understanding is that, exempting the helmet and holster placement, the key differences between ANH and ESB armor are the different shaped handplates (it seems the ESB has the snowtrooper-style handplates called for on the shock trooper). Would ESB armor be suitable for a shock trooper in this case? Bringing the helmet back into question, are the differences between the ANH and ESB helmets more than cosmetic (are they the same helmet, structurally)? Could an ESB helmet be modified for a shock trooper?

Both threads are fantastic! Thank you so much!

My name is Brian, and I live in the U.S. state of Indiana. Some of you may know me from my FEM7 build thread in the non-approved costumes section of the forum. I really appreciate the help that has been provided, and as I mentioned in my thread, I certainly have been 'bitten by the bug,' so I am planning an approvable build! As such, I figure I would finally introduce myself here, so I can meet many of the others on this forum! I am aiming to buy a TK armor kit based on a style from the era of the original trilogy. I have mentioned the possibility of creating a shock trooper (and my understanding is that the armor can be made from ANH or ROTJ armor, but with different nuances), but I am still exploring other possibilities! I'll be exploring various threads across the forum, and welcome recommendations for threads to read!