CloseTheBlastDoor

Hmm... glad I have some choices! @gmrhodes13, thanks for all the links! Looks like folks really like Nomex except for the hand plate attachment issues (sounds like E-6000 with latex plates is the way to go). @shashachu Yeah, you're right that HD seems to only have the ridged ones (and not at the fingertips). I do still have my plastic hand guards from the WTF kit, but I would have to trim them down and add straps. I'm thinking I can probably get the Nomex gloves by tomorrow, then see if the WTF handplates can work for all FIVE of my troops this weekend! If I'm brave enough, I might try to cut the latex handplates off the old pair and put them on the new ones before the next troop this Friday. @shashachu looks like we don't have any troops together this weekend

Wow, it's been a while! I have enjoyed trooping, and it's gonna get busy this weekend! One thing I'd like to change is the gloves. I have the latex rubber gloves from here: https://trooperbay.com/product/accurate-trooper-black-latex-gloves-stormtrooper-shadowtrooper/ They are obviously not breathable, so I also have separate liners when I wear them. This setup has been a pain, comfort and dexterity-wise. I'd like to change the gloves out for something more porous and comfortable, as well as something that allows me to use/feel my fingertips on things like buttons for my voice changer. And I guess I'd have to buy new hand guards, as I don't think the ones I have are going to come off (super glued). Any suggestions for both gloves and guards?

Sent!

Great, thanks!

I see lots of Devcon products. Are we talking about the clear epoxy, the cream plastic welder, or something else?

While basking in the glory of Centurion approval, I'm doing a little follow-up on the process. While I was making adjustments to the sniper plate, I noticed that the shin is starting to crack in a high stress area. Should I use the T-shirt and Super Glue method to put a stop to this, and should I try removing some of the return edge? Or something else?

1. First Name: Hanson 2. Last name: Quan 3. 501st ID (TK number): 47826 4. Paper size: Letter 5. The name of the DO that did your final approval: Mario Thanks to all of you! Here you go Centurion. https://www.whitearmor.net/eib/certificates/47826-centurion.png

WOO, THANKS!!!!! YOU MADE MY DAY!!! Thanks for all of the time you spent with me, as well as your patience!

Sure, is this better? Also here, just in case: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17dh1paCUZwmg6lr-SDl55DDqqJ_tNa0_/view?usp=sharing

I put this in GDrive here, too: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZTnYzgsdKkQUNNdBd-98lShEhc7F97wC/view?usp=sharing

Wow, super weird. I think there might be something on the Imgur side, as it is still showing in my browser after a refresh. Although maybe my browser is caching it. I went over to Imgur just now, and the image is just not there anymore. I uploaded again and fixed the post (hopefully). Can you see it now, @shashachu and @gmrhodes13?

OK, I had to glue and reglue this twice to get it right (I hope). The front part of the plate is about 5mm higher than it was before. I also had to Dremel down a piece of plexiglas I had that was backing the front part of it so it was thinner. It was just getting in the way. Here it is:

Thanks, I'm on it! It's definitely E-6000. Trying again. As you know, it will take a while for the glue to cure. BTW I'm still going to have the situation where the plate edge doesn't come all the way up to the shin edge. That's because the ridge on the shin is preventing the plate from going any higher. I hope this is OK.

Thanks, Mario. BTW I updated the full body photos per the initial feedback. My wife, who doesn't know anything about this, took them with my verbal direction. Hope they're OK. Wow, how does this happen? I think those photos are only a few months apart, could it have moved? I'll try and see what to do here. Getting the fit right for this was very difficult, and looking at it today, the inner ridge (that you dashed in red) is lined up right with the ridge in the shin piece (that you dashed in blue). So maybe it was always like this, but the camera angle was hiding it?

Thanks @gmrhodes13 and @TKSpartan for your initial feedback. A few quick responses: I have fixed the missing image, showing that the hand plates are flexible latex. For the backs of the shins it looks like I just didn't close them as well. I had cut them down a bit per EIB feedback. I just now did a test fit with just the shins, and they do close down to the point where there is a gap similar to or smaller than what was in the EIB photos. Looks like the left forearm was riding up on the glove. For the other dressing issues, let me see if I can get someone in the know to take photos again. That was what took so long, even though I had this all done 1.5 months ago !

Hello! Hoping I’ve done everything right. Thank you for your time and consideration! And as always, special appreciation for @gmrhodes13 for his guidance not just for Centurion, but from the very beginning! Name: Hanson Quan 501st TK ID: 47826 FISD Forum Name: CloseTheBlastDoor Garrison: Golden Gate Mandatory Information Armor = WTF Helmet= WTF Blaster= 3D-printed myself. Based on: EIB Request thread: Link to 501st-approved armor page: https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=43737&costumeID=124 Optional Height = 5’11.5” Weight = 165 lbs Boots = Keep Trooping Canvas belt = Imperial Issue Hand Plates = Latex, TrooperBay Electronics= None Neck Seal = Keep Trooping Holster = Darman’s Props Centurion changes were suggested in the EIB application link. To summarize, they are: Helmet sits too high. This one, I can’t help. There is already no padding on the top, and I have a pointy head that is touching it as it stands. Zipper on neck seal showing. The “one size fits all” neck seal that I have is quite large for my skinny neck. I was wearing it with some velcroed overlap. Will just use the zipper and allow for some looseness. Too much border on ammo belt square buttons. Addressed. Lower shins so they bottom out above the boots. Dressing issue, fixed. Too much gap between shoulder bells and chest plate. I replaced the elastic with shorter nylon straps, and I added some shoulder pads underneath my compression suit to raise the bells a bit higher so they align with the bridges. Fixed. Gaps and alignment between abdomen and kidney plates. Fixed. Raise the right side of the ammo belt. Dressing issue, fixed. Reduce the circumference of forearms to match my arm size. Done. Reduce the circumference of shins to match my calves. Done. Full body front: Full body back: Full right: Full left: Right side detail: Left side detail: Ab button detail: Armor details: Gloves: Shoulder bridge front: Shoulder bridge back: Kidney/Butt junction: Thigh pack attachment: Sniper knee attachment: Drop box back: Cod/butt attachment: Helmet detail: Helmet front: Helmet right side: Helmet left side: Helmet back: Helmet inside showing no padding at top due to pointy head: Hovi tip detail: Lens color: S seal: Accessories: Ammo belt: Holster attachment: Plastic belt ends (showing 45 degree cuts and alignment): Neckseal: Blaster left side: Blaster right side: Blaster rear D-ring: Thermal detonator back: Boots: Action shot: Alternate action shot:

Thanks, Glen!

OK, with some help from members of my local garrison, I was able to figure out what to do with the alignment and gaps of the ab/kidney pieces. To recap, this is what they indicated: This is the left-side joint with some better lighting: The curvature of the kidney plate made it impossible to get a good abutment between the two sections, so I opted to back the kidney with a steel bar, as well as replace the three nylon straps with a single wide strap: That straightened it out a bunch, and allowed me to mark off a bit of the curve on the edge for sanding. I backed the ab piece with ABS, and it turned out like this: This is the best I think I can do. A snug tightening of the belt, and I should be fine. On the right side, it was a bit of a different matter where there was still some curve on the kidney, but not too much room to put the snaps in as well. I figured that the belt would cover the lower part of the seam, so I would instead focus on the upper part. I decided to make an ABS sandwich with a hole in it, so a tongue on the other side could engage it and line up the seam perfectly. At first, I was going to cut the tongue piece, but because its measurements were somewhat precise, and I wanted to be able to easily heat form it, I opted to design and 3D print the part. At the seam, the engagement was not going to be flat. There was a curve to it, so I heat formed the printed part. This allowed for a smooth joint: I then added snaps across the top, and used a longer piece of elastic to attach things: Now to find someone to help me with photos for approval - fingers crossed!

Yikes, I'm sorry that happened! You got me thinking about all of my black pieces of gear. I've just put them together in a separate bag so they won't touch the white stuff.

OK, now that a bunch of troops are done, and I have time to work on my armor, I’m making the remaining fixes that were recommended in my EIB application in order to meet Centurion standards: To summarize, they are (with my progress indicated): Helmet sits too high. This one, I can’t help. There is already no padding on the top, and I have a pointy head that is touching it as it stands. Feels like Krennic's finger is there. Zipper on neck seal showing. The “one size fits all” neck seal that I have is quite large for my skinny neck. I was wearing it with some velcroed overlap. Will just use the zipper and allow for some looseness. Too much border on ammo belt square buttons. Addressed in an earlier post, as best possible. Lower shins so they bottom out above the boots. Dressing issue, will fix. Too much gap between shoulder bells and chest plate. I replaced the elastic with shorter nylon straps, and I’m adding some shoulder pads underneath my compression suit to raise the bells a bit higher so they align with the bridges. This is what I’m probably most self-conscious about, and I find myself quite jealous when I see that other TK’s align perfectly. I think it has to do with the shaping of the chest and back plates sending the bridges upward instead of horizontally. I don’t know why it’s like that. Gaps between abdomen and kidney plates. This one’s going to be hard. On the left side, the kidney plate is curved, and the abdomen is not. Where the edges meet seems like it’s always going to be an issue. Advice? Raise right side of ammo belt. Dressing issue, will fix. Reduce circumference of forearms to match my arm size. Done. See earlier post. Reduce circumference of shins to match my calves. Done, documented here. #6: Photo #9: Shins The shins turned out to be interesting in a good way. Looking at my left shin, the cover strip had a strong bias to the right. Re-measuring the fit, I needed about 25mm cut at the top, while preserving the bottom where it was. So instead of removing material from both sides, it looked better to remove it only from the side with the cover strip. And this time I wanted to preserve the strip because I had no more ABS sheeting that was that long. So after about an hour of working it, I got it off with minimal damage, marked, cut and trimmed the piece, and glued it all up. The right side had similar symmetry issues, but was a better situation because it was the non-cover strip side that needed the trimming (about 23mm). You get the idea!

Well, I tried all sorts of stuff trying to get the stain off of my helmet, with only mild success. I will leave it this way. I tried: Baking soda solution: Nothing Dawn with soap and water: Nothing Hydrogen peroxide: Nothing IPA: Nothing Novus #2 and #1: Nothing Mineral spirits: Nothing Goo Gone: Looks like it did something, but almost seems like it spread things around? Or the stain seemed to move? Really weird! In my research, many of the above were suggested, but the surprising discovery was that ABS is porous! So I think that the coloring is set below the surface. As the helmet plastic is already somewhat thin, I’m going to be conservative and not try the rubbing compounds unless I get more desperate! From now on, I’m storing my helmet in either a white felt material inside the bag, or something else that will protect it from this disastrous situation. Thanks to all of you for your help!

I tried a little bit of the Novus #2 bottle, and I saw the tiniest bit of improvement. Will keep trying. So far, none of dish soap, IPA, hydrogen peroxide, or baking soda have worked I have not heard of T-cut, will look that up too, thanks!

Oh wow! I have a bottle of Goo Gone that is more than 30 years old! I should try that! I've tried so many other things to little or no avail. Thanks, John!

Thanks. I think I'd still like to remove it, but don't want to use too harsh of a compound. I think I am very attached to how pristine it still is, so don't want to lose it to this! Will report back if I get some results.

Uh oh, I'm noticing some discoloration on my helmet. I have a separate bag for it that has a soft, black, felt-like interior and I think that it has rubbed off onto the helmet in several places. There is a purple discoloration now along the ears and tubes, and even on the top (hard to photograph, hope you can see it). I tried Novus to clean it, but no change. Any suggestions?