Peregrinus

My boots have just shipped. If you went with Gio, hopefully this means yours will be on the way soon, too. Also, I just messaged KB about Phasma boot armor (and said I was asking on behalf of a couple people, as I don't know if you'd gotten around to asking him yet). I'll let you know what he says -- unless you've already talked to him, in which case never mind. I got tired of never hearing back from Jimmi (RPF, FB, or e-mail).

Me, too.

Just to let you know, I just got the shipping notice for my gloves about an hour ago, so hopefully yours will be on the way, too. One step closer.

I assume you're set for strapping and buckles and such? Read through Tony's build log five times? *chuckle*

I ordered mine from Gio, aka CROW PROPS. He just got an actual web site set up, but I suggest talking to him about it on Facebook first, so he's expecting the order. I've gotten three other pairs of boots from him over the years, and plan to get more yet. He's a good guy and does pretty good work. The link to his store is one of the first posts in the FB page's timeline, so you can go there and see his Phasma boots, but here's a direct link, for convenience. I know that feel. I have my GeekyPink neckseal in hand and it's lovely. I have the gloves and boots ordered. I theoretically have the thigh holster upgrade package coming from Dan at some point soon (and which I'm planning to anodize red for better color durability). I'm still making payments on the ANOVOS kit, pending it actually arriving in their warehouse, at which point I'll pay off the balance and shipping in one go. I'm planning to order the SE-44C kit next. Holding off until later this month or December to check bodysuit and cape off the list... And I'm a little annoyed it's been over a month and a half since he and I initially talked about it, but I've never heard back from Jimmi on a price point for the Phasma boot armor on its own (he already offers the boot and glove armor as a standalone package). I don't want to get too far into supplies beyond paint and glue until I know better what might have changed between ANOVOS' earlier version and this one, but I am going to be getting Tony's hole-backing kit over the next couple days, and I've socked in a lot of the other known accurizing supplies and materials to make the suspension rigging... ...But ultimately I can only go so far without the actual frikkin' armor.

Sharing some resources I've found in my accumulating of materials. For the 2" by ¼" neoprene for the belt insert, I found it by the foot on the famous auction site. Four feet plus shipping comes to less than US$9. Half the price of the chunk you found on Amazon, and some of us don't have the space for a whole lot of leftovers, no matter how potentially useful they may be down the road. Instead of elastic cord for the crotch connector and shoulder tie-downs, I found a 10-foot spool of 3/32" EPDM rubber cord. About five bucks, and fits the rubbery theme of the black portions of the armor, IMO. Hope these are helpful. --Jonah

Posting here as well as in @ukswrath's build thread (as I feel it's the gold standard tutorial on first-rate First Order construction)... Sharing some resources I've found in my accumulating of materials. For the 2" by ¼" neoprene for the belt insert, I found it by the foot on the famous auction site. Four feet plus shipping comes to less than US$9. Half the price of the chunk you found on Amazon, and some of us don't have the space for a whole lot of leftovers, no matter how potentially useful they may be down the road. Instead of elastic cord for the crotch connector and shoulder tie-downs, I found a 10-foot spool of 3/32" EPDM rubber cord. About five bucks, and fits the rubbery theme of the black portions of the armor, IMO. Hope these are helpful. --Jonah

Thanks, Jayson. This makes me so happy. Massive jump forward on one of the last "what am I going to do to accomplish this?" elements of the costume.

Maybe message them again, now that they're ready to gauge interest in a run. Attention to Vincent, to make sure. And ask if that's good, or if he'd rather you e-mailed so they can have all the interested parties in one place. I just have been in conversation with him over the "support@imperialboots.com" address since I first asked them on their site whether they were going to be doing this. I'm just an interested party trying to manage things so that this actually happens. Yeah, this is all pretty clumsy. IMO, it'd be easier if he were a member of this forum, but... *shrug* I told him when he asked if I thought at least ten people would be interested that I personally only know of maybe four or five, including myself, and I wasn't going to speak for those others. He didn't give contact preferences for interested parties to let him know, so I'm just sort of making this up as I go.

Well, TLJ takes place immediately -- and I mean immediately -- following TFA. Cardinal deserted prior to TFA. Don't know by how much, but somewhere in the five years between Bloodline (Leia leaves at the end to establish the Resistance) and TFA. Hux the Younger is consolidating his position; Hux, Kylo, and Phasma are setting up as the triumvirate running things under Snoke; the Finalizer, Armitage Hux's ship, is becoming more important and central than the Absolution, Brendol Hux's ship and the one Cardinal's training facility is on. Read the Captain Phasma miniseries from Marvel. It covers how she escaped from the Starkiller and regrouped with the First Order. Along the way, she had to ditch her armor. Don't know yet whether she was able to recover it, or had to re-create it, but she apparently upgraded a couple pieces (and maybe polished it, if it's mostly the same gear as before). I'm sticking with standard greaves, with the addition of Phasma's boot armor. My take on Cardinal, from the text, illustrations, and what the author told me, is that he wears mostly standard FOTK armor, just with the addition of the boot armor and cape. I'd say everyone interested in getting the gloves should e-mail Imperial Boots directly, as well as post a "me, too" in this thread so we who are building this kit can keep track of how many more we need to get onboard for the run to happen. I've asked him if they're the same price as the regular FOTK gloves, or not. I'll let everyone know as soon as I do. --Jonah [ETA: Heard back from Vincent. Yeah -- the ten pairs minimum is to match the price of the regular FOTK gloves.]

I meant an FISD Facebook group. I don't even know if there is one. As for the boot armor, when I asked, Delilah said the artists did their illustrations based on her descriptions -- which said illustrations don't go all the way down, to my annoyance. But she said she figured he'd have more armor parts like Phasma did than what a regular Stormtrooper has. So I'm sticking with sabatons. In other news, Vincent sent me these pics of the prototype gloves. He said if there are at least ten people interested, they can start a run soon, so people who want gloves in time for TLJ can have them in time... --Jonah

About to post an update in the CRL thread. Dunno if you have notification turned on for that one, so wanted to give you a heads up.

Hey, Q... Is there a particular silver paint you use/recommend? One thing I've seen is using acetone vapor. There are tutorials online. Tyler... I'm glad she's recovering okay. Everyone I know in Vegas directly is fine, but at least one dear friend lost someone there.

So pretty!! And I had utterly forgotten you're in Vegas. Oof. Did you at least not lose anyone, personally, I hope?

As with all of it, all I have until the thing actually is on my doorstep is notions based on the early uncut vac-formed sheet'o'pieces. I'll leave the sides open with magnet closures. I'll clamp the shoulders to see how much flex there is. If it looks like I can one-piece that shoulder seam and the plastic still has enough flex that I can get those side openings far enough apart to juuuust make it past my arms, cool. If I can manage it with just one side open, and perma-close the other, so I can pull it on one arm and over my head and then just have the one side to close, even better. Won't know until I experiment.

He's by-the-book. Phasma ignores what she feels like and does what she wants. The back cover and the Barnes & Noble poster both show regular Stormtrooper armor to the shins -- just in red. The artists went from the author's description in the book, and she had to approve of their work before it went ahead, so that's accurate. The only deviation from standard isn't shown in the art, but described in the book: he has boot armor like Phasma. Since he never did anything on his own initiative (for nearly his entire career), but went with what he was assigned, the supposition is that that was part of the red armor he was given upon promotion, along with the cape, and is likely part of the standard First Order Captain's ensemble. Phasma went with prototype pieces she preferred over the later standard-issue, had to modify the greaves for length, likely went with the Flametrooper groin armor for fit, and acquired crushgaunts from somewhere. It's also possible, given her personality, that she did the red stripe on her cape on her own initiative, rather than stick with the standard gray that Cardinal has (it's also possible the red denotes a higher rank, as the ancillary material makes mention of Phasma being higher than a Captain but refusing to be addressed as anything else, preferring to work at that level where possible).

It'd be a little work, but if -- as it looks to be -- the yoke is missing the projecting tabs at the top of the shoulder... Well, my current plan, pending having the kit parts in hand, is to drill some tiny countersunk screw holes on both sides of the join, epoxy and screw both to a flat piece of something sturdy that will project out to be that tab, then fill and smooth. This means painting (or other coating), but I'm planning to do that anyway, so not a bother. With a solid anchor substrate and appropriate coating material(s), that should both minimize any flexing at that exact point and minimize any damage any minor flexing might cause. I know a lot of y'all have next to no faith in Anovos, but the people I know there are calmly certain that their first shipment of the Standard line FOTK armor will be arriving from their factories in China to their warehouse by the end of October. We'll see. I know a lot about what they've had to deal with in getting the Star Wars license that had never been an issue before. Even though I really (reallyreallyREALLY) want this in time to roll it out at the TLJ premiere, I've been in this hobby long enough to have learned to be patient and expect things I order... when I see them. Two years for Gio's Kenneth Cole Pit Crew replica boots. Little communication, no shipping notification. Just came home one day and they were on the doorstep. Two years waiting for a FOTK kit and helmet from Anovos, from when they first showed them off at the Celebration before TFA opened. I had hoped they'd be available before now. I am hopeful they may yet be in time for TLJ. I only just pre-ordered when both were finally live a couple weeks ago. But, ultimately, this is still a hobby. I'm not going to die or lose my job or go to jail if a particular costume isn't finished by a particular date. So I fight down my desire for instant gratification and keep plugging along with what I do have control over.

I'm envious of you being started already. I've got everything mapped out (deposit here, order this thing that needs a lot of lead time there, accumulate these materials while I wait, etc.), but the biggest factor is the armor and helmet, and I'm going the Anovos route. Everyone I know there has faith that the first shipment they get from their factories in China will be in their warehouse by the end of this month. We'll see. --Jonah

All good points. At various other points, though, he recalls his time as a regular Stormtrooper before his promotion. The armor had been designed and approved and was in service for at least a little while prior to Hux the Elder doing a one-off red version for Cardinal. Per the art directly associated with the book, and that the author approved, it's more like "just a red version of the standard armor" than Phasma's deviation. Besides the lengthened greaves and the armored gloves/crushgaunts, the more minor differences with her armor can be easily ascribed to her having made it from the hull plating of Palpatine's yacht, on her own, using her assigned armor as a template for the automated replication facility she used. He was one of the first First Order Stormtroopers, yes. He was one of the orphan children taken from Jakku to the Unknown Regions to be the nucleus of the new Stormtrooper corps once it became apparent the Empire was going to lose the Battle of Jakku. I'm of the opinion the boot armor is part of the Captain's kit, along with the cape. Why I'm going with the specifically Phasma-shape boot armor on my build. My hunch is she added the crushgaunts sometime between when she made that armor and when we saw her in TFA. But overall, I'm satisfied the book cover and the poster are accurate.

Black, by the precedent of the only other troopers with boot armor, even though their armor is different colors. The Flametroopers have white armor, white boot armor, and black boots. Phasma has chrome armor, chrome boot armor, and black boots. So it wouldn't matter that Cardinal's armor is red. That's not relevant in either of the other cases. For reference, standard Stomrtrooper boots: Flametrooper boots: And Phasma's boots:

From what I've seen in the Visual Dictionary and from pictures at the various exhibitions, all the First Order Stormtroopers (except the Snowtroopers) have the same boots. The regular troopers, including heavy weapon and riot control, have them in white with black soles. The Flametroopers and Phasma have them in black with black soles. Not being able to see under the armor pieces, I'm not 110% certain, but the overall lines are the same, the soles are the same, and the visible portions at the sides are the same. It would be easier from a production standpoint. Plus, since they re-used the Stormtrooper boots for the 'Troopers in Rogue One, I think they re-used the black ones for the Death Troopers. I'd have to check. But I'm just getting them in black from Gio. I told Vincent they should just focus on finding the same leather they use for their existing First Order Stormtrooper gloves in red and it should all be good. I don't think it'll take them too long, but in a pinch, from what I remember from living in Vegas, there are at least a few non-Tandy leather shops around. You should be able to find a good red dye and someone on hand who can give you tips on how to achieve the best result (or there's also the internet, I suppose).

Some new data. Delilah told me the illustrators worked from her descriptions, so I was right in considering the prose the primary source, with everything else to be judged by how closely it follows that. She was, in fact, thinking of Phasma's boots and cape and paralleling Cardinal with her. So black boots with three-part armor coverage, with the armor the color of the rest of the armor. I also asked for clarification on the cape matter, since the description in the book doesn't mention a trim stripe on his at all, let alone color. If she told the illustrators gray, fine. If they made that up out of lack of data, I don't know how we should treat that. If she intended it to be apparent his and Phasma's capes were identical symbols of rank, she might have presumed they'd know that to include the red trim. I'll keep y'all posted. As far as ImperialBoots, I let Vincent know all of this as it's been developing and he just sent me this: I'll leave the call of adding him to the FB group to someone more admin-y.

@Surfintrooper -- I agree with that sentiment. Although in my case it's a bit more complicated. My granddad separated from the USAF as a First Lieutenant in 1950 and was promoted to Captain upon retirement in recognition of his Contributions. So I have a sort of "good enough for him mentality... But as you can see I've also blown past that to Major on here, which is the rank of the Imperial officer persona I've crafted for character context. So at all three I've wondered "is there any way to lock it here...?". --Jonah

I already told them I was double checking with the author what was in her mind's eye when writing that, but did say I have a strong feeling they're black boots with red armor rather than red boots. Annoyingly, I haven't heard back from her yet (I initially had been before I was going to post here, but it had been a week and I hadn't heard back, so I decided I'd rather contribute what I did have in here for now, and follow up as I had more). And that's sorta how I feel about the blasters, too. My main focus is going to be on getting an SE-44C done ASAP, cuz it's sorta required on the thigh except events where weapons are prohibited, and it's fairly unobtrusive. The F-11 I'll work on after New Year's when I can dedicate the attention to it it deserves. I'm going to undercoat the appropriate bits in white, anyway, to make the red pop the same way as it will on the rest of the red pieces. Then hold off on the red until things become clearer. I'm hoping for it -- I think the red will make the silver rings on the scope pop nicely. Not sure what to do about the base plate on the power cell, though...

Good food for thought. I've just re-skimmed Phasma for pertinent details and to make sure of the wording. Regarding the cape trim, I am specifically going with Setacolor's #89 "Taupe" fabric paint. There are various sources, but I'm getting mine from Dharma Trading -- link for those not wanting to run it down themselves. Frankly, I'm a little puzzled by the choice to depict is as gray -- both his and Phasma's are repeatedly referred to as "Captain's cape"s, and different colored trim soooooorta indicates a difference between them of some kind. Maybe gray is standard, and Phasma went with red because she does what she wants. *** Blasters, now... In order, and trying not to give anything story-related away... First, he snaps binders on the spy's wrists. A minute or so later, he jams his blaster into her belly. So he had it holstered while his hands were occupied with the binders. Another minute or so after that, he spins her to walk in front of him and jabs her in the back with his blaster. Also implying one-handed use. Ditto the trip to the interrogation room, where he keeps holding the blaster on her while punching things into the lift and door panels. After he gets her manacled into the interrogation chair and makes sure the room is secure, it's back on his hip, "red and gleaming". And, toward the end of the book, he "pulls out his red blaster". The F-11 is majority black -- especially from the top, which is what would be facing out when holstered. The most white visible would be the power cell housing and the butt cap. I feel like the mostly-covering case of the SE-44C is a better fit for "red and gleaming". He also spends time over the rest of the book habitually tapping it and resting his hand on it, which are more things one does with a holstered sidearm than something the size of a blaster rifle. But, moving on... He has been in combat and has killed enemies of the First Order and he has trained all the new kids on all the weapons, so I have zero doubt he knows how to handle an F-11 along with everything else. There's also a passage from right after his promotion when he was accompanying Hux the Elder, "blaster at the ready". He doesn't seem to have been carrying it for the events of the book, though. At a point I won't mention, he's going through and getting dressed and ready, and there's mention that he checks "each of his weapons" -- indicating plural, to me -- but then "ensuring his blaster is primed" -- singular. An observation of the costume variants is that the troopers that are carrying the bigger guns -- F-11 or megablaster -- have SE-44's on their hips, while the ones with the riot batons and shields have F-11s on their hips. Between those main points, I feel that blaster referred to is the same sidearm implied throughout. So. My ultimate conclusion is that Cardinal carries an F-11 when he's on guard duty for Brendol Hux or going into combat, and not at other times. I don't know whether he keeps one in his quarters, but I figure not or he would have prepped it, too. I don't know if he has one reserved for him in the armory -- possibly one with red trim and a fixed stock extension -- or if he just checks one out when needed. (And I misremembered in my original post, above -- it was a riot baton he picked up, and another one that Phasma took off the rack. Not a blaster rifle.) *** And as for the boots... They've been referred to as leather in the past. The only commentary I've found on First Order boots one way or the other so far is them being pointed out as "positive-grip boots" in the Visual Dictionary. Not much help. I've been reacquainting myself with everything since this all came up over the last week or two. Phasma and the Flametroopers both have black boots and three-piece boot armor setups. The armor pieces around the ankle and heel are slightly different shapes between the two (and another different style is on the Snowtroopers), but the main sabaton piece conformal to the toe and arch are the same between the two (just chrome on Phasma). And the spy is specifically noting it as "flawless plastoid" that her blood landed on. I've only ever seen the word applied to armor pieces, not anything that has to flex. I'm gonna stand by the red being boot armor.