Brew2D2[TK] Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 First off I would like to start by saying thank you to all of you for sharing your wealth of knowledge on these forums! I am an aspiring trooper who was very close to purchasing an armor suit from http://www.stormtroo...s.com/home.html. Thanks to you all sharing your experiences I avoided making that apparently huge mistake, so again I say THANK YOU! I have spent several hours (too many to accurately count) pouring over these threads educating myself on the various "vetted" makers and am still unsure on which route to go. I am 6'2" and 215lbs and am considering the RT-Mod route. I am completely new to this so the more complete I could get the better. Based on the experts which would be the best route to go? Thank you in advance for taking the time to help out a newbie!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 Welcome, Chad! Glad you found your way here You could fit any of the standard armors, depending on where your 215lbs. is distributed. If you are a shoulder-hulk, you'll want a bigger style of armor to accommodate the shoulder bells. If you're like me, more girth around the middle, then side shims will help you fit into any suit. If you're leggy, most suits have plenty of wiggle room in the legs. Overall RT-Mod will work for you and it is a great suit, but you're not out of range for other armors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebrabuse Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Good lord I just went to that site link. $1400 for that crap? FOR SHAME.... Glad to have you on here. FISD is still my favorite forum. SO. MUCH. INFO. Agreed with Ingrid it just depends on where the weight is. If you haven't already found your local garrison, get on it and make friends. Look for an armor party. You'll pick up a ton of info and tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew2D2[TK] Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Yeah tell me about it, when I first found it I thought, wow, looks legit!! Glad I found you guys. I fired off an email today to RT so anxiously waiting on a reply. My weight is distributed pretty evenly, I have the Air Force to thank for that! If any armor will work what in your opinions is the best as far as coming almost ready to wear? I actually just got in touch with my local garrison at the Texas comic con here in San Antonio on Thursday and that's how I found out about you guys! SOOOOO glad I did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebrabuse Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Well I think the TK is a suit you truely make your own. My first suit was a hand me down used FX and I thought getting everything together all at once put me at an advantage. WRONG. I ended up having to resize the thighs and change out this and that to even get it close to basic level approvable. I've also seen people that purchased AP and another armor maker that requested it ready to wear and in the end they did a ton of work to get it fitted correctly for them. I'm on my 2nd TK now which is AP (I need to update my banner I know) and I started on it from scratch. That one truly came together as I hoped it would and now I'm very proud to take it out on adventures. I'm not saying it's impossible to get a suit out of the box that's 95% of the way there for you, but don't be afraid to take time with it and by all means check with other local TK's that can give you valuable insight and advice on your build. With the new movies and so much going on with Disney and Star Wars, it's a great time to be getting on board. Now that I am thinking about it, I'm going to go try to update my banner.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew2D2[TK] Posted June 27, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 Very good food for thought! I want to get mine done before the new movies come out! Im definitely not above putting some work in to make it though. My plan is to get my kit and then find some local folks to coach me through what I need to do to get it approved! Thanks again for all the insight, I can't stress enough how glad I am I found this site!! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew2D2[TK] Posted July 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2013 Finally heard back from both Authentic props and RT. Unfortunately for RT there is a wait list all the way till 2014 already! Is there really much difference between the two or is it worth the wait to get on the waiting list?? Need opinions from the professionals???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 (edited) Chad, I'm by no means a professional. I'm a noobie just like you are. Personally, I am on the RT-Mod wait list until 2014. Not sure how much research you've done in the rest of the forums here, but I get the feeling that it is worth the wait. I'm about the exact same size that you are, 6'2", 217 but I have the Army to thank for the even distribution Have you made a decision on your armor kit yet? I'm not in Texas, but it would be cool to be able to "share" a timeline towards detachment and 501st membership, and tips/tricks that we learn along the way. I am going to be ordering my boots during the next month some time and might pick up my undergarments this weekend. Aside from that I may take on an E-11 pipe kit build to help pass the time. Edited August 29, 2013 by Dark CMF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longboard8 Posted August 29, 2013 Report Share Posted August 29, 2013 Troopermaster yo. ent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew2D2[TK] Posted September 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2013 Dark, I am officially on the wait list for my RT-Mod suit. Rob has been awesome to work with! I would love to share a timeline towards completion of our suits. I must admit I'm a little nervous as I have never taken on something like this before. I had no idea the attention to detail that gets put into these suits, they truly are a work of art and I can't wait to call one my own. You are thinking along the same lines as me, get a piece here and there while I anxiously await arrival of my suit! Thank you for the advice and look forward to comparing our journey!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Chad, You've got it man. I've picked up my undergarment top. My pants are on order from Eastbay but haven't shipped yet. I actually ordered a rotary tool kit which has been shipped already. I'm anticipating ordering my boots in another two weeks or so when TKboots expects to have another limited production run. I've build an excel spreadsheet to track my spending on EVERYTHING that I spend on this TK build... Just for scary historical records. LoL. I'm expecting to move from boots to belt and a blaster build before the holidays are here and probably get some gloves, a holster, and maybe make a neck seal along the way, too. I'm sure I'll get myself a progress thread or something like that going somewhere along the way. I'm looking forward to doing this. Are you going ANH, ESB, ROTJ, Stunt or Hero? Rob is truly awesome so far. I'm sure that when I get the email from him that I'm up in the queue, we'll get more in depth with what I'll want him to do with the armor, as I am going ANH Hero with my build. I'll be sure to share anything that I figure out along the way with you, and I'll keep an eye on stuff that you've got to share as well. Seems like you're probably just a bit behind me in the wait list, so we'll more than likely be able to be internet build-buddies or something like that. Congrats on getting on the list. I know exactly how you feel about everything right now. I'm with you. I've never done anything like this before either. One day, hopefully not terribly far from now, we'll be 501st/FISD TKs and together, we'll crush the rebellion - and put some smiles on people's faces along the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevnaminute Posted September 4, 2013 Report Share Posted September 4, 2013 Dark, I am officially on the wait list for my RT-Mod suit. Rob has been awesome to work with! I would love to share a timeline towards completion of our suits. I must admit I'm a little nervous as I have never taken on something like this before. I had no idea the attention to detail that gets put into these suits, they truly are a work of art and I can't wait to call one my own. You are thinking along the same lines as me, get a piece here and there while I anxiously await arrival of my suit! Thank you for the advice and look forward to comparing our journey!! Rob's a good guy. I was about to get on his list for some armor, but an AP kit came up for sale here and I took it instead. I did get one of his "stunt" lids. It was a beauty (a little too large for me). I ended up selling it on to someone here. Good luck with your suit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew2D2[TK] Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Tim, Man you are off to the races! Now I'm jealous! I plan on attacking my suit the same way, piece at a time when I can. I just had my third and final son last week so suit items are taking a back burner right now. My wife would probably throw me down the death star chasm if I came home with a holster or boots over diapers!! I already had a hard enough time getting her to buy off on purchasing the suit. I was going to go ANH hero myself! Have you reached out to your local 501st garrison at all? I have contacted mine and requested information on when they are getting together for armor parties and such so that I can begin to learn some of the tricks of the trade. Well I am looking forward to taking this journey together and can't wait to finally be "trooping" rather than talking about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwelch13 Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 I have an email sent to him with the basic questions. To get on the waiting list how much did you have to put down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew2D2[TK] Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Jim, He required nothing down to be placed on the waiting list. once your slot is up he requires a $250 deposit and then the rest is due upon suit completion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 Tim, Man you are off to the races! Now I'm jealous! I plan on attacking my suit the same way, piece at a time when I can. I just had my third and final son last week so suit items are taking a back burner right now. My wife would probably throw me down the death star chasm if I came home with a holster or boots over diapers!! I already had a hard enough time getting her to buy off on purchasing the suit. I was going to go ANH hero myself! Have you reached out to your local 501st garrison at all? I have contacted mine and requested information on when they are getting together for armor parties and such so that I can begin to learn some of the tricks of the trade. Well I am looking forward to taking this journey together and can't wait to finally be "trooping" rather than talking about it! Chad, Congratulations on your son's birth!! We've got a son that will be two in late October. So I understand the needs of the newborn. My wife keeps telling me that I should just wait until the armor is ready and then buy everything at once. I'm like... Nah... You probably really don't want me doing that. My undergarment bottoms arrived today, so I updated my spreadsheet, LoL. Other than that, not much else to do but wait for October to get here so I have some more money to spend on stuff. I'm actually up on the local garrison's forums. Unfortunately for me, there isn't a member that lives within a four hour drive of me right now. There will be one transferring from New England down here to Fort Rucker in November, so if he does go up to a troop, I'll probably car-pool with him to act as a handler and perhaps pick up some tips/tricks/parts from some garrison members. Odds are that I'll wind up PCSing before my armor is done, so I have no idea where I'll be at the time just yet. Will know more by the end of the year though. Once our E8 list comes out, my branch manager will be able to pinpoint where he can send me because he'll know which bases will have available slots, and which will be filled by E7 promotables. I'm probably just as excited about the list coming out as they are. LoL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icingsolo Posted September 14, 2013 Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 Brand new to all of this yet, I feel like I'm in the same boat and can understand exactly what ya'll are talking about. I am still trying to figure out what I want to be. I too have small children and I'm waiting to see what happens on this E8 board for the Marine Corps. So much going on and so many decisions to make. Part of me wants to learn how to build this stuff from scratch, but as previously mentioned, with young kids and moving around there is not a lot of time or know how. This hobby is not for the cheap, but seems very worth it for the comrade and charities. Good luck to both of you and I look forward to seeing your final products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted September 14, 2013 Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 Definitely a tremendous amount of information to take in before you even decide which armor to order, Samuel. You nailed it there. Looking forward to adding TK to my list of occupations/hobbies. Thanks! When do your board results come out? Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted September 15, 2013 Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 It's cool to see you guys all making friends and being "build buddies." I probably would have given up without my "build buddy" when I started Keep it up. Even the long-distance friends you make here can become more, and it's always exciting to meet them in person. By the way, so many of us have young children. For me the trick is to share the costuming love!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longboard8 Posted September 15, 2013 Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 True enough Lady in White. We'll be beginning a nine year old TD build soon and my daughter will be Princess Leia for Halloween. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longboard8 Posted September 15, 2013 Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 Though I did little to encourage the kids. I think they thought it looked fun, so here we are. Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwelch13 Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 I am going sandy for my first armor so while I wait for the armor I can build the blaster , backpack, rifle there is still so much to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark PWF[Staff] Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 It's cool to see you guys all making friends and being "build buddies." I probably would have given up without my "build buddy" when I started Keep it up. Even the long-distance friends you make here can become more, and it's always exciting to meet them in person. By the way, so many of us have young children. For me the trick is to share the costuming love!! Maybe it sounds strange, but I appreciate this share. I really do, Ingrid. It is difficult enough in a lot of situations to gel into a new group or hobby, not only the "troopers helping troopers" attitudes on display by current 501st members but the camaraderie of the new FISD forum members combined certainly makes it an easier transition for everyone. Having a build buddy definitely makes sense to me (obviously) but the waiting still sucks. LoL Thanks again for sharing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyInWhite[TK] Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 Ha, yes, well, this is the "hobby of waiting" most of the time!! Thanks for the kind words Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew2D2[TK] Posted October 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2013 Well good luck on your promotion boards gentlemen! I test for E7 in feb/Mar timeframe so I'm hoping to make it and earn some extra spending cash! lol Chad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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