Leaderboard

My journey to join the 501st Legion has followed a seemingly never ending path, and many of you have been alongside supporting me over the past several years, but for the purpose of this note I'm going to go back even further. This is my Star Wars story. I've been a lifelong Star Wars fan, and my earliest memories of the universe were from my elementary school years. While I don't remember my first film viewing, I do recall a time when my parents deemed me too young to watch the films, but I was a full-fledged fan by the time I reached middle school (school years/grades 6-8). Interestingly, I don't think I saw The Phantom Menace in theatres when I was in 5th grade in 1999 (but I did see it in 3D back in 2012 before the Disney acquisition), but I have vivid memories of seeing Attack of the Clones on the big screen in 2002. Fast forward to my College/University years, and I sported my first ever star wars costume component on September 1, 2008, shown below. Really it was simply a friend's plastic Vader mask, and I only wore it long enough to snap this photo and upload it to facebook. Around that same time, between 2008-2010, my college buddies and I stumbled upon some "whitearmor" website, where we learned that real stormtrooper armor could be attained for a mere/whopping $600 (if I recall correctly). Of course this was out of the question on a student budget, so we moved on. At some point I should go back and review old screenshots and saved images on an old hard drive to see if I saved anything from FISD at that time. Skip ahead another decade and we come to October 22, 2019 when I first donned a stormtrooper helmet. We had a themed tailgate-type event at work and the IT department had a Star Wars table. (Would you expect anything different?) At the conclusion of the event I just had to try on my friend's Black Series bucket, which perfectly complimented my silly Christmas sweater, dontcha think?! I was hooked. Within a week I (re)found FISD and began consuming as much information as I could find; my saved resources would later be compiled into what is now the All-In-One Resource Thread. On November 11, 2019 I emailed Terrell at ATA Works and on the 14th facebook messaged my Imperial Attache, Jorge @zv288bot. Several days later I joined the GA Legion facebook groups, created accounts on FISD and the GA and Midsouth Garrisons' forums, and reached out to Justin @TheRascalKing. I ended my New Member Introduction post on FISD with "I look forward to joining the Legion in the not too distant future! Thanks in advance, Troopers, for all your help!", certainly not foreseeing how long the journey would actually be. On November 27, 2019 I took my first real steps towards the 501st with a Trooperbay purchase consisting of my Hellhounds E-11 rubber blaster, flexible hand guards (later exchanged for Joseph's), and a helmet guide and decals. And yes, I recorded all of this on a timeline document. But of course I also NEEDED immediate gratification, so I asked my wife for a Black Series TK Helmet for Christmas, and that's what I received. On January 3, 2020 I was officially added to the ATA armor wait list with an ETA of 9 weeks, and I sold a drone and some other personal items to fund the purchase. I couldn't be more excited. But for those of you keeping track of dates, do the math; January 2020 + 9 weeks. My Big Brown Box Day came on March 5, 2020, one week before the novel coronavirus shut down the US. While some people were able to take advantage of the lockdowns and make significant progress on their builds, much of my time continued to be occupied by then one-year-old daughter. If I made any progress on my build it occurred between midnight and 3:00am, or 5:00am-7:00am. Progress was slow and funds were tight on a single income. At one point I resigned to sell my armor, and if it were not for a very special trooper, I would not be posting this today. I will never be able to thank you enough. Yes, I took a photo of my clock every time worked on my build past 1:00am. The times before 4:00am meant to stayed up late, and for times after that, I woke up early. Oh, and there was one all-nighter as well. If I'm being honest with myself, a couple other contributing factors to my slow build were 1) the mental barrier of trimming and fitting the helmet ears, and 2) my desire for a thorough and well-formatted build thread and corresponding PDF compilation. Coupled with my OCD-like tendencies and perfectionism, these were crippling to my progress. At times I went months without any build work. Two years later, in the summer of 2022, I was asked by my wife's best friend if I could make an appearance as a TK at her son's birthday party at the end of September. Since my wife and I were expecting our second daughter at the end of August I figured I would need to wrap up my build before delivery. But as luck would have it, our new princess arrived nearly three weeks early, and my armor remained incomplete. It's a miracle that I'm alive to say this, but somehow I managed to find the time to get my armor into civilian-passable shape (through 3:00am armor build nights and one all-nighter), and on September 24th, the day of the party, I fully kitted up for the very first time, literally. To say I was pushing it is an understatement, especially considering I should have done to the ER for stitches that morning after a bad hobby blade accident that night. But I was determined to make the little boy's birthday special. @paradoxb3, a brilliant armor alignment and photo stager and the first and only 501st member I've ever met to this day, even joined me to multiply the fun! Here is what I looked like, with a substitute WTF helmet featuring droopy brow trim, incomplete shoulder bridges hidden by the pauldron, neckseal dressing issues, rotated forearms, non-secured sagging belt, missing drop boxes, and many other issues that eagle-eyed TKs would notice. But I was a stormtrooper. And the smiles on all the children's (and their parents) made it worth it. Thanks to some extra motivation from Devin, Joseph, Cricket, Justin, and my now Squad Leader, Scout (TI-35006), in the four months since then I was able to complete everything needed for basic Legion approval. I do still intend to tweak some aspects of my helmet ears, adjust some strapping, and add in rear cover strips, some of which may be necessary for L2 and L3 approval. But for now, I'M A STORMTROOPER! I'd like to acknowledge and thank troopers that went above and beyond in their support of me over these several years of building. Some of you helped in specific areas, and others in a variety of ways, all of which I'm beyond grateful for. Without you, there's no way I get this project off the ground, much less complete it. And to any others reading this who also provided feedback, encouragement, and assistance, a big heartfelt THANK YOU! Jorge @zv288bot Justin @TheRascalKing Mario @TKSpartan Joseph @justjoseph63 Cricket @Cricket Along my first ever costume construction journey I learned more about stormtroopers than I could have ever foreseen. Who knew about all the variations and nuances?! I also learned a great deal about actually assembling an armor kit, and here are some specific tips in no particular order, some of which I also made note of in my build thread. E-6000 is as slippery as they say. Combat this by having adequate guidelines/marks so proper alignment can be maintained. Also use tape to keep pieces stationary in their intended locations before applying clamps and magnets. E-6000 will react to at least some paints. Seeping glue absorbed the color of the spray paint I used on my thermal detonator, and I was left with a wet paint mess. NEVER BE IN A HURRY. I repeat, NEVER. Consider your build a marathon, not sprint. And actually—just completely forego the competition metaphor altogether. Being rushed will result in shortcuts or lapses in attentiveness. Your armor is a costly work of art, and art takes time. If you have to ask yourself and deliberate whether or not you have enough time for preparation, execution, and cleanup, then you probably don't. Take your time. Do things methodically. No shortcuts. Leave extra time to spare should something unforeseen arise. Case in point: my build too three years with on-and-off progress. When preparing paint, always stir the bottle instead of shaking. This minimizes or eliminates the introduction of air bubbles into the paint. Toothpicks work great to stirring tiny bottles of enamel paint. Enamel paints can take far longer to dry/cure than regular latex home paint or hobby acrylics. Give yourself ample curing time prior to recoating or handling. Apply multiple thin coats of paint rather than one thick coat. Thick coats of enamel will dry unevenly (surface vs underneath), resulting in wrinkling. As me how I know. When cutting/trimming anything, work in stages removing only a little material at a time. This can apply to rubber trim or ABS plastic. It's easy to trim off more if needed, but nearly impossible to add material back once you've removed it. LISTEN to those with more experience and wisdom. Their tips and feedback will be indispensable. Apply this to life in general as well. Buy a deburring tool. This will help you quickly and efficiently smooth out sharp edges of plastic armor after initial trimming or rough-grit sanding. Heck, it could be arguing that such a tool could even be used instead of sanding. Here is the LINK to the one I purchased. Buy sanding/polishing sticks (aka emory boards). The semi-firm structure that these provide, coupled with their small size, are great for sanding curves or tight hard-to-reach areas. Here is the LINK to what I purchased. Buy anything and everything that Joseph sells. Flexible hand guards, hardware kits, and other greeblies and props. Top quality and well priced. Just DEW IT. Always wear the appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment). When using blades, this means wearing cutting gloves. When sanding ABS, wear is mask or respirator. When using power tools, protect your eyes with glasses. It's not a question of IF an accident will happen; it's WHEN. In fact, blood will trimming armor is a rite of passage, of sorts. I nearly sliced off my entire knuckle due to thinking one or two quick cuts didn't warrant gloves. Don't be like me. Research is key, and ask lots of questions. This forum contains all the information you'll need, whether it be in written form or through conversation with fellow builders. I'm a bit partial, but this All-In-One Resource thread is a great place to start. Start your own build thread and post lots of photos and ask as many questions. Veteran builders will come to your aid! Build your armor to Level Three (Centurion) from the beginning, rather than "upgrade" later on. Some of finer details are easier to implement from the beginning than to update after-the-fact. There's no extra cost other than for a blaster if you didn't have one for basic approval, and it'll save time and possible headaches later. Even if you don't intend to apply for higher levels of immediately, knock out some of the details in advance, if at all possible. Don't sweat it if you make mistakes or your armor or paint job doesn't look as good as somebody else's. It's your work of art to be proud of. Remember that the screen-used suits in the films were a wreck, with inconsistences, cracks, and sometimes held together by white gaff tape. There may also be differing opinions on techniques or final outcome goals, but do what you feel comfortable and happy with. Set goals and celebrate milestones, especially if your easily susceptible to becoming overwhelmed. Seeing all the raw plastic on BBB Day can be daunting, so break up the work and take baby steps. If you get burnt out on a specific component, step away from that part or your build entirely. Come back refreshed and ready to tackle the challenge. Celebrate when you meet individual goals or finish certain armor pieces and post up your handiwork so others can join in your excitement! Plan on approval photo shoots taking longer than expected. I naively thought our shoot would take half an hour. Try 2-3x that, just for my fully-kitting photos. I then spent several more hours taking the detail shots for L2 and L3. Speaking of which, L2 approval requires some images that aren't on the L3 list. Ask me how I know. @revlimiter And last but not least, trim off those armor return edges (unless you have a very slender body-type)! Joseph's sometimes controversial Return Edges 101 thread goes more in-depth on this topic. So now that I'm 501st approved, what next? Well, as our Imperial CO once said, "This is where the fun begins." My ANH Stunt build is just a stepping stone for my plan to join the four EI (and Centurion) approvals club. Next up will be likely be an ESB TK conversion (hey, does anybody have any clamshell handguards I could take off your hands, figuratively and literally?), followed by an ANH Hero. I also have all the components for a HWT (my build thread HERE), but the backpack assembly will take me a while, especially since I'd like to find a 3D printed vent box and a downward-angled tombstone box. Additionally, I snagged a Rothco Ranger black vest that I want to theme up with Legion identification, so I'll soon be seeking a large FISD patch to place on the back, as well as one of those nice metallic 501st nametags, a rank bar from @Alay, and perhaps even some pins from Jeff (ID-17004). And let's not get started on the coins I need want... I also need to continue and finish up my actual ANH Stunt build thread, which is embarrassingly incomplete. My intention for it, along with my PDF compilation of it, has been to serve as a thorough build resource for future builders, so obviously I need to complete it. I have literally hundreds of backlogged photos waiting to be inserted with process descriptions. Expect to see updates on that front in the coming weeks and months, and even though the kit has been assembled, continued feedback on processes and results in that thread will always be appreciated! On my journey I constantly saw or experienced FISD's motto of Troopers Helping Troopers, and I want to join in giving back and passing it forward. Needless to say, as a finally-credentialed TK, I'm going to continue to follow the boards and spend even more time in the New Members and Builds sections assisting new builders. Perhaps I can even join Jorge as a second Imperial Attaché in Georgia's Venator Squad, especially since the metropolitan area I actually reside near (Chattanooga, TN) has no Attaché in the Mos Nooga Squad of the Midsouth Garrison. All that to say, I'm not going anywhere. This community is my home, and I look forward to many more years with you, my Imperial brothers and sisters! And trooping! What am I going to do about trooping, you might ask. Well, the local TN unit isn't very active as far I can tell, but the Georgia Garrison folks stay busy. Unfortunately, most of that activity occurs several hours south of me in Atlanta, so I'll probably be a minimally-trooping trooper. Haha. Hopefully there will be some May 4th options in my local area, but it's likely that my first ever con will be Dragoncon later this year. I'm not sure if I'd actually go to the convention floor or panels, but the parade sounds fun. If there was to be an FISD gathering at DG, I'd certainly make an effort to be there too! The next Braves Star Wars Night Game will definitely be on my schedule, and someday I'd love to participate in one of the Star Wars film screenings with a live orchestra performing the symphonic score. And there we have it. Perhaps the longest "Sounding-Off" post of all time. Oh, and here's the story behind my TK ID selection. Thanks again for following along, friends. And until next time... TK-73692 reporting for duty.

In honor of my newest signature banner and all the awesome work @Nairy is doing around the FISD And for all that: I love my new signature banner!

*trimming, sanding my armor; shooting new photos*

I wasn't sure if I should post in this thread, or Glen's post, so I opted with the more recent of the two. And here is a link to my post on the story behind my nickname (MV). Three years after creating my account and starting my 501st journey, and I finally have my very own shiny new TK number. 73692. When I first started my build (actually before I had even purchased my armor) I started brainstorming what TK number I might want, and began by compiling all the spoken numbers from the Star Wars films. The most known were 1138 and 421, but I desired something a bit more nuanced. My birthdate and zip code were also available on the 501st ID list, and for a time I got hung up on variations of 3263827 (Death Star trash compactor). I also considered 501+ my age, which was available, but elapsed time has now rendered my current age unavailable. A number corresponding to a scripture verse referencing helping others, due to the abounding assistance I've received from other troopers, was also on the table, as was the Lego set number (75276) of the mini Stormtrooper helmet. (Seriously, somebody needs to jump on that Lego TK number, and you heard it here first lol). However, I eventually decided on a string of individual numbers spoken in sequence in A New Hope. 10 - 7 - 3 - 6 - 9 - 2 - 11 - 5 Anybody recognize the sequence and corresponding film scene? I'll give you a hint below, as part of a more in-universe explanation, though this is not a full character backstory as others have written in this thread. Back to real life now. In fact, back in 2019 or 2020 I wrote that aforementioned numerical sequence on a small sticky note and stuck it in my wallet for safekeeping, and for the past three years it has remained in the exact same spot, prominently placed atop my driver's license. Much like my TK character's mini story, this was to serve as a reminder to press on with the continuation of my armor build. And now I can finally remove the note and regain easier access to my real life ID. Haha. For those of you who still haven't sorted out my TK ID: TK-73692 standing by.

Hello my fellow nerds! Han Solo cosplayer from the Constitution State here. I am currently working on Han Solo’s look after he emerges from the trash compactor in ANH (with the E-11 blaster and stormtrooper belt), and am planning my ANH stormtrooper build, which will ultimately be my Han Solo in disguise costume. I look forward to learning from all of you!

Today I have prepared for you @Deployment Officer Team ... my L2 EI application, fresh after being granted TK permissions here on FISD. Name: Caleb M 501st Unit: Venator Squad, Georgia Garrison Armor: ATA Works (RIP Terrell Reber) Thermal Detonator: AM (DDD) Thermal Detonator clips: ukswrath Helmet: ATA Works Canvas Belt: Imperial Issue (Rob Kittell) Neck Seal: Darman's Props Boots: Imperial Boots Hand Guards: justjoseph63 (silicone) Gloves: generic rubber with handguards pre-attached by justjoseph63 Undersuit: Extreme Racing UK's Stormtrooper-Store one-piece Strapping system: Justin's RascalSnaps Holster: Darman's Props (8 oz leather) E-11 Blaster: Hellhounds Props (rubber) circa 2019 Height: 6' 0" (183 cms) Weight: 186 lbs (84.4 kilos) at time of photos. CRL: ANH Stunt Graciously assisted by @TKSpartan, @TheRascalKing, @justjoseph63, @Cricket, @zv288bot, among many others, for whom I'm forever grateful. Dressing and submission photos taken with the help of @paradoxb3. He patiently spent hours making me look presentable! Link to Pre-Approval thread: https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/53006-maskedvengeance-requesting-pre-approval-review-for-anh-stunt-ata/ Full Body Armor Details Painted with Humbrol 5 Admiralty Gray and 14 French Blue Helmet Details Accessories Ha! Made you look at more thermal detonators! See my obsession HERE. Blaster Details Additional photos can be found on my rubber blaster comparison thread HERE. And that's all folks! Looks like I got this submitted in under an hour since my TK status was granted! TK-73692 over and out. 18 January 2023 @Deployment Officer Team - I'm adding these photos below to this application to ensure all bases are covered. =) 21 January 2023 After realizing that my left shoulder bridge had come out of the elastic retainers in one of my photos from my initial shoot, I tried to include addition images showing the bridges in place. However, due to additional comments on my pre-approval thread, I decided to retake that photo yested. Below you'll find the result of that. Goodness, I'm surprised I didn't snap my bridges right off while contorting my body while kitting up by myself at 4:21am. I also went ahead and shaved off more of the bottom return edge on my kidney, and cut notes to align with the posterior piece. Here are three photos showing these updates. Looks like I'll now need to downsize my v-tabs! 23 January 2023 As requested, I've completed paint removal on the bottoms of my frown teeth. Please let me know if there are any other issues I need to address! Thank you! First, a reminder of the initial updates that I provided via this post on this submissions based on feedback from my Pre-Approval thread. Those updates included: Removal of paint from bottom of center tooth, as re-shown in the first GIF image below. Reshot back image with both shoulder bridges properly retained by the elastic straps Removal of double return edge on the bottom of kidney piece Notched kidney piece to align with posterior piece ORIGINAL PAINT REMOVAL GIF and Timelapse Video: NEW PAINT REMOVAL:

Way to go dude! I've been intermittent fasting (16-8) to fit back into my armor after some gain last semester (I work at College) but you're doing it for real!

You don't know how true this is. @Nairy may have something new and fun to show off soon....

I just realized how appropriate this would be for this thread. My last troop was a fun one. As for a 2023 update, I have NOT missed a single day of working out this year. I didn't do a resolution or anything, but Jan 1st is a really easy to remember benchmark. Proud to be on about a month long streak so far as of the 20th. On rest days I still stretch and do a couple miles on the stationary bike. Nothing strenuous but better than sitting by the fireplace letting sore muscles stay tense. More stretching has really helped overall.

^ Nice job on that one @Nairy!! My brain this friday morning...

Enjoy your new banner @Morgi

I wasn't very imaginative. It was the date I submitted my final approval photos to my GML. Never been good at picking things like this, but it did seem to roll off the tongue nicely. Bart

Jeez, this is beautiful. Dank ferrick. And your post made me instantly start to reflect on the mindset that makes a person want to be a stormtrooper. The psychological strangeness in our brains that creates a burning desire to wear the white armor. It... makes no sense really. They're such humble characters in the SW universe - not heroes and arguably rather ineffective as villains. We TKs are somewhere between battle droids and clones in the narrative. We're often jokes. And it's brilliant getting to be one. The times in my life when my TK's universe overlaps my own and I get to walk around in his armor - they're the best times. Some of my favorite times in my 45 years. My TK isn't the brightest bulb in the fixture. He's kinda goofy, doesn't listen enough, and talks waaaay too much. But he makes people smile and I dearly love sharing his armor a few hours a month. It's not something I can easily explain to most people in my life. It's something only a few of us understand - the joy of being a stormtrooper. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Also, I currently have Dragoncon tickets. I salute you, TK-73692. Can't wait to troop with you someday in the future. I'm overjoyed that you are also finally a stormtrooper.

I waited (it took) 42 years to get my own TK armor and in that time i had thought of many different options of what number id like to have. Went into a small panic when the application stated " pick your 5 favourite IDs". Owning an armor was my dream so wanted the ID to be about me - selfish i know but is what it is. So i opted for my date of birth (as I was also to be "born" into the 501st) as being the most fitting. But not in its standard format. So a quick re-arrange and i found all 5 in the master list. And there we are...TK-10962. Sent from my SM-A127F using Tapatalk

Keep on moving Trooper !! Great Work !!

Just to prove to everyone how much of a principle this is for me. I made more variations and here they are but I won’t be putting them on my blaster but they are here. Easy enough to Mount them but then I feel like I would be compromising a much larger point that I am making that I feel will help better FISD and change this course that I feel I have been seeing and hearing from many that we are going down. White with white, silver with black and silver with white

Awesome story , thanks for sharing and Enjoy being a Bad Guy Doing Good!!!

Right forearm glueing complete, left forearm glueing: I also bought the supplies needed for the next phase of my build: Acetone to make ABS paste. White spray paint for the resin greeblies. Various grit sandpapers for prepping the ABS surfaces. Headlight polish for the final step of the seam hiding process.

Just to prove to everyone how much of a principle this is for me. I made more variations and here they are but I won’t be putting them on my blaster but they are here. Easy enough to Mount them but then I feel like I would be compromising a much larger point that I am making that I feel will help better FISD and change this course that I feel I have been seeing and hearing from many that we are going down. White with white, silver with black and silver with white

Thanks so much for the suggestions and help i've been able to go through the current forum posts and collect all the 3d files for greeblies, weapons, accessories etc. just looking for armor. I'm 3d printing because i can pay piece by piece and i actually really enjoy sanding and prepping. its been a hobby of mine for a while now. With the experience i have gained i'm ready to take this project on. I'm excited and as soon as i get my first print done i'll create a WIP in the forums. Always able to find amazing people and help. If others would like to contribute soft good resources i'm open to the suggestions for great product and price mostly great product.

Requesting access TI-92102 Carolina Garrison

Updated.. now to print...

You really want to try this on to make sure you don't make it too short, as it goes over your ab, backplate and detonator plate.

I saw Cameron_Kiesser sharing his version of the phase 3 clone stormtrooper with the meshes from Delta Reynolds and Jaztermareal so I thought I'd share my own version with the same meshes

Didn't you just submit your pre-approval? I'm sure this is some kind of record Good luck, Caleb -- not that you need it

My Centurion app is literally drafted in a separate browser window. Understanding, of course, that I may still need to make adjustments for EI approval. Don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

Enjoy your new banner @TikiTechie

Hi again Caleb, and thank you for your submission for ANH Stunt! One of us will begin work on this right away, so hang in there!

OOOOO! I didn't realize the About Me could do that. Verry interesting. I thought about doing an animated gif, but it would be a pain to keep updated. I do have them all. I've done 23 different ones so far.

Still, better than that one time someone asked me, if I was Darth Vader...

Excuse me, wir haben 2023. (Wait, that's a German Meme, sorry.) But, hey, I'll just like those five posts tomorrow The true M&M's And for @jsilvius in honour of him announcing new Merch: I wouldn't react any differently to FO only Merch tho, soooo... fair enough, I guess

TROOPERS! I just got word from my GML and received the formal email from 501st membership team. TK-73692 reporting for duty.

And yes, I did set up email forwarding for 501st and GA501st domains.

Greetings fellow members I am here before you all today to announce the latest recipient of the Detachments highest accolade, the FISD Achievement Award. This is an award of merit to the detachment, and towards the end of term is a privilege the Detachment leader has of handing out. His nomination was received with a resounding and positive response by all staff, for this member has stepped up from the moment he arrived on our forums through to present day. He certainly has gone over and above what is expected from our members, and that's part of what makes this award truly special. I believe he is if not, the first recipients to receive this award before he has an approved costume and become a fully fledged 501st member, but that is the beauty of FISD, as we award exceptional behavior regardless. Please all join me in congratulating Masked Vengeance (Caleb Mask) very soon to be a TK, but from this point on an FISD Achievement Award winner!

Wow, this community never ceases to amaze me, though in truth each and every one of you simply constantly maintain the comradery and serving attitude that embodies the motto of Troopers Helping Troopers. It brings me great joy to hear that I have, in some fashion, been able to reflect that service back to the community, and really I've only ever wanted to extend the same assistance and guidance that I have myself been the beneficiary of over the past 3-4 years. Thanks to each of you who sent a congratulatory note, as well as all the rest of you whom I've had the pleasure of interacting with here on FISD. I'm so very excited to soon be formally inducted to the 501st (I submitted my app this morning!), joining the Georgia Garrison, and continuing to participate in all things TK related here with this AMAZING Detachment! Caleb

Glen, Thanks for posting these pics. I've been looking at every image I can find of the rear thighs and I believe the reason why these coverstraps are not centrally located and have weird overhangs is a result of the individual trooper's thigh size. As an example, please see the below pictures of my unfinished Jimmiroquai thighs: In this picture, you can see how I split the rear along the coverstrip to allow the overlapping of the rear thigh. I believe @11b30b4 and @TheRascalKing did the same thing with theirs. I then took a little extra time to file down and sand the edges of the non cover strip side to ensure that when closed, it mimics the images seen in the shows and at Celebration. However, with the show, the one thing we can't account for is the amount of movement the actors were engaging in that may have caused some slippage, nor can we account for the unknown variable; the diameter of their thighs. We can tell that the mannequin's frame was quite small. In the above picture, I'm attempting to hold the thigh in a manner that simulates the size of my thigh. When the thigh is somewhat relaxed, or if a person has thiccer thighs, the strip is centered and everything is more aligned. So, with that said, and per the reference images, the rear cover strip looks as if it should sit roughly 1.5 cm lower and to the left (or right for the opposite thigh) of where it currently sits. This narrows the "slope" between the bottom trim and the cover strip, and when closed, emulates the asymmetrical appearance. My only concern about all this is that similar to other items on this costume, such as the kidney plate discrepancies, we don't know if it was deliberate, or incidental. My thought is that the cover strips were meant to be centered, but the movement and thigh size of the actors caused the asymmetry. Now, regarding the straps: I 100% agree that there are two straps on the newer costumes. In Adam Savage's Tested video that showed the Kenobi and Andor 501st Clone Troopers, they highlighted these straps and emphasized that they are now using two straps vice the one strap previously used on TKs. Fast forward to 6:49 for a look at these straps. For the clones, they went back to the ribbed fabric covers: I'll post these in my build thread once I get back to it, but here's the straps I'm using on my thighs. More to come later: So what we need to decide is if the ROTK requires two straps, or save the two strap requirement for New Generation CRLs. The more I look at everything, the more I believe that the ROTK and New Generation (Mandalorian S2, Kenobi, Andor) are totally different costumes. Notice that I don't mention Mandalorian S1, which appears to be retread costumes from Rogue One. Lastly, one final nugget of information from the Adam Savage video that I immediately held onto is the fact that these costumes are made of vacuum CAST (not vacuum formed) urethane. To me, this is enormous and answers a ton of questions we've had. Now... if only someone... never mind.

I've been wanting to order Chicago Screws for three weeks now, but instead always end up posting more memes And what it sounds like: "Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?" Inspired by @revlimiter's recent troop log Those three months of ballet as a five year old really paid off, guys Don't worry, it's all possible, even if it takes you eight months

Actually, it's just a whole lot of green and not noticing anything in front of your feet. Anyone else excited to see more of these guys?

Can't believe I'm going to be serious for once Hey guys, here's a quick reminder that this was intended by me to be an FISD Meme Thread. Now, I certainly enjoy all the general Star Wars Memes that I've seen in this thread recently, don't get me wrong, but in my mind they're a better fit for general meme threads. r/prequelmemes instead of FISD Memes. Now, I'm not a dictator, I'm not gonna say which memes are okay for this thread and even if I had the power to edit posts, I wouldn't go ahead and delete the ones I don't like. So, instead, here's what I imagined this thread to be for: I thought we would post memes about the FISD, recent happenings on here, our members, relationships and interactions with each other. Memes about trooping and building a TK. Advice, critique, encouragement for each other and our armors. Memes for and about our Detachment and Stormtroopers, which is certainly what we all expected from this thread. Especially with the recent drive and competition to post the most memes in this thread, I can't help but feel that the original purpose has been derailed. Please, please, do not take this as me saying I don't like the new memes. Don't take this as me being a boring stick in the mud, trying to enforce my own rules in this thread. I wanted to share my opinion on this, as I think that we can stick closer to the FISD Memes. Thank you

TK85421, if you look at the numbers on a phone the letters are 85=TK and 421 doesn't need explaining 85421 I started a thread some years ago http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/22807-what-does-your-tk-id-represent/