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.

Worked on getting the forearm polished up where I sanded off the trim lines. I had already sanded with 80 and 320 to get rid of the lines. Not a great picture, but here is where is was: Today I sanded with 400, 1000, and 2000, then I remembered I have Novus scratch remover, so I polished with some Novus 3, followed by 2. I’m really happy with how this turned out. This was practice for the rest of the seam removals.

Haha thanks! Yeah I went pretty gradual with it. And I noticed the lean after I removed the suit. I’ll be taking another set of photos tomorrow after work.

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.

Enjoy your banner Bart! @Bartman

In other news, I attended an armor party recently and... Appreciation Because without the DO's, Attachés and other active members it would be way more difficult to build high quality armor.

Thanks for the feedback, Joseph! I had already gotten to work on the center tooth, which had received mention on my pre-approval thread. That one tooth took me perhaps 30 minutes because, you know, I work slow. Even still, I'm not terribly happy with the resulting bottom line, as it's just not as crisp as I'd like. Below is a before-and-after GIF, as well as a still photo immediately after. Man, I really wish the bottoms of the teeth were acceptable as-is. From certain angles the painted teeth will always appear to bulge, but I respect the evaluation. The next two photo comps below are from earlier in my build after my initial teeth painting in which I stayed further away from the gums. At that time I wasn't happy with the direct front look in which there were white "bulges" at the bottom of the each tooth, and decided to extend the paint a bit while still remaining inside of the profile of the teeth as shown from the front. Seems I was wrong in that; bummer! =) OLD PHOTOS: On another topic, 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 yesterday. 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. And lastly, 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! So since it appears that more than the center tooth still need additional attention (I haven't convinced you guys, have I? lol), I'll get to work on that. Today is my wife's birthday so I don't anticipate getting to this until the wee hours of tomorrow morning, and frankly it'll probably take me more than one session to do. I sense lunch-break armor tweaking at work early next week.

*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.

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!

Trooper Info Name: Nicholas Friscia FISD Forum Name: Nezom Legion ID: 10093 Garrison: Florida Garrison Legion Profile: https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=17687&costumeID=124 Height: 66 in Weight: 140 lbs Costume Information Armor Maker: Authentic Props (AP) Helmet Maker: Authentic Props (AP) E-11 Blaster: Hyperfirm Weaponry (HFX Productions) Canvas Belt: Trooperbay Hand Guards: Trooperbay Gloves: Rubber Chemical Gloves; Trooperbay Electronics: iComm, Aker Voice Amp, Echo's Helmet Fan Kit Neck Seal: Ebay Holster: Darmans Props Boots: TK Boots Front: Back: Left Side: Right Side: Left Side Detail: Right Side Detail: Action Shot: Left Shoulder Bridge Front: Left Shoulder Bridge Side: Left Shoulder Bridge Rear: Right Shoulder Bridge Front: Right Shoulder Bridge Side: Right Shoulder Bridge Rear: Abdomen Buttons (close-up): Cod and posterior plate connections showing rivet/snaps (exterior): Posterior plate/kidney connection (back/or front): Wrist openings (close-up): Sniper Knee Plate (left and right sides): knee ammo pack (left and right sides): Interior strapping: Helmet Front: Helmet Left: Helmet Right: Helmet Rear: S-trim (side view): Helmet Lens Color: Hovi Tips (close-up): Ear Screws Left: Ear Screws Right: Neck Seal: Thermal Detonator Front: Thermal Detonator Rear: Holster Attachment: ABS/Canvas belt (rear, showing drop boxes): Boots (showing tops and sides): Rubber Gloves: Hand Guards (showing flexibility): Blaster Left: Blaster Right: Blaster Rear (showing D-ring):

Hello all! I've seen a lot of confusion about wetsanding and polishing with the goal of increasing the shine. Lots of people mixing up terms and using the wrong methods/products at the wrong time/place. So I decided to put up a little tutorial to clear (hehe) things up. DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional, I do auto detailing in my spare time and have some experience with paint correction. This will be a pretty long tutorial but stick with me and hopefully we'll learn something 1. What is shine? To be brief: when something is really really flat, it will reflect a lot of light directly into your eyes, making it appear shiny. Below is an illustration of perfect paint reflecting light, this would look like glass: (Illustrations are not to scale, just there to give you an idea). But that's a show-car-130-hours-polishing-lunatic-finish. Most of us use spray cans, and spray cans suck. They spit out paint unevenly and most of it is propellant anyway. And we do it in conditions that are not optimal, so we end up with very uneven paint full of orange peel. For this tutorial i've prepared a plate of ABS plastic which has been painted black (easier to demonstrate) and clear coated. See this pic below? See that wrinkly, orange'y look to it? That's orange peel. Image 1: If we want to go the extra mile to get rid of this, we need to do.. 2. Sanding - Levelling the paint Using sandpaper is ABRASIVE. From Merriam-Webster: abrasive 1: causing damage, wear, or removal of surface material by grinding or rubbing Focus here being "removal of surface material". Every time you swipe that sandpaper it removes some material. What we are trying to achieve here is a flat surface, we are trying to flatten out those "peaks and valleys" by removing/flattening the clear coat. A sandpaper's "grit" determines if it's coarse or fine. A higher number means it's more fine, and will remove less material. A lower number means it's more coarse and will remove more material. You need to have enough clear coat on your piece to be able to do this correction. Or else you might sand into the basecoat or even the primer. Which sucks because that means a re-paint.. Here is a list of my PERSONAL sandpaper grits: 40 - Super coarse for doing an Alderaan on whatever you are working on, I never use this 80 - Very coarse, for removing material quickly. I use this on woodworking projects 120 - Quick removal of material while still being in control 180 - I use this to knock down 3D-print lines and filler 240 - Smoothing filler if i'm feeling a bit scared 320 - This is what I sand my parts with before primer 600 - For wetsanding my primer 800-1000 - Anything from color-coat/clear-coat fixes to wetsanding hard clear coat 1200 - For knocking down tough orange peel 1500 - For knocking down orange peel 2000 - For removing 1500 scratches 3000 - For removing 2000 scratches For this test piece I started with 1500 grit to knock down the orange peel as the clear coat I used is kind of soft. Keep in mind every sanding step in this tutorial is done wet/wetsanding. As you can see here i've flattened out the peel on most of the piece but I missed a spot. I went over it again and made sure the entire surface was equally "dull". After this I went over it with 2000 grit. This is a finer sandpaper and my goal here is to eliminate the scratches from the 1500 job. Notice the sanding marks going the opposite direction this time. This is a good way to gauge if you've successfully sanded away the marks from the previous steps. And finally I went over it with 3000 grit in the opposite direction to remove the 2000 grit marks. At this point you should start seeing some shine My camera really struggled to focus taking these pictures. And we're done with sanding! Dry off your parts and move on to.. 3. Polishing - Levelling the paint again, just very very little From Merriam-Webster: polished; polishing; polishes transitive verb 1 : to make smooth and glossy usually by friction : burnish 2 : to smooth, soften, or refine in manners or condition 3 : to bring to a highly developed, finished, or refined state : perfect This is were it gets confusing. Some people "put polish" on their car, but they really mean wax. Some people "polish in the wax". I mean, it's been used so much in so many different ways I know it seems confusing. For simplicitys sake: Polishing is the last step in paint correction. In the auto detailing world, if you would let's say fix orange peel on a car, you'd go through all the steps above then.. 1. Use a RUBBING COMPOUND with a machine to knock down the 3000 grit scratches, paint should look like ANH Vader at this point 2. Use a POLISH with a machine to further level the paint from the faint marks the COMPOUND may have left, at this point the paint will be as clear as an ESB Vader 3 Apply a WAX/SEALANT/COATING on top of the newly corrected and flawless paint, to protect it (and also add a tiny bit more shine). Wax/sealant/coatings will fill in tiny tiny scratches making the paint appear more shiny, but the effect will diminish as the wax deteriorates. Rubbing compound and Polishes are ABRASIVE, they will REMOVE clear coat, just like sandpaper, only much much finer. Think of them like liquid 30000 grit and 80000 grit sandpaper After drying off my newly 3000 grit sanded piece, I found a foam polishing pad, and primed it with some rubbing compound. Priming is basically just "feeding" the working area of your pad with polish so there are no dry spots. All my compounding/polishing was done by hand. I then applied some more compound to the pad, a pea sized drop and went to town in small, circular motions. Follow the instructions on your product. After finishing I wiped off with a microfibre cloth aaaand... BAM! Shine!! The compound I used was Menzerna FG-400. It's a really good compound, it finishes super fine and you could just leave it as it is right there! You can also use Meguiars M105 for this step. Or any "rubbing compound", as long as it doesn't have fillers/wax in it which will trick you and lie to you. You can also just straight up use a polish, but you might have to work a bit longer to achieve the same effect. Now on to the polishing, for this I did the exact same thing with a finer foam pad and Menzerna SF-3500 (Meguiars equivalent M205). Honestly it didn't make much of a difference since the FG-400 finished out so nicely. If you're using other products you may have to do this step if you see "haze" from the compounding step. I tried my best getting an in focus picture but my camera got so confused because of the shine 4. Wax/Sealant/Coating - Protective Layer A wax is a protective layer, it is NOT abrasive. At this stage you can add wax if you want, it'll protect the paint a bit and also give it a tiny bit more shine. It's the prep-work and COMPOUNDING/POLISHING that really makes it shine. I didn't bother adding wax to my polished test piece as it was already as good as it gets. I did however tape off the piece before polishing, so I had one side which was 3000 grit sanded, and one side that was polished. I tried adding wax to the sanded side: After buffing it off with a microfibre and removing tape: And that's it Hope you learned something! Any questions feel free to post them here and i'll do my best to answer. After closely inspecting the piece I can see some orange peel left, but that's from when I put my color coat on, which is under the clear coat.. oh well.. Spray cans suck!!

So after been inspired by many build Threads BigJasonis and Klamorr decided to take the plunge for a Printed R1 ST.... Never used Fusion 360 before - so thought I would start with R1 Thermal Detonator. A steep learning curve, a number of hours...many YT videos, and completed my first fusion 360 design. Now off to print.....

Awesome. Thank you.

Thanks to both of you Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And don't panic about strapping, it's what ever works for you, there is no right or wrong way (as long as it's not seen from the outside) hence why it's not a requirement for any of the costume levels

Yep

So I easily can adjust the size incase my midsection increase/decrease.

Hi Caleb! Truly spectacular work on that armor, sir, but before we can move along we need a favor. As per the CRL for Basic approval the "Frown is painted gray and does not leave the teeth area". We just need you to grab some toothpicks, a few cotton swabs and some (non acetone) paint remover and dial back the bottoms a bit. Should take all of 15-20 minutes! Reference images (Note unpainted gaps at the bottom). Once you get this done, please post up a few pics and we can get that well-deserved EI badge under your name!

Nice work, looks great

I decided to hold off on strapping until I can study up on methods a little more. Instead, I'm starting on the shins. In the 90s, I installed glass for a living, so I'm no stranger to scoring and snapping. I dug to the bottom of my tool box and found my old glass pliers. Much to my satisfaction, they work very well for this kind of work. Also, can you tell that I'm into overkill? And Harbor Freight for that matter. Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

Great work on the updates, and very timely too Looking forward to seeing the print complete

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

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.

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.

That's just fantastic. Seriously nice. And everyone here should ignore that lego set number for the next 7 years till my daughter turns 18 and can get into 501st

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

Updated.. now to print...

@daryldoak The yoke looks pretty good with the overlap in your photo-you want a couple inches for strength AND for the side wings to be able to velcro to the back part of the yoke.

I've successfully infiltrated the r/501st Reddit...

Ab glueing complete: These seams are ready for abs paste. Next up was the shoulder bell tabs: Question: Anybody have tips on how much to overlap the inner chest and back?

From my experience it comes down to the acetone used. I guess I just got lucky with a local supplier. I was going to smooth it out and used a different brand (smaller bottle and easier to use) and that turned the paste yellow so did some sanding and applied a new layer of paste and then only sanded/wet sanded and polished.

Excellent to see progress Daryl, nice work sir.

Very steady hands, well done

Great news, it's been a long wait but very glad to see orders are turning up.

Great build so far. Thanks for sharing

You are powering through this build Daryl, keep up the great work.

coming along fast and nicely, keep it up.

Congrats for your BBB day Daryl. Remember measure twice, cut and glue just once.

Awesome!, You can do it Daryl

Looking forward to seeing the progress

So I was talking to our DL and he encouraged me to post my story here. 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer and went through surgery and three months of chemo therapy. With that therapy came a long time of being pretty much inactive, while eating all sorts of crap just to be able to actually taste something (for instance a normal slice of bread with cheese would taste like mushy cardboard, it still makes me sick thinking about it). And unlike what you'd expect, my appetite was pretty strong! So obviously I gained quite a bit of weight. Being the lazy butt I was, I never felt motivated to get up and do something about it even after I was through with the chemo. In fact it got even worse with me picking up an office job and joining a team with a virtually endless supply of sweets and other treats. So instead of losing weight, I kept going up. The sad peak was just before (and during) our last trip to Disneyland at the end of February this year. I was at 89kg (196lbs) at 173cm (5'8"). Way too much... I still felt okay-ish, but seeing pics of our trip made me realise something needed to change. This was right around the time Corona got serious and counter measures were being taken. Which meant the bus I usually take to get to work was - and still is - not operating that early in the morning, forcing me to walk 3.5km each morning to catch my train. Instead of feeling sour about it, I used this as motivation to do even more. Now I've been doing 15,000 steps on average each day for roughly the past 2 months and simply stopped eating non-stop like a pig. And it shows! For the first time in 5 years, I am actually below 80kg (79.2 for the last couple of days, so around 174lbs), meaning I already lost a whopping 10kg! My goal is to lose a couple more kilos still, but it was an amazing moment kitting up in my classic TK (built to the original RS suit size) for the first time in such a long time and actually fitting into it again (although it was still a tight squeeze... but we're working on that :)) So yeah, this is my little story. Shows that all it takes is determination and a little self discipline and it is entirely possible to get back into TK shape!