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10 Troops completed! Requesting my profile be updated! Thank you!

@TKSpartan yeah, shins are backwards. I just kind of placed things on the ground to get a look at the whole thing!

Nice work trooper, looks like you can request a trooping award (don't forget to update the title of your first post)

[10] 8/19/2023 Salute to Military Heroes took place at Liberty Station in San Diego. Included Imperial Sands Garrison and MandoMercs local clan. Call time was at 9 am with the troop from 10 am to 1pm. We had a large number of TKs present which made it that much more fun! Well over 400 people (primarily families) came out to this event that had food, games, and prizes for many who could attend. This turned out to be a wonderful event with many photo opportunities for kids and adults.

Excellent!!! Thanks!!! Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

Good to see you again Gerald! I hope you've been enjoying your trooping

Most feedback from members takes L3 into account, although not required for basic approval we do encourage builders to build to the higher levels hence the stricter commentary. Text and photo references is what we base our feedback on. You may notice in the CRL's the word "ideally" this gives a general outline of a specific detail or details, although our feedback may give more detailed information anything with "ideally" is open to interpretation. And in the event there is conflicting information go with what the Deployment Team say

Thank you for those quick fixes Christian. I'm starting your review now.

Good evening, Dear DO`s, thank you for your feedback. Please have benevolent look on my revised blaster again: Bye Troopers!

I'm on a good one and may bust this out into its own thread, but the next two are for once you're ready to glue. I'm sure there's another supply list thread out there but some of these are specific, and the links are current. If you are a first time builder, I STRONGLY recommend you use E6000 glue and utilize interior cover strips first during your build. CA glue has its time and place, and pros who can get it right on the first time often swear by it, but E6000 is the correct choice for this armor. The downside is that it does take time to dry and therefore you need to clamp your pieces together firmly for best results. Spring Clamps FASTPRO Nylon Plastic Spring Clamps, 4 sizes - $18.99 USD on Prime for a 12 pack at time of post Spring clamps are awesome and easy to use for the first half of your build when you're gluing in your underside cover strips, and for the ends of your joined pieces. It's nice to haver several and a few different sizes to suit your needs. Magnets N52 Neodymium Rare Earth Magnet Discs, 18x3mm - $65.00 USD with free shipping on eBay for 50 at time of post Clamps are cool, but will only get you so far once you start joining complete pieces together. To help clamp your coverstrips tight, I recommend N52 rare earth magnets, and have found that the 18x3mm are usually the perfect size and strength for armor building. The link above is the cheapest I've been able to find for the VERY SPECIFIC magnets that I like to use, but these are simply the best I've found. But BE WARNED - these magnets can and will jump over a foot to come together, and can shatter and throw sharp pieces that can and will cut you. Many times, I have also been pinched and caused blood blisters or other skin injury. These things are powerful and brittle, and DO NOT MESS AROUND. Always place them very intentionally, and I like to test and alternate the polarities while placing them in a line - that way they are always pushing AWAY from each other, and not tempted to pull together and stack. Remove them after 24 hours just as carefully. I sometimes double up for areas that need a little extra persuasion, and always scuff the surface I'm gluing with sandpaper or an emory board for maximum mechanical adhesion. As for how many you need - I've found that once I'm done trimming, my build is often only limited by how many pieces I can have simultaneously gluing, which is limited by how many clamps and magnets I have. So buy as many as you can reasonably afford - I recommend 50, as you undoubtedly will lose a few to cracking.

Alright, I'll join the fun in case any of these haven't already been said or linked. I've learned a lot over the years and there's a few that I can't believe I ever lived without. I'll try to rank them by necessity in hindsight, though not necessarily the order in which I discovered or acquired them. Always try to search and see if you have a local hobby store you can support first when searching for supplies, but otherwise, I've included Amazon or direct links to a lot of these. Some may be regional, but will at least give you an idea of what to search for in a marketplace available to you. I'll try to add more if I get bored, but these are all products I have purchased and really gotten a lot of utility out of. We'll start with trimming, but I do love editing posts to improve them. A Respirator or Dust Mask (at minimum) So one thing many of the tools below have in common is that they love to make a lot of dust, so I would be remiss if I did not include a link to some PPE. I recommend the highest quality you can afford - remember, you're not just avoiding breathing in the dust that is created when you sand ABS, but also the vapors that are created as it heats up. I wear a half respirator whenever I am sanding or messing with chemicals or ABS. I've had cancer once, I don't need it again, thank you. Protect your lungs, wear a mask. 3M Rugged Comfort Quick Latch Half Facepiece Reusable Respirator 6502QL - $29.99 USD on Prime at time of post and 3M P100 Respirator Cartridge/Filter 60926, 1 Pair - $35.49 USD on Prime at time of post A Dremel/Rotary Tool Even a cheap one is worth its weight in gold if you accompany it with a nice variety of bits to spin up. There is a wide range of rotary tools, with the Dremel brand being among the more popular (though I myself currently use a Milwaukee M12 Rotary), in a variety of speed capabilities, battery-operated and corded options (I like cordless), and prices, but this is an essential tool for any maker. This USB rechargeable cordless starter kit is perfect if you don't have one, but upgrading to one with more juice or in your swappable battery family is worthwhile. Dremel Lite 7760 N/10 4V Li-Ion Cordless Rotary Tool Variable Speed Multi-Purpose Rotary Tool Kit - $64.00 USD on Prime at time of post Abrasive Flap Wheel Sanders (80 Grit) - $7.89 USD on Prime for a 10-pack at time of post A rotary is only as good as what you spin up with it, and these are by far my favorite tool for final trimming armor after rough cutting with lexan shears and/or the belt sander. Because of their size, you can get nice clean lines and curves, and variable cut with the amount of pressure you apply. I've started using these way more than the traditional drum sander as shown above. Just make sure you're wearing a respirator. Emory Boards / Sanding Sticks These were a game-changer. So obvious, but I saw Adam Savage using these in a Tested video and I haven't really used sandpaper much since. There might be a better link out there, but these ones hold up well and have two medium grits (180/240) to choose from. I often use them to dress the edges of my TK kits (in addition to the Shaviv tool Caleb linked above) so they're smooth and don't cause armor bite or wear on my undersuit. ZMOI Professional Nail Files (180/240) - $7.99 USD on Prime for a 12 pack at time of post A Belt Sander A belt sander is so helpful for creating smooth, straight lines... so key in TK assembly. Most of your armor pieces join at flat lines or have gentle curves that a basic belt sander can trim handily. I use this thing for a ton of other projects too. When it finally wears out, I'll invest in a nicer one - it's worth it. Harbor Freight - CENTRAL MACHINERY 4 in. x 36 in. Belt and 6 in. Disc Sander - $84.97 USD online at time of post (always check their website/flyers for in-store coupons!)

More research, I had numerous build threads saved on my computer but still found I had to stop building to check online for a reference or two, there is no such things as too much research Tool wise another two Dremel's, I hate changing the bits mid armor trimming, I know have 3 which makes building so much quicker. Good luck with the build, hope to see some progress pictures soon