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Hello there! Perhaps I will regret calling myself CloseTheBlastDoor, but all of my other creative attempts were taken by all you creative people! I have my TK ANH Stunt trooper kit from WTF, and I've gathered most of the other items. This will take a while. I was quite intimidated when the big box arrived, for sure! But I've spent a few hours reading through much of the forums here, and I'm encouraged and even a bit more confident that I can do this! My kids have flown the coop, and I have a decent chunk of time to get this done. I clock in at 6'0" and shrinking, and I'm about 175 pounds. So I'm hoping the suit will fit with few alterations. I'm going to start with the thermal detonator, which for some reason seems the least scary. I'll try and post some photos as I go. Thank you in advance for your support! ****EPILOG**** Whew, what an adventure! My childhood dream of being a stormtrooper has finally come true! It’s been a crazy ride, while having to work through some health issues, unemployment, travel, and just life in general to get all of this done. The circle is now complete! This took about six months on and off. Generally I was trying to do everything to L3 approval, so I wouldn’t have to go back later and make corrections. But there are areas where I know I haven’t, most glaringly the blaster. We’ll cross that bridge later! Armor: Walt’s Trooper Factory Canvas belt: Imperial Issue Holster: Darman’s Props Undersuit: Off-brands from Amazon (Queerier and TSLA) Neck seal: Keep Trooping E-11: Scifiman123 on E-Bay (modified toy) Gloves and hand guards: Trooper Bay Boots: Keep Trooping Height: 5’11 Weight: 163 lbs My deepest gratitude to those who helped me along the way, primarily @gmrhodes13, who from Down Under tirelessly and generously helped a total stranger in the San Francisco Bay Area make his way through this costume. There were so many times I thought I’d messed up, and he showed me a way through it, or other times where I didn’t have it quite right, and he told me how to correct it. Many thanks also to @shashachu, @dblcross, @TKSpartan, @justjoseph63, @MaskedVengeance, @revlimiter, @Tilheyra, @JBar, and @Sly11, and so many more for their helpful suggestions and feedback. Reflections on the build: ASK QUESTIONS. This is why my build thread is so very long! Don’t buy everything up front. I have a lot of stuff where I bought the wrong thing, and/or ended up using a different build technique. Do your research, choose an option, then buy the material. I spent around $1700, and maybe $100 of material was not used. I was more afraid of doing something wrong than I was of just doing something. But overthinking was kinda my friend. For instance, I must have spent 30 hours researching how to do the helmet, and maybe half that time actually getting it together. Not all armorers are alike. Some are more helpful than others, and there are variations in the parts where what you’ve read elsewhere simply won’t apply. The videos from Dave’s Darkside and RS Prop Masters were great! Make a nice, big ventilated workspace for yourself, preferably in the garage so that volatile odors and dust don’t get around the house. And your family doesn’t hear you swearing. The first cut of plastic is always going to be the hardest. Practice on scraps. Do your research. Measure 16 times, then cut. Use an X-Acto knife and cut the first line LIGHTLY. Then repeat many times just as lightly, following that line. Patience is key here. Use them cut-resistant gloves. Mark the cut line, then cut less than you should. Then work up to the line with a Dremel + sanding drum, then with sandpaper and/or a half-round file. There is a guide to nearly everything. And there are areas where there are different solutions, and that’s OK. When in doubt, look at the CRL. Some things have fairly specific measurements. Check the collection of Billgrams. Many other things do not, and is where “precision eyeballing” is applied. Searching on this site can be a bit difficult. Using Google is your best option. Type in site:whitearmor.net [your search terms] in the Google search bar. Wear eye protection when you’re using any kind of tool. Wear cut-resistant gloves when cutting. Wear a respirator and have good ventilation when you are using E-6000 or sanding ABS. When freehanding a drill, use a brad point bit and set it firmly in position. Start with a very slow speed to ensure that the bit doesn’t walk away from the mark. For countersinking, DO IT BY TWIRLING THE BIT WITH YOUR FINGERS - NO DRILL. Just as any woodworker would say, “you can never have enough clamps.” Most things take more time in your head than in reality. Exceptions are waiting for E-6000 to cure, and waiting for that Amazon order you had to make because you either forgot something, or messed it up. Good tools are a good investment. An even better investment is learning how to use those tools properly! Learn how to set snaps properly: there are many guides here, but I would add this: Hammer using a solid backing surface that WONT take up any of the striking force. Make sure the snaps don’t rotate in the strapping. If they are the slightest bit loose, they may pull out of the strap when you try to unsnap it. Test that the snaps fit together BEFORE gluing anything.

You are very welcome, was great to help you one your journey, troopers helping troopers. I'll definitely take you up when I finally get to the US, have a lot of places on my to do list, same goes for if you make it down here

Awesome!!! Thanks!!!

Reducing that gap will be difficult with what you have, but worth a try. I would trim the top of the ear first and see how that looks. It may also have to come down on the sides a little, elongating the ear holes is not a problem if you need to.

Hi Lucas, and thank you for your EIB application! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All required photos have been submitted, and on behalf of the entire D.O. staff we are pleased to welcome you to the rank of Expert Infantry. Congratulations! You have done a great job on fixing the frown, coverstrip, decal and blaster issues and even gone ahead and corrected several items that will be required for centurion level approval. Other-Armor Fit/Assembly; In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor, and please keep in mind that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions. 1. A small touch up is recommended for your vocoder. Could you please remove the pencil guide lines (blue arrows). Although not required for approval, if you would like a more clean look, when you are doing this, you may want to slightly lengthen the stripe marked in yellow on the left side in the photo to make it more symmetrical with the right side. References 2.Your small button plate could be shortened in length slightly to be more screen accurate. References *************************************************** Centurion Requirements: In this section we prepare you for our highest tier of approval. Because Centurion photos must show more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Level 3 might be seen there and not here and additional photos may be required. We try to point out all that we can from what we are able to clearly see, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. 1. The abdominal -kidney armour seam on the left side shows the hinge in the gap. This is a great method to connect the pieces but the hinge and gap should not be showing from the outside. CRL L3: Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Abdominal and Kidney Plate align horizontally at top. A single visible seam line is present References 2. Your Han snap is sitting a bit too low. It will need to be moved up slightly. This will take a bit of work with ABS paste to fill the hole but looking at your work on the ab plate, you should have no problem with this.

Awesome! I hope we get to do that travel (but not at the exact same time, since we'll miss each other )

TROOP #6 - Garland Labor Day Parade 9/2/2024 After a super busy August, I was finally able to suit up again and make it to a troop. I officially love being in Parades. The weather was incredible (for Texas standards) mid 70s with a nice breeze, which allowed us to have so much fun walking through downtown and interacting with the people of Garland. Even though dozens of kids would call out asking "WHERE'S BABY YODA!!!" There were still tons of people who were excited to see us. Official Pic from the Parade Pre-parade pics

Done! I could not have done this without you, Glen! A thousand thanks. If I'm ever Down Under, or if you're ever in the San Francisco area, I want to buy you dinner!

TK-47826 requesting 501st access https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=43737 Thank you

Thank you for that detailed explanation, I will take it to heart! I'm sorry you had that episode pushing so hard, but am glad that you were OK!

Update time! The past two days I've hardly been able to do anything because of work, and a visit to my grandfolks, but I'm very satisfied with what I got done in that time. I finally got those rivets secured thanks to a little advice from my grandpa, and it really looks way better now. Now that the rivets are secured I can also get started on the screws, which means I can also now get the visor secured, which means hopefully I can actually get it mostly done (minus the paint) before Saturday.

Congratulations Trooper! Bart

Awesome news , congratulations and welcome to the ranks, once you have your TKID issued request TK access here

I did the warmest troop I've done yet this past July. It was 32C, no breeze, blue sky. I went four hours between being in the sun, under some shade and two short breaks for a snack and hydrate. Two fans going in the helmet but no cool packs. It takes a bit of time to work up to extended periods in the heat. Don't overdue it at first. Take plenty of breaks to get some water into you and cool down. Check in with your trooping buddies to make sure you are all doing ok. No one needs to play the hero and end up passing out. Have fun! Bart

I remember feeling really hot in my armor in the beginning but now I feel super comfortable. I do think I felt nervous, and also I wasn't as good at getting dressed so I would get hot wrestling my armor. Helmet fans will help a little, and I only used the rubber gloves for my Centurion photos (otherwise I use Gorilla Grip gloves from Home Depot.) You could go with something like a cooling vest but I have heard those don't actually stay cool long, and I assume it'll add some weird bulk. Instead I think as you get more comfortable in your armor you'll feel cooler, and it's more about being smart while trooping and not pushing yourself. Stay in the shade/cooler areas, take breaks, and stay hydrated. Our handlers are great and will also check on you. In the end it's hard to avoid being uncomfortable some of the time, but the fun of trooping outweighs it.

Congratulations!! Looking forward to trooping with you.

8/30/24 Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital in Baltimore with our friends from the Old Line Garrison

Hi all - getting a start on my troop log before I lose track. After getting approved in April, I managed to knock over a handful of troops within my first few weeks with all the May the Fourth festivities. My first troop was something I'll never forget - I had the biggest grin under my bucket. I couldn't believe I'd achieved a childhood dream. The most rewarding to date was attending the Royal Children's Hospital and helping to cheer up some pretty sick kids (and their parents). It was (emotionally) tougher than I expected, but something I'm so proud of the Legion for being involved in. I've trooped with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra a few times now and get such a kick out of it. I've got a handful more troops booked in before the end of the year. My local garrison has been awesome and so welcoming, so I look forward to giving back in any way I can. Here's some pics and details of my troops. I give permission for FISD to repost my photos on social media in an appropriate fashion. Troops 1 & 2 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - ROTJ (19th, 23rd April) Troop 3 - Disney Open Call shopping centre appearance (27th April) Troop 4 - Melbourne Children's Hospital (3rd May) Troop 5 - Lego Store and Shopping Centre appearance (got my bucket on TV with the host of Lego Masters as a bonus) (May 4th) Troop 6 & 7 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra - ROTJ Encore Screenings (6th, 7th June) Troop 8 - Lightscape Photo shoot (28th July) ***Photos courtesy of Amanda Lee Starkey Photography Troop 9 - Early Learning Centre Book Week - (21st August) Troop 10 (Milestone!) - Croxton Special School Book Week (10th September)

Have had plenty of success with NOMEX gloves, they are breathable so no sweaty hands. Rubber gloves here in Queensland, Australia are a rarity for trooping due to heat and crazy summer humidity.

Troop #62 Braehead Macmillan Cancer charity bucket collection. ISG troops hit the mall today at Braehead to help collect donations for Macmillan.

https://a.co/d/bOaKzxU Rubber gloves are ridiculous for hot weather. Fans in the helmet, a quality, breathable undersuit, and thin, lightweight running gloves are the way to go!

Glove liners are what I use, I take multiple pairs to a troop, every time you take off your gloves for a break you have sweat soaked inner gloves, a fresh pair can make all the difference. I have two fans in most of my helmets, although I normally only use one and the other as backup. Feeling air across your face tricks your mind in to how hot you really are. 39deg C was my hottest troop, sweat ran from everywhere and whenever there was a little breath of wind the sweat soaked under suit would feel cooler. For really cold troops I use a cotton shirt and pants under my compression shirt and pants. Some troopers have used a vest cooler, I tried one once and found it too cold, I don't have much tolerance for temperature changes, 1-2deg and I'm either too hot or too cold. Lots of different designs out there A towel is worth carrying, nice to wipe the sweat off. I added my padding in the helmet with velcro so I could remove and wash, amazing how much sweat can build up in the helmet. Don't get a shock when you take of your armor and find trickles of sweat here and there LOL. Any drinks with electrolytes can also help on those long hot troops, I first drank water but found I needed the little extra from energy troops. Last and most importantly, don't carry on if you are too hot, I did for one event, we had a line of younglings waiting for photos and I just pushed it a little too hard but should have stopped. I thought I was ok to go on another 5 minutes but nearly didn't' make it to the change area, cold wet towel and another energy drink and I was ok.