pandatrooper

Looking really good. The thighs look a little roomy for you, do they need to be sized a little? Maybe pull them up by 3/4"? That butt plate is sticking out a bit, could maybe use some heat gun action to shape it slightly to be more form fitting? Otherwise it's looking very sharp.

You should glue all of the limbs if possible. The only velcro you need is for shins.

I use 400 grit. Wear a mask when sanding. You don't want to inhale plastic particles.

You have an AM kit. If youre skinny enough, trim the backs of the biceps first like in my AM build thread. Theres a ridge on the side of each side of the biceps. Leave 8mm or so and snap a straight line. Then size the inner bicep.

I use lexan scissors from a hobby shop for trimming RC cars for the armor and some sandpaper to smooth the edges. Then I use a sharp hobby blade and steel ruler to score and snap cover strips.

Good luck with your build. Michaels crafts sells E6000

Rubbing alcohol caused this. If you did not leave enough time for it to evaporate, it will wrinkle the paint. It will "look" like it evaporated, but alcohol has an effect on certain plastics. It causes a chemical reaction and disrupts the affectiveness of spray paint solvents. I have had this happen on other plastic parts when rushing the paint job. I only wash with detergent now, no more alcohol to clean plastic.

Yes. Thats exactly what you do. I think the pictures in my build thread show this step by step.

Btw: Focus on fixing the female snaps.

My guess is the snap pliers are creating too high of a build up inside both snaps, and when you join them they are not sitting deep enough for the retention ring to set. Try using the little anvil and setting tool with a hammer.

The written and shooting scripts refer to Stormtroopers frequently.

The Sideshow troopers are close but require mods to be accurate: - helmet looks like an FX (too big and face is sloped) eyes are too sharp - shoulder bells look like FX - chest ogee shape is incorrect - side of chest too long - thighs are the wrong shape at tops

Get a longer metal ruler. One with a grippy underside helps. Use a sharp hobby blade and score multiple times before snapping.

Yes, you squeeze them. Glue the fronts, wait for the seam to cure fully, size up the armor then do the backs.

Firstly, you should only have a pauldron if you're a TD (sandtrooper) or a HWT (heavy weapons trooper) or one of the EU derivatives. Personally, I'm not keen on pauldrons for TK's as that's not in the films, but to each their own. In regards to decals or personalized gear, it's a garrison to garrison policy. In my garrison, there's a policy of "decorate as you like" for non canon events, but for canon events like LFL or hospital visits, etc. it's formal only.

Warm it up SLIGHTLY with a heat gun or hair dryer. I run a flat chisel in between the 2 parts and it comes apart quite easily. E6000 can be "rubbed" off with your fingers, I also use some glue gone to remove residue. When joining parts / cover strips, I tape them in place before clamping to prevent shifting.

This list covers the current vetted armor / helmet makers on Fisd. http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=11538&st=0 VT is recast from other makers and not an approved seller on Fisd.

Gentle heating and bending with a heat gun will shape it to be a more flush fit.

Thats a shoulder bell, not a bicep.

I've been using mesh for sculpting that I wrap around forms, etc. I had a set of mic tips with no mesh and I used this, worked great for me. ----------

Very slight rounding. I tend to snip a mini 45 degree cut on the corner and just sand it a little. The ends of cover strips are not "round" like popsicle sticks.

Use a slightly bigger drill bit. It should be the same size as the rivet shaft.

Glue the front and taper the back.

Glue the front and taper the back.

Drill out the rivet and reverse it. I layer mine so that the rivet is actually holding a female snap on the other side. The torso has the corresponding male rivet on the outside of the ab plate. I know some would say its not screen accurate location but I don't really care. No one sees it.