pandatrooper

About 1/4" - 3/8" away from the cheek tube valley. Make sure the swoops are facing the right way check starwarshelmets.com for reference.

Use a Dremel and grind off the lower t track. Dont go too deep. Try and retain the round shape of the barrel. Mark the position of the holes by copying the spacing fron the other barrel vent holes. The new row of holes should be staggered to the ones above it. Its easier to separate the blaster halves before drilling the new holes. Use your Dremel to gring away any plastic obtrusions on the inside where the new holes will be. These can throw your drill off. Mark your centerpoints for the holes on the outside. Drill a small 1/8" pilot hole. The final holes are about 10mm in diameter (By memory). Try not to use a big drill bit for this as you will likely tear the plastic because its thin and it will make the holes uneven and off center. Use a unibit to enlarge the holes.

Glad to see they honored Grant McCune (model maker on Star Wars) and of course, Irvin Kershner - director of The Empire Strikes Back.

This is what I would suggest for your torso. Glue your plastic shim on the sides to the AB plate, and fasten the other end of the shims to the back with velcro. This way, it will fit and sit straight for now. If you get slimmer, you can adjust it as you go. This diagram should help you. What I have described above is a combination of the techniques shown here

Looking good! I'm sure on your second fitting you'll get everything adjusted and fitting correctly.

The plastic used on VT helmets is thicker than other makers resulting in a softer pull. A thinner plastic will yield a sharper pull. The fact that its RECAST means the molds are at least a generation removed from the mold before it. I used to own the VT hero and stunt (among many other makes) and have since sold them. Comparing them in person, they seem to have a softer rounder edges look than other helmets. I have one of the new ATA Abs lids and I feel it is much sharper in capturing the details, and they are affordable. Always compare based and features and pricing, and not just pricing alone. At the end of the day, you can buy and support whatever make you want.

In my opinion, the VT hemet is a softer pull / less detail than other helmets, plus they are recast from an AP / TE. The color is also slightly different than other armor makes (more beige than white-ish). There are plenty of reviews in the Ebay armor section. Have you considered other helmets like AP or ATA, etc.? TM also looks very good for a sculpted from scratch version.

You can leave an inch and attach your snaps there or do the screen look and cut it off / bend it. You can see mine here -----

Be careful cutting the butt plate. The AM but does not curve under the butt as much as screen accurate armor, thats why the tab is there. If you cut it off where you indicated you will need to heat up and bend the butt plate under.

ATA and AM make TX armor. ATA will be cast from more accurate molds, where as AM is fan made and less accurate. Contact info in this thread http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=11538

Sorry to be a stickler for detail, but your side gaps are not plastic. They look like vinyl or fabric and the EIB guideline states it should be a similar material to the armor. Your TD clips also need to be 1" wide, they look a bit thin currently. I also think you should make the cut on the butt plate a couple inches lower than it is right now, it looks a little too high.

I don't think the white elastic would pass, that's just my guess. If you rig the black one a little higher, no one will notice. Or don't use one at all and use the "practical" strapping where there's an elastic that connects the chest to the ab, that will prevent the chest from hinging outwards.

Hi Tyler. Along with the tips mentioned above, here's a few fixes that can help make your FX build be a little more accurate. Not all of these are necessarily required from an EIB standpoint, but I think they are just good build tips in ensuring that the quality of the build is the best it can be with not too much effort. Torso: - can you adjust so that it sits an inch or so higher? You may need to bend / curve the shoulder bridges a bit more with a heat gun, but it will sit better and not cover the ab buttons. You could also modify the lower return edge on chest but trimming it to a slightly more accurate shape and adding a return edge. I have indicated this area with the solid red lines. - the black elastic you're using to connect the chest to the back on the side under your arms is OK to use, but it should not be visible. Can you place it higher so that it's black on black? - the torso will look a lot better if the shim you're using is not fabric. You can use scrap ABS or styrene plastic, or use the back of a plastic "for sale"sign. There are some tips in this tutorial re: shimming http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=12478 - I think the original FX belt armor had the rivet covers molded into the armor. As such, it looks like you have a visible rivet or bolt head visible. Can this be hidden (glue a snap plate to the underside of the belt armor, and bondo over the hole?) Also, the belt ends look like they have been trimmed a bit too much in length. Regardless, you should trim the belt armor corners are 45 degrees like these pics. Arms: - try and adjust the elastic so that the shoulder bells are evenly positioned. Your right bell is leaving a much bigger gap than the left. - I would raise your forearms a bit and lower the biceps a bit to reduce the black gap at the elbows Legs: - try and adjust the thighs (are they hanging on elastic or garters?) so that they hang evenly left and right. Your right one is twisted and hanging too low. - the battery pack on your right thigh seems to have been cut too short and it's sitting high. It should look like the reference picture above. There's a full leg assembly tutorial here in regards to how to assemble this piece http://www.whitearmor.net/home/tutorials/armor-tutorials/thighsshins.html - it's a little hard to tell in the pics, but you might want to double check that you have the correct shin halves assembled, or maybe they are swapped left for right? They might be fine, but just double check. Again, not to say you have to do everything. But these are some tips to help get you on your way. Good luck with your EIB app!

Cool idea!

What make of E-11 is that? Theres some interesting details on it.

I would let the paint cure at least a few days before applying decals.

AM calves go like this if you were looking at the back of your shins. Outer left (no ridge) Inner left (with ridge) Inner right (with ridge) Outer right (no ridge) They should have either put no ridges at all or had them on both halves. Its fan made and not as accurate as other makes.

Congrats to Kim if i didn't say that already and thats a good shot of the D ring for clarity.

Ahhh... so THAT'S what you've been telling the wife. Now I have some blackmail information should I ever need it... JK!!

Overlap the armor and tape it together to get an idea of sizing BEFORE you cut more off. It's better to have to "work your hand through" the wrist when putting in on than to have giant wrist openings (if possible).

Cut the return off the wrist and make them as small as you can while still allowing your hands to fit through.

Aren't we at least tied (you and Jim are EIB?) there must some others in GT? Regardless, I am proud to say that Kim is FISDs 150th Expert Infantry Stormtrooper!

The trick to making the neck trim stay is to start at the vocoder. As you start to work the trim around, make sure to push the trim down hard into every nook and space, especially under the ears / where the face and back meet. Work the trim all the way around and when you get to the vocoder, cut the trim about 1/4" longer than you need. Then push the end on to meet the other end. This will put extra pressure on the trim and keep it in place. The brow trim should stay in place if the cap and face was assembled properly. Thd tension will keep it in. But if the front part keeps slipping, I don't think anyone will notice 1 drop of glue under the brow to hold it up.

Very nice work there! I wish Sterling parts were accessible in Canada.

Eric: the shoulder bridges are free floating in the back. It took a couple tries but they were heated to curve over. I showed Kim how to do the cover strips on a bicep and he assembled the others. Nice build by the way, glad to see your EIB application! Pat: it's provincial law - all Asians must paint their walls red.