gazmosis

Perhaps he will pull just a chest??

E6000 has long been the recommended adhesive if repairing any of your armor is in your future. In regards to your weight loss....CONGRATS!!!! That's awesome, brother!!!! However, where the brackets are used, weight loss really doesn't come into play. As you overall circumference gets smaller, you will need to trim back your side seams, re-position your left side rivets and cut new kidney notches. Small price to pay for awesomeness. As for your legs, build the fronts to specs (20mm cover strips) the backs can always be made smaller later on. If when you trim them they want to splay open, tie a string around them to compress the opening and give them a boiling water bath. Do a re-fitting, a new cover strip and you are good to go!

HAHAHAHA!!! BOOYAH!! Nice shot!!! Dog bowl is a nice touch. Now I can fully congratulate and welcome you to Expert infantry!!!

Hello, Pete!!! Usually, I let these applications go for a couple days so other troopers can look your armor over, but I was on and thought...."why not?" Anyway, thank you for your application for EIB!! We don;t get too many opportunities to see Mon Cal armor and you have done a great job with it!! Let's look at it a bit closer!! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All required photos have been submitted. There are two things that will need to be repaired. First, as Rhodie mentioned, your ab buttons can be increased in size slightly but more important are the colors. I have strained my eyes and used two different web browsers to convince myself that those three buttons are NOT black. A clearer picture can easily clear up that they are indeed the french blue. IF they are not, then you fix that when increasing the buttons themselves to the 12 ish MM size. Next is your helmet frown. The teeth on the ANH frown must be painted and NOT exceed the tooth itself. Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: You have a really nice, detailed overall build. In this section, suggestions are made that go towards an improvement in the overall look/accuracy of your armor. Nothing suggested here, unless specifically stated, will affect any application. With pleasure, I can say that there really isn't much that can be added here! Although not a requirement, adding black, slot head screws rather than "X" head or phillips screws can add to the accuracy of your thermal detonator. Nice build on you blaster. You have heavier weathering, but the way you did it is nice and is not excessive looking. I do believe your blaster can benefit from a lower scope rail. Whether the scope rail runs between the rear sight or is attached to the main receiver tube, you can see by these screen shots that the overall height of the rail goes no higher than the center of the rear sight.s I think you get the point. Centurion Suggestions: I hope at some point to see a Centurion application at some point in your future. There is a little work that will need to be done prior to your application, though. The two items I mentioned at the top will need to be addressed first. You will need to acquire latex/flexible hand plates. You already have the chemical gloves it seems. For you Centurion photos, please make sure the outer edge of your belt boxes align with the outer edge of your belt. This next one may take a little work and hopefully you used E6000 to assemble your suit. The cover strips for the butt joint construction are different sizes depending on which part they were applied. On the arms, the strips measured in the neighborhood of 14-16 mm in width, the thigh fronts were in the 20 mm range and the rears can be between 20-25 mm. The strips on your arms seem to be the same size as the ones on your thighs. You are not a bigger trooper that required a wider strip to cover a gap in construction of the two halves so unless the camera angle is playing tricks on me, the strips on your arms are too wide. Either I am seeing things( a pic with your arm cover strips and a measuring tape will confirm/deny this), or there is a need to trim these down a bit. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions. Let us know when you have addressed the top issues and we can move forward with your EIB badge!!!

Your efforts were obvious, Ty. I have not doubt of your future as a centurion.

Hey there, Scott!! Thank you for your application for Expert Infantry! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: Thank you for the quick update regarding the lower row of "T" tracks on your blaster. Your armor and blaster contain all the necessary elements for EIB but I need 1 important picture that you forgot to take/post. An action shot with your blaster! I can't add you to the archives without it. Please post that ASAP!! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: In this section, myself and your fellow troopers make suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Unless specifically stated, none of these suggestions will affect any application. You have a wonderful and well detailed build. Great overall work. For that reason, there isn't a whole lot that can be mentioned here. Well done. I do find it interesting that you chose to go with "hero" type hand plates. Eh. I do want to commend you again on your fantastic side shim work. I will be saving and using these pictures to show to future troopers so they can see that it can be well done!!! Centurion Suggestions: With your great detail work, I can assume that a Centurion application is in your future. There are, however, a few items that you will need to address before that can happen. First is a small adjustment to your backplate position. The gap between the back and kidney is a little large. I'd like to see that seam between the two with as little gap as possible. Next, and obvious, is the need for a Sterling based blaster. You are no stranger here, so Doopy kit or DVH kit or even a decommed Sterling would suit you well. But you already knew that! Next are the cover strips on your thigh backs. To me, it looks like you have them extending past the bottom molded ridge. They need to end AT not exceed this ridge: The last thing I want to touch upon are your helmet details. First, I would like to see you move your rank stripe to be ON not in between the raised bars. Please keep it to one of the back ones. Next, for Centurion, your helmet details must be ALL hand painted or use the "hand painted look" decals if hand painting is a bit of a challenge. It seems to me like you have combined the two. It looks very much to me like you used the AP sandtrooper decals then painted the ANH stripes on the tears and rear traps. Great idea but this will need to be corrected for Centurion. You are a talented man...obviously. These updates will be a breeze for you. Please get me that action shot so I can put your badge and photo through!

Words well spoken! Your efforts makes everyone look better. Not to kill the moment or anything........but please make sure to get me that action shot with your blaster that has the power cylinders on it. Troop on, young man!!

Merry Sithmas!!!!!

Hello Juan!! I am glad you finally decided to apply!! Thank you for your application to Expert infantry! Let's take a look at your armor! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: This was obviously a project long developed and well thought out. I appreciate your desire to build yourself and film replica suit. I hope that program can be developed. But thank you for supporting the basic requirements. And support it fantastically you did! You have provided all required photos and few extra . Your armor contains all necessary elements for Expert Infantry. With that, I would like to welcome you to EIB! I will put your badge through. Your blaster has all the correct elements as well however, your action shot is pictured with a blaster that doesn't have power cylinders. Please take/submit a new pic with this so we can ad your suit to the archives! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: I am super jealous of the troopers capable or wearing this suit. You deserve it and it looks fantastic. This section is usually used for comment towards improving armor sets, but there really isn't a whole bunch to say here. Well done!! There was a concern with multiple helmets listed. At close review, only one helmet was ever worn for armor shots. The other helmet was just shared and is wicked cool! Thanks for doing that! Your blaster weathering took an incredible amount of talent. It is very innovative and unique. I am glad you went back and glossed up the grip. The only thing I would suggest is to hit all your bracket screws with some white paint. Centurion Suggestions: All aspects of your armor should be reflecting Centurion quality items. For this reason, please make sure that any picture you have of your blaster has those power cylinders on it. There should be no visible gaps between your kidney and ab. For your application, breathe out, suck it in and tighten that belt to make those sides all come together. Great overall work!! Thank you!

Hey there Ty!! Thank you for your application to EIB. It is a pleasure to look at your armor. You have a solid build and great details! Let's take a look at it!!! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: All required submission photos have been posted. Although your armor contains all required elements, sadly, your blaster does not. Both a Hengstler counter and power cylinders on the mag housing are required. You have the Hengstler but not the cylinders. Pop a set of those on your blaster, post a new pic and the badge is yours! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: We have some very good eyes here in this Detachment. I am proud of you guys! All this help is making the FISD look better and better. This section is to summarize the observations of your fellow troopers and to add mine all towards improving the overall look of your armor. Keep in mind that unless specifically stated, these suggestions will not affect any application. There was some mention to the broad look of your shoulder bells. ALthough I am a fan of the beefy trooper, it is possible to leave a bit too much on the bells making the suit look out of balance. Although you can leave it as is, I did several side by side comparisons with screen grabs. These comparisons show that you have just a little too much left at the top. The original shoulder bells were not trimmed along a straight line in the front. The were shaped to more follow the contour of the chest. In these shots, you can clearly see the top and bottom edges, but the center is hidden by the raised edge of the chest: Now, take a look at what I have drawn up as a possible cut line if you choose to do it.: If you decided to do this, the strap at the shoulder bridge would need to be shortened but I think this would make things look more balanced. I agree that your thighs should be worn a bit higher but hey, kids will be kids! Gotta love them!! I am sure you wear them properly under normal circumstances. You can dab a little black paint or marker on your thermal detonator screws if you want. Although not required, it does step up the accuracy. You have nice details painted on your helmet. The frown were often seen stopping at then continuing just past the 5th tooth indent. Your ends at it. This is also a suggestion. Your rear trap lines look a bit wonky. It was clear that when the originals were painted, a straight edge was used at both the top and bottom to keep these vent lines even. This can easily be touched up with some gray over the parts that extend past a straight line. Centurion Suggestions: With all the work and details you have put into your armor, I would hope to see a Centurion application from you. Your blaster will need those power cylinders. I would like to see the straps between your drop boxes and belt a bit shorter. The last thing is a little trimming on your back plate. You have a LOT of return edge left there under your arm. I marked off a n approximate trim line: A great overall job on your armor. Your Garrison should be proud. Pop on those power cylinders so I can add that badge to your name!!

That's really cool!! Be proud to show that off!! You are going to need to pick up a new set of mic tips. Those "things" that come with that helmet just don't cut it.

Thank you for the quick follow up, Jason!!! All requirements have been met so I would like to congratulate and welcome you to EIB!!!!! Nice work!

That right there is a STELLAR example of how it can look!!!

I wish I was 180lbs!!!!! In regards to acceptance, for basic approval, you can keep it as is. If you plan on applying for any accuracy badges like EIB or Centurion, those gaps will need to be bridged with ABS sheets or Shims as we will call it from now on. You can extend the ab, the kidney, or both but your goal will be to have a single seam between the kidney and the AB. Use a straight edge to trim the existing part and the shim so you have a but joint as perfect as possible. The shim will be sitting flush with the surface of the existing armor. Glue a connecting strip of ABS on the back side to join them. That's the easy part. To eliminate the seam you have created, you will need to fill it with ABS Paste made by mixing acetone with a messload of tiny abs scraps until it forms a past with toothpaste consistency. Spread this carefully and evenly into the seam. Acetone and armor don;t mix very well so make sure you are relatively precise when applying this to your seam. Fill your seam and blend the edges. to make sanding easier. Sand it down smoth. then polish it out with progressively finer grit sandpaper all the way up to 1000 or 1200 grit. Then polish it out with rubbing compound or Novus polish. You may need to go back and spot fill low spots to get it even, but once you are done, the seam will be close to unnoticeable.

First throw out your measurements. It is about how it feels and looks ON YOU!!! Get a helper. Put the thigh on and pull it up near your groin. Have your helper get behind you and squeeze the halves together until tight and the halves are overlapped. Then have them loosen the halves until it is comfortable with a little room to spare. Make sure this fit is consistent at the top and at the knee. Once you have the fit that is comfortable on you, have your helper continue to hold the parts in their place and mark a line down the middle of the back of your thigh. Make sure this is someway marked on both halves so you can mark and trim this line when you remove the thigh. Use a straight edge to mark your final lines prior to cutting so you get an even butt joint.

There is no rush and we aren't going anywhere. !! Good luck!

Hey Jason: Thank you for your application for Expert infantry. I have always loved AP armor and you have a really nice overall build. Well done! So let's look at your armor!! CRL and EIB Application Requirements: Again, you have a very nice overall build. Well detailed at fitted. There are a couple points that, unfortunately that do not pertain to your armor, that need to be addressed before we can move forward with your EIB badge. First off as a couple missing pics. The first one is necessary for the EIB archives. It was brought up that although not required for basic approval, a weapon IS required for accuracy badges here. As a result, your action shot needs to have you holding a weapon if it is going to be added to the archives. As you retake that shot, take and post an additional close-up shot of your hovi tips. The other point has to do with your Hasbro blaster. Although you have the conversion kit in place and added the extra "T" tracks as required, it is also required to remove the lowest "T" track from the magazine side of the blaster to look like you see here: Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: Any suggestions made in this section go towards improving the overall appearance of your armor. Unless specifically stated, these will not affect any application. I really have nothing to add here. Like I said, you have a very nice, detailed build. If I was forced to say anything it would be that the outline on your left side ear rank area is a little thick. You NAILED the right side. Lastly, a couple strategically placed drops of superglue can help keep your mouth screen in place more securely than blue tape. Centurion Suggestions: If there is a Centurion application in your future, there are a couple things that need to be upgraded before that can happen. First is the need to upgrade your blaster to a Sterling based pipe build, or Doopy full Kit. Thank you for posting the pic showing the proper position of your drop boxes. IF you do apply, make sure your full body shots represent your drop boxes positioned with the outer edge aligning with the outer edge of the belt. Next are your shoulder bells. They do look a lot better where they are on your latest pictures rather than the earlier ones where they are being pushed up. But in those top pics, it shows that the straps connecting your bells are really long. The shoulder bells should be very close if not touching the ribbed shoulder bridges. A little adjustment to the length of these straps and you are there. Lastly are your side shims. AP is definitely armor for the exceptionally thin trooper so many who choose AP need to install side shims. I see two things that need repair. Although I can't clearly see your left side, the right side shows that your shim was glued to the inside of the kidney. To greatly improve the look of this, your shim should be trimmed to create a nice butt joint seam with the surface of the kidney then glued from the back so the surface of both the kidney and shim are the same. See this diagram: Once the shim is in it's proper place, the seam can be filled with ABS paste, sanded and polished smooth. The next thing are your left side split rivet locations. You have the rivets on your kidney mounted to the original ab location and not on the shim making the rivets way too far apart. See the before and after pics; Before: After: Please contact me should you have any questions. With your talents, that blaster repair should take you 30 minutes and with the added pics we can move on to your badge!!!

Well this has been an interesting ride! I need to commend you and all the troopers that have been making themselves more aware of details that make applications look both proper and awesome all at the same time. This is why I usually wait a couple days to do reviews. I am really glad you chose to add your Doopy blaster and a fine one it is! When it comes down to it, a great application starts with a great set of armor.....something else we have here!! Let's take a look!!! CRL and EIB Apllication Requirements: Just to clarify, bucket off pics are only required for basic armor approval with GML's. We don;t need bucket off pics because we already know we are the sexiest looking of all the detachments!! Let's not rub that in, guys! ANYWAY!!!!!! I am just taking room here because this exceptional build has little to discuss!! You have submitted all required photos and you armor has all elements to qualify for EIB. With that, I would like to congratulate and welcome you to Expert Infantry!!! Other-Armor Fit/Assembly: Any suggestions in this section are made towards an overall improvement to the trooper's armor and, unless specifically stated, will not affect any application. There isn't a lot to discuss here. You have made an example of what the MTK armor should look like. Your paintwork is well done. It's all about the details and you nailed it. There were some mention of a misalignment of your side. That's not going to affect anything. I am glad I don;t have more to discuss. Centurion Suggestions: I assume that we will be seeing this application from you. Tim had brought up something regarding your kidney notch. Perhaps it's just the camera angle that makes your appear a little small, but if you look here:The notch actually goes in a little deeper than you have yours. This one here goes back to just beyond the rivet depth. I think if you just sent in a could more millimeters, it would look a little bigger. I know the MTK kidney doesn't go as far below the ab as the original one did but you work with what you have. A Note: Ian had originally applied with a Hasbro blaster with the Doopy upgrades. It was lacking a couple "T" tracks and a little debate over the directions the CRL provided regarding this ensued. Since then, the CRL has been updated to clarify the requirements for the Hasbro mods. Ian then switched his pics to have the full Doopy E-11 kit.

This sums up everything we do, guys and girls.

Don't know why this has not made it here yet because it is viral. The Midwest Garrison did a troop visiting kids at Lurie Childrens Hospital in Chicago.

Just giving Marc a little guff. Troop on, Marc!!!!!

Well done getting the info before cutting!!!

That's how it usually starts, young man! But Tim speaks wise words regarding your research. The proper armor for your body type will make the process go much better. This type of investment is definitely something where you want to have have a solid plan of attach and NOT figure it out as you go.

Great idea!! Now glue those shoulder bridges down!!!

With all RS builds I gave done, the shoulder bells have been identified by their overall shape. When trimmed on the mold lines, edge facing the chest piece has always been curved to follow the curvature of the side of the chest. The back of the bell was more vertical. That's just how I identified them and it seemed to work. Bravo on your paint work!!! Your skills and training overtook your nerves. Well done! You will have no problems with your approval