maxsteele

I can't tell from the distance of the pics, but did you completely cut off the square cut area on the kidney? This is what the NE kidney looks like before it's trimmed: And this is what it looks like after it's trimmed out: I trimmed a bit more where I took out the return edge along the vertical edge, but kept it at the square notch:

Yeah, I don't see any issue with your shins. I did not cut mine like that, but there isn't a problem with them cut like that. Here's a screencap: As for the 3 bumps for a Hero helmet, it's only required to have 3 bumps for EIB and higher certification. Base approval for ANH Hero can be 3 or 4 bumps. I say you build the helmet with 4 bumps, and swap out the ears with a 3 bump version later when you want to get EIB.

I'm curious - what does the fitting of your ab plate look like if you bring the cod piece up to cover the spot it should be covering?

Yeah, I've got about 2 inches on you height-wise, and didn't have this issue with the cod and chest plate. I'm not really sure about that gap you have at the bottom of the cod. It could be height-related. I cut out the return edge at the neck line for my chest plate. You could do this as well and then you'll be able to bring the chest plate up higher, which would possibly let you bring the ab plate up higher. I didn't cut any of the shoulder part off the chest or the back. I would suggest that you get the ab / kidney / back plates all lined up and fitting well before any further modification to the chest plate. You just can't tell how the chest will sit until those parts are done. Definitely cut the flashing off of the sides of the chest like you marked, if you haven't already. If I'm reading your previous post correctly, you used a heat gun to shape the chest plate to fit, but you didn't have the ab plate in place when you did so? The chest plate doesn't form to your chest, but sits over the ab plate, which is where you'd want the fit to be. As for the "crookedness" of the chest plate, that's just the way these asymmetrical TK suits are You can certainly bring down the biceps and raise up the forearms. It's better to have a gap at the wrists than at the elbows (ignore my glove bunching down at the wrists and the position of my hand guards. I fixed that by tucking my gloves into my undersuit and making sure the hand guard were on properly). You'll want to have a piece of elastic that connects the forearms to the biceps. That will solve the gap issue completely at the elbow and then you can play with where you want your biceps to sit. I'm not sure I'm seeing an issue with the width of your chest plate. But it may be a bit misshapen after heat bending it without the ab plate underneath it.

Coming together! You'll have a better idea how the chest and back are fitting when you get them strapped to the top of the ab / kidney, and have the ab / kidney connection finished.

Derek, those look like great lines for trimming the AM back and chest plates. Do you know if cutting them in this manner brings them up to Centurion certifications?

I built my ATA helmet first. It came out fine. Just go at your own pace, work on what you feel comfortable working on, and have fun!

Yep, flare at the bottom = left shoulder. I cut off about 3 mm on Steve's cut line from each shoulder. I prefer the bottom of the shoulders sticking out from the biceps vs. completely flush against them. Both types were seen on-screen: Shoulders sticking out: Shoulders flush with biceps:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=hyperfirm

Congrats on your TK ID! Get out there and enjoy trooping! I'm looking forward to seeing your EIB application.

Definitely want the thumb print bicep on your left arm.

You may have gone a bit too small on the tears and traps: I did the same thing on the tears with my ATA helmet: Here is the same tear after I made it larger (Apologies for the blur. If you need a clearer shot, I can take another one):

You are 100% correct. That is not the AM or AM2 back plate. I didn't realize there were different versions of NE that went out. Now that I think about it, I believe I recall a post where it was mentioned NE kits were getting a mix of AM and NE parts before NE production was completely stopped. That's probably the kit you have. And yep, left forearm and right forearm have different shapes. Welcome to the asymmetry of Stormtrooper armor. Boy, you dove in with both feet on this build! You sure you haven't done this before?

As far as I knew, there was only one version of NE, which is what I received back in August 2013. I believe what you have is the AM2 armor. It will be real easy to tell if you could take a couple of pics of your back plate. NE back plates look completely different than AM or AM2 back plates.

Make sure to line the forearm pieces at the elbow end and cut off any excess on the wrist end. You won't have excess on the dimples side, it'll come off the other piece. I believe you've already moved past this part of the cutting, but I wanted to tell you there are "formed ridge lines" on the front cover strip areas of both forearms. You can see them in my build thread on this post, which is showing the left forearm: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24804-maxsteeles-new-ne-armor-build/page-3#entry318110 The formed ridge lines of the right forearm are less pronounced than the left, but they are there. I would have suggested to cut those parts back to measure about 7mm from the bend to the edge, which will take a 15mm cover strip. Then measure the back cover strip area the way you did and mark where to cut across from the front cut. From your pics, the trimming looks fine. You most likely have larger forearms than I have, which isn't too hard.

I know what you mean! I found a good way for myself to get the lower parts on. After I get the thighs in place and strapped up, I put my boots on. I twist the left thigh to the left, and the right thigh to the right, which gives me some more room to bend down and help with getting the boots on. After that the shins go into place. I bend over to the left to reach around the back of my left shin to attach the velcro, then I bend over to the right to reach around the back of my right shin. After those are in place, I straighten myself out and adjust the thighs so they're in the proper position.

There are lots of NE builds on the forums here. I would suggest to follow those instead of Pandatrooper's AM build. With your dimensions, be prepared to cut off a lot of plastic! I assembled an NE kit myself. I'm 5' 10" and 170 lbs, and I trimmed quite a bit. Take your time, ask questions, and get answers before you cut if you're not sure. Above all, have fun!

The thighs are in the proper place in your new pic. Your shins can come down over your boots more. As Dizzy said, use the stirrup system, or put a piece of Velcro on the outside front of your boot and the inside of the shin to hold them down.

Simple - drop the thighs down, take pics, get approval, then wear them how you wish. Your thighs are not too high. We can't see in that shot what the gap between the bottoms of your thighs and the tops of the knees are. If that's too big, then you should drop down the thighs. But that's an easy fix to get base approval from your CO.

Trimming the tops of your thighs will not affect EIB or Centurion. Not having a return edge on your thighs will not affect EIB or Centurion. It's all about the look. If the look is right, then you're good. I trimmed the inside of both my thighs, removing the return edge and trimming it down so it wouldn't rub against my cod piece. I kept the return edge and the length on the outside parts, as I did not need to trim those parts. However, I will stress that I wouldn't cut anything from the tops of your thighs until you get the snaps and the harness installed. You cannot know how the thighs will look and fit until you have that in place. If after you do the thigh garter and still feel the thighs need to be trimmed, then that's what you'll need to do. But don't do it before then.

Nope. The shins are supported by your boots. I used a piece of velcro on the front of the boot and the inside front of the shin to keep them in place because mine wouldn't sit down around the boot and shifted. But most people don't use anything.

Yes, I'd like to repeat the point that Derrek is making. Your suit is looking good! 95% of the people that see you will think: "Wow! A real Stormtrooper!" . They won't say: "That cover strip could probably be a little wider". I don't think there will be any issue with base approval. Looking forward to your trooping pics!

Yeah, I agree with Derrek... I think you could make the cover strips wider, to completely span the raised edge on the back of the shins, and replace the black elastic with white. The front cover strips on the shins look like the right width, but they are a different size (smaller) when compared to the front cover strips of the thighs. What are the widths of the front shin and thigh cover strips? With the thigh cover strips specifically, The front strips seem wider than the back strips. We normally see the thinner cover strips in the front and the larger strips in the back. I'm not sure how your fit is on the thighs and if the current cuts would allow this or not.

Nothing to say here but "Great job!"

I'm using mich pads for my helmet. One side of those pads acts as fuzzy Velcro, so I stuck the hook Velcro inside my helmet and I can adjust the pads.