hjmediastudios

Dang; and I'm just about ready to submit my application with a crummy ol' ANH trooper... In all seriousness, though, I'm really liking the look of the "standard" trooper. It looks more like a concept render than a final product, but so far it definitely captures the essence of the TK helmet while still looking like a natural evolution. The snowtrooper variant seems very unfinished, though; the final version will almost certainly have far more detail, if it isn't a completely different design.

I'll wait until I see a photo, not just a loose-impressions sketch, before really paying much attention to the new design. Although it is great to know that there will be troopers!

Try contacting slavefive; I got a reply within a day and the E-11 I ordered came within a week with great communication on all points. I'm not sure if there's any stock left of the DL-19s, though.

I'm about done, actually; I managed to find a post here on FISD selling gently-used armor right when I decided to take the plunge. (I'd like to do otherwise, but between school, work, and military obligations my life is going to be fairly hectic for the next several years.) So the actual armor part of my build should consist solely of touch-ups, repairs, and adjustments to fit. I've got all of the accessories ready and I'm working on scratch-building a game-style pack. That bit is taking a tad longer than usual due to the fact that I'm trying to make it fairly functional with storage space and an integrated Camelbak bladder that snakes along the pack straps for longer troops. Anyway, I look forward to trooping with you! If you've got any questions about building the pack, let me know- I know Dirty Boy on the MEPD forum does great work, but if you're interested in a game-style pack instead, I can (hopefully) provide some tips.

I'm working on an HWT as well, and here it says that the light scuffing/weathering of an HWT is required only for EIB approval, not basic approval.

I've worked a lot with 3D printing and I honestly don't think anything that's printed would be comparable to a vacuum-formed product. On the other hand, I could see 3D printing be excellent to produce a form for vacuum-forming or molding, especially with some touch-up, or to produce some of the finicky little details that are hard to come by normally.