sharkbait

To my eyes, your squared toes don't look too far off from the round-ish TK Boots I have (which are approved)- yours aren't a sharp square, and the traditional aren't a solid round shape, but like a rounded square. I would run that by your GML prior to making a decision, however. Also, if you were going for EIB or Centurion, I would run it past one of those guys first, to see what they say. As to your second question: go matte. The old original style boots with the seam were glossy looking, and nowadays glossy tends to look like cheap costume boots. Plus, all current TKs I've seen have matte boots (also including myself). They start a bright matte, but they're definitely matte.

In terms of basic assembly for any detonator, I left one of my end caps unglued- my idea was I could put my keys or other small objects in there while trooping. I have done that exactly once, but the idea was sound . It would be useful if you had an area where bin storage wasn't optimally secure and you wanted to keep your keys and cash on you. Though a detonator would be the first thing a kid might steal (I say this because I have stolen TKs detonators while trooping my Jawa so I can attest to their vulnerability). So that was likely entirely unhelpful. Actually helpful note would be putting the soft fuzzy size of white velcro onto the back of the clips so they won't scratch up the kidney plate.

I used a cheap motorcycle shield. I think I used dark smoke, or smoke, all brands call it something different (BiLT is a cheap one by Cycle Gear, if you have those where you are). Just find the cheapest one your local motorcycle store has, trace your old lenses on it with a sharpie, then use a dremel with a cutting wheel and cut out the lenses. Dremels like to jump when doing thsi kind of thing, I will warn you, though, so slow and steady wins the race. Alternatively, if you can find material thin enough, you can use lexan or tin snips to cut them out.

Welcome! Bar heater, huh? Well, we all have our mishaps. Here's to more troops and no complications!

I would also add (if someone has already then I second it)- check out the EIB and Centurion applications for those with your armor maker. Tons of close-up shots for all those details, and if they've been approved, then you know they're fine to emulate.

If you can get your TK armor on completely by yourself- my hats off you to! I can do everything but my shoulder bells connections. Very good advice! Yes, yes, you can never have too many clamps, or magnets. But especially clamps.

Welcome! Glad you figured out one of the secrets is looking at Centurion applications for your armor maker. That stuff is gold!

Welcome!

Looking pretty good! Glad to see another ESB TK coming down the pike.

Darman's neck seals are great. I have one from Trooperbay.com, which I love- they go up to 19'' neck and will do custom orders if your size isn't listed. As to boots, I checked Imperialboots.com for you, but unfortunately theirs only go to US 12. Other than TK Boots (which I have) I'm not aware of any other white boot vendors... People have gone for the black Chelsea boot and painted it white with leather paint. It will require touch up, but if need be, it'd get you into some boots. TK Boots are custom made for them, last I heard at least, so you might want to reach out and see if they could make a larger pair. Worth a shot, at least. Good luck!

I used nylon webbing, Tandy Line 10 snaps and E6000- when I do any other builds with snaps I plan to use the same method. I also used my soldering iron with a pointed tip to make a nice clean hole to put the snap through. Also you'll need to burn the cut edges of the nylon with either a lighter or a soldering iron to prevent fraying. Here's my snapping system, I probably went a little overboard, but it works well for me: I also have a snap connection to each shoulder bell from the shoulder bridge connection, and a snap connection from the shoulder bell to bicep, and bicep to forearm. That way I pull on my entire arm armor in on go on each side- very convenient.

Welcome to the ranks! Great tips, too.

I've heard plenty of bad things about Jedi-Robe, but I don't know much about returns... generic advice would be to stay on them and don't let them get away with anything; you'll likely eat the shipping, which sucks, but could be a lot worse. Good luck, regardless! Let us know what happens.

I also second trimming all return edges from the bottom of your thighs- it's not visibly noticeable when wearing it and it will also help prevent armor bites and digging in to the back of your knee (painful, to say the least, I speak from experience). Feel free to post in progress pictures if you'd like more guidance. The EIB and Centurion application threads are also a great resource for close up shots.

That helmet is definitely wonky, as others have said, the teeth really jump out at me. The chest looks a little "space boobs" of the AM 1.0 era (AM did a 2.0 and fixed that; that's what I wear), but then in other photos they look like they have soft details (possibly indicative of recasting, but I make no comment one way or the other; that's a can of worms I'm not even going to touch). The angles pointed out also worry me- cracking and just why is it angled? I personally see too much work and scrapping the helmet all together. I say stay away.

I agree the torso looks a little long. I'd try raising it up first, then cutting if more shortening is needed (top is easiest to trim, because you won't see it, and the cod remains proportional to the rest of the suit). Also a very common problem is that your sniper plate wants to go under your thigh piece- I've had it, I've know at least four other TKs with this issue, it's just a thing. We all used the same trick- fold up a cheap washcloth (like from the dollar store) or medium-to-high density craft foam (if you have any lying around), tape it up (white duct tape- a necessary standard for any TK bin), and then tape it in the front of the shin. It will punch out the sniper plate and keep it from going under the thigh. This can also happen if your thighs are a bit big- the more fitted they are, the less you have to punch out the sniper plate. How much extra room do you have in the forearms? They look like they could be taken in a little (not too much- you want to be able to get your hand through). Also, huzzah, another ESB!

Seconding all the cautions to be very careful when working with a heat gun- it's all true, and definitely practice on a scrap piece. I have a cheapie from Harbor Freight, it has high and low. I couldn't begin to tell you the actual temps, but both are pretty hot (ie don't stick your hand directly in front of it). The biggest trick is to KEEP MOVING. Don't let the gun sit steady and hover over any given spot of armor- yes, this is tempting because it makes the process go faster, but it also ruins things that much faster. Move it back and forth like a pendulum swing. Also don't get too close to the armor in question- same temptations and reasons as above. I'd recommend no less than six inches from your armor piece, preferably eight to ten inches. I use mine in combination with a clamp to get my forearms to a more circular shape when they want to go oval on me (so far a once a year thing for me). I tried the hot water trick, which works if you only need a little bend; I needed significantly more and the hot water trick just didn't hold. What armor piece are you trying to work with? That also makes a different. There are also heat irons, but I personally didn't have any luck with one and prefer the gun. It's all personal preference. Also, if inexperienced, the heat iron is used directly on the armor, while the gun is not. Food for thought there.

I got my decals from Trooperbay- I believe these were it: https://trooperbay.com/esb-helmet-decals. WTF helmets aren't specifically listed, so I would email them and ask if they'd fit. As to mike tips, I found these on Trooperbay as well- https://trooperbay.com/mike-tips. They appear to be "correct" at first glance. I did speaker versions from Ukswrath, but I ultimately found them too quiet. I don't know enough about WTF TK helmets to tell you if the tips that came with it (if they did come with it) are accurate or not. Good luck!

58. Clovis Children's Electric Christmas Parade, Clovis - 12/2 First TK on the left, with the reindeer antlers and red nose. (You can't really see it in this picture, but my blaster has white lights on it and a giant red bow, as well). Reindeer TK has now become a Christmas tradition.

57. Heroes for the Cause Blood Drive, Fresno - 11/4 Second from the right.

56. Zoo Boo at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo - Day 1, Fresno - 10/20 We all know Darth Revan is part of the #NotVader Club, but did you know he's also part of the Not Kylo Ren Club, too? This little kid, dressed as Kylo, runs up to us and yells "Darth Vader!" His mom looks at us and says, "No, dummy, that's Kylo Ren!" We had a good laugh about that.

55. CenCal MDA Muscle Walk, Clovis - 9/23 Middle. I did a bucket-off interview that never saw the light of day (probably for the better, I'm not good when my face is showing), but we did get about 1.5 seconds of fame on the evening news that night!

54. Lemoore Naval Base NEX Cares, Lemoore - 9/16 I'm going to need those TPS reports ASAP... So, if you could do that, that would be great. This picture is even better when you actually work in an office, like I do.

53. Be Your Own Hero Walk/Run, Hanford - 8/27 Selfie with a fellow TK! On the left.

52. Weekend Blender (Summer), Clovis - and induction of Margo Apostolos (Tokkat the Archer Ewok) as an Honorary 501st Member! - 8/12 Left, by Boba Fett. Rumor has it we had all four California Garrisons represented that day!