sharkbait

Welcome aboard! I'm honored to have inspired you! Selfishly that will also help my motivation to really get cracking on her, once again! She's certainly not an easy build, but I have never heard anyone say she's not worth it. I look forward to your progress! I have a KB kit- I got a little caught in the mess they had, but I did in fact get my armor, and I'm happy with it. I have a friend and new fellow Squad mate who also has KB for his TLJ TK, he got in after the mishaps, and got his kit in a couple of weeks (insanity!). He's also done and approved already. So now he's going to help me instead of the other way around, hahaha! @LadyInWhite is roughly local to you- So Cal at least (which I realize is large- I'm from the Central Valley CA). I'm 5'11, so we're not too far of in height. KB should have no problems for you at your height. Jimmi makes a nice kit, but he is a smaller guy and I've noted his various kits reflect that (you build what you know- makes sense). His is also fiberglass v. KB is ABS, and I personally think ABS is easier to work with and I prefer it. Shawn Thorrson also does Phasma kits now, too! I know next to nothing about them other than his has a helmet and KB's doesn't. But I have his helmet. As far as shoes go, if you want lifts (at your height, with any normal boot heel, plus a little added from the helmet dome, you don't need to if you don't want to), then I would recommend something with a lace up front- the laces will get covered by the (TFA) boot armor, and thus be CRL compliant, and they will also give your foot room to rise up with the lifts. I don't think the TLJ foot armor would completely cover, however, so that's really an option for TFA only. I'm not as well-versed on TLJ as I am on TFA, though. PayLess if going out of business, but that's where I snagged mine, for like $20. I plan to use my TK undersuit, which is a black compression shirt and pants. They're pretty available in a lot of sizes- just do a google search and you should find some options (Eastbay tops I like, and I have a random brand pants I found on Amazon; I might switch to Men's because women's tend to be smaller fits). I'd recommend not the winter variety, as the suit will be hot enough as it is. Moisture wicking is a plus. (I actually need to replace a pair of my TK understuit paints, ended up with a hole right on the butt, which I found at a troop, but thankfully the armor covered it, so if I find a good option I'll drop you a line). I just ordered Jessica's cape and belt this morning! So excited! She's doing a very small run of up to 5 right now, so if you're able, jump on that quickly (Facebook, Jessica Bowyer). If not, there are other options and she will do other runs in the future, too. Not to totally plug my own stuff, but my ESB TK build will have some cross-cover as far as supplies, tools, etc. Harbor Freight clamps for the win! Love those things. I'd recommend investing in a real Dremel, not an off brand (or at least not the $30 ones from Amazon), as I've now burned out two of them over three years (though not a terrible run). I'm doing pretty good on the basics, just don't ask me how to build her... still pretty such on that part!

I'm an ESB Centurion, but I have an AM kit, and got my decals from TrooperBay. TrooperBay is pretty cool- if you drop them a line asking which ones will fit Walt's, they'll let you know. They might even make a set for Walt's if they don't have one already (they're making Walt's Inferno decals after a convo I had with them).

70. Able Advocates Pancake Breakfast, Fresno - 4/6 OT TK in the middle. Photo by Brett Schönwald Photography

I think he actually escaped that that night! But I'm pretty sure Niner got called Vader at least once.

Looking good! The only thing I noticed was already touched on, that the belt boxes hang at the end of the belt, rather than the end of the angle cut.

I knew I recognized that TKID... Looking good! Keep up the good work! I'm working on ideas for how to reduce the bunching on the gaskets.

My fans have always lasted great on 9V- I get at least one long troop (3+ hrs), or two to three shorter (2 - 3 hrs each) out of them. Beginning to think I'm an anomaly...

Welcome aboard! As everyone said, your local Garrison will guide you through the local event process, their forums, etc. Once you're trooping, don't forget to start a Troop Log to show off your troops! (Field Training Exercises)

AM is best suited for larger/bigger troopers, and they do sell parts. I have their full kit and highly recommend them. Also, Gary knows what he's talking about, so he'll guide you well! (We're Garrison-mates and we've also trooped together a few times. Tell him I said hi!)

While I second asking on the Clone forums, as they would know best, I would be cautious because EVA foam is not an allowed material for 501st approval. So I'm not sure if that would mean that it could be used at all, even if as a base.

Honestly it depends on who's working customs that day. I've had stuff sit for hours, days, a week once.

Since everyone's already caught every (pretty minor) thing I caught, I will just add that your sniper plate is wanting to tuck under your thigh. This is incredibly common, and I've dealt with it myself. The fix is easy: take a cheap washcloth (like from the Dollar Store), fold it up and wrap it up in duct tape. Duct tape that package into the top front of your shin behind the sniper plate. Done. The washcloth punches out the sniper plate just that little bit needed to keep it from tucking under the thigh. It will also prevent it from catching and potentially popping off due to pressure from the thigh coming down on it when walking. Good luck! Looking good! I expect to see EIB and possibly Centurion shots from you in the future.

The unit maps are updated periodically, but aren't up to the minute, so it's very likely whoever updates the maps just hasn't been able to update it yet. I would reach out to whomever your local 501st members are, be it an Outpost, Garrison, or Squad- they're all official units and should be able to offer local assistance. Outposts are smaller units, Garrisons are 25+ people, Squads are subsets of Garrisons with 15+ people.

Welcome aboard!

I used Rustoleum 2x in glossy black. I did this before the helmet was fully assembled, and taped off the edges and eyes with green frog tape. I used a bit of Play Doh on the outside of the teeth to keep over spray from there (not needed if teeth aren't already cut out). Use more tape than that, though, I had over spray. But mineral spirits took it right off.

They're selling off the last of their stock, so yes, they exist, but in limited capacity. But if you find your size, snag it! They're great stuff, I wish I had bought a second pair when I had the chance.

Welcome aboard!

In order of completion: ESB TK, Jawa, TIE Reserve, ROTJ Crewman, Staff Officer, Shadow Scout, Gunner, ANH TIE Pilot, Warrant Officer, and Social Officer (Version 2). Total of six Detachments (FISD, Krayt, JRS, IOC, Spec Ops, and IGC). I collect Detachments like I collect patches. Someday I will have BHG and MEPD. I'd love SL but there's just not currently a costume in there I really want to do (maybe the new movies will bring something for me). In progress: Phasma, Line Officer (rank bars and hat), Admiral Daala (rank bars), Warrant Officers Versions 2 and 3 (I just have to get a chance to take photos of those two). The easiest way to rank up detachments and costumes is to look for "gimme" costumes- costumes or variants you can do based on stuff you already have in a different order or combination, or with a small, easy, and/or cheap addition (Daala I just needed silver hair clips from the Line Officer, for example). (If you have Jack boots, those do some 10+ costumes between the Legions for example). Or costumes that are dual Legion- like Krayt costumes and Boushh. It's become a running joke between three of us in the Squad- I have 10, BensID39999 has 14, and Fixer has 16. I needle them and tell them I'm catching up. Except Fixer is a machine, so there's no catching up with him (and that's just 501st- he also has a couple Rebel Legion ones and a Mando). BensID39999 has a few Rebel Legion. I have three Rebel Legion- Willrow, Jawa (dual) and Jedi.

Congratulations and welcome!

...I have ten costumes. And five actively in the works. They're like potato chips- you can't have just one! Beware the costuming bug addiction!

Hello and welcome! Looks like everyone else beat me to the Getting Started section, but they're right- that's your best bet for, well, getting started. Also check out the Build Thread sections to see what others are up to and what you'll be working with. Also as said above, feel free to ask all the questions- that's what we're here for!

I run my fans off of 9V batteries, I get about 1 - 2 troops, sometimes 3 depending on length, out of each battery. The noise is there but I can still hear just about as well as I would with just the bucket on (which does reduce some hearing). It's lightyears better than when I ran them off of those 12V blue rechargables from eBay (China). I couldn't hear a thing and thought that's how it was. When they kept dying on me, I switched to 9V and lo and behold- I can hear AND the fans are still working for their intended purpose. I buy 9Vs in bulk from Amazon (Amazon Basics) for pretty cheap.

How do you delete attachments on these forums? Ages ago I accidentally uploaded some, and now I can't find a way to delete them. And they keep popping up in the post, too. I didn't mean to put my screenshot of the split screen I was working on when doing my troop log in my troop log post, .

69. Sequoia Symphony - Great Movies, Great Music, Visalia - 3/2 Batman is none other than SL-81211, who is also the Symphony's Executive Director.

Welcome aboard!