AngryEwok

Thanks for the encouragement, Sly! This weekend I drove down to Montgomery to get help from Jim Summerlin (TK 24233 / Centurion #385) on fine-tuning the fit lengthwise of my thighs and we also attached snaps to my Kittel belt. I'm a short dude with short legs and so a lot of additional trimming was necessary to get a good fit. Jim was really patient with me, I couldn't have done this part without help. I'll spare the world the in-progress pictures as they aren't flattering. Haha... Stupidly, I drove two hours down there and forgot my cover strips, but the main purpose of my going down there was the fit, so we're good. Next step is to glue the thighs. Then I think I'll go ahead and install the garter system. I also need to go ahead and put chicago screws in the E-11 holster.

Slow going, but going. I stopped by Christian's house this Saturday and Robo (pictured) and I worked primarily on the thighs and shins but also brought in the biceps a touch. I believe I've got the butt plate starting to take shape, a little, too. The shoulders, arms, and legs are just free-floating in this picture and so nothing is sitting right. The thighs were also taped low and insanely tight by my wife, who has no idea what she's doing (but neither do I, bless it). I believe it might be necessary to trim another .5" off of the bottom of the shins and it'd be great if I could get the forearms just a pinch shorter but I know I have to be careful trimming anymore there. In two weeks, I'll be headed to Jim Summerlin (TK 24233 / Centurion #385)'s house to take a look at my shim situation and other Centurion -related issues (although I'm starting to lose confidence in getting Centurion -approved, I still want to try to get this costume as accurate as I can).

Thank you! We will try adjusting the straps and if worse comes to worse, reshaping!

Last night, I trimmed about 1.5" off of the top of my thighs and will probably need to trim a half inch or so off of the shins. I feel like I'm getting closer to the right fit and need to be careful about trimming much more off. I'll be using Pencap510's garter system which will keep the thighs up and in place (the painter's tape wasn't doing much good). One question I do have is regarding the butt plate. Is there some sort of trick to shaping the buttplate or pinning it down so that it doesn't hang out like an oversized diaper?

A buddy in the garrison invited me over to his shop this weekend to help me move forward on the TK build. We went ahead and did the velcro assembly and I think I'll switch to poppers once we've adjusted the fitting. It isn't much, but this is more progress than I've been able to make by myself for some time, so I felt really encouraged. I absolutely cannot stress how terrible I am at costuming. My homework this week will be to replace the shoulder straps with the correct white nylon, attach the covers, and get my Kittel belt ready. The sooner I can get this torso fitted correctly, the sooner I will know (1) what I'm looking at, in terms of shims (2) how much to trim the thighs, and then the legs will basically be done.

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy trooping (I just trooped four events the past three days, making for 20 troops for the year and something like 80 hours this year in armor). Unfortunately, I lost Jon as my attaché and so the build got sidelined for a minute as I'm at the place now where I'll need a hand fitting the legs to size. I'm really thankful for the time Jon was able to invest in this project of mine, he was also a source of a lot of encouragement. I have zero skill or love for making costumes, I just love trooping, and so fellow members of the Alabama Garrison are moving in to help me finish this build before the new CRL kicks in (I should be grandfathered in). My E-11 from Imperial Warfighters arrived and because I'm just having a great year, so far, it arrived broken in a few places. The trigger is about to fall out, the ammo counter isn't secure, the front sights are broken, and the rail isn't secured. IW is shipping out some parts to make a repair on the front sights and has filed a claim for the damage.

Safe travels on the move, Joseph! You'll be a huge asset to your new garrison!

Shame y'all can't all sign with a bamboo pen.

I see they are just as reliable with distributing e-mails as they are their product. I haven't seen this "apology" in my inbox and I waited fourteen months for a TK kit, received two TK kits, and a year later was asked if I still wanted one. They have great products, in my experience, glad to hear they're finally aware of their reputation in the community with regards to pre-orders.

Fellow 5'6 170-ish, following with interest!

Can't wait to get my E-11 from Imperial Warfighters!

So I'm about 5'6 or so, meaning the thighs are probably about an inch or two too long. Here are some concerns I have: Should I have the body pretty much finished before I begin trimming length off of the legs? Should the inner strips of the thighs be glued in place before I begin trimming to fit me lengthwise? In order to trim off the top, have I got the right idea of where to trim the thighs lengthwise? Notice the double line indicates where I will attempt to form a new return edge on the outsides of the thighs.

How's this? Thanks again,

I'm pretty happy with this. But is it Centurion worthy? Do note the pieces are not glued in place, I just put them there for the picture.

Boring update... first inner strip on the right shin is down. Will glue inner strip of left shin tonight.