TheRascalKing

It sounds like you are welcome to form a fire team, but the terms "Red Fury" and "709th Legion" would not be acceptable for inclusion in the name, as they are in use by D/LFL.

Some quick notes if I haven't addressed these concerns before in my thread: - All of the images contained in my Troop Log should be fine to share on any Club social media channels with proper credit - for Mission Report photos, I don't tend to credit photographers, but definitely on any artsy or photoshoot ones. I can provide TKIDs of all troopers by request. - I make a concerted effort not to intentionally show the faces of minor children in any of my shared photos without either express or reasonably assumed consent of their parent, so it's often just our Mission Report photo with just the 501st or all club troopers, not fan interactions. When there are minor children in the photo, our wranglers/handlers/squires are good about asking "Can I get one for our club socials?" or "Is this okay to share?"/etc when taking photos. If there is any question of consent, I try to blur or sticker over their faces or crop them out if they are in the foreground. While laws vary by country, I suggest strongly that this be a best practice for everyone!

*Unofficial - Live Like Jojo Foundation Walk Launch & Volunteer Rally - Aliso Viejo, CA - Sat. 5/4/24 Unfortunately, this event was unable to be picked up as an official troop due to the overwhelming number of submissions, but we ended our May the 4th by supporting the Live Like Jojo Foundation's Walk Launch & Volunteer Rally. The actual Walk itself in the fall will be an official event, but the Rally was Star Wars-themed and our last troop was 10min away, so we stopped by to show our support.

90. Star Wars Day - Mission Viejo Library - Mission Viejo, CA - Sat. 5/4/24 (ANH-S #60, FTE #69) Pretty funny - one of our photos from last year's event (FTE #57) was on the poster for this year!

89. Orange Chamber Of Commerce May Parade - Orange, CA - Sat. 5/4/24 (ANH-S #59, FTE #68)

88. Top of the World Elementary May the 4th Be With You Assembly - Laguna Beach, CA - Fri. 5/3/2024 (ANH-S #58, FTE #67)

87. California Elementary May the 4th Event - Costa Mesa - Fri. 5/23/24 (ANH-S #57, FTE #66)

These have been over in the Pre-Approval forum for a bit, but I suppose I should post my photos now that I have been approved! I do intend to get back to updating this thread, as I'm feeling much more confident in sharing my build now that it is complete. I also am helping a few squadmates with their builds, which will afford me opportunities to take more photos of my process on subsequent go-arounds. I think it came out well enough and hope this thread has been helpful to others even in its current state, and I'll do my best to finish it out in the future.

86. Bradley's Honor Walk - Rancho Santa Margarita, CA - Sun. 4/21/24 (ANH-S #56, FTE #65) TK-61490 Celebrating TK-4/21 Day with TK-62345, SL-88667, TK-20413, and TK-50311 - we were at our post supporting organ donation awareness!

85. Comic Orange 2024 - Tustin, CA - Sat. 4/13/24 (ANH-S #55, FTE #64) Clowning around with TK-62345, @Dsposato0 Note that a change in my understanding of the rules for what counts as a "troop" within our Garrison has changed, and apparently we do get credit for events where we POC in an open-faced costume, so I added in an additional 3 troops to my overall count where I wore my Officer costume as POC for the event. I'll go back and fix all of the numbering at some point, but this post and my list on page 1 are accurate and it does not affect my total FTE's - I just use this single thread for all of my troops.

2024 *WonderCon 2024 - Anaheim, CA - Sat. 3/30/24 (ID & Lt. Gauge)

Congratulations, trooper!

Congratulations

Huge congrats dude! Looking awesome

Hey Jeff - I'm a fan of lexan shears for rough cutting (but it helps to have a couple different types/shapes of scissor because you will absolutely get blisters or hand cramps), then I smooth out my cuts with a belt sander and one of these big flappy wheels on a Dremel/rotary tool, and finish with emory boards for a smooth, pinch/bite-free, slightly-rounded edge. Links for inspiration, but shop around. Luckily on Anovos kits, the cut lines on the inside edge of the armor are easy and like 90% accurate if you're a standard sized trooper, so I usually mark them with a pencil, rough cut, then sneak up on my line with sanding. I only use a utility knife (AND A CUT GLOVE) and a metal ruler (with some magnets) to cut my coverstrips in straight lines really, which isn't needed for this kit (unless you make inner cover strips, which you should!). I know some people score-n-snap, but I haven't found many places on the armor that it's super practical/safe for me to do. Oh and wear a respirator. Hope that helps!

Hey Laura! Please submit your event request over at: https://www.501st.com/request.php This will route it to your nearest Garrison (local unit of the club) who can choose to accept it and potentially assign you a point of contact who will manage signups. Please be aware that depending on your location, the Garrison may already be well booked for that day, as it is our busiest day for event requests of the entire year - especially this year as it falls on a Saturday, and many hosts have submitted requests months in advance. Our club is of course all volunteer, but hopefully members in your area with the requested costumes are able to attend and support your charity event or future ones. If you'd like to share your general location, I can also link you to your local Garrison website in case you want to try reaching out more directly, but this forum is the international one just for stormtroopers and we do not coordinate appearances through this site. We do try to be helpful though, so welcome, good luck, and let us know if you have any other questions!

Mandatory Information Costume = Stormtrooper, The Last Jedi Costume CRL Link = https://databank.501st.com/databank/Costuming:TK_TLJ Name = Justin R. TKID = 61490 Forum Name = TheRascalKing Legion Profile = https://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=26076 Garrison/Squad = Southern California Garrison, Orange County Squad Armor = Denuo Novo Helmet = Anovos, TLJ (Standard) Optional Information Height = 5ft 11in, or 180cm Weight = 175lbs, or 80kg Neckseal & Gaskets = Sheev's Emporium Belt Boxes = Imperial Surplus Holster = Dantooine Props (functional) Hand Plates = Dantooine Props Thermal Detonator = Crossfire Props (Jesse_M files) Gloves = Endor Finders Undersuit shorts = Geeky Pink's Boots = Imperial Boots Armor Photos Helmet Off (unadjusted) Full Body Front Full Body Back Full Right Full Left I did my best to incorporate feedback from my TFA submission, including the new backdrop, but am still "training" my wife/wrangler/photographer on the new CRL (she knows the OTTK pretty well at this point!). I know the belt is over the spine plate and a little low in some areas but otherwise hoping these sail through Basic with my GML this week and not much is needed for L2. Thanks for any feedback!

There definitely has been a trend lately where the NDAs we sign with LFL and their client partners are in effect "in perpetuity" and we technically are never allowed to share about our participation, even after the project is public. But honestly, if we're doing it right and with the right mentality, it doesn't matter who is in the suit as long as we look good and represent the character faithfully. Discretion is part of that professionalism that hopefully gets you invited back. Sometimes it's clearly 501st troopers, and I'll post a "look how good these troopers look" or similar, but often can't share more even if/when I know There are definitely some cool things still coming though

At first, I thought it might have been an artifact of the game rendering, but looking again - I can see that the varying thickness of the black trim is pretty consistent even in the press/"hero" images. I'm using those as my primary source, not the game renders as those can vary and be limited by graphic processing, but the spacing at the inside edge is definitely thinner than the outer edge, and the spacing between the panels larger still. I've adjusted the template again to match and will go over it with a marker to make it easier to see if we're all feeling good about it now. I actually didn't take a photo of the back when I threw it on at the end of my TFA submission set, but I have a decent shot from this weekend's WonderCon convention. The pauldron is secured along the bottom edge with some bar magnets to hold it down, and the same round magnets that hold the outer chest to the yoke in the front. As discussed, I plan to increase the thickness of the perimeter and the spacing between the panels over current.

It clocks in at about 4.5lbs or 2kg before hardware, electronics, paint, and assembly! About a pound of that is in the rear stock and central support pieces alone though, so there may be some opportunity to reprint those hollow or with better drainage. Still, it's called Heavy for a reason! I mostly print flat parts like the Hengstler cover near vertical, supported on the bottom edge but some small pieces straight onto the bed as well. Wet sanding and paint will be the time consuming part but assembly should be fun! I plan on having lights but will be as simple and low tech as possible.

I don't want to get lost in the weeds here gentlemen - I can find material to do a mockup of the red pie slices before cutting them out of leather, but I haven't heard any complaints about the shape of the base of the pauldron, so I think I feel okay to move forward with that unless anyone objects. I have enough leather to cut multiple sets of pie slices, but really only one base.

I wish, but cardboard is too stiff to lay correctly for mockups. The grain of leather I went with this time is thinner though, so it should lay a bit more organically and less rigid, to address other feedback I received. Instead of a thick base layer with a thin layer glued on top, then the red panels on top of that (3 layers), I went for a single medium-thin layer and then will just have the red panels on top of that, with a flexible leather glue. Using the first pauldron that was made for me by a vendor who makes clone pauldrons, I can kind of tell what angles needed to be adjusted slightly, and the other upside of templating myself like this is I can hopefully ensure a level of consistency and symmetry that is good enough for everyone's standards. I paid (handsomely) last time and trusted a vendor, then ended up modifying and rebuilding it myself anyways, but at least he did all the initial templating. A side of leather as required for a pauldron of this size is an easy $150+ USD and I get one chance to cut it up. I appreciate succinct and supportive feedback so we can get this done right this time. I mean, I think it looks pretty good and captures the character, but the new pauldron will hopefully be even closer.

I appreciate the evidence-based feedback and desire to help, not just saying it isn't good or accurate enough. I had it at about a 75° angle and ratio of 1:0.31 instead of 80° and 1:0.3743, but I have moved the angle a bit (a little over 78°) to adjust and kept the same 0.75cm gap all the way around, including at the top (distance 2). The original slice was closer to 70° and 1:0.64 and the bottom width of the front pie slice has been cut almost in half to better match reference. Should be even closer and hopefully good enough to be passable to Staff and the LMO team.

Begrudgingly, but thank you! Just the backside of old wrapping paper. I've put in too much work already to let the naysayers win by giving up, and I think the critique on the front panel was a bit excessive but not wrong. Remaking it myself now that I'm in my new house and things are settling down. Leather is exceptionally expensive in the size required for this pauldron, so I reeeeeeeally don't want to make any more changes after this and will hold for feedback.

@Chemi/ @starsaber25/ @Sly11 - Are we happier with the width and angle on the template this time...?