FN1313

I can absolutely understand the fear of screwing up. I can’t say how many times I’ve sized, marked, resized, remarked, etc and still have worried before trimming. I have built a few armors now so I have learned a lot of techniques and methods to fix issues, but it’s still a worry. Heck I’ve printed and made 4 different mandalorian helmets and still haven’t finished that costume due to the paint process. But i do hope to make build threads with detailed information for this reason. I’ve followed Ukswraths AM 1.0 but as you can see there’s a lot of differences from 1.0 to 5.0, so I’ve had to adjust things for that too. If you have questions feel free to post them. I can give some info based on my process too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To answer the question on your shins, the sniper plate trim lines you’ll want to make sure are just barely enough to cover the inner shin top otherwise your trim lines look decent. For your belt, you might want to consider trimming a notch out of the drop box straps so the snaps fit through better. It’s not necessary, but it might help the boxes to not gradually shift out away from the snaps and out of place. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dave’s kits being trimmed means there’s no extreme amount of trimming to do, but definitely good he leaves a lot of material to size with. As mentioned leave some return edge on top of the shins and none on the bottom. Work with the front cover strips first that way you can then later size the rear based on your legs. The front needs to be a 20mm cover strip though, so that’s why you’d do that first. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Seems in efforts to have supply Denuo Novo is not as accurate in quality these days. I’ve noticed with a few officer submissions we’ve had that there’s clear items that cannot be approved. That’s too bad considering they sell most products as is now and not so many kits. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know a lot of what I’m doing with mine is to make it work to kit up myself if needed. So far it’s doable. Does take work, but yeah flexibility helps. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Made one last adjustment tonight. I didn’t like how the top inner edge of my thighs looked too sharp of an edge so I rounded it out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Couldn’t stop doing some work today, so here’s a few more updates. Each section has been updated as well. First the shins. I finished the hook closure method in the back. Then the thighs I added a mobility cut and they feel better. You’ll also see the shins I did a mobility cut (too much armor bite was going on in the back. Belt I started the glue of the cap covers. And for kicks and giggles I gave the lower half a test run. things fit and felt good. Only adjustments from the run were the mobility cuts and I did trim the extended plastic on the sniper plate forward by 1/4 inch just because it was digging into my knee. This way it’s not going to slice my knee up.

Congrats! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey Jeff, Definitely read up on the resources available. I know that KeepTrooping.com is a decent resource for soft parts and you could get your boots and neck seal from them at the same time. That’s how I did it, but there could be other ways to source those too, so it’s worth checking other resources before diving in. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We got some for our garrison that were sweet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep. At this rate I should be done before I even have the helmet. Hoping that ships out soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

May the 4th be with you, and if not Revenge of the Sixth. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Updated the rigging section with todays updates as you’ll see below. side snaps for posterior Abdomen/Kidney Rigging Thigh Rigging

Today’s updates (relevant sections updated with details) Shins elastic and hooks Abdomen male snaps with nylon mounts Kidney male snaps (one side) Forearm/bicep elastic connection Thigh male snap mounting Posterior male snap mount beginning

Hey Jay, If you are looking into getting more realistic style armor then the link @gmrhodes posted regarding vendors is where to start. In general most vendors sell kits that you’d assemble and build. If you are wanting realistic then working to join 501st by following the CRL for the stormtrooper costume and build threads here is going to be the best way to get involved. You could also reach out to your local garrison again and get in touch with it’s members to have them help assist you in your process of building a stormtrooper costume. There are some vendors you could probably work with to commission a stormtrooper costume be built, it does tend to be more pricy than building a kit yourself, but for many who aren’t as skilled in hands on building that’s an option. Either way we’re happy to assist and hope for your grandson’s recovery. One vendor I know of for the First Order stormtrooper you mention is Denuo Novo, they’ve had some issues with supply/demand in the past but recently from what I’ve been seeing have been more on top of supply and shipping costumes. You could potentially look into them for their stormtrooper costumes. Right now from what I see on their website they only have the kit which does mean assembling yourself and it does not come with the gloves, undersuit, boots, neck seal, or helmet so you’d have to get those separate as well, but it is an option to look into and hopefully their current track record of delivering in a reasonable time continues. Before you just jump into that though I highly recommend researching the vendors section just so you can research before you make decisions. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

For the chest/back I didn’t really trim much at all from the chest minus the neck area. The back I trimmed everything but half an inch of return edge and then the neck area and it looks to be pretty close to the images @gmrhodes posted above. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Slow and accurate is better than rushed and redo. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My wife wonders when she gets her living room back. I said next paycheck. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ve also added the drop boxes to the belt today

I’ll definitely do that, just wanted to see for the extra help there. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Updates for today. Shin hook elastic abdomen left side snaps inner forearm elastic drop boxes gluing Shoulder bell bicep retaining strap Each of the build areas has been updated with progress as well.

It’s hard to say and partially personal preference. I needed to trim the tops of thighs down before I could accurately size them. What I did first though was blue tape my abdomen and kidney into place to test how they look while I did that. The pictures were after trimming, but that’s essentially how I was able to work at determining sizing without finishing tons first. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My personal recommendation would be to hold on cover stripping the rear until you’ve got the length right. Because if you cover strip now and then have to trim length from the top down you may find that the sizing you have now isn’t exactly correct. What I did was I got it to the point you have it now and then used blue tape as I started trimming from the top down. This way I could find out how much to trim from the length and after I had the right rear to work with in sizing properly. The other thing I’d recommend is trim small amounts at a time until things are right. You don’t want to over estimate and then trim too much. That being said, since I’m still building mine it might be worth seeing what other troopers recommendations are too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s coming along and looking good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I didn’t know how well it would hold or work, but so far seems good. I’m just sanding the armor where I’m gluing them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk