Linus

To be continued ;-)

Hope the move has gone smoothly Joseph!

The good news: A few months and Operation Slimfast was a success. I've lost 30 lbs and went from a 36 to about a 33 inch waist. Before: After: The bad news: While it fits better (and I feel better) I don't think it's enough. Nor is any further weight loss sustainable with my current, somewhat sedimentary, lifestyle. The truth is, it wasn't really that hard to lose the weight that I did but if I slouch off, I'd be hard pressed to fit into my suit. Additionally, the fit is currently pretty snug as in nearly skin tight and I'm pretty sure I should have some wiggle/movement room within as well as the ability to slip some fingers in there to snap in on one side as I'm suiting up. These are all assumptions on my part since this is my first armor but please 'weigh' in (ahem) and correct me if you think I'm off. Conclusion: I've conceded that I think I need to add shims (approx 1/2-3/4 inch) on either side between the kidney and cod joints. I'm fine with doing that and have read up on numerous build threads for how to accomplish this but I do have some questions that I need guidance on. Should I add a shims to the cod or to the kidney? Or does it matter? I'm guessing Kidney but that will extend the bottom notch (the little right angle notch) horizontally about 1/2 inch on either side and is that acceptable or will that make it look strange or out of spec so to speak?

Gotcha, My butt plate flares a bit on the outer edges too so I'll likely hot water bath it a bit and consider the elastic route there as well to pull it in if needed. Thanks again!

Yes, Thank you very much! Glad I asked cause my visual measurements were way off. Sorry that leads to another series of questions... Now that you've trooped using those web/straps, would you say the two inch width is plenty in terms of lateral support (restricting the upper and lower pieces from shifting side to side)? Do you suppose making them a bit wider with the snaps slightly further apart might mean more support? On the converse, many say elastic is the way to go wherever possible due to armor movement flexibility benefits. While I personally want to go with strapping on my back pieces, perhaps wider would be too restrictive? For example, I can take a piece of strapping and shift the upper and lower points I'm clutching ever so slightly getting about 1/8 movement'flexibility out of it.

Hiya AJ, quick question if you please, I really like the jig idea for the strap/snaps and I'm about to start my strapping so, I'm going to steal it! Would you be so kind as to measure your "webbing plate" for me? While I may go just a hair wider on mine, it appears from the picture it is about 2 inches high by 3 inches wide? Or is it more like 2 x 4 inches? Thanks in advance, Dave

Roger that Luc, gonna reduce the posterior - return edges a bit. Found a few pics (both builds and movie) where the return is about half what I have and I think it looks nice and clean plus, it should help with hot bath shaping/narrowing of outer edge-flare later, as Sly mentioned. I'm also going to make a mental note on posterior to kidney outer straps being positioned as far out on either side as possible which should help to pull in the outer flare as well (or at the very least keep the posterior aligned with the back plate). Thanks Andrew! Agreed on the return. I'll reduce it to roughly half what it is now (3-5 mm) on both front and back. That will actually bring it closer to the back plate's L-shaped indent on the outer sides as well. I started with the most so I could see what it looked like fitted to me and body suit but the maximum return is way too much and doesn't look as clean as a number of pics I've seen where they're the specs you mentioned. On the gap between the Ab plates I've decided on a few incremental stages: I'll likely remove the return edge completely (going to re-read various TM build threads to assess first) between the two pieces where the rivets will align. As is, they're not straight edges and this will allow me to ensure these two edges meet nice n flush (I'm totally obsessed with this aspect of the armor and Centurion CRL). I'm still attempting to avoid Shims at this stage (calling it the denial stage). I have embarked on "Operation Slimfast". This is not the drink but my attempt to reduce my mid-section by a few inches or so (36 to 34) and see if I can't fit into the armor as opposed to making the armor fit me. The risk here, as I look at the long-term/big picture, is that I have to stick to that for as long as I hope to wear my armor and Shims (or re-growth) will mean another belt fitment I'm also going to reduce the return edge (or ledge) between the lower and upper back pieces just a tad more which should bring it in closer to my body (every millimeter counts at this point right!).

Yes, we're doing ok. I appreciate the sentiment. Thank you Frank! I spent the last week or so, trimming the torso pieces down to the return edges and sanded out any cut marks, uneven lines left by the Lexan scissors and overall - to ensure the returns are fairly consistent size-wise. My intent here is to start with a larger return (about 5/8 or 10 mm) and trim down as needed after a initial fitment in the under suit using tape to approximate positioning and hold pieces together. I had hoped there wouldn't be much need for any significant alterations but it appears I have a few areas that will need some work. Here are the pics and some notes and concerns that I'll try and turn into questions for feedback. A little detail on my dimensions to reinforce some of my concerns. I'm 6'2 and right about 199 lbs right now. I lost a good 24 lbs last November and plan to keep my weigh in around 195-200 from now on. My mid section, while certainly not fat-ish, is um, a bit lounge-e/slightly pudgy of late. I'm going for Centurion so the Ab plates must be pretty much flush to one another "minimal or no gap". The posterior or butt plate is a bit wider then my backside so I'll likely need to give it a hot water bath to narrow it at the *ahem* cheeks and hips since they flare out about an inch on either side. The good news there is, the kidney plate is just a bit wide as well which means there's a bit of room to pull them inward on either side and close the ab plate gap some. My suspicion is, pulling them in to where the two plates are flush, will be pretty stressful on the plastic long-term. I'd hate to relax and see my sides bust outward in some sort of armor explosion that wounds a innocent bystander. As you can see from the pics, I have significant return remaining on the bottom of the posterior plate and when I push the outer edge inward to simulate the shape needed, the return edge, where it curves most and is weakest, kind of binds up a bit. My question here is, should I retain as much return edge on the lower surfaces of the butt plate to resemble thickness of armor or reduce/remove it such that the re-shaping won't be a concern as far as stress to the area where it flexes inward? If I remove most or all of the return, will that look pretty goofy? It looks like I'll need to shore up the gap between the Ab plates. As they're taped, the gap on either side is roughly 1/2-3/4 inch between the front and back pieces where the rivets will go. I can think of few possible solutions or improvements (short of shims). Remove some more return edge on the front cod/abdomen piece (both the lower areas between thighs and upper return that hides under chest piece) which should theoretically pull them a bit closer to my body (albeit not likely enough). I say this because those return edges actually push the front cod outward and forward some and I can feel the front cod-abdomen - upper return - pushing into my ribs. Remove the slight return edge that remains between the two Ab plates which might allow the to pull together a bit more flush. From what I can see, most have removed these returns anyway so that these two can meet more flush/evenly. Work on my core to reduce a bit of that excess baggage Any feedback on the feasibility of these thoughts or additional ideas on this challenging area is appreciated. I'm also concerned about the overall height of the front abdomen piece being enough to tuck sufficiently under the chest piece. As a result, I think I have the cod and posterior portions as high as they can go without raising my voice a few octaves. As you can see, I have it as high as it will go up front which actually feels like its pulling the posterior plate up a bit too high on them there cheeks... Any thoughts or feedback on this is appreciated.

Ditto on Paul's remarks. I find your thread pictures and well articulated processes, your attention to detail and the quality of your work to rate up there with my top five build thread references. I know it takes a significant amount of time and effort to maintain a decent build thread. Thank you A.J.!

Had a bit of a hiatus due to family loss but it's time to bounce back and get back on this horse! Broke out all the torso pieces then fine trimmed and now I'm sanding each piece to smooth out the scissor lines. Getting pretty good with the Lexan scissors and holding a line (versus stops and re-starts) such that there's minimal finish sanding to be done! Pictures to follow

That makes a lot of sense. Since I had aligned them from the top, this resulted in the lower ridge offset causing the ammo pack to be ever so slightly lower on one end in the back as well. I thought about this at the time, thinking if I lowered it slightly, the ridges would be even with each other but this was overshadowed by the need to align at the top based on reading it somewhere. If I had aligned them via the lower ridge, I wouldn't have created that artificial wonkiness. Thanks for the clarification and the correction picture! Sometimes I follow things a bit too literally and don't follow my instincts. Down the rabbit hole I go...

Woa, before Rebecca mentioned Wampa rug, I thought it was just a really ugly dog! Didn't take note of the rug beneath... Nice! Merry Christmas to all.

Just be aware, the caboots.com site does indeed have "Stormtrooper Ankle Boots" that would go for basic approval and it looks pretty good yet... it does appear ,from the site picture, they have a seam up front that would not be acceptable for level two certification. CRL States: "There is no seam present on the front of the boot". Gotta be careful when I state this and say this caution is specific to TK CRL https://www.caboots.com/cart/product/stormtrooper_ankle_boots/

Great story line and character development you have going. Keep it up! Question on the helmets being put on. I noticed everyone's very precise about placing it on, at an off-angle and then twisting it forward. You can even hear a sound effect as though a seal lock and internal pressure is established. Is the twist a bit of creative license? I've read just about every book in the Star Wars Universe, many about Stormtroopers and have yet to come upon that approach. Definitely a nice touch.

No diversion at all. Rather, a much appreciated reality check and "Myth" is the perfect word for for describing where many of us (newbies?) seem to think we need to go with this compulsion for achieving roundness (really speaking for myself more than others here). Somewhere along the line I presumed roundness even though I had concluded that it actually fit my thigh pretty well, as is. Here's the full quote: "Final thoughts:There's a slight oval shape to both of these Thighs. I decided not to attempt any reshaping at this stage because it fairly closely resembles the natural profile of my thighs (wider from a side view and narrower from a front view) but I will re-assess when I start final fitment and strapping". Thanks for the course correction and keeping me honest Paul! Amazing how I followed that train off the rails...