mfiscus

After seeing Michael Rose do a solo event back in May, I felt I might as well jump in to the deep end of the pool. Signed up for another troop this weekend with some seasoned pros, will feel a lot easier.

Fortunately my wife was there to help me get changed in the parking lot and avoid dangerous stairs. I now fully understand the value of secure charging rooms.

Just completed my first troop event at The 14th Annual St. Baldrick's Shave-A-Thon in Livonia, MI on Sunday, Sept 22d, 2024 There were approximately 300 people who passed through while I was there. The event has raised over $101k for childhood specific cancer research, not sure how much more came in for the day. https://www.stbaldricks.org/events/metrodetroitbaldricks2024 My volunteer page is here: https://www.stbaldricks.org/participants/tk18635 I will be changing the strapping on the side shims and shaving a little off the forearm for comfort.

Thank you everyone for your guidance. I have made most of the suggested modifications and it is fitting better, still need trim the thigh ammo plate to correct my over trimming. Did the side shims, but want to make the seams a little more seamless. Some of the fitting will need to be switched from velcro to snaps line up better and I'm knocking those out a little every day. I will keep practicing the suit up process to get it looking a little closer perfect, but rewatching ANH hope, I feel pretty good about where I'm at. TK 18635 is approved and ready for my first troop this weekend, but I think I will be tweaking this armor more as I wear it.

Please provide access to Great Lakes Garrison for TK 18635 https://www.501st.com/members/displaymember.php?userID=43810&costumeID=124 https://www.501st.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=26181

Appreciate all the feedback, will be working on this most of the day today. Sunday to do list Swap shoulder bells Decrease gap at shoulders, tighter strapping? Try to have your armor pieces at the same heights (redo strapping) Shoulder strap not central to backplate, adding elastic can help Gap between back plate and kidney, perhaps tighter strapping (redo strapping) Detonator should sit central to the belt, too much clip showing, bender time Clean up vocoder paint You took a little too much material from the bottom corner of your thigh ammo strip, you could trim the end so it's as noticeable Shim the sides (ab and kidney) per tutorial (is this required for initial approval?) Re-glue sniper plate with less angle in Look up more for back photos Redo ammo belt to spec (monday)

INFORMATION: Michael Fiscus Great Lake Garrison Homemade belt Keep Trooping Neck Seal Keep Trooping Boots 6' 185 Lbs ANH Stunt Walt's Trooper Factory Special thank you to @gmrhodes13, @JBar, Michael R and Todd M for all of their help and encouragement throughout this build! and to BlueBantha, since he has a lot of same info as me, I copied, pasted an edited. The primary ammo belt for my kit did not ship with the kit and arriving next week, so there will be some belt tweaking when it gets here. Working extra hard in the gym to close the gap on the midsection, otherwise I shim. Trying to get to it finalized to support a charity event on Sept 22nd, as the requester and to troop at the event.

I did bring it up with Walt and he said it was the nature of the beast, I will directly ask about a replacement from him. I think if I purchase a new piece elsewhere, I could have fitting or color issues. I thought of coating the back side with fiberglass resin (with just the resin), but that won't address the outer surface. Worried about discoloration down the line and how it would look on TV, I do a fair amount of tv news interviews for the foundation I'm involved with. Aside from a few webbing issues I could sand and fill, the kit is pretty nice. For now, I will not put in any internal strips to reinforce and plan to replace this section later. Glad Michael Rose talked me into E6000! On the background issue, I'll have to get back in the driveway or garage for the next round of photos, not many clear walls inside.

Added the bicep hooks to my list. Started adding some inner support strips as well. Once I get all the recommendations completed I will try another fitting. Still a little concerned about one section, the inside left thigh section. It's a bit thin and rough on the surface at the top. The rest of the parts are pretty consistent. Should I reinforce it from the back or try and replace it? It's only about the top 4 inches, but more noticeable to me as I wrap this first kit up. I wouldn't think it would hurt my approval process, but not sure how well it will hold up over time.

In the home stretch, submitting my application to the 501st Great Lakes Garrison. Working on the adjustments pointed out by gmrhodes13, thank you. Should have those done today. I know there will still be a few tweaks (and a new belt), but next up is a voice box. Completed after last suit up. New rivets and painted white Shoulder straps glued in Chest plate inside strapping adjusted, tighter Thigh strapping adjusted down Padding added to knee plate Pad removed from helmet Need to do: Reshape bicep to be more round, better fit under shoulder Trim Shoulders back a little Shims for sides for less gap Waiting on belt piece to finish belt.

Getting closer. Did another dry fit. Still need some side strapping installed. Still waiting on the official ammo pack part of the main belt, have a place holder on there for now. Will get the rivets in when it arrives. hopefully placement is good. Seems to be according to the crl. My wife knocked out a great canvas belt. Need to reshape the shoulder bells a bit, very narrow and they like to push the biceps down. Maybe a heat gun or some boiling water? Missed the smaller holes on the frown, thank you mr. rose for that tip. Hoping to get this wrapped up and approved for a charity event on Sept 22. Is a voice changer critical for a troop, still needing to make a choice there? If any one has upgraded and has an old one to sell, please reach out.

Great feedback, thank you again!

thanks for the tips on the shoulder strapping. Did what I hope is final sizing on the thighs. Blue tap is where the stripes would go, with a cut right through the middle to line up the backs. This fits comfortably on the my legs and with stay in place without strapping until I try to walk. Then the strapping would keep it up where it needs to be with a little room to slide up and down with movement. Trying to decide if I should make it a little more room or chop through with the current fit?

Started in on the helmet, got the cut outs done and a pass at riveting the pieces together. I have a weird fold in the plastic from the pull, I may have to remove the rivet and deal with it of get the ear on properly. Also been trying to keep the look of the return edge on the top thigh parts, but I think they just need to go? You can see how light it is from the inside. I do see some return from the movie photos on the insides. I'm sure there are some options out there. How many people do the strips on the inside as well? Using E6000, a trusted source suggested it will give added strength, which sounds great. I may end up with enough material to add them, even after my initial mistakes with the front trim and needing to replace with slightly longer strips. I did recycle them done to other parts, so not too much wasted. There is a Irish Festival in Pittsburgh coming up that could use a trooper or 2, so I may try and get ready for that on Sept 8.