troopermaster

The stencils have been applied to the wrong side in this case.

The thing is that people tend to look more at photos than read the text, so they see your photo and think that's how it should be done as you are trying the help the guy out. It would have been better (IMO) to show a finished wrist end so there is no confusion So, to be clear on the return edges of your forearms, there should be none on the wrist or inner elbow scoop. Just leave a small amount on the outer elbow.

The return edge is not completely removed in this photo and not an ideal example to show. You should cut it back a few more mm's so you see the cut end of the plastic. This is how the movie suits were cut and it also helps sliding your hands though.

I'm glad you like it. It's going up for sale soon to make way for my new ANH armour I am building for myself.

It's kids armour that I make.

You can always buy her some armour. This is my son in his TM Junior armour when he was around 9-10 years old.

You could have gone with 25mm wide strips both sides. 20-25mm wide front strips are quite normal on the original ANH armour and should be acceptable in the 501st. There should be no problem having a gap between the joining strips if that's what it takes to make the parts fit you comfortably. Even if you need to go much wider in the back, it looks better to have a wider front strip like 25mm or 30mm and use whatever size necessary to close the backs up. That's my view anyway

You could have simply pop riveted the snaps in place and got the same look as the original belt. Use the snap as a backing washer behind the belt - works a treat

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You have to trim the edges off

Just trim a bit more plastic away from your forehead area. Drill a hole above the dome/back joint to reduce the chance of it splitting and trim off a few mm's of plastic until you are happy with the look. See the original helmet as an example of how it can look. Note how the tubes flow together?

I can supply you with ROTJ mic tips. Send me a message for details.

I hate to say it but I told you so. Take the helmet apart and reposition the face plate so the cheek tubes meet up better with the back tubes. You have the back end of the face plate too low inside the back of the helmet and this is causing you problems. Also, remove the lower rivet and put a new one under the tubes - not above it. It doesn't matter if there is a gap where your lower rivet is currently as it will be hidden by the ear caps.

I think you are going to run into serious problems with the ear caps with the face plate positioned like that. I noticed another WFT build where the guy drilled the rivets in the same odd place you have and it made the joint between the face and the back pretty flat, resulting in difficulty fitting the ears. The cheek tubes need to flow more into the back tubes and have a bulbous shape so the ears can curl over them. Just a friendly heads up before you go too far

The shoulder bell elastic straps are exactly the same for ESB as in ANH since the are the same armour, only refurbished for ESB. While I cannot find an on-screen photo of the shoulder elastic at the moment, I can show you this comparison of an original ESB armour that was sold several years ago where you can clearly see the elastic strap.

Congratulations on a job well done, Tony! Now the fun really begins

If that is the case and you try my method, before closing the gap try gently warming the plastic with a heat gun or hair dryer first. You want to warm the outer half of the forearm since that is the part that needs persuading. Try a few gentle wafts and then try a few more until the plastic gives. You just need to warm it up enough so the plastic is more pliable and then quickly tape it closed. You want the glue applied to the inner part when you do this and have your tape strips ready, then use magnet and/or clamps to keep the parts secure while the glue dries. It's worth a shot

No doubt you messed up but all is not lost. My advice is to separate the two parts and start again, but this time you should glue the joining strips to the outer half and leave to dry. Then glue the back together (the side you are having trouble with) and leave to dry. The forearm will have a big gap to close up now but the plastic should be flexible enough and since you have the flat joining edges moulded into the top of the forearm, this makes joining them much easier. Glue the forearm closed and use several strips of tape to prevent any movement while the glue dries. This is the technique I use for thin troopers when I have to over-trim the armour and it works a treat. Just make sure you give the glue (E6000 I presume) a good 24 hours to cure each time. Work on other parts in the meantime.

Any reason why it shouldn't be approved? Really, if you want to replicate a certain trooper on screen then you should be free to do so. You are still instantly recognisable as a Stormtrooper so what's the big deal? Take a look at this photo. What do you see? Stormtroopers! So what if some helmets have more teeth cut out than others, or they are wearing duplicate arms or incorrectly assembled shins - they are all Stormtroopers. All these quirks give them character. And regardless of what you are force-fed by the CRL's making you all look like boring clones, these guys on screen look super cool

That's too bad. I guess screen accuracy is not a priority for the 501st

Don't worry about it. The amount of teeth cut out on the original helmets varied from 3-5.

4mm is the rivet shaft diameter. The rivet head is bigger.

Yes, 4mm pop rivet. Use the male stud part of the snap as a kind of backing washer. Works perfectly.