TK 35623 requesting ANH HERO EIB status (WTF) [914]

[repentance3232[TK]]

Armor Maker: WTF 

 Helmet Maker: WTF 

 Blaster Type: ANH Praetorian Blasters=weathered

Height: 5'6"

weight: 180lbs.

Boots Maker: Imperial Boots

Canvas Belt: Robert Kittell

Hand Plate Type: ANH Alay Smooth-on Dragon skin

Electronics: Ukswrath

Neck Seal Type: ANH Chris Street

Holster Maker: Darman Props

 

I hope i was able to provide you with all the photos requested for application, i didnt do D-ring photo due to this is EIB request and will submit that photo for Centurion when time allows. Thank you for your time and consideration!!!

[Cricket[TK]]

Hello John!  It's always great to see another Hero come through for Expert Infantry!  You've done a great job with this kit. 

 

So we can best evaluate your application, we will need a few additional photos:

• close up photos of your left shin sniper knee: left, right, and front views
• close up photos of your ammo pack on the right thigh: outside and inside fasteners on the left and right
• close up photos of your kidney shim areas: outside views of the left and right with no belt
• close up photo of your ab buttons without the belt

Once we have these photos, we can get moving on processing your application.  Thank you!  

[repentance3232[TK]]

I hope these photos will be good for your review. It their is an issue, let me know and I will help with what you need!!!

[Cricket[TK]]

Hey John, 

 

Thank you so much for being so quick with those photos.  You've got a nice, clean build there, sir!  Your review is currently being processed by the Deployment Office, and we will get back to you shortly.  

[repentance3232[TK]]

Hey John, 
 
Thank you so much for being so quick with those photos.  You've got a nice, clean build there, sir!  Your review is currently being processed by the Deployment Office, and we will get back to you shortly.  

Thank you so much for touching basis with me!!!!! Great communication from you guys has always been Key!!!!! Also thank you so much for your kind words and time kind Lady!!!!!

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[phil]

looking good.....bicep hooks fitted ?

[repentance3232[TK]]

looking good.....bicep hooks fitted ?

Bicep hooks are good and screen accurate for ANH. I still need to do more work on bringing in the bells to close gaps @ chest plate

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[justjoseph63[Staff]]

Nice job on this armor, John.. always great to see another Hero headed for EI!   There are a few issues that will not affect your EI approval, but will need to be addressed before you apply for level 3.  The D.O.s will give you more information on those.

One of the things that I noticed is that you have a pretty large gap between your shoulder bells and chest plate.  You did the absolute correct thing in removing all the return edges on the bottoms (screen accurate), but it looks like the curve is too tight (photo 1).  This is also causing the bells to not sit flush with the bicep (see reference image below).

You can use a hot water bath to gently re-shape the bells to give them more of a flare (photo 2).  This will allow them to sit closer to the bicep and reduce that gap quite a bit.  You should also tighten up the connection on the shoulder bridge/shoulder bell connection on the right (the left one is perfect) which will help as well.  If you need any info. on how to do a hot water bath, just PM me.

 

          

                                                                                                                                                                                      Reference image

                                                                                                                                                

 

You may also be asked to add a photo of your abdomen armor showing the snap on the top right side (known as the "Han" snap).  This should be silver/chrome in color with the inside of the snap facing outward.

 

   

 

One quick item that will not affect approval (but you may want to do) is remove the small bit of ABS at the top of your right thigh.  The reason being is that it can snag on your under suit.  It should also stop it poking into you while you walk, lol.  30 seconds with a Dremel would solve this quickly!

 

 

Overall a sharp looking set of armor, John, and I expect to see an Expert Infantry badge under you name soon!  

[repentance3232[TK]]

I have photo of R/S Ab Snap if needed

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[Cricket[TK]]

Greetings John!
 

Your review is still underway.  Thank you for your patience while we go through it!  

 

You did a great job getting that frown taper down!  Painting those little triangles can be a challenge for sure.  That said, we've noticed that your Hero's frown needs some attention before we can proceed further.  We don't want you thinking that you haven't done a great job on your kit- you really have!  Sometimes when we are evaluating armor, we see more detail than what some GMLs notice, and small things can get overlooked from time to time. 

According to the CRL for Basic Level Approval, "Frown is painted gray and does not leave the teeth area."   It might be the angle of the photo, but it looks like some paint is going outside of the tooth line (outlined in green).  To correct this, it's an easy cleanup fix with a brush and a little enamel thinner.  Some use a wood toothpick to gently scrape off the excess paint.  Choice is yours!  

 

Once you've made your corrections, please submit a new photo showing your frown's detail.  At that time we can then resume the review.  Thanks again for your cooperation and patience!  

[repentance3232[TK]]

Wow, this is very exciting to know that my Build is going to look this GREAT with the DO's assistance. I am sorry I missed that detail, but excited to learn this Build has great eyes looking at it. I have made adjustments to the Frown. If needed more removed, please let me know!!!!!

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[Cricket[TK]]

Thanks for the superfast correction on that frown, John!  You've got a great attitude about getting that fix done.  Nice work, sir!  

We will get back to evaluating the rest of your armor and will be with you shortly.  

[Cricket[TK]]

Hey John, 

 

I just wanted to check in with you to let you know that we're in the final stages of processing your Expert Infantry review.   It won't be too much longer!  Thank you for your patience!   

[Cricket[TK]]

Greetings, John and welcome back!

Thank you for your patience while we have been reviewing your application.  I want to let you know that you've done an stellar job on this build and you should be very proud of your work!  

 

In this evaluation, we ensure that your armor follows the requirements as set forth in the CRL L2 Expert Infantry Badge guidelines.  We will also point out what will be needed in order to prepare you for Centurion if you choose to apply.  You've come this far, and I really hope that you will continue your journey in excellence and apply for the Centurion Badge!

 

CRL and EIB Application Requirements:

All required submission photos have been posted and I am very pleased to announce your armor displays all the necessary elements to qualify for ANH Stunt Expert Infantry. On behalf of myself and the entire D.O.Team, Congratulations!  

 

Other-Armor Fit/Assembly:

In this section we review observations made by your fellow troopers and ourselves. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. 

 

Let's begin at the helmet.  The vocoder looks like it could use a little more refinement around the edges.  This is super easy to do with a small brush and some enamel thinner.  That should really refine those edges for a spot-on ANH look!

Screen reference vocoders:

 

Now to the ab:  Nice job on painting those ab buttons, trooper!  I know the WTF ab buttons are super big, and you can clearly see that you didn't paint outside the edges of the buttons.  This isn't anything that would prevent you from achieving Centurion, but if you'd prefer to get them looking a little bit more screen accurate, you may consider reducing them down just a tiny bit.  

 

Screen reference buttons:

 

Let's look at your holster:   For better accuracy you may consider using slightly smaller fasteners on your holster connections to the belt.  I see that you've got a Darman's Props holster, and those fasteners were most likely included with the holster.  He typically includes smaller open-back Chicago screw posts (they simulate rivets on the outside, but can be removed if necessary) for the belt attachment.  

That said, I've recently ordered a holster from him and noticed that he sent me solid-back screw posts for the belt instead of the open-back ones.  I have extra open-back screw posts to replace them, and would be more than happy to drop some in the mail for you if you'd like (no charge of course!). Send me a PM if you're interested!

 

Further down to your legs:  If you're striving for a little more ANH accuracy, consider putting a sharper trim on the inside of the sniper knee.  It's just a little sandpaper and a few minutes to get this detail dialed in nicely.
 

 

Screen references:

 

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Centurion Requirements:

In this section we prepare you for Centurion. More photos may be requested in the future that allow us to make better decisions on possible adjustment etc. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here.

 

Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all we can from what is seen but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper. Below you will find areas that will need to be addressed for a future successful Centurion Application.

Please note that text descriptions in the CRL are only one part of the approval guideline. We consider both text and pictures (CRL and Reference) when reviewing the costume.

 

That said, let's get on with prepping you for Centurion, trooper!  

 

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Beginning with the helmet:
"The helmet is accurate in detail and proportion to official references."

You did a fantastic job of cleaning up the paint around the frown.  Nice work!  Looking closely at the screen-used Hero helmets, you'll notice that the gray teeth tend to be larger than the holes around them.  The holes of the teeth on your helmet have been cut bigger than what we tend to see on screen-used helmets, and some of the gray teeth are super skinny. While this hasn't prevented you from achieving your Expert Infantry award, it will need to be fixed for Centurion.  Basically, you will need to fill in some of the edges of the teeth to reduce the size of the holes.  This kind of repair can be performed with some ABS paste to build up the edges to make the holes smaller.  You could also use any other type of putty that sands smooth because ultimately you'll be painting it anyhow.  If you feel that this kind of repair is too much of a challenge, then a new face plate would be your best option for fixing this issue.

Screen reference Hero frowns:

 

Let's take a look at the tears on the helmet. 

Requirement CRL L3: Tears/traps shall be hand painted or use decals that emulate hand painted (with correct ANH details).  

The decals you applied to the tears are too large for the space where they are placed.  In the "spirit" of Centurion, they should fit within the recessed area of the tear and not spill out of it.  If you prefer to use decals, you will need to find smaller ones for Centurion.  Another option would be to hand paint the tears.  If you're worried that you may not have a steady enough hand for this kind of work, there are sellers who offer stencils for exactly this kind of thing.  Feel free to send me a PM if you need guidance or support on this!   

Screen reference tears:

 

 

Next, we will discuss the shoulders:

Requirement CRL L3:  There should be a minimal gap between the shoulder armor and the chest/back plates.

As Joseph mentioned earlier, those shoulder bells need to be brought in quite a bit.  Unless you're storing some serious explosives under the shoulder bells, you don't really need that big of a gap on the outer edges of the bells.  The top ridge edge of the bells should meet the shoulder straps.  You may find that some simple placement adjustment of the shoulder bell elastics paired with a little bit of trimming should bring those bells in line where they should be.  It helps to remember that the front sides of the shoulder bells should follow the curves of the chest plate, and the back sides of the shoulder bells should follow the curves of the back plate.  The shoulder bells and chest/back plates should fit together and still allow for movement with as little black showing as possible.

 

Screen reference for shoulder bell placement:

 

 

 

Additional screen references for shoulder bell placement:

 

Further down your kit, we've noticed the shims on the kidney:

Requirement CRL L3:  "A single visible seam line is present."

There is nothing at all wrong with shimming armor where needed, and you've done a clean job of it!    The wording on this requirement can be a little confusing, but simply stated, this means that the shim lines (as indicated by the blue arrows below) must be completely concealed.  The only seam that should be present is the one between the ab and kidney armor pieces.

 

 

In order to disguise that seam, you'll need to create a batch of ABS paste, apply it to the seam lines, sand it down, then polish it smooth.  If you have any concerns about how to do this process, please feel free to send either myself or any of the Detachment Staff a PM about how to do this.  We are here to help you succeed and know you can do it!  

 

Screen reference for kidney/ab seam:

 

Next, to your belt:  

Requirement CRL: For ANH Hero, the holster is affixed with four fasteners, two on the top, two on the bottom (two per strap).
Fasteners may be rivets, snaps, or Chicago screws.

We noticed that you have the correct amount of fasteners attached to the belt (great job on that!).  However, the placement of the top two fasteners are situated too far away from the top edge.  And while the CRL doesn't specifically indicate exact placement of the holster fasteners, please note that we consider both text and pictures (CRL and Reference) when reviewing the costume.  Based on the ANH Hero as seen in the film, the fasteners should be roughly where the green circles in the image below are located.  Your fasteners will need to be relocated further up for Centurion.
 

 

The holster fasteners should be placed so that they look a little more like this (I used your pic with some Photoshop magic... it would be great if fixing a belt was as easy as a Photoshop edit!):

 

Screen reference of a Hero holster fastener configuration (that's Han):

 

Let's discuss your sniper knee:

Working further down your armor, we noticed that your sniper knee needs some adjustment.  Sniper knees are a challenge to most troopers.  We see that your sniper knee plate is sitting a little crooked.  This is another instance of the CRL not specifically indicating exact placement of the sniper knee, but in reviewing for L3 please note that we consider both text and pictures (CRL and Reference) when reviewing the costume.  The sniper knee plate as seen in on-screen TKs are aligned straight in the front of the shin.

 

We don't mind this at the Expert Infantry level, but we will ask you to correct this if you choose to apply for Centurion.  From your photos, it looks like you've got some room to move the right side up along the ridge.  This small adjustment should straighten out that tilt!   

 

 

 

Screen reference for sniper knees:

 

And lastly, we noticed several black snaps on your kit: 

For your EIB this is perfectly fine.  However, if you're choosing to continue on to Centurion, you will need to swap these out for silver snaps.  Please note that you only need to swap out the Han snap located on the upper right ab, and both butt plate snaps.  The color doesn't matter on any of the other snaps that you currently have installed on your armor.  

 

Screen reference image for butt plate snaps:

 

Your Han snap:

 

Screen reference image for Han snap on ab plate:

 

That's it!  You have done an outstanding job with your Hero, trooper!   Congratulations once more, and we hope to see you at Centurion very soon!   Now get out there and blast some rebel scum!  

 

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Congratulations John welcome to Expert Infantry 

[repentance3232[TK]]

Thank you guys so much, I have a great big smile on. Ukswrath I thank you greatly for the time and help you have put into this build of mine. Troopers helping Troopers Sir!!!!! Excited for trying to reach L3 Centurion. Thank you again so much for your eyes and consideration!!!!!

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[ukswrath[Staff]]

24 minutes ago, repentance3232 said:

Thank you guys so much, I have a great big smile on. Ukswrath I thank you greatly for the time and help you have put into this build of mine. Troopers helping Troopers Sir!!!!! Excited for trying to reach L3 Centurion. Thank you again so much for your eyes and consideration!!!!!

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My pleasure John THT, looking forward to seeing you at L3