TK-91918 Requesting ESB EIB Status (RS) [1017]

[Harder[TK]]

Name:  Craig Best
Username:  Harder
TK-91918
Carolina Garrison 

 

Armor Maker = RS Propmasters
Helmet Maker = RS Propmasters
Blaster Type = RS Propmasters

Height = 5'11
Boot Maker = RS Propmasters
Canvas Belt = RS Propmasters
Hand Plates = RS Propmasters
Electronics = UKswrath iComm and Fans
Neck Seal Type = RS Propmasters
Holster Maker = RS Propmasters

 

Front and Back

Right Sides

Left Side

Action Shot

Helmet

"S" seal

Neck Seal

Chest views

Belt

Sniper Plate

Ammo garter

Blaster and Leather

Detonator

Boots

Silk Gloves

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Nice work trooper, a couple of suggestions before the DO's get here:

 

You ab plate is overlapping the kidney

 

You have a small amount of paint on the gum area

 

You could add another coat of white paint on the thigh ammo strip rivets

 

In a couple of your photos the drop boxes don't appear to be in line with the end of the plastic belt

 

Right back shin is not completely closed, Also you have some fabric hanging down under the belt at the rear. You could also bend the shoulder straps a little so they sit flat on the backplate. TD is a little high on your belt, this could be brought down.

 

     

 

You may also want to bring your biceps up a little and your forearms as they are hitting your handplates

 

Could you also add some other photos:

Front sniper plate close up.

Inside thigh ammo strip connectors

Right side of blaster

Close up of handguards

Close up "Han" snap (top right corner of the ab plate)

Close up bottom ear screws

 

 

Good luck with approval

 

[Harder[TK]]

Thank you Glen!

In order:

• I didn't even notice the kidney overlap.  I will be mindful of that when suiting up again.
• I will get some touchup white for the grin and the screws tomorrow.  (TO DO LIST)
• What do you recommend to use to bend the shoulder straps?  just a heat gun?  I do have the elastic straps that goes over the strapping.  I noticed it wasn't on top like its supposed to be.  Another suiting up error on my part.

Does this picture help with my explanation? 

• Shin guard open. Wow what an eagle eye! Appears the stitching came out of one of the clips.  I will sew it back, and double check the rest of them. Thank you!
• I am not sure how to show the TD lowered, but I reformed the bend a little to bring it down.

• The biceps, I actually have added straps with two snap lengths.  They are lower in accordance with the views seen on the ESB movies vs ANH.  Personally, I like them higher too, but I was going for the exact movie reference.

 

Additional photos as requested.

 

Sniper Close up

Inside thigh ammo strip.. can you explain this view or have an example? I am not sure what you mean.  There are no cover strips inside the thighs.

 

Right Side of Blaster

 

Close up of Hand guards

(Right Hand)

(Left Hand)

 

Rando Snap, top right of Ab

 

Ear Screws (both sides)

 

Thanks again Glenn for the advice and quick reply.

-Craig

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Great work on the updates.

 

Normally the elastic would be positioned closer to the rear of the shoulder straps so it helps hold them down, either just in front of the back plate or just behind

 

I also noticed your angle cuts on the belt don't meet up with the fabric belt width, you may be able to remove a little plastic from the end of the plastic belt

 

• The corners of the plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle that that meets the outer edge of the cloth belt.

     Note button cover closer to end of belt

 

 

 

[Harder[TK]]

 
I also noticed your angle cuts on the belt don't meet up with the fabric belt width, you may be able to remove a little plastic from the end of the plastic belt
 

• The corners of the plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle that that meets the outer edge of the cloth belt.

 
 

Can you show me on my picture where to cut. I’m not quite getting what you mean. The plastic ends of my belt have 45 angle cuts on them. But I think you mean something else.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

10 minutes ago, Harder said:

 

 

Can you show me on my picture where to cut. I’m not quite getting what you mean. The plastic ends of my belt have 45 angle cuts on them. But I think you mean something else.

 

 

I did LOL , the corners of the plastic belt has to meet the edges of the fabric belt as per CRL 

• The corners of the plastic ammo belt shall be trimmed at a 45 degree angle that that meets the outer edge of the cloth belt.

[Harder[TK]]

Lol!! Sorry not sure why it didn’t show up on my phone. I see it now. No problem. Thank you! It’s clear to me. Making the cuts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Harder[TK]]

@gmrhodes13 viola!

 

 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Look at you go, great work, I'm sure you'll be one step closer  

[shashachu[TK]]

Hi Craig!

 

I'm the DO who will be doing your review. Really nice job on your build, and thanks for already jumping on some of the issues that Glen has pointed out.

 

Before we proceed, I'm going to need a couple small changes.

First, as Glen pointed out, it appears your frown paint needs a little cleanup, as the frown paint shouldn't leave the 'teeth' and go onto the 'gums'. If you look at the reference photos, the screen-used helmets were actually almost underpainted. I've pointed out a couple areas that I can see, but definitely take a close look and see if there are any other areas that need cleanup. It hopefully should be a relatively simple fix; just a few minutes with some paint thinner or mineral spirits. (Note that for ESB reviews, we sometimes use ANH reference simply because of the lack of clear reference of ESB suits.)

 

 

Reference photos:

 

 

Next, could you please suit up again to demonstrate how your kit fits without the ab/kidney overlap? I'm fine if you only do the torso area (i.e. no need to do arms and legs or helmet), I just want to get a better photo of how the kit fits you without the dressing issue.

 

 

Ideally the ab and kidney should sit flush with no gap, but also no overlap.

 

Reference photo:

 

Finally, can you post a photo of the *inside* of the rivet that connects your thigh ammo pack to the thigh piece? This is simply to confirm the type of rivet used.

 

Thanks!

[Harder[TK]]

Hi Sha sha, ok.  

I struggled with the frown lasts night a bit, ended up taking off more black than I liked and had to redo it no several of the teeth.  I also put in the black mesh while I was at it.

Thanks for the understanding of the rivet.  Photos attached.

For the kidney plate, please don't judge my Star Wars sweats.  lol!  I took one from each side to show the difference.  I think the first time I suited up for the picture, I was a little aggressive on how tight I wanted it to "feel", which caused the overlaping.

[shashachu[TK]]

Hi Craig,

 

Thanks for your patience. I apologize, but I do need another photo of the rear of your blaster to ensure there's a D-ring, which is a L2 requirement. I swore I posted about it already but I must not have submitted the post.

 

You're almost there!

[Harder[TK]]

26 minutes ago, shashachu said:

Hi Craig,

 

Thanks for your patience. I apologize, but I do need another photo of the rear of your blaster to ensure there's a D-ring, which is a L2 requirement. I swore I posted about it already but I must not have submitted the post.

 

You're almost there!

Oh dear! I am sorry for the confusion.  I do not have the Standard E-11 Blaster.  I purchased the RS E-11 Promo.  It does not have the D ring as with a few other changes, noted on the CRL page.

 

It came this way with the RS order for the Promo blaster and the fully commissioned kit.

[shashachu[TK]]

!! My mistake. You're completely right. Be with you soon.

[shashachu[TK]]

Hi Craig,

Thanks for your application and the quick turnaround with the frown paint fix and additional photos.

 

CRL and EIB Application Requirements

All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. On behalf of the DO team and myself, many congratulations!  

 

Other-Armor Fit/Assembly

In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions.

 

Starting from the top, we noticed that your tube stripe decals are lifting a bit, so just make sure those are laying nice and flat:

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Additionally, your ear screws could be countersunk to sit more flush. 

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Next, as was already pointed out, your shoulder straps are floating a little high. You might be able to correct this simply by making sure the white elastic is over the rear of the straps, or you can do a hot water bath to increase the curve of the straps.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Next, your shoulder bells are sitting a little high. Note that on your kit the tops of your shoulder bells appear to be floating above your shoulders, when ideally they should sit on top.

 

         

 

Reference Images:

             

 

On the rear, your back plate and shoulder bells are overlapping each other. It's correct that we want minimal gap between the shoulder bells and back/chest plates, but we should avoid overlapping.

                

 

Reference images:

     

 

Continuing down, there appears to be a bit of elastic between your hand plate and the forearm. Not sure if this is necessary strapping with the way your kit is assembled, but I'm not aware of the existence of this strapping on the screen-used suits, so worth mentioning.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Moving along, as already mentioned, your TD is sitting a bit high:

 

                  

 

Reference Images:

         

 

Next, the paint on your TD screws could use a light touchup. It's certainly screen-accurate to have them weathered, but in general we tend more towards the 'fresh off the Death Star' look.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Similarly, it's screen accurate to have a worn/weathered belt, but it's a bit sloppy to have loose threads hanging out, so we're suggesting you snip those off.

 

  

 

Reference Image:

  

 

Next, similar to the TD screw paint, your thigh rivet could use another coat of white paint just so in blends in better.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Finally, a couple dressing issues on your leg armor. First, your right thigh is hanging a bit lower than your left, and ideally everything is as symmetric as possible. On my own kit, I had the same issue so I added an additional piece of strapping to the rear of my right thigh only to keep it from sagging. Of course once you take a step everything is going to shift around, but we like to have everyone looking their best in their L2 and L3 applications. And as was already pointed out, your right calf closure has come open, so just make sure everything is closed when you take your Centurion photos.

 

 

Reference Images:

 

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 adjustments. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here.

Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items to pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what is seen, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper.

 

Again starting with the helmet, the L3 CRL states:

 

 

 

Thanks for the updated photos of your ab/kidney. For EIB it's ok to have a slight gap, but for Centurion, there should be no gap. Additionally, the tops will need to align, as stated in the L3 CRL:

 

Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Abdominal and Kidney Plate align horizontally at top.

 

In your case I think this is definitely just a dressing issue since we already know you can close the gap even more than necessary, and of course everything will sit better when you're wearing your actual undersuit. So just double check the alignment before taking your Centurion photos.

 

     

Reference Images:

  

 

Next, the L3 CRL states:

• Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.

 

As was already pointed out, your dropboxes tend to wander a bit inwards sometimes. They actually look perfect in your Pajama TK photo, so it could be simply the photo angle, or you might need to add a drop of glue to the drop box elastic to keep them in place.

 

 

  

 

Reference photos:

 

Finally, unfortunately your ab snap is placed too far inwards. This isn't something that's explicitly pointed out in the CRL text, but we do use reference photos when doing our reviews. In order to fix this, you would need to drill out the snap, set a new one in the proper location, then fill the old hole with ABS paste. It's a bit tedious but many troopers have done similar fixes and if done correctly, it's totally invisible.

 

Another slightly unorthodox suggestion would be to trim some excess off your ab plate so that the snap is sitting in the correct place relative to the edge of the right side of the Ab. This is a relatively drastic change and I'm only suggesting it because you appear to have a lot of room in your ab/kidney area based on the amount of overlap you had in your submission photos. Again, I'd think pretty hard before doing this because it could also misalign the right side seam, but it's an avenue you can consider.

 

We won't break out the ruler to confirm the placement for your Centurion submission, but it should look visually correct when compared to the reference photos.

 

 

Reference photos:

    

 

And that's it! You have a great build that fits you really well, there are just a few items to take care of before your Centurion application. Until then, please accept our hearty congratulations in reaching the rank of EIB! 

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

Congratulations and welcome to the EI ranks trooper 

[Harder[TK]]

Hi Craig,

Thanks for your application and the quick turnaround with the frown paint fix and additional photos.

 

CRL and EIB Application Requirements

All required photos are now in and, after review, we are pleased to welcome you to Expert Infantry rank. On behalf of the DO team and myself, many congratulations!  

 

Other-Armor Fit/Assembly

In this area we review observations made by your fellow troopers and the DO team. Some observations may lead to suggestions to improve the overall look of your armor. Note that we consider both text (CRL) and pictures (screen caps/reference images) when reviewing submissions.

 

Starting from the top, we noticed that your tube stripe decals are lifting a bit, so just make sure those are laying nice and flat:

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Additionally, your ear screws could be countersunk to sit more flush. 

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Next, as was already pointed out, your shoulder straps are floating a little high. You might be able to correct this simply by making sure the white elastic is over the rear of the straps, or you can do a hot water bath to increase the curve of the straps.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Next, your shoulder bells are sitting a little high. Note that on your kit the tops of your shoulder bells appear to be floating above your shoulders, when ideally they should sit on top.

 

         

 

Reference Images:

             

 

On the rear, your back plate and shoulder bells are overlapping each other. It's correct that we want minimal gap between the shoulder bells and back/chest plates, but we should avoid overlapping.

                

 

Reference images:

     

 

Continuing down, there appears to be a bit of elastic between your hand plate and the forearm. Not sure if this is necessary strapping with the way your kit is assembled, but I'm not aware of the existence of this strapping on the screen-used suits, so worth mentioning.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Moving along, as already mentioned, your TD is sitting a bit high:

 

                  

 

Reference Images:

         

 

Next, the paint on your TD screws could use a light touchup. It's certainly screen-accurate to have them weathered, but in general we tend more towards the 'fresh off the Death Star' look.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Similarly, it's screen accurate to have a worn/weathered belt, but it's a bit sloppy to have loose threads hanging out, so we're suggesting you snip those off.

 

  

 

Reference Image:

  

 

Next, similar to the TD screw paint, your thigh rivet could use another coat of white paint just so in blends in better.

 

 

Reference Image:

 

Finally, a couple dressing issues on your leg armor. First, your right thigh is hanging a bit lower than your left, and ideally everything is as symmetric as possible. On my own kit, I had the same issue so I added an additional piece of strapping to the rear of my right thigh only to keep it from sagging. Of course once you take a step everything is going to shift around, but we like to have everyone looking their best in their L2 and L3 applications. And as was already pointed out, your right calf closure has come open, so just make sure everything is closed when you take your Centurion photos.

 

 

Reference Images:

 

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 adjustments. If there are any areas of concern they will be discussed here.

Because Centurion photos show much more detail than EIB, items to pertaining to Centurion might be seen there and not here. We try to point out all that we can from what is seen, but the final accuracy is the responsibility of the trooper.

 

Again starting with the helmet, the L3 CRL states:

 

 

 

Thanks for the updated photos of your ab/kidney. For EIB it's ok to have a slight gap, but for Centurion, there should be no gap. Additionally, the tops will need to align, as stated in the L3 CRL:

 

Ideally there no gap between the abdomen and kidney armor. Abdominal and Kidney Plate align horizontally at top.

 

In your case I think this is definitely just a dressing issue since we already know you can close the gap even more than necessary, and of course everything will sit better when you're wearing your actual undersuit. So just double check the alignment before taking your Centurion photos.

 

     

Reference Images:

  

 

Next, the L3 CRL states:

• Drop boxes are vertically aligned with the end of the ammo belt with minimal gap between belt and box.

 

As was already pointed out, your dropboxes tend to wander a bit inwards sometimes. They actually look perfect in your Pajama TK photo, so it could be simply the photo angle, or you might need to add a drop of glue to the drop box elastic to keep them in place.

 

 

  

 

Reference photos:

 

Finally, unfortunately your ab snap is placed too far inwards. This isn't something that's explicitly pointed out in the CRL text, but we do use reference photos when doing our reviews. In order to fix this, you would need to drill out the snap, set a new one in the proper location, then fill the old hole with ABS paste. It's a bit tedious but many troopers have done similar fixes and if done correctly, it's totally invisible.

 

Another slightly unorthodox suggestion would be to trim some excess off your ab plate so that the snap is sitting in the correct place relative to the edge of the right side of the Ab. This is a relatively drastic change and I'm only suggesting it because you appear to have a lot of room in your ab/kidney area based on the amount of overlap you had in your submission photos. Again, I'd think pretty hard before doing this because it could also misalign the right side seam, but it's an avenue you can consider.

 

We won't break out the ruler to confirm the placement for your Centurion submission, but it should look visually correct when compared to the reference photos.

 

 

Reference photos:

    

 

And that's it! You have a great build that fits you really well, there are just a few items to take care of before your Centurion application. Until then, please accept our hearty congratulations in reaching the rank of EIB! 

What an amazing write up. I’m going to start working on these for a centurion approval. Looks like I might need to trim my ab plate to reduce the gap and better align the snap. The rest is easily adjusted. Looking forward to getting it all done and posting those new pics.

Thank you!

And thank you too Glenn.

[Chemi[Staff]]

Congratulations Craig!!!! 

Next stop, centurion !!! 

[Harder[TK]]

Congratulations Craig!!!! 
Next stop, centurion !!! 

Thank you! I’m already working on it


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[ukswrath[Staff]]

Congratulations Craig, welcome to Expert Infantry 

[TKSpartan[Staff]]

Congratulations Trooper !! Welcome to EIB .  

[Harder[TK]]

Thanks Mario and Tony.  You guys have definitely helped a lot.  Part of this approval is yours too.