My nearly ready to ship TE RoTJ suit

[Nassik]

I received both word and pictures from TE tonight on my suit. It seems that my RoTJ armor is nearly complete. It's currently intended for shipment tomorrow. At this stage the ab plate buttons are supposed to be painted tonight and the thermal detonator's assembly is supposed to be completed in the morning. I can share some pictures with my fellow troopers and those who aspire to be (like me)...

 

100% ribbed shoulder straps as per RoTJ standards

 

Fully strapped biceps, forearms, and appropriate RoTJ hand plates

 

One piece butt plate (not split) and upper back with appropriate RoTJ trim

 

Chest plate, ab, and codpiece with appropriate RoTJ trim. Reworked belt (no rivet covers) and drop boxes

The ab plate buttons are upside-down and being painted tonight in proper RoTJ colors and configuration.

 

A close up of the RoTJ belt

The TE belt comes with rivet covers but I had TE remove them in order to be RoTJ accurate.

 

Thighs

I may tidy this up a wee bit.

 

Calves with sniper plate

 

Helmet

I've got replacement aerators coming and I'm having TE lower the brow trim before it ships. The frown is properly painted for RoTJ with rounded corners and the decals are TK 4510's new run of RoTJ decals.

 

The suit's strapping system is already in place and the suit is pretty much ready to be worn right out of the box. The one missing strap goes between the legs and connects the cod piece with the butt plate. That strap will be in the box with the suit and I will attach it.

 

 

Any thoughts, considerations, and comments are welcome on this suit. I've had TE tweak a couple of elements on his RoTJ kit in order to make this suit as RoTJ accurate as possible. Hopefully I got it all right. I'm awaiting pictures of the painted ab plate buttons and of the completed thermal detonator.

[TKCaleb]

lucky, atleast you get shoulder straps and a accurate belt. is this abs?!?!?

[Nassik]

It's not ABS. I said that I had TE tweak a couple of things... The belt and the shoulder straps were those tweaks. He's fixing the brow trim on the helmet for me as well.

 

TE has really been helpful with this kit and he listened when I told him how I wanted the belt and the shoulder straps. The communication wasn't always so hot and it took some time but he has done impressive work for me. I am pleased with what he's accomplished.

[TKCaleb]

Did you request him to put the sniper knee on that shin piece? From what i know, he has always put the sniper knee on the other shin.

 

 

Caleb

[Nassik]

TE put the sniper plate where he thought it belongs. I didn't make any request or comment on that detail.

 

I'm aware of a number of RoTJ details and I mentioned anything to TE that I thought worth mentioning. The rivet covers on the belt and the shoulder straps were my biggest concerns and I was really glad when TE said that he'd take care of it. And take care of it he did.

 

After I saw your first suit, Caleb, I knew that the TE RoTJ would look really accurate with a touch or two. And I am happy with TE's work. He's fixing the brow trim issue, painting the ab plate buttons according to FISD EIB standards, and he's finishing off the thermal detonator. Once that's all complete I'll receive pictures of these final details and the suit will be ready to ship. TE's been good with this update in letting me see the suit and check all of its details before boxing it up for shipment. And the one issue I have (with the brow trim) is being taken care of. TE has been taking good care of me.

[TKCaleb]

TE put the sniper plate where he thought it belongs. I didn't make any request or comment on that detail.

 

I'm aware of a number of RoTJ details and I mentioned anything to TE that I thought worth mentioning. The rivet covers on the belt and the shoulder straps were my biggest concerns and I was really glad when TE said that he'd take care of it. And take care of it he did.

 

After I saw your first suit, Caleb, I knew that the TE RoTJ would look really accurate with a touch or two. And I am happy with TE's work. He's fixing the brow trim issue, painting the ab plate buttons according to FISD EIB standards, and he's finishing off the thermal detonator. Once that's all complete I'll receive pictures of these final details and the suit will be ready to ship. TE's been good with this update in letting me see the suit and check all of its details before boxing it up for shipment. And the one issue I have (with the brow trim) is being taken care of. TE has been taking good care of me.

 

Glad to hear it man! Your gonna love the suit! Matt does top notch work. Looking forward to more updates!

 

 

Caleb

[troopermaster]

Looking good from here Shawn!

 

Good to see Matt removed the rivet overs from the belt and has got some plastic shoulder straps, though they do still look ANH without the starting box at the front, better than elastic anyway. The shins are done right too. I know the originals were assembeld any old way but I think that if the shins are not made right they feel awkward when worn, at least they did when I treid wearing mine on the wrong legs.

 

The only thing I am not too crazy about is the gloss black paint, other than that, it's looking sweet

[JoeR]

Looking good from here Shawn!

 

Good to see Matt removed the rivet overs from the belt and has got some plastic shoulder straps, though they do still look ANH without the starting box at the front, better than elastic anyway. The shins are done right too. I know the originals were assembeld any old way but I think that if the shins are not made right they feel awkward when worn, at least they did when I treid wearing mine on the wrong legs.

 

The only thing I am not too crazy about is the gloss black paint, other than that, it's looking sweet

 

Paul

 

Do you not think they were gloss paint? My first helmet was refurbished but even before it was gloss. I assumed that it was age that gave them a matt/silk finish.

 

Joe

[troopermaster]

Wasn't your first helmet an ESB2 with the square frown?

[RogueTrooper[TK]]

Nice Shawn!! Can't wait to see you all suited up in this ROTJ, mate!

[TK-4510[501st]]

Not that its a bad thing because they are "similar"...But those are my ESB decals not my ROTJ decals.

[HPDblues[TK]]

Not that its a bad thing because they are "similar"...But those are my ESB decals not my ROTJ decals.

 

OUCH!!!

 

T

[JoeR]

It was Paul.

 

I thought that the ESB2 and JEDI both had black gloss, but I could be wrong!!1

[Nassik]

Not that its a bad thing because they are "similar"...But those are my ESB decals not my ROTJ decals.

 

 

Noted with thanks. I've sent a message along to TE about the decals.

[TK-4510[501st]]

That is a sweet set of armor though

[Nassik]

Thanks for the comments. TE has done a really good job with this suit so far and I'm looking forward to seeing the finishing touches. He's reworking the helmet in order to appropriately lower the brow trim for me and I'll see what happens with the decals. I had TK 4510 send TE the RoTJ decals that I ordered and so they ought to be there. The mistake is likely a result of the fact the the ESB decals and the RoTJ decals are similar.

 

The helmet is the one weak spot in this suit (brow trim and decals) and it is being rectified. And I'm grateful that TE is taking the time and effort to make it right for me.

 

I really like this suit.

[Nassik]

I just received word on the helmet's decals from TE...

 

"The decals are not ESB. They are ROTJ and they are a set I made and I will be doing something amazing to them. I am hand cutting the black areas out and then backing them with the black vinyl like the originals."

 

The thermal detonator, the helmet, and ab plate buttons are drying. In a few days they'll be dry and I'll get pictures of them. With the fantastic way that this suit is turning out I'm happy to wait until these last bits are completely dry. Why rush it this close to completion?

[TK-4510[501st]]

I had TK 4510 send TE the RoTJ decals that I ordered and so they ought to be there. The mistake is likely a result of the fact the the ESB decals and the RoTJ decals are similar.

 

Hmm. I do seem to remember that.... But the color on those looks to be ESB..

[Nassik]

Alright, TE has just sent me new pictures of the helmet. It's lacking its aerators and the neck trim at the moment but it has a lower brow and its decals are in place...

 

Front

 

Left

 

Back

 

Right

 

 

The lowered brow makes all the difference in the world. Now this is what I had in mind as a RoTJ helmet. I'm grateful that TE went back and redid the helmet for me. He's paid a lot of attention to my requests on this suit and he's done a killer job on it all around.

 

I'm expecting the final pictures tomorrow of the entire completed suit.

[RogueTrooper[TK]]

Brilliant Shawn!! Looks like Matt took care of ya!

 

Cannot wait to see your whole new ROTJ suit and lid together.

[TKCaleb]

looks excellent man! i love the decals!

[sskunky]

Looks great! Looks like Matt made a bit more effort with yours than mine! great stuff.....

[Nassik]

I just received two more updated pictures. These are of the ab plate buttons fully painted...

 

Ab plate buttons

 

Ab plate buttons close-up

 

The buttons are painted in the FISD EIB color configuration. The bottommost three are dark blue and the remaining six are black.

[TK-J]

Looks great Shawn. Hardest part now will be the wait for it to turn up.

[Nassik]

As I was promised, I received the final pictures of the completed RoTJ suit today.

 

 

One of my concerns was assuring that the helmet had appropriate green lenses. A quick peek inside the helmet reveals this:

You can clearly see the green edges of the lenses against the white of the helmet.

 

The completed suit:

 

And a few more focused pictures:

 

 

 

and

 

 

Matt (TE) has done a stellar job on this suit. Aside from the accurate details that he put into this suit he did something far more important for me... he listened. As many know, the TE RoTJ suit is not entirely accurate without a little modification and effort. It is impressive and beautiful but not 100% correct. Until this suit was completed. TE listened when I told him how the belt and the shoulder straps should look and he obligingly redid the helmet when I was dissatisfied with its brow trim and curious about its decals. As this suit neared completion he was wonderful with a steady stream of contact and updates. This is not to say that the entire process was perfect as this suit was slow to start and early communication was virtually nonexistent. But as we entered the new year TE was on the ball and he revealed a wonderful and stunning suit that was nearly complete. And now, after a good three solid weeks of work and effort, the suit is finished and ready to ship.

 

* In all fairness, as I think about it, it's possible that this suit isn't 100% accurate. After all, I may know a great deal about the RoTJ build but I don't profess to be an expert to any degree. To the best of my knowledge, though, this suit has been crafted correctly and I am thoroughly pleased with how it has turned out. I don't know if this suit is accurate enough to be accepted as an EIB-grade suit but I am willing to give it a try once both it and I arrive home.