Hey guys. Just looking for a peer check. I am almost finished with my armor now. I still need a couple soft parts like a neck seal, boots, and gloves (the ones pictured will not be my official gloves). I'm just looking for a bit of advice. First off the 02 canister, I used Izzi's Advice on the Velcro for a less permanent assembly, works great!! But do the strips near the end caps have to be the shiny silver mylar that came with my kit or can I go with a flat black like electrical tape? I don't think the CRL is specific on that. Also I decided to overlap the seams on the main armor parts like thighs and calves and so on. Some parts have a glued seam and some have hidden Velcro. I'm just wondering if finishing strips are required? encouraged? do you guys use them? I thought of putting some on with hot glue or a strong double sided tape just to see if I like them. Just wondering if they are worth the effort. I was just gonna use some of the extra ABS I cut off of the larger pieces. I have not painted the tube stripes on my helmet yet I was going to use the same gloss black paint I used on my ab buttons instead of using the blue decals that came with the kit. And one last thing for now, is it a requirement to have a weapon to join the 501st? I want to go with the BFG setup (DLT-19) no holster or backpack, and keeping the drop boxes. I thought I read somewhere that weapons are not required. Just wondering. I'm sure I'll come up with more questions soon, just let me know what you guys think so far. Thanks in advance.