Chaos

Glad to see your build is still going. I have Jim's complete kit so you if have any issues/questions give me a shout. I may have come across the same issue. I did make a few modifications to my build after my first troop in it. I will troop this weekend so I will have a chance to see if my mods worked or if I will need to go back to the drawing board. Best of luck with your build.

I would trim them to touch. Nice thing about Jim's armor is that it is designed so that you can trim areas to fit your body size. I would figure out how much you need to loose between the front and back and remove 50% of same amount from each piece (front/back) this will keep the seam centered over your shoulders. When you do that, you will also need to trim the shoulder straps. Be sure to fit the pieces with the under suit on. It does add some bulk to your upper torso. Collar tusks are there for alignment and the length I would imagine doesn't matter as long as it does not extend past the front piece so that its appearance is that of an elephant. As far as the shoulder and side buckles. I attached them with two screws designed for plastic from the back. predrill a starter hole the depth of the screw, fill the hole with E6K and use at least a 1/4-1/2 inch washer under the screw head. Just make sure you use a short screw and predrill, if not you run the risk of splitting. The triangular buckle piece is the weak link. I beefed up mine by taking a thin piece of sheet metal, traced the outline, cut it out, and epoxy bonded it to the underside of the triangle buckle. This will prevent the buckle for being broken if it somehow gets pushed down during transport. Good luck with the build.

https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/plastic_sheets_rolls/acrylic_sheets_transparent_colors/519 I used this company when I needed mirrored lenses for my Shadowtrooper. Dark Green transparent 1/8" 4x10 will work. You might have to heat it slightly to bend it easily.

here's a quick photo I took last night.

If you prime Jim's buckle with flat black Rustoleum auto primer. 2 light coats. Let it cure for 24-36 hours then hit it with Rustoleum chrome. 2 light coats. Let that cure for 24 hours. Then wet sand it with 600 grit just enough to evenly knock down the chrome shine you will have a very nice faux brushed aluminum finish.

Looking good.

Weather stripping, now thats an ingenious idea. Mahalo

Jim Tripon has a build thread in this section (Jimmiroquai - Death Trooper Helmet and Armor WIP) He has all the info you would need to find out about his kit etc. He can also be found on Facebook Jim Tripon, he is a regular in the Death Troopers (Build Group),its the same thing with Denis from the Armory Shop, Facebook Denis Vorobiev. Best of luck and welcome to the SpecOps family.

Thank you Dorothy, probably one of my favorite builds - plus being the first and only DT in Paradise makes me unique to the Outpost

Mahalo for the idea Lance.

So I am tracking, sew it to the spats? Makes sense since they are laced into the boot front, plus I can get to it easier. Good idea, thanks again.

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about putting a strip on the back of my Talibs. So you put a piece on the inside bottom of your calve and a piece on your boot?

Just finished my first trooping in Jim's kit. Had an issue with my shins/calves rotating around. (We were doing a Blast A Trooper so the jumping and dodging movement was probably more than a normal trooping) I had put a snap on my Shadowtrooper shins which attached to my shoe tab. Has anyone had this issue and if so what was your solution?

The only upper part of the Jared that shows is the leather pull tab which gets exposed from the under the rear calves pieces. This tab sits 1/2 up the back seam on the Jared just under the ribbed padding and near the top of the back seam on the Tilib.

Thank you. There were a lot of nights that my wife was an armor build widow. All in all I would say it took me about 70-80 man hours. Plus Jim's kit was super easy to assemble.

Approved! A huge thanks to; Jim Tripon and Jerry Budde for their pieces and parts, and everyone else you has posted their tips and techniques on here. First trooping in it was a Blast A Trooper in typical Hawaii heat. The undersuit's ventilation worked perfectly. The maneuverability of Jim's armor was awesome while avoiding those pesky Rebels and their Nerf guns!

Good Luck Chris. Your build looks great!

From the CRL and the threads.

Sara, currently there are no other levels listed on the CRL other than "501st Approval" You could contact Imperial Boots and ask them if they can make s set of boots in your size. http://www.zappos.co...0170623180343:s One women's size 5 and 7 in stock.

Congrats and welcome to the Spec Ops ohana!

Even if the helmet kit is white, a good coat of primer and then several light coats of Rustoleum 2x gloss black and some mirrored lenses ( I ordered two 4x4" samples and cut and molded to shape these https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/acrylic_sheets_mirror_clear/521 ) and wah lah ... a TX helmet you have

HMs are approvable, however they are not as high at the ankles as the imperial boots so shin/calf amour slides up, and the Doc Martens have the sole gaps exposed. If you have TK boots and aren't going to use the TK any longer you can always paint them.

Well .... never mind my question. On page three of the Optional/Variants thread I found Pat's post with a picture of the wrap around strap. Move along! LOL

So I was bored at work today, and in typical Chaos fashion I dug into some detailed photos and have a question. The CRL states Death Trooper Specialist Chest Rig For 501st Approval: Wraps around the front of the wearer covering the abdominal plate but not the belt or chest plate. Has a webbing strap that secures around the waist. The reference photo shows the wrap around strap, other than the Condor chest rig having this feature what reference was used? I have looked again and again at the DT holding the TK doll and think that the lower rectangular ring is connected to another rectangular ring attached to the side of the lower back plate and both are connected with a elastic strap which has a Velcro closure. I can't seem to insert photos here so I uploaded it my Imgur. I have circled what I am talking about. Anyone else think this is the case or am I just seeing things due to way too much coffee this morning? http://imgur.com/a/8xLq0 I am building Jim's kit and plan on putting a snap for a piece of webbing with a rectangular ring for when I use the chest rig and using a set up just like my reference photo and don't want to be dinged for not having a wrap around strap.

I use my wife's sewing machine ALL THE TIME!