CiaoBirdie

Looking great so far! I have a WTF magma also - great kit!

Thanks for all the help and input I've gotten on here! I'm happy to say I'm now approved (New England Garrison) in my tiny red armor!

Update time. I got some input from my garrison members, and I've ordered a new standard-size butt plate from WTF. The adult size comes with the kidney plate attached which is different from the kid's size which was 2 separate pieces As I said before, I received my boots from TK Boots and am waiting on the leather paint. I'm using Angelus leather paint in chili red as was recommended by WTF. Neck seal received from Teresa Nuthall (Geeky Pink's Phantastic Gaskets on Facebook), and holster ordered from Darman's Props. I had ordered my gloves from TrooperBay but they ended up being ridiculously big so they're now in the caring hands of another member and I've got new, size small gloves on the way. Other than some finishing work, trimming the new kidney/butt piece when it arrives, and the strapping, all that's really left is the helmet. As I've said several times I've been very nervous about starting it but we'll be getting some local build days coming up now that the New England weather is no longer freezing so I've got the backup and help available if I need it. In the meantime I'm going to watch some assembly videos and re-read build guides and finally get this done. The end is near!

Alright, I'm at the point where I can start trying things on. I don't have any of the strapping system built yet for just for the sake of testing I used tape to hold everything in place. How does everything look from the front? Any glaring thing that needs adjustment? The thighs didn't want to stay up without the strapping so for now I'm just holding them in place. The one issue I encountered which I had a feeling I might is the butt plate. I'm worried it might be a bit small as it doesn't cover as much as the CRL photos do. Thoughts? If it is indeed too small I'll get an adult size from WTF and trim down but I wanted opinions before contacting them. They were very helpful when I first got the kit about switching any parts out for full size if I need to. In other news, I received my boots - ordered from TK Boots and will paint red - and my neck seal. I also finished up my shins tonight and waiting for the E6000 to cure. For the test photos I used a brown underarmor shirt I had lying around but obviously will get a black one for actual use.

Ah yes, that's what I thought. Thanks!

Okay, it's been a while. I've been working on getting Rebel Legion approval for my Leia but now I've returned to my magma trooper. As of right now, I've finished all trimming on everything except the shins (I'm waiting to cut out the flash on the bottom and trimming until I get the boots so they are sized properly) and helmet, and fully assembled both thighs, biceps, and forearms. My ab plate was a little snug where the sides curved, but I was able to fix it and stretch it out using a hot water bath and now it fits perfectly (huge thanks to the WTF people for helping me with that idea). I'm going to move on to getting the strapping system going next, but I did take a look at my helmet for a bit. I removed the eyes, did some rough trimming on it and the ear pieces, and took out the teeth (these just need some sanding to give it a smoother look). I did notice though that the brow trim that came with my kit doesn't fully reach easily to the back sides of the traps - it's too short by a half inch or so. If I really stretch it, it can just make it, but is the trim supposed to reach without a lot of stretching? I'm trying to figure whether they simply gave me a trim that's too short or not. I'm also starting on sourcing the soft parts. I'm probably going to get my boots from ImperialBoots. With the shipping it does come to a lot, but it's with the added convenience of not having to try and find a matching paint and then paint white or black boots. Unless someone can recommend going with white or black boots and painting, that's likely what I'll do. I'm probably going to make my belt, as I have a lot of experience with sewing, and possibly the holster. The neck seal I'll probably just buy, but not sure yet. And then I have to hunt down some CRL-appropriate gloves in a tiny adult size That's where I am now! I'm actually suprised at the progress I've made, I thought this would take me much longer to get where I am at now. It's not as scary as I believed in the beginning (though I'm still procrastinating on that bucket really badly )

Okay, pictures. As the armor-making newbie, I had a few trimming questions I wanted to check on before I went any further. First off I wanted to make sure I had the shins, thighs, and biceps properly labeled. Do these look right? Next, I was looking at a couple of pieces, the thighs and the shoulder bells for the time being, and I traced the clear defined lines on the pieces. Should I be following these lines and use them as general guidelines to trim initially?

Well, first mistake in the books, but I had a question: I made the mistake of trimming too much off one of my forearm pieces and took off the return edge/lip at the top end near the elbow. Is this going to be a problem for approval, or is it okay to not have the return edges? The CRL doesn't say anything about it but I wanted to check how bad of a mistake I made.

Yep, I've been in touch with them for a while now. Definitely a huge help.

Thanks so much, that's all very helpful.

Hey guys! I got my magma armor yesterday from Walt's Trooper Factory (a nice surprise after a long day at work). I'd like to start some preliminary trimming and whatnot this weekend, but since this is my first armor build I was wondering if any of you more experienced builders had any tips or ticks, do's or don't's, or general advice for this newbie before I get started. I've done months of research and have all the tools to build it, I'm just a bit nervous to make that first cut. And of course I'll be updating this thread with pictures as I go.