toddo

I think Kev over on FISD makes drop boxes in black. I ordered a white pair from him in the past and painted them only for him to reveal that he does them in black.

Boy I've never done that before... twice

I advise making a special trip to Disneyland, riding Star Tours, picking up a Hasbro in the Star Trader store, going inside Club 33, watching Fantasmic, and then going home.

coming along nicely Jim. Keep it coming and beat me to Specialist.

my co-GML Daetrin is the founder of FISD. He bristles anytime this discussion comes up. I always thought he might be overreacting, but I have TK-style armor on several costumes, and I can tell you that it makes no differences from a mobility standpoint for me. I've only ever had to go the bathroom during a troop once, and it was a pain either way. The danger you can run into cutting the cod is the dreaded "happy face" in which the cod pops-out from under the belt without you knowledge presenting a silly smile above your groin. Something to consider.

you were in Legs Diamond?

that's great news. You're going to look great with the right boots. I'm truly digging the ROTJ-style with this color.

I like that the shoulders, helmet, and holster are ROTJ style. I think that looks great for the magma. I still think that the shoulder straps should be fully affixed to the chest plate, but it's ok as is. The boots are the only true problem. Those are mariachi/Elvis-style as opposed to Tk boots.

great progress. Keep it coming!

Now you're talking. Or, you could make a black elastic hammock!

let me know if you find a source for the 1 3/8" elastic.

Scootch does sell individual parts. You have to paint them, but if you're going Nova, that's needed anyway.

That's a nasty situation Drew. I'm sorry you and Rick are having difficulties. I scored a radio from Mike at Trooperbay for a decent price. Mike will take good care of you.

what do you mean you were ripped off by Dirtyboy?

You are correct. There is no need for the thighs to open. All of my thighs slide on and off.

You have to use the size coverstrip that your body requires. If that's what your arms ask for, then that's fine. As for the forearm taper, it looks ok to me in the photos. Basically, you want to barely squeeze your hand through the opening. If that's what's happening, then you are good. If you have space, then feel free to re-adjust the taper. Remember that building armor is a lot of trial and error. That's how you'll be able to give advice to new guys later on

I use a patent leather belt. These are easily available in red on eBay. It is stronger than my canvas TK belt, and IMHO it is one of the things that separates us from our TK brethren.

I look forward to this Jim. With your experience at BSN, I expect to see it built to Specialist bro. I can't wait.

via PM I think we have gotten you off and running. In the meantime I have some major advice: READ. I like researching, but I wish I had done so much more when I was starting out. It would have saved me a lot of time, frustration, and money to have done not only my homework, but all the extra credit as well Read every thread here about Shadow Stormtroopers. As the armor is more or less a black stromtrooper, I encourage you to lurk around whitearmor.net, the First Imperial Stormtrooper Detachment as well. There's a ton of information there and dozens of detailed build threads. This is an amazingly supportive detachment. There are no stupid questions here, so please ask away.

nice-looking paint job on the bucket.

ATA is great armor. Overall this just really roughly-trimmed. It's hard to say from these photos, but I think that the crappy trim job is just on the flashing, and you don't need that. Could we see the larger photos?

Looking at the back photo, you'be got plenty of play in the shoulder straps over the back plate. What I would do is lengthen the distance a tad between the chest and back. That will lower the chest plate enough over the abdomen. As far as the helmet goes, PM inbound.

Nice paint job thus far. Nice and clean. It looks like you are making some great progress. Here's my two cents: I agree with Jim about lowering the biceps. I like the angular nature of the pauldron. Reminds me of the video game images. How did you accomplish that? It could be the angle, but it looks like your right forearm is fitted well to the arm, but the left looks to be needing more of a taper. Looks like there is a lot of space near the elbow. Hard to tell for sure in these photos. I'm curious how you have the chest and back strapped to the abdomen/kidney assembly. I think the chest should overlap the abdomen more. Once you put the pack on, your chest will likely pull up further and will no longer overlap the abdomen at all. Likewise, it looks like some strapping between the back and the kidney could straighten the back plate. Al is correct about the thigh ammo belt. It needs to be centered. From the back photo, it looks to be twisted too far. -Toddo

stop breathing so heavily Nick.