MKE-Trooper

Hey Winter, not sure if you already made your decision but thought I would respond just in case. As far as which kit to go with, I was in a similar situation. Like you I am a perfectionist but didn't have any of the tools or required knowledge to buy an unfinished kit and do it myself, so I ended up buying Jim's armor kit and commissioning someone to finish it for me. I went with Jim's kit because it was mentioned on the forums multiple times that the fiber glass kit has greater detail over abs. After receiving the "finished" armor I was pretty disappointed with the quality of the work. Jim's kit itself is incredible, but the finishing part didn't meet my standards. I ended up making a lot of modifications which required buying a lot of tools and supplies for trimming the armor to fit better, sanding and spay painting. The good news is that everyone on the forums here are EXTREMELY helpful and walked me through any questions I had. I had zero experience working with bondo or anything like this and I was able to pick it up pretty quickly with a lot of reading and asking questions. Now for the bad news, I can't imagine doing this in an apartment. You need a space with plenty of ventilation, I did what I could in the garage but any spray painting really should be done outside. Now for my thoughts on basic approval vs level 2 certification. After getting basic approval I did end up making additional enhancements and getting approved for level 2. All I can say is this, while I don't regret adding the extra level of detail to my armor, I am the only person who will ever know the difference. The average person has zero clue that you are level two certified and the trooper standing next to you only has basic approval. My personal recommendation would be to make the specific level 2 modifications that you see value in doing. For example, I think painting all the armor to the level 2 certifications is well worth the effort and looks much better. However, some requirements no one but you will even tell the difference. I am not saying anything negative about the level 2 requirements, I LOVE that it exists and love the attention to detail, I am just glad it is an option and not the requirement. If I had to do it all over again, I would go with a finished kit from 850 armor works. While the detail in the fiberglass kit is fantastic, fiberglass is also much heavier that an abs. I am working on Scout Trooper kit now and I can't believe how much more comfortable and lighter abs is. Don't get hung up on achieving level 2 certification. If you do end up purchasing a finished kit from 850 I would absolutely recommend doing the "Ready to Wear Painted Gunmetal Two Toned" option which adds the level 2 paint scheme. I would be interested to here someones thoughts who bought a finished 850 kit though. Anyway, sorry for the long post but I have gotten such fantastic responses to my questions that I wanted to be sure and give the same back. You can find my WIP here.

Like most of you I am extremely happy/proud of my finished Death Trooper armor and wanted a way to display it when not in use. I thought it was as simple as purchasing a mannequin off of Amazon but I quickly realized that wasn't going to work. After lots of research I came up with a pretty cool posable mannequin with moveable base. I thought I would post this just incase anyone else was interested. First, here is what it looks like finished Shopping list: Mannequin Torso 16 inch Square Plant Dolly Black Metal Mounting Flange for 1-inch Poles with Screws 4 Hinged Elbow Connector Curtain Rod Corner PVC pipes and connectors Duct Tape JB Weld to reinforce the PVC seams Pool Noodles Wire Packing foam material I had laying around References: Creating A Cheap Posable Mannequin Display Youtube video: How to Make a Posable Mannequin Steps: Removed the arms that came with the Mannequin torso and cut a hole to insert the PVC pipe into the shoulders Attached a Curtain Rod Corner for each shoulder joint Measured forearm and upper arm, cut PVC pipe to length and connected them to the Shoulder Curtain Rod Corner and Elbow Curtain Rod Corner Wrapped forearm and biceps with pool noodle and foam packing material for shape Followed the How to Make a Posable Mannequin video for creating posable hands Outlined my body on piece of cardboard and then laid the mannequin torso in place. Measured remaining space for PVC pipe Cut PVC to length and secured joints with JB weld to to keep hip joints from bending. Wrapped legs with pool noodles and other packing materials I had laying around to shape legs. Once I have the boots on, it can pretty balance on its own, however I did attach a PVC pipe to the base for extra support which spray painted black. Getting the undersuit and armor on the mannequin is a bit of a process but the result is pretty impressive. Hopefully one or two of you will find this post helpful. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Thanks Chaos!

I just got the email letting me know that I have been approved! Death Trooper happy dance! Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way! It has been a long journey but everyone here has been so helpful and has made it that much easier. @ChaosDo I message you about getting level 2 certification?

Great call out on the blaster. Thanks @TookBreaker This article is fantastic! Thanks for sharing.

Other than the back pouch position which I will addressed once I get the new belt material, does the positioning of everything else on the belt look good? Want to make sure the Boxes are in the correct spot so I can use the same spacing measurements.

Thanks for sharing @swman77 I never thought to start getting involved and serving as a handler while finish up my kit and getting approved. Great opportunity to meet the local group and learn.

On to plan B I guess. When I removed the box there are some pretty big holes in the belt, and when positioned correctly would be dead center of my back Oh well, A&J projects just responded and said he has the material in stock and ready to ship. What is another $50-$60 at this point, lol

I reached out to A&J Projects on Facebook last night and it sounds like I should be able to get the material from them. Now that I know I have a back up plan, I am going to try fixing the existing one. The good news is that the Buckle and Hip Boxes don't appear to be glued on in any way which would wreck the rubber when trying to remove them. They are held on by small screws. My hope is that the holes will be really small and I get lucky and they are covered by the holster or pouches when I move everything into the correct position.

I already heard back from Jim, unfortunately he said he no longer has any of the belt material on hand. He hasn't been able to find a source since the pandemic. Any one else know where I can get just the rubber belt material? I emailed 850 armor works but communication in the past has been very slow, so I don't expect a response very quickly.

Thanks @TookBreaker It's crazy how once you have everything on how you are oblivious to how everything is positioned. I was relying on my wife to assist but she didn't know what to watch for. Both the left bicep positioning and the height of the abdomen armor should be easy fixes. The back belt box however is going to be an issue. The guy who originally provided "finishing" services for me cut the belt short so when I position the back box in the correct location, it shows the seam where the belt comes together. I think my only option is to get new built material and reattach everything with the correct positioning. I have a message out to Jim to see if he sells just the belt material. If anyone has any ideas I am all ears.

After 2 1/2 years I was finally able to do my first full suit up today and it felt like it was meant to be that it happened on May the 4th. Over all I am extremely happy with how it went. I know the lighting isn't great so I will need to head outside for better pictures, but I would love to get feedback on anything that needs fixing. I will also be trying for Level 2 certification which I believe I have met all the requirements unless someone sees something I missed.

@swman77I am so sorry the helmet arrived with the Tusk broken off! I thought I packaged it really well. Sorry you have to deal with fixing it now.

I did the same as DoggyDoc. Glued them on with JB Weld and bondo on the seams to blend.

I feel stupid replying to my own thread but I think I answered my own question. Looking at the costume gallery pictures taken from the screen used armor it appears that the Color Scheme guide is correct and the armor shown in the CRL is incorrect. I am not looking forward to masking off that gear to paint, lol.