Lots of questions about my TX

[Sith_Lord117]

Hey. I am almost finished with my trooper and I am wanting to get it approved for Specialist. I have everything in order except for one item. My armor is AM and came with so much stuff including three different types of hand plates. What it did not come with is the back part of the drop boxes. These are the only thing I am without. Does anyone know if the parts normally come with the kit? I am not sure where to go or what to do as I am unable to make Specialist without them. If anyone knows where I can get some that would be great. Another question I have is do I have to be 501st approved before I try to get my Specialist? My last question is what is the official title for my armor.... is it Blackhole trooper, Shadow trooper or Shadow Stormtrooper? I have seen them called different names and I am just so confused what the correct term is. Any help here would be great thanks. Oh while I am thinking about it are ABS TX cheese grater hand plates worth anything?

[DarthDyer76[501st]]

All the names are correct... the black armored troopers have been referred to all three ways... here are some links about the drop boxes:

 

http://forum.501stsp...o-you-tx-armor/

 

http://www.whitearmo...ner-drop-boxes/

 

I'm trying to get my ATA kit together right now as well... I'll have to make my own inner drop boxes, so I've been looking at ways to do it for a while (8 months of waiting lets you do LOTS of reading... LOL)... it doesn't look too tough to do on your own, but you can always go with the premade route from the guy on FISD... whatever works for you...

[toddo[TX]]

Kev over at FISD makes drop box backs pretty cheap. He can do them in black if you ask. Otherwise like Doug said, you can make your own. Most kits do not come with the backs.

 

Shadowtrooper more commonly refers to Utapau Shadowtrooper which is a specialty clone. We are either Blackhole Stormtroopers or Shadow Stormtroopers.

 

The cheese grater guards are for one particular variant of Sandtrooper. AM sends them with his black kits too, but there is no real use for them in black.

 

You must have a 501st designation before applying for Specialist. I'm pleased that you are building toward Specialist from the start. Are you using the AM helmet, or are you replacing that?

[Sith_Lord117]

Hey Toddo. I am currently using a bucket I ordered from ARAKYEL. It is pretty good and fits great. When I was asking around for who sells buckets I was told by many that the AM helmets were not the ones to use. Many suggested ARAKYEL and I am quite pleased with his work. Thanks

[toddo[TX]]

His helmets are super. Good choice.

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Great advice and glad you are doing it right from the start. When I made my drop boxes, I just used some extra ABS to make a back plate. Then I glued that in place and voila. Here's a few old screen shots from when I did it.

 

 

 

 

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Oh, and chemical gloves with latex hand guards are also very much smiled upon!

 

[Sith_Lord117]

Thanks Jim for the pics they will come in handy if I do my own. Where to do get that black ABS that you used? How much does it run? The latex hand guards, are they mandatory or just suggested? The same for the gloves. Thanks.

[ZacSith7]

Looking good.

[Master Tej]

Good choice on the ARAKYEL bucket. Good luck to the rest of your build.

 

To be approved for Specialist, your standard 501st application must first be submitted and approved through your GML. However, you can have the Specialist application all ready for approval beforehand, to have it put through right after when you get your 501st approval, or so I believe.

 

- Master Tej -

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

I added backplates to mine, same method as Jim. I cut mine to fit just inside and built up some plastic pieces inside to glue it to. Mine also have snaps I put in the back plate to connect to my dropbox straps.

 

Concerning the naming, the original name was Blackhole trooper as the troopers were first seen used under the command of Agent Blackhole. This eventually evolved to Shadow Stormtrooper mainly due to action figure development. Shadowtrooper is actually a completely different set of armor (my dream armor) and can be found in the Jedi Knight game series:

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Thanks Jim for the pics they will come in handy if I do my own. Where to do get that black ABS that you used? How much does it run? The latex hand guards, are they mandatory or just suggested? The same for the gloves. Thanks.

 

I picked up a few strips of black ABS from Trooperbay. They were very inexpensive. Also, the latex hand guards are optional, but the real troopers in "Star Wars: ANH" had them. You will need some black chemical gloves to pass Specialist approval though. You can get those from Wal-Mart, or other suppliers.

[Sith_Lord117]

I will check into the gloves and trooperbay plastic. Thanks guys.

[Sith_Lord117]

Before I forget though, I am making a harness for my hand guard so I can just slip it on over my gloves. will that still work for the Specialist or do I need a whole different setup?

[Griffin-X[501st]]

Before I forget though, I am making a harness for my hand guard so I can just slip it on over my gloves. will that still work for the Specialist or do I need a whole different setup?

 

Provided the harness cannot be seen, you're good to go.