Hello from PSU!

[ender9492]

Not really sure where to begin...

I'm a USAF Veteran, currently studying Graphic Design at PSU, and of course, I love all things Star Wars!
I'm looking at becoming a TK, and eventually a TFA TK.
I'm building my kit right now, and hoping to have it complete by RCCC! (If anyone has any extra trooper boots, size 11, I would be eternally grateful!)
I'm active on the RPF, whitearmor.net, astromech.net, 405th.com, and now here.
If you have any questions for me, hit me up!

[Lidocaine]

Awesome, always nice to have another trooper!

Boots seem to be the harder part to get for some folks, as everyone from the Anovos crowd is scooping them up.

Make sure to swing by our booth at Rose City CC and say hi!

[RainTrooper]

Welcome, Mattheui!
Who's the maker of your kit? Glad to hear you're almost done!  I think TKboots.com is back up and running with boots in stock now. I have a pair and they are great! And there's also imperialboots.com. OR, you can go the uber screen-accurate route and paint black boots white...  Get a pair of Bass Amsterdam boots from Amazon.com, along with some white leather paint and follow one of the tutorials on FISD. That's what I'll be doing for my sandy.  Hope to meet you at RCCC!

[ender9492]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I'm not sure who the maker is; I grabbed a dreaded "ebay" kit. This one seems to be made of ABS (it's pretty flexible), and it also seems to be a ROTJ mold (the details aren't super crisp). I got it for $300, which I thought wasn't too bad a deal, but this was literally a week before the Anovos one went on sale, so I was kicking myself for not waiting. The kit came with literally everything, from helmet parts and all the armor pieces, down to decals, lenses, and cover strips. The only thing it's really lacking is a canvas belt. I don't think the guy I bought it from made it; probably just couldn't fit into it (the legs are a little tight for me too).

Also, I'm trying to go a super-practical route for the armor while still adhering to the 501st CRL, so most of my kit will be held together by elastic and velcro, enabling me to don it by myself, and allowing any future owner to resize it for themselves. The part that's got me stumped is how to keep the calf/thigh pieces from being too tight; suggestions? They seem to barely fit when I hold them on my leg...
Aside from the belt being plastic, I'm also using an eFX helmet, so I'll have to make some mods to that to get it CRL approved as well.

As for boots, I was thinking of jumping the gun and grabbing some TFA TK boots from Imperial Boots. It looks like the Rogue One TKs are wearing 'em, and I'll be able to use it for a future TFA TK when I get the kit. (I know, not on the CRL and not even confirmed if the RO TKs have 'em yet; just looks to be that way.)
For now though I'll settle for some cheap chelsea boots if I can find them, but since I have such little time till RCCC, I'll probably just have to kick it in some white tennis-shoes...

Oh, and I don't have a neck-seal yet. Basically, it's coming along, but isn't quite up-to-snuff yet! Soon though.

[maxsteele]

Hi Ender!  Welcome to Cloud City Garrison!

Do you have a build thread at whitearmor.net ?  That will go a long way to assisting you on your build and giving advice on getting it to fit to you as well as matching basic CRL approval.  It's difficult to know if the kit you purchased on eBay will be base-approvable without seeing it.

You will definitely need to choose what type of TK you are going for in order to have a proper set of CRLs to follow.  That will determine the mods to make on both your armor and your helmet.  If your chest plate has that molded ridge around it, then you're probably already locked into doing a ROTJ TK.

Using elastic is not an issue at all.  I used ribbed elastic for everything except the backs of my shins.  I would suggest to only use velcro to close the backs of your shins.  The biceps, forearms, and thighs should all be completely closed.  The butt plate / kidney plate / back plate can be joined with ribbed elastic straps / snaps, as well as the kidney / ab plates connecting on the sides, and the chest / ab in the front.  Velcro is mostly unreliable to keep pieces closed, and you'll feel more secure with the strap / snap system.

As for the helmet, it's quite a bit of modifications to make the eFX helmet base approvable.  Many troopers suggest it's not worth the extra time and money it will take to modify.  There are some steps listed on whitearmor to do this, but most of the photos are broken links.  This is the main thread that shows up:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/18801-info-on-mods-and-how-tos-for-mrceefx-pcr-helmets/

A big suggestion is to pack up that eFX helmet, re-sell it, and use the money to buy an approved helmet, like ATA or equivalent.  You'll get a much more accurate helmet.

As for boots, I don't believe the TFA TK boots are going to work for base approval.  They are a different design than the boots used for original trilogy TKs.  I personally purchased a pair of Bass Amsterdam boots and painted them white.  Here's a link to my build thread for those:

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/25062-maxsteeles-bass-amsterdam-tk-conversion/

Please let us know if you have any questions.  We're more than happy to help out where we can!

[NavySith]

Welcome

Sent from Kamino using Tapatalk

[Blue Leader]

Heh heh, I just graduated from PSU a few months back. Hello fellow PSU student.

[TD-8821]

hello and welcome!! i will be starting a Tk project here shortly, right at the moment i am a sandie..

[sitpadeshu]

Welcome!  Good luck on your build!  Looking forward to seeing the progress.

[ender9492]

Well, I unfortunately didn't get my TK finished in time... The grieves and thighs are a little too tight, so I'm going to have to figure out how to fix that. If anyone has any tips, lemme know! Otherwise, the upper half of my armor is assembled. I think I'm going to plastidip coat everything since it's HIPS though. Don't wanna crack anything. Also, I'm totally satisfied with the industrial strength Velcro, but time will tell.

I did swing by the booth at RCCC, but you guys were super busy! Didn't really get to say hi or anything.

I've completed all the mods to my eFX helmet, and am looking at getting the TK hovi-speaker system that that one guy sells on eBay. Anyone had any experiences with that? Also need a neck seal and some boots. Thinking about Trooper Bay and Imperial Boots for those.

All in all, I'm about 85% done with my build!
When I'm 100%, who do I need to contact?

[RainTrooper]

Hey Matthieu,
You can send photos to my email when you are done and fully suited up. I am the garrison membership liaison for TKs (stormtroopers). The required submission photos are front, back, both sides, and a bucket off photo. Any other detail photos are helpful and welcome as well. Do you have a build thread or any photos posted on FISD? (whitearmor.net - Stormtrooper Detachment) If not, feel free to send me photos or post them here so we can see  how your build is coming along and possibly give some feedback or suggestions.