Carolina Garrison

Hello all,

Got my undersuit and neckseal settled and now I am ready to cut some armor. I have been watching the trooperbay videos on YouTube. I cut left forearm and I now I have a question. So I hitting the pause button and turning to you all.

On the trooperbay video he cuts the forearm and does not leave a return edge on either end the pieces. I believe the CRL states no return edge necessary. I was watching another random builder on YouTube and he was leaving a return edge on the elbow side of one of the pieces. Now I am second guessing what I thought was correct.

Any clarification would be appreciated. Any other recommendations on build videos?

Whether to have return edges on your forearms or not is entirely up to you. However, the CRL for Level 2 or "Specialist" has no return edge on the front edges. Just follow the CRL and build your kit to which ever level you want to achieve. It is a lot easier to build to Level 2 initially than trying to retro-build to level 2.

Whew! Thanks Chaos!

As a side note, on the forearms, since level 2 has them closed with cover strip and no overlapping a lot of people with wide hands have a larger circumference, so they use foam rubber inserts to keep the forearms in place. To prevent the inserts from being too noticeable, some people place a return edge on the upper opening of the forearms. If you were still wondering about that video tutorial you mentioned. Keep us posted about your progress.

Ok...so the journey has officially begun. I will say between finding time to actually sit down and do this and all of the second guessing, I have a feeling this may take longer then I originally anticipated. Please see below. Feed back much appreciated and needed.

Looking good so far!

First I want to say I have deep respect for all that have completed one of these. This is an awesome task but it can be difficult to make progress while getting all my day to day stuff done.

With that said, I appreciate all of the collective knowledge on the web and any input I receive on the forums. My trooper is finally taking shape and I am excited to see him come to life. I have been chipping away when I can so here's my progress so far.





















I have most of the mid section cut out just working on the strapping. Will post more pics soon!

Ok...here we go! I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel! Finally had some time and got a bunch done.

How's it looking??? Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Next up finish...helmet. Also need to add snaps to shoulder bell so I can try all of that on.

I can't wait to get this approved and get out and troop!

Looking good so far, I know it's been a long road but you're almost there. Couple minor things.
- Make sure that on your shins all the top and bottom edges line up and that the transition from outer to inner is smooth and shaped like the CRL photos.
- The shoulder straps can be heated in boiling water for about a minute and molded to the contour of your armor. The black elastic band will help some but it makes it look cleaner when they lay flat.
- It looks like you are following the CRL for the Battlefront Shadow Stormtrooper, so the u-shaped edging does go around the chest edges, but the screws will need to be removed. You can get black auto door self adhesive trim. It will stick really well.
- One last thing, make sure none of the logos or brand names are visible on your undersuit.

Keep up the great work, we need more Spec Ops
Did you start a build thread in the Spec Ops forums yet?

Hi Chaos!

Thanks for the reply. I threw the shins on a little haphazardly so that should be an easy fix.

The shoulder straps have been bothering me so thanks for that tip. I give the boiling water a try.

I didn't even realize there was a logo for the under suit on the back. I'll have to figure something out.

As for the the CRL, I have been following the regular shadow trooper.

Are referring to the screw in snip below? If I paint them black is that acceptable?

Yes, I have a build thread on the Spec Ops forum.

Thanks so much for the feedback!

Thanks Chaos! Always appreciate your feedback.

Where you are seeing the screws is the return edge of the chest armor. I used the wire/elastic rigging to join the chest & ab and also the back & kidney like many regular TK's use.

How can I get in touch with the GML to verify this is acceptable?

Ok I see it now, all I was seeing was what looked like screws holding a rubber strip in placed. The spacing of the screws threw me off. Normally the screw heads are paired/grouped closer together. I got ya now. Painting the screws black should work. I don't see many Shadows strapped like that as it's a TK thing. Apologies for my confusion.

It's all good!

Thanks for looking it over!

I built the wire system from scratch using piano wire. I was intrigued when some troopers on the forums explained it offered a bit more mobility.

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I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have been chipping away at the last elements of my build and I think I may be done!?!

 I would love some feedback before I submit to see if I am missing anything or if anything looks off.

I think I need to close in the gap on my knees??? gloves and handguards are a bit of a mess as well.

 



























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