pandatrooper

Coming along. I assume you're going to fill that void with some kind of epoxy putty or bondo or something? One more small thing (I think it might have been mentioned above) since you have that real folding stock, it might be nice someday to extend your barrel a bit longer, so that the stock doesn't stick out so much. The Hasbro has an unrealistically short barrel compared to the a real Sterling (among other changes). Extending the barrel would make it look awesome!

I'm too used to holding my blaster on the right hand from playing paintball / airsoft. So I have to "draw" from the left, and switch grips.

I think a great way for them to make new versions of the suits without damaging the originals (in the 501st podcast, it says during a move within LFL, they discovered 6 unused complete TK's from ANH) they could do the following if they were vacuum forming. If they were injection molding, it would require more elaborate metal molds, but you get the idea: - Do a 3D scan of the original armor piece (say for example a shin) - scan the exterior and interior in order to account for thickness or any refinements they might need to make - import the 3D files into whatever 3D software they use - "clean up" the data, as there will be lots of noise from the scan - from there, they could choose to make the suit / lid symmetrical etc if they want to, or any artistic refinements - split the shin into a left and right side, leaving accommodations for the overlap and ANH strip - once all the data is cleaned up, they could take the interior model, and model a base for it (for use for vacuum forming) - then print the data using a 3D printer, or CNC the shape out of aluminum. They could even print / CNC it in foam, and create negative to positive molds from that, in plaster or whatever they choose to use Now they would have a mold for vacuum forming, based off the original, without harming it.

Wow guys... I had no idea until someone pointed this out to me. It's an honor to be even nominated. I haven't been here that long but it's nice to see fellow troopers appreciate the small contributions I've made so far. I still think I pale in comparison to the Firebladejedis and Stukatroopers of the TK community! Troopers helping troopers is something I really believe in. It's something I will continue to do. It's feels great to be nominated. Thank you!

Check out the pics in the Stunt and Hero sections of Starwarshelmets.com http://www.starwarshelmets.com/original-st...sub-submenu.htm There's plenty of pics of both showing the correct number of screws and where they go.

Sure, just make sure to give credit to FISD too!

My only issue with the Mac air is that that looks / ergonomics wise, it's great. But performance wise, it has a slower processor and memory out of the box than a Macbook pro. I considered it when I got the Macbook pro for my wife. So you're kind of sacrificing performance for looks. But the choice is up to the individual, you need to get what works for you! If you want something thinner etc, then the air is the way to go. Personally, I choose performance first as performance tends to get better every few years.

The back / end cap looks like one for a PVC pipe kit. I would carefully measure the diameter of the body / tube of the blaster before cutting the end off and installing that cap. The more common approach with the doopydoos kit is that the back has a small round plate with a tab for a D ring. Again, this looks like the rear cap for a PVC blaster build to me. For glue, you can use 2 part epoxy or good old E6000. Just sand the parts before joining. Regarding the removal of the Hasbro counter, check for a few threads on here about that. As Vic mentioned, you're in for more patching / covering if you cut the old one off, so be prepared for more work.

Welcome aboard! You'll find a ton of info here if you want to build up a TK (an overwhelming amount, trust me!) Keep in mind that you'll probably run across Ebay auctions, or the Rubies complete deluxe stormtrooper or other 'ready to go' options. One thing I always suggest is think about what you want to actually do with the armor. Is it a cool thing to display? Do you just want to have a nice costume for Halloween? Do you intend to join the 501st legion? How accurate do you want it to be? I would also consider the budget you intend to plan for. It never stops at "just the armor", you'll need other things like a blaster, holster, boots, undersuit, etc.. So you may want to plan for those items too. Some of the following questions / answers may help you in your decision making in terms of what to look for. Here's some tips I created for another post a while back, they might help you in your search for answers (don't forget to use that search function on the upper right of the page!). Good luck! =============== How screen accurate do you want your TK to be? How sharp do the details need to be? (100% screen accurate / EIB status, needs to look good, or needs to be recognizable as a “Stormtrooper”, needs to be acceptable in the 501st?) Do you plan to troop heavily in your TK? This may help you decide on what plastic would be suitable (constant use, mild trooping, display only) Do you intend on painting your TK? Are you prepared to sand, clean, prep, mask, primer, paint, etc.? Have you considered the cost of materials / having the right facility to paint your TK? (cost of paint, sandpaper, masking, respirator / fabric mask) Does the TK come trimmed? Will this save you time or cost you headaches? Is this worth the cost to you? Are you ready to do more detailed work like heating and bending plastic that doesn’t fit? (using a heat gun, heat sealing iron, Dremel, sanding, polishing?) Will you need to add shims to make the TK fit your body type? (you need extra plastic, and will need to cut, Dremel, heat, sand, etc..) Does the “Body” armor come with everything you need? (few come with everything you need – things like elastic, webbing, buckles, rivets, Velcro, glue, etc..) Does the helmet come with everything you need? (lenses, mic tips, stickers, rubber trim, etc..) What tools will you need? I found that having most of the tools already saved me a lot of headache. (Dremel, rivet gun, heat gun, heat sealing iron, glue, tape, clamps, etc..)

There was another thread started on the subject, not sure if there's been any updates. http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?show...museum+replicas

Very nice work, my Padawan. Glad this build was helpful to someone.

Looking good so far. I was much more lazy than you, and just opted for a Doopydoos kit.

I'm there. I've been waiting something like 10 years for this

I think Macbook pro is rated at 7 hours (power on but processor doing nothing).

You can get anti-virus software for the Mac for sure. But almost no one I know (everyday users, designers, audio artists, video editors) most do not use any anti-virus. The community is much smaller compared to PC users.

What?!? She's totally there, dude!!! LOL *note: obviously, this is a joke. So don't send this picture out spreading rumors...

Being a Mac user since 1988, I'm a bit biased, but I'll lay it out for you. I've owned 3 macs since '88. I had an Ibook laptop that lasted 10 years with no problems. 10 years is pretty good performance / reliability for a laptop that went everywhere and was dropped twice! With that laptop finally dying, I bought a new Mac Mini / tablet this past summer for design work at home. Flawless so far (knock on wood). My wife (special needs school teacher) has been a "I'm a PC" user for years. What's been happening the last month? Every day I come home after work, and she's on my Mac because: - her desktop Dell PC is too slow (it's 3 years old and takes 10 minutes to start up), performance is dead slow - her HP lap top internet access is too slow - her work laptop is a junk So I got her an early christmas present and bought her a new Macbook pro. She's fully converted, happy, gets the performance she needs. Not to mention every 5 minutes she's like "I didn't know I could do this on a Mac! What a great idea! I have a that new OS snow leopard right? Can your Mac do this?". Some caveats for sure about Macs: - No viruses (none really that make any impact) - don't bother with Office on Mac, it sucks, it's a waste of money, and buggy - If you buy a Mac, get Iwork and use Pages and Numbers for word processing and Excel / spreadsheet work. You can export them into .doc and XL formats If you're going to get a Macbook pro, get the latest one possible. The better the processor / memory, the better. Make sure it has the latest OS as well. If it's an older model, consider the cost of a new one and compare.

I just took a look, I think it's the San Hill character Brian refers to and not Ventress. - The character standing at the landing platform doesn't have the Ventress outfit "chest and cleavage" design. The character has a solid colored torso, missing this key part. - The "loin cloth" that Ventress wears (hangs down in front of her belt with the artistic design) is not there - the shoulders seem wider than Ventress - the head seems a bit big (which makes me think it's San Hill)

Great photos! http://www.flickr.com/photos/40195501@N06/...57622598924063/

Looking awesome indeed! I think Corey mentioned he's going to be losing some weight when he's able to exercise more, so maybe he'll leave the sides for now, and see how they fit when he's a lean, mean trooping machine! Very nice, and very inspirational!! BTW: Corey, I didn't know you're the Imperial Arms saber guy! I just started getting into sabers too! (on TCSS forums).

Looks like an E-11, the image was recently updated I believe http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=7667 I agree with Vic, I'm not sure if there's something you could do to improve the thighs? The cuts are pretty severe / almost changing the shape. I'm sure the FISD admins would be able to provide final feedback, but I think it'd be good to eventually fix them. Great to see that everyone is pitching in with valuable feedback to help you head in the right direction!

I have a set of black / grey bubble lenses that I got off ebay. Horrendously overpriced but no one in our community was making bubble lenses at the time in black (personal choice), only in green. The ones off ebay are rather thick (3mm?), and almost impossible to see through. They say the area where you see through is flatter for less distortion, but that's really not the case. My plan is to use flat lenses for trooping and bubble lenses for photos, etc.. I find they are really hard to see through and the distortion can give me headaches.

Could you just rivet the inner loop (part that goes under the belt) to the belt. That way the loop part that is exposed doesn't have rivets visible, but you have the security of the inner part being riveted?

I don't think the shoulder bells matter that much with AP, considering that their shoulders, biceps and forearms are the same for left and right.

The Hengstler counter is the box on the left side, under the scope. You could cut this away with a Dremel and patch over the hole with some plastic piping / bondo, etc. and repaint it. Easy fix. For the rivets on the legs, I'm not sure why they need to be there on the ankles? The sides of the torso would look better with plastic shims ideally instead of fabric as Daetrin pointed out. Overall, you're heading in the right direction!