pandatrooper

You probably want to visit MEPD (Mos Eisley police force) as well. Also check out starwarshelmets.com too.

Agreed, it's Remembrance Day in Canada today. Thank to all of the past, present and future members in service around the world. Thank you for all you have done and sacrificed. You are the real troopers, we thank you and will remember you!

PM sent for a personalized copy! Thank you!

Good eye! Maybe they just used what they had on hand in that shot? So it was a mix of E-11's

Nice work Mark, pictures look great!

Sanding by hand is slower but safer. You don't really need a power tool to roughen up the plastic for painting. It drives me nuts when I see people painting on TV, and they just hold down the nozzle and waggle back and forth. The keys to good painting are prep, a clean environment and good painting techniques. My brother was an autobody technician for many years, it's crazy what he can do with mangled metal and make it look new. He taught me well. - after you sand whatever it is you're painting, blow off the dust and wash the item in detergent and water. This will remove: - any release agents on plastic - any dust - any finger prints / oils from your skin that may prevent paint from sticking - let the parts air dry - find a clean / dust free environment to paint with circulation. wear a mask and gloves if necessary. wash your hands before handling parts - spray a primer if needed - do light thin coats. Hold the spray can about 8-10" away, and prepare to gesture across the the object - press the nozzle before you pass over the object, and release the button after you've passed the object - overlap your strokes - do THIN coats. never be tempted to get extra coverage in 1 coat - it's better to do multiple thin coats to get coverage, rather than 1 or 2 thick coats - time your coats properly. read the directions on the can, it will tell you when to recoat, and how long to let things dry - let the object dry thoroughly before handling assembling. Good luck!

Totally Steve. Make sure it's all set to meet CRL guidelines, then you can finally get your TK number and get ready for trooping! Do you already have a troopable E11 and holster?

Thanks guys! Yeah, hero lenses aren’t all they’re made to be.  I might swap them out for flat smoke ones for trooping. The bubble ones are really distorted vision wise. I tried to find some thinner ones like the ones that come with FX, etc.. but I couldn’t find any. I had to get some off “the bay” and they really nicely shaped, smoke color and thicker plastic. But just too distorted vision wise for trooping.

Not sure if everyone has seen this video before (I hadn't seen this until I stumbled across it today) but all I needed to hear was something about "walking through the Lucasfilm archives and finding these stormtrooper costumes in a crate"... and my heart skipped a beat... Pretty awesome footage if you haven't seen this before. Even though the "un-crating" is only a few seconds long, it was still cool to see it. Also, one guy gets the best job ever as an extra on the set - suit up in the desert to go trooping with Navy Seals. --------------

Very interesting, thanks guys. I don't know much about EU, etc.. Thanks Andrew, the DX-9 sounds practical, but it's not very cool looking! Paul, you're right. I think it would be really cool to have some kind of air transport, as well as land (like a larger Humvee). I'd love to design something like that!

OK, so as far as I know, there's not many modes of transportation for Stormtroopers. We know there's biker scouts, but were there any other forms of transportation for TK's that is considered canon? The only thing I can think of is Dewbacks. And I recall in Troops (which might not be canon) I thought I saw a TK riding a speeder bike. But were there any other modes of transportation used by TK's?

This is quite possibly one of the craziest projects ever! Great job so far, the work you've done is awesome! Can't wait to see it up and running. Can you imagine using this for a parade?

Thanks for clarifying Terrell!

I wonder if it has a zipper to allow you to "gut the Tauntaun's belly with a lightsaber so that you can stuff your drunk friend into the carcass" action.

I just ordered an orange one. I've always wanted to make one, but at this price even with shipping, it's worth it. I know I'm not really set up for a TD but I thought it would be cool to wear to parties with some pouches, and maybe one day I'll make a pack (it wouldn't meet 501st requirements I know, just for fun non-trooping events like friends Halloween parties, etc..) Does anyone know: if you go for a 501st TD, are you only supposed to wear a specific color pauldron depending on your status or length of duty on the forums or something? Or can you wear any color you want?

Pretty cool. I actually thought about doing that a few years ago.

Good idea! Coat it with like oil and jumping jacks. ouch... I was reading the making of Star Wars book today. It stated that originally, the raid on the Tantive / Rebel Blockade Runner famous hallway scene was supposed to take place where the troopers are looking for Leia. She hides behind a corner and blasts one of them and they stun her. That hallway was actually just a redressed portion of the Millenium Falcon!! Lucas felt it would be too small, and insisted that larger set be made, and forced the studio to pay for it. They eventually built the large white hallway, since most people would associate "space station hallway" with the white interiors of the 2001 move that came out years before. It would also be more impactful that Vader would appear as black on a white background. Pretty cool story!

I think this is a great way to show kids that anything is possible. I have a cool idea / proposition for you. Why not make a DLT-19 but actually it's a functional crutch / walking stick? Maybe even offer TKboots.com some promotional sticker on the side of the blaster to help promote their product if they can make a one off boot for you. This way, if you ever go to a hospital etc. you can show kids that you can do anything, and still have the TK gear for the job!

Hey Andy, in terms of your measurements of the ANH strips, the general consensus is that the for thighs and shins, the ANH strip screen accurate dimensions are 20mm wide. For biceps and forearms, the ANH strips are 15mm wide. What most people do is use these dimensions for the front of the armor, and have wider shims at the back. I don’t know if you’ve already trimmed the back, but most people make the front view of their armor “screen accurate” and if necessary make the back strips wider. Usually, people don’t trim the back until the front is glued, so that they can size the back properly. Then you can cut what you need to and make a cover strip or allow for an overlap closure. Unfortunately, if you’ve already trimmed the backsides of your limbs, and you want to have the smaller screen accurate ANH strip dimensions up front you may either need to add shims in the back and– or go with what you have, which is wider strips front and back. At the end of the day, you should do what fits your body type. It’s OK to sacrifice a little screen accuracy for comfort if your body doesn’t match the actors perfectly. *ps: in regards to your belt, if you do order one now, just make sure that the overlap area at the back has a few inches of extra velcro to accommodate the smaller your waist will be. Then that way, you don't need another smaller belt, you can simply "close it smaller" but however many inches. If you're mega stuck for a custom belt, let me know. I have extra canvas / velcro left from mine and can make a custom one for you. I'm sure the other sellers could too.

Joey, that's a very good point. I think that location would look great at night for a photoshoot. When I finish some adjustments to my armor, I'll try to arrange another shoot with him. If I can wrangle up a couple more local TK's, it's be great to have a bunch of us trooping the bridge / hallway. Hopefully my work place will OK it!

Wow, thanks guys! Wasn't expecting this kind of response. Maybe I have a promising career as a model for LFL!! Oh, and borrowing from Nazgul / that guy that claims he was a background TK... "PLEASE NOTE: I am dreadfully sorry but because of the increasing number of requests I am at present not able to send autographs by mail."

I've heated up my armor many times in areas that need adjustment with a heat gun with no major problems yet (knock on wood). The key is patience and getting a feel for what the gun can do. I’d suggest practicing on some plastic scraps before heating your armor if you haven’t done it before. I’ll do an FAQ / Tutorial on this as it seems to be asked often, but here’s some tips that might help: They keys are: - Wear some cheap cotton gloves / work gloves. Protects your fingers from the heat and helps avoid plastic “pinches”. - Use the lowest heat setting (if you’re buying a heat gun, get one with high and low temps. High is just too high for plastic use). - Keep the gun about 6-8 inches above the plastic. Too close and you’ll end up with hot spots resulting in some areas being softer, and some harder. - Keep the gun moving! Avoid holding it in one spot. Again, this will result in one spot turning to pudding, and the area next to it staying hard. - Heat an area that’s bigger than what you want to bend / influence. The reason why you want to do this is so that you don’t end up with a sharp kink, you want a smooth progressive bend over an area (generally speaking for large areas on armor) - Bending: I find it’s easier to hold what you want to bend (say you want to make the butt smaller) and bend the hip a little more than the position you want it to ultimately be, then start heating the area. This is better than heating an area, then rushing to bend it. You’ll feel lots of resistance in the plastic at first (it wants to stay straight, but you’re holding it in the shape you want), but as you heat it the resistance will be less. You only need to heat it for a couple seconds more than this, then while still holding the butt, turn the gun off and put it aside. Use your extra hand to support the butt / bent area and let it cool. As it cools, the plastic will harden. - If the bend is not enough, repeat the steps above. Remember, it’s better to bend the same piece 3 times and bending a little more as you need, rather than 1 big bend that might result in a kink or over bending. - Don’t rush, take your time!

Here’s some great photos a photographer friend helped me shoot last week. My work place has this great “bridge” between buildings, and I always thought with the metal beams, dark floor, etc.. that it looked a lot like something you’d see on the Death Star. I wore my costume to work and he snapped these great shots. Thought I’d share them here! Enjoy!

When you say gluing the shins, you just mean the fronts, right? If you glue the front and backs, it’s likely that you won’t be able to get your foot through the opening. Most people either: - Glue the front, have an overlap at the back, with the gaps facing inwards, and using Velcro along the length of the back of the shin - Glue the front, leave the back butt seamed with ANH strips and the “tension” keeping them somewhat closed (screen accurate in ANH) - Glue the front, leave the back butt seamed with ANH strips and Velcro under the ANH strip keeping them closed - Glue the front, leave the back butt seamed with ANH strips and or overlapped and use Velcro at the top / back of the knee area to keep the tops closed

Excellent, so excited guys! Thanks everyone, I finally made it! This has been a dream come true since I was a 7 year old kid. I'm going to have to see if my family has that picture of me in primary school with my home made helmet. If I only knew then what I know now... Thanks guys!