pandatrooper

I just ordered mine! Finally, with proper TK boots I can submit for 501st / EIB.

Try this new supplier here. http://www.tkboots.com/ They only have full size, so you might need a size 9.

Not sure if you guys have seen this or if this was posted before, but this site allows you to take a 15 second clip and remake it in a creative way. All the clips will be put together, and there will be a complete fan made Star Wars ANH beginning to end. Cool idea! http://www.starwarsuncut.com/ There's still some great clips available, including the Han / Luke TK scenes and the "Move along" TD scene! I wish I could participate, but I don't have enough time for it right now. Maybe some FISD guys can contribute!

Whoa, that's like the holy grail right there! Thanks for posting, I'm mailing him right now!

I found a company that I think makes Jodhpurs in the USA, but they don't have a website or e-mail contact. I'd be curious what the cost would be. The thing is, even if we were able to find a manufacturer to do a run (probably at least a couple hundred pairs) the cost would be really high as an investment. I'm just brainstorming here, so my numbers are guesstimates at best. I'm just running some numbers, let's say a manufacturer would make them, in leather, etc.. Due to the smaller run, wholesale cost might be approx $40 (I'm just guessing) at say 250 pairs (this would be a conservative number for a big manufacturer, any less and I'm not sure if they'd do it. If it was a lower cost from China, they'd want even bigger numbers) in various sizes (say, 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 at 50 pairs each), that's like a $10,000 investment - not including any shipping costs. That's a lot of money, and for someone to invest that - they'd want to help the TK community but they'd want some money for their time and effort. So they'd sell the boots for say $75. So there'd be some profit. At the end of the day: - BIG initial investment - some return / profit for their work / time - taking orders, tracking, storage, packaging to ship, brokerage fees, duties and taxes, customs, shipping to customers - potentially being stuck with some sizes (some sizes always sell more than others) - potential returns / refunds due to boots not fitting, etc.. - getting stuck with stock, not being able to return it to a manufacturer - selling leftovers at cost or loss Those are just ideas, but it's a pretty big undertaking. I'd love to do something like this, but it's a lot of money and effort. I think it's worth looking into tho.

I've thought about this too. While there may seem like there's a lot of demand, it's not even close to the numbers needed to order shipments from suppliers. Joey is correct, you either need to order thousands of affordable boots from China (where minimum orders would be very high) or contract a smaller supplier to make them in the USA, but the cost would be quadrupled. Caboots didn't make their own TK boots, they were made by another supplier that went out of business, that's why they only have some sizes left. They haven't been able to find the right supplier that can make the quantities they need at the price they want. They said they should have someone lined up soon and will start making boots in a few months. But they only offer that one style. Personally, I don't like caboots that much in terms of the shiny white finish and the stitching near the instep. You're correct in that if we designed our own boot, it would be better and more based on what the community wants. Ideally, I think it would be cool if there were design choices / options: Standard design: - seamless leather construction or synthetic if costs are too high - no "fancy" stitching - black sole / heel - elastic sides - pull tabs I would suggest offering 2 finishes. A shiny bright white for those that like the style, and a more matte finish off white, that might be more screen accurate to match armor. If necessary, people can apply white shoe polish to brighten them up. Right now, there' no "finished" options for those that want less shiny boots. Caboots are like patent leather white finish, which just doesn't look right to me. I think it might also be worthwhile to contact a Jodhpur style boot manufacturer, and see if they'd do a run with white leather and white elastic. Do a big group buy. There's a lot of Jodhpur makers since they're riding boots, you can find decent ones for about $50. That would be a dream come true for me.

No problem, glad it was useful. I would also recommend putting a small block of foam where the top of your head sits, to prevent it from drooping too low. The reason they don't include that piece is because it's glued tot he helmet from the factory. Derek: I'll snap some pics tonight. The kits comes with the velcro on the foam, but not the "hook" side if I recall correctly. That part is already inside the helmet, but as a trooper you MUST have some extra velcro kicking around. Pics to come.

VT is a another armor seller (recast if that concerns you). I think he's an associate of CAP's who's molds are based off the AP & TE molds. I think it was during a time when people were making armor, then not making armor, selling molds, etc.. and various molds changed hands (this happened before my time, so I'm just stating what I've read). There's a few people here on FISD including myself that have some of his armor. Recasting aside, the armor is decent but the lid is probably not the quality you're seeking. The armor is ABS and is off white in color. The helmet pull detail isn't as sharp or deep as TE2 or some others. It's definitely better quality than FX, but doesn't quite match up to some of the highest end armor helmets. That's just my 2 cents

I totally forgot I had this, but about a year ago, I had placed an order online at 360skate (big online skateboard shop) for some parts for my skateboard and a little skateboard I was setting up for my niece. Anyways, long story short - I had also purchased a Protec helmet liner for a an airsoft helmet I have. I bought a medium, but when i tried to install it in my airsoft helmet, it was too tight. I ended up tossing it onto a shelf where it sat for the last year. I've been gathering parts and supplies for my build, and I knew I needed something for the liner. Bingo! Bust out the Protec liner, and whaddya know... it fits! So for anyone that wants to go a step up from "chunks of random foam", here's an affordable liner you can use for TK helmets. The great part is that you can velcro it in place, and peel it off for washing after trooping. ----- *ps: be aware or sizing, what fits you might not fit me. But here's a tip: when I was a teenager, I worked in a skateboard shop. If you bring your TK lid into a shop, i don't think the guys there will have a problem letting you test the helmet liner out in your lid before buying / ordering one. That way, you can find out what size fits you.

My thoughts are with you, at least everyone in your family is safe! Hopefully the worst is over and you can rebuild. Stay strong buddy!

You'll pretty much need a heat gun to do it. Warm up the plastic over a large area, keep the gun moving and don't use a smaller tip / funnel. Keep it a pretty good distance away and keep it moving! You'll slowly soften the plastic, so that you can shape it the way you want. Try to avoid using your finger tips to bend the plastic, as you may leave depressions. You might also want to wear some cheap cotton gardening gloves to protect your hands and keep the bending smooth.

It's funny, at all of my local stores I've seen tons of these. But almost no stores had E-11 blasters in stock, I was looking for an E-11 for months, so I ended up buying one on the Bay. Then on Sunday, I found a white E-11 at wallyworld so I bought it.

I don't have one, but personally I would suggest hand washing an item that might be fragile or needs to retain it's shape. Throwing it in a washing machine with jeans and whatnot is going to beat it up. Just hand wash it in a small plastic bucket with a couple drops of detergent and cool water, rinse thoroughly, hang to dry. That's the safest for anything. Extreme washing and drying will break down the elasticity of Lycra quickly, so you don't want to do that. It looks like it's made of Lycra, which is synthetic and shouldn't shrink. Cotton and wool shrink, but Lycra doesn't. Have you considered contacting Oiftanker for a neckseal? I know he was making some a little while back. Might be another option for you.

Thanks guys for the feedback. Many interesting points. Dmian, it's funny you mention that people can see more colors. I'm an artist / designer / art director by trade, so I always refer to colors in hues / values, etc.. I looked at my armor and thought "that doesn't look white at all!". but I guess it does match the hues of the movie armor. Pictures, film, post production and lighting can be very deceiving. One of my first jobs out of college was working at a animation studio, and in post production it was my job to evaluate colors and catch "single frame mistakes" caused by the animators in Asia on the cartoon. Nowadays, I use the same skills in my day job (video game design). It's good to see that others understand these principles too!

Looks cool. Another thing you can use is paintball goggles, they make replacement lenses in different colors and chrome and iridescent finishes. Look up companies like Vforce, Dye, etc.

Warm up the old velcro gently with a hair dryer (keep it moving to soften the glue). Peel the old velcro off, and clean the surface with Goo gone or some safe emulsifier for adhesive. Clean the surface to remove any oil, and use heavy duty velcro instead. Either that, or go with the snap plates method.

I know this must be a subjective question, but I've noticed that different types of armor are different shades of white. AP to me looks "white". TM and others look very bright white in some pictures and almost "warm" off-white or "eggshell" in others. I've seen some that look almost cooler grey. I know a lot of people paint their armor depending on the material, but what color is a true ANH style armor? In ANH, everything looks bright white (due to lighting?), but photos of the actual props after the shoot look almost a light tea with milk colored beige. I also notice a lot depends on lighting, where a photo was taken etc.. For "today's" armor, I usually look a TK's boots. If the boots are Caboots (which are glossy and almost pure neutral white) you can tell if the armor is warmer, cooler, more grey, etc.. So I guess my question is, should the armor be a warmer color to look like the actual movie prop, or plain white?

Just make sure they're not the style that's like "modern" Italian inspired, where the toe is really long. Might throw the trooper proportions off.

Thanks Tiffanie, looking forward to seeing the tutorial! I'm also looking into paint methods, as I forgot a Used to use special paints for airbrushing fabric, and I found that some are designed for use on leather. I might try this out, pending your results! Thanks in advance.

Hey Tiffanie, I have a question for you. You seemed to have worked with leather before, so you might know. Even if you deglaze a black boot, will you get rid off enough of the black to actually dye the leather white? Most black jodhpurs that i've seen that were "dyed" didn't turn out that great. The better ones have been painted, since the white paint is more opaque than leather dye, is it not? Also, the Feibings white leather dye is spirit based (which I assume grabs better than water based paints). Would you still need to sand the leather first? This is all just based on what I've read so far, so any insight you can offer would be great (to a person who's looking at getting some jodhpurs and dying / painting them). Thanks!

Looking forward to seeing the results / tutorial. I've been reading up on all the threads about dying / painting, as I probably need to head down the Jodhpur / dye / paint route. Thanks for the info so far!

Black Jodhpurs are easy to find. If you're looking for white TK boots and Caboots has them in stock in your size, I would buy them now. You might get stuck with no boots like me when they run out!

Looks pretty good to me. The sole looks like a dark brown and underneath it looks black. Might just need some black on the sides / edges? Looking at the bottom, the toe might be a little round / squarish, I think Chealsea's were ever so slightly pointier, but that's a minor detail. I think the only thing that might help more is a slightly taller height to the boot, depending on how your armor sits. If the boot is too low sometimes it might get "un tucked" from the shin armor. For other US options, try looking up "paddock" boots for horse riding / equestrian. Great find tho!

Hey Steve, I bought E6000 from Michael's craft stores. I've been to the stores in Burnaby and Richmond, they both have it. Michaels also has Tandy leather snaps and tools if you need to make snaps. I'm not 100% sure on hard hat liners being sold separately, but I have seen hard hats at Home depot and Rona. I've also seen cheap hard hats and safety shields in green (visor) for sale at Princess auto. Great deals there!

Yeah, I think I'll have to do that for now. BTW: see update above.