Bernard

Has anyone found the buckle for the ribbed shoulder straps and side?

I am thinking of cutting the lenses out of a piece of #4 welding shield visor. Nice green but not too dark. How does that sound?

We are going to replace the perforated plastic eye lenses on the Disney Stormtrooper helmets. What is the accurate color and shape for the eye lens in ROTJ and ANH?

Sorry it took so long to reply. I have been busy and haven't checked in. The restrictions of which I spoke are many and varied starting with the fact that all our products have to meet the approval of WDW safety. Also the suits must be extremely durable holding up to some serious choreography. Unfortunately budgets are also often a constraint. We also started with one of their suits when we first made our molds. We had a very tiny budget to make all the molds and 20 finished Stormtroopers so we took a bunch of short cuts to get the work done as quickly as possible. We also have been requested to sometimes use research from different movies to make the suit. All this added up to the inconsistent suit we have. I would like to upgrade components to make it all ESB screen accurate but that would entail changing dozens of suits which would all have to be shipped across country at great expense. Not something that WDW is likely to want to pay for even when the change is easy. They could have us upgrade as we went along but that would mean some of the suits would not match which would bother them more than the screen inaccuracies. I have appreciated all the responses and have passed this info on to my contacts at WDW. They will likely discuss these suggestions for next year's SWW and pass there decisions on to me. Thanks to all.

Nothing beats Plexus MA 310 or 300. It is a two part methacrylate that uses a duo-pak gun and mixing nozzles. You can also get it in a standard two part tube but that really slows down the process. Nothing bonds to plastics better. It is not cheap but it is really easy to use and the bond is as strong as the plastic. It is available at Curbell Plastics. The 50 ml cartridges cost about $15 each, the mixing nozzles about .50 each and the guns can be bought for $35-$50.

I know I must be crazy to ask for this here but I do need to know. I have been working for Disney making Star Wars armour since 2004. We make their Stormtroopers, Clone troopers, Darth Vader, Zam Wessel, Captain Rex, Commander Cody, Boba Fett and the Amidala headdress. I have often heard complaints about the lack of accuracy in our suits in this forum. Often these cannot be avoided due to the restrictions placed upon us by Disney. But I think there are others mistakes which I would like to address and correct. Please let me know what changes would have to be made to have our Disney suits be 501st approved. I have attached photos. Please be kind but thorough.

Not accurate. The Darth Vader lenses are plastic that have a 1/4" air gap under the lens to keep them from fogging. There is a layer of mesh in the section below the eye lenses. See photo. Brian

ARRRGGH! The Today Show gave the C3PO to Lucas as a thank you for all their help. The rich get richer. I was really hoping to get that back.

The Today Show paid for the C3PO so i am assuming they will keep it. I have told the costume designer we are interested in taking it back if they have no use for it.

Maybe, but you have femtrooper Julie so stop compaining.

How much to make a custom suit for a short thick body in a week and a half? Full out with all new molds would probably cost 20K+. They got that suit for $7K, then I have to listen to an annoying anchor complain about it being expensive. She probably makes a million plus salary. She is really annoying, I don't see how she keeps her job. Maybe it is just so people can enjoy hating her.

We vacuum formed a gold plated mylar plastic over the heavy plastic.

We made the C-3PO for Kathy Lee Gifford. Too bad they didn't have more money for new molds and a better body to fit the suit on. We made it in a week and a half.

Assembly photos posted in gallery.

Lots of incorrect information in this discussion. The Disney Stormtrooper armour is made by Costume Armour in Cornwall, NY. The owner of Hangar 11 worked for us at the time and is responsible for many of the molds and suits created for Disney but his company does not make the armour. Here is a link to some of the items we have made: ------------ The original set of 20 Stormtroopers was made at a very low cost to get our foot in the door. Since then we have made armour for Clonetroopers, Darth Vader, Zam Wessel, Darth Goofy, Stormtrooper Donald and Captain Rex and Rex's blaster. We also made the headdress for Queen Amidala. The Rex armour was just a Clonetrooper with a few adjustments and additions. Disney was not willing to pay for a completely accurate version. We always want to go for the most accurate version but Disney often is not willing to pay for the new molds. They also make demands that we mix styles between the episodes. On top of that there are stringent requirements for durability and comfort for the performers which sometimes compromises design. We do all the sculpture, mold making, vacuum forming, assembly and painting here at our shop. We are not allowed to sell the armour directly due to the involvement of Lucas Licensing. The suits are formed in Kydex T, which is a PVC/acrylic blend. It is similar to ABS but stronger and fire retardant. I do have photos of the assembly of the parts that I would be willing to share. Just let me know what parts you are interested in and I will post them.