snoberg

It becomes a debate when you point someone out for being wrong, when they are not, then continue to press the issue. It is a trend I see all the time in threads you chime in on. Then completely refusing to man up and shake hands over it, not terribly mature or classy either. That is my 2 cents, I would suggest giving this derailed thread a nice fat lock at this point.

If it is on the dome section of the forehead, you could try finding a bowl or rounded object laying around and apply heat again while pressing out from the inside of the helmet with the object. I had to do some similar remolding on my legs when I was getting my return edges finished. If it is ABS, you can always sand with a really fine grit and novus/polish it back to a shine, depending on how deep the dent is.

I agree, like I stated earlier I am not going to gripe over 1/4", I do have a problem with people insisting I am wrong when I am not, and pressing the issue to no end.

What point was that might I ask? That I am wrong? Cause that is what all of your replies seem to imply. You said not to cut a tube to 481mm, but I never said to cut a tube to 481mm, I said 481 is about what a sterling should be, and all final measurements put it just around 19", which is what I was saying the whole time, rofl. If you cut a doopydoo tube at 18.5", your blaster will be too long, period, thats the only point I have been trying to make this whole time.

Awesome info! Thanks man. I think a lot of people forget that the doopydoo end cap actually adds a bit to the overall length, the tube does not mark the end of the gun. With this in mind my tube will be shorter than the 18.5 recommended by a lot of the plans and other builds, this way the overall length of my blaster will be around that 19" mark like it should be. You gotta PM me where you got a hold of a sterling! That must have been a badass find.

19 IS the final length, a true sterling is 481mm (~19") in length from the very back of the butt cap to the tip of the folding stock. Why would blastech just randomly put 19" on their scale? They got it right, the real deal is 18.93... inches long, tip to tip.

The 18 9/10" (481mm) length of an actual sterling is indeed from the tip of the folding stock to the back of the end cap, I was not planning to make my tube this long. The plans actually seem to have the gun at 19" in length which is pretty close to the 18.93.... inches that 481mm converts to, so we will go with 19" From the scales in the plans, and looking at many images from actual sterlings, I estimate the stock to protrude 1/4" from the tip of the muzzle. Measuring the protrusion of the end cap and muzzle cap when installed flush with ABS/PVC piping, I get a 1 1/4" addition to the length of the barrel when installed. if 19" is the goal, then 1/4 + 1 1/4 + x = 19 where x is the length of the ABS/PVC pipe. 17.5" Should be the length of the pipe... math'd! Now before I over analyze this anymore, I am going to start drilling holes, lol.

Regardless of the depth of the end cap, sterlings are 481mm long, folded... tip to tip. If you really want to split hairs, if you account for the length that the end cap and the muzzle cap add, which is about 1 1/4", the pvc pipe needs to be less than 18" long.

I'm not going to gripe over 1/4" After some research a true sterling should be 481mm tip to tip in a folded position (18 9/10") in case anyone cares.

I have been looking around for dimensions for the pipe needed for the doopydoo's kit. I know I need a 40mm pipe, but what is the exact length it needs to be for proper assembly using the templates in panda's build thread?

You will be surprised at how much they pull, especially when connected together. I have had trouble getting mine apart sometimes and they are about the same size as yours.

Some pics of the above mentioned issues would help a lot. I can't help much with painting hte armor, my suit is ABS, but the ANH strips are just a 20mm wide strip for legs, 15mm for arms. The best way to make them straight is to use a square and a ruler, mark off your lines and measure multiple times, get it right, then cut. Pics of the helmet, and I can help potentially help you with that too, my helmet took a lot of tweaking too.

TM or AP! pm sent!

What you are looking for is a heat sealing iron. They are mainly used on RC airplanes for I don't even know what, but here is an example: ----- I am currently building AP, and I think there is one very important thing to remember. The trim lines for AP are made with the idea of it still being a ROTJ mold (which it was) thus, it is shaped for overlapping. I truly believe the reason why people feel like they "have" to mold their AP into shape is because they are improperly assembling it. If you are gonna use butt joints and finishing strips, you have to cut down each edge of the shell's lip by half, then it fits properly again, but you get the butt joint. Sure not every edge will be perfect, but I think if trimmed correctly, AP needs very little molding. You may even know this already, so I will shut up if that is so, but this is a very important lesson I learned early on with my kit (which I am loving more and more as each piece is finished).

KHAAAANNN!!!!!!! er... DOOOPYDOOOOSSSSS!!!!! (buy it)

Just because 90% of voice amps are always on, means that it is the best way to go? I understand if you have the opinion of leaving your mic always on, thats fine, but just cause most people have them is not a reason for them. I can easily say that this "90%" is due to lower cost of always-on systems. If this 90% is even an accurate figure. Aker PTT systems and ROM/FX make up the vast majority of trooper audio systems, and both stay off until activated, or a minimum threshold is broken to cue the mic.

There is an audible pop at the end of every line in this scene. In addition, every scene filmed indoors with no background noise, like in the opening raid and subsequent death star scenes, the burst is even more prominent. In ESB/ROTJ the pop/burst is all but gone, but in ANH its a very distinct property of a stormtrooper's voice. Additionally, I personally hate the idea of having my mic always on... nobody needs to hear me panting in the head of my helmet or clearing my throat.

How would you activate them though? Unless you plan to have the channel open for the whole troop. I would think this would be awesome if you could implement push to talk, that way you might even get a static burst, plus your mic wouldn't constantly be on.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at his "courtesy decals"... not laughing at your situation, but at how absolutely pathetic this guy is... yeeeeeeesh. I guess this is why I like sticking to our for sale threads, but I suppose that doesn't help much for the armor itself. Speaking of which, BELT CLIPS AGAIN! Woot! I will have to order some soon.

Cool, you just cut the bottom off it looks like?

I am finishing my suit up, and I polish pieces as I fully complete them, meaning they need no additional work or snap tabs or anything. With novus no less. I ONLY use novus 3 if i have to remove scratches, because it actually is a light abrasive itself. If the piece is still in good shape I just give it 1 and 2.

If anyone can correct me if I am wrong, please do so, but I believe the MRCE helm requires some mods to pass. I think the front mouth is a separate piece like a Master Replicas helmet, and the hovis and frown need to be reworked, but yeah I am sure it is really comfy. Honestly though, any helmet can be made just as comfortable, and some even prefer a stripped down interior for air flow. Here is my AP helm, it feels like a freaking pillow, I love it... I would not rule out TM as well, though I cannot tell you much about it since I don't own it. It all really comes down to what is going to make you happy, you are right. This is a suit you can keep for years and get lots of great memories out of, the difference in price between all the suits is not terrible, especially if you are planning on saving up for it, knowing you aren't going to drop all the money right now. Back to the movie selection, just about every kit is going to be able to pull off ANH, some better than others, and the differences going to ESB are easy mods. ROTJ is a little different, it is supposed to have a lip on the edge of the chest pieces and the seams are supposed to overlap and stuff. If you want to save some money, I would honestly go ANH since that is the most supported format, meaning all the spare pieces for the costume are readily available. Besides, it is the movie with the most reference material for stormtroopers anyways in ANH, they occupy a lot of frames compared to the other two. **slowly steps away from the ESB troopers here... DON'T HIT ME!** As for the bathroom... um, I would suggest going before you suit up, you pretty much have to take off the entire torso to take care of business. Also make sure you get an undersuit with a double zipper, or wear an underarmor (or similar) shirt and pants, again for obvious reasons.

Well, to be completely honest, in my personal opinion, FX is cheap armor. The body is passable with some modifications, but the helmet will not pass for expert infantry, and it really does stand out. I am finishing up my AP now, and I am in awe every time I look at my helmet sitting on my workbench, even in an unfinished state. The problem with FX is that it is a fan sculpt, and the helmet is WAY too big. Additionally, FX is no longer sold as FX, it is now called AM. The AM kit does not include a helmet, so a possible route for cost effectiveness would be a suit of AM, and an AP helmet. That way you have a full ABS suit that does not require painting, and will be very durable. One last consideration is the movie that you are going for, ANH, ESB or ROTJ? There are subtle differences to all of them, and the reason I say this is because ANH uses finishing strips on the joints for the legs and arms, while not required, they really do give your armor that ANH look apart from the other versions. If you are going for ANH I really would suggest TM or AP, because they are easy to make with these finishing strips, and come with material to do so, FX did not, and to my knowledge nor does AM. CHeck out TK-2177's armor here... Notice those nice looking strips down the front of the shin? That is what I am talking about. I almost went ahead and opted out of using them, and that was a mistake, they really do give you the ANH look.

From what I noticed starting my suit a few months ago, there are going to be two major factors in your selection. 1.) Availability 2.) Durability I wanted my costume to be able to be worn, trooped in, beaten up and abused and still look great, for this reason I went AP. There are lots of reasons to go with the other makers, but it is my opinion that I would much rather have a durable suit than one that I need to constantly touch up and babysit like I would have to with a painted HIPS suit (though HIPS does typically bring out much more detail due to its thinness compared to ABS). If you just plan to do formal events, and casual trooping, I would totally go TM and get a really crisp looking suit, but AP looks almost just as good in the details, and it holds up much much better. Those are my 2c!

If these are TK boots: -------- They are all too big, I need 10s... if anyone knows where I can get some please please let me know, I would love you forever.