Smitty

Use a primer! Yes by all means use a primer! That's my paint of choice as well but its some finickey stuff. And like Julie said, it has a pretty long cure time so it can take several weeks for the paint to solidify all the way to the plastic. But the finish is amazingly glossy.

Looking good, your attention to detail will make for a good looking blaster!

I wish Jedi Robe would trip and fall into a sarlac pit. They sell crap armor for insane prices. It sure would be nice if FISD could telepathically sense aspiring new troops and beat JR to the punch.

Armor isn't brittle like wearing a suit of crackers. You can practically play football in ABS armor. Cyclic stresses are your worst enemy. Over time parts that get flexed continously will tend to fail over time. No big deal because just about every armorer out there is happy to sell you a replacement part for a reasonable price so just build your armor to the best of your ability and if a part happens to break get a replacement and get back on the battlefield. Don't stress yourselves fellas. Its nothing to worry about. I promise you.

Nurturing my Love-Hate relationship with Rustoleum Gloss White Facepalm trooper with his new ears - Thanks ATA!

What a coincidence LoL, I just got back on the resin casting horse and posted a sale thread for some of these parts this morning. Have a look at em

I have 10 year old GF ABS Armor. Its been on display on a mannequin for the past 3 years. Its still a beautiful pristine white. Painted armors will yellow over time. There's now way to avoid it. My display is crowned with a 5 year old painted TE2 helmet and it has started to yellow a wee bit. Cigarette smoke will yellow a painted helmet in record time. All plastics are not created equally. I lost a drop box and replaced it with an AP and over time the AP drop box has slightly yellowed in comparison to the GF parts.

ATA saves the day! Got my new ears in the mail today in practically record time! Love that guy!

Yep thats a surefire tell of SDS armor and those recasted from it. "cough" Jedi robe....

The ears on facepalm trooper are ATA, the rest of the bucket parts are from CAP-W. The ATA buckets in ABS are my current top recommendation

Here he is next to his brother. Facepalm trooper is on the right.

Yeah, its a pair of leftover ears from an ATA kit I put together not long ago. This bucket is a mix and match from parts I've had lying around here and there. They do fit pretty good, its all in the trimming. I've actually considered leaving it as is and continuing the build. I put 2 buckets together today and didn't realize what I had done til I had them sitting side by side.

Nope all screws, I can fix it but I gotta get a new set of ears from ATA. Its one of those things where you paint the mona lisa and when you step back and look at the finished product you realize you painted her ears on the wrong side.

Man you got yourself one snazzy looking blaster! Glad I could lend a helping hand. That stock has been sitting in the bottom of my gun safe for over a year just waiting on the perfect home. Glad to see it put to good use!

My only experience with ATA was one of his helmets and its hands down the finest helmet kit I've ever received. The hovis are supurb. The glossy ABS is just beautiful and customer service is second to none.

Thats about an average price on the sterling. It's probably a century arms model. Century arms is hit or miss. They basically clone popular models. They make a C93 for about $600. They use real H&K parts but don't bother with the machined tolerances. So its luck of the draw. You get some that all the tolerances just happen to be in spec. These guns are dependable beyond your lifetimeand much cheaper than the $2000+ HK93 model. On the opposite end of the spectrum you end up with an all out of whack gun that jams more than it shoots and is better sold. If Century Arms ever makes a MP44, I'll buy the first one I can test fire.

Keep in mind that shortening the barrel on a weapon can land you in legal hot water ESPECIALLY in the state of Illinois.

Well I think there will always be an EIB. If you think about it EIB is a more idealized Centurion. I prefer the EIB look of plastic hand guards and shoulder straps that are attached to the backplate which is why I've chosen not to persue Centurion. Just like some people like smooth helmets and some people like bumpys.

I always throw a click in when I'm talking. Its a simple solution and your not at the mercy of a garage built static burst generator.

The best bang for your buck is the $10 scott respirator mic/amp on Fleabay. Like this one ---------- Simple and powerful.

I have driven in TK armor ONCE. No helmet and the car was an automatic transmission so it wasn't very difficult. I would not recommend wearing a helmet while driving.

It looks like it is related to MovieFX armor. Not the best armor out there but far from the worst. As stated Ebay is generally a shot in the dark when it comes to TK armor.

ah yes, i know this douchebag well. He has several ebay accounts many are closed due to his scamming. He used to go by the name of Gary Chaboya. file your paypal and ebay claims immediately. This guy has a whole heap of excuses to hand you. He was a member at the Dented Helmet until he scammed a bunch of people. He also has an ebay account under insane_collectibles. He is located in Southern California. I had to file a claim with him to get my pulse rifle. I had to get nasty with him once in order for him to deliver my buddy his bucket. Seriously avoid this colon polyp like the plague.

I wouldnt caulk the body armor seams but i have used caulk to fill in ear gaps. Polyseamseal make a gloss white that matches pretty good with no need to paint over it.