dougefresh

Does anyone remember what brand, or what the "official" name of this amp was? I'd love to try and track one down.

Looks awesome, Nate!

There is some REALLY nice armor in this thread. Dang-- you guys are good!

Hey, Dave-- the general consensus on the Rustoleum high-gloss is that you need 3 coats of it to get that nice, shiny finish. Do a search for "TK-4510". Mike has done some excellent tutorials that include a lot of invaluable tips about using that particular brand of paint. I'll be using him as a reference quite a bit, as I'm new to painting as well.

This thread has me super pumped to get an ATA kit too! Thanks for posting your progress, Eric! Looks awesome!

Send me your PayPal info, Smitty. I'm buying you a beer for that one. No kidding.

Rolf -- you've done it again, sir! The new suit looks INCREDIBLE!!! I never ceased to be amazed by your talents!

Lookin' good, Stephen! We're pullin' for ya'!

Excellent work, Eric! It's glaringly obvious you poured a lot of time and effort into your rig. Just ridiculously cool! It's awesome to see someone stateside rockin' the TM. Great pics, too! BAD-A** presentation, all the way around!

Richard-- AP is made from ABS, so no worries about paint chipping or flaking. The only concern I would have with you and AP is size. The helmet, in particular, is one of the smallest out there. Smaller than TE2, ATA, etc. I'm 5'11" and 160, and the AP body armor fits me fine, with moderate room to spare in the legs and arms. I have a pin head too, so the helmet works out okay for me. I'm going through the same anxiety with painting as well -- I hope to get an ATA kit very soon, and am sweating bullets about the painting process, not to mention the butt&seam construction method. I think I'll be able to pull it off, but boy oh boy, does it make me nervous.

Fantastic collection, Mark! I imagine it's a lot of fun having all those toys lined up! Could you tell us which is which? I'm curious to see if I'm guessing correctly on all of 'em.

He painted it and everything? Sheesh-- what am I congratulating you for then, Dan? You cracked a beer. Big deal.

Looks awesome, Dan! You did a fantastic job-- that thing is SICK! Glad my first post upon my return from the netherworld is in your thread.

I'm gripped by a sudden urge to buy a giant clock like the ones at NASA.

I agree with Smitty-- Campus police are probably gonna' get 9 kinds of twitchy if you bring a replica sub-machine gun with you. I can't imagine why you couldn't show up in your gear, though. Lord knows my University allowed every fruitloop with a soul-patch, a clip-board and B.O. do their thing. Maybe check with the Campus events folks first, just to make sure it's kosher. And I think bringing a spotter is definitely not a bad idea.

It's a little chilly here in Denver -- 43 degrees F. No snow though, so I can't complain too much. Usually I'm digging my car out of two-foot drifts around this time of year. Last week was freaky -- temps almost into the 70's.

You can see 'em both on BigTurc's AP helmet build in the AP section of the forum. (I spend entirely too much time here.. I remembered that WAY too readily. Ugh. ) You can see the two on the AP page of starwarshelmets.com as well.

There's nothing that says you can't use a canvas belt in your Elite application photos, and troop with the leather one.

You're a friggin genius. Seriously. I'm gonna wrap myself in an orange bed-sheet and hand out your picture at the airport. :D So cool I can't stand it.

Wow, Nick! You've created a fantastic rig! Definitely one of the cleanest builds I've seen. Great job, and congrats!

I totally agree with Paul and Ryan -- the black really sells this helmet. It takes on a completely new mystique -- all mean, and nasty; ready to stomp on people!

Werd. :D Scott is correct-- I was using some of that fakakte street lingo the kids are all meshuggena about.

Werd.

Both the brow and neck trim will stay on with their own pressure. You can glue 'em if you want, but you shouldn't have to. Oh-- and Troopermaster is FAR more qualified to come to the rescue than I am- that guy knows his stuff. When Paul hands out advice, I grab a notebook.

I think the order of assembly is up to you. Some people like to cut out the eyes and frown first, then attach the faceplate to the cap. Some people attach the faceplate right away and then do everything else. I think it's personal preference. If you want to see some fantastic tutorials for helmet building in general, check out TK-4150's tutorial. Some of the steps won't apply, since it's for TE2s specifically, but it has awesome tips on trimming ears, lining things up, etc. Also, I'd HIGHLY recommend Stukatrooper's tutorial on Flickr. It was an absolute life-saver for me. As for the brow trim -- I love the helmets with the slightly higher brow. That's my favorite look. As far as I know, there's no reason a high brow line would keep you from getting accepted. I've asked others about the higher brow, too-- and yes, if you want that cool little arc in it, you should trim or sand it just a little extra. Hope that helps.