dougefresh

Haha! Glad to see all the praise isn't going to your head.

TE and TE2 are armor makers. Bucks are the moulds the plastic is formed over. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I've read that makers who pull suits in ABS have to repair and/or replace their moulds more often, which I imagine contributes slightly to cost.

You got that right. There's an audible hiss when I take off the armor and my gut snaps back into normal form... sounds like a city bus hittin' the brakes.

AP, and TM are the only makers I know of pulling accurate ANH suits in ABS with any regularity. TE does ROTJ suits in ABS, I believe, as well. TE2 and ATA only offer HIPS. Part of the reason ATA is so affordable is that he's not pulling in ABS. Raw ABS plastic is more expensive, and it takes a much beefier vac table to be able to do it well. From what I understand, ABS also puts a lot more wear-and-tear on the bucks.

Are you talking about webbing at the ends of the tubes? That's pretty common. Depending on where they are, you can probably trim them away.

You've got the vibe down COLD. Totally convincing!

Brandon -- you sand it, then you use an aerosol primer and aerosol gloss top-coat to paint it. I won't lie and say it's the easiest thing in the world to do, but it's not the most difficult, either. You just need to be willing to do a lot of research -- you can find a TON of amazing tutorials right here -- and exercise a lot of patience. It helps to have some skill, no doubt, but it you do enough reading beforehand, and can imitate what you've read, you'll usually be just fine. Depending on the paint you use, you'll need to let it dry up to a week before you handle it. Generally speaking, the shinier the gloss, the longer it takes to cure. I'm not particularly gifted with a spray-can, but I followed Mike's tutorials closely (TK-1450) and I'm pretty happy with how mine turned out.

Nice! I know the helmet's dirty and everything, but you're gonna ruin it if you wear it in the shower. Pretty sure you'll bust the camera too.

You weren't lyin' Caleb-- looks even better now. And that's sayin' somethin'.

Yup-- that's really all ya' need. You can close them in the back with velcro if you want, but typically, they don't need to be suspended from anything.

This stuff, except white: -------- Check out the tutorial I listed above, and follow it FANATICALLY. This paint is finicky as hell.

Rustoleum Professional High Performance Enamel. Stuff's AWESOME. I found out about it via Mike Harrison, and Mike TK-4510. Geniuses, both. Check out Mike's helmet thread here-------- Pretty much the definitive helmet tutorial.

The heat gun scares me too. This will sound idiotic, but it worked. I bent the butt plate into the shape I wanted, forced it to hold the curve with some masking tape, and then left it sitting on one of the heat registers in my house for a week. I built the kit over X-mas break a couple years ago, and was sitting next to one of the furnace vents sanding... the dumb idea leaped into my head, and I figured "sure, it's stupid, but why not give it a shot?" . Totally ghetto solution, but it seemed to do the trick.

Mr. Clean's "Magic Eraser" pads work AWESOME for removing marks. I'd recommend Novus plastic polish to get a nice shine. You can get it at most hobby stores.

I'm still in the middle of putting mine together... but I would say it's more than tough enough for trooping. You'll need to be just *slightly* more careful with the helmet than some of the other buckets out there, as it is noticeably thinner, but it still quite solid, I think. The body armor is a heavier gauge plastic, so I don't think you'll have any cause to worry there. Like any kit, you probably don't want to roll around on the asphalt, or do any UFC cage-fighting in it, but I think it'll hold up just fine to the normal rigors of trooping.

I have to admit, I've never been the biggest fan of ROTJ armor, but threads like these are really starting to bring me around. It fits you to a "T", Caleb. You've done an amazing job-- it really looks like that armor belongs on you. The edge trim is awesome... and I love the vinyl straps too! I think it's so cool that you've got all the little nuances dialed in. Good, good stuff! Thanks for sharing these with us! Nice kicks too, BTW.

TE2 is awesome armor! I'd love to own a set one day. Congrats!

It narrows from top to bottom. The widest edge is the top.

Congratulations, Brian! I'd love to buy a copy, signed if possible! Thanks for making these available to us! And it goes without saying, but endless thanks to you and Liz for contributing to what I think are the two single most iconic, beautiful pieces of production design EVER.

Brad-- Here's my ATA just after being painted: --------- It's a super nice helmet, with great detail, but it's a little on the thin side. I'm very happy with mine, but I definitely feel like I have to treat it a bit more delicately than my other helmets. I think it's a great choice, particularly based on cost, but if you're someone who's a little harder on your armor, I would consider an ABS kit.

I know what you're saying-- you feel like a spoon, clangin' around in a coffee cup.

I keep my suits really tight. Personally, I think the suits look far better when they're form-fitting, and I don't know why, but the whole rig feels far more stable and secure when everything is nice and snug. I leave *just* enough room to be able to move comfortably and then I cinch the belt as tight as I can get it. Everything feels solid and in place, and I can take my mind off of it and just have fun.

Nothin' but net, Amanda. Looks awesome!!!

You're more than welcome, Paul. Kev's right-- you should be able to purchase it at most home-improvement stores.

Cool! I haven't seen an RT-Mod suit come through in a while! Looks outstanding! Well done!