Stutz

Armor maker :AP Height: 6' 1" Weight: 187 Chest: 40" Fits fine, but there will be a little bit larger gap between the shoulder bells and chest than I would really like (i'm being really picky here). Abs: 36" 2" shim on each side. Waist: 36" Thighs: 22" Fits great as is, not too loose, not too tight. Biceps: 13.5" Actually had to trim some off to get a nice tailored fit. Forearms: 11.5" Fit fine, no problems. Calves: 15.5" Fits great, not too loose, not too tight. Other Mods: No

That's a great deal for the AP kit. I'm sure you can make it work no problem! Of course, the AP is a challenge even under the best of circumstances, but that's part of the fun!

OK, I'll bite... Here are my admittedly off-the-cuff comments. There was plenty right with it, but I'm just commenting on areas of improvement. This is just one guys opinion, so take what works and chuck the rest. You've done a really nice job with it so far, and you know your audience and your prof WAY better than I do. 1) Talk slower 2) Enunciate beter 3) This seems to be more of an informative speech than a persuasive speech. It's very heavy on the how-to's and light on the persuasion. You mostly just sort of assume the deal by saying, "hey, we all like to costume, right?!" 4) Much of your examples will go right over the heads of people who don't live this stuff everyday. I could show my wife those Fetts side by side and she wouldn't notice the difference 5) Don't use acronyms without explaining them (e.g. RPF) 6) Don't assume your audience has carried over any knowledge from your previous speeches on the subject. 7) How abut talking about some of the benefits of costuming in general? Imagine you were sitting with a friend who was on the fence about costuming, and he asked "WHY should I do it?" Think about why you do it, from an emotional point of view. Is it for the attention, the camaraderie, the charity aspects, the hot chicks? Leave the HOWs for another speech. 8) Maybe talk about your personal experience (again, with WHYs, not How-Tos) about why you got into costuming, or some great story about the charity work that the 501st does. 9) If you're really trying to persuade, leave out the negative. "It's hard, time consuming and expensive" isn't going to win any converts. 10) Don't rattle off URLs and expect your audience to remember them/write them down. If you really want them to have that info, provide a handout at the end. 11) Focus more on costuming, and less on the actual costume. It's one thing to dress up in one, but what do you do with it? You mentioned "Grays Anatomy". OK, I bought a pair of scrubs, now what? From a personal point of view, I got into this after seeing a local parade where the 501st marched. Seeing those guys in their armor brought back all these fantastic memories of my childhood, and the opportunity to recreate them. I got online and connected with some of the local garrison members and found it to be an amazingly friendly, open, accepting and generous group of individuals. Some of those people have since become great friends. Although I'm not done yet with my armor, I've been wrangling at local events. Seeing the reactions of the kids is priceless, and knowing that I'm making kids happy and helping charities gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. These are all the things that persuaded me to spend $1500 on bits of plastic and glue and give up my weekends to stand in the hot sun. I loved the last quote you gave in your speech about not really seeing the world until you've looked at it through a helmet. I thought that was the best bit! Good luck killer, and knock 'em dead!!!

I'm 6'1" and about 185-190 and the only thing I had to shim on my AP was the ab/kidney, and that only by about 2" per side. Everything else fit me fine with no shimming. If you are generally proportional, there should not be any problems. In my opinion, it has a lot to do with where you carry your weight. So to give you a little more concrete data to work with, here are my measurements and what I had to do to each piece. All measurement taken at the widest point. And sorry ladies, I'm taken. Keep in mind that I'm doing mine ANH style, so there is always some trimming involved to do the butt-seam, finishing strips. And in all cases, I started with actual trim lines molded into the armor. Chest: 40" Fits fine, but there will be a little bit larger gap between the shoulder bells and chest than I would really like (i'm being really picky here). Abs (not waist): 36.5" As I mentioned, I added a 2" shim on each side. Looks fine though. Thighs: 22" Fits great as is, not too loose, not too tight. Biceps: 13.5" Actually had to trim some off to get a nice tailored fit. Forearms: 11.5" Fit fine, no problems. Calves: 15.5" Fits great, not too loose, not too tight. Hope this helps!

I use ABS cement for stuff on the interior like the snap tabs and the shims when assembling the arms/legs, etc. I'm using the E6000 on the outer finish strips.

I'm just about your height/weight, and I'm building the AP kit. It works for me, but just barely. If you want a guaranteed fit, go with one of the larger fan sculpts. I think the AM will be my next suit.

I about 80% done with my AP, and yes, I find that generally it's a pretty tight fit. I'm 6'1" about 190, and so far I haven't come across anything that can't be fixed with a bit of adjustment here and there. The best advice is to leave extra when trimming, and test fit EVERYTHINg before you do the final triming and gluing. I've been through a couple rolls of blue painters tape so far and I'm still not done. Also, any "tweaking" you have to do, try to do it at the back of the pieces so it's not as obvious. Good luck!

When I bought mine 3 months ago, they immediately went to live in the garage. They stank* up the whole place, but since then the smell has dissipated somewhat. It's probably just the adhesive outgassing. I suspect the smell will go away altogether at some point, but I plan to store them separate from my armor for the foreseeable future. * Don't really mind the smell actually, but my wife hates it.

Thanks for the tip! I was planning on making my own out of sintra for my DLT-19, but this will be much easier. I'll run by Lowes today and check it out.

Thanks guys. I've already read through panda and stuka's tutorials a few times. A few more and I might be ready!

OK, add me to the list of folks who just got their new AP kits. I'll join the club and go ahead and start a thread for the inevitable questions that will arise. I'm sure you've all seen big brown boxes of white plastic before, so I won't bother posting a photo. Nor will I post the video of me squealing like a little girl when the UPS driver pulled up. Some things just aren't meant to be seen. I can already tell this is going to take longer than planned. So many pieces!!! I think i'll take it slow and shoot on having it ready for ComicCon in July. The only reason I'm not totally stressed right now is knowing that you guys are here for me to keep me from making any boneheaded mistakes. Now, where to start...

Thanks for helpin' a trooper out! I'll post pics of my project once I get a little further on.

Actually, you could help me out. I'm looking for the dimensions of each leg of the t-track and the thickness. Doesn't have to be exact. Just get me in the ballpark. I'll be making my own and that measurement is a little tough to get off photos, as most of the best shots are just MG34s. Thanks!

Great job, and thanks for the great pics! I'm scratch building a DLT-19 right now to pass the time until my armor comes, and your pics have been a great reference. Especially appreciate the close-ups!

Wow, it's like you know me! Right on all counts. But you left out the six-figure income and the rocket car. But seriously, yeah, my family is great. My wife came from a family where the men's "hobbies" involved alcohol and law enforcement, and not in a good way. She adores my geeky ways. She'd rather have me at home spending my money on costumes and props than have me out late spending money on booze and bail.

Not hardcore by any means, but we occasionally get our Trek on. And yes, we made our daughter a red shirt on purpose. There are days when we feel that she is "expendable". You parents out there will know what I mean.

That is sweet! Really nice job. I'm working on my own scratch-built DLT, so this gives me something to shoot for (no pun intended).

Looks great! Thanks for taking the time to document this. I'll be starting my AP build soon and this thread will be really helpful!