gazmosis

Buy an ATA, TM, or RS Props

You can order tube strip templates from trooperbay for close to nothing and I agree with Mathias on the frown. The part between the last cut out tooth and the indent should be painted in and the paint should extend to the corner of the frownI used the Trooperbay's templates for the tubestripes but not as masks. I placed them and traced each stripe with a pencil then painted them

I hope that is a picture in a mirror. If not, I hate to say, your stitching is on the wrong side

Have you considered Vader???

Hey Leo!!! Nice job so far!!! You haven't botched the ears at all. In fact, you have quite the ways to go. Like Nick posted above with the great pic of the original helmet, the round part of the ear is quite shallow when finished. Here is a pic of an ATA helmet with a finished right ear.This is the ear prior to installation. You can see how shallow the round part is. Here is the ear installed front and back.

Very impressive work!!!

Nice build!

The templates that I sent to you in the other thread have the drill bit sizes on them. But all but two holes are 7/16" drill bits. The holes on the top front and bottom front are 1/2 ". The bottom one has the notch for the folding stock but this is optional depending on which stock you go with.

Armormaster armor is an updated version of the old FX armor. It was remolded using new sculpts practically from top to bottom. Although not accurate, the armor was geared towards larger troopers. Some of the parts were darn right HUGE but gave larger troopers the chance to join the party. Take a look at Pandatrooper's build. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/10434-pandatroopers-am-build-threadam/. FX/AM was always picked on for being "less than accurate" armor. Good for basic 501st approval, but the armor stopped there. http://forum.mepd.net/index.php?showtopic=5766&st=40 here is a very interesting link from the MEPD regarding the new "NE" or "No Excuses" armor and some comparisons. Page 3 shows a photo breakdown of the AM armor part for part. A few pages later, it shows parts from the new "NE" armor with some interesting developments. Back in Dec of last year and Jan. of this year, I had the honor and pleasure of being involved with my first RS Propmasters build. I have completed one other and am on my third as we speak. I saw several build threads popping up about the "Received my new NE armor". I looked at the threads and rubbed my eyes. I scrambled to find out why RS had renamed their armor so soon. I contacted people involved with the RS project and RS themselves. There were some very surprised people on the other end of my keyboard. I am currently taking pictures part for part of the RS Suit I have in my possession and am gathering pics from other NE builds. There are certain little mold characters that the RS suit has: a point here and a swoop there, parts in the pre-trimmed stages that are longer than others for some reason, I could go on. The NE parts are just plain and simple, too exact to not be recasted. I hope to post some of these pics soon but many are already in the MEPD thread I posted above.

I am watching this build with great interest!!!! PLEASE CONTINUE WITH YOUR GREAT PICTURES!!!!!

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24633-my-real-sterling-demilled-e11-build/#entry310068 Take a look at some of these shots of the real de-milled Sterling SMG and you will get a better idea of which direction you will need to go. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/24757-pvc-length-e11/ In this link, Vern (who is one of the most knowledgeable people about this weapon I know, has provided templates that wrap around your 1 1/2 in. pipe and will tell you exactly where your hole locations should be. Then spend a little time reading these threads and you will have a better idea of a different approach.http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/127-anh-blastech-e11/

So...is this yet another thread on recasting??? And if so......why has NE not been pinned for recasting RS Props???

Plus or minus 1/8" won't matter so much. Go with 18 1/4"

Are you referring to wall thickness? All depends how accurate you are going for. If you want a duplicate wall thickness, the tube should be 1 1/2 inches outside diameter with a 1/16 th inch wall thickness. PVC is just not available in these measurements. Acrylic tubing is, though

It's right in the neighborhood of 18 1/4 inches. Definitely not longer than 18 1/2

It's the PVC with a little help from some auto polishes and cleaner wax

Hey Guys! I was commissioned to help a fellow trooper with his RS Props build. He was gonna tackle it, but life changes got in the way and his armor ended up back with me. He asked if we could use my place as his workshop. anyway, We had started by assembling his right bicep. When the armor returned to my house, I trimmed out the belt and the chest and said "HEY...why am I not making a thread out of this?" Yes there is a helmet, too! I just never took any pictures of the build process...DUR!!!! Here it is in its hand painted glory.More progress=more pics

Ideally, the bottom screw of the ear will pull everything together as previously stated. Once that happens, and with some careful trimming on the ears, the rubber trim will work fine

I am SO drooling over this!!!! TM is some incredible armor and Paul is the MAN!!!! So attentive to his customers and knowledge to boot. Keep it up!

Wow. Your attention to detail is admired. But don't lose sleep here. The hero blasters in the film didn't even have hengstlers or power cylinders on them.http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/209-screenshot72511jpg/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/225-screenshot72531jpg/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/231-screenshot72554jpg/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/gallery/image/508-screenshot72997jpg/ You will need to have correct t-tracks and the "D" ring on the back. Yes, the blasters should look like they are "used" but don't be preoccupied with making them look like they have been through a combine. Some silver paint and a small paintbrush can go very far in making your blaster look weathered. My guide was to just lay my blaster down in many different positions and wherever it touched, I dabbed a little silver paint along that edge. The doopy do's and DVH kits will serve all your purposes

These troopers speak the truth. There really is no such thing as a helmet back meeting flush with the faceplate. The left side (when looking at the helmet) has always come close in regards to the trimming. The right side provides a lot more overlap. If you have trimmed it too close and there is no material left to overlap, you can always glue a piece of ABS to the inside using some of the material you trimmed off to bridge that gap. It is also acceptable (and somewhat recommended) to put an additional rivet in the lower cheek area to keep the back from pivoting on the face. Also, in looking at the position of the cap on the face, you have it a little off center. The front of the trapezoids on the cap should align with the upper, rear corner of the eye openings.No this is not your helmet, but this is just a visual so you can step in what I am laying down.---------

The biggest one, Brian. 3/4 I believe it is

http://www.goodyearep.com/productsdetail.aspx?id=16154 When working on my blaster project a while ago, I knew I was going to make the movement of the charging bolt functional. I also knew that the parts were going to mostly be resin and plastic and a spring with too much strength might crack things or be impossible to draw back. I was in PEP BOYS and found E-Z COIL by Goodyear. You can look at the link to see it. There is a metal bar that allows the spring to be bent. Remove this and you have a perfect E-11 bolt spring. This is $9.

Glad to help folks!!!!

How many times have you read about a trooper that posted panicked about losing a snap cover on his waist belt at a troop? How many have assembled a set of armor and found out that the snap covers on the waist belt don't provide enough gluing surface to hold it? Here is what I have come up with to solve these problems. First the list of what you will need: Propane torch, a dime, long nose pliers to hold your dime, a metal or wood dowel rod that comes close to the same size as the dime, scrap ABS, something rigid and sharp like a razor knife, 1 inch or similar size socket.Most finished snap/rivet covers are approx. 1inch x 1 inch. I mark several on the ABS to have an idea of where my placements will be.Grab the pliers and heat up the dime until red hot.Next place the dime onto your mark.Yes I wear spongebob pants...ask anyone in the Midwest Garrison. ANYWAY!!!!!!........place the dime over the socket and grab your dowel rod. The socket will provide support for the plastic around the dime. DO NOT PRESS HARD!!!! It will go right through the plastic!!!! Press gently and evenly. This will give the plastic a chance to heat up to the point it is able to stretch without breaking. Lift the plastic and look how you are doing. The dime has now begun to cool a bit but the plastic is still hot enough for you to hone the shape by pushing on the dime.When you have your desired shape, grab your razor knife or sharp, pointy object, bend the plastic a little and pry out the dime.The center of the impression will want to collapse. using your finger, push out the center so it remains domed.Cut to size and you are done!!!!!!! You will want to practice on a few before you get the right look of your final button cover. Different ABS or even PVC will melt differently. The thickness of your plastic also is a huge factor to your success. Have patience and you will get the results you need!