TK6237

I've done both; using a stencil and painting by hand. Result was lots better just painting by hand. I masked off the top and bottom part, used a measuring tape to space out the stripes sorta evenly, and used a pencil and a large coin to sketch up the individual stripes. I then used a square, flat brush, and painted each stripe in a single stroke, using very little paint. As I was using Humbrol enamels for this, I let the first coat dry over night, and then did two-three more coats, letting the paint dry for a couple of hours between each coat. I felt really nervous about doing the stripes without a stencil to begin with, but it actually turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. Also, the result I got looked very much like what you see on screen, with slight variations of the width and spacing of the stripes. Good luck!

I doubled up mine as well; thin green on the outside, heavy welder's shield on the inside. Best of both worlds. =========

I made a harness similar to this, but chose to use a velcro closure in the front instead of a quick release buckle, as the buckle would clank against the ab plate when walking. Before that, I attached my thighs to a waist belt, like others in this thread have done, but the belt would start gnawing at my love handles after a short while...I found the full harness to work a lot better for me.

One of our troopers has a microphone hidden up his sleeve (ie. his vambrace), so that he can hear what the kids on ground level are saying. I seem to remember someone mentioning that he got it from a Secret Agent type playset for kids, bought at a toy store.

Huh, where did my posts go?

I also find the Humbrol #5 looks a bit too dark compared to what is seen on screen, the publicity shots and original helmets. But could it be due to strong studio lights, or, with the original helmets, 30 years of aging? What, if anything, happens to enamel paint when it ages?

About three years ago, a few troopers in the Nordic Garrison, myself included, got a chance to buy TrooperComs. We only started using them last year, due to the rather complicated setup process. I think that´s the real reason why they don´t get a lot more mileage. Because, as far as I can recall, the TrooperCom itself was pretty cheap, actually. No more than GBP £25-30, IIRC. However, there´s a lot of stuff you need to cram into your helmet; A radio, the TrooperCom chip, microphone, headphone, battery pack - not to mention all the wires...You have to connect your microphone to the TrooperCom, the TrooperCom to the ROM/FX and the radio, the radio to a speaker or a headphone. Not counting adapters, in case, eg., your radio doesn´t have the same plug for the headset and microphone (like mine does), or splitters, in case you have a single pin radio (like I do...), or audio extension cables, and so on. There´s also the wire with the red LED, which goes under your one eye (to let you know when the TrooperCom is activated), and the second wire with the magnetic reed switch, that I have hidden under the "ear"-cover on my helmet. You also need to find a radio that´ll work with your setup, specifically your microphone and headset. It took me the better part of two-three days to get everything to work right, and I still run into a few issues at troops every now and then. If you have the radio too close to the ROM/FX, for instance, you´ll get interference. Or the back of your head could be pushing the PTT button on the radio, blocking everybody´s comms, etc. And, sudden malfunctions could be due to any number of reasons; Low battery in the radio, the TrooperCom or the ROM/FX, bad connections between one or more of the 5-6 plugs and sockets, electrical short outs due to humidity... All in all: The TrooperCom system is just too complicated for most troopers to bother with. It´s amazingly fun, and really useful once everything is hooked up and running smoothly. I´ve been to events where we´ve needed to time our appearance on stage from four different entrances, something that would´ve been a lot more complicated, if not impossible without the TrooperCom. Knowing that you can call on your fellow troopers if they should disappear in a crowd, or call for backup if necessary, is also a great plus. But getting it set up right, and make sure it´s running smoothly, does take some time and dedication. Thankfully, a number of the regulars at troops in our Garrison are as enamored with it as I am, so I´ve gotten some great use out of it. But I can see why other troopers would have a TrooperCom, but opt not to use it on a regular basis. What would be really great, though, is a small, self-contained comm system that´ll work out of the box, taking minimal time to set up and service. Anyone up for the challenge?

I´ve got mine in the middle, but Tray´s way of doing it sounds like a great idea. But then again, I´m a TD, so I don´t have any drop boxes. However, I would suggest securing the strap to the thighs with two snaps instead of just one, as this is a high stress area. And having your thighs fall down in the middle of a troop really, really sucks. Trust me, I know.

Also, it´ll feel a lot more solid once you get the neck trim on.

-----my take on it.

Here´s Stukatrooper´s excellent tutorial on how to add snaps to your armor. Just make sure you get the heavy duty type. Here are the ones I use:

The damage done to my armors has always happened during transport. Opening my suitcase, although a hard shell one, and carefully packed and padded with towels and whatever, is always a suspenseful moment. My FX lasted almost two years before taking a hit during a flight, causing a 15-20 cm crack in the chestplate. Aside from that, it has held up admirably, no cracks or lines anywhere. My current armor, a HIPS TM suit, is a totally different story. I bought it second-hand, and it already had quite a few hairline cracks...And it´s just been cracking up ever since. I´ve reinforced all the edges with spare bits of plastic and E6000, which have halted the deterioration somewhat, but I´m still having to do repairs between, and sometimes during, every troop. I always bring a bottle of superglue, some spare plastic and a roll of gaffer´s tape in my kit. Still, I think it´s worth it, as I really love the TM suit. And besides, I believe that if you want to preserve your kit in pristine condition, you´re better off having it on a mannequin in your living room, rather than trooping in it. And that´s not for me. Also, being a TD helps...Weathering is great for covering up repairs!

I use the black chemical gloves, with a pair of thin lycra gloves on the inside (yeah, came with my undersuit - together with complimentary lycra socks and a gimp mask...this hobby will take you to some strange places sometimes!). Works really well, the inner gloves soaks up the sweat, and the smooth surface of the lycra helps with getting the rubber gloves on and off.

I´ll be painting a Sci-Fire E-11 later this month, after turning it into a ESB version, removing the counter and power cylinders. After sanding and priming it, I think I´m gonna use a satin black for the body, but a gloss black for the handle and scope, as these parts seem to be more shiny in the reference pics I´ve seen. It´ll also give the blaster a bit more detail. I was also contemplating on rubbing the main body of the gun with a rough, but none-fuzzy type rag (like an old, washed-out towel) after spraying it, in order to try and replicate the craquelured surface finish, characteristic of vintage weaponry. To finish it off, I plan on painting the ejection port silver, give the front and back rings on the scope a light brushing of bronze, and add some small specs of weathering, like silver scrapes and a bit of black pigment on the ejection port (to tone down the silver) and perhaps some tiny spots of rust. After that, I´ll do what I did to the Hasbro E-11 I started with a few years back - emptying a can of satin clear coat to make sure nothing will rub off on my armor.

Judging from what I´ve read and heard, the difference between approval and rejection when it comes to weathering seem to depend on whether or not the integrity of the armor has been compromised; ie. if you apply real cuts or burns to the plastic. As a TD, TKC, TS, the clone variants and a few other trooper type suits, you can go pretty far with paints and pigments. But once you start burning and cutting into it, removing pieces and replacing it with circuitry to simulate blaster hits - stuff like that - a lot of GMLs will bring the hammer down, however cool you make it look. That´s my experience, anyway. What does your local GML say?