Terry19D

I've used E6000 on all of my TK builds and have never regretted it. Although it can be a bit of a pain to work with if you're in a hurry, it has the most solid, reliable hold out of all the glues I've tried. And yet, with my clone build, I deviated from this and used a mixture of Devcon Plastic Weld & CA glue and found them to work very well, too. Still, I would rather stick with E6000 when dealing with stormtrooper armor - why stop a good thing?

I wear the RT kit, and at our last troop, one of the other guys in the garrison wore his newly-assembled AM. Now, this is just my opinion, but I still liked the RT a little better. To me, the thighs & chest/back look and fit more like the screen-derived suits than the AM. Having said that, the AM kit is a significant improvement over the FX (which still looks good on its own). There are some large differences in design between the FX and AM suits, noticeable in the redesign of the sheaves (calves), biceps, and thigh pieces. There are likely other changes as well, but those were what stood out to me when I saw the suit in person. I'm 6'3" & just over 200 lbs, and I could just barely squeeze into my AP kit without having overmuch black showing, but the RT is more comfortable for my build. I do believe you could make a TE/AP suit work for you, but both AM & RT are designed for larger/taller troopers in mind (or ease of resizing with AM), so I think you would be more comfortable in going that route.

Turning the helmet to the side and twisting it on/off your head is a sign of a more-accurately sized one. The FX has been the only one where I could just drop it straight down onto my head...and I know people who still have to turn even that helmet at least a little to get it on. It's kind of a strange thing, though, that once you get past the head opening, the interior of even an AP is fairly spacious and has room for fans, in-helmet speaker systems, etc. At least that's been my experience.

Overall I'd say it looks pretty good. The shoulder bells do need to be pulled forward some so you don't see as much of the undersuit, but that's more for looks than any requirement. Nice work so far.

That was one of the nice things when I bought my set of OSCS clone armor. The maker did take the time to label practically every part left and right, except for those pieces that didn't really matter (forearms & shoulder bells). I remember having some difficulty when I assembled my AP kit. Had to examine some of the parts for a while before I figured it out.

I had to put in some padding in the biceps, forearms & a small piece in the front of the calves to help keep them from turning. Since you cut the thighs to fit, didn't have to pad those nor any of the rest of the armor. I may go back and take those other pieces apart, cut the flanges off, trim, and re-attach using strips (which is more accurate anyway), but I haven't decided yet. I have other costumes I'm working on that are taking precedence over doing something like that on a suit that works well as-is.

Both of those are very good armor sets, and you wouldn't go wrong in choosing either of them. As far as "pros" & "cons", that's pretty much a personal thing, but I can give you a quick rundown of the differences between them, and the largest practical difference, IMO, is in assembly. RT is fairly straightforward - there are flanges built-in to the biceps, forearms, thighs & sheaves (calves) that you just have to match up and velcro/glue together, taking a lot of work out of assembly. TM armor has been sculpted to try and match the actual on-screen suits as closely as possible, and quite a lot of research has gone into all the details of how they were put together. Therefore the actual assembly is more complicated as you'll need to do a lot of measuring and trimming to get the pieces to fit correctly. I'm 6'3" and I have a set of RT armor and love it. The pieces are built larger and longer so they can more easily accept taller/bigger troopers. I do have to put a little padding in places, though, because even though I'm a good height for this armor, I'm somewhat thinner than what it's capable of fitting. I would not have that issue with TM armor as it's made to be fitted to your personal measurements, although I'm not sure how well it can be fitted to accommodate taller troopers as I have no experience with it. That was the big reason why I went with RT - I knew it could be made to fit right out of the box because that's what it was designed to do. I'm sure others can be even more detailed with their explanations. It really does come down to personal preference. As much as I like my RT kit, I really like the TM and, if it could fit us taller troops, I'd buy a set. Either way you go you'll have a good armor set to get you on your way.

I placed the holes for the tiny screws that hold my armor belt to the canvas belt just on the outside of the moldings, if you're referring to the squares with the circle details within them on the belt's outer edges. This setup is then fastened to the ab armor and is quite sturdy. I just can't take the belt off independently of the armor without a little work, but it speeds up putting on/taking off the belt as all I have to do is pull and fasten and its done. A lot of folks install snaps on the back of the armor belt and snap it onto the canvas belt. This keeps the armor belt completely devoid of any telltale fasteners, leaving it clean-looking.

Looks great! The only thing I see is that it looks like the 02 cannister/detonator has the FX silver decals on it, and it should be gray instead.

Agreed, the armor looks terrific. Nice job, Darryl!

I guess you can look at it this way, too: if you go for a Hyperfirm, it will likely be the last blaster you'll ever need. I receive compliments all the time on mine, and people can't believe its a rubber blaster, even when holding it.

Since the two blasters are made from different materials, it's tough to say if they are of equal quality. This E-11, IMO, might have some better detailing. But seeing that it's a resin cast, it will definitely be heavier and more fragile than a Hyperfirm E-11. I have an ANH E-11 Hyperfirm that I troop with, and I also have an ROTJ resin-cast E-11 that sits on a display case at home. I would never consider trooping the resin one because of its weight as it drags the holster down pretty badly. The only one that would be worse is that ~20 pound MR model..yowza. Resin can also be prone to cracking, snapping, etc. I give out my Hyperfirm all the time and never have to worry about someone breaking it. For two years' worth of troops it's been dropped, bounced, kicked, played tug-of-war with, and all I've ever had to do was glue the Hengstler counter back on (as it was cast as a separate piece and glued on anyway). Not saying that one is of greater/lesser quality than the other. I just think about what I want out of a trooping blaster and let that dictate my choice.

As a proud owner of a "stock" Hyperfirm E-11, I can attest to its sturdiness. However, as solid as it is, its casting still does lack some finesse in the detailing. Your mods make this blaster look downright deadly! I just might detail-up my Hyperfirm when you post up your how-to. Fabulous work! I'm waiting with anticipation to see your RT-MOD build. I, too, have an RT suit and love it, so it'll be great to see another.

Looking good so far! You're likely right about the size of the AM kit, as like its predecessor (as well as RT-MOD) it's designed to fit a wide variety of body types. The good thing about that is that it gives you more freedom to trim/shim what you need so that the kit looks the best on you. I understand being apprehensive about diving in. I remember feeling the same when I worked on my first suit (an FX). Take your time, breathe, and relax. Trim in small increments and fit to make sure you're headed in the right direction. I'll second TM's advice: if you feel that you need to trim beyond the molded-in joints so that the thighs will fit better, go for it, butt the cut pieces together and apply a joint strip. You're doing great, and I'm looking forward to seeing the final product.

It did seem like there was a bit of a disconnect between that listing and what appeared in the Academy requirements section. Thanks for clearing that up, Paul.

I wondered about this, too, as this detail was listed under the "must have" requirements rather than the "should have" or "may have" listings. Just trying to clarify!

I'm in the midst of doing some upgrading of my armor to keep up with changes in the EIB requirements as posted at the Academy, and I've run into a question with regards to the placement of the two holster rivets/screws to hold it to the belt. The requirements state that, for ANH stunt, the two fasteners should be placed at the top of the belt. However, I was running through the film earlier today and, in the scene on the Death Star gantry where the TKs discover the droids in the "closet" (for lack of a better term), all the the troopers' holsters were attached at the bottom of the belt, not the top. SuperTrooper also posted up some screencaps that show this (I think from the same scene). Does this matter with regards to the CRL in where to place the fasteners for EIB?

Very nice-looking suit. Great job!

I use both AP & RT-Mod helmets and can wear my glasses with either one. The RT seems only slightly larger than the AP, so the twist-to-put-on technique is still pretty much required with or without glasses.

Outstanding job, Caleb! Those changes really made a difference, as the suit sits better on you now. Ready to battle some pesky Ewoks now?

I love my RT suit, although I'm a bit thinner than it was designed for so had to pad it up a little in a few places. Still, I needed the extra length in the arms & legs and I think it looks a lot better on me than my old FX. It was fairly easy to put together, so I doubt you'll have much if any trouble. Looking forward to finally seeing you in some TK armor!

FX armor is likely the easiest to assemble and usually doesn't take a whole lot of skill, which is what makes it a great set to start out with if you're unsure as to your costuming knowledge/abilities. Most of the assembly can be done right out of the box, with a limited amount of cutting/sizing (thigh pieces, specifically). The helmet is more difficult to assemble and will probably take up a lot of the overall assembly time. As far as modifications, it all depends on what you want to do. If you are interested in EIB, it is not terribly difficult, especially if you do those modifications during assembly. I really don't know what the average time to put one together - it comes down to how much time you can devote to it on any given day. I've heard of suits being put together over the course of a week or less, and I've also heard of them taking months or longer. It took me almost two months to get my old FX going and then modified up to EIB, and that was the first 501st costume I'd ever worked on. In a nutshell, FX is good armor to learn on as it's fairly forgiving and durable. Anymore I prefer the more accurate-looking armors, but I don't regret at all starting out with FX.

I'm 6'3" and I also went with RT. It definitely does fit taller folks better than any other armor I have had (FX & AP), but it's also built for a larger build than I have so I've had to pad it up in a few places to get it to fit right. Still, I love it.

I also wear glasses, but I must have a smaller head than many folks because I can wear my AP with little difficulty and still have room for some gadgets (sound system and fans). The glasses clear everything inside - I don't have a problem with them bumping up against the lenses, for example. I also have an RT bucket and have to pad it up slightly more as it's a little bigger than the AP. My old FX was cavernous in comparison to the other two.

Yep, the Master Replicas Collectors Edition (MRCE) helmet is a popular choice because of its price and availability, and with a little work it's Legion approved. There are lots of threads around here detailing how others have made all these required changes (and more) to their MRCE helmets, and they are a good alternative to the FX helmet.