Terry19D

The RT chest piece looks really good with FX armor. I think substituting it for the FX chest piece did a lot to make the front of the suit look more proportional, as you can see all of the ab details now. And yes, TE2 makes awesome buckets. Nice work! I'm with Thayne - you should have an easy pass with this suit.

I was going to do the same thing and bought an AP kit to replace my FX. I ended up selling the AP (except the helmet) to finance my set of clone armor, but AP is very nice. It does take more work than the FX to put together because it comes untrimmed, but it's not overly difficult. As for there being a "step" above AP, that's a more subjective question and is up for opinion. Quite a few people hold that TE2 armor is the top-of-the-line set that has been taken from actual suit parts, and that TM makes the best fan-sculpt armor. But that's not to put down AP armor at all, as it really is very good. It's really all up to you on how much work you want to put into armor, and it's all about getting it to fit properly.

Congratulations, Mark! I think we need to celebrate this occassion in the traditional UK (and FISD) manner:

For the three TK suits I've put together, I did each in a different order and it really seemed to make no difference. I think TKs are more forgiving than some other armor-based outfits because the pieces are relatively independent of each other. Trimming/shimming to fit your body is more important than in what order you put the armor together. That's my take on it, at least. Oh, and on my clone I actually started with the forearms/biceps and then did the thighs/calves (in progress), and I'm about ready to start on the torso and chest. I guess the way I approached it is that I wanted to work on all of the pieces that would need significant trimming, shaping, and would need to be put together seamlessly first. Putting together a TK suit is a relative cinch after doing a clone!

IIRC, the MRCE is somewhat larger than the AP. In terms of size I think the AP is pretty much the smallest out there. You'll have to twist it onto your head, but that just makes it more accurate. I wear glasses and can get it on and off with little difficulty. It's a great helmet and has stood up to the rigors of trooping quite well.

I, too, am working on a CT right now - it will be a 327th Star Corps when I'm done with it. You already know a great place to go to find out more about clone armor. In fact, they have a mentor program going on right now for those new to clones if you're interested. They pair you up with someone who has done the same type of armor you're doing and the mentor helps you out with the entire process. I think it's a good idea and I'm waiting to see how well it actually works.

Well, I decided that it was time to retire my FX armor from full-time use and switch to my new set of nice RT-Mod armor. In order to keep up my EIB membership, here are some pics of the new armor. I am still using my AP helmet, the same Hyperfirm E-11, and ab buttons, but I went ahead and took shots of them, as well, just to be thorough. Closer shot of the back split Still using my trusty Hyperfirm E-11. This thing is built like a tank! It's been dropped quite a few times, handled by kids big and small, and rattled around in my armor bin, and it still looks as good as ever. The Hengstler counter did pop off one time, but a little E6000 fixed it right up. Good ole Vaderdave buttons. Here are also a couple of shots while I'm wearing my RT helmet. This isn't up to EIB yet as I still need to replace its smoke lenses with green ones. I just got a pair in from Smitty today, and I'm going to try putting them into the helmet sometime this week.

That's perfectly reasonable and I have no problem with doing so. I took some shots yesterday while the weather was stable and I'll submit those in the EIB request thread. Thanks for the clarification, Paul. It was pretty much what I expected, but it never hurts to make sure.

I finally have the final additions to my RT-Mod armor ready for EIB. This is going to be my trooping suit from now on - the FX is being at least temporarily retired, possibly to be reborn later as a TD suit...after my Star Corps clone is finally finished. Before I posted any pictures up I'd like to know just how much detail is required. A number of the mods I was able to move from my FX to the RT (belt, holster, blaster, ab buttons, AP helmet). If these are the same, do I need to re-submit the detail shots for these, or just show the new changes that were done to the armor, such as showing the sidegaps closed and the split below the belt?

That detail looks kind of like one of those on an RotJ blaster, except it's not quite in the same place. Jess, wonderful work on that suit! Congrats on making EIB!

Jess, that is a super-looking suit you have there! Very nice work. Aside from the things you've already mentioned, the only other picture you might need is a right profile shot showing that side's armor gap closed. You have one for the left side but not the right. Again, great job!

The base EID standards actually don't say how the TD should be mounted onto the belt, which allows for some freedom in choice. There are some TKs who have shaped their own clips, as well.

Which Tandy clips did you get? For my FX TD, I used Tandy #1238-00, and it's somewhat smaller than the flat pieces they mount upon. I am also using this same part # for my RT TD, which is more accurately sized/shaped, and they fit perfectly. The larger clips, such as Tandy #1240-00, are wider and thus would hang off either side of the TD brackets.

It's really a matter of wanting to get it right the first time with as minimum a fuss as possible, which means I'll definitely be taking my time.

I have all the armor trimmed and cleaned up ready to begin assembly. I haven't gotten around to working on the calf "spoons" yet...I agree, that will probably be one of the most difficult parts of the whole suit to get right. I was nervous cutting the face off my helmet, but I think that was easy in comparison with the spoons... I think I'm going to enlist some help from a couple of garrison mates who have a lot of experience with clone armor to help me through the more difficult parts. I hope to have my suit all done by the beginning of summer. I have just about everything else for a 327th - just need to buckle down and assemble/paint/weather the darn thing! Good luck with your clone project, T - I know you'll do an awesome job.

Looking good so far. The left thigh issue seems to be endemic to the FX suit, as mine did the same thing at first. After some fine-tuning and adjustment it's now at about the same level as the right. You might want to add some black strapping within the shoulder bells that will wrap around the bicep armor and help keep the bells in place when you move your arms. Do you still have the chest piece velcroed to your suspender straps? That might be why it and the back piece are up so high, but I'm not sure. The majority of suits I've seen just let those pieces "float" on top of the ab & kidney plates, although I have seen some use velcro along the back of the chest armor to secure it to the ab piece. Also, I think you're wise to take another look at where you make the cut on the butt piece to make the seperation. For a lot of us the preformed line is too high up and makes it difficult to properly show the seperation beneath the belt (if you are interested in obtaining EIB). It might be best to have someone help you measure where the seperation would be seen with the belt on and make the cut there instead. Overall it's all coming together nicely! Looking forward to seeing it finished.

We're in this together, T! I also have OSCS armor that I'm working on turning into a 327th Star Corps CT. I actually used a combination of using snips and the score-and-snap method, depending on the pieces being trimmed. The snips are especially nice for working around curves or for when the trim lines aren't well-defined. I also used both a Dremel sanding bit and regular sandpaper to clean up the edges to the trim lines.

Wow, I'm older than I thought if the film came out that long ago!

I hear ya about the difficulty in getting the ab/but plate seperation to show below the belt. Really, the preformed line on the FX armor isn't the best guide to use, especially for taller troopers like you and I (I'm 6'3"). Ideally another spot should be measured below where the belt rests, and then used as a guide to make the cut at that spot instead. My lenses look light like that, as well, but they are plenty dark enough when actually wearing the helmet because light isn't entering or leaving the same way. Also they are easier to see out of because they still let in enough light, whereas darker grades make it nearly impossible to see under normal conditions - like wearing a welder's mask.

Suit looks really nice, John! Yet another example that FX suits can look great with a little extra work. The only two minor nitpicks about the photos I can see is that Terrell might want to see the kidney/back armor split below the belt when the belt is actually secured, as you could not clearly see this in the one shot where the belt was fastened. The other, even smaller bit is just showing that the lenses installed in your sweet TE2 bucket are green. That's all I could see - really, you've done a great job.

I've never heard of using snaps on armor to help keep it closed... I guess that had not occurred to me because it would be difficult to hide, even painted white, and because velcro or gluing works well enough on their own or in combination. I agree with your logic that using snaps would show a larger gap between armor pieces than gluing (which produces none) or velcro, which doesn't have much of one. But then I've never seen an example of snaps being used so I can't say for sure. It would be interesting to see how it was done - get to work finding those pics, Aaron.

Yes, the MRCE's frown is more modeled on the Hero design with three teeth on each side. The AP comes ready to go in the Stunt configuration.

Well, the MRCE is not quite Legion acceptable out of the box, as there are some alterations that need to be done first. It's not a bad alternative at all to the FX bucket if you're willing to put a little work into it. With the AP, the only part that I'm not sure about are the aerators - they *might* have to be changed out. I don't know if they do or not because I didn't use the ones that came with my AP, as I put in a pair of Stomper's great Hovi-mics w/ speakers and wired up an in-helmet sound system.

Although I've never tried on an MR helmet, it looks larger than the AP. I have an AP and love it (still miss that TE2 bucket... *sniff*). I guess I have a small head because I can get it onto my head while wearing glasses and having a built-in sound system. I think I can even cram in a fan or two in there if I need to, as well. I also have an RT helmet, and it is somewhat larger than the AP, but not as large as I thought (still smaller than the FX). Its also asymetrical, but not quite to the extent as the AP or TE2.

If I understand it right, one of the main difference between something like Devcon Plastic Weld and E6000 is the cure time. Plastic Weld cures in something like 15-20 minutes (although it's not fully cured until about an hour), while E6000 takes around 24 hours to fully cure. It's not good for fast fixes. The other real difference is that Plastic Weld only works on melding plastic pieces together. It actually melts the plastic to form a bond. On the other hand, E6000 will bond pretty much anything to anything, making it a lot more versatile. I've used it to bond plastic/plastic, metal/plastic, canvas/plastic, rubber/rubber, plastic/foam... Personally I love it. The long cure time is its only real downside.