Rich330

This kind of thing ...

Yes. I know the originals didn't have anything (much) inside the join (the parts were largely held together with just the outer finishing strips) but I like to weld in a strip of scrap material or place a few tabs at various intervals along the inside of the join mainly because I find it a lot easier to glue on the finishing strips if the part is already assembled and properly aligned.

Your home town is a lovely place too. I had a weekend in Kolding back in 1999 when I was living not far from you in the north of Germany (Rendsburg).

Steady on, guys, No one said anything about replacing E6000. All I use poly weld/acetone for is quickly welding reinforcement strips/tabs inside the seam before putting on the external finishing strips. I use E6000 for the finishing strips and everything else.

TM shins ... oh how I have missed these!

Decent bit of progress today. The LFL references for the thighs are great. The TM thighs can get pretty much exactly the same look. The LFL thighs are very slim-fitting though so anyone is thinking of copying them, you'll need to keep measuring. They're about as snug as I can wear and I'm no porker.

The stuff I have has always been liquid. I've never used the thicker cement stuff.

Cool. The pieces of scrap that I tested on seem fine. No excessive warping or other damage. That's the last time I spend money on expensive poly weld!

Ever since I've been builsing TKs I've always bought specialist solvent-based poly weld/plastic weld products for welding plastic. I use it to put joining/reinforcement strips on the inside of limb joints. Anyway, I've just run out mid-build and rather than stop, I decided to test a theory that I have had for a while, i.e. that neat acetone will do the job just as well. I know that the solvents used as the basis for plastic weld products are related to acetone and I've always used acetone to make ABS paste. I tested it on a bit of scrap. First results are looking good. If anything it looks like it may need to be used a little more sparingly but works fine. Can anyone confirm what I'm saying?

So far I have just done a bit of trimming and completed one bicep. I've used various references on the biceps. In general I'm going super-skinny to kind of match the hero promo shots. I'm pretty weedy so I can get very slim on these and just measure up to make sure I can flex my bicep before making it as tight as possible. And I also roughly copied a few of the quirks of the bicep you can see in the LFL archive photos. Not a direct copy but you'll see what I mean ...

Well, I'm building again. This is what will be my sixth build in total and my third TM. Going to complete ANH first but I also have a second set of belt armour and handplates for ESB. I was lucky enough that my order was time just right to get one of Paul's first kits pulled with some rather nice new plastic. Very glossy, a nice ivory colour (less yellowy than other stuff I've seen) which does a great impression of the original stuff under the studio lights. Unusually, it's also glossy on both sides. I also benefitted from a few new innovations. My kit came with original Newey press studs pre-fitted by Paul and, of course, there have been some noticeable upgrades to the moulds as part of the ongoing TM evolution. The biceps, forearms, abdomen, shoulders have seemingly all had a bit of an overhaul (that's just the parts I noticed straight away) and now included is the accurate ab plate/buttons part (negative pull or whatever you want to call it). Anyway, you'll all be sick of me photgraphign every minor detail of my builds by now but I'll be posting a few pictures and build highlights as I progress. Maybe include a few of the references I'm using too. Here's what I received in the post on Wednesday ..

I agree. Get both TM and RS!

It's all down to personal taste. Think carefully about which you prefer ... ... and then go for white because that's my personal taste, I said so, it's in the original movies, it's 3 million times cooler than silly expanded universe nonsense. So there! Hope this helps.

:laugh1:

I just think it's funny that Jens said "lazzie bands". He'll be "fiddlin' de lechy" next. Di do do dat dere dough don't di dough! Ian Rush says dat if Jens doesn't drinch enough milch, when he grows up, he'll only be good enough to play for Ach-rinten Stanley! Sorry for the hijack, as you were, ladies and gents ...

All those that have taken a course in Italian that is!

We can't go on together With suspicious moulds And we can't build our armour On suspicious moulds We're caught in a trap I can't walk out Because I spent too much on eBay Why can't you see What you're doing to me When you don't believe a word the recaster says?

I thin I am too lazy to go and search the forum for it ... Thanks for repeating the story. I genuinely had missed it. They're nice tips by all accounts. I can't claim I've ever spent much time studying this part of the TK though.

Slightly off-topic but .... ... what is the origin of your tips, Mark?

The main reason people advise against it is the heavy grade of plastic. AP armour (as far as I know) is only produced in a thick grade of plastic (2mm), making the armour much heavier than the originals (1mm - 1.5mm). You still might get the original strapping system to work. I personally wouldn't risk it. I would expect it to break quite quickly under the excess weight.

Me too! Trouble is .... I work for myself!

Another two who should get out more!

Contact the UK Garrison for help and advice. There should be no problem getting cleared no matter what height you are but the recruitment officers at the UKG will tell you exactly what their requirements are. There will be no major problems getting armour to fit you either without any serious part-altering trimming. It would probably make sense to go for a kit which is derived from an original ROTJ/ESB mk II suit, e.g. CfO, ATA or AP, as these tend to be a bit smaller. My wife is 5'4" and used to wear an AP suit.

Cool costume, Julie, but "Fem Guard" sounds like a new ladies' anti-perspirant!

This could turn out to be a nice option for the kit. The shin is the most noticeable mirrored part for the wearer.