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Rich330

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
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Posts posted by Rich330

  3. TM ANH Stunt Build (WIP)

    in ANH Build Threads

    Posted

    Strapping the forearm and bicep together so they are hinged close together stops them sliding around ;)

     

    Paul, can I hire you to do some after-dinner speaking at our big annual event next year? You won't have to write a complicated speech or anything, Just repeat this sentence over and over for about 20 minutes. :laugh1:

    Sick to death of seeing biceps hidden under shoulder bells and a bloody great black stripe of undersuit between biceps and forearms.

     

    http://www.legion501.com/foros/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=5642

     

    JOIN THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :56pullhair:  :56pullhair:  :56pullhair: 

     

     

     

  4. My new RS PVC Armor

    in Build Threads Requireing Maintenance

    Posted

    I think your shoulder bell problem is due to the relatively wide biceps parts. It looks like you might work out a lot and therefore you probably need the parts a bit wider. That said, maybe the elastic on the shoulder bells is too tight around the biceps. Is it maybe all these factors which are causing the bells to ride up?

    Anyway, RS PVC suits are cool. We all do a bit of post-build tweaking and you'll soon have it sitting perfectly.

  5. ARGH!

    in Assembly, Mods, and Painting

    Posted

    You also did that with your hand guards, remember? :lol:

     

    Crikey! Your memory is good. That doesn't count though. That was 100% screen-accurate! I just happened to pick the screen grab of the one guy on set with the guards on back-to-front.

    :lol:

    Funny but true!

  13. Compare TM, RS, and ATA armor?

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted · Edited by Sly11
    Edited to restore the image by Sly11, 2020

    As promised, here are my comparison shots. It's a less than scientific excercise but I think it illustrates roughly what I was saying about the main difference between the helmets being the relative steepness of the curve in the jaw/chin area and how deep the chin reaches.

     

    The ESB is a TM, assembled and painted by Paul in Octoiber/November 2010

    The ANH is an RS, assembled by RS in June or July of 2012 and painted by me recently 

     

    9InICJs.jpg

     

    ATM2J78.jpg

     

    bKMdQL1.jpg

     

    34PnPpP.jpg

     

    9ZWaMVT.jpg

     

  14. Compare TM, RS, and ATA armor?

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted

    It's a slightly misleading photo. The RS is slightly bigger. The most noticeable area (just to me subjectively, i.e. I've not measured it) where the RS is bigger is the chin/jaw area. The part that curves forwards in the chin area comes steeper and lower than on the TM. With the helmets in this photo both resting on the chin area, teh RS is made to look taller and thus bigger all round. The difference is less drastic in person and from other angles.

    I'll take some photos later.

  15. Compare TM, RS, and ATA armor?

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted · Edited by Sly11
    Edited to restore the image by Sly11, 2020

    On 9/7/2013 at 12:43 AM, Kilryth said:

    Wow this summary couldnt be stated better. The photo collage really helps show the differences, especially in the width of the torso armor and helmet. How do you like your TM ESB? That is a lot like the style I was leaning towards.

     

    I now just have the one set of TM armour (1.5mm ABS) which I use with different helmets/Holsters/handguards to switch between ANH & ESB and it's the one I have settled on finally. So, great. Incidentally, one of my ANH helmets is an RS.

     

    With TM ESB helmet (1mm ABS painted by TM)

    CXIabY4.jpg

     

    With TM ANH helmet (plain 1.5mm ABS with hand-painted details) & Sonnenschein latex hand guards

     

    sMw2NpZ.jpg

     

    PCZw3dD.jpg

     

    RS ANH helmet (1.5 mm ABS painted by me)

    rZopi0J.jpg

     

     

  16. Compare TM, RS, and ATA armor?

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted · Edited by Sly11
    Edited to restore the image by Sly11, 2020

    On 9/6/2013 at 11:32 PM, Kilryth said:

    Rick330, this is EXACTLY the type of review I was looking for. Thank you so much for your detailed review and critiques of the armor. The cool factor of the RS amazes me, but I think the TM would line up more with my hobby uses. Especially since

     

    Does anyone have a similar comparison with ATA and TM? I know theres going to be differences, since TM has spent sooo much effort over time in improvement. Its just hard to take that plunge bcuz its twice as much as my Mando armor and Revan armor. Though I certainly understand the expense due to demand and time invested.

     

    You guys have helped so much!!

     

    You're welcome. Probably the biggest difference you're going to find between RS/TM and ATA is the size. All the TE-lineage stuff (ATA, TE, TE2, AP) are quite noticeably smaller. Including the helmet.

    Done up with cover strips the suits still look great but are more suited to slimmer troopers. I've never really been convinced by the appearance of a heavily shimmed suit of armour.

    The chest plate is the most obvious smaller part at first glance.The shoulder bells can look a bit shrunken. All this area looks a little reduced on someone who is well built or even someone who does a few weights. Much less room around the waist too. The rest is maybe less obvious when built nicely. It still looks like a Stormtrooper to me  but is clearly smaller.

     

    Here's me in AP for reference (it has the same origin as ATA and is still very, very close with some minor mould modifications).

    I'm 5'8" and around 155lbs (1.72m / 70kg). 

     

    y5hGPnU.jpg

     

     

  17. Compare TM, RS, and ATA armor?

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted · Edited by Sly11
    Edit removed dead link Sly11 2020

    Here's something I wrote about a year ago after having owned two TM suits, had sold them both, bought an RS and sold it again to buy my current TM.

     

    Before anyone loses track of the genuine message of my review and gets their panties in a wad, bear in mind IF I COULD REALISTICALLY OWN BOTH I WOULD. I LOVE BOTH! Got it?

    ATA doesn't feature as it really isn't comparable and I cannot offer any insight.

    Apologies if some of this is no longer up-to-date.

     

    The RS is excellent. An amazing piece of history. The helmet is the best you can get in my opinion. The whole armout is the only suit cast from an original from the original movie which is cool in itself. And it will always be the best option for replicating Simon's suit.
    To me though, it's not the best option for a generic stormtrooper look.
     
    It's cast from one specific suit and that suit is also pretty damaged and has its own irregularities.
    I think I’m right in saying that the guys at RS didn't take the suit apart to cast it. As a consequence I don’t think the results of casting the suit are as good as the helmet. The helmet turned out incredibly well.
    A lot of the natural curve and lines of the armour parts have not been reproduced particularly well. There are a lot of very flat parts which don’t follow the contours of the body and some detail is missing from those parts (e.g. the lines at the sides of the torso – I think this area is quite heavily damaged and worn on Simon’s original suit).
     
    Simon's suit also has two right arms (i.e. not a complete left and right set). So, what you get in the kit is one right arm (cast from the original) and one replacement left arm (which looks like an older generation TM arm but I am advised it was sculpted from scratch). 
    They are a poor match. The arm which resembles the old TM is too rounded and should be flatter (that’s why TM reworked his design after seeing the RS suit up-close) and the original arm is on the excessively flat side because of the limited casting results.
     
    The biggest negative (for recreating a generic stormtrooper look!) I have to say about the RS concerns the shins. 
    Again, the original suit is quirky and has incorrectly assembled shins. On both legs the shin armour is assembled from outer parts only. There are no inner shin parts. So the shins never fit properly on the original suit. No real biggy, let’s just call it ANH mojo. If you want a replica of the only ANH suit currently being cast, this is the way it has to be.
    Now, here's the real bummer … It seems the guys tried to resculpt it and make it more like a proper set of shin armour. I don’t like the results. 
    The moulds have been altered and all four parts are completely different and no longer resemble anything on any original suit. It’s neither a replica of Simon’s suit, nor is it a successfully resculpted full set of shin armour. 
    In my opinion they should either have just left them as they were. 
     
    Simon’s original suit …
     
     
     
    Parts from the RS kit …
     
     
    Built up it looks excellent apart from maybe the shins and you can probably shape the flat parts with a heat gun to make assembly easier. I personally didn't. You could probably do a better job than I did all-round if you make the effort.
     
    Have a look at my photos and see how the TM (which is the same size) fits much better because the curvature is correct. There is no extra trimming on any of the suits, the general dimensions of all the parts are almost exactly the same …
     
    RS
     
     
    TM
     
     
    So what about TM then ....
     
    Don't forget that TM has had access to Simon's suit. He has all the measurements, a stack of photos and has seen all the things he hadn't already picked up on from reference material over the years. He also knows what is missing from Simon‘s suit and which still needs to be included in the ideal generic stormtrooper armour.
     
    The TM suit's dimensions are near perfect as far as I can tell. It also includes all the detail that has been lost on the RS. 
     
    TM has spent 12 years engineering his suit, working from reference pictures. It has all the correct left/right parts and fits together just like the kits that they would have had in the props department.
    There is allowance in the moulds to trim the parts as you want, with varied width fittings. This is near impossible on the RS because it was cast from a suit trimmed in one specific way. The original moulded parts originally had more material on them, you can see that from the way other suits have been assembled.
     
    The only tangible advantage (i.e. mystic mojo aside) I can see that RS has over TM is that it will include some of the bumps and blemishes and the texture from the original moulds. The TM is cleaner and smoother as it is a first generation pull from original moulds. A bit like concept of "bumpy cap helmet versus a smooth helmet". 
    But, is it possible that some of the bumps on Simon’s suit are from the forming process itself, i.e. again specific to one suit, and not a feature in the moulds? Who knows?
     
    What I do know is that TM’s armour is perfectly engineered and fully functional and –whether it’s a bit smoother, more sanitised looking or not – it is so close to a correctly assembled original that I wouldn't be able to tell them apart without getting really close.
     
    He also keeps on developing and improving. The TM is never finished. 
    I think it speaks volumes that RS are using some of his parts (which he donated) to make up the missing parts from their suit!
     
    He has never stopped looking for the best possible material (the new stuff is a really good match to the original shade and grade), he has managed to track down original Newey snaps and can provide them with all his suits.
     
    I think if RS had done a perfect job of casting the suit, the decision as to whether to own TM or RS would be more difficult. If it was a really perfect cast, a direct unaltered copy, I would be torn. I really, really like it, but it's fallen short for me in a few ways. 
    And I personally also like idea of having a kit which resembles the basic kit which the props department were given to build the suits. Undamaged parts, with all the detail, all the allowance to trim the parts to size etc.
    The RS kit is a replica of a suit of armour which is already 35 years old. TM allows you to travel back in time to the point before the original suits were assembled.
    The only thing that could replace TM directly would be a kit formed from the original moulds.
     
    It’s not so much a case of whether the TM is better than RS because they are fundamentally different products.
    Forced to choose between the two, I prefer TM for my own particular needs and approach to the hobby.
     
    If money and space were endless, I'd like to have both. But I'd want the RS to be a direct replica of the original with the two odd arms, unaltered shins etc. 
    And I'd probably put in on a mannequin with a proper HDPE helmet as a full replica of the original suit (OK, I’d leave out the felt-tip pen!)
    And I’d still use the TM for trooping as an almost perfect representation of the generic trooper costume.
     
    I'm afraid people assume that RS is the holy grail simply because it is cast from an original suit. For me, it‘s not the be all and end all; there is room for improvement on the RS kit and TM offers me something different.
     
    You judge. In which pictures do I look more like an original correctly assembled stormtrooper? I know what I think.
     
    RS
     
    TM
     
    Unable to restore any of the images, links were all dead  Sly11 2020

    Dead links removed

  18. Opinion poll: Movie accurate or ultra clean. Which do you like?

    in Hard Armor (General Discussion)

    Posted

    Prop replication floats my boat a little bit more but the idealised costume also has its charm especially for 501st use when dealing with the expectations of an audience that gets really close.
    I really liked the acrylic capped TM suit I had and wore it with Karyn's white rubber handguards for a slightly cleaner look. White and shiney, kind of replicating a perceived image rather than the reality. 
    I also have a non-painted ABS Stunt helmet for trooping which obviously has no chipped off paint and perfectly matches the rest of the armour. The prop replica version with big green patches is in a display cabinet.
    The idealised, cleaner look definitely has its place in the hobby but I do think the whole concept enters the "BS zone" when people start wanting to have symmetrical stormtrooper armour and helmets. Reproducing the correct shape of the costumes is absolutely fundamental in my mind. Especially when you consider that these suits were buolt for human beings and our bodies are far from symmetrcial. The Empire would kit out its soldiers with perfectly ergonomical (non-symmetrical) suits. The ROTS Vader helmet is an abomination  :P But that's an aside, surely the shape has to be the same as what we see on screen. Clean it up and make it look bright white by all means but don't deliberately change the shape. If you want something symmetrical, sculpt your own "space soldier helmet"!

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