Rich330

Love the waxy look this plastic has. It even looks like it would be really unsuitable for painting. I reckon AA must be a right cheapskate. He gets a massive order for all these WHITE film prop parts and insists on using up some really nasty unsuitable green plastic for fish ponds for the helmets. "It'll be allright, we'll slap a bit of paint on 'em, they'll be none the wiser, I'm buggered if I'm buying in any more white plastic!".

In the specific case I am referring to, a member was transferred from Garrison A to Garrison B largely because of interpersonal problems within Garrison A (assumed to be a hinderance to future trooping opportunities) and also because said member was already trooping as a guest with Garrison B. It didn't make sense geographically. It may however have been pushed through partly based on an understanding that the transferred member would eventually relocate to the geographical area of Garrison B. I guess the Legion has general guidelines but addresses each case individually and is willing to show flexibility to cater for its members. At least I'd like to think so.

I think most Garrisons operate like Terry's Garrison, i.e. there is a public area and a private area on the Garrison boards. The Canadian Garrison should be encouraged to open a public section too. This approach certainly helped me to get started as I did a lot of research on not only my local Garrison board but also on the UKG boards.

I know of a specific case that contradicts what you say. Not saying you've got it wrong - it may well be the rule - but I know it has been made possible for one particular member.

Doesn't come much more authentic than this. Well done for perservering with waht must've been a right pain in the bum.

Never picked up on that bit of trimming before. I know Steve (SW1) always trims his shins at the bottom so he'll be able to chip in with some pointers no doubt.

I definitely had to trim some off and, being slim, I wanted them trimmed like the original anyway so it was never an issue for me. I just vaguely remember having the feeling that the original lines were very clear and trimming anywhere else would just look off, like an extra bit stuck on that doesn't belong in there. Maybe being too fussy because in your pictures it looks pretty good for a bit a variation. Really appreciate the extra pictures of the original armour.

Thanks for those, Rob. That's very interesting and very useful. Dennis is still mental but well spotted, chaps!

Thanks for posting, Rob. Really interesting. You say "now". Does this mean you have altered the moulds? I remember there being less scope for doing this properly on the suit I built. "Vintage" - Have you got your hands on some NOS Neweys? What's the thinking behind this? The brackets were connected to the face when they were riveted on as part of repairs. Do you think there's evidence on the suit that the original screw holes were on the face too (i.e. not in the return edge)? Be careful taking advice from Dennis .... he's mental!

Thought so. Short a.rse! I'll have to have words with him and tell him how to put his thighs on properly! These flipping latex mask nerds!

Nice builds, Mark. Who is the model? As I've said in the past, if you ever want to use any of my photos for promotional stuff, help yourself. http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/Rick_N_Backer/TK%20rotj/ http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y261/Rick_N_Backer/SE%20VENDE/cfo/ By the way, I have found when painting boots that the white leather dye just gets soaked up by the fabric inserts. If you want to cover that up you need some fabric dye (the stuff used for t-shirt painting). One coat and it's covered nicely. If you keep putting shoe dye on it (like I did at first), it'll just keep drinking the stuff and stay grey.

Not sure on Centurion requirements off-hand. I think the only thing specified is " Boots shall be lightly scuffed." (Mathias?) I never bother with any deliberate weathering anymore. A couple of troops and it's generally nicely scuffed and dirty. Nice and natural looking. Just play it by ear. Have a look at your favourite stormtroopers in the screen caps and work out whether you feel you need to add some weathering for the look you're after.

It's a good rough guide though. Never thought of it like that.

No specification. Just look at a whole bunch of screen-used helmets and get a feel for roughly where they were all placed. It's generally quite a bit further up. Here's probably the most useful link on this forum (in case you haven't got the reference material yet) ... http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=10786 And some cherry-picked shots ... Huh?

A few things I think my be a problem for Centurion and in general where there is much room for improvement .... 1. The drop boxes hang too low beneath the plastic belt. 2. The entire belt assembly is also very low. 3. Your flexible handguards are on the wrong hands. I made the same mistake once. There are a couple of troopers in the film with them the same way round so technically it's accurate. You probably did what I did and copied the same on-screen trooper. 4. Your back plate should not overlap your kidney armour 5. There is a large and inaccurate gap between your biceps and forearms. They do not seem to be connected (see also this thread: http://www.whitearmo...l=&fromsearch=1) 6. The elastic connecting the chest and back is inaccurate and not functional. Connect the back to the kidney and the chest to the abdomen in the correct places and there is no need for this extra connection (this will also cure your overlap problem). 7. The tube stripes have been painted extraordinarily low. They really should be much higher on the "cheek" part of the helmet. 8. I can't agree with comments which say that the hand-painted details look good. The stripes inside the traps look great. The black outlines on the other hand look excessively messy. There is no official level of messiness, I know, but to my eyes this detail looks excessively sloppy. I personally would repaint the entire helmet if possible. 9. That's a very strange thermal detonator tube. Definitely not the piece of pipe included in a TM kit and not correct. You need simple round plumbing/guttering pipe (68mm) 10. The ammo pack (on the knee) is not fully trimmed and is connected in an incorrect position. Check out references of original armour, detach, re-trim and re-attach the ammo pack. Original armour: 11. The sniper plate seems to be from another kit (that bluish hue makes reminds me of the AP plastic). Not necessarily a problem but it doesn't look like it's from the TM kit. 12. The front of the groin conection should have a split rivet. Not quite sure what you've fitted there but it's not a plain-headed rivet or brad type fastener which you will need. 13. The plate with single row of buttons is trimmed much too large. Original armour for comparison: Sorry to be harsh but there are quite a number fo issues. Some I would consider a problem for entry level so you are going to struggle for Centurion. Everything can be recitified though, and without too much trouble. I'm just trying to point out how a few simple adjustments can transform what at the moment looks like a generally sloppy build into a very good and more accurate build. Please take this in the spirit it is meant.

What Vern means is that before you trim the top of your thighs (please don't!), you can trim the area at the back of the knee (bottom of the thigh armour), to roughly mirror the trimming you have done on the calves. This will give you more freedom of movement in the area at the back of your knee joint and will most likely stop pushing the thigh armour up as much. Use original armour as reference .... ---------

Long story short. Original suits had a left and a right bicep (not mirrored, not identical). The original suit found in the dumper was incomplete (only had one bicep). The first suits cast simply had two identical biceps. Somewhere down the line, someone (don't remember the details, TE?) cast another bicep from a tour suit. Since then, some replica suits have been available with proper left and right biceps (two different parts). AP still uses the two identical biceps parts. There's arguments in favour of both solutions. With the extra tour suit biceps you have a proper left and right side. But the biceps part from the tour suit does look significantly different to the original one. Some say it looks out of place and it's better to have two identical biceps. I say it's better to get TM or RS armour.

No need to thank me. I was just having fun and sharign what I thought I saw. It's pretty much uncharted territory so plenty of scope to find new angles.

You know what, when I'd hear people say he wears both I'd always thought he appeared with two different pairs of handguards at different times. I'd never realised it was a mixed set. I'm totally going to do a troop like that!

Very cool, Shawn.

Looks cracking, Paul. I notice you've gone for the more common type of handguards. Are you going for a general (stunt) configuration with a trooper that just happens to have one of the hero helmets? Or are you going to be doing a full Han style costume? I guess all it comes down to now is how many rivets you use for the holster/belt connection. I think possibly my favourite trooper configuration is the normal background trooper that just happens to get a hero helmet. If they'd had flat lenses, I think that's all I'd have for my ANH costume.

Yeah, obviously we're only talking about the extra raised areas from the overlapping seams on the opposite side. I don't mean you should go hacking out the raised areas as seen in the original moulds on ANH suits.

I don't see why it would be a problem cutting out the moulded seam. In fact, wouldn't it end up looking more correct in one way? The original armour didn't have a raised area. This is only in some replica kits because they are cast from original suits which had overlapping seams (ROTJ derived). So, if you cut out the raised area, you're left with a flat part. Then you put your finishing strip over the top of the join and you have an authentic-looking butt joint. Right?

Shorten the straps connecting the back and kidney so that they are pulled tighter/flush.