ELP

John - Enjoy working on the muscle to fat ratio ... Just remember that muscle is denser than fat so as you improve your ratio, (loose fat and gain muscle) your weight will probably go up. A fun way to check the ratio is to jump into the deep end of a pool. Hold your breath and see where you float. As your ratio improves you'll sink more and more. And if you're already a sinker try holding a bigger breath of air (you just need to be able to hold roughly the same amount every time). This isn't precise but it'll give you relative results. Paul - Congrats! That is a great feeling! Like putting on that old pair of jeans that have been lurking in the back of the closet. Soon we'll have to start a post in the Armour Build Area: "How to Un-shim your Armour".

who did you get the suit from? Lou is correct check out the Armour building forums. Most suits go together very similarly but there may be a few subtle differances depending exactly which type of suit it is. Good luck, and if you have a question please ask - E6000 is tough to get a part but cut plastic is gone for good!

Sean - Good for you. The first step is the hard ... but the first few can be really TOUGH!!! Make sure to drop in here for moral support, updates and to vent and ask questions! And good for you for the weight loss - 4lbs in a week may not sound like a lot especially if you look at it in terms of what you have left, but slow and steady wins the race! A friend of mine dropped 140 lbs in 10 months ... Sounds like a lot except when you do the math that's 14 pounds in a month, that's under 4 lbs per week. You're on a good path! And frankly you don't want to drop faster than that or you'll litterally spend a small fortune in clothing! Belts are not cheap my freind. Stay on Program and you'll get there.

Hi All ... I thought I'd jump in here and introduce myself and my experience. If you want to touch base the best idea is to PM me as I'm not on-line consistantly, but I'll watch this post from now on. I am a Dr. of Traditional Chinese Medicine (4 year program with an internship in 2 hospitals in China) - Yep that means needles, but also herbs, diet, food therapy, nutrition, massage, etc. Add to that the fact that March 1st I was 280lbs and as of July 1st I am 205 lbs. there is some great advice and some great stories here and I'd like to help out if need be and chuck in my own to cents ... So here's my 2 cents: How I lost 80 lbs in 4 months. - For a week before I changed my diet I wrote down what I'm eating and as importantly when. I tuned that diet upside down, ie: the most eaten becomes the least and vice versa. For me that was drastically cut down on carbs and fat and increase fruits and veggies. - I made Breakfast or Lunch the biggest meal of the day and supper the smallest. You expend almost all your energy during the day and almost none at night so, while delicious, large dinners aren't the best for weight control. - I eliminated eating after 6pm. Basically I just sat around in the evenings so this food wasn't being used for anything except storage. - I do light exercise everyday - even if it's a 15 minute walk. Any exercise is good exercise. I was pretty heavy so I needed to start somewhere. Now I'm up to about an hour a day of not so light exercise. - Cut out Salt, white sugar, processed / canned food, beers / booze, fruit juices* and dairy. Sounds pretty harsh; but we, as a species, evolved (and by evolved I'm talking hundreds of thousands of years) without these things in our daily diet. Sure they may have been a treat every once and a while but they were not consumed in the proportions we do today. As my family still wanted a bit of salt I switched to sea salt - you'd be surprised at how many of the boxes of table salt list "sugar" as an ingredient. * - I should mention that here I mean frozen juice. It's basically concentraded fruit (good) along with all the concentrated sugars (not so good). I still enjoy fruit in my diet - especially with cherry season in full swing, raspberries and strawberries starting and apples, peaches and plums around the corner. - I switched to fresh Organic fruits and veggies, Organic meats, sprouted grain breads, and incorporate local non-pesticide produce. Ok - I just read this and I sound like a hippy. I'm not. I'm just (now) very health conscious. And as we have a local farmers market that is fantastic I'm taking full advantage of it. - I started Ketolysis and stay with it. In short your brain runs on sugar - That's it that's all. Your body however stores fat. So if you are eating sugars this intake will feed your brain. If you don't take in sugars then your body will be forced to start to convert fat to food for the brain (Ketones). And there we go. Burnin' fat without doin' nothin'. Atkins is a modified Keto Diet. - I make sure to eat .5 - 1 grams (edited - sorry for the mistake) of lean protein per pound of body weight per day this keeps body muscle. - I took a good quality multi-vitamin. I made sure to take this with a meal as some vitamin (A, D, E, K) are fat soluabe and as such need fat to be absorbed. - Have a bowl of healthy quick snacks on the counter or in the fridge. I used this a s easy access food if I was all of a sudden hungry. I also ate carrots while I cooked. I've got a 4 year old son and a wife who are not joining me on this journey so I needed to be able to cook them meals without loosing my mind. After a while I stopped even being hungry around stew, pizza, pasta, fajitas, corn chips (great in chili), etc. - Drink Water, Water and more Water. Sure at first I was peeing like a race horse but now I feel fantastic. - And best of all - I never beat myself up for having a treat / "falling off the wagon". I focused on what to do next time the craving hit and how better to manage the situation. - Ok and this may sound corn-ball but I need to mention it: I bought myself a cologne I don’t usually get due to price (I love the high end Hugo Boss and so does my wife but that's for a different post in a different forum) and some tooth whitening strips. The reason being that I was changing who I was both physically and mentally. I wouldn’t be wearing my old cloths; I wouldn’t be eating the same foods I wanted to do a full change. The new scent and whitening were for me to re-enforce I was different and that difference is a positive thing. The best piece of advice in this nature was from an old teacher of mine: "It took you and your body many years to reach this state of imbalance and it's taking a lot of work on your part to maintain this imbalance. Eat proper, eat better, eat basic. With time your body will heal itself. But while it's healing you must pay attention to yourself and find out why it was important to you to spend so much time and energy getting and staying out of balance". Liu Fung sounded a lot like Yoda some times. Disclaimer: I should mention that I have training and that I consulted a physician before and during this weight loss. Such programs and plans are not for everyone and as such you NEED to consult a health care professional IN PERSON before starting. I must stress seeing someone in person as over e-mails or in forums no one can tell your blood pressure, do any blood work, get a feel for your true mental state, or safely determine if this or another approach would be best.

That made me laugh ... Trooper from Florida finds it in CDN Tire ... That's Awesome. Quebec Trooper you might be having problems as you're in Quebec and stores in that province stock different products as compared to stores in the rest of Canada (And Canada stocks different from the US). Don't ask me why but when I was living in Ottawa we noticed some things we not available, or were hard to find when we shopped across the river in Hull. If you're in dire need and can't find any E6000 let me know as I've got 4 tubes at home and I can express post them to you (2-3 days) if you pay my costs ($5 per tube and mail cost for as many as you need). PM me as I'll get an e-mail notification and I can get those off to you ASAP. matt. As an aside I found some at the local Michaels, none at the local Home Depot, none at the local Wal-mart, and none at the local CDN Tire.

hey McGee - I should add that while I'm putting together my wifes RT I can't help trying things on and I'm really close to the limit of girth of the suit with-out shimming. Height seems a tad stretched but still ok. Here's what fits: thighs= 26 inches (a little tight) waist / abdomen = 38 inches (right at the limit) chest = 50 inches (not tight, as there is meant to be space but it looks a little odd) biceps = 17 inches (flexed) it's pretty tight. Hope that gives you an idea of what the RT can do right out of the box. And from having a read of the forums shimming is a breeze, and it looks like I'll be doing a bit of it when my turn comes. I have no idea on the specifics of the other suits.

---------- KIDDING!!! Terry - thanks for pointing that out ... I'm building a shadow for myself and a white RT-Mod for my wife. I got my black boots at shoes.com and I'm going to let her buy her own shoes 'cause that'll be 4 hours I never get back. I'll amend the info so as not to misdirect anyone. Thanks.

I just picked up an RT-Mod for my wife - she's 6'1" but slim. They fit bigger. In my search I didn't encounter a maker who sized things, they may exist but I didn't come across anyone. As far as being 'larger' there is a lot of great information (with pictures) about armour builds and how to effectively use shims to enlarge areas. If you're serious about loosing weight I'll help you out. I lost 70 pounds in the last 4 months (I'm now 210, 6'2" and back in rugby shape) - It wasn't easy but it was worth it. Just PM me and I'll give you all the info you like. EDIT : haha - that sounded like a cheesy infomercial tag line ... I didn't mean that. I work in the health care field and have training in nutrition and am more than happy to give a fellow trooper some helpful advice

Hi All, I'd just like to do a post to express a public thank-you to all the suppliers who helped me gather all my gear for my first build (this is actually my wife's B-Day present – I'll be doing a shadow trooper for myself a little later.) I found information on almost all of these people and suppliers on this forum - so for all you new folk who want a quick and easy kit, don't do it. Read and ask questions! You'll be 1000x happier in the end. The Suit: RT-Mods Awesome communication, fantastic amount of work in a short time, great gear, I am in total awe! Seriously great guy to deal with and great looking suit (horray for the ear bumps!). Holster: Anrev Great feedback on the real leather holsters – He's just running a bit behind so I'll update when this comes in. Helmet Voice: TK-6294 (Jim) Great little unit, simple install and holy XXX is it loud! Thanks! Blaster: TK-979 (Andrew) A nice blaster at a good price. I'm going to use a bit of bondo and do my own paint job but this was a great starting point, Thanks! Neck Seals: Nicole (eBay user: nikkimat): These are great – Thank-you for the quick shipping and great workmanship. They don't have a large bib which I prefer. Also here's a list of what I got and where, both locally and on-line. I already had a lot of stuff so some of this is from memory: Local* Home Depot (misc. tools, tape, Velcro, ABS cement), Rona (clamps), Michaels (E6000), Fabricland (elastic strapping, E-11 D-rings: 4 for $3, fitting foam for helmet and suit), CDN Tire (Rivet Gun, CHEAP Krylon paint), Home hardware (suspenders), Radio Shack (wires, switch, battery holders). On-Line Spandexman (body suit), Army & Navy (Black Chem. Gloves), Tandy Leather factory (TD clips), Canada Computers (fans), Shoes dot com(BLACK Trooper boots - white ones are availible at TKboots or CAboots dot com), Lee Valley Tools (Rare Earth Magnets) * note: In larger centers I'm sure all of this is can be found in a smaller number of stops but that is not the case here. And a HUGE thank-you to the numerous members that have helped answer my questions, pose better solutions / ideas and generally got me totally hyped about my up coming build.

I didn't use CA or TK boots ... I got a pair of Bass Men's Amsterdam Boots. These boots are available all over the place on the net so I shopped around and got a pair for $60 ... Granted I'm also putting together a Shadow trooper. These boots cost a bit more but are real leather and fit me very well out of the box. It took me about 3 months to break in a pair of Docs to the point I wasn't getting blisters so these are a treat! If you're thinking of getting some I went a 1/2 size up (I'm usually an 11.5) but my width is Quadruple E (read: Crazy W I D E ) so these boots fit nicely if you have wider feet. If you don't have "duck feet", much like myself, then ordering your regular size should work out fine.

Dash, I hope you don't think I was doubting your advice. Seriously! I was just pointing out that the 9v Battery + 12VDC fan is pretty common to see. Just because it's common doesn't make it right, or safe. Heck have a look on eBay right now there are at least 2 different units up for sale - one looks very similar to a set-up seen on this board (except it's being sold from the UK) and the looks like a fire waiting to happen. I've already done a plan for a new fan set-up with your words of wisdom in mind. As you say the suits cost a lot and I, like you, am not willing to risk that 'investment' for saving a few bucks. Again thanks for the informative response and setting me off in the right direction, and I look forward to your video. all the best, matt.

Big D (dash), So they responded ... Not by e-mail but by a phone call (Great customer service) at 5:47 am this morning (not so great service). I guess they forgot about the 3 hour time change between Montreal and BC. And let me say I am NOT a morning person, nor was I prepared to have a technical conversation with a person who had rather good English (my French is terrible) but a strong accent. The gentleman assured me this rig was totally fine, in fact they sell about a hundred of these two items together every year. And yes my battery life expectancy would be about 2-3 hours, and if I was worried about over heating I should use dollar store batteries (as the cheap-o ones are far less volatile than the new high output ones). Uhm ... what else ... He basically assured me that this was a common purchase and that my head wouldn't catch fire. As I said I'm not a morning person, nor was I ready for a deep conversation on a subject I admittedly have little experience. So I guess I asked the same question a few times or maybe there was something in my voice that gave the impression I was pretty ticked off ... He suggested maybe I'd be better with a local electronics shop where I could ask the questions I had in person, I said "Oh there's a Radio shack a block from here", He said something in French and then said, "Then I'll be happy to cancel your order and you can shop there, Good Bye". And sure enough there was an order cancelled e-mail waiting for me at 7:00 am (when I got up). I don't think he was being rude (well maybe a little, as I am familiar with a bit French Canadian profanity and I recognized one word at the end); I regrettably was half awake, stumbling over what he was saying and too sleepy to suggest we have this conversation in 5 hours. My bad. So I won't be able to crash test the unit ... Too bad. Having said I looked around yesterday and the 9v +12v CPU / GPU combo seems pretty common for DIY trooper fans. There are tutorials, diagrams, eBay (and non eBay) sales, with no mention of deleterious effects. But dash I'll take your words to heart and look for a different solution. Thanks for the advice.

dash, Thanks for the input. I spoke with the guys who run the place and after explaining what I was going to do and why I wanted to do it this is what they suggested.----------- I'll e-mail them again and bring up your specific points and see what their reply is, and post a follow up. Thank goodness I put up the disclaimer. matt.

Disclaimer: I Have Not Received or Built This Unit Yet and Have No Idea of The Actual Effectiveness of the parts (though they are CSA approved - you can see the stickers). I'll go into more detail once I receive and put together these little buggers but if you can's wait here's the info.: I've found a place that I've got the part to make a cheap small 9v fan. A very small fan, a 9V battery holder with switches and wires and I've got 2 of each parts shipped to me for ~$12 CDN. It's out of Addison Electronics in Montreal. $0.99 9v battery holder with wires: here $2.99 very small* fan with wires: here * - for our non-metric friends the fan is 1 3/4 inches long and wide and less than half an inch thick basically you get these parts, connect them and ala-ka-presto: 9v bucket fan. I specifically looked for a Canadian supplier so I (as a Canadian) wouldn't get charged for duty, exchange or international shipping. So I apologize to the non-Canuck troopers as you can probably find a similar supplier in your own country. Again once I receive my order I'll put a few pics together and give an overall review.

Thanks guys ... I'll wait for a few more people to chime in. Sorry for being cryptic - it was just so I can get around saying "I can make XXX for XXX less", should I tell people how. Ajax: I was in no way suggesting that a persons time is not worth something; heck the trial and error time / costs alone could be a prohibative amount, never mind the unit construction time. That plus adding in a factor for returns / lost items can drastically increase the cost of any item. There will also be profit and it was this amount I was / am concerned about. I just don't want to step on anyone's toes as I'm new here and am not sure, as my kid says, "how things roll".

Hi All, I'm looking to tweak some of my gear, so I've been doing a bunch or reading, investigating and looking at pics. Basically I've found a great site that for almost no money sells the parts for an upgrade that is being sold on this site for considerably more than the cost of parts and shipping. And all that needs doing is some basic connections. So for 1/6th the cost, and a few connections I can make the item(s). Here's my question: Do I point out the supplier, the specific parts and how to put them together, thereby more than likely annoying the vendor(s) on this site, or do I do nothing and enjoy my DIY-ing in private? I love saving people a bit of cash but I enjoy not pissing off people more. Any input is more than welcome. Thanks, matt. PS - Right now I'm leaning towards not posting anything as if I can find the info / suppliers in an hour or so then anyone should be able to.

Yea the experience wasn't a lot of fun, but it was experience, and I learned from it so that counts for something. As it turns out the ebay deal falling through was for the best - I got my money back, I was then soured on eBay 'deals', so I spent the time to read and research here. As a direct result I've got orders in with 2 members for my wife and I and the communication, feed back and offers of "any questions please ask" have been outstanding. As I was told: "You get what you pay for" is good; but when dealing with eBay remember "You might not even get that".

As I've just come to the end of my research phase and decided on a suit to buy (2 actually: one for me and one for my wife from 2 different guys) I'd like to add my two cents about the suit - and please feel free to tell me to keep my noob thoughts to myself if I'm at all off base. - While it's a good looking set of armour it doesn't say anything about instructions, glue, decals, follow-up assembly help, etc. And there are people on this board who can supply you with a suit (minus the $5 rubber Home Depot gloves and well worn holster) for around that price. Personally, after looking around, reading and researching, I'm far more comfortable buying from within this trooping community as I could ask questions about the suit(s) I was looking at from troopers that are wearing them and who bought from the same guy. Having said that, as the auction has ended, if you did buy the kit - Make sure to read any and all build posts and ask (after looking for the answer as it may already be posted) any and all questions in the forums here as people are friendly, knowledgeable and more than willing to help out poor noob recruits such as myself (I speak from personal experience). Hope that helps.

Hi all, I just joined, have got 2 suits on order (one for me and one for my wife), and I’ve spoke with a few people regarding voice kits, Blasters and a bunch of other stuff. I’ve got to say that everyone on here has been amazingly helpful so I’d like to share a word of warning. I bid (and won) a suit of Trooper armour last month on eBay. The seller wasn’t sure what type of Armour it was as he bought it off a costume rental shop 3 years ago. To my untrained eye it looked like an old FX suit, or at least a suit with an over sized bucket. The pictures were pretty small – one of him in costume behind a counter at work, one in front of a beer cooler at work, and finally one of him (from the waste up)getting his “grove on” in a dark club. (Regrettably the auction page is no longer accessible so I can’t get copies) The seller lives in Wisconsin and his eBay alias had 2 feed back when the auction finished. Anyway a long story somewhat shortened – he accepted my payment, stopped responding to e-mails and after almost 2 weeks hadn’t sent the item. I was forced to file a claim with Paypal. I got my money back but the seller said he is going to re-sell the armour on eBay. Once I had the refund from Paypal he mysteriously contacted me to say it was basically all a mistake / paypal’s fault / he was on vacation and there was no need to file a report with IC3 (Internet Crimes Complaint Center – partnered with the FBI). So a word of warning – If you encounter a full suit (including blaster, holster, voice mods, footwear and under suit) from a seller in Wisconsin with similar pictures to the ones I’ve described: Be Very Careful. I’m not saying he set out to scam me but he’s not an experienced eBayer so you might have problems. And please, if you do bid, make sure you plan to pay directly from a credit card as if there is a problem and paypal says they can’t help you can just do a charge back on your card and you’re covered. Paypal may close your account but at least you’ll get your money back. I’m not going to say the name of the person, nor give out his eBay ID (even though he’s no longer registered), nor divulge any of his personal information as this could simply have been an error on his part combined with his taking a weeks holiday while I was frantically trying to find out if I was going to get my item sent or my money returned. Either way there was a dire lack of communication, and shipping dates came and went with no action on his part so I reacted as if I had been scammed. If you have any questions or think you might have found the auction (I’d expect a re-list this month - June) feel free to pm me or post here and I’ll check in from time to time.