Darth Aloha

Ewwwww Trooper!

Thanks Corey... that angle cut is totally a centurionable detail

The first thing that comes to mind is that the word "phase" has a real clone feel to it. What about "EU TK" or "EU Stormtrooper" (because FU Stormtrooper might be a New York specific costume) Aloha, -Eric (null)

You're the man Corey. I just noticed that the bottom corner of either end of the ammo belt looks sorta roundedish... or at a weird angle. Corey's INC and TKC screenshots show something similar. I've never noticed that before. If you have a second can you grab a closeup of one of the ends of the PIII trooper belt? Is it coincidence that all the scuff marks sorta look like paint chipping off of HIPS? Aloha, -Eric

No need for a new topic. Just patience while Mason tries to catch up on things Aloha, -Eric

I can't wait to see this costume in person... in a month... today! Will you be doing quick changes all day? I assume you'll be wearing your femtrooper at some point over the weekend no? Aloha nui, -Eric

I'm trying to think what you could cut it with that would allow it to go back together nicely. I suppose you could probably work an exacto through there very slowly and carefully and pray that whatever funkiness you create is covered by the t-track. The epoxy putty made for plastic that I used is probably dense enough to be structural for this cut if it were thick enough... but it seems like quite a bit of effort for not too much payoff. Or you could find a clever way to put wax paper in between the two halves before applying epoxy so it eventually comes apart cleanly and nicely. I say goop it up with the epoxy putty inside and out to build enough thickness to drill your holes and leave it sealed up. Even if the barrel is shorter than a real sterling it will look way better than most of our crappy hasbro hacks Good luck... I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with Aloha, -Eric

Sheesh. Having just transposed all the CRLs I'm a little embarrassed

This here... Is pure awesome. How much time do you have into your build so far? Aloha, -Eric

If you decide not to replace the barrel I suggest the epoxy putty stuff for plastic at Ace hardware. Cut off a bit, mix it up with a putty knife and sculpt away. Easily sandable and it likes plastic... Where convincing bondo to stick to plastic is difficult. Fiberglass resin is just epoxy not actual fiberglass. If you use it straight you'll just be glueing the barrel together. I love my hasbro but wish I had gone right to the full resin droopy kit. Keep up the photo documentation and excellent work. We dig it. Aloha and good luck, -Eric

I keep meaning to chime in here but I keep getting..... Squirrel!... distracted during the day. By now I'll be echoing the same tune the more experienced troopers are singing in this thread. I, obviously, have an RT-MOD bias. But that has less to do about my recommendation than preferring a more screen accurate kit. You have to ask yourself what costs more? Money from your bank account or your time and energy. If you went AM you'll spend way too much time trimming it and trying to make it look good. After all that effort you will have armor that may fit you but doesn't look as accurate. I have seen some good looking AM troopers here on FISD but know that it took serious time and skills to do so. A good indication of the accuracy of AM is the growing movement to ban the AM/FX helmet from the base 501st requirements. There is also talk of changing the centurion requirements to replace the chest plate with one more accurate or embark on heavy mods. You could do what Brian did and get AM and buy an RT chest down the road. Or just go with RT from then get-go. RT is pricey because you're paying for Rob's labor to trim the armor. And now that you have a helmet you'll pay less for RT by a few hundred bucks. Or you could go ATA and shim the thighs and sides for the sake of a cheaper kit. Heck... that's my plan for a TM kit someday... just without the cheap part Aloha, -Eric

I used an awl or sharp punch to find the center for a pilot hole. I carefully drilled the holes with a drillbit by hand just spinning the bit with my fingers. The drillbit I used was slightly undersized. I would be afraid that melting a hole would increase the chance of the hole being off center... or possibly creating a ridge of melted plastic that you then have to sand or file off. Aloha, -Eric

I just E-6000'd the white elastic to the back of the drop box.

You look great in that there ATA, especially being a tall guy. Nicely done. What is your waist and chest size if you don't mind me asking? I can't quite see in the photos if you have elastic around your biceps attached to the shoulder bells. It might just be lost in the black of your under suit. Aloha and good luck -Eric

Check out these two threads (titled the same): http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=14108 http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=17435 I would also try cruising around the blaster build threads and see what else you can find. Aloha, -Eric

This here makes me want to get a sucktastic FX kit and get my zombie on

12.5 EEEE here and I got TKBoots 13s. They're a tad big but pretty comfy. I didn't want to risk the 12s. Aloha, -Eric

In addition to Panda's tutorial... Check out trooperbay's videos on hand painting a helmet. Or just buy the hand painted looking decals from Trooperbay Aloha, -Eric

I've been giving this some thought too. My long range plan is to turn my current RT kit into a TD and save my pennies (and continue losing weight) for a TM. While your question can probably be answered with a quick search on MEPD... or comparing the CRLs... I think the differences are something like: Remove lines in the traps and tears of your helmet Find a way to remove built in center ab buttons Remove drop boxes Change knee plate to diamond shaped Don't wear your thermal det Remove your shoulder bridges Of course you'll need pouches, a pack, pouldron, and a T-21 or DLT-19 and lots and lots of dirty sand. I'm sure an actual sandy will pipe up and correct my list.... But I'd study the CRL first. Aloha, -Eric

I didn't either... but I wanted to and I wish I did. You can read about my lament in my hasbro mod thread... but also I wanted to split it because I read Pandatrooper's hasbro mod thread way too many times. Now my lament has less to do with not splitting my hasbro but more to do with not going with a droopy full resin E-11 to begin with. Aloha, -Eric

Unless your GML is a real turd... I doubt you'll have a problem

I'm no GML but you look better than most TK's in the legion You shouldn't have a problem with 501st approval at all. And yeah you and I must have the same shoulders. Mine pulled my elastic way way way down too... looked like total crap... so I ended up putting a strap all the way across my chest from one bell to another. Aloha, -Eric

Yah man. Looks good. A couple minor things.... The thighs should come up fo sizzle. If you can't get anymore height out of your straps I would suggest rethinking how they're set up. You may have the same RT shoulder bell thing going on as I do. They could be higher...or rather... up closer to your shoulder bridges. Mine won't get much closer either and end up rotating one way or another. I think because you don't have as long a torso as Rob, your chest is a bit low (and not just because your belt is riding high) but not a biggie. However, it doesn't look like you have much room to pull it up toward your neck. Maybe someday once you get a few troops under your ammo belt you could think about trimming some off the bottom of the chest... or maybe trimming some off the top of your cod would lower the ab plate. Since its covered up by the belt it would be way easier than trying to get the shape of the chest right. Just leave it for now and ignore me Your drop boxes look a tad low too. Check out some screen caps or centurion threads for reference. Now wasn't the knee ammo pack a real sonofawitch? Rock on with your bad RT self! Aloha, -Eric

Do you mean the inside diameter of the inner barrel of a full resin droopy or a droopy pipe build? My resin build is at work or I'd go measure mine for you. Aloha, -Eric (null)