Darth Hilarious

Certain kits offer certain challenges. AP = stubborn sniper plates. FX/AM = long chest & back. I definitely don't think we should be making exceptions in the EIB/Cent requirements for particular makes just because they have quirks.

Oh mine was still a nightmare to do. But once it stuck (and it was not easy by any means), it stuck. In any case, other people have managed with genuine AP, so I stand by my point.

I don't think that having AP should make a difference. My greaves/sniper plate are recast derivatives of AP, and I use glue and it holds. So the real deal should be able to hold. And I put my kit through some severe stress- hell, I've even knelt down onto my sniper plate once when I absent-mindedly went down on the wrong knee- on asphault, mind.

All these sorts of mics are pretty prone to a thing called proximity effect- meaning, if you want it to sound good, you gotta eat it. That could even be the source of those over-loud iComm noises... voice is actually too quiet, not vice versa. Oh, and LOUD CLEAR VOICES. Mumbling -into a mic- is still mumbling, and no clearer.

I find the chest-Aker is actually louder, as the whole chestplate basically becomes a speaker. I could never achieve enough volume to feed back when it was mounted on my belt. Some of the problem you saw may have been caused by people not turning their amps up loud enough- "I can hear myself, so everyone else must be able to."

Based on that quote, there should be no question whether they're using fiberglass or ABS. Or are these guys flagrant false advertisers?

The more I look at that tour suit, the more I see the lineage of the Rubies kit. Heck, at first glance I thought it was a Rubies...

Nice! If you can mount that baby onto a headset, your one disadvantage will be gone... PS- looks like that Mando on the left got tired of your constant chatting- look where his gun is pointed!

Dude, it is at least 100% easier to aim for EIB from the get-go than it is to have to modify things later. Take it from someone who's been modifying... Also, EIB is designed to be 'easily acheivable with minimal effort'. You could even aim towards Centurion... it is a great idea to aim high from the start.

I know a bunch of guys who use Aker + iComm. They're all real happy with them, and I get jealous of the sounds (I just use an Aker). The only dude I know who used Memorex stopped, because he found them unreliable. Not having seen them in action, I can neither confirm or deny. EDIT: Is it worth the money? The Aker is simple great value, the iComm is a luxury, but great if you can afford it. Can't comment on Memorex.

There are different types of rechargeable batteries, which act differently. The older NiCad were somewhat temperamental, you had to run them completely flat before charging and charge completely each time to avoid them developing a 'memory'. More modern NiMH do not develop 'memory', and can be recharged any time and amount. Lithium vary massively, and I've not found a hard/fast rule for them. Even non-rechargeables exhibit different behaviours. Differing battery types deliver power differently, some will 'fade out' in voltage as they die, others (notably Ti batteries) will deliver constant voltage until no current remains. I don't use helmet fans myself, so I don't know how pronounced these effects are for them, but they ar sure noticeable in guitar pedals... The only time I've known of rechargeables being dangerous is if you leave them in the charger once full- they tend to get a little 'splodey.

Nice! I did a similar thing, but dipped mine in boiling water to soften.

Could that small part on the front of the scope have been a microscope lens? And Vern, if you can start offering RotJ pipe build kits, you will be truly a god amongst men.

StormtrooperUndersuit.com is the same guy.

Might not be very durable for trooping...

Soldiers do, but most Sterlings aren't fresh out of military service. The scopes in particular tend to be pretty old-looking, because they date all the way back to WW2.

Shortening the chest and back aren't even required to get to EIB, but it's well worth doing, makes an FX look so much more accurate. You'll want to put a new return edge on the chest and back after cutting, for which you'll need a sealing iron (or similar). Here's a great example of the chest plate mod: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=3938 Here's a thread on doing return edges: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=12972

Remember that the film variant TKs are based on what we see in the films. RotJ Tks don't have rivets down the side. You can be totally idealised, and still easily qualify for EIB. An offhand example of an accepted idealism is the smooth cap & back (as on AP lids), which is not as per the original prop, but won't stop anyone going for Centurion.

Indeed, because modern Stunt lids are generally ABS (or painted HIPS), people aren't turned off. If they were required to be khaki HDPE, the Stunt probably woulnd't be the most popular TK. Keep in mind, a lot of people choose Stunts as their first TK because it is often thought of as the classic trooper (and often the default option). You can go for Centurion in an ABS Stunt suit. One thing to remember about the 50st: We are about costuming, not prop replication. So, a 501st suit is to look 'as it should' rather than 'with every single wart and bit of flaky paint that the movie suits had'. We aim for accuracy in the details, not the imperfections.

They seem to have identified the real thing- the hammers perfectly match that of the MGC replica Browning GP 35. Now you just need two of those...

http://stormtrooperundersuit.com/ His single piece undersuits have a 2-way zipper, so bio breaks are possible (mind, if you do the TK tinkle before you suit up, bio breaks aren't much of a concern, I've never once had to go weewee during a troop). Oh, and he does a discount if it's for a 501st costume (you don't need to be approved, he helps out cadets).

Now I'm really convinced that this is the scope you're thinking of Vern: But I don't think any parts from it are on the RotJ E-11 scope. As Mathias says, the 4x20 is too small. Identifying the front half of the mash-up would be the key, I'd think.

That one pictured on the right has a completely rounded top edge! Defintely some room for interpretation there.

I think the 4x20 is a Tasco, and that's for the SE-14R pistols, not the RotJ E-11s. But I could be way off...

Fascinating, I wasn't aware any of the film canon blasters had cut-down muzzles. But none of those pics show what I was looking to spot- an ESB promo version in a TK's hands in ESB itself (though that shot of one in RotJ is great- seems to be missing the swoosh detail?). That seems to be the tricky one (this is the part where someone corrects me with a fantastic screencap)