TommyD

Kev I've got a first time costumer who is VERY interested in this. She loves my Rex and told her the same guy was making a Fem Trooper so she's in!

I'm in the middle of a Phase 2 Cpt Rex build at the moment and a buddy is working on a Phase 2 Cmdr Wolffe. This would be perfect for the clones! I hope all goes well with this project. I'd love to get a kit and adapt it for clone buckets. Or maybe you could work on a clone version next? :-)

lol definitely not a trooper to be effed with

Glad I could be of service Nathan! Here's a little something from Nicky Blum (DZ-8397), producer of the 501stCast "Greetings FISD members, We would love to have more costume content on the 501stCast. It's been a long time since we did the Detachment Briefing on FISD. If you have any suggestions or would like to contribute content to help us be a little less dry - we would love to hear it!" /salute

That's him!!! You saved me from a life time sleepless nights! Thank you! /salute

I've done radio for years. From rock format to Hot AC (top 40) and of course the tried and true morning "zoo" style show and one thing I can tell you is getting your format just right is the hardest thing to do. Especially if you need fresh prep on a daily basis. Weekly shows are easier to put together of course because you've got more time to prep. But those daily morning shows can be a killer. To me a great podcast sounds like you're listening to the radio. You've got engaging content and a bit of imaging and/or music to break up the talk. Unless you've got a really strong topic, trying to do 30+ minutes of nonstop talk is going to kill the listener. But you're right...how do you spice up a podcast about costuming? Obviously what we do is more visual and thus a vlog would probably be more ideal for the 501st. But I think you can have a fun, engaging, and informative podcast as well. One thing that will help immediately would be to ditch the script. Have a breakdown or an outline of your show of course but the quickest way to put your listeners to sleep is to read your items word for word off the page. This works for news bits of course but not for an entire show. yikes! Have you ever heard Ryan Seacrest doing the Radio Shack commercials on AT40? You know he's reading a script but he makes it sound like he's just off the top of his head with it. I hate him and I want his job but the guy is good at what he does. Sketches, spoof commercials, and other "bits" wouldn't hurt either. There are a lot of talented people in the 501st and I'm sure there are quite a few people out there who would be more than happy to make some funny bits and submit them to a costuming podcast. Whacky, zany, and a little controversy can do wonders for any radio show or podcast. No need for Shock Jock tactics but reaching for a few topics that are outside the norm wouldn't hurt. Personally I always felt our best shows at my station were the ones where we started at 6am with a clear plan of what we wanted to do and by 8am that plan was out the window and we had turned into a madhouse with breaks for music, news, weather, and traffic. It was professional unprofessionalism at it's best and I think there are more than a few podcasts out there that could do with a little of that.

Up until a year ago I was a heavy Star Wars Galaxy addict. I remember naming one of my characters after an obscure TK from the comics. I am positive he was the leader of a heavy commando unit. He was a large black man with no helmet, shoulder or bicep armor and no sleeves on the body suit. Although he did have bracers, torso, legs, and boots. Anyone recall his name it's driving me nuts that I can't remember! thanks /salute

That is an excellent idea!

Thanks Heige. Actually I've got something similar that I use for my video camera. It's a Juicedlink box but I agree, too large for helmet mounting.

I've got condenser mics. I just can't seem to find the portable pre amps for them.

Hey troopers I've seen quite a bit on output audio: mics/voice changers/static burst devices, and so on. But what about units that pick up audio from outside your bucket? I have found some motorcycle helmet speakers but I have yet to find any sort of mic that could be attached to either the bucket or somewhere else on the armor to pick up the sweet laughter of the little children and/or the cute girls giving you their phone numbers Any thoughts/advice?

Thanks for the tips so far. I'll be sure to weight all the options before I get the "real" suit. I guess what I'm looking for in the zombie suit is the most inexpensive. I don't want a cheap knock off suit. What I'm aiming for is something that could pass for an EIB that got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time So inexpensive...not cheap....if that makes sense. I can't justify spending big bucks on the "best" quality suit when I'm just going to destroy it anyway. I'm not necessarily looking for the easiest to build. I know it's my first suit but if I can get past the learning curve and make my mistakes on the zombie armor then I'll probably feel alot more comfortable when it comes time to work on the real deal suit. And a Sandy is definitely in my future but that will probably have to wait until next refund check Thanks again for the help. Keep it coming!

Aside from the Death Troopers novel and SWG expansion there aren't a lot of references to zombie troopers. Which is a good thing as there is a lot more room for creativity. Personally I like the Gentle Giant bust...the one you posted. I do SFX make up so I'll probably go with a more exposed bone and guts kind of zombie. I'll probably be adding the hook in the eye as well based on the DT cover art. I'll do some damage to the armor but not much. I want the armor to look sick and nasty not necessarily busted and broken. The major damage I was thinking about was to the chest. A nice big hole with exposed rib cage and sternum might be nice.

While I'm waiting on my TI hardparts I've decided to go TK. However I've been thinking of doing two TKs..a zombie and an EIB worthy suit. I'm thinking of doing the Zombie TK first. My reasoning is that being my first armor build any mistakes I'll probably make can be zombified. From the research I've done so far it would seem an ATA kit might be the best for this. Am I on track with that? Then I go to thinking...with the wealth of knowledge here and all of the tips and how-to's it is very possible that I'll be able to build a nearly flawless kit that looks beautiful. When I've got that completed spotless white armor sitting there in front of me am I really going to want to zombify it?! lol Once I've earned my stripes on the Zed TK I was thinking of going with AP or T/MC for my EIB submission. Any thoughts? I just want to make sure I've got a decent plan of attack before I start spending tax return money Thanks for any and all help! /salute

IC-4739 reporting for duty! German Garrison Arma Candida Squad