Lichtbringer

I tried the tape intentionally to arrange the track, and then i had planned to a very impolite person on after the other, and glue them again with epoxy or CA (hadn´t decided yet). That way i thought it would be easier to arrange them befor final gluing. And later on it would be easiert to epoxy them in place, too, just set each in the middle of two already adjusted tracks, one after another. But when ready i noticed it worked like a charm, and it has enough stability to handle it - so i left it that way. (Just a reminder - off course i cleaned all surfaces of the tracks and the saber with Isopropanol to get a good sticking effect with the tape, uncleaned surfaces may cause problems over time)

Sorry, no idea. Maybe they were sold with varying equipment, for different camera brands/types?

Sweeeet. That´s the parts that come with mine: Thank god the needed, but nearly always missing, disc was included, too And cause i wanted to have a function in it, i made a flashlight from it A small vid:

I used thin double sided tape for carpets (quality brand, not the noname stuff from the dollar-store), 87mm long and around 6mm wide on each track.

I used your T-track yesterday to make the grips of my Luke ANH Saber. But i went for the angled screenused-style.

The first one, with the saber in front of the shoe, has trapezoidal cuts. At best pics can be used that were made while filming, sometimes the shortly later made promo-pics are "OK", too. But every later pic with parts on display has to be taken with a serious grain of salt - to much was "rebuild" when they needed pieces to show, after the movies became more and more famous.

Pure plastic. ------------

Well, isn´t all "accuracy" gone as soon as you increase the dia by 5% (from 38 to 40)? That is no glued-on detail, we´re talking here about one of the two main measurements. I know that 50cm of DN40 wastepipe is deadcheap here, but it still is "off". And any glued-on parts are prone to cracking and breaking of, too - dependend on the used resin even more than a kit from a good resin (not the brittle stuff).

They are different, so there is no "would".

For me it´s a difference to be announced to such a contest with "have a look, maybe give a vote" and "I´m the xxx, please vote for me to enable me to win". No, of course you havn´t signed up to win, who would do such a thing - usually the people wanna loose. Hmmm, but you asked to vote for you, so that you win ..... I never said all the others were more honest, but you are the one who asked in the forums where i read it. And i see no difference in cheating one way or another, no matter if with many computer votes or many "well, he is one of us, so..." votes. You say now it´s just a silly contest - what are the prices for the finalists? If someone wins in a "silly contest" a price 500$ worth (just as a example) due to cheating, that he otherwise wouldn´t have won - what´s the difference to someone who takes a wallet with 500$ cash or a 500$ lottery win? In both cases the original owner /right winner loses 500$. And let´s be honest - without knowing you (as "one of us", here and at TDH) noone of us who "found the contest by accident" would have voted for your pic. I know that, and i´m pretty sure you know that, too. Btw. nice suit.

And what else than spam and cheating is all your beggin for votes in the various forums? Mentioning that the people could vote "every 24 hours" for you? I hope all your doubles will be deleted, too - i like no cheaters. Not to mention the pity-votes you get cause you asked as a Fett and a TK other Fetts and Troopers, those which votes you never would have got without that beggin - how worthless such a faked win has to feel to a honest person. Alone to have the idea in trying something that way speaks volumes to me. If you win - it is nothing than a fake and a lie. That, in combination with your poor representation (come on, how hard is it to submit a quality pic) makes me hope that someone else wins .... no matter who, just someone who puts some more energy in his costume/pic than in asking around for help at the vote. There are days i can´t shake my head that much as i want to.

Right, it isn´t. It is not allowed to make it right due to existing laws, and for me it´s "right" or "wrong" (only as my point of view, not for telling someone what he should do) - if something is wrong from the beginning, i think it ridicuolous to have a stand of "But my wrong is not as wrong as your wrong - do it my way." If he does, goooood, it not, well it´s still both not accurate. Everyone might still have his own opinion (and mine is for sure closer to yours than to someones who wants a Hasbro), but has no rights to make decisions for other. But as someone loves to have no Picachu-stripes, if he wants tiger-stripes - isn´t is his own right to make his own decision on that? And still have fun in running around with "wrong" stripes? Most of the people that watch can´t differ one ANH from any other ROTJ version - for them it´s all "Stormtrooper blaster", a cool thing to look at, but not knowing it´s accuracy. And the kids probably know more about DC-15 variants than about the details on the "old stuff" - they know each Clonetroopers name, but Stormtrooper is Stormtrooper for them. I second that, wholehartly. But my main point is that after all it is only the decision of the people alone. If they have fun in/with low-standard stuff, why not? Why look down on them, just let them have their fun - if they don´t care if other people look and talk about them, who am i (or you) to say them they can´t? We are not forced to do it their way too, so ..... not our business. My fun is building them, too. But i assure you that our minds are biased due to this, only those like us notice the differencies. My wife likes SW, and she is used to see the stuff i make - but if i would ask her, without holding both versions in front of her, she would only say "Stormtrooper blaster" to both of them. If i would then ask her which one is more accurate, she probably would try to get a look at my deac to try to compare the questioned ones to it. And the same do my friends who are not into props but love SW. "We" in our world are that far from their world (and even more to not SW-fans, who just go there for the action or for their kids) that we can´t imagine what they see and what not any longer. Agreed.

If that would be a real problem, for sure the laws would bann lights in toys.

Being black, longer than a pistol, having it´s trigger roughly in the middle are the main attributes to reckognize a Stormtrooper blaster - and that could be achieved with some parts from a cut broomhandle. That would be enough to identify it as a Stormtrooper blaster as a guy in white plastic carries it arround - all the details are only for short distance. If you go the 10 yards from a Hasbro to a pipe, why not another 10 to a alu pipe? Or another 10 to real steel? Or 10 more for a all steel version? Yeah, that´s funny. For me all the plastic versions compared to a real one are the same as a foam sword from a guy, costumed in yellow fur with Piccachu ears to a forged medival sword. And cause i see them all as toys, it seems that i as a prop guy can accept them easier for trooping guys that run around in costumes (not as a prop to display, no way) than some other guys in costumes can accept them. Maybe cause i can´t see the whole thing very serious, running around in costume is Halloween/Karneval for me - pure fun, it isnt real and it never will. Did i mention the anime guys in fur? Same for me. I put other, higher standards on a display piece. On a armor on a mannequin standing in a corner holding a deac, which is seen always on close distance - that is something accuracy is needed/prefered. But as a SW-fan and visitor i don´t care what the costumes are as long as they are not really accurate. Would i prefer everyone to carry acc. armor and real deacs? Sure. But as long as someone else chooses to do his costuming in another way, i´m fine with it too. We see to skinny troopers, to round troopers, very round jedis, blond Leias - all that is more a problem for "looking starwarsy" for me than a Hasbro. Do i think a Kenner/Hasbro Han Solo blaster looks completly wrong, even to a costume? Yes. Would i prefer them carrying metal ones? Hell, yeah. I "myself" can´t understand why someone chooses to put much effort in the costume and then ruining it with a bad gun/lightsaber/whatever. But then i go a step back, take a deep breath, and say "who cares, it´s just costuming stuff for fun - nothing to take serious". As long as i don´t buy them their stuff from my money, it´s not my business if they look other than i would prefer, not even if they look funny or shabby. If someone asks "do you think it´s good?", then i can give them my comments/opinion about what would be better (imho). They can´t go for Centurion with a hasbro, OK - but for gods sake, let them keep them for Standard or Expert - without fanatic discussions over a accuracy only fanboys would notice. It´s no prop replica, just a part for a costume. It should be fun.

I can. Not cause i think they are great or something that way, but if anyone chooses to use it (for what reasons ever), i think it should be his business only. Not the business of other guys who think their pipe is better. It might be their opinion, but not everyone agrees on that, or has to agree. How would you feel when i argue over and over that nothing is acceptable than a all metal version - or "real or nothing"? From my point of view these pipes are just a pipe with some glued parts. Do i think it´s better than a Hasbro? With regard to accuracy, yes (a little bit) - with regard to fun, no. In my eyes they draw level, in different directions.

For which "better"? Better for trooping and bringing fun to kids (they don´t care for such details), or better for feeling cool and accurate (from my point of view it´s still plastic toy stuff only)? Imho these 2 directions arn´t going the same way in every aspect of trooping. It all comes down to which of these directions floats your boat. For the kids the hasbro is enough, for self displaying it needs obvisiously more.

That is valid for plastic drain pipe, too. Kids like stuff with light and sound, or something that makes them think is "Wow, that real blaster is heavy" when holding a "real" blaster. While i see the pipe builds as looking more accurate, i believe it doesn´t matter - no kid will get a wet pant cause of them. Unlike some Troopers. So you want this change cause "you" want it (for what reason ever, even with it you are no real Stormtrooper, right?), not cause it´s better or more funny/exiting for the kids at the events.

Funny you say that, a friend of mine moved to switzerland due to the country being much more lax on guns - he´s active competition shooter, reloading his special tournament amunition at home, now, there. I don´t think the swiss law is more rigid than our german. But at events it all comes down to the common sense of the officials.

Sounds to me as if the same could be done to a self made plastic tube as to the factory made plastic-tube? As both are plastic - after painting them black no officer would say "that one looks like a toy, but the other like a real gun". They don´t see any of the differencies we are arguing here about, and if, they don´t care. A officer having both in front of him, handling them, would then seize both or release both. As long as they have the same general appearance (black painted and orange tip).

It may be a valid argument when using a white Hasbro, but ...... I don´t think there is any difference between a black Hasbro or a black pipe-build for the law and any officers - or are you trooping with a white/orange oob Hasbro?

Well, if we bring it down to it´s basics, it´s just a group of folks that like to have fun due to wearing plastic costumes and playing someone they definatly are not (if i would get a $ for every time i have to laugh when i read that someone mentions "the bad gun would be to heavy to troop all day", i would be rich soon) so .... I wonder what my Sarge would have answered if i would have asked him such a question. If you can´t handle it, get stronger. Why not just let the Hasbros in the game for those people that want/need it (or think they do)? If you don´t want it, you can choose another way. And from my point of view it will never be accurate as long as it is plastic - it´s always a question of a persons preferences.

Objection, your Honor! To get a Hasbro look like the real deal, at least when you know how that looks, you have to replace nearly every visible part of it. Granted, for the most of the crowd it is a black tube with a kind of scope-thing on it´s top, and a grip in the middle, too. I think it is a nice and easy ready to run solution for absolute beginners, or people with 2 left hands - but it looks less like a E-11 than a FX like a ST-bucket. And who can build a armor, can easily build a pipe-kit, too. Or knows someone in his garrison who is a good hand at such things.

Yeah, that thing is but ugly as hell.

??? Which difference is visible ... rubber/plastic or grips/cooling? It was a demotic word for them having used what was available and looked cool - for sure they had nothing more in mind than "looks cool, i glue it". Just a job on a low budget movie. I know, that´s cause metal bends harder and is not as easily flexing back as rubber/plastic. Inserting fully bend ends would mean to end up with a bend middle part, and i wanted it perfectly flat and straight. That is the price for having metal, and i payed it with a smile. (for the same reason the last hole couldn´t be used for a accurate frontmount of the scoperail)

I know, that´s why i put the "glued what they found in the dumpster" in my post - they used what they had. But most of us don´t build what they used, we build no Sterling with glued parts for a movie. What we build is a replica of a E-11 Blaster. And then ... if you think they shall be for having better grip in battle, use rubber. If you think they are for cooling, use metal. Thats why there is metal t-track on my real one. ----------