HockeyTrooper

If you are worried about the pieces not meeting up and being too far apart in the back you can take a look at this thread and see what Quixotic did when he had thigh issues. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/22285-quixotic5891s-anh-stunt-build-ata/page-4

I'll address the easy one first: The E-11. A great project to work on while you wait for your armor. I did the hasbro doopy doo mod for myself - at the time it was a money issue. The full doopydoo kit is fairly straight forward. Just looking at a picture can make it pretty easy to see how it goes together, but they are several progress threads in the weapons portion of the forums on people assembling them so you could use those as a step-by-step. As for the armor, I can't personally attest to the ABS vs. PVC. As far as assembling goes though, I wouldn't let fear of assembling deter you. I had never assembled anything like this before in my life and I feel like I made my ATA kit pretty well. However, the pictures I've seen of fully assembled kits have been beautiful. Regardless, even with your measurements it is likely that you would have to do some tweaking here and there in order for the armor to fit you the way you want it to. Basically the trimming and initial assembly would be taken care of and there would probably be a few small changes that you might need to do. In addition, you've got a great garrison over there in the UK that would probably be willing to help you if you went the route of self-assembly. There are also a couple of Attaches in your area that might be good to get in touch with as well who might have some advice on the local armorers. UK: carbonitekid (UK Garrison/Vectis Remnant Squad www.ukgarrison.co.uk); FunkyTrigger (UK Garrison) Good luck!

The equipment has been moved to the new owners. I'll try to update if I find out anything about their moulds. I think they might be going under a different name than armor depot also. edit: scratch that, until I find out otherwise they are still going by Armor Depot

I would recommend staying away from velcro when possible as well. There are a couple of other options that would allow for some flexibility in the size if you would rather not glue them. One of these methods would be use of elastic strapping to attach the 2 halves of the forearms. It is a method I'm experimenting with on my 3PO build, so I don't know that it has ever been utilized for a TK or would work. On one half of the arm piece you would want both an inner and out cover strip glued and then elastic strapping that would be tight enough to hold the 2 pieces together but still allow for some flex. It might also be possible to completely glue the strips down to both pieces on one side of the arm (the more visible side) and then try the elastic on the other side. Just an option. Like I said, I haven't seen that done on a TK before.

I need to switch out to padding of some sort. Currently I have hardhat liner in and there is hardly any room in there . I think if I pad it appropriately I could also appear taller and show off more neck seal, as it is currently my neck seal is hardly visible. Just some ideas to keep in mind as you continue your build! Good luck!

If you've got the body for it you should totally look into it!

Painting was one of the most frustrating parts on my helmet as well. My girlfriend did most of it. Without looking at my helmet (out of town so I can't) I can't say for sure on the thickness of the stripes. The ones on the back look great, but the ones on the tears do look a little thick, I think it will be up to your personal preference though. If you do decide to redo the ones on the tears it might be worth trying to freehand it or have a friend with a steady hand freehand it after showing them an example of exactly what you want. I had her free hand the ones on my bucket. I think we only messed up on one of them and had to recolor it with grey and give it a second try.

Here is the setup for one of my hands. I didn't quite get the pinky glued on straight and I definitely still need to open the wrist up some, it was biting pretty hard. Right now everything is hot glued because it is temporary. When it gets sent off for vac metallizing or painting all strapping will need to come out and then I'll reassemble it once I get it back. I mostly putting things together to make sure that the idea works before I plan on an idea working and end up finding out that it doesnt.

That is kind of my thoughts on it too. Also, I figure if I am going to do an expensive costume, I might as well go all out.

looking good!

What most people do is vacuum metalize the suits. The finish of the vac metallizing is all dependent on how well the builder preps it. I'll be going with a wet sand of 1000 followed by 2000. The suit should be nearly reflective just from sanding before it is sent in. This is what they did in the movies. However, vac metallizing is very expensive. One of the other builders has figured out a paint method using an air brush that looks really good also, which would be cheaper but require more skill. The prep work is basically the same for each so I am holding off on my decision for which one to go with. Automotive type painting is an option as well but I think the price comes out similar to vac metallizing. Honestly, the self paint method is probably the best way to go so that scratches and chips in the armor can be maintained. I just don't know if I have the skill for that. Yep, there is. http://bc3pobuilders.runboard.com/ This is just a place where I am sharing my build thread and seeing what kind of feedback everyone here has.

Your ears actually look great as is, unless you want them to be tighter. It is all personal preference. Technically "screen accurate" has gaps around the ears. But you do whatever makes you happiest with your build, good work!

I hadn't thought of doing that with elastic! Good idea! Tonight I'll be working on the 3PO hands a bit and will try to post a picture if I get the rough version finished. I'm a little limited on what I can work on because I only brought so much to Colorado with me to work on during down time in the vacation. We hit Breckenridge really hard today so we are taking the evening easy which should give me some time.

I found the E-6000 got away from me on a couple of pieces as well. The way I avoided this was by spreading the glue a bit thinner and leaving room for the glue to spread out once everything was clamped on. Good luck, keep up the good work!

A few updates: Here's what I am trying to do with the legs. The command hooks are too big to fit with my leg so I will likely find a different sort of hook that isn't as bulky that I can fiberglass into place. In the lower half of the leg I will probably be using elastic with a lock and key mechanism to help the pieces line up, you can sort of see it at the far end of this picture: Test fit of the arm without pistons. I will be needing to open up the upper arm about an inch and then re-fiberglass the opening to give myself a little more room.

"Run away, run away!"

Hopefully this will help you some: ------ This one has a couple of good drawings that show the difference between the 2 very clearly--------------- Are you going for ANH, ESB or ROTJ? Because I think that might make a difference for which method you're going to need to do if you go for Centurion.

I was searching around a bit, is-------------- a good option for people if they are concerned about TKboots not being back soon? Obviously would need to be dyed

For some reason I hear the wife in the background singing Queen...."No no no no no no no no NO!"

The helmet isn't actually that bad. It's a little tight by the ears, but plenty of space in the front. I'll be trying to use door peep holes in the eyes. If that works out, I'll actually have better field of vision than I do in my TK...It'll just feel like I'm looking through fish eyes.

"Aren't you a little tall for a droid?" At least no one will EVER ask me if I'm a little short to be a droid. I'm sure I'll hear about "the droids your looking for" all the time though

Being in Florida the guy to get in touch with will be Gordon Tarpley, his 3PO is awesome. You can also check out http://bc3pobuilders.runboard.com/

I believe there were some changes around the site. Maybe that altered the URLs so the bookmarks you had were no longer correct?

Only way to possibly fit in the costume, lol. Even as it is I have to expand the upper arms because my arm gets just a little too big up there around the shoulder.

The head piece came from a separate supplier than the armor, here's a pic! I'll be using the helmet on the left, I thought I had a test fit picture somewhere. I'll try to share it later. The helmet is rotocast and the body parts are fiberglass. The shorts (also no pictured) are ABS for flexibility purposes.