Darth Voorhees

Thanks Lizzeh! im happy as a clam! yup AP is top knotch with communication! Also, for the record, Deckard and Mr X are also excellent in that department AP e-mailed me to let me know he hasnt any in stock tho so it will be a bout 3 weeks, but thats fine, i have my FX incase the AP doesnt get here and get done before my next troop! In the mean time, im going to start getting the stuff i need for my FX TK to TD conversion

Thanks everyone! im excited! ...oh and for the record, AP is GREAT to work with, always responded to my e-mails and answered all my questions quickly! Terry19D: yea it was a tough call as i also eventually want accurate armor for both the TK and TD. Went with the AP (bucketless)due to the fact it was ABS and its the one ive wanted for a while. Was thinking TE2, but i just prefer the ABS and i really liked the AP for a while, plus i will then have a full AP set as my current bucket is an AP and will remain TK. I will probably upgrade my VT sandy helmet to a TE2 in the near future though

Well, well, this is an exciting moment for me! Just ordered a set of AP armor, and cant wait to get it! This will be my new TK armor, which will be replacing my FX kit. Im going to go sandy with the FX as well. Ive sold my vader gear and sold my BMX bike, and that covered the cost of the AP with a few hundred left to spare! this will be a day long remembered!

What Jonah says is correct. Not the best idea if it will be your only costume. You can find more info about it here: SPECIAL OPS DETACHMENT

Cool, well im thinking if i troop in NYC who knows, its a jungle out there, so i think id rather the ABS.

Terrell, yea i saw that thread about the return edge mod, im going to get that iron and do some of that to some of my FX pieces. And anything i may need to trim on whatever more accurate kit i get. Daetrin, Yea i figured if it was to yellow, i could always paint it. But the durability is what id want, over the painting factor. Pinting isnt that big a deal, i am rather good at it haha. Mike once again, thanks for the pics, im not liking that RT back either! Im leaning more towards AP at this point. My bucket is AP and i love it. If i get a full armor kit, and go with AP, i can use the bucket that comes with it for the sandy i will be converting my FX kit to. OR i may get a bucketless kit and a TE2 bucket for the sandy. Again thanks for all the input guys, this is really helping me out!

Thanks Mike, your really helpin alot! Both suits look good. The RT doesnt look too bad considering you didnt trim anything. The AP looks like it fits better though. I do like the return edge on the AP, but also like that the sides are extended on the RT so i wouldnt need side plates. Tough Call! Ill be thinkin more about it, and may be getting the upgrade sooner rather than later, but we shall see. If anyone has anything else to add about these 2 kits, lets hear it! Thanks again Mike, your info and pics helped alot!

AWESOME! thanks guys! Smitty i was thinking of mix-matching, but i want a sandy as much as i want amore accuate set or armor, so i full set of armor is what im after right now. Though i probably will replace the thighs and shoulderbells on the FX eventually, even after it goes sandy. So, does the RT have the "return edge" like the AP does, since its already trimmed? One of the things i like about the AP is that i would need to trim allthe pieces and can leave that edge. One of the things i didnt like about the FX is that it didnt. I know i can make that return edge with the hobby iron, but wouldnt want to loose size in certain areas to get that look. If the RT does have that, it seems that may be what im after. TK-4510, is that the AP in the pic? Oh and Smitty, thanks for the suggestion of the southbeach diet, i think i may try that. I did atkins a couple of years back and lost 30lbs in 3 months, but i think the south beach is more healthy. you can sort of see how the FX fits me here. The second pic you can see my "roundness", lol, which is what i need to get rid of ----------

Cool thanks Terrell, thats what i thought, but just wanted to make sure. So RT may be a good way to go for me, as i can always trim as i get trimmer,lol. i m going to research a bit more photos of the AP and the RT and see which i truly like better. I like that the RT sides are longer so you dont need gap plates. Of course if anyone wants to post pics of them in either, that would be great also.

Thanks Terell..did you mean trim the length of the leg and arm pieces on the RT?..or like the top of the ab plate? Hm, im thinking i may wanna stick with the ABS...so i may be leaning more towards the RT or AP.

Ok so, in the fall, im planning on upgrading to a more accurate set of armor. Im looking at either TE2, AP or Rt-Mod. ! thing i dont know alot about is whats the best material for longevity? I know the TE2 is HIPS and needs to be painted. not sure how i feel about the painting thing, but how does the HIPS hold up over time? Does it deteriate? I know ABS is good for color and i think it holds up well over time, and no painting is needed. So that would be the AP or the RT-Mod Ok so heres ther second issue, right now im 5'8" and around 205lbs. im mostly a bit round in the middle. Im working on thinning down my middle but am not sure what i can get to fit me well. my limbs id say are average size. the FX thighs were trimmed quite a bit and the calves fit pretty much the way they came, altho i may traim a half inch off the bottom to make stairs easier. So what would you think would be my best choice? I was thinking AP as i like the look, and its .80 ABS. But am i too big for it? I can add side platesto the mid section and i think id be good, no? If not, i know RT-Mod is a bit bigger, but i dont want it to be too big, cuz at my ideal weight im not a big guy at all. You can look at my "first troop" thread and see how the FX fits me. I also like the TE2, but im thinking its closer in size to the AP. I will be keeping my current AP bucket for my upgraded TK, and will convert the FX to a TD, and will be using either a TE2 or another AP for that bucket. Any opinions are greatly appreciated and will help me in my decision,the pricer range for all three seems about the same so its just the best fit, and longevity id think. thanks to anyoine for thier input **EDIT, I WEIGHED MYSELF IM ACTUIALLY 205,NOT 215 LOL***

Lookin good! The only thing i can see you may want to adjust is the height of your biceps, cuz at that height you will get lovely armor bites, lol, trust me. As a matter of a fact i have to raise mine a bit as well. What i did was i attached the biceps to the shoulder bells which holds them up and if you position it correctly, it helps prevent the bells from twisting towards the back, as your seem to be doin in the pic. Alos if you are going to go elite in the future, i belkive the drop boxes should have the strap in the center top of them, it looks like you have them to one side, otherwise, its looking great my freind!

Mod fieldtested and approved! This weekend at the big apple comi-con, i field tested this mod, and it held up perfect, and you cant even tell the cod is cut in any of the pics. Not over-pulled crotch or tiny trooper crotch syndrome to speak of! woo!

Awesome rig dude! congrats!

Of course im going by my AP and VT builds, maybe the FX bucket is different?, not sure. But whichever way it seems to fit/look better id guess would be the correct way.

yea the back portion should def be over the front portion. Did you cut the ears from a formed piece of plastic that was flat with the ear shape in the middle of it, or were they already cut? Looks to me the ears are way over cut. I was told when i did mine not to cut that piece to the line and trim to fit over the tube a little at a time. Thats alot of gap and im not sure how you would fix that. You may be able to get new ears for it though and re-do it. EDIT..whoops you posted that while i was postin my response haha. If the gap is smaller, you can try the caulk thing, they also make it in black

Got mine today Scott! Thanks so much for doing this for us! Your a real swell guy

Somewhere on here someone made a paste with ABS shavings and acetone and was able to fill a deep cut with it. I did a search but couldnt find it...since today i have no life, lol, i may scour around and try n find it. i remember him being specific on using a little acetone at a time. The Rite-Aid store by my house sells "100% pure acetone" in the nail polish remover section. Apparently they use it to remove glue on nail tips n such. So you should be able to find it pretty easily. EDIT: FOUND IT!! ABS REPAIR PASTE

usually people will put a bit of velcro behind (and on)the belt in that area. Im still trying to think of another wayto do this myself. i put my belt on backwards, so i can attach it stright and put on the TD and then turn it around. So if i put velcro it wouldnt slide back around...soooo im still thinking lol. But yea most people just add some celcro there and that holds it up haha bryce you got to it before me!

hahaha that is the best explination ive heard for that one

Smitty up there gave you a good basis to start with, but like was said, its a VERY good idea to read through threads, spend a couple of weeks scouring around on here. I learned ALOT doing that. I read about problems people had with their armor and built mine to avoid those problems. This is def something you dont wanna rush. Re-doin stuff sucks lol Check this thread also: --------- This was an excellent start for me. Hope this helps!

lookin good trooper! Yup, like Lizzeh said, cross the straps, thats what i do, so they "X" in the front and back. I had the same probalem, and that fixed it right up!

yea def try the straps to attach the ab and chest plates. I had to do that to keep the chest from popping up, not from female parts, but from a bit of a tummy heh. Works awesome, if you need pics let me know an ill post em for ya! Your armor looks like its comin along nicely to me, a couple of tweaks and i think you'd be good to go!

yea the thighs are the biggest pain to work with, especially if you have an FX kit. They are pretty huge. Do what Murray said and use tape to test fit. I glued the fronts of mine, then once cured, i kept pulling them in and taping them till i got a good fit. I then marked it with a china marker crayon thing and put velcro on the back. Then i needed to adjust further, but once i was happy with the fit, i riveted it in place. But you can leave the velcro or glue it as well. Best tip is to try and taper them at the bottom. FX thighs have a tendency to look like barrels. I still think i could take mine in a bit more at the bottom but for now it looks pretty good.

This is comin out awesome! cant wait to see further progress!