Palpatine1977

A lot have xD

Well, decided to start building this up now, as title states it is an NE Full kit, ABS 0.90, I never ordered strapping but it included that too so no complaints here xD Ok we'll start with the box, since everyone does lol, it is a bit smaller than expected, and that was even more apparent when I opened it and saw how much packaging there was Every single piece was delicately wrapped in a nice foam wrap type thing and taped, took me like half hour just to unwrap it all lol. Check out that packing, must have taken forever lol Here I have it all laid out in what to my limited knowledge is the proper order of things, right off the bat you can tell that this armour is definitely accurate both in size and (wonky) shape, very asymmetrical. The plastic is 0.90 ABS, high gloss and a brilliant, stark white.. very pleased. A couple bonuses with this as well besides the obvious already being trimmed, are the free TD upgrades (cheese grater handplates, and diamond kneeplate) as well as ESB upgrades (round handplates, and different ab buttons). It also came with a supposedly full strapping kit (velcro), the shoulder strips were curved already and the thermal detonator was all ready to go, no painting required save the aluminium clips which you need to outsource. Many Bothans died to get these pictures..... no but I almost did Front Back Any questions, ask!

You're welcome everyone, my pleasure You think so? I don't know, it's very hard to tell for me haha, i'm by no means an expert in any sense but in person they seem the same to me... the only way to tell would be when assembled, actually I could grab some quick measurements with my tape (going out very soon so may or may not have them in the next few mins )

These look like something Starfortress lol, stay away!!

Well people have been asking, and I have decided to showcase these two side by side, as we all know AP is movie accurate but most are unsure about NE. I must say, the quality of the NE helmet is superb, it is the most stark white i have seen (makes AP look a very slight blue tinge beside it) and it is extremely rigid, no soft spots anywhere, yet it is very sharp and detailed.... Keep in mind while looking at the comparisons, the NE is trimmed much differently, and not fully trimmed yet so that is why it will be at a different angle in some pictures Here is a front on comparison of face plates, they look almost identical to me, the NE looks like it has a sharper frown, keep in mine I have just opened the NE it has not been trimmed at all by me this is how it came so the eyes are a bit less trimmed than mine making them look odd, but they don't really. This one is a good showcase of how similar they are since they are at the same angle in this pic As you can see, the NE is sitting much higher because it has not been trimmed, and also by default the AP leans forward making it look smaller, they are actually quite identical in size imo Top of domes And here is just the NE showing how much less trimmed it is, I will basically trace my AP on to the NE one for the trim lines I think Last one, check out how sharp the details are, no thin spots here Overall I would definitely recommend this helmet, especially for trooping or modifying due to its integrity compared to "screen accurate" helmets, which are quite flimsy... however if you are a total stickler you may wish to have a movie accurate one due to it having an accurate one piece cap and back. Any questions, or requests please ask and I will do my best, thanks

Second coat on the traps and tears (extended), and did the vocoder.. quite pleased with it and I must say that black is brilliant Here is what they look like now, decided they were too small before And the vocoder

I'm truly amazed that LFL licenses ANYTHING made by rubies lol

Which one?

First coat done, plan to do the black liner around the outside of the grey (for the most part)... Not too too bad considering how shaky my hands are xD

If you want the look, but are afraid of stability, you could always simply fake the look... as in either put on small screws with nuts or glue a screw head on to the return edge? I haven't heard of someone doing that before but I can't see why it wouldn't work. But I have only seen positive things about the original strapping system, but that's a totally understandable thinking that some time in the future they're integrity could be compromised... I'd wait till someone who actually uses these posts

Where'd you get those metal clips, they look very nice

Correct! And that is what it's supposed to be as this is an accurate, and not an idealized kit

Looks pretty nice, can't provide any insight unfortunately though.

They for sure could right now lol. Just have to have one big enough and you could print anything you could possibly want as long as you had the schematics... They used this type of 3D printing in ROTS I believe, not for clone obv though

Ah, well that's too bad.. Thanks

Locitus you wouldn't have to trim all of the large pieces chest, back, cod, kidney, butt, and also shoulder bells and handguards, sniper plate etc etc... the parts you do trim to fit forearms, shins etc would all be half the amount of trimming ( only left and right for a good fit rather than all four sides). speaking from a newbie perspective, that makes it sooo much easier and less daunting xD

May I ask, on the butt, and cod, are there mold lines where to cut?

Same email address yes

Sweet grats What make did you get? GL on the build hope all goes well!

Well, I think tomorrow I am going to attempt hand painting the helmet O.O Was too scared to try before so got some pinstripe tape but it just doesn't work lol, perhaps for the ears but thats it.... Think my painting skills are borderline alright to hand paint xD

It is very daunting lol. Ask first, cut later xD Cool, I hope it goes well.

BTW, if you have a really specific question, such as what size rivet goes where that wouldnt be explained in a general tutorial, you can look in the tutorial section here or simply use the search function to find that... But I agree, it would be very awesome if someone had a detailed guide from opening the box to centurion building, tbh with so many 501st members I'm surprised this hasn't been done at least once.

It isn't hugely intricate, but here are some vids that should help http://vimeo.com/album/140066/video/7321707

Ya I could try that, I'm not sure if it would be a problem thought since it is the sides that dont match up as well, the sides need to be lifted so i would then be trimming down the traps some >.> Oh ya, that's a good idea thanks for the tip Very nice helmet btw, my brow is about 1, maybe 2 mm below what yours is.... my preferred look however is about roughly double, or just slightly less than double the height of your brow, yours looks very nice is it ATA or TM?

Thanks Yup me too that and my personal HD screens folder is what I have used... I am currently waiting on the stencils and S trim to come in, but I can paint the grey areas and the vocoder in the meantime.