rhapsodyred99

I spar with vader in my spare time... If more tks were my size those darn teddy bears would have been in trouble...

Congrats!

TK-11038 Requesting ROTJ Centurion Status Name= Frank Craighead ID= TK-11038 Forum name= Rhapsodyred99 Garrison= Garrison Tyranus Armor=CFO Helmet=CFO Blaster= Hyperfirm ROTJ E-11 Height= 6'1" Weight= 230lbs Boots= TK Boots with soles painted ROTJ white Hand Plates= CFO Holster= Neo kerberous Belt: 2.5 inch woven material Front Right left Back Lid Off Sniper detail Thigh ammo Detail No snaps visible Inner Drop Boxes Belt detail Glove/Hands Detail No return edge on forearms Green Bubble Lenses S-trim TD Detail Back Hyperfirm D ring Detail Front Hyperfirm D ring Detail Helmet interior Action Shot Thanks for your consideration.

I can easily wear glasses in my RS lid, my TM lid, and my CFO lid. The early AP or GF mystery lid I have is smaller, but with proper wiggling I can wear my glasses under there as well.

I made them using a cardboard template first. They are folded like a Holiday Shirt Gift Box. Once I got the card board right I found some thin styrene from my local Hobby Shop and traced the cardboard on it. I then cut and folded the styrene to fit. The styrene I got was super thin so folded easy,and then I layered the very back of the box with about 4 layers of it for strength on the inside where it is not visible.

Well I got the hero rig Approved Surprise! I know, right? That makes me have ANH, ESB, and ROTJ armors approved so my goal is nearly set. The Stunt mystery GF, AP, GP, AF, Whatever lid and its overly wonky right eye was an unhappy point for that rig to get approved and since the boys at RS are (FINALLY) shipping my PP lid they say, I decided it would be better to just wait to have that in hand for a resubmittal. EIB on the ROTJ is done, now I will have to unfortunately shim the RS and TM to get them to EIB level and move one to Centurion. What is the point of this post? Well Troopermaster rocks of course! Edit: Just got word that the Stunt version was approved as well! I have reached my initial goal of all the OT tks represented in basic approval. Now to hit the second mark and get them EIB Approved, and one for Centurion....

I have also heard of people boiling water and pouring it over the offending piece of armor and then reshaping it either with clamps and spacers first then pouring the water over, or pouring the water over then while wearing gloves holding the armor where it needs it. Some have even ran cold water over it after the boiling to make it cool faster. this is fairly easy on arm parts, going to be a different beast on the legs...

Im not offended at all. I never mind when someone who knows what they are talking about stops by and comments. Im pretty sure it was marketed as a gf but when it came o figured it was a recast since it was not signed. Once i came here i thought i was mistaken. I am actually glad i was possibly right on my initial gf thoughts! Hmm I am pretty sure I bought it in 2001-2002 time frame, so while it could be a real GF It could also be a recast or an AP. Either way deffinately NOT a TE lid thanks guys!

I bought it back in early 2000's and for some reason I was sure it was a GF, but when I came here back in June I saw no mention of a GF so thought I must have misremembered. I bought it to replace that god aweful FX lid. It had decals on it so I pulled them off and handpainted the details, it also had bubble lenses that I replaced with flat green. it a lid I have had for about 11 years so who knows? But I bet you are right if I had to lay money on it Either that or its a recast of a GF from back in the day, which would explain why there is no signature inside it like I thought GFs had. I was hoping it would be good enough for approval and then I would switch out once the PP gets here.

I was able to base my reshaping on my RS kit I had on hand at the time. Basically all my parts were glued together so I heated them and then hugged the thighs to my chest and compressed them from the sides which made them pop out on the back and front as they are supposed to do. basically as you look down the inside of the thigh it should be an oval with the thinnest parts at the front and back (CFO as it ships has the oval going the other way) This is more an issue on the thighs and calves that you really need to reshape or they just do not fit a normal leg shape. until i reshaped the calves especially they would not stay with the front at the front and would always turn sideways as soon as I moved. I used my Lab oven, I am not sure if a heat gun and clamps would work or not. Good Luck! here is a before: and after: It is a subtle change but it makes the world of difference:

thanks!

Frank Craighead 11038 EIB Letter Thanks

if this is CFO and it looks like it might be? Then the thighs are flattened. I think it is because the armor it was cast from was stored flat for so long the legs sortta squished. I had the same issue and had to heat the thighs (and the shins, and the biceps, and the forearms) and mold them back to the right shape. This was easy for me as I have a large Lab oven at work that regulates temperature precisely. I set it to 100 degrees C and left the armor in there for 5 minutes and then held it in the right shape as it cooled. I repeated if needed. If you don't reshape the limb parts they go odd angles as they try to rotate to a natural fit and not only will they bite into you, they will look screwy... you can see my before and after pics in my CFO thread in ROTJ section,

Usually the return edge is about 1/4 inch its hard to see from the white there but it looks like the line should come below the screw you have there.... let me see If I can get a pic of my TM... Edit: the TM will not help it is not the same as the SDS so showing a pic of it would not help. There is a centurion thread that used SDS that you may be able to use as a guideline.

Thanks all!

Woot thanks!

Looking good! Nice weathering. Who made the hero lid? I am hopefully getting some esb decals from the rs boys soon for my lid. Yours looks great!

Guarding the toy room with Lord Vader... The vader is a glorified Halloween costume, not 501st ready. I put him together with bits and pieces years ago, I sewed a fabric quilted suit, got a Don post classic action helmet, galaxy trading chest box, shoulder armor, and shin guards, got the cod and belt buckle from I dont remember where on the internet, a wool felt cape and inner robe (not woven) , and made the belt boxes myself. So good enough to stand in the corner, but will need alot of work for 501st if I go that route. That IS a real Heiland on his belt though...(yes I know he really used an MPP flash, but those things are impossible! Anyway I liked the pic and thought Id share

Thanks for the reply Charles, The kidney/butt can be seen to be one piece from the back shot and also from the close up of the TD, but I can take another shot if it is needed. The TD on a ROTJ is different than the one on ANH/ESB. this is supposed to be the accurate one, but I cannot say for sure all I have are screen shots to go by and the fact that CFO provided it. The clips are a little under an inch, again they are provided by CFO, but I am open to switching them to larger clips if needed. I was going by this picture posted in Rick330's build thread by Troopermaster: when I made it. see thread here post #72: http://www.whitearmo...fo/page__st__60 Now the shins you are right they do both close the same way, this is because I am larger than standard shall we say, and the CFO shins are the same for both legs (not unique right and left leg casts) and do not have enough unblemished plastic on the other side to allow for closure without it looking worse than closing the shins the way I did. In my opinion anyway. This is not a ROTJ quirk so much as a compromise I tried to make to keep from having a warped and screwed up shin on one leg, or an obvious obtrusive shim. I decided on this becasue from what I can read in the CRL it does not state that you specifically have to put the outer over the inner on the shins, so while non standard I had hoped it would be ok. again thanks and I appreciate the imput.

I took some more pics of the hero suit and also I finally built my Stunt lid and finished it with hand painted details so I have shots for stunt as well. I am still waiting for the RS PP lid to arrive. Armor: Trooper master Helmet: (Hero) trooper master (Stunt) GF (or GF recast or early AP) Blaster Hyperfirm ANH E-11 with added D ring Boots: TK Boots so Hero: And Stunt:

EIB Thread: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/22207-tk-11038-requesting-rotj-eib-status-cfo/page__fromsearch__1

TK-11038 Requesting ROTJ EIB Status Name= Frank Craighead ID= TK-11038 Forum name= Rhapsodyred99 Garrison= Garrison Tyranus Armor=CFO Helmet=CFO Blaster= Hyperfirm ROTJ E-11 Height= 6'1" Weight= 230lbs Boots= TK Boots with soles painted ROTJ white Hand Plates= CFO Holster= Neo kerberous Belt: 2.5 inch woven material Front Left Right Back Lid Off Sniper detail Thigh ammo Detail No snaps at crotch visible Inner drop boxes Belt detail Glove/Hands Detail No return edge on forearms Green Bubble Lenses S-trim TD Detail Back Hyperfirm D ring Detail Front Hyperfirm D ring Detail Helmet interior Action shot (is that an ewok over there? Blast em!) Thanks for looking!

I have repositioned the bells to be closer to the bridges. I have a hyperfrim ROTJ E-11

TK approved! Now to take some EIB and centurion piks...

Ok here are the final shots. Once I am approved Ill submit more detailed shots for EIB and Centurion. Boot soles painted white, TD clips shortened, Legs and arms heated and reshaped to round instead of flat. The legs can not go any further up they are actually at the top of my legs now, they do not have the same Height as ANH legs it seems in the front. The shoulders are going to set a little far from the bridges becasue I have broad shoulders. It is the same for my RS.