Nagedzi

I started with a bucket first before getting my armour. Some helmet kits can be quite reasonably priced so this might be a good way to go. I know ATA often has helmets available even if the waitlist for his armour is LONG. Be aware that you could potentially be opening up a pandora's box and end up with a growing collection of buckets. I think I have a problem: I want more! BTW that's gmrhodes13's latest contribution to the hobby, the Imperial Gunner, on the left.... Great piece Glen!

Looks better to me! For what it's worth, I like to use a small curved x-acto blade to carve out the teeth. It takes a little practice but you can take off pretty fine slivers until you're happy.

Personally, I would open up the teeth a little more while you're at it--like in the reference shots. From there, follow the line created by the open spaces to create a nice ANH frown.

Yup, MG-34 top, MG-42 bottom:

Isn't that more like an MG-42?

Better detail on the chest indent:

New TK boots:

A few dirty screen shots.... ----------------

It looked likes a ribbed undersuit is "in" this year!

Surprisingly, Rubies did alright with this. As you can see, it's little smaller than a full-size E-11, but with a little work (fill, sand and paint), it can be troopable. While it is not on the same plane of accuracy as the resin blasters, I believe it's acceptable for a cheap trooping blaster. Out of the box, it is more accurate than a plain hasbro, of course. Even with the conversion on the hasbro, the profile of the Rubies looks more like a real E-11. The top T-track has an ugly curve, but that can be fixed with some work. Certainly worth $13 anyway....

This is a quick way to see how they compare and contrast. Top to bottom: Doopydoos resin kit, Doopydoos Hasbro conversion and raw Rubies blaster. The resin kit is pretty accurate and made even more so with a little bit of work.

A kit from RS Propmasters is similar in price but about as accurate as you can get. Unlike SDS (OriginalStormtrooper) it is cast from an actual ANH suit. They have their own website, too. There are many other armours at different price points vetted by FISD and, in my opinion, they're all better than SDS.

That's a decent price for the Rubies TIE (they retail for about $100, if you can find one). Bear in mind that it is smaller than a full-sized one and takes a fair bit of work to make it more accurate. Personally, I wouldn't mind one for my son in Galactic Academy but I wouldn't want it as a primary TIE bucket for myself. Here's a quick size comparison:

Bloody rights, we're weird! At the end of the day, though, we are doing something we love to do. I wanted to be a TK when I first saw Star Wars in the 70s and now I can live out that dream. The only place that age has in the discussion is that now I can afford to do and buy what I want....

I like it. I think it alludes to the possibility that we haven't yet seen how powerful the Force really is--that the Sith and Jedi we love and hate really could only tap a small amount of the Force's true power. This episode will show it coming out of its dormancy and show Luke to be a true and insanely powerful master.

Very talented at metal work, for sure! Bummer that some details will be "off" or missing when the full 360° view gets leaked. I've seen a couple people making Episode VII lids and project runs and all I can think of it how some parts will likely end up being inaccurate (I'm assuming). Personally, I would rather wait until all details are confirmed before I acquire one.

You'd be hard pressed to find a more accurate helmet than RS Propmasters, considering the forms are directly cast from a screen worn bucket....

Nice hero bucket and what a great deal! Yes, most of use snaps and straps. There are a lot of ways to do this so it's best to check out some build threads. I'm sure there are also quite a few in the GTA that can provide some help. Best of luck!

I PM'd you about where to find this blaster right now.....

The Nerf blaster will NOT pass as a troopable E-11. There are too many glaring differences. Instead, I would recommend ordering one of the new Rubies blasters. While it is a little undersized, filling the screw holes and a coat of black paint will definitely make this blaster pass for trooping: http://www.buycostumes.com/p/806754/star-wars-rebels-stormtrooper-blaster Here is the threads dealing with this blaster: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28441-rebels-series-blaster/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/28514-new-official-e-11-blaster/

RS Propmasters make beautiful armour. Provided they build according to your specifications, you shouldn't have much problem getting approved. Your height and weight is perfect for TK armour. With that said, there is always a chance you will have to make adjustments to get everything "just right".

No problem on the comparisons Morten. I dismantled one of my Rubies to see what I'm dealing with. As you can imagine, the blaster is pretty simple as it is only made up of four pieces total: the right and left sides, the counter and the magazine assembly. These are all held together with tiny phillips head screws, with the exception of the magazine assembly. It has been glued/plastic welded in place. Before taking apart the blaster, the counter rattled pretty bad. Upon opening it, I was able to tighten the 2 screws holding it in place to stop it from moving. It is unfortunate that there is no trigger movement and a little disappointing that there are no simple pew pew sounds like the Rubies DL-44's. It really is a bare bones blaster. I'm considering drilling out the barrel vent holes, but wonder if it's worthwhile. I am also considering shaving down the T-tracks for a more realistic appearance. The only drawback to that is there are small alignment ridges where the two halves meet. If I were to cut it down, I'd need to use some putty to fill the void. Finally, there are no cylinders on the magazine housing. Hmm, should I make some or just let it be? In any case, I think I'll use some gap filling crazy glue along the whole seam of the blaster as the eight main screws don't pull it uniformly together.