Double Dee

Okay, I got the taper I like. But, how much above the knee should the thigh piece be? I put the left thigh and left calf on and it pinches my knee cap severely. I can't even walk without my knee cap being jammed between the two! Do I need to cut the top thigh portion to allow it to be move up and away from my knee cap? This is proving to be a real pain in the a very impolite person! I've been looking at the Elite Status photos, but can't really get a good measurement from them. Thanks again for all the help! DD.

Great, thanks. Going to tackle it tonight. Much appreciated! DD.

Any further input would be appreciated.

Can someone put up a photo of trimmed FX armour, front and back? I've glued the fronts, then went about adjusting it. If I've done it correctly (haven't cut or glued the back yet), I'll be cutting about 4-5" from the top and even more from the bottom. That seems to much and the ridge's won't match up or they look funky. Again, I'm at work so I'll post a picture to show you what I mean. This is the last bit of major assembly I need to do and I want it to go right. My next project (which I've started) is my son's PHII clone trooper armour out of foam. Thanks for the help guys! DD. EDIT: Okay. Got some photos. The second picture (back of thighs), does this look off? Should it be a certain width? Or straighter? Anyways, does it look narrow enough at the bottom?

The Fusion still seems too white. I wonder if you could do a blending of colours to get 'yellow' white, I'm almost going to say cream colour? Like do a undercoat of a cream/yellowish paint, light coat of Rustoleum and then clear coat? Would really like my bucket to match my armour without having to paint everything the same. Might try it. DD.

I filled the gaps. Looks cleaner to me, and I knew going in it wasn't screen accurate. I made the changes to it because I felt it looked a little odd with such large ears, but at the same time I knew I wanted a stylized bucket. Something that looked nice, and the average person isn't going to know. Like Steve mentioned, if you want canon, get TE2 or AP. 2 cents. DD.

I think if I'm lucky I have about 1/2 of a stubby finger. I'll grab some pics tonight and post. I used webbing, but I guess elastic would have been preferred. What I ended up doing was attaching some velcro to the bridging strap and some more to the ABS strap. It pulls the bell up I think, so I might try it without the velcro and see if that alleviates some of the tightness (just came to me now looking at Mark's last picture). Thanks everyone for their input! DD.

I'll have to take a photo of it and post it. When you say finder (finer?) how much is that? about half an inch? Looking at your avatar, I'd say mine is much closer together. Its FX armour by the way. Thanks Terrell. As for the forearms, I'll try having it further up my forearm, if not I'll trim a little and see how that works out. Cheers! DD.

Do you still have the spare ABS that came with the suit? If not, try getting some from whomever you purchased the suit from. I'd make a shim piece which would sit in the recessed portion (use Velcro to secure as normal) and have the other end sit flush (secure with a backing piece of ABS) with the opposite side. Then silicone the seam so it won't be too visible. There might be some heating and forming to match the curve of the calf pieces, but outside of this method, I'm not sure what you can do? Hope that helped. DD.

Attached the shoulder bells to the chest/back bridging strap. Noticed I may have made the straps too short, as when I lift my arm level it snags a bit. So my question is, how far apart /should/ they be? I know I could just let it out an inch or so (used snaps, might go to velco for the inside of the bell), but just thought I ask to get a concensus. Second thing. forearm armour, pinches at the elbow when bent, I probably just have to trim the inside 'U' portion until comfortable? I assume yes, but being the careful guy I am I like to ask. Thanks. DD.

It all comes down to function vs. fashion (and I guess you can add accuracy). If you go the way of cannon, the armour is completely self-contained (i.e. air-tight - sealed neck seal etc). With Phase I & II CT armour, they go more in-depth about the different gadgets contained within the suit. With Stormie armour, not so much (other than the bucket dissection). The helmet is a given (that it should be the heavily modded), I have my sound system ready to be installed once I finish the paint job. Fans are another story, as I don't know if they will really fit in my MRCE. What I would really like to rig is a radio system incorporated into the ears and I know some people are working on that. The lining is a good idea for the armour itself; either finding some type of white or black foam/insulation/padded cloth. Would add to the comfort and cut down on the clank, clank noise when walking around (unless you like that). Here in Canada (and probably the US) there is this stuff called 'Great Stuff', which is an insulating spray foam which might be good. It sticks to anything and it expands to about 3x or 4x its original size. You would just need to cut it down to the desired depth and paint it, but could prove a good start. Will be keeping an eye on this thread... Cheers. DD.

Perfect. Thanks Lou. Might give this a go this weekend. DD.

I have come across that thought myself a few times. No body flame me for this, but. I can appreciate wanting to be 'movie accurate', but I always thought it would be cooler to make it technologically more accurate (as I thought of it as a kid first watching the movies). I'm sure Lucas would have done it better if he had the technology back in the day to make it look a little more 'substantial' than zip-tying the straps on and using electrical tape for quick fixes (i.e. he now used CGI in the I, II & III). Once I get my armour complete, I will be looking at ways to make it a little more substantial, the padding is a good idea, but as it was mentioned heat would be an issue. Seeing as I probably won't be trooping in it (Halloween and the occassional romp around the house ), this may work better for me. And in Canada it can get pretty cold.. Good idea! DD.

Just wondering if a standard iron would work? Just put a terry cloth or like over the metal? All you need is constant heat and pressure. Might try with some of the extra ABS that came with the suit. Quick question. Did you just bend up the ends? Or did you do a little in the middle as well? How much of the ends did you actually get rid off? Good mod! DD.

Thanks. I'll do the left first, glue it in front and trim slightly in back. Test fit, trim, test fit. Thanks Gary! Cheers. DD.

Hey all. Last bit of armour building left and that is my FX thighs. I left these last because I'm a little hesitant. I have a few questions. First - Do I glue the fronts then test fit and trim? Or should I tape off the front? I only need to trim the back? Second - I've just read something SuperTrooper posted about the left thigh being larger than the right. I still need to trim the right thigh? ST mentioned that about 3-1/2" at the bottom and about 1-1/2" off the top should be taken off. I also suppose I trim all the way up the back length of the thigh? Thanks. DD.

Enlarge the cresent hole that is currently there using a dremel (or dremel like tool). There is a small lip which protrudes into the hovis on the one side. You basically want to dremel that down, once that is gone (do all the sides) you can wiggle it off pretty easy. Good luck. DD.

I'd say thin the ears. Doesn't look as nice as Luis', but makes all the difference. I did everything without having to disassembly the bucket. Cutting the brow was a little slow, but use a steel ruler underneath the lip and cut carefully. Outside of that, everything else is a breeze. Good luck.. Cheers.. DD.

Found this purely by accident, but looks like the same suits we are talking about. ---------- DD

Since I was small I've always wanted a TK suit (only have the thighs and kidney plate to finish). BUT, when I saw the CT's I did think they looked cool. PH1 not so much, but the PH2 helmets really are cool looking. I might in the future buy a CT suit for shuckss and giggles.

Could it be the rubies suit? Has the lipped chest plate? EDIT: No, took at look at the pictures they have of it. The chest plate on this one is much smaller than theirs. What's with the tube stripes on these DTKs?

Looks great, but a quick question? How high do you have the MRCE sitting? Seems like you have a lot of space between your shoulders and bottom of the bucket (on the profile)? Checked mine, and I don't think it has the same distance? Not sure if I have a shorter neck then you, but it just seems very high to me in the pictures you provide. Suit looks great thought! Cheers, DD.

Fusion is a low lustre. If you want super glossy, you'll need to do a clear coat and buff it out.

Anthony: Did you brush the paint onto the frown? I got the Testor spray, but I"m thinking I'll just brush everything, more control. Looks great and I know who you feel, got the cracking on the underside by the vocoder when I did my second coat last night - argh! DD.

Yah, got mine there as well, but it was double boxed. The original MR display box and a nice shipping box. Might have been messed up in delivery and they (USPS) didn't rebox it. Mine came over the border and it was in great condition. DD