tkrestonva

A plastic (ABS) helmet is definitely preferable to fiberglass for the reasons Tim stated. In addition to their inherent fragility, they are heavy as hell. That, and fiberglass stormtrooper helmets are not accurate. The originals were made of vacuformed plastic.

JRS is the home of all things TIE pilot. Most people here won't know the answers to your TIE pilot questions. If you have specific questions on and/or need to do basic research on the TIE pilot costume, you will get better (and faster) information over at JRS.

Either AM or RT Mod should work out fine in terms of stormtrooper armor. Like I said, TIE pilot costumes are mostly soft goods, so that shouldn't be a problem regardless of how big you are.

Also a TIE is mostly soft goods. Like a jumpsuit, it can be created to fit anyone's body. The only armored pieces on a TIE pilot (helmet, chest, back) are one size fits all. Full body armor (stormtrooper, etc.) on the other hand - even the ones marketed towards larger troopers (AM, RT) - definitely has an upper limit when it comes to size. But like David said - what is your general body type, and what specifically are your measurements. If you are looking into a TIE pilot costume, you need to check in with the Jolly Roger Squadron (JRS): http://www.jrs501st.com/

http://www.501st.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=86394

I am very much looking forward to getting one of these. May I ask what the helmets are made of? Also, can you post a photo of the (unfinished) interior?

No. That's happens more frequently than you may think, especially if we are talking about people who rarely visit here but still want to be TKs. But aside from the satisfaction of building your own kit, there is this to consider ... you will have to maintain it. When (not if) something breaks or needs tweaking, it will be the owner's responsibility to fix it. It's hard to know how to properly diagnose and fix the problem when you have little to no idea how the kit came together in the first place.

I just built two suits, from two different makers, for two different ladies - each with very different "proportions" if you catch my meaning. Gender aside, the one thing they had in common is both are no more than 5'3" tall - and I believe one of them is only 5'1". So you can indeed make it work with standard-sized armor. You will just be doing a LOT of trimming and possibly some reshaping of parts.

I believe it also depends on ANH vs ESB vs ROTJ. For ANH, definitely the hand-painted route is screen accurate. For ESB & ROTJ, it's my understanding that decals were used.

Looking closely at Finn's boots while he is in his trooper gear ... I think you're right. Well done. Looking forward to trooping with you in Richmond at the premiere this coming December.

A Facebook friend of mine just received his Rubies blaster and posted some photos to his FB account. If you compare it side-by-side with the old Hasbro E-11 (which many have improved by installing the DoopyDoos conversion kits), from the front to back (including the butt stock) it is the EXACT. SAME. LENGTH. It is very much kid sized and looks ridiculous in the hands of a full-sized adult - better to put a couple of coats of silver and black paint on it and hand it to your 8 year old for her Phasma Halloween costume.

I know people who have soft costumes from ANOVOS. As long as you don't mind putting down a bunch of cash upfront and waiting an indeterminate amount of time for your order to be filled, I've heard it's actually decent stuff.

These things seem to be selling like hotcakes - is it me, or does anyone else see the hilarity / irony of Disney making money by mass-producing cheap knockoffs of a non-screen accurate prop design that has been available here (and on similar forums) for YEARS! Seriously, I have set of binders that are essentially the same design and I've had them for at least 4 years. "Disney Magic" ... powered by $$$$$$$

Yep. I just noticed that.

Totally agree with Mathias. E-6000 can be messy and requires patience (it takes at least 24 hours to properly cure), but it is extremely forgiving in terms of making mistakes. It holds quite well when you want it to, but also comes apart pretty easily when you need to pull a piece apart and correct a build mistake. I've been doing this for years and have built and/or assisted in building dozens of suits. Although with Zap A Gap (or some other sort of CA glue) I could build a complete suit by myself in a single 3-day weekend if I had to, I still use E-6000. Yeah ... it's that good.

I just finished with my mod. Furthermore, I modded my thigh holster to be functional by using a 3/8" high speed cutter bit for my Dremel to cut out a narrow lip inside of both slots on the thigh holster. I then installed a couple of 3/16" x 1/2" flathead screws in my modified Hasbro TFA pistol. Worked like a charm. The pistol goes on easy and is held securely in place - it won't be bumped off and no one is going to be able to yank it off my thigh without me knowing about it.

Where are you located? There should be people nearby who can provide hands-on help.

Nice job, especially with replacing the flash suppressor. My Nerf pistol upgrade is in work, hopefully I'll have it done within a week or two.

As has been stated, I tend to think that the FO Flametrooper is more suited to SpecOps. The differences between it and the FO Stormtrooper in terms of the armor itself are enormous - it is very much a different suit. Same for the elite (black) FO trooper in that it ought to belong to SpecOps, although the only difference I see between it and the standard FO stormtrooper is the paint job. As for tac vests, there is also this:----------------

For the record, the TFA TK is NOT a build I would recommend for a first-time armored costume builder, especially if you are working alone or without anyone with prior hands-on experience. It's actually a lot more like building a clonetrooper than a stormtrooper. I've personally built or assisted in building dozens of stormtroopers, yet my TFA build was a real challenge - and there are definitely things I would do differently if I were to do it again.

I also picked up one of the Nerf pistols this past weekend. Sand off the raised branding (if possible), give it an accurate paint job (now that there is plenty of reference material to do the job properly), and install a couple of bolts to make it compatible with the thigh holster, and it'll make for a decent stand-in until someone comes up with something more accurate. Since it only cost $12 or so at Target, I can easily buy two or three of them and experiment on what works best. Bonus points for finally being able to shoot back during Blast A Trooper.

The craftsmanship of the members here never ceases to amaze me. If you decide to do a run, count me in. It would be nice to be able to use my heavy fiberglass ANOVOS FO TK lid as a display piece, and have a lighter (and frankly, more durable) lid to troop with.

Weirdest question I expect to be asked as of 18 Dec (if not before): "OMG!! Aren't you John Boyega?!?" Why yes, I am. Because despite the 20+ year age difference and the fact I'm about 4 inches taller, we indeed all look alike - both in and out of costume.

Agreed. Use boiling water to reshape the plastic if at all possible. Save the heat gun as a last resort, and be exceedingly careful if you choose to use it.

That looks like the defacto Legion-standard Stanley bin. Exactly like the one my TFA kit lives in (minus the patches). http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-24-Gal-Mobile-Chest-029025R/203710098