tkrestonva

Anyone care to do a point-by-point comparison with the standard TFA stormtrooper armor? This is clearly more than just a chromed-up TFA trooper sporting a cape.

I've used hidden PTT radios before. My solution was to put the radio in the OII part of the backplate, and run a wire around my ribcage (and under the armor) to where I can get to the PTT button. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11333-tkrestonvas-am-armor-buildam/page-3

An alternative approach is taking your kit to a professional auto painter. The advantage is that the paint color can be computer-matched to the spray cans, and doing it that way makes you immune to both weather restrictions and variations in the paint color and application quality, especially if your rattle can skills are lacking. The disadvantage is that it costs (a lot) more.

But wait ... there's more! If you are in a hurry and/or Mandos aren't your thing, just watch the first 5 seconds (which I could play in a loop over and over again), then skip to the 5:48 mark.

As I recall, each forearm was actually 11 separate pieces of plastic ... - top - bottom - left side - right side - forearm box - inner forearm box (same concept as the inner drop box on an OT TK) - "railroad track" greeblie that goes on top of the forearm and slightly under the forearm box - 2 resin "latch" greeblies - 2 internal joining pieces (which had to be cut from a sheet of ABS using a template)

This was the highlight of my weekend - and that's saying A LOT. It was an honor to be able to play a role in setting this up.

I'm going to be honest with you ... I don't recommend the TFA (Ep 7) stormtrooper as a first costume, or even as a first hard armor costume. It's a costly and complex build, and you will definitely need experienced helpers to assemble it. That, and as I understand it, it won't even be available to the general public until late this year at the earliest. You're better off jumping on the classic TK while you can and while it's so cheap.

Glad to see you that you copied your build thread over here! You and Mike Bender led the way for the rest of the 75, and now a wider audience gets to learn from your trailblazing. Wonderful!

Another SWCA interview with some interesting details on how ANOVOS did it vs how it was done in the film.

I agree with Shana in that there should be two tiers, mostly due to the wearability issue regarding fabric vs rubber gaskets.

That is the classic TK. We are discussing the TFA TK. Refer to this thread for what you seek: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/30831-anovos-tk-armor-preorder/page-1

To the new guys in particular, I'm getting the feeling that you all might need to temper your excitement and expectations a bit ... Keep in mind that at the end of the day you are buying a KIT. It will come with the hard plastic, soft goods, and some assembly instructions (the usability of which is still TBD), but it will still require the knowledge, tools/materials, and some skill (or at least a willingness to learn) to assemble - especially if 501st membership is your end goal. It seems like a great opportunity (I'm on the list myself) but it will certainly not be something prefabricated that you can unpack, slap together, and wear minutes out of the box.

That's actually an interesting approach. I haven't built my gaskets yet, but I may try some sort of harmless lubricant on the inside such as olive oil.

The helmet and the dizzying smell of curing fiberglass ... oy. I'm glad I didn't finish mine in time for SWCA - I wouldn't have lasted 60 seconds in the helmet without passing out due to the fumes. Evilboy has plans for specially-made helmet fans. You can bet I'll be getting in on that.

Yes, but that was because there were only enough accurate boots for the 10 TFA troopers that were actually onstage during the opening panel. The decision was made to go with TK boots simply to maintain uniformity among the 75. As I understand it, accurate boots from both the actual manufacturer as well as a fan-based prop maker will be available in the near future. The same limited availability also to the weapon. The 10 onstage troopers got TFA blasters. The rest of us were told to carry standard E-11s.

The instructions were to use rattle cans - a specific brand of rattle can paint in particular. The results were inconsistent, and dependent on the individual and his/her paint skills, local climate, etc. A few, however (including myself) went above and beyond and took their kits to a professional auto body painter. It wasn't required (it was actually discouraged), but I figured given the rapidly changing weather patterns that are characteristic of springtime in metropolitan Washington, D.C. and my utter lack of painting skills, the extra cost would be well worth it.

A word of caution to the FNGs in particular ... Hopefully you all aren't expecting a quick turnaround. With the flood of orders, I'd be surprised to see these kits ship en masse before Christmas. From my discussions with the ANOVOS production manager this weekend, I get the impression that they are still working out the mass production details. So when they say "Winter 2015", keep in mind that can be interpreted as anywhere from Dec '15 - Mar '16. "Patience" will be the watchword.

Three kits went to FLG. See the link for a breakdown by both TKID and garrison: http://www.501st.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=125&t=85015&start=890 A few could remove their buckets without help, but most could not. No idea if height actually played into it. There was no ribbed undersuit. The ribbed parts that were provided, herefore to be known as the "gaskets", were made of thick rubber that covered the shoulder joints, elbows, and knees. They have tabs that allow them to be physically attached to the inside of the hard armor.

This should help answer any cost/availability questions. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/star-wars-episode-vii-stormtrooper-uniform-main-attraction/story?id=30414659

It's a better question for Steve, but I would imagine that as long as it fits properly and you build it to Centurion specs you should have no trouble being approved for that level.

The TFA helmets were lined with removable (and washable) black padding, similar to what you would find in a motorcycle helmet. I imagine that their classic TK helmets will be similarly padded.

The helmet we picked up at SWCA is fiberglass with a (removable) fabric lining.

Myself and a fellow garrison mate talked with one of the ANOVOS managers for a good 30 minutes yesterday afternoon at the ANOVOS booth during SWCA. The guy worked for Sideshow Collectibles for over a decade as one of their creative managers before making the jump to ANOVOS, and is basically in charge of production at ANOVOS. He even gave me his business card and said I could contact him with questions at anytime and as often as I wanted. We talked about both the classic TK offering as well as the TFA kits. There was no ANOVOS classic TK on display nor were there any models wearing them - right now they only have the single prototype as shown in the photo. As far as trimmed vs untrimmed goes, he said his goal was to offer trimmed kits. We went into detail about the armor characteristics as traced to the screen-used suits (he likes to call those details "artifacts"), how they are put together versus how the completed ANOVOS kits will be assembled (their approach is very different from the "screen accurate" OT assembly), as well as his overall philosophy toward building armor and how it is meant to be worn and used (he likes to keep it as functional as possible, even to the point of referring to the individual components using the historically accurate terminology). Bottom line - despite having the new TFA kit, I've decided to do the preorder for the classic stormtrooper kit as well. I'm still taking a wait-and-see approach to their new strapping system, but for me the deciding factor (in addition to the low price and the fact that my current classic TK is nearing the end of its useful life) was that with the kit, I'm not locked into using their strapping system and if I choose to use wire brackets through the return edges (or any other method), I have the flexibility to do so.

Could all of that be the result of post-scan cleanup/idealization work on ANOVOS' part - especially the lack of a bumpy dome?

This sounds like a very plausible explanation - especially if it turns out that the model they used to do the 3D scan is indeed the RS suit.