tkrestonva

During "The Main Event" interview with Jon Stewart at C5 last year, one of the questions asked was what GL thought of the various fan groups. I forget his exact words (I'm sure you can find the interview posted on YouTube), but he completely gushed over the 501st and R2 Builders. Pretty much any time LFL needs costumed Star Wars characters for high profile events (clones and stormtroopers in particular), his people contact the 501st.

... and/or their Testors equivalents, as it's my understanding that Humbrol has changed their formulation since the mid-70s, and actually the Testors is now closer to what is seen on screen. FWIW, I totally agree with a separate recognition program for prop replication that is not tied to 501st regulations - after we address the immediate task of ironing out Centurion. While the core mission of the FISD is to serve the needs of the 501st Legion (something that must always be kept central in everyone's mind), we have a sizeable membership that is neither 501st nor intends to be and is interested in the pinnacle of prop accuracy. The detachment as a whole benefits from having them active and engaged, and I believe a way can be found to serve that group's desires as well.

Patience, gentlemen. The new requirements are being developed and will be unveiled once ready - hopefully sooner than later. @Pat - funny stuff!!

I'd definitely reduce the front and if necessary make up the difference in the back. Also, I'd go with butt join & cover strips, but I since that's how I built my kit I'm probably biased.

In addition to bringing up the belt and swapping the handguards, it would be good to reduce the width of the shoulder straps running across the biceps - they are too thick. 1" thickness should be the proper width. None of this small stuff should stand in the way of 501st acceptance, though. You've built a good-looking kit.

I've used both the Dritz snaps from Joanns and the snaps from Tandy Leather Factory. As far as I can tell, they're identical. Biggest difference is in price - average cost per snap at Tandy's is much cheaper. Also, it's definitely a good idea to have extras on hand just in case you need to redo a few.

Agreed - use the larger cover strips.

Although I'm not into talk radio, I subscribe to a few podcasts. Most notably the 501st Cast, althought admittedly I haven't listened to any of them in some time. Great for killing time on long drives, flights, etc. My podcast subscriptions typically align with any hobbies and other interests. Star Wars, bodybuilding, parkour, space exploration, etc.

Keep in mind that this thread dates back to 2007, so it's likely that the originator is no longer doing these.

I'd cut off the tab-looking part entirely and put the second snap right above the first. In fact, that's exactly what I did for my AM buttplate. Just picked up a pack of these from Office Depot, hopefully they'll do the trick: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/613827/Office-Depot-Brand-Round-Head-Fasteners/?cm_cat=2000000351

If you have RealPlayer (free download), it allows you to save most YouTube (and other flash-based) videos to your hard drive, then you won't need internet access in your workshop.

Your photo implies the head should be 3/8" diameter, or approximately 10mm. Is that the correct size? Also, is it possible that since the archive photos show suits that have been sitting in a presumably non-climate controlled storage facility for 30 years, that the color is due to oxidation?

Will these do?

I didn't see the specific photo reference TM was referring to, but the photos themselves are here

I think you'll find a good mix of both 501st aspirants, and those who simply love the movies and prop collecting.

Alex, if you're looking for a REALLY CHEAP voice changer, Party City sells one. The "alien" setting makes for a good Boushh, and the "amplify your own voice" setting - given all the distortion inherent in the cheap electronics - actually makes for a pretty good TK. I dismembered mine, cut away the extraneous stuff (basically reducing it to a circuit board, battery pack, and mic) and use this system along with a set of hovi-speakers in my older RT Mod helmet. There is a diagram and detailed instructions by Smitty in an older thread that shows exactly how to do it -----------. And at $10 apiece, you can buy them in bulk and destroy as many as you need to get it right. --------------- My newer setup is with one of Jim's Aker amps. Needless to say, I'm eagerly anticipating the new (and affordable) static burst system designed specifically to work with the Aker amp - my finger is anxiously hovering over the PayPal "Send" button.

At 5'6" AM will be long on you and you'll likely end up trimming some length from most (if not all) of the pieces. Not that it can't be done - refer to Pandatrooper's AM build thread - but it'll be a lot of work. If you have an unsteady hand or the modding skills of a rancor, it'll be that much tougher. My advice - get yourself an ABS ATA kit.

Mark, I'm helping Dan (Debater2nd) build an AP lid and we were discussing exactly this. Can you post a photo of the end result if you use the premarked holes?

Congratulations on the new arrival. There has been at least one build thread done by a woman here in the past, she's up in Alaska and did an FX kit. Her board name is "Spookx" or something like that. In the meantime, Lisa (TK8224) did a "build thread" on her personal blog, it's AP but may still be helpful. EDIT: Found Spoox's thread - http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=7116

If I may ask - what is your height and weight?

Looking good so far.

Glad to have you back. If you check the New Member Introductions section, over the last couple of days we got a new member over in Japan. I'm sure he'd love to hear from you.

Seems like a recovery mission may be in order. I may bid on it myself in a few days near the end of the auction.

Congrats Tiffanie! Please post your request here: http://forum.whitearmor.net/index.php?showtopic=16

If you're alluding to a potential bust size problem, the question has been asked and answered a few times. I'll try to find a couple of links, but in the meantime it would be better to start a new thread asking about it - we don't want to hijack this thread.