tkrestonva

Two threads, same topic. ----------- Can we get a moderator to do a thread merge?

Sweet! I saw and downloaded all 4 vids from the Today Show website,

Verdict: There is a recent thread here discussing this seller. Conclusion was that the armor is FX recast, the helmet is SDS recast (and not a very good one at that).

Do you think you pass 501st muster? Dude, does a bear s*** in the woods? That TX is a complete badass. And just in time for Halloween! Too bad the Spec Ops detachment doesn't have an elite program, if so you'd be gold. Let me be the first to say in advance - welcome to the 501st Legion.

I love seeing vids like this!

I love it! Any TKs from the Empire City Garrison around to give us a first-hand account?

The Vaders in my garrison keep cool by using fans in the helmet and a cooling vest under the suit. Still, the nature of the suit is that you will get hot very quickly, and to date I don't know of any Vaders that can stand to be in costume for over 2 hours, the exception being a outdoors wintertime troop (for example, a Christmas or St. Patrick's Day parade). Best place for advice on all things Vader - or any other movie Sith - is the Sith Lords detachment. www.501stsithlords.com

Did he personally give you the private lap dance? Kidding!!! Sorry about the thread derail, I couldn't resist that one.

Thanks, that's pretty cool of you to package up your photos in a convienent .zip format. Makes for much faster downloading. As far as the TD goes, I would cover the parts that are supposed to be white (end caps and control panel) in blue painters tape, which you can get it at Home Depot, Lowes, or just about anywhere paint is sold for home decorating purposes. Cover enough to protect from accidental overpaint, then use a brush to hand-paint the part that's supposed to be gray. If your TD isn't permanently attached to the butt plate, you could also cover the control panel and end caps in newspaper taped down with painters tape and just hit the rest of it with gray spray paint.

I also followed Tony Barnett's tutorial to shim my calves, biceps, and forearms. The difference is my biceps and forearms are permanently glued on both sides - I just slide them on. The calf shims are glued one side, velcroed the other. I used the extra plastic belt strips that came with my FX as my shim material.

Looking good! I do recommend putting some flat gray paint on the TD canister. I'll bet someone out there has a few.

At 6'2" 230ish you're a pretty big fella. Did you have to do any shimming to get the AP kit to fit?

The answer is, "It depends." With an organization as large in numbers and scope as the 501st, there's going to be some red tape and buerauocracy to overcome. Give it a week or two. If nothing by then, give your GML a nudge. I waited for several weeks before finally querying my GML about the holdup. Within a day, my number came through. If there is a major event you're aiming for, your GML might be able to fast-track you.

The instructions that come with the kit (or used to, I guess) are confusing at best and crap at worst anyway. Better that you don't have them. The best build guide available anywhere is this forum. Lots of good threads here on how to assemble your kit. I think the vids that Tom is referring to is the Dave's Garage series on YouTube. Just go to YouTube and do a search on Dave's Garage, there should be about 12 of them. I'd confirm, but YouTube is blocked here at work.

Really? Wow, that's news to me. Is there a guide that explains what ear markings correspond to what ranks?

Sorry to hear you're getting out of the TK supply business, but totally understandable. BTW, if you have any gloves you need to liquidate, I could always use a spare set. If so, shoot me a PM.

Only sandtroopers wear pauldrons. The only exception is the Heavy Weapons stormtrooper, an EU character. A 501st TK wearing a pauldron screams "N00B!!!" Also, I don't know how it works in other garrisons, but my GML will flat-out reject any official TK submission photos if they are wearing a pauldron.

Ever since joining the Legion, Halloween has far and away become my most favorite holiday, it's even got Christmas and New Year's topped. For me, the Halloween season kicks off with Dragoncon and goes all the way through Halloween itself. The decorations, parties, trick-or-treating with the kids, the costumes, it's all a great big ball of awesomeness. Anybody else feel this way - or am I just a 40-year old nut?

Congratulations, and more importantly, I'm glad you made it safely back to civilization.

The rule of thumb is "Glue where you can, velcro where you must." Personally, the only place I use velcro is at the back of the calves. Everything else (thighs, forearms, biceps) is completely glued together and I simply slip those on. E6000 is the preferred adhesive around here, but it does take a long time (up to 24 hours) to fully cure. I've also used ABS cement with no problems, it can be messier but takes less time (a few hours) to cure. For your strapping system, snaps are better than velcro. They are less bulky, more secure, last longer, and don't make a crunching sound when you move around. If/when you do use velcro, definitely go with the industrial-strength variety. If by "attach the back and front top piece together" you mean at the ribbed shoulder straps, then the screen-accurate method is to glue the ribbed straps at the front but let them float free at the back. The front/back are actually held together by a piece of fabric, that is what carries the load. I have both the front and back glued, but that's just me. Do not use rivets, they are highy inaccurate - and plain unsightly IMO. There are build threads here for every type of armor with text, photos, and video, including AP. Spend some time reviewing the applicable threads, you won't go wrong and you'll avoid potentially costly mistakes.

The cannon will be the next step. I've already started to think of how/where to get the required parts and materials.

That's about 2 troops a week for 15 months straight? Impressive. Most impressive.

Cool! I'm going to have to get myself a mannequin.

Outside of the FISD staff and of course TM and the other armor suppliers, I can't think of anyone who has done more for 501st stormtrooping that Pablo. At this point, being official is almost academic. Congratulations, and welcome home. Like Doug said, as far as I'm concerned you've always been a member.

I can personally vouch for the second one. Cheap and effective, especially when wired to a set of Stomper's Hovi-speakers.