mikedwelle94

A battle-worn Magma Trooper? Would be interesting to see. Listen to Derek, he knows his stuff.

The moment I see Episode 7 helmets and armor become available is the moment my checking account will see a decrease in available funds. The Death Trooper will live out the rest of its days on a mannequin.

Just ask around to see if one of your local garrison members has an old FX helmet laying around that they'd let you try on. Use your money elsewhere.

Haven't been able to make much progress. Work sent me to NH for a while to help bail out a busy store, and I just got done... With the big paychecks incoming, I'll be ready to make the final push to get the costume in a wearable state by this year's Granite State Comicon on the 14th of September. I decided to ditch the mask. It looks cheap, and not a whole lot like the statue. So I picked up some legit gelatine prosthetics from Nimba Creations to apply directly to my skin: Just wanted to let those who have been following along know I haven't forgotten about this

Ah. I thought the DTs were supposed to be built up the same as ANH, with the only differences being the presence of weathering and prosthetics. Thought it was a safe assumption that the DT would be affected by the change - maybe I missed something

Glad to see everyone's concerns were addressed. Good, fair outcome. I said earlier that I had no future plans to bring my Death Trooper to EIB level, especially after seeing what was about to go down, but I'd like to hope that will change as my still-developing skills improve over time.

That does seem like it would be bit of a hassle for some people to try and pull off. Why even bother if that area is covered up? I was never planning on going EIB anyway, but I can see this being a potential turn-off for those who otherwise would have EIB-ready armors. You guys wanted 700 (?) EIB troopers by the end of the year, right? I don't see that happening -- not with stuff like this popping up. "Don't forget to remove your belt so we can check to see if you cut your notch out." *facepalm*

Just look how far off it is from the respectable-looking helmet on the right. I don't think words can be applied here very well, at least not by me. The whole shape is just.... not right. Oversized, too. I'd be surprised if the legion still lets people join with these.

Drawing from what I've heard so far, RS Prop Masters offers fully built suits as an option. CFO would be the preferred armor vendor for a TKC, as it requires the least amount of modifying, but I don't remember if they offer the fully built and painted suit. You can always send a few emails and ask. Contact info can be found here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11538-the-various-types-of-armor-and-where-to-find-them/ I should tell you that I had no experience with crafting or painting when I first started out. As I made progress on my first costume, I gradually became more and more confident in my skills. Many folks will tell you the same, and will recommend you buy the kit and build it yourself -- it's cheaper that way, and you'll gain experience that can be applied to help others. There are plenty of resources here to help you with that if you happen to take that route instead. Oh, and welcome.

Maybe start with something easy, like the thermal detonator. Then move on to bigger pieces as your confidence builds.

http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11538-the-various-types-of-armor-and-where-to-find-them/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/18735-tk-resource-thread/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/16-ongoing-sales-project-orders/ Those links should contain the bulk of what you need to know to start off

I'm a little confused here, so bear with me. Are you saying that the Jedi Robe kit wouldn't get 501st approved as a normal Stormtrooper? I've heard of a few cases where JR kits were modified to pass for basic approval. Jason did these mods and took it a step further to zombify it. I bet he could've gotten it approved as an ANH TK if he really wanted to. Now if we're talking about Rubies, I can't imagine one would ever get it approved as a DT without spending a crap ton of extra money and effort doing so. You won't be saving money or cutting corners going for an under-par kit. If you already have a JR suit and want to get something out of it -- yes, converting it to a DT can let you do just that. Just make sure the armor fits you and it's put together structurally as a normal TK would be. Jason has this nailed down pretty well. If you have a kit from a respectable maker, but you've made mistakes during the build (broken pieces, bad paint job, exposed glue, etc) then the option is there to convert to DT and possibly still get it approved. This is the case with me and my ATA armor, only mine is still in progress. I hope I answered your question

Do post pics when it arrives!

It all looks great! Best of luck on your app

This is where the real fun begins...

That's not a bad idea. I've got a broken sewing machine and a Hasbro clone helmet I can rip the boards from.

Flipped the mirror selfie before uploading... Starting to get some parts strapped together. Going with a velcro setup this time, because I sucked at using snaps last time. What I have so far is holding up pretty good.

Actually, I'm pretty sure THIS is how it all went down.... About 4 minutes in

Thanks Eric! The mask arrived today. It could definitely be better with a darker shade of green, which I'll get around to applying at some point... Also, it's wicked hard to breathe in there. I'll be cutting out the black areas around the mouth so I can glue in some black screen. I can see fine in it. Bucket off On

I found my Testors at Michael's. And if you're on the eastern side of the country, there's another craft store called AC Moore that might have it.

More progress to show. Getting closer to being ready to re-install the strapping and put this whole thing on Blood stains added with a mixture of black and red acrylic. On the right bicep and forearm And the completed abdomen plate. I've decided I don't want to try and recreate that crater of gore the GG trooper has going on. Also, I bought this. Should arrive by next Thursday. After I cut away that excess cloth and give the face a darker shade of green, it should look pretty close to what the GG statue has. http://www.costumes4less.com/Gauze-Skull-Mask-2_FW8517S_Prod.aspx?Color=As+Shown&Size=One+Size&origin=product-ads&id=FW8517S&source=2&gclid=Cj0KEQjw_42eBRDHqcG1psmtneEBEiQAWPL8WDmeyaLAXAZfU3IAC71lmga3gC63QY3O1NmY_HhtoyUaAlxT8P8HAQ

I've modded my own eFX and I can tell you it's not really worth it. It only took my first unofficial outing to realize there are helmets that look so much better. You would do well to sell or return your eFX helmet. The ATA, being cheaper, is much more accurate and can be approved at the highest level. Just be sure to do your research, look at other peoples' builds, and log your progress so we can offer advice if it's needed. If there's any difference at all, which there can be if you mix and match stuff from different vendors, I would think it's very subtle. Hopefully someone else can chime in on this.

Thanks all for the comments. That's the current plan. I think my garrison wants to get all our DTs together for the Halloween walk this year. And one question - how many troopers does it take to create a "fire team?" The helmet's done, btw.

Made some progress on the helmet today. Still need to give it that rotten look. Gotta paint those ear covers and add tubestripes too. I think I'm just going to settle for a skull mask to wear under the helmet, rather than trying to fuss with makeup. I'll paint it up to look like the zombie face on the GG bust. I also got my plastic eyeballs in the mail a few days ago, so I'll be inserting one into the skull's exposed eye socket.

Sorry to necropost, but I need a good shot of the top of the helmet dome on the GG statue. If anyone has one to share, please do.