mikedwelle94

I'm at a loss here. My helmet is an MTK that I'm modifying and painting as an ROTJ style helmet, and I can't figure out how to make the ears stick. There doesn't seem be enough contact area for the glue on the rims of the ears. Any advice on an alternative method of attachment? Thanks, and happy new year! Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

I'm currently building an Imperial Shock Trooper which is structurally identical to an ROTJ - mostly out of ANH armor (and a lot of the pieces happen to be CAP-W like yours). You need to invert the abdomen button panel, construct everything with the overlap method (no coverstrips), and take all the return edges off all the torso plates and add white rubber "u" trim to the plates. I suppose you can find a way to fuse your kidney/butt armor into one piece, but I think it would be more worth it to order a replacement from a maker of ROTJ armor. TM and CFO can hook you up with that, and the proper belt material. The belt fabric on a ROTJ costume resembles that of firehose, rather than the canvas you see on ANH troopers.

I'm using 80% ANH armor, but I've put it together with overlaps instead of cover strips, which is called for in a ROTJ costume. I'd say you can use whatever make of armor you want, as long as you build it to resemble the ROTJ look. Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

Those boots should get you into the 501st no problem, but that extra seam on the front may block you for level 2 and 3 certification. The neck seal looks good, though the "one size fits most" line worries me a bit. For any future Stormtrooper-related purchases, I would recommend buying from the people who sell here. It's always a gamble when it comes to quality when you buy from eBay and Amazon.

It's up to you. Several of the vendors that you'll find here: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11538-the-various-types-of-armor-and-where-to-find-them/ -- offer fully finished and wearable helmets. Read a few threads within here for a while. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/forum/38-getting-started-read-this-first/ Feel free to ask questions

You can get them fully built, which will cost extra. Even still, helmet kits are not terribly difficult to put together. There is a wealth of information here on how to assemble helmet and armor kits. You're in the right place!

Take a look at the link I included in my response. It contains contact information for all of the recommended vendors for Stormtrooper armor.

That, my friend is a Rubies Stormtrooper. I would recommend returning it for a refund if you can, or selling it on eBay and take a bit of a loss. If you would rather keep it, it is very possible you can get meet 501st requirements with some good work. It's been done by a few folks here who own that suit. It will be easiest to convert it to a Return of the Jedi style costume, instead of one from A New Hope or Empire Strikes Back. You should direct any questions you have about the Rubies to ROTJ conversion to Toddo, who was able to attain level 2 certification (EIB) with his Rubies suit. You will need to replace the helmet for sure. If you are keeping the armor, you should go for a ROTJ style helmet to go with it. Troopermaster and sskunky both sell ROTJ helmets, either in kit form or fully built. If you can't afford those options, an ANH painted and modifed to look like an ROTJ might be passable for basic membership, but I would wait for someone else to chime in on that first. Good luck. http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/11538-the-various-types-of-armor-and-where-to-find-them/

Do you have a link to the costume you bought that you could share with us? You can soak some cloth in super glue and apply it to the insides of the helmet to strengthen it.

Just sent in my application. There are a couple of things that stick out that might be cause for having to suit up again for a new set of pictures, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get it done tonight and see what happens. Wish me luck. Front (no flash) Front (with flash) Back Left Right Mexican day on the Death Star Braiiiins.... Bucket off

TM's ROTJ will be closer to the shape and proportions of what you see in the movies and the game, so replacing this ANH based helmet will help me sleep better at night. Hopefully there's someone out there who won't mind using it for their Shock Trooper (or whatever else, I don't care what they do with it once it's out of my hands). I figure the only two weapons acceptable to apply with are the DLT-19 and the T-21. I'm considering a scratch build of the DLT later on that'll consist of insulation foam, PVC piping, styrene, and miscellaneous greeblies. Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

The weathering on that helmet is superb! I may have to make my TM bucket look more like that once I get it! [emoji6] You should totally do the rest of the suit. There's me, and only one other guy I know of, who are doing these troopers. Like I said on IG, the ROTJ grew on me over time. The thick black frown and the squished appearance of the helmet does look fairly different from what we're all so used to seeing everywhere - but having the red stripes and the freedom to exercise creativity in weathering is worth it. Definitely more fun of a costume to put together than a clean trooper, but that's just my opinion. [emoji2] Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

After a long, hard look at this MTK helmet, I've decided I'm gonna get it as close to done as I can.... *drum roll* ...then I'm gonna sell it. I've decided that an ANH helmet painted up as an ROTJ isn't good enough for me, so I'll be looking to get a proper ROTJ helmet kit from TM. This will of course drag out the rest of the Shock Trooper project longer than I originally intended, but I think I'll look better overall as a result of this decision. I might also swap out the FX ab plate with one from ATA or CAP-W later on, but that's not as worrisome to me right now.

I might try this instead of buying a tailored one. Thanks for the post

I wasn't happy with the bondo job I did on the ear gaps, so I took the ears off and trashed em. Thankfully I have an extra set of untrimmed ears in a box somewhere that I can take my time on doing correctly. Overlap construction. Left arm pieces fit pretty well after I glued in a few foam strips. Hopefully the ridge on my left bicep isn't too thin to be considered a ding on my application, but I happen to have *two* extra halves of a left bicep I could use if this one won't work. (Scootch surprised me a lot of extra parts I didn't ask for I rough trimmed the thighs, shins, right forearm, and TK knee plate after dinner ended and most of the family left. Hoping to make the edges pretty tomorrow and get (at least) the thighs glued together and clamped.

I would ask ATA about his red ABS. I heard a while ago from somewhere that he's trying to get rid of the last of his red plastic. You might get lucky and get yourself a Magma Trooper kit shipped out quicker than you would a white one.

Watch City Armory has this kit in the works. ----------------

Pictures!! [emoji2] Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

MonCal thighs from Germany have finally arrived! Only things left to wait for are the belt and kidney/butt from TM. I should start making some good progress after tomorrow despite my work restrictions being lifted. -----

It would be cool to see some of these kits get built and painted up as the new Shock Troopers. Just invert the ab buttons, fuse the kidney/butt, assemble with the overlap method, and add the rubber trim. Sent from my SCH-R530U using Tapatalk

That much for the kit??! Or an assembled suit? Do you have a link you could share?

No pressure to get it out here right away, Eric. The holidays are definitely of a higher priority.

Honestly I would just pick one configuration and leave it. From what I understand, and from personal experience, Plastidip has a bit of a texture to it. It wouldn't look like proper spray paint. And who's to say that there won't be any evidence or residue left behind, if you DO manage to remove it from all your parts. And there's quite a bit of red on this guy - the entire shins, knee plate, plastic belt, and knee ammo are all completely red. You'd also need a second pair of boots, btw. The Shock's boots are red too The hassle of switching back to a clean ROTJ from a Shock doesn't seem like it would be worth the effort. You'll have a cool costume regardless of which path you take.

I cheered loudly when that anonymous Stormtrooper took on Finn with that flashy baton. If it weren't for Chewie, that trooper would have single-handedly ended him right there. Looking forward to seeing these angrier troopers in the next movies.

Quick update (no pics yet). I sent payment to TM for the fused ROTJ style kidney/butt plate and the correct belt material. Still waiting on a set of thighs from Germany, read recently it can take around a month with the cheapest shipping option. Left forearm has been assembled and the back plate has been trimmed and adorned with rubber trim. Plugging away bit by bit, doing a small amount of something each day since the TFA hype machine calmed down.