Daetrin

TE2 is certainly worth checking out. I hear all the time about how the pricing is super high, but when I created a spreadsheet of the various ones and made a comparison, it really wasn't all that different. It's a good example of information can get stale over time, and is worth checking periodically.

No flame suit necessary. That's a pretty objective response. Personally I love my hyperfirms and am perhaps lucky to deal with reputable sellers, and my experience is 100% positive. I've also been lucky enough to afford to be able to shell out the bucks for them, but I realize not everyone is in this space, so it's great to have alternatives.

Easy in - great to see you here Tony - was wondering when you'd grace us with your presence

Ugh! What I should have said. =:-0 I've been trooping pretty regularly with my TE2, no problems at all. The HIPS is actually easier to trim/work with than ABS, and it feels lighter to wear as well, though I've not put them both on a scale to see for sure.

Check out my avatar. I'm 6'0 180lbs and my TE2 - which is comparable to AP - fits great. You should have no problems.

Yeah I see that. Will move my query to PM.

What happened to your GML?

Mesa has no problemo with it.

Understood. I hated the name "Mark" too. Man, am glad to see that fade away.

Tony, Puck, Earl - welcome to the FISD gentlemen! Be sure to check out the previously restricted areas - you'll find some value in checking them over, methinks. Earl - great to see you here man - I've been waiting for you to show up Huttman - thanks for the pix - that's a damn fine TK you got there!

Would love to see some hi-def screen caps of the ab buttons. From what I recollect they are black, and that's why the Elite standards call them out that way (no one offered up anything different until now, either).

The Elite standards can always be changed by vote of the detachment membership. I'd like to suggest that this not happen too often, or that they go down, only up. But if the poll doesn't pan out the way you want...you should be OK with that too.

You can mention Ebay, it's just against policy to post for sale auctions that are not your own.

Hey Anthony, I can't find a record for 3390 in the Legion database. Are you a new applicant and this is the ID you're asking for, or an inactive member returning to active status?

In the US we have a variety of fabric stores like Michael's and JoAnn's all over the place. This is where I get mine. Not sure what's common in the UK, but I'm sure there is something similar.

Yup, this is correct. Just like the pauldrons - they were supposed to be for rank, but what kind of rank was something that was backfilled after the films were made, and there are at least two systems I've seen. Heck, even the officer ranks don't make much sense. Choose what aesthetically pleases you most.

I think Kahler's blaster is exactly the example I'm talking about when I said a conversion can be made to look good. I can understand people wanting Elite to be more stringent than it is, but let's not forget the main goal: to encourage and reward excellence in costuming, not to be the penultimate standard that can be achieved. If you look at MEPD standards, they don't specify exactly how the pack should look, or that the BFG must be a spot on replica of an MG-34 or Lewis. And it was only recently that the MEPD standards were tightened up to include things like the tears/traps. This detachment is supposed to help the Legion. We're supposed to help and encourage our fellow members to improve their costumes. Right now the current state of affairs for Legion TK's - while strong at one point - has been neglected and is now not overly stringent. Elite is part of the process of raising the bar, but it still needs to be achievable for Legion members. Let's not lose sight of that.

Unless it's part of my evil plot to eventually have the two combined - mwu-ha-ha-ha (wrings hands like an evil person does). Yeah, this has been covered 1000 times on MEPD - they have a whole section devoted to it. ;-)

Nope. Not at all. It's supposed to help raise the quality bar of the 501st stormtrooper costume. Being 100% screen accurate is not the goal. If 100% of the Legion was what is now Elite, yup we'd raise the bar. But that wasn't our intent, as it's not practical for most members, and we are a costuming club after all. The standards as set are actually fairly easy to achieve - at least on par with MEPD and probably easier than Lancer - so I don't think they are out of line. Unless we talk ROTJ...but I'm not familiar enough with biker scouts to compare ROTJ Elite to Lancer.

Bernard has it right - these requirements are for Elite status, hence the attention to detail. Don't feel put out - it took me three or four goes to get my chest/back to hang right. The butt plate was tough - even for an ANH suit. I had to add a little foam to get it to sit right. Maddening at times, but once your done, it's done

Wow, how did I miss this thread? Here is my $.02... In my Nirvana there would be no FX armor in the 501st and no Hasbro blasters. However, Nirvana is not reality. The current reality is that the FX armor is 501st acceptable, as is the Hasbro blaster. One of the goals of this detachment and Elite standards was to promote excellence in costuming, not to provide some overly hard to obtain standard that captures every minor detail. What we wanted were goals that any 501st stormtrooper could achieve. They must also capture the visible, differentiating features of the costume. This is why we specify the split back. This is why we include frown details. And in truth these Elite standards don't cost a lot of money. What really are we talking about? None of them really require much of a budget at all, and most are just cleaning up the presentation of what's in the kit. The only thing that takes any real modification of the kit was the cutting of the back plate. This is fact a far, far easier mod to achieve than cutting your ab plate such as required for MEPD Officer status. Only the ROTJ option has some extreme modification. As far as the Hasbro, I think it should be fine. A well done Hasbro upgraded can look good. Also - and this came up many times - before we tighten up the standards further let's first get people into it. We have just 9 out of over 1000 stormtroopers on the Elite page. When 50% of the TK's in the 501st are Elite, then it may be time to up the standard. But for now - I'd rather concentrate on getting the other 1000+ TK's up to this standard. If they so choose. Also, it's a great target for new troopers. Almost every new TD coming in to the Legion goes for MEPD standards from the get-go. I think this is a good thing. Ideally all new TK's will do their armor Elite (or close to it) from the beginning.

Dude!! Excellent work - looks beautiful

Yah put us all to shame Mike! Shame, I tells ya!

What I like about the BraksBuddy method is that if I screw up, it comes off easily. It will have some rub off naturally, so every once and a while I add some more. Brian (TD2802) has a wicked weathering job - especially his helmet which IMHO is one of the best out there. Hopefully he'll share too...