Daetrin

Personal choice. I hate the hard hat liner and will never use one, but others swear by them. I just got some foam and created my own padding - one on the top and one on each cheek. Lots of air flow. Some guys prefer a tighter fit and get pads from a motorcycle or cut up a batting helmet for a more snug fit. In the end every head is differnet and you'll have to custom cut & fit the foam to fit the helmet to your noggin. Hot glue seems to be the favorite adhesive, though an alternative is to put velcro on the inside of your helmet and velcro the pads in place. And if you want to go nuts, some guys paint the interiors of their buckets and put logos (cogs) etc. before adding the padding. This is a great time to show off the insides of your lids guys

That is definately not normal at all. I've never of such a thing before.

So today I was home sick. After convalescing in bed for the morning, I felt good enough to do some work in the early afternoon. Here is what I got done: 1. Added velcro to chest, back, and shoulder straps. I'm using velcro to connect it all now until I wear all the armor and have someone to help ensure the position is correct before gluing the straps to the chest. Also created the straps that go along the sides to ensure a snug fit. 2. Added velcro to ab plate on the sides, crotch, and top. Created crotch & side straps. 3. Added velcro and created straps for the shoulder bells. I'm using the single strap that goes around the neck, and also the ones that go around the bicep. 3. Test fit the smaller bicep. I had to add a shim and even then it's tight. Haven't glue anything yet - again I want it all on before I do that. 4. Got the kidney plate all velcroed out. with straps there as well. 5. Created straps for the hand plates and drop boxes. Ensure they fit OK. Normally the straps have the velcro sewn onto the material, but having that option open to me I tried two methods: A) Using E6000 to glue the velcro to the strap Using CA glue (with accelerator) do to it. It seems to me using CA glue + accelerator is cleaner and faster than using E6000, which took awhile to dry. We'll see how they hold up over time. Normally I'm a big fan of snap systems, but until I have everything test fitted I'm sticking to velcro. That, and I'm having trouble making solid snap plates using extra styrene. The plastic seems too weak and I'm thinking of just using ABS for the plate instead, though I'm concerned about it damaging the HIPS armor (e.g. it's stronger but not as flexible - will it tear?). Most of what's left are the legs, belt, and forearms. I'll try to get a garrison mate's wife to sew me a canvas belt. I was just too tired and groggy to do more and didn't trust myself for the fitted pieces today. Still, it's good progress and I'll start work on the forearms next.

It looks like someoen is already making them in Germany: -------- They look really great but $80 + shipping makes it one of the pricier accessories (considering pauldrons and ammo pouches are about $30-$50, and whole TD backpacks can be found for about $100, and used thermal detonators about what - $20?).

Cool project - please let us know if you do a run - I'm sure you'd have enough people wanting one to support it

Carlos - I see a new product line for your gf - TK armor bags! Each one can be labeled with the part they should contain (for those us who need garanimal clothes), and you can add people's TK ID's to them for a "nominal fee". ;-) Aside from Vader who only has a couple of hard pieces to worry about, we're the only costume type with this need. I'd think they'd be pretty cool, IMHO.

I'm trying to add more screen grabs to the Gallery. One of the sequences I'd like to get is the MG34 wielding dude in the Falcon. Anyone have some they can share? The more detail the better.

I ate a Marie Callender chicken dumpling thing that I microwaved. I got spoiled at my previous employer who had a cafeteria in the building. Now lunch isn't as nice.

As long as someone else learns what *not* to do, I'll not be bummed It's a pretty neat detail of the TE2 armor and I'm curious to see how it looks when assembled.

LESSON #2 Here is something else I learned about TE armor the hard way. FX armor comes fully trimmed and you just slap it together, but TE2 armor has something called "lines of illusion". Here is a comparison shot of the TE2 back plate vs. my FX back plate. Note on the TE (clean) along the right side there is a lip, however the FX kit doesn't have it. This is also seen around the neck area In my ignorance, I thought it was the case that the person who did the trimming left a little for me to do, so (on parts now shown) I started to trim it off. Big mistake as while you can take plastic off, you can never put it back on. Not all pieces have "lines of illusion" (for instance, the chest piece does not), but pretty much every other piece does. Lesson: remember when you get your TE2 suit that these are supposed to be there.

Great ideas guys. Any pix? I'm curious how noticeable a difference this is visually, e.g. can you notice it at 1', 2', or not at all?

It looks horrible. Send it to me immediately and I'll ensure it's taken care of. ;-)

Try this: ------

Stay on target gentlemen - should this be moved to a new thread?

Nice! And here I thought he just did hovis. =:-0

What do you mean by "best"? Below is based on hearing these first hand side by side: For sound quality, the best is RomFX, but it's $260 and can take months to come in. For ease of installation with OK sound, Skullworx is "best". Attractively priced and even a noskillz like me can install one in minutes. For lowest cost, going to Radio Shack seems "best". ** NOTE: I have not heard a hyperdyne in person so can't comment on them, though I understand they are better than *Worx but not quite at the level of RomFX in terms of sound quality.

Wow - when did this happen? There was no mention on the GT boards. Regarless - congrats on your new status! And, welcome to the restricted site ;-)

For folks not on RPF - any shots of his work?

I don't think so at all - if you're going to weather do it right. This certainly looks like some of the rifles I was issued back in the day

Credentials confirmed - welcome on station trooper Any pix of your TK? j/c as only the Vader is loaded on the 501st site.

Granted.

You're all set trooper!

Post here if your status is not updated within 48 hours after making a donation.

Yup, webisodes are already online----------

Actually it's a reference to Battlestar Galacita. They call new pilots nuggets, which I think refers to the fact that they are valuable but not fully formed (mature) professionals. Sorry, BSG Season 2.5 is in and we're re-watching.