trooper96

I enjoy backyard astronomy. I have a 6" reflector on a Dob mount for the occasion. I have seen sunspots (through indirect/projection viewing), Mercury, Venus, our Moon (I can identify many surface features especially near the terminator and have a filter for viewing the full Moon), Mars (I can resolve the polar ice caps and surface shading), Jupiter (I have observed the GRS, GWS, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and several smaller moons, lunar transits, etc.), Saturn (I can resolve the gaps between the rings, planetary bands, Titan and several smaller moons), Uranus, Neptune, several comets, deep space objects like clusters, nebulae, galaxies and binary stars, and I have even caught the ISS briefly! I also enjoy model aviation. I have a Spektrum DX7s transmitter and about five different models I fly. Among those is a Multiplex FunCub, a Parkzone P-51D Mustang, a Parkzone Radian, a micro Mustang, and a Blade 180QX quadcopter with a camera. All are fun to fly, but my biggest thrill is thermal soaring with my Radian. I have been able to keep it aloft for over 45 minutes with only a 30 second motor run to about 600 feet! I caught several thermals during that run to climb to a maximum altitude of over 1,400 feet without the assistance of a motor! By the way, a 2 meter plane is just a speck at that altitude. I do enjoy shooting sports as well. I have a Sig Sauer 522LR, a Smith & Wesson model 457 (.45 ACP compact), and several other weapons. I qualified Expert in the Army and aced my CWP as well!

Stormtrooper from Ninety Six, SC USA. Yep, a town with a number for a name!

Happy Super Bowl Weekend! http://www.nerdist.com/2015/01/the-nfl-would-be-way-better-if-all-the-teams-were-star-wars-related/

Now if I could only get the armor to stop biting me...

BCG is good, Starter brand at Walmart is good, too. About the same price for either.

Most of my friends think what I'm doing is pretty cool. Strangers are blown away by my armor and the fact that I made it. Everyone wants to take pictures. Children are fascinated, even star-struck. My kids say, "Dad, you're such a nerd!" and roll their eyes in the same loving way that all kids find their parents embarrassing. My wife calls me "her Stormtrooper". In my estimation, this is truly one of the coolest things I have ever done. All of the detractors whose coolness peaked in high school can call me a geek if it makes them feel better. I feel good about myself, and that's what matters to me. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Quote attributed to Dr. Seuss

The Force Awakens http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/11/06/star-wars-episode-vii-breaking/

EPIC BOOT PAINT FAIL... The Dupli-Color Vinyl and Fabric Paint looked GREAT until I actually put the boots on and started walking around. Then they cracked like egg shells. Maybe I did something wrong. Too many coats? Just the wrong paint for the application? I don't know, but they look BAD! Oh well, I will be experimenting with another product soon...

Understood. I got these just to complete my build quickly. I will upgrade when I'm ready to take the next step. Here are the boots after a couple more coats and application of fabric paint to the elastic. I also used fabric paint to cover the stitching on the seams. The tape is still on the soles waiting for everything to dry.

Alex, We just used a small adhesive d-shaped neoprene weather strip around the frame's mating surface. It's not the most efficient seal. We lose a little vacuum pressure, but not enough to matter. We are looking to improve the design.

Alex, Click on the link below. This is a vacuum table a friend and I made. All we use is a large shop vac, and you can see it pulls all the way to the table surface. The material we are using is 0.063" thick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaMcdcUiWuQ

For my black boots, I had trouble locally sourcing any kind of leather dye, so I opted to try this product. So far, the results have been promising. First, I stripped the boots with acetone. Turns out the boot uppers were a mixture of real leather and synthetic. The acetone quickly removed the shiny coating from the leather, but I had to be careful not to let a heavy coating get on the synthetic leather. A light coating that evaporated and was wiped away quickly removed the gloss without eating it. Here are the boots with two coats of the above paint (the soles are still taped off here). As you can see, it may take a couple of more coats, and I will have to find a fabric paint to cover the black elastic. After fully curing, the boots can be flexed without cracking or wrinkling. Adhesion seems to be good at this point.

Was the Battle of Yavin an act of terrorism? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV7Ha3VDbzE

Congratulations on a job well done! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Too funny! Thanks for sharing!

Stormtrooper: Lord Vader, the droids were not at the Lars' homestead, but we found the owners and grilled them like you said. Darth Vader: You fool! When I told you to grill them until they talked, I meant interrogate them! Stormtrooper: Ohhh... My bad...

Looks good!

There will be no escape for the Gungan this time!

What do you get when you take a crowd of kids and add a scratch-built blaster and an unfinished trooper helmet? "The excitement would be..." "What?" "Well, more excitement than you could imagine!" "I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit." "You'll see it." "I better!"

Looks good!

Lord Vader dropped by unannounced today to check on my blaster building progress. Me: Lord Vader, this is an unexpected pleasure. I am honored by your presence... Darth Vader: You may dispense with the pleasantries, trooper. I'm here to put you back on schedule. Me: I assure you, Lord Vader. I am working as fast as I can. Darth Vader: Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate you. Me: I tell you that this blaster will be completed as planned. Darth Vader: The Emperor does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation. Me: But he asks the impossible! I need more time! Darth Vader: Then perhaps you can tell him when he arrives. Me: [alarmed] The Emperor's coming here? Darth Vader: That is correct, trooper, and he is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress. Me: I shall double my efforts. Darth Vader: I hope so, trooper, for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am. ...Guess I had better get back to work! If I end up being sent to the spice mines of Kessel or smashed into who knows what, you will know my blaster build went terribly wrong.

Meesa no tinkin' yousa hittin' Jar-Jar! Yoosa choot baddin'... Chootsa veddy baddin', okee-day! Likesa dem troopsa-stormin' Teesa-Kay boy.

Thanks! I'll give it a go and post the results soon.

I am enjoying the challenge of making a few features functional on my blaster. My magazine is removable, I can pull the trigger, my folding stock locks in the open and closed positions, and now the end cap catch is functional. My next challenge is to make a bolt assembly that can be cycled and still look scale. I can't find a proper sized spring at my local hardware stores, so I have experimented with fashioning one from steel wire. I have tried clotheshanger wire, but I think it may be too soft. After a few compressions, it doesn't want to spring back. Is there a better way?

End cap catch assembled and painted.