rapstertee

Ok, today is 15th August...EXACTLY one month since my AP kit arrived. I'd say I'm 80 - 85% completed. Heres what I've done so far: Biceps - Done Forearms - Done Drop Boxes - Done Hand Plates - Done Butt - separated and connected to kidney plate with elastic straps Shins - 1 needs velcro and both need slight trimming to fit. Also needs Knee plate fitted. (My RIGHT leg is perfect in shape and fit, the LEFT is not playing ball at all!) Thighs - all 4 strips (front & back x2) are affixed. Need to close em up now. Then Trim to fit. Also need to fit Knee boxes. Bucket - complete apart from frown mesh (on the way - thanks Ghost!) Added sponge pad to top of head. Removed acrylic lenses, added Stukatrooper's acetate sheet. Nice n tight. Voice kit - nearly done, needs fitting into chest, mic into lid. Holster, Gloves - Received. Holster is PVC but pretty good, Gloves are leather palmed Nomex lookalikes. (see pic) Blaster - Hasbro - Modded, painted and weathered. Boots - CAboots - on the way Shoulder straps - glued to chest Abs - connected front to back after reheating the ab plate and bending into better shape. Added 1 1/2" (38mm) shims to both sides, and large white elastic straps to join them together. I plan to fill and sand the obvious join of the shim, and put 6 rivets in to look the part. Seems to work well - i can put the ab/butt/kidney piece on easily now like a pair of shorts. I'll be getting a visit in 2 days from 2 UKG troopers who will help me work out my snaps n straps system. Then when my CAboots arrive...I'll be posing for my clearance pics!

Ello Troops, I've been doing some trawling for accessories and found these gloves on the big auction site. They're nomex style, elasticated in the right places and real leather palms etc. -------- I was a little dubious of the quality, but for the low price I figured I'd try em out. I got them yesterday, and I'm extremely happy with them, the quality and quick delivery. Here are some pics: ------ At the end of the day, I was happy to find a decent alternative to the more expensive Nomex gloves. Unlike the Trooper boots, it's a chance to save a few £££ or $$$ in the glove area, where you can't really save any money on the boots. Anyway, check em out. The seller on the site is called: SUNARMSAIRSOFT, and the item is called, "US Military Airsoft Tactical Flight Leather Glove Black" They were listed as a 'Buy It Now' for 99p ($2) and the postage to the UK was £3.99 (about $8)

Simon, I vouch for Stuka's acetate lense material - I fitted mine yesterday, and it rocks. Cheers Stuka

ALMOST 1980's Battlestar Galactica Shine!!! : D

quick recap: Where I'm at today (10th Aug): Biceps - Done Forearms - Done Drop Boxes - Done Hand Plates - Done Butt - separated and connecrted to kidney plate with elastic straps Shins - need velcro but otherwise done Thighs - not done Lid - complete apart from frown mesh and internal pads (recently widened the neck hole so its less painful to put on!) Voice kit - nearly done, needs fitting into chest, mic into lid. Boots, Holster, Gloves - on the way shoulder straps - glued to chest random pics: (My room looks like a thermal detonator went off - stormtrooper bits everywhere!)

Not a bad idea, Thomas. Do what i did - if in doubt, draw on the plastic with a soft pencil and see if it looks right before cutting. Always handy, that approach.

White EVA sheet is what you seek! ------------ comes in all colours and thicknesse. May be a little warm though....give it a go?

10 August Just went to B&Q (Us Brits version of Home Depot, I guess) Found a 'work belt' - made of 2" webbing witha plastic clasp/buckle - perfect for holding the thigh suspender things! Only £3 ($6) here it is:

Great shots, Lou. As I'm nearing the snap'n'strap phase, it'll be handy reference for me. Incredible cutting and filling job on those thighs - I really don't have the cojones to do that on mine, but I hope they work out ok! Post a pic up once you've filled the seamss, and lets see what the result looks like!

Cool! you're getting it! The indentations on the forearms....Always wondered what they were...Perhaps a number of holes that can accept clip-on attachments like boba-fett style rocket launchers or climbing claws like Batman? The OII on the back? wow...er....life support contorls??

Wow, what a discussion! I can definitely see both sides here as I'm a prop maker myself. Its good to have idiosyncrasies and quirks in troopers seen on screen, so we can identify them and choose which trooper we want to emulate. Anyway, in a slightly different vein...How bout this: Imagine, if you will, that the fictional SW universe is totally real, ok? The Stormtroopers DON'T wear vacformed ABS but 'Plastoid Composite' armour. Their E11's are laser rifles, not converted Sterlings. The helmets are ALL identical and symmetrical. Real grilles and details. What else would we see? As an example to start you off... the tube stripes aren't stripes or decals - they're cut slots to aid atmosphere filtration. Same for the black lines on the tears & traps... Anything else? Just have fun with it....

Cheers Matey. I'm getting the hang of this bit and like you said on your library, every part is something of a fight. Luckily I'm a fighter! Can I ask you wht lenses yo uput in? Is it sheet or acrylic? and if so, how did you affix them?

Cheers Chris, I think I'll get some E6000 in the next week and see what it can do. This gluing process is turning into a trial and error thing which eats up cash, and I really want my armour to look good and be sturdy - unbreakable if possible. I'm disappointed at the poly weld stuff though. Okay, E6000, here we go!

I'm gonna try. I think i might get some foam strips to go inside the helmet, around the holes and glue the lenses to them, but yeah, they'll need a bit of re-shaping I think.

UPDATE: Some problems... My acrylic lenses won't glue in due to being curved differently, so i really don't know how to stick these in. More worryingly -- Although I managed to glue my biceps together (with Poly Weld) successfully, the forearms won't go together. After a few hours clamped together, the two halves popped apart dry as a bone. no melting or anything, and I'd sanded the surfaces too! I'm a bit annoyed. Should I persevere with Poly Weld, or go get Devcon Plastic Welder or E6000? Help me, FISD, you're my only hope!

8th Aug: Bought VARIO pliers for my 15mm snaps - £10 ouch! Ordered Caboots! Woohoo! smelly (well smellier) feet here i come! Got a local TK coming over next week to show me about strapping system etc. I've poly Welded the biceps together, overlapping method. seem to be ok, so far. Got some ARALDITE (2-part epoxy) to fit my lenses in. Drybrushing the E11: more news later.....!

The bolts are about 3/4 of an inch long, right? Mine all fit in ok, with 5mmof extra thread left on the inside... I'm not sure why yours don't reach thru....post a pic of your ears and maybe we can solve it? Ears on the AP are probably the most annoying and difficult things to get right, so take it really slow.

Cheers Lou! Can I ask - what size strips did you use on the biceps and forearms? Also what glue - I have poly weld right now, but I'm told E6000 might be a better choice. Tel

Maybe I do....!

Thanks Daetrin - the FISD has become a second home to me. If not for the help, resources and people here, my dream of becoming a TK would have faded away by now. I'm 75% there - all i need is a little more time, help and advice and I'll be joining the ranks.

HELMET TWEAKING Okay, I was looking at my lid and there were three slight problems with it: 1 - Brow trim too low, looking like a Hero helmet. 2 - Ear gap on right ear too big 3 - Neck trim too short - working loose. SO I bit the bullet, and totally disassembled the lid, re-drilling holes for screws after repositioning the faceplate. This was a scary thing to do because the ears, once trimmed, might never fit on well again. Anyway, I'm pleased to say it was a total success: 1 - Brow trim higher now, I moved the faceplate down a bit. Also had to trim a tiny sliver of plastic off the cap too, just to help things. The trim is in SO tight now, it'll never move again! 2 - Ear gap - almost totally gone, i'd say reduced by ober 50% at least! 3 - Neck trim - because the head hole is now smaller from moving the faceplate, the circumference of the hole is reduced and my S shaped neck trim (thanks Troopermaster!) fits tightly in there now. All I would criticise is that the head hole is so incredibly tight now, it's not easy to get my head in and out, even with a 90 degree twist. I wouldn't mind cutting it wider, but i dunno if i should risk it, as the lid is probably the best it'll be now. It's uber-tight, nice stunt height trim and the ears are near-perfect. Troopermaster told me that the original troops in ANH didn't use any mesh in their frowns! from what I researched, the actors wore balaclavas to hide their faces. While i'd like to attain near-movie perfection, I'm not going to bake my head in there with a balaclava on, so i still need mesh. Anyone got some? Plus, theres no room for a balaclava now! Are you crazy?!?

Friday 8th August Ordered some gloves and holster. The holster is being made by a friend out of leather, to look as accurate as poss. Will let you know how that turns out. Thegloves are fake nomex flight gloves from ebay, so they look the part but are much cheaper - I WILL get decent Nomex ones in future, but I need a complete costume asap. All I really need now are CAboots. My shoe size is UK9.5 (US 10) - so I guess I need US 10's?? Anyone have a pair in reasonalbe condition that can purchese I also painted my E11 today- four coats of grey primer and three coats of Satin Black. Looks nicer already! But I'm going to do the drybrushing/weathering tomorrow - I love that stuff, so hopefully it'll look much nicer in the next few pics. anyway, here's the pics of the blaster:

It's the date of birth of my mother, who passed away in 2005 from smoking-related illnesses. I wanted to remember her that way while doing trooping for charity.

Okay, Wednesday 6 Aug... Last night : separated the kidney & butt sections. Got my new PVC neckseal from Shadowdale Creations: gorgeous! ;P I have to say that Shadowdale took ages to reply to my order, rarely responded and when they did were very short and not very polite. The neckseal though is a top quality item, really nice. Which was a relief. Painted my ear bumps (and went for a nearly central black mark, as on one of the Tantive IV troops.) Also fitted my tube stripes, 11 each side - I think 13 would've been a tight squeeze and I copied froma pic of an authentic ANH stunt. Almost finished back lines - I'm going to tidy the ends up with grey next. Heres the entire lid minus lenses... My modde unpainted Hasbro with Smitty's white T-Track: And a close up of my scratchbuilt front of scope - I hated the toyish crosshairs, so i stuck some bits on it. And finally.... Set of 10 spring clamps of varying sizes from B&Q for £5.98 - ready to do my glueing and clamping tomorrow, IF my E6000 glue turns up!

Hi, I'm going to make some clips for my Thermal Detonator, and I wandered if anyone here has some pics or measurements or both that I can see? I know a metalworker who can make em, but I just need an accurate drawing of one to give to him, so i can ensure it'll look and work right. this is for an AP detonator, I plan to rivet the clips to the tube. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Tel