MoSc0ut

TK-50899 requesting 501st Trooper status! http://www.501st.com/members/displaymemberdetails.php?userID=21627 Respectfuly, Jim

Great suggestion Mike! I was also thinking to add a couple Velcro cable ties either end then I could keep the wires tucked away minus the gaffer tape. [emoji51] Jim - TK50899

Here's my setup with my home made bracket. A little gaffer tape to keep the cords tidy. This was my first one and I made the wires a bit longer just to be safe. And these are the specs on the fans: Black Brushless DC Cooling Blower Fan 5015S 5V 0.1-0.3A I went with the lowest draw fans I could find to maximize the run time, especially since the plan was to run 2. Jim - TK50899

Here's a quick tutorial on how to add some ventilation to your helmet. *EDIT - I just noticed CheckWan had posted a similar thread in April (I didn't scroll far enough) but if you prefer a photo step by step here you go. Also I found my fans on AliExpress, 5 for $6.50 with free shipping. Shipping took 4 weeks from China to the US but at the time I was still building my armor so I didn't need them right away. I used this set up on my first troop that was a 1 1/2 mile parade in 96 degree heat! It was still horrible but this helped me make it through!! Here's what you'll need: -2x 5v two wire blower fans -USB cable -5v cell phone charger -Soldering iron -Heat shrink tubing -Wire cutter/stripper First cut the USB cable to desired length. There will be some outer protective wire and foil electrical shielding as you work your way towards the 4 inside wiring. There should be 4 colored wires. Red, Black, Green, White. Clip off the green and white wires (they aren't needed) and strip the ends of the black and red. Clip the small plugs of the 5v fans and strip the ends. Twist together like colors. Slip the appropriate size heat shrink over both the USB cable and the ends of the fan wires. **Important step** TEST THE CIRCUT!! Make sure it works before proceeding. The first one of these I made I went through testing the voltage and figuring out which wires were what. In the 4 I've made this far the colors have been the same but that doesn't mean there isn't some off brand USB cable with weird colors inside. Solder together like colors. Slide heat shrink over soldered connections and heat shrink. Slide larger heat shrink over both and shrink. This gives it all a cleaner look and added strength. Power provided by one of these. I got approximately 2 1/2 hrs run time from one of these fully charged. The whole set up doesn't weigh much and was added to my bucket with a few pieces of industrial strength Velcro on a mounting bracket I made with some styrene sheet I had from another project. The battery nestles in the back hump with a bit of Velcro quite well. -FIN [emoji846] Jim - TK50899

Here's the comparison photo and side by side measurements. I hit the body with some Rustoleum Hammered texture paint to see how it looks. I think it is pretty close to matching the texture of the replica scope. I'll be working on the weathering and detailing. The whole thing will get a coat of flat clear coat once it's done to knock down the shine. In all the following photos my mock M38 is on the top and the replica is on the bottom. Objective lens (front) (Mine) (Replica) Front body (Mine) (Replica) Rear body (Mine) (Replica) Front foot (Mine) (Replica) Rear foot (Mine) (Replica) Enjoy! Jim - TK50899

Thanks! I'm kinda scared to start putting together the one I got from you. I figured I'd practice by doing this first then I'm going to dive into your awesome kit! Jim - TK50899

So it started with a limited budget and just the utter curiosity of if I could pull this off. Basically the m38 is a series of various sized cylinders with a "slopey bit" in the middle. I headed to Home Depot with some approximate diameters from what I could dig up, at the time, on the interwebs. (I later confirmed these when I got one of Bulldog44's awesome hollow replicas.) Materials: - various diameter PVC - Epoxy putty (in my case some left over milliput that is close to being expired) - Sheet Plastic, preferably thicker but you can stack and glue thinner material to the desired thickness as well. I got mine from the scrap bin and my local plastic supplier. Tools: -Ruler -hacksaw to cut PVC - CA glue and quick cure I found all of these sizes in the bin in the PVC aisle that has precut 2 foot lengths. Here is what I did: I first marked out the lengths on the different PVC. Then cut them. (I do have a table top band saw so that makes it easier). Then sand down the ends and inside. Next, cut all but a tiny bit on the center piece, this will overlap the front bit as shown here: Add the back ring offset on the top of the center piece. Make and add the feet. One mounts on the center section, the other on the rear section. Next is the front piece for mounting the objective lens part on. Take a piece of your plastic sheet and cut a piece to cap off the end of the ring. Sand to hide the join some putty may be required but I use gap filler CA glue. Add the objective lens. You should have something that looks like this: Time to fill in the middle with epoxy putty. I even added the little cut out for the number that will be added later. Here it is before sanding and primer. After sanding and black primer. I'll be adding a textured paint to the whole thing except the rear ring and also adding details like screws and lenses and weathering it too but I'm waiting for parts to get here for my bulldog replica kit so I can duplicate it on this "mock M38". I'll post more pics as I put the finishing touches on this. The only thing missing will be the wording on the scope ring but I have an idea to replicate that maybe. If it works I'll update you all. [emoji51] I think the total cost for this was around $10-15. Thoughts? Jim - TK50899

Yep. There's a little more of a backstory to Walt's situation but I've been asked to stop telling my version but I can say that he is not recasting, meaning made a mold of someone else's and trying to pass it off as his own but he not the original creator of some of the bucks he uses and that's where things get a bit cloudy. My understanding is that he may eventually have a full set of original TK "Walt bucks" but as you probably noticed he has lots of other original stuff that he makes and has steadily been adding more to the list. The current TK stuff he's selling sells so well, if I were him I wouldn't change anything until I had to. Some of the other makers you mentioned may have had issues in the past or just may be in that grace period of building up their reputation based on quality and consistency. My WTF TK was approved in like 13 hours and as soon as I have my blaster done I will be submitting for EIB and Centurion, which I'm told will be no problem. I also didn't pay $1200, like one of my buddies did, for the venerable RS commission! Jim - TK50899

Not as of yet and if you go to the types of armor and where to find them section the last few posts explain it....kind of. Bottom line is that Walt does his best to put out a great product and he is very responsive and the customer service he and his team provides is fantastic. I feel that it will stand the test of time and I am happy with the price and quality. As long as it approvable to me it doesn't matter wether it's on the "vetted" list or not. That's just my two cents though. [emoji846] Jim - TK50899

I use an old nylon law enforcement duty belt and the thighs have 3" elastic with loops sewn at the top that slide over the belt. The belt itself is very rigid and doesn't sag and it's nice and wide so it's comfortable even when wearing for long periods of time. You might be able to find these at a surplus store or possibly second hand if you have a law enforcement supply type store in your area. Homemade garters! Jim - TK50899

Added these to keep the shoulder bells and biceps aligned. I somehow missed this on all the threads I read through. On my first troop I kept readjusting my biceps and they'd slide out of the elastic. Then I was asked where are the straps/elastic keeping them together? I was like, "Duh!" Jim - TK50899

It's been fantastic to follow. Sharing ideas and seeing it go from a box of parts to a screen accurate costume is what it's all about. Then the fun really starts! The first time I heard someone in the crowd yell "I love Stormtroopers, they're my favorite!" I couldn't stop grinning behind my frown. The kids are the best, for them it's like you walked right out of the movie for real! My 16 year old son has to tell everyone his dad's a Stormtrooper. (I have 4 kids: 19, 16, 15, 11. Boy, boy, girl, girl, and they all think it's pretty cool.) Makes me forget all the $ and time spent. In fact probably the single best return on my investment to this point as far as "stuff" goes! Jim - TK50899

I'm working on a pipe build while I save up for a hyper firm myself. As for the fans I can show you a quick way to do a USB and 5 volt fan set up that'll get you about 2 1/2 hrs of run time. It's super easy. I even have a few extra 5v blower fans I ordered by accident. Jim - TK50899

Looking good! So close! What will you do with all the free time?? [emoji16] Jim - TK50899

Kevin, the charging handle is on backwards. But other than that it looks fantastic. Jim - TK50899

Use them to make pillow forts. [emoji51] Jim - TK50899

15mm poppers arrived today so I'm switching the line 24's out. Some are a little challenging. Jim - TK50899

If you have someone local that's willing to help defiantly take them up on it. My BBB showed up two days after the last armor party we had organized and most folks near me were done and trooping while I was nugging out my build. Jim - TK50899

I missed that you still had a return edge on the bottom of the shin. Definitely take this return edge off. It will make it fit better over the boot. The 1/2" should be the distance from your leg to the inside of your armor, don't count the return edges. Jim - TK50899

Here's a good group shot of a lot of thighs and legs. You don't want it too snug. If it's folding up the tops of the boots a whole lot let it out a bit. Notice that there isn't much gap on these guys but it's not folding up the tops of the boots. It looks like your pretty close but maybe someone who's seen a few more shins should chime in as this area was the only area I struggled a bit with. [emoji51] As for the thighs make sure you leave some room to get some padding in there, it makes all the difference. If they are too tight you'll be walking like the tin man. I put mine on then used some tape to affix them to my belt and walked around in them a bit. I have stairs in my house and I went up and down them a few times. With that overlap it's going to be hard to tell how they'll feel once trimmed. Also make sure you can get your feet through them easily as that's how they go on and off, which I'm sure you already did. And a final note on both is, you can always trim more off but you can't put it back on! If you haven't already jump over to UKswrath's ANOVOS build thread and post up your pics. He's very helpful and usually responds pretty quick. Jim - TK50899

[embarrassed] I stand corrected. My apologies. Apparently my sources also had bad info. Thank you for setting me straight. This is good info indeed. If not already obvious, I'm a big supporter of Walt and all he does he makes a quality product and him and his crew are just all around good people, just like everyone else I've met from FISD. I was wrong. Sorry. [emoji51] Jim - TK50899

Just to be clear Walt did not recast TE2. There are several different lineages of TE2 armor (ATA being one of the more popular in recent years.) He got the original bucks and permission from an individual who previously was an approved armor maker who got out of the armor business. Part of the deal with Walt was that he is not supposed to say who that maker was. I own an approved set of Walt's armor and I can say it is NOT recast armor. The reason he cannot be approved at this time is he didn't create the original bucks. Again Walt DOES NOT produce recast armor. Before Walt offered his armor for sale there was a discussion with several "high ranking" officials from FISD and they approved and they also know the back story. Believe me, I did over a month of research on him and his operation and it all checks out. This was the only the first reason I went with Walt. Second was Walt and his crews awesome customer service. Third, Price. Fourth, turn around time (1 day shy of 6 weeks). Jim - TK50899

He does have several other armor that are his own. I'm seeing evidence that soon he will have his own full TK set to offer and will be able to get on that list. He's just getting ready to make the WTF TK bucket available along side the Gino V2 that he currently includes with his TE2 derived "hybrid" armor. I find it very similar to ATA* with some minor differences that you see when you search images of TE2 armor. *the armor that is. Jim M.

Sorry, duplicate.

Just beat me to it!! Lol! Jim - TK50899