lordvader1974

Nope...but I have neither the time nor the inclination to do anything else with it. The wife will leave and this is an alimony state Hoss. Not worth it. Know what I mean? LOL After all...we're all pretty much a bunch of 30 somethings wearing plastic! It ain't the end of the world for me. LOL!

Thanks a lot for the positive responses guys. This is my first (and only for quite a while) armor and I am especially proud of the AP helmet.

Continued:

OK guys. Here's the deal. I recently bought a full TD from someone on the MEPD boards. It ended up being a soft recast of FX armor but it had a great backpack, decent T-21, and an AP helmet. The armor probably wouldn't have been my first choice since it's a recast but I'm stuck with what I'm stuck with. Truthfully, the only thing I'm waiting on is thighs from RT-mod that I'll weather to match and I should be good to go. Anyhoo, about the helmet. He had already built the helmet and did a pretty decent job but there were some things that bothered me a bit so I decided to tear it apart and build it up the way I wanted. I took the lenses out because they had hot glue on them and didn't fit the contour of the eyes very well. I decided to replace them with ones from Smitty (great product btw...check 'em out if you haven't already). I was very unhappy with the neck trim. It looked like a very ill fitting piece of hard auto door trim. I think it probably used to fit, but the guy I bought it from is like me with a good sized gourd and had to open the neck up a little just to be able to put the helmet on (it's still a chore for me but I like it that way). Also, it didn't conform very well around the vocodor. The interior of the bucket was unpainted and only had what I assume was the padding that came with the kit. He had hot glued everything into place in the helmet and there were just gobs of the mess all over the interior. While they didn't hurt anything, they just bugged me. So, I set to work correcting the things I could. I took the aerators out and made them more "wonky." Then I used rubberized undercoating all through the interior (after removing all the old hot glue of course). I padded it with some T-ball batting helmet padding that I cut to fit the way I needed it to. He had two CPU fans each wired straight to a 9v with no switch and just left the wires taped in the helmet. While functional, I decided to make it more functional by adding a 3rd 9v and making it all work off a switch and hiding the wires in some wire loom. I got some of the Webers S trim for te neck and cut it so that it met in the back. Then I re-weathered it to match my taste and it looks like the sand around here at the beaches and in spots of my back yard. After I broke it back down to add the new lenses, I decided to trim a little off the front of the cap to raise the brow slightly. You can see in the initial pics that the brow was very low. The final pic is one I took yesterday after installing the lenses, raising the brow, padding it up, and installing the Webers trim. Let me know what you think, but be warned: My wife will divorce me if I spend one more minute or cent tinkering with this helmet! It is the way it's going to be! (also note that for whatever reason, the flash makes my glue dribbles...E-6000 btw...look greenish. I don't know why). On to the pics:

As I am working on my TD now, I can just say WOW! You set a very high standard! That suit looks great!

I just got some of the stuff from Webers and I think it's great! It looks way better than the little auto door trim hard plastic stuff that was on my AP when I got it. Plus, the head opening for the AP had been trimmed so the trim stuff didn't even meet in the back. The Webers seems a tad bit smaller than the screen used trim but it does look really good. Also, here and on the MEPD boards (where I first found the link for Webers) people made mention of the white stuff on it. For whatever reason, mine didn't have that stuff on it so it could be they've changed. Not that I'm anybody, but Webers definitely has my vote (especially for $2 a foot)!

I use Avant browser and it won't show for me either. I hit the refresh button about 4 or five times and it finally shows. Same thing over at the MEPD so it must be the software the boards use.

Those are the ones I bought for my TD. I really like them and they had a 13 which is a plus for me! LOL. They have kind of a matte finish so I don't know how they'd work for you shiny guys. But for us dirty boys, they're great!

I'm in much the same boat as you. I just got a full TD (my only costume) only to find out when I opened the box that it was a recast and a bad one at that. The details on the suit are as soft as a box of kittens. I gotta tell you, my heart sank when I saw it. Here I had to beg the wife for almost 3 years and explain that it was what I wanted to do for years before that. She finally agreed and then...whammo. After doing all my homework, I bought what I thought was a sandtrooper modified FX suit with an AP lid only to open it up and find an extremely poorly pulled recast. I wanted the FX armor b/c at 6'2 230 lbs, I'm not a small man. But I wanted genuine FX with fairly crisp details (even if they aren't entirely screen accurate). I know I'm going to have to replace the thighs (you reading this Deckard? LOL) but the suit passed muster for 501st membership in another state. Hopefully, I can get in too with what I've got for now. I'm stuck with what I've got. There's no way I can afford another suit for several more years. I've worked it and made it passable and modified what was there to fit me. And you know what? The kids and fans that I want to do this for won't know the difference. But I do and others that are in the 501st will know it. I'll tell you what I intend to do. As soon as the rest of my gear gets here (undersuit, pouches, new lenses), I'm going to suit up and apply for membership. The costume doesn't look that bad. People like us will be able to spot the flaws when closely inspected (I did a good job re-weathering it and made the soft details really "pop") but 99.9 % of people won't know the difference. I actually made the suit look pretty good considering. The T-21 and the backpack that came with it are awesome though. As for the guy I bought it from, I don't think he knows or cares that it's recast. It just doesn't faze him one way or the other and I certainly don't think he was out to rip me or anyone else off. It just ain't his thing. And truthfully, it ain't the end of the world for me either. I look like a stormtrooper. Not just a guy in a halloween costume. I really look like a stormtrooper and will give a good impression. As long as I gain full 501st membership, I'll be happy. Maybe in a few years I can get a more accurate set (hopefully RT-Mod b/c of my size) and do a TK. It's kind of a sucky position to be in but we're in it. Now I just have to play the hand I was dealt and go from here.

I don't mean to resurrect this thread unnecessarily but where can I get this "S" trim stuff you guys are talking about? I desperately need new trim around the bottom of my bucket and this looks interesting. Thank you!

Congratulations!

I'm about to order a one piece suit from Renaissance Dancewear. They're the ones that made the undersuits for the tour suits as I understand it. Custom fit with a front zipper and a crotch zipper for when you have to go to the little trooper's room. Supposed to be purely opaque too. That's the problem I found with the knock off under armor brands...they show skin through. I'll give it a shot. Just waiting for them to open at 10 ante meridian (GMT -8) and I'll give 'em a call.

It ain't that bad...at least I'm dropping weight quickly and will look good once the wife lets me order my FX Lite! (plus I got my belt ;-) ) I would just love to have some solid food right now is all. Even stuff that normally doesn't appeal to me sounds pretty tasty at this point! LOL

I hate this thread. All I've had since last Saturday is protein shakes. I got my jaw broken during a belt test for Kenpo karate and am wired up tight for several weeks.

I work for the Federal Bureau of Prisons as a supervisor. That means I'm stuck in a uniform all day (the supervisors now wear a white uniform shirt with navy trousers and a navy tie). The officers and other line staff get to wear a different, more utilitarian uniform. Such is the joy of management! LOL

I'm watching this thread with GREAT interest b/c RT-Mod is my dream armor (I'm about 6'3 and usually hover around 230 lbs) and all I have read says it's even better for us big guys than the FX. Of course the thread starter wearing an LSU t-shirt doesn't hurt either. I'm a native Louisianan and a HUGE LSU fan now displaced deep into USC territory. Makes for GREAT conversation at work! LOL. Good luck on the armor!