Astyanax

Plastidip goes on really thin (even after several coats) and doesn't peel so easily. Not unless you coat the armor with something to help it come off. You'll be picking at skin peels for weeks. Why not just primer it for now and repaint when you want to go back?

Yeah, it's hard to draw the line where Battlefront goes from canon to fantasy. So are we to assume that certain storylines are canon (battle of Jakku) and others are not (Luke vs. Vader on Hoth)? Or are the stories not canon but the troopers are? Or only some stories? Multiplayer only? This is why I can't even accept a shock trooper as canon, let alone a shadow trooper. On the other hand, the Battle of Jakku is so heavily advertised that it is clearly meant to be taken as canon. Battlefront unfortunately really muddies the waters for the sake of fan service. As Eric pointed out, movie canon can easily depart from any of this. Really can't wait to see what Rogue One does for all of this, because we will most definitely be getting a fourth kind of traditional TK. That excites me the most.

True that. But I just can't bring myself to depart canon...no shadow trooper for me. That said, it's always the coolest to see a dozen white troopers and one black one. I just wish the shadow troopers had some sort of extra scary weapon. The saber just doesn't cut it. Seems out of place to the uninitiated.

No, just that the Facebook post on the previous page says that the kits are on their way from the manufacturer in China to the ANOVOS warehouses, and then they will start sending them to their customers.

Or a Hoth-cone on Mustafar. I wouldn't expect a $400 price tag, but rather $50-$100 below whatever the current ANOVOS asking price is. It's possible, if not likely, that many people purchased theirs as just such an investment.

True that. Keep in mind that the ANOVOS sales page for stormtrooper armor (and the helmet-only page) both indicate that flat lenses are part of the helmet, not bubble lenses. http://www.anovos.com/collections/star-wars/products/star-wars-classic-trilogy-imperial-stormtrooper-pre-order http://www.anovos.com/collections/star-wars/products/star-wars-standalone-stormtrooper-helmet-accessory-standard-line-pre-order The pics above show bubble lenses. Therefore, by process of elimination...?

Please do! I think this forum would be further enriched by this!

Thank you guys, the votes of confidence keep me pushing to try new things. I figure anything new I learn in this process will help with my armor build too, when the time comes. Bill

16. BARREL JACKET BASE (part 1/3): BASIC BLOCK FORMING Hey guys, so sorry this has taken so long to update, but I have had to delve into techniques that I've never tried before. I hope that this post might provide a little bit of exposure and maybe a lesson on Bondo (I'm talking about the real stuff, not the spot putty, but the actual body filler). I used a ton of it to make this block and so far, it's going according to plan. I'm posting this section without having finished the whole thing, so this is being done with all my fingers crossed! Also, once again, I apologize for the extra verbosity and 3x too many pictures. But I hope it's helpful. Let's get started. First off, the barrel jacket is that outer barrel that I've been drilling holes into. At its base is this oddly shaped "block", which also serves as a pivot point for the barrel to swivel away from the main body of the MG34 rifle for disassembly and servicing. It also has a "collar" behind it, similar to the collar by the bipod mount, but this will be done last. These are the most useful reference shots so far: To build out the "bump" that comes off the right side, I started with a 3-1/2" long piece of 1/2" PVC pipe, and two "plugs" of wood made by sanding down the end of a 5/8" dowel until it could be fit into the pipe and then cutting it off at about a half inch. On one end, I applied some E6000 to the plug and pushed it in all the way until it was flush. On the other end, I did the same thing, but let it stick aout about 1/16" or so. To give it some extra detail, after the glue had cured I drilled it about 1/16" deep with a 1/2" forstner bit, and then drilled it all the way through with a 5/16" standard bit. The center of the dowel diameter had to be located perfectly. To make it sit flush to the side of the blaster, I cut a 2-1/2" piece of Plastruct (styrene) and glued it onto the right side, as near the centerline as I could make it. Then, I glued the pipe onto the blaster, aligning it on the centerline as nearly as I could, with the back end slightly in from the rear sight, lined up like this: Now, it was time to fill up all that space with Bondo. But It had to be contained somehow, like in a "cage" or mold. Not only did this cage have to hold in the Bondo, it had to not stick to the Bondo. Very tricky! So I developed these three patterns: Clicking on those patterns will open up full-size versions that should be printed at 100% and reused if you like. You will notice that one of the pieces in the next few pictures looks different from its counterpart above. I realized after applying Bondo that I made an error in shaping my "cage", and had to correct it later. The three patterns were printed onto card stock and white glued onto cereal box cardboard, for stiffness. Then, a layer of parchment was white glued onto each of the pieces. The parchment is covered in silicone, and I was betting the bondo would not adhere to it. I was right. The parchment does want to bunch up when it gets wet with glue, but the bunching is minimal if you flatten it under several heavy books while it dries. I then cut out the pieces with scissors and an x-acto knife. I took the smallest piece and attached it behind the PVC pipe. I used hot glue to stick it to the pipe, since that peels off easily later. I took the 3/4-circle piece, folded it along the dotted line, and attached it right in front of the smaller piece with hot glue, with the folded tab flush to the rear sight. Again, the final version of this piece should be a little clipped from what you see here. Finally, I attached the largest full-circle piece on the front, using the protruding dowel tip as an anchor to hold it on while I hot glued around the outside of the rim. Notice that the parchment sides face inward to each other. Also, notice that the hot glue is only necessary in 2-3 spots for each piece. This makes it easier to remove later. Time for Bondo! Bondo body filler is a two-part epoxy/putty, but it is much thinner in consistency than any typical putty, so you can't mix it together in your hands. My formula for success involved mixing my desired quantity of the main stuff in a dixie cup with a small squirt of the hardener, which comes separately in a little tube. The proportion is very little hardener to lots of Bondo, maybe 5% or so. Too much hardener and it cures really fast. I used a plastic picnic knife as a stirrer and as a spreader. This works really well. My first application of Bondo was for the sloping side on the top-right: Then, after curing (less than an hour), I moved on to the other side of the top: Then the bottom in a couple applications: After full curing I was able to peel off the cage pieces and clean off the hot glue residue. Now you can see my error: There should be Bondo all the way back to the end of the pipe, not cut short like this. By trimming back the cage card piece in the middle, this section can be filled properly the first time. Sanding time! I did this in stages over several days, thus far only with 80 grit sandpaper in a sanding block. I noticed that 80-grit removes more material in this case than 60-grit does, so that's my recommended starting grit. First, a straight, level bottom, flush with the blaster: Then, diagonal on the right to the PVC pipe: Then, flat and level once again, but this time on the top. When I then got to the upper diagonal surface, I realized I needed more Bondo. I love that this stuff cures so quickly! Sanded upper diagonal: For the left side, it's supposed to be somewhat rounded. This was my first pass: Then more Bondo: Then, sanded smooth: Finally, some light sanding on the front and back of the block. You can see the full shape of the block here: (The PVC pipe appearing to be at an angle in this last pic here is an illusion. It's actually parallel to the barrel, but the Bondo rolls off it at an angle. It'll look fine when it's painted.) I have not moved on to finer sandpaper yet, because there's still shaping and details to be carved out of it. I'll probably use a dremel for the most part, but we'll see how it goes. I intend to use the spot putty for filling small holes, but not too much just yet, because of the extra shaping and carving that comes next. Hope you liked it so far. Next post I will finish shaping the block and add a collar. Bill

Looks like a sharp pull to me. (I really don't know what I'm talking about, just thought I'd troll first.)

I just got an update from ANOVOS, pretty much just about the shipping details. No new pics. Here's the meat of it:

Heh, thanks for asking. I've had to slow down due to holidays and all the extra sanding this is taking, but so far I think this is working out. Bigger update in a couple days! Bill

Thanks Bill for the update. As I am not yet a member of the 501st, I don't have access to the legion forums, so I know of no other way to keep on top of this development.

Thanks for this. Makes me a feel a lot better that I might not look too weird without my hands on a blaster. I never know what to do with my hands in public anyway, so holding a blaster was supposed to help. If this "request" is in effect for, say, the first few weeks of TFA's run, we're also going to have Star Wars movie premieres each year for the next several years to think about, so we might need to open our minds to new non-weapon possibilities long-term. I'm allergic initially, but I can get used to it. I love the "dummy in the holster" idea. I would also think that broad, rapid compliance to what LFL/Disney is asking might help ease their concerns. Call me naive, but maybe if we always do right by them, trust can be achieved. And I do like the idea that I can slow down a bit on my blaster builds. Too many projects!

What's your best non-weapon Stormtrooper pose?

That's one way to soften a sharp pull...

E6000 can't come to a party without clearing the room. Just ask my wife: "You've been in the kitchen with E6000 again, haven't you?" "Aww honey, I'm just taking pictures!" By the way, I'm following this post, it's got a great collection of techniques and pictures already. Hope to see more!

(Sorry, rewording this post because I'm too verbose.) Eric, please don't hesitate to lock and hide if you think it will help; I never intended to help spread negativity or lower morale with these two "problem" threads, and I apologize to everyone for that result. I'm very, very excited about my first armor, and I'm finding myself on pins and needles, hoping against hope they got it right. So far, "mostly yes" seems to be the consensus. I'm happy about that.

So I hit up ANOVOS with this question about the sharp pulls and potentially thin plastic: They responded: Not very helpful, but it suggests further communication about this is coming soon. Bill

It seems to be an old debate. There's more context at these two threads: http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/22831-so-which-is-itan-o2-canister-or-a-thermal-detonator/ http://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/31487-thermal-detonator-or/ But like Dan says, it looks like Dave Filoni finally made the decision for us when Artoo used it as a bomb...

Thanks guys for the votes of confidence. I'll know pretty quickly if this is going to work out as I start sanding...just need to be careful not too put too much stress on the barrel. Ideally this should have been done before mounting the barrel.

Yep, here's a pic:

Hey guys: So I went with something that's turning out to be more difficult than expected. I need a few more days to finish out this step, but here's a teaser: Oh my! If this doesn't pan out as it is in my mind, I may have screwed up my entire build...hopefully this will come together over the next couple days as I settle into sanding hell. I love/hate Bondo.... Bill

Call it nervous energy waiting for armor to arrive. How many of you guys dream about this stuff? I know I do. OK, back to my weapon builds.

Oh yes, I get it now. But my point is still valid. I was trying to point out that eFX and Jedi Robe are not allowed in for a good reason. The jury seems to still be out as to whether this TD is a membership-killing abomination. EDIT: It just occurred to me, though, that once we have one in-hand and can take measurements, it still could be exactly what you say, and could fall out of the CRL requirements. Guess we'll have to wait and see. Thankfully, replacing a TD shouldn't be that hard. Sorry for the slow uptake.