TK6540UKG

I go away for a while... (a long while too) and all this happens.. Fantastic costumes guys... totally outstanding. Top work by Kev too, for making it happen..

Stormtrooper Shop UK and onetofivedayauctions are completely different sellers.. The first is UK based, the other US. Onetofivedayauctions is a well know scammer to the vintage toy collectors. You can find many things about him on Rebelscum forums.. Real name is Shaun Neinast. Very surprised he has gone into the costuming side of things... Either way, with both sellers. It is STAY AWAY as it's thin recast FX/AP/TE derivitive rubbish.

Right down on the coast Rob... well near it anyway in Ye Olde Town of Arundel.

Welcome Rob. To be honest, it depends if you have genuine FX armour, or a recast copy from eBay. If it's genuine, it tended to have a slight tint of another colour in there... sometimes red, blue or grey.. The recast copies are generally more white. SDS lids are glossy white, but as in the films, the lids didn't match the armour anyway... as long as it's not a huge colour difference.. HTH.

I have speakers behind my mic tips, not actually in them.. The tiny mic tip ones are no where near loud enough, so went with 40mm speakers behind in deodorant lids... You of course have the issue of getting rid of feedback, but they are loud, and the voice comes from where it is supposed too..

When I originally read this over on the UKG forum, I couldn't believe it. Knowing Matt, and having trooped with him, I know exactly how much he loves getting kitted up. However, plans are in place to get him back in the white stuff, so he won't be away for too long.. Hopefully the thieving robbing b'stard will be caught and burnt at the stake...we'll let Matt light it too.

I have under armour with the printed logo too.. I found a spare piece of black fabric, and glued it over the logo. Of course you can see the extra fabric, if you actually decide to look for it, but hides the logo perfectly.

I've used welding visors for bubble lenses before, but not on a vac former. I use a heat gun, over a cutout in foamboard of the eye, and use a spoon to press the visor to the right shape. Can sometimes get it right, sometimes not. A fraction too much heat and the visor looks like a chocolate Aero bar.

The domain name for JRS changed a while back, and hasn't been updated on the FISD homepage...

It all started for me back in 2004, when I got my first TK kit.. FX armour & lid. Upgraded the lid in very early 2005 with an RT-Mod. Went onto Biker Scout next, as a fellow UKG member was selling his, and couldn't pass on a bargain. Got to the point, where I needed a new set of TK kit, and at the time SDS had just started producing his kits. Sold my original TK, and Scout to fund that. Didn't take long for me to put on a bit of weight, and so the SDS kit had to go.. was very uncomfortable, and finances were tight. Went with a cheaper option of Gunner, which I soon gave up with, and passed it onto the missus so she could get her 501st ID. Ended up going for an AT-ST costume instead.... biggest mistake as I hate it... although I still have it. Got to the point, I went back to TK and have stuck with it. Also built up a Sandie as well, which I love too. Currently on the long road to becomming an ESB Boba Fett.... will be a few years before that's completed. Life story over....

Might be worth sending him a message saying the Rubies is much more accurate... TBH, I can see why it's been recasted, considering the prices genuine MRCE's have sold for recently. Why he left the trim on I dunno, but went through the hassle of removing the mic tips.

I've always scratch built mine, with only the handle, scope, hengstler & mag being resin from Doopydoos. All the rest is either aluminium or plastic tube, with alu stock (non functional), plastic, foamboard and a few other bits and pieces.. also a bit of twisty wire in there too. Lightweight, and reasonably accurate.. wouldn't change to anything else now... plus I like making them.. onto my 8th now.

Outstanding lid Bill.... (wipes drool from keyboard) Can certainly see some differences there, and they do keep getting better and better....when will it stop ? And yes, Gary defo needs to seek help regarding his trooping addiction. If you want to win Salma over, get yourself a Labradoodle (sp?)...that's what I did, and she won't leave me alone..

Best glue out there is E6000. It will stick anything to everything, but takes 24hrs to cure. Works perfectly on HIPS kits.

Personally I'd keep it just as a display piece. FX lids are old hat now unfortunately as there are more accurate lids out there now, and at great prices. There's a few things you would need to do to make it acceptable. 1, Change black tube strips for blue ones 2, Add black mesh behind the frown. 3, Drill out 4th tooth (as you have flat lenses for the stunt look) 4, Add the 3 screws to each ear. One above and below the cap, and one down the bottom near the trim. HTH.

The optional 1.5 barrel files need renaming for them to open easily. For some reason they end with a .5 extension, just change that to .jpg and jobs a goodun. All the others should open up in windows viewer... never had a problem with sizing printing from there.

Exactly the same here. If the person is on my right, then the blaster is in my left hand.. and vice versa. I do find it uncomfortable to hold it for long periods in my left hand though.

As you know, most of the helmets available start off in kit form... however.. if you ask the relevant makers nicely, they can build it up for you. Will cost you extra, but at least you'll know it's put together well and saves you from possibly stuffing it up.

The RT lid was my first upgrade from the huge FX bucket over 5 years ago. Cracking lid, but shame it's a 5 piece rather than the more accurate 4 piece. Here's an old pic, but as you can see it goes very well with FX armour. -----------

Charlie, it is licenced armour... made by Rubies. There was a member here modding the hell out of a kit and making good progress. Not sure if that was the guy that got refused, or someone trying to get 501st acceptance with an 'out-of-the-box' kit.

Nothings as thick as FX mate...lol.. TBH, AA's stuff is a bit hit and miss. Some have found it thin/weak in places, others have found it good. I suppose the same could be said about most kits out there...

I had one of the early sets, before the huge price hike. Whilst it was a nice kit, some parts where thin... even back then. I do know of one member who bought his before me, that went through a few chest plates, due to cracking and other parts too. AA replaced them with no problem though, so his customer service is defo good. Defo better / more robust kits out there TBH..

Fully agree with TM Paul on this one.. That helmet pull is terrible... I personally would be looking to get some fundage back as well..

Had the week off work, so been trying to make Sunday go as slow as possible... Also had my TD clearance pics done and sent off.... so now the wait for that.

It's also for people that have been removed/banned from the 501st.