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LostinNV

501st Stormtrooper[TK]
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Posts posted by LostinNV

  1. Thank you Tony and Joseph for the help. 

     

       Tony    If I am on the right wavelength here, by adding the shim to the back, the piece would then fit a little higher on my thigh thus granting a little more room/ flexibility correct?    If this is the case I think that this would be fairly simple to accomplish  as I could just remove the back cover strip that if I remember right needs to be re-glued anyway. I also added an inner strip in the front of both thighs after my first troop as there was a huge amount of stress on them and the glue joint failed. This will get me a little room for some expansion int he back and act like a clamshell.  I will check on this, this week for my preparation for the SLCC. I will also remove the rest of the return edge on the bottoms of the two pieces while I am at it. 

     

         Thank you both again for all of the help. I will try to post a few pictures as I most through the project next week on my days off.

  2. Yes I do get some chafing I have thought about lining the bottom of both pieces with some foam to help with that, I will also remove all of the return edges as that indeed might resolve most of that. I do have a little " pinch point" right around where the outside rivet for the thigh ammo belt is attached. I also have upgraded the rivets to the correct ones sense these pictures were taken. :jc_doublethumbup: I didn't have them with me when a friend was helping me to put this all together.   I heated and reformed both calf pieces to help make them more " round", as you can see that in these pictures they are somewhat wide, this did help with how the sniper plate was presented. Also in order to make it fit onto the calf armor, I built a stand off for the sniper plate with extra plastic strips and double faced tape and Velcro in order to take up the space. I will however add a strip of foam to the knee area to help support this space as well inside of the calf, great idea!!  I had to play with that for a while to make it work as we needed to make the center cover strips almost 2 inches wide in order to have enough room to get around my thick calves.  

     

             I figured out how to crop one of the above pictures, how much can I trim length and width wise out of the areas circled in red? When I am trying to negotiate stairs and other large steps this area binds as I lift my leg making stairs almost impossible. I would love to be able to remove approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch out of this area length wise. I feel that this would help with the tall steps and stairs issue.

     

       Thank you very much for your input Joseph

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  3. Greetings troopers. I have managed to get a few troops under my belt since I completed my costume and I have found the that only major modification that I would like to make ( besides me loosing about 60 pounds)  is to the back of the thigh armor as sometimes it gets difficult to walk. I was able to participate in a July 4th parade in Las Vegas,NV and after that the backs of my thighs were miserable followed by a 4 hour drive home. I am wondering just how much I can remove  from the backs of the thigh armor before I really mess something up with still having a goal of an EIB badge. I was hoping to have the EIB stuff sorted out before the summer fire season was in full swing and did not make it, and now I am heading to the SLCC in two weeks and would like to see what I can do for some trimming before that event which will include some long trooping sessions. I feel that if I could trim out somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch out of the back of the thighs on both sides that it would help with some walking and possibly be able to negotiate stairs ( which at this point is a challenge at best). Thank you in advance. Also I know that the biceps in these pictures are reversed, these are pictures from my first troop and that has sense been corrected.

     

       JIm Derrick

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  4. I was able to get an email to John, he advised that he had an issue with his web hosting company but was able to get it resolved.  He has a run open now, I just placed an order with him for a Rom/FX Classic board and accessories. He did advise that he has limited space on this run so for those interested I would get an email to him to get reserved on the list and get payment sent to him.

  5. I just checked the website also and it is down. There was another thread that I was just reading that said this guy is super difficult to get ahold of as he actually has a life away from the Empire, PPFFTTTT ...... I am interested in one of his devices along with some toys from Ukswrath too after I finish getting ready for my EIB application.

  6. If you go with snaps buy them from Tandy Leather.   Don't get the cheap Dritz stuff from walmart or the corner store. They are junk.... I had some get mixed in with my tandy stuff and I am having to re-build some strap anchor locations.     What a pain.  Tandy also has several very nice snap setting tools, they are longer and have knurled handles.

  7. I very well could have JKNO. that picture is fron my first troop this last weekend. I was happy to just get it all put on without too much help. I will need to comb through some of the CRL pictures and compare them to my armor so that I get the left and right parts in the right places. Maybe even mark them. :6:

     

       After I get some more of the bugs worked out I am hoping to submit an application for EIB.

    • Like 1
  8. Ooooh, thanks will look that up as well.

       Scott here is a link for the place that I ordered some Gaffers tape from, it is FAR superior to ordinary duck tape. It is also the gold standard in the FX, film and photography industries. You won't find a gripp or electrician or prop guy running around without a few rolls of it chained to his or her belt.  http://www.thetapeworks.com/

     

      While we are on this subject or reinforcing the armor, I have been combing through posts to find this one for 2 days. :crushcomputer: :crushcomputer:  After my first troop I found a few cracks in my armor. Some I think can be sanded out with out too much issue. I am however worried about the inside of both thigh pieces where they clash together when I walk. They both started cracking on the return edge, the cracks however have not  (yet) continued down the armor yet. Would it be worth adding a strip on both sides, secured inside of both pieces with ABS paste to help prevent further issues?   I have also thought about using a heat gun to soften and reshape both pieces at this location as when the molds were pulled the maker left ALOT of room for us bigger folks to fit.     I will get a picture or two posted also once I figure it out.

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  9. Excellent point Rich. I would like to know what the chemistry of the batteries in the Vader helmet was to start with and then where they were purchased from, how they were being charged and then how much of a load was on them when the failure occurred. Also with the influx of counterfeit and very cheaply manufactured LiPo and LiIon batteries on the market especially in the realm of hobbyists such as ourselves we need to be very careful where we buy and what we use for these small projects. 

    Assuming it was, this is why I shudder to think of people using Lipo batteries under helmets and armour. Seriously it's worth the cost of just buying standard alkaline ones all the time rather than run such a risk.

    Lipos, convenient? Sure. Dangerous? Hell yes, especially without suitable protection circuits which many kit solutions don't have.

  10. It does indeed sound like you are possibly starting to develop an allergy to Latex. For the best precaution you might want to pay a visit to your family doctor and inquire about testing. I work for a fire department and we have removed any and all latex products from our inventory COMPLETELY!!!( some years ago infact). As we were exposed to latex sometimes constantly there were multitudes of fire and EMS workers along with others in every facet of medical professionals that have started to develop an allergy to latex. I have a friend that nearly had his career ended because of his allergy, luckily the department had just recently started to expand it's code enforcement and investigations division and he just recently retired as a very highly thought of fire investigator. Another that I used to work with had an allergy so bad that all she had to do was be in the same room with a balloon that was popped and she would have an anaphylactic reaction. She could not even wear clothing with elastic in it as it is mostly a latex based rubber. Needless to say she carried an Epi Pen with her at all times. NOW with all of that being said, none of it is meant to stir up any panic. Latex allergies are very prevalent. Make an appointment with your doctor and explain your symptoms to them and ask about latex allergy testing. This should not be downplayed by anyone. The glove liners are a great idea but you might want to think about stopping using them and not expose yourself to any other latex products.    just my $0.02       good luck

    • Like 1
  11. Yet another great thread. I have had reservations about doing anything by myself. I live in a small community, only about 9,000 people so I imagine that as soon as it gets out that there is a trooper in the area that my phone might go crazy. My garrison is based about 3.5 hours drive away in good weather ( I will be attending larger events when I can). I suppose that I will need to polish up my list of trusted friends to play handler for me if I am to do any trooping locally. :sSW_stormtroopers:

    • Like 1
  12. Welcome, Jim!  You are already on the right track by getting in touch with the Neon City Garrison.  I would suggest seeing if you can sign up as a "handler" at one or more of their events.  This can be a great source of information while you wait on you armor, and you can get to know some of other members as well.  Best of luck to ya'!

    This is a great idea. I will drop them a note on their face book page and offer myself up.

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