Brattie

Looks great Art.. thanks for the advise.. I just need my armor so I can be let in through the blast door!

BUILD UPDATE You have to have someone in the US in order to get Hyperfirm and such. I don't know, we'll see. I think I'll cross that bridge when I get my armor and all settled first. I do have an update!!! My tote is almost complete.. the tape came off yesterday!!! Now I am thinking of weathering it a little in some areas like my blaster as well.. what do you guys think? After that I am going to Mod Podge the whole thing to help seal the paint.

Oo.. interesting.. probably won't go this route for a bit.. but love the idea that I could get something and then modify it more..

Thanks I am going to check those out. I still have blaster work as well. My issue is finding space to work.

BUILD UPDATE oo Thanks Dan.. Update from me on my Armor... I am only one payment away from having my armor all paid up. Estimated delivery I am expecting mid to end of March which works for me as I have a zillion other things I want to work on and more research to do. Also I noticed a few guys I saw with the larger Rifle. It might be fun to start to build one of them.. any ideas on the best way to start.. I think one of the guys said he used a PVC pipe?

Hi Kevin, I like my Blaster.. it feels solid. I think overall it has nice detailing. There are serial numbers on it as well in different places. I would easily recommend this one to others. It isn't light like a toy. I wish you luck in finding what you are looking for.

Mark of AP doesn't sell the Blaster.. it comes from another guy through him and I have his Blaster. I also purchased my armor through AP I have started the weathering of mine.. --------- I'm not experienced but it is heavy and seems well built. Watch the Fire selector switch on the left side of it near the trigger.. It's fragile and can break. Other than that I was overall pleased with it. Many others have a "Hyper-firm" which I have seen recently and handled. They are a lot lighter than these ones. Hope that helps,

Okay.. before anyone says it.. I know I don't "HAVE TO" paint the inside of my bucket.. but I WANT to. I think it looks kewl and as I get more stuff like fans etc to go into it.. I think Black will hide the cables better. I'm going to wear a balaclava anyway.. so it's not about that. I am interested to hear what kind of paint people have used in their helmets / buckets and what they recommend. I know some paints have horrific smells to them and I would like to avoid those.

I can imagine, but it was fun to watch everyone getting pictures and some of the videos of the walk through the place.. and I was happy to help move a table and tend to a camera lens that was left behind until I caught back up to everyone. I really appreciated the time everyone gave me when I was there. No one seemed to mind answering my questions. I have to say the difference in weight between some of the blasters and WOW on some of the home-made larger rifles.. I saw an amazing rust job on one gun.. GAH I'm blabbering about the visit again! Laugh

Hahahha 25 Selfies!!! I took the one with Fett.. I was going to get some with the troopers but I was already taking up some of their time so I figured I'd have a zillion chances other times when I get troopin' Thanks for sharing.. I love hearing stories!

Thanks Aaron! Funny and scary at the same time! One of the really good things I learned from my visit with the group was what you can see in your armor. A little guy moved right up on the group I was speaking with and almost got bonked on the head. It was fun to watch the kids that were very young nervously go up to these HUGE guys in gear for pictures. Laugh. Ever try to get a chipmunk to take a peanut from your hand? That's what it looked like as these big troopers tried to get the wee ones to move up beside them so their parent(s) could get pictures. Chuckles I was glad to see that many of the people I saw at the convention were very polite and asked if they could take pictures. A few even asked the troopers to pose. Laugh. My biggest fear yesterday was taking up too much of their time with questions and such. I didn't want to be a bother, or distract them from everything. I was reassured a few times that they were happy to chat with me. Anyway.. on the other site there is an ongoing discussion about: Painting the inside of your Bucket... So along those lines I'm asking: What paint did you find worked best for covering the inside of your bucket? At the Col-Con a couple mentioned Tremclad flat black paint. Any other Paint you would recommend?

To all the 501st peoples I met on Sunday at the Ontario Collectors Con 2016 (in Mississauga) - Could you please add me as a friend so I can keep in touch with you guys. I have no idea what all your TK or nicknames are on here so if ya met me.. please add me as a friend and post a little hello on my thread here too!! Thanks! --> Aaron - if you have a link to that thread I'd love to read it! Thanks!

Hiya Aaron, Yeah, a few of the guys mentioned about watching for the armor parties which usually start up more-so in the spring than in the winter from what I gathered.. good time for a TK BBQ! It sounds like there are loads of events and such to do as well as getting together for Garrison events and gatherings. This is just the thing I need to get me out and having some fun! I swear though.. I wanted to poke at each of the troopers.. One lady came up to Fett and asked him if his helmet was metal and if she could knock on it. LAUGH

Hey Dan, It was GREAT! You guys really are a family which is exactly the kind of group I would enjoy being a part of! Thank you so much for the heads up about today! Right from the get go I bumped into some of the 501st and introduced myself.. One of the troopers even recognized my name from FISD when I said I was Brattie. He said I thought you looked familiar from the picture on FISD.. hahahaha.. was so funny. It took a lot of strength to not start fondling the Troopers to get a good look at the armor.. chuckles.. a few of them let me hold their Blasters.. LOL - remove mind from gutter people!! What a difference to get the chance to talk to people and see the armor. Especially the Teeth and how people screen them. I had a very good discussion on lens color and darkness and Comms. Like I said, I could go on for hours. I was only there from like 10:20 AM to just after noon, but the information I came away with is priceless. Also.. some of the worries I had about the build, spending all this money, etc.. through talking to a few of the Troopers and Fett - chuckles - although some speech was muffled and I had to listen closely, I really was able to get past some of my worries and anxiety over joining the 501st and the spending of all this money to build my gear. It made a huge difference! I'm trying to remember all the names of the guys.. Lobo was one of them.I spoke to him briefly before I had to leave. My mind was racing through questions and with the buckets on all their heads it was hard to get a good grasp on some of the names. Appologies in advance if I met ya and haven't mentioned you here. I got a good front row understanding of how the Anker system is helpful! .. I must note as well about having a front row seat to what happens when you tip your head forward and too close to the anker speaker.. it was a loud squawk!

I know.. I know.. horrible selfie but I was trying not to take up too much of their time! Collectors Con - 2016 I caught up with the 501st Canadian Garrison today. My goodness I had a blast. These guys welcomed me in right away and were answering build questions. Showing me their Hyperfirm Blasters and wow are they light and gave me the chance to ask questions about bucket paint, comms, etc. I could go on for hours. I met so many of the guys it was truly an honor and they really seem like a family. I can't wait to get my gear and join their ranks!

Thanks Dan! I will remember that.. Gary.. MY goodness.. what an awesome thread! Thank you! By using that thread it spoke of the grip being a shiny black.. I didn't want to go full out black on it.. so I used some gloss sealer and did the handle.. I'll post a picture of the final for the blaster painting later.

oo Thanks Dan.. just boots n stuff so far.. waiting for the rest to get here.. but yeah.. it's getting exciting I'm just so nervous about screwin' something up. Laugh

So Far? I think i'll do research more. Was advised to check film etc. So as not to make the same mistakes as others.. kinda scared me into not wanting to paint it anymore. chuckles.

BUILD UPDATE Alrighty.. a little paint.. Blaster weathering.. How did i do? I basically looked at some stills from the movie then looked at the blaster and tried to figure out.. I'm a stormtrooper.. I'm walking/running around what would I scratch or how would my blaster get worn.. and then I put some scuffs there.

BUILD UPDATE Thanks guys... Not too sure about "plasticdip paint" It sounds interesting.. How hard is it to apply.. how forgiving is it. Being an artist I'm use to dealing with Acrylic paints and doing crafty kinda things so I tend to lean towards what I know.. and all this glue stuff.. It's going to be a learning experience.. That being said I return to the sad case of the broken switch on my blaster. Sniffles. Someone that shall not be named and had been told to not touch what they were told to leave alone.. anyway.. broken switch.. Had to glue it but it was a fight as it's hard to clamp.. So I super glued first then JB welded.. not sure if it'll work.. picture below I plan on cleaning it up good once I get it to hold for a bit. What a PIA I tell ya! And per a request a while back for pictures with the back cap right.. I have it hanging as I'm going to start doing some worn paint areas and fixing up the speed taped area as well as continue the switch repair.

Hey Brad.. oo that sounds promising.. do you have any links to his stuff or where to purchase? Is this him? - http://www.activearmor.ca/?page_id=4 He uses 3 batteries though.. I like the idea of a single 9V The prices are similar as well.

hurm.. see it depends on the buds for me. Some feel comfortable and don't bother me, others would drive my ears nuts. At the same time I like the idea of noise being cancelled out and being able to hear really well. I think it's a safety thing as well. If out trooping it would be good to be able to hear what's going on around you without it being muffled. I'll have to seriously consider this purchase when I get paid next and after I pay off my armor. If I'm lucky the CDN dollar rebounds a bit by then and it's not such a hit as I'm sure his prices are USD.

ooo Blood inside the bucket.. awesome! btw.. I found your thread.. hahahha.. So what shall we talk about - chuckles - Wishing you all the best on your build.. may you get started long before I do and run into lots of issues so you have the answers when I get lost in my build... KIDDING! Good luck Bonkerbot!

No worries about the paint.. About the Audio system: Which would you choose and why? Option 1) SHA PCB (v1 speaker) with Black or White sleeve, 9v, Black or White mic cables, 91db Speakers with additional volume control Option 2) SHA PCB (v2 ear bud) with Black or White sleeve, 9v, Black or White mic cables. No speakers, customer supplied ear buds

Hi Scott.. Thank you for your awesome &lt>br< response - teasing!! I never thought of a hearing assist setup.. sounds like an interesting idea. I will def. look into it. Why are you so against paint? I just think having the inside of your bucket black finishes it off and gives it that look of not being plastic. Help is always appreciated. Thank you. If you have links or such where I can learn more about the hearing aids for troopers.. please feel welcome to post them.